Despite the media portraying a number of big businesses laying off workers and covid-19 impacting job security around the country, here in WA the job market is currently strong with business continuing to grow and the demand for qualified and experienced staff making it difficult for many businesses to fill available roles.
With this shortage of labour, it is easy to see how your best people could be easily lured to another employer with the promise of a higher rate or opportunities for career advancement.
The importance of retention strategies
Any business owner knows that the cost of replacing an employee goes beyond the advertising and recruitment costs. The loss in productivity, impact on customer relationships and the team dynamic and culture can all be affected with immeasurable costs to the business.
We’ve previously shared some practical strategies for improving employee retention and in this article we’re looking at how implementing training and development plans can also help reduce employee turnover now and into the new year.
Why providing training opportunities is so important for retention
Giving employees opportunities to develop their skills through training and development helps them to not only feel more confident in the skills required for their role, but also demonstrates that they are valued within the business. By investing in an employee’s development, you’re telling them that you value their contribution and you recognise their potential to grow and develop in the business.
This recognition is a key piece in developing employee engagement and when employees are engaged, they’re working for more than the pay check. Engaged employees have a connection to their job, and to the business that they work for, which is more important to them than the offer of a pay rise.
What are some practical benefits of training employees?
With the competition for talent being so strong, it’s a very real possibility that some people will leave for another role. By upskilling across your team, and increasing knowledge and skills, you will be less impacted by the potential departure of an employee, and improving overall performance of the team in any case!
Developing your employees through training has other benefits such as
- Providing them with the skills and knowledge to cover for another person while they’re on leave
- Giving them confidence to take on more responsibility within their role
- Greater productivity and job satisfaction
- Encouraging innovative ideas and keeping up with new technology or processes
- Improved customer service and better business outcomes
Training and Development without a big budget
Some types of training can be expensive, but there are ways businesses can offer training without spending tens of thousands of dollars.
When we talk about training and development this doesn’t always have to be costly, it can be:
- On the job training to learn a new process or cross skilling team members by undertaking training with someone more senior or someone from another department
- One to one mentoring with a manager
- Team training days onsite where multiple team members develop skills in a common area, such as communication, leadership or customer service
- Online courses range in prices and time investment, however can be a great way to allow a valued employee an opportunity to learn more about new technologies, software or programs
- Breakfast or lunch sessions run by other employees providing the facilitator with opportunities to present their knowledge and others the chance to learn in an informal setting
When considering the kind of training you’ll offer your team, it’s important to be clear on the learning objectives and how that will contribute to your business in the long run. It’s critical to have your employee’s buy in and commitment to the learning also to fully reap the benefits from this investment.
How to protect your investment in employee training
When you have provided training opportunities and invested in the development of an employee there is nothing worse than seeing that individual take all of those new skills and qualifications to another employer.
Unfortunately, this happens, and one way to protect your investment is to have the employee agree to a training bond, which may mean they pay some of the costs upfront and are reimbursed over time, or they agree to pay back a portion of the training costs if they leave the business within a certain period.
While this training bond agreement may not prevent someone from leaving their job, it does allow the employer to recoup some costs and put this into training other employees.
Want to learn more about Cornerstone’s training and development?
Employees that strive for improvement and thrive on developing their skills are the employees you want on your team. Consider some of the training and development strategies we’ve mentioned here and if you’re interested in working with us to deliver training to your workplace, we offer a range of packages that are tailored to the specific needs of your business.
Get in touch with our team via the chat box here on the website or by calling us on 08 6150 0043.