Jack Welch, former General Electric CEO, once said “An organisation’s ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly is the ultimate competitive advantage”. His words apply to any organization wishing to develop and prosper in today’s business world. As globalisation takes a more active place in every aspect of life, businesses are not spared and are, in fact, highly affected by it. In order to stay at the top of the game, every company needs a good Learning and Development programme which will help them grow and improve, as well as bring other benefits such as these top 5:

Attract new employees and retain old ones

It is common knowledge that retention is a challenge for all employers, especially when it comes to good employees who will likely get great offers from other companies to attract them, which will undoubtedly include excellent benefits. A study conducted by the Dale Carnegie Training Center revealed that 40% of staff end up leaving the company within the first year due to poor training or lack thereof. One way of avoiding this and making sure the percentage of turnover in your company decreases is by offering a good training programme that will keep them engaged with your company.

Increase employee engagement and motivation

Lack of engagement in employees can prove to be detrimental to a business. According to the study mentioned in the previous point, having disengaged employees at work costs businesses over $500 billion annually. Furthermore, disengaged employees become bored employees, which means that their performance and attitude will be affected negatively and as a result, so will the work environment.

As Chad Halvorson puts it, “employee development is a way that you can keep your employees engaged at work to prevent that kind of boredom from setting in.” A good learning and development programme will raise your employees’ level of engagement and motivation, and make their performance improve, while keeping boredom, bad attitudes and the negativity of a bad working environment at bay.

Improve employee performance

Keeping in line with the points above, training and development has a direct impact on several aspects of your employee’s career within your organisation. One such aspect would be their performance. An employee who is constantly learning and developing themselves, will without a doubt be well informed of all the latest in their field. You cannot expect to always have the best of the best, most knowledgeable employees from the get-go, but you can make them the best and most knowledgeable with time and training. By providing the opportunity to develop constantly, employees will inevitably hone their current skills and learn new ones that will improve their performance and their team’s.

Save money and look into the future

“A good employee is like money in the bank.” While he may sound a bit cold, Chad Halvorson had a point when he said those words. L&D has become a means to save and earn money, as well as determine where you want your company to be headed in the years to come. Training current employees in the skills that you need to develop your company further, instead of continuously hiring new talent, will help you avoid unnecessary expenses. In addition, this trained employee who is appreciative of the fact that you thought of them instead of looking to hiring someone new to take on their job will, in turn, perform better and become more productive and efficient, improving your bottom line.

Furthermore, it will help you look into the future, by making your employees become promotable ones, who will be able to grow within the company and won’t have the need to go look for a new workplace to develop further in their career. This also forces you to plan ahead in order to determine which way your company is headed, so you can create the appropriate learning and development programme to help you achieve your goals.

5. Keeping your employees and your organisation up to date with the latest of your industry

According to Philip Seely, “a challenge many organisations face is convincing everyone that in order to remain competitive in today’s global marketplace, it is vital that your workforce maintains the best skills and know-how to safely produce the best products and services.” An organisation whose employees refuse to see the value of training and developing further in their area is one which, unfortunately, will perish in today’s business world. There is nothing, nowadays, worse than staying behind in regards of acquiring the best skills and adapting to new technologies when necessary, in order to maintain a competitive position in today’s market. By helping your employees to constantly learn what’s new, and develop their skills further, you will help keep your organisation up to date with the latest and at the top of your industry.

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