Does your company invest in professional development for its employees? Have you thought about it? Maybe you should. Investing in the professional growth of your employees has many benefits that more than justify any associated costs. In this post we’ll look at the seven different reasons managers should make employee skill development a priority.
1. It’s Great for Morale
A study of employees in correctional institutions — a notoriously difficult environment to keep morale up in — concluded with the recommendation that employees be given access to more professional development, as a way to improve morale. Why? Because investing in your employees’ professional development shows that you care about them and their career path. It makes them feel competent, and empowered in their work, both in the day-to-day, and long term.
2. Leads to Less Turnover
When you show your employees that you care, and they feel great about doing their job, it leads to less turnover. Which means less money spent on vetting and training new hires, time lost to productivity, etc.
3. Creates Better, Smarter Workers
Any company is only as good as the people who work for it. So if your employees are never learning anything new, if they are never growing themselves, how can you expect your business to grow in any meaningful way?
4. Find Top Performers
Similarly, offering professional development helps you find out who your best employees are. They’ll be the ones that take their development seriously, that strive to motivate others, and who question the status quo when it’s not helping the business improve.
5. Stay on Top of New Tech and Trends
The tools for doing business are advancing faster than they ever have in history. It just isn’t realistic to assume that all of your employees are constantly staying on the cutting edge of your industry, especially if you have a veteran work force. Offering training for new technologies — even Microsoft Office has become much more complex in recent years — can lead to huge increases in productivity.
6. It Adds Inspiration and Creativity
When people are immersed in an activity at which they feel skilled, and empowered to succeed they can enter what in psychology is referred to as a flow state. In this state, workers feel “fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity.” Providing employees with training and resources won’t just lead them to being better at doing their job, they’ll be happier and more creative too!
7. Consistency
Having a well-trained team is important from an organizational perspective too. If everyone on your sales team, for instance, is trained with the same sales training, you can help ensure consistency and build guidelines and expectations that make it easier to perform and easier to manage.
It’s difficult to think of a downside to investing in the professional development of your employees. What manager wouldn’t jump at the chance to have employees that are highly skilled, organized, forward thinking, and who love to do their jobs? Just make sure to pick trainings that are relevant to your industry, and make sure your employees understand how your investment in their growth is a mutually beneficial arrangement.
