If you're not investing in employee training, then you're not investing in the future of your company. There are many benefits of training your employees, but if you're not allocating resources to empower your employees with the skills required to boost productivity, then you're greatly missing out.
Think you can’t afford it or it’s a waste of money? Appropriate and proven training is used by almost all companies large and small to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their employees. Companies invested over $70 billion dollars in employee training in 2016 according to HRDrive. Large firms invested an average of $379 per employee while mall firms invested $1,052. They do it because it helps them compete better and grow faster.
[quotes]Investing in appropriate and effective training results in more deals, enthusiastic customers, and higher sales and profits to you.[/quotes]
Training doesn’t have to break the bank. For example, you can have your experienced employees host workshops. Or you can invest in online courses that offer group rates for companies.
Do you want your business to be prepared to meet tomorrow's challenges? Here are 10 compelling reasons why your company should invest in a great employee training plan.
1. It Boosts Employee Engagement
What business doesn't want an engaged workforce? Engaged workers are productive workers. And productive workers equal more revenue for your company.
Now, while there are multiple ways you can engage your audience, you don't want to overlook the benefits of training programs. [quotesright]For one, workers feel more confident when they have the skills to do their job. [/quotesright]
This is especially true if there are promotions waiting for them down the line. It's common for employees to get bored with their mundane tasks. And by training them, it'll help spice things up and give them a challenge to pursue.
2. It's Cheaper to Keep Them
You can't deny the fact that employees today are quick to leave a company if a better opportunity comes along. [quotes]Employee loyalty is just as important as customer loyalty.[/quotes] The cost of finding, interviewing, and onboarding a new employee is a lot more than training existing ones.
This is especially true if your hiring process involves paying a headhunter and job sites to find the right talent.
And if you reward your employees for completing training, then they're more likely to stick around. For example, you can offer raises and bonuses for reaching milestones. Or you can open the door to higher-level positions once they're trained and prove themselves.
Investing in training is cheaper because you can assign your current managers to do the training. [quotes]There is a big “but” here.[/quotes] Your managers may not be good trainers or understand how to not just teach but also burn in the new knowledge so it’s habit.
Not surprisingly, there is help available to pick the best managers to do training and teach them how to mentor effectively.
Always keep in mind that training existing employees will cost less than hiring someone who's already experienced. [quotes]The salary requirements from these applicants will be much higher. [/quotes]
Promoting and filling positions from within is always the way to go – they already know your business and they're more likely to stay loyal to your company.
3. Attract and Retain More Employees
When you have loyal employees, it saves your business money. You can retain and even attract top talent if you offer ongoing training.
[quotesright]But it's not just about attracting employees, it's about keeping them. [/quotesright] A lot of businesses suffer from high churn rates in the workplace and it’s especially true with IT employees and others who are in high demand.
There are several reasons why employee training is essential. For instance, it acts as a benefit for hourly employees. These workers don't normally receive the same benefits and perks as salaried workers.
By adding training to their hiring package, it'll make them more eager to work for you. Plus, when employees know they can work their way up the ladder, they're more likely to stay with you for the long term.
[quotes]When you have a happy workplace, the news spreads.[/quotes] Your employees turned brand advocates are boosting your company's reputation. And this will, in turn, portray your brand as a top-place-to-work type of company.
A great reputation brings great people to your company. Not only will your work culture appeal to applicants and current employees, but it'll also attract prospects. Brands and consumers like to do business with companies that are well-loved by their employees.
4. It Helps You to Prepare for the Future
To build training programs for your employees, you first have to look at the future of your business. What does it need to propel forward in a profitable and sustainable way?
Once you have these answers, you can better understand what you need from your workforce. For example, if you need more or better leadership for your organization, then you can train key employees for the jobs.
[quotes]Sometimes, it’s fix the “now.”[/quotes] When your sales are stagnant and your competition is growing or employees keep making the same mistakes and your managers can’t fix it, a different training program focus is required.
It's also essential to look at what you and your customers may need. For instance, having a larger sales team to handle a growing number of leads coming through your funnel or a beefed up and more efficient customer service department may be required.
[quotes]Maybe, there's an expected industry change coming. [/quotes] Well, you're going to have to train your employees about the ins and outs of the change so they're equipped to handle new situations, demands, and workloads.
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Setting Up Employee Training
Within Your Organization
Sometimes, even the C-level employees need training. Ongoing employee training is good for all levels in the workplace.
Where do business owners turn to for help? This is where business coaches and trainers come into play. We offer affordable, proven, and tailored coaching and training services you can use to set and achieve your business goals.
We will build strategies that'll boost employee productivity and deliver custom tailored training programs for your employees.
Get in touch with us today to see how we can help you realize your business potential easier and faster. USA: 877.433.6225 feedback@focalpointcoaching.com
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5. Develop Your Future Successors
Eventually, all the C-level employees will retire and make room for successors. And if you care about the future of your business and its ability to last for generations, then it's important to begin finding and prepping your successors early on.
[quotes]You don't want to be on your CEO deathbed to start grooming a successor.[/quotes] Many companies find their successor years in advance. This provides you with ample time to really determine the best person for the job and properly train them.
And to be on the safe side, you should have several candidates so you're not putting all your eggs in one basket. [quotesright]Begin training these employees to work their way up the ladder so they can one day take your seat or replace sudden departures of key people. [/quotesright]
By developing great managers who can help run your business early on, you’ll find you can start taking more time off, have a business profile that is attractive to potential buyers should you decide to sell and retire, as well as minimize the impact of losing a key employee.
6. Increase Your Business Revenue
We mentioned earlier the correlation between employee training and increased productivity. When your workers are producing more, then it's going to reflect positively on your revenue.
With the proper training, your employees will have the skills they need to better perform their tasks. This can be improving the work they already do or broadening the scope of their positions so they're more aligned with other departments.
For example, your marketing department can get courses in sales enablement to help them better understand how to generate leads that close. Likewise, sales training is well established as a way to close more business.
7. Stay Up-to-Date with Technology Trends
Keeping up with the latest technologies can be hard when your head is in the (business) clouds. But you can't ignore these advancements and how they will affect your industry and company.
This may involve implementing new software and tools, but to do this successfully, you need to train the employees who will be using them.
[quotes]Hackers are always finding new ways to break into your systems.[/quotes] That’s why it’s essential to stay updated with your technology and invest in keeping your IT staff so they are trained on the latest networking and security.
Securing your company from ransomware, hackers, and security breaches is a great reason to invest in training, as prevention is far less expensive than recovery from a hack.
8. Maintain Your Competitive Edge
Between updating your technologies, systems, and employee skills, you can easily keep an edge over your competition.
Advancing your employees' knowledge, skills, and experience will ensure you always have the staff to be a strong competitor and able to take advantage of opportunities.
For instance, online marketing is a big deal, which means you need talent that can handle your online presence. Having a team on hand that manages your social media profiles to cover branding and damage control is key.
9. Find Industry Gaps and Fill Them
[quotesright]Your business should be the go-to company for your customers. [/quotesright] And one way to ensure this is to continuously look for gaps in your industry you can fill.
For instance, if you find a lot of the companies in your industry aren't using live messaging, yet your customers are choosing brands that do, then this is a gap you can fill.
You can train your employees to chat online with people to work them through your sales funnel, moving prospects to qualified leads, and eventually to customers. If you can continue filling these gaps, it'll push you far ahead of all your competition and make your brand stand out to prospects.
10. Turn Employees into Brand Advocates
The more you can train employees about your business operations, the more they'll understand them. And the more they understand, the easier it will be for them to explain your business to others – including prospects.
[quotes]Imagine having an entire workforce that's aligned with your mission, voice, and tone.[/quotes] Combine this with a great social media policy and you could build yourself a team of brand advocates that actively promote your business wherever they go – online and off.