Why Investing in Employee Growth Can Supercharge Your Organization
During any high school or college commencement ceremony, one (or more) of the speakers will inevitably note that graduating is not the end of a process, but merely the end of a beginning. Learning is a life-long activity, they will insist. If this is a cliché, it’s because it’s true. Very true. Continuing education is essential to long-term success, especially in the business world where technologies, systems, and essential skillsets are advancing at an increasingly rapid pace. It’s all but assured that professionals who rely on the education and proficiencies they acquired in their youth are doomed to swift obsolescence.
Traditionally, it’s been up to the individual to manage their continuing education, professional or otherwise. If you want to advance in your career you must subscribe to trade publications, read relevant books, take night courses, attend professional seminars, join networking organizations, and perhaps even pursue a post-graduate degree, such as an MBA—as the thinking goes. The subjects you wish to study—and the financial burdens for doing so—are up to you.
After all, you are the primary beneficiary of this investment.
However, this traditional model of continuing business education has changed significantly over the past few decades. In recent years, more and more progressive businesses have proactively invested in their employees’ advanced education and training, finding that doing so delivers important benefits. The trend has grown to such a point that “A Culture of Learning” has become essential to many companies’ identities.
The Benefits of a Learning Culture
Why should a company invest in continuing education and training for their employees? The benefits are many, including:
Enhanced productivity. A raft of studies have found strong statistical links between continuing employee education and increased productivity. Which only makes sense. The more an employee knows, the more that employee can do—and do it better.
Heightened engagement. Along these same lines, workers who see opportunities for advancement through company-sponsored education and training tend to be more engaged, more creative, and more innovative. In fact, one recent study showed that people who work for companies that invest in employee development are 87 percent more likely to be happier on the job than people who work for companies that don’t offer such opportunities.
Increased loyalty. When businesses invest in their employees’ continuing education, the employees tend to feel valued and develop stronger bonds with their companies. (Again, this has been proven by numerous studies.) High retention rates tend to express themselves positively in company financials as the business can then spend less on recruiting and training new employees while still reaping the benefits of a time-tested workforce that very much knows its operations inside and out.
Attracting top talent. Companies that develop workers internally tend to be very attractive to high performers who are looking for an employer who will value their contributions and ambitions. Continuing education is such an important issue to many job-seekers that it should be discussed up front as part of any recruitment effort.
Increased Customer Satisfaction. Happy employees tend to create happy customers. Not only can ongoing customer service training have a real and direct impact on business/customer relations, but even continuing to educate those who create, produce, and market products and services behind the scenes can result in a more positive customer experience.
Developing Future Leaders. Promoting from within has innumerable benefits, including maintaining and strengthening strong company culture. And the best way to ensure you have people ready to ascend to positions of leadership when opportunities arise is to cultivate a bench of candidates through ongoing education and personal development.
The Argument Against Continuing Education
Among companies that have resisted the trend to finance continuing education and training efforts, the rationale tends to be the same: Doing so only equips employees with knowledge and skills they can use to get better, high-paying jobs elsewhere. Including with competitors. In some cases, this is probably true. There are some people for whom the grass is always greener elsewhere. But as the studies cited above show, in most cases, the investment pays off. Handily. Employees in whom the company invests feel valued and see meaningful opportunities for advancement right where they are. Finally, would you rather have employees in which you have not made any investment stay with your organization long term? Or have more productive, engaged employees add much more to your company profitability and culture because you did invest in them, no longer how long they stay?
Create a Culture of Learning
To stay competitive, your company should foster a culture of learning. This means offering professional training and personal development courses either on-site, off-site, or online, and encouraging employees at all levels to participate. Even so, it might mean subsidizing the cost of pursuing an MBA or other relevant degree and/or instituting executive training programs within your organization. Whatever the particulars of the program you do eventually institute, it’s important that you do so overtly and remain committed to its success. Help your people succeed and they will do the same for you!
Would you like to make employee learning part of your company’s culture in 2024? As leadership and compensation specialists with years of experience building and sustaining quality teams, we can help you and your organization design and launch a program that helps your people reach their true potential. Contact me at laura@conoverconsulting.com today to learn more.