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Statistics show that companies with employee development programs have better retention rates. Despite this, only 38% of HR managers believe they are doing a good job, leaving 62% looking for ways to improve their company’s employee development program.
Employee Development Program: Why is it Important?
Employee development is when you support employees to pursue learning opportunities, as it provides many benefits for the company, as well as the employees themselves. Below are a few ways programs like these are great for employers :
Increase in Profit
According to a 2018 Association for Talent Development study, companies with a comprehensive employee development program gain 218% more income per employee. It is like paying your employee $100 and getting $218 profit in return!
Improvement in Productivity
The reason companies with comprehensive staff development programs enjoy an increase in profit is because of productivity improvement. Training and skills upgrades equip people to do their jobs better. This can lead to efficiency and better output.
Better Employee Retention
As mentioned earlier, companies that invest in professional development have a better employee retention rate. In fact, 7 out of 10 employees will choose to stay at their job if they are given work-related training. That’s because skills upgrade allows these people to reach their full potential.
More Engaged Employees
Employee development fosters commitment and loyalty amongst workers. While employee engagement does not necessarily mean satisfaction or happiness, an engaged employee is more productive and much more likely to care about their job and the company.
6 Tips to Improve Your Company’s Employee Development Program
Having a comprehensive personal development plan for your employees can benefit your company. That said, we have listed six tactics that can help you improve your existing program.
Make Learning Part of Your Onboarding Process
If you want to foster an attitude of learning among your employees, ensure that it is part of their journey from day one. This means including employee development in your onboarding process. These are three things you must do to make it happen:
- Provide online learning resources
- Make these learning resources accessible in one platform
- Assign relevant learning content
Let Managers Lead by Example
Aside from incorporating employee development into the onboarding process, it is also ideal to make your managers embrace the habit of learning. Doing so allows them to lead by example, and this habit can trickle down to their team. If you want to improve your company’s employee development program, we suggest that you ask your managers for input. Ask what they are most worried about when leading a team and what things they want to learn. From there, you can map a personal development plan that you can monitor. Encourage managers to make constant learning a part of their management strategy. This includes sharing their learning insights with their teams and assigning relevant resource materials throughout the year, not only in the first couple weeks.
Mobilize Learning from the Top
The best way to build a thriving learning culture in your company is to get the executives involved. After all, an employee development program will not materialize without their approval. This can be an excellent opportunity for them to lead by example. Doing so can encourage managers to prioritize learning as part of enhancing their teams’ performance. However, you must do the following to get buy-in from your executives.
- Showcase how employee development can impact the company’s bottom line. As executives, they will be more than interested to know whether a program can provide ROI.
- Present the data. This is an excellent way to prove that staff development can benefit the company.
- Start small. You can gain support from executives, but it will be for nothing if you do not have the resources. It would be ideal to do some research about how to choose a superior training system and conduct demos before launching head-first into a new program.
Shift Learning From Requirement to Opportunity
There is a stigma that performance is a top-down process. To shift that belief, we suggest making learning an opportunity instead of a requirement. If an employee wants to be promoted, incorporate employee development as a part of a performance review. For them to be qualified for the promotion, they can opt to take relevant training. Doing so makes the culture of learning employee-driven.
Show the Impact of Employee Development
Here’s the thing: Your executives and managers are more likely to promote a learning culture in your company if they have seen results. This is where pilot testing and an internal study can be helpful. You’ll need to collaborate with different teams to make this happen. You can survey and identify teams who would like to see internal improvement. Do their superiors believe that skills upgrades can help them perform better? If that’s the case, you have found a partner who gets the importance of employee development. Next is to identify and measure key performance indicators that matter. The key here is to consult with your pilot team. They will know the ins and outs of their internal process and can identify what metrics to measure, making the best use of your training data. From there, you can conduct your study and track the results. Highlight any early success you see. This includes employees who are showing performance improvement.
Turning Employees Into Learners
Having a thriving learning culture in your company does not happen overnight. That’s because it requires support from your executives, strategic engagement initiatives, and a suitable learning platform. Nonetheless, this should not impede your desire to improve your company’s employee development program. Remember: Empowered employees are beneficial for your company. If you’re looking for a training provider to help you set up a talent development program, reach out to Knowledge Anywhere or book a free consultation with an eLearning expert today!
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