Today’s business and marketplace climate tumultuous. Whether you're struggling to retain good employees, adjusting to a hybrid office environment, or dealing with increased competition, your company needs to overcome many challenges in order to achieve ongoing success. Comprehensive marketing plans, a loyal customer base, and products and services that meet the needs of your target market are, of course, essential for success. But none of those things matter as much as a strong, skilled, and knowledgeable workforce. That’s why there are many reasons you should invest in employee development.
As more employers realize the value of investing in employee development, they are also realizing that there are many benefits to doing so, both for the employees and for the company as a whole. Because employee development is more than just a corporate catchphrase. It’s an investment in the employee not only to build a strong, skilled workforce, but show your employees that you value them and their skills. Consider some of the top reasons why you should invest in employee development and see if your own training and development efforts could be improved.
Foster a More Productive and Confident Workforce
Perhaps one of the best reasons to invest in employee development is that it creates happier workers. Happy employees are more productive, and they are also willing to stay with a company rather than look for employment elsewhere. On the other hand, a recent poll reveals that less than 40% of employees feel confident enough about their skills to think that they will perform their job responsibilities successfully. And while many employees lack confidence, they also place a lot of the blame on a lack of leadership.
Put simply, a workforce that lacks confidence and isn’t properly trained isn’t likely to help the company succeed. To counter that, employers should invest in training and employee development because it not only gives employees more skills, knowledge, and confidence, but also shows that they care about their own long-term success.
As you consider the reasons you should invest in employee development, it might also help to consider using video content for your programs and training. Video is ideally suited for employee development for a number of reasons, including helping to keep training costs down, better engagement, increased retention of information, and accessibility. And, when you combine video with a business-oriented hosting and management platform such as Viostream, you also benefit from amazing analytics and advanced security features. To find out more, start your free trial today.
Attract Excellent Job Candidates
Contrary to the beliefs of many employers, job seekers aren’t just looking for a large, steady paycheck. They also want to work for a company where they feel valued and where they can improve their own knowledge and skill set. That’s another great reason why you should invest in employee development -- because you’ll attract employees that are motivated achievers, helping you to develop a strong workforce.
Improve Employee Performance
While the returns on employee development may not always be seen for a while, the long-term benefits are another reason why you should invest in employee development. As employees learn more advanced skills and improve their efficiency, their overall job performance will also improve significantly over time. This can help boost your bottom line and also shed light on which employees aren’t performing as well as they should or could be.
Once you identify weaker-performing employees, you should provide them with specific programs that can help them improve rather than let them go. A study by Employee Benefits News states that the average cost of losing an employee is 33% of their annual salary. Additionally, LinkedIn’s Workforce Learning Report states that over 90% of employees stay at a company longer if the company is invested in their careers. Investing in your employees now could prepare them to be company leaders in the future.
Increase Employee Engagement
Investing in employee development is a worthwhile endeavor, but to ensure your plan is effective you’ve also got to ensure that employees are engaged with whatever programs and training you provide. Employee engagement is critical to a cohesive, productive workforce. Employees that are actively engaged are more likely to perform better and become more content in the workplace, and more focused on a good performance.
As stated earlier, one of the reasons you should invest in employee development through the use of video content is that video is proven to keep employees more engaged than any other type of content. A study by Forrester shows that employees are more engaged when watching a video by up to 75%, compared to reading emails or web articles. Engaged employees also lead to increased employee retention.
Keep Your Business Competitive
An often overlooked but no less important reason to invest in employee development is to remain competitive. There are many challenges in today’s marketplace, and increased competition is among the top. An organization that invests in its employees is one that is better prepared to face and adapt to many changes, as well as perform better than the competition.
The Best Way to Invest in Employee Development
The reasons you should invest in employee development have not changed much over the years. However, the ways in which you can provide that training certainly have. Advanced technology enables companies to put together a complete video library of programs and content that employees can utilize at any time to advance and hone their skillsets. It’s also the perfect delivery system for hybrid offices and remote workers, saving companies the trouble and expense of trying to get everyone together for a presentation.
Viostream is an easy-to-use cloud-based app that enables you to foster a culture of continual learning to develop high-performing teams. A dashboard interface offers a multitude of features such as amazing analytics, secured video, dedicated video portals, and the ability to integrate with your LMS. Try a free trial of Viostream today and take your workforce to the next level.
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