Three Ways Employee Training Can Improve Employee Retention
We all know how expensive employee turnover can be, but thinking about retention from an employee training perspective offers some interesting insights. Obviously, an employee’s decision to stay with a company long-term is based on many factors, and training support is just one of them. Having said that, it’s a lot harder for an employee to leave a company that has significantly invested in their professional development. Here are three reasons employee training is critical to retaining your staff:
Research by Glassdoor found that a strong employee onboarding approach can improve employee retention by 82%. You know that awesome new employee you hired three weeks ago? They applied for a handful of other jobs at the same time, and even though they’ve already accepted your offer, they’re still getting offers from those other opportunities. If their first few weeks in the job don’t live up to expectations, they’re out of there. Providing a strong new hire training program that integrates both job responsibilities and corporate culture will help them decide to stay with your company beyond the first few months. Bonus points if that new hire program provides some one-on-one time (as simple as a 15-minute coffee meeting, for example) with a senior executive.
Employees should be clear on how their career can progress with your company. Usually that means they need to continuously develop and expand their skill set. If you want your employees to stick around, you need to support them in getting those new skills so they can move up the corporate ladder. If you don’t, they’ll find a new ladder to climb somewhere else. It’s also (usually) a bit cheaper to develop your own internal staff than it is to go out of on the open market to find someone with the perfect skill set to meet your needs. In other words, you win twice if you can develop your internal staff by saving money and reducing turnover.
This is a harder thing to measure, but there’s a sense of pride when an employee feels that their employer truly cares about them and is willing to invest in them. When an employee is given the tools and knowledge they need to excel in their role, often through an employee training strategy, they feel like they are truly making a difference and contributing to your company’s success. They share this pride with their networks and encourage others to apply for jobs at your company. Not only have you retained your original amazing staff-member as a result of your investment in their success, but you’ve also received a handful of other great potential candidates based on this employee’s high praise and recommendation.
How can you leverage employee training to support retention? If you’d like to discuss in more detail, please reach out.
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We’re Erin and Peter, a husband and wife team passionate about making your organization successful through employee training and engagement. Join us as we explore new opportunities to improve your workplace.