Why Employee Training Is About The Long-Term

Employers, managers, and employees all ask themselves the same question: are training sessions really worth it? The answer is yes. Right after the sessions, training may not seem like it was valuable, but in the long run it will be worth it. Employee training is important and worth consideration, time, and investment.  Something that most employees do not understand is that it is not about showing immediate results. It is about continued growth – training that stays with the employees throughout their career. A recent survey found that 40% of employees who receive poor job training, leave their positions within the first year. The survey also found that the lack of skills, training and development was their main reason for leaving the company. Due to this number, the cost of turnover will increase meaning the company’s productivity will begin to decline. Gartner’s own analysis seems to echo these results: “IT leaders who favor training and retaining staff reported completing a greater proportion of IT projects on budget and time, as well as greater range of business success than their peers, according to Gartner’s 2013 CIO Agenda report, it’s annual survey of more than 2,000 CIOs. Along with reducing the cost of turnover, employees training is beneficial because helps your business run smoother. Beyond that it is an incentive to new employees, promotes job satisfaction, adds flexibility and efficiency, and it is a retaining tool by instilling commitment and loyalty. When looking at the big picture, employees will appreciate the company and their managers taking an interest in their skills and future. Training sessions also improve productivity. Employees who are knowledgeable and confident in what they are doing will be more productive. Continued growth is one of the main reasons companies organize training sessions for their employees. To encourage long term outcomes, you need to look at employee talent development. Talent development starts on day one. This is the time where you need to foster employee engagement and excitement by letting them know how they will be able to contribute to the company. It is important to inform your employees that these training sessions will add value to both the employees and the organization. Employees who receive training will gain more knowledge and skills which will increase their potential for the future. Following up with the skills learned during the training sessions. Performance reviews are a great way to not only challenge the employee but find out their strengths and weaknesses, specifically looking into job-person fit. From this, you will be able to gather information about each employee and tailor job responsibilities and possible promotions. Once the strengths and weaknesses are determined, setting challenging goals will keep employees engaged in their work. This will also contribute to employees seeking more training sessions on their own outside of the company. Learning and upgrading employees’ skills makes business sense. Training will benefit employees, managers, and the company indefinitely. Most effective training is looking at the big picture. Managers should focus on long-term goals and keeping continued learning and post-training support in mind. From post-training day one, it will become a growing process of learning. It may take time to see results from the investment of training sessions, but the long term gains will make a difference. For further information check out employee training plan template. Gartner Analysts are looking to the future for training success: “Virtual worlds with strong development tools (such as Second Life) can be used to replicate specific environments (such as a retail location or a street scene) in which trainees can interact with each other, the environment and their trainers via their avatars.”