5th March 2018
What are the benefits of employee development?
Aimee Radcliffe
This may seem like an odd question – surely the benefits of employee development are plain to see? More highly skilled staff help companies to perform better and more productively, improving the bottom line as a result. But there’s more to employee development than just a company’s accounts.
What you don’t see in a company’s accounts are things like how the company is running, how satisfied its employees are, how effectively the workforce is being used and how often it is recruiting. All of these things and more affect the bottom line, of course, but that can to some extent be seen as a positive symptom of a well-run businesses.
Recruitment & Retention
All other things being equal, companies with a culture of training and developing their staff attract more and better talent than those that don’t. This is primarily because applicants know that such companies will invest in upskilling them to move up through the ranks, but also because it hints at a forward-thinking approach more broadly across an organisation. Employees may ultimately leave to use their new skills elsewhere, of course, but this is also less common at organisations that train and develop their employees, as employees typically feel more valued and engaged.
Rounded Employees
Training can also be used to develop more rounded employees, rather than employees who remain very specialised in a single area. This helps organisations run more smoothly by allowing employees to pick up work for colleagues when required and because employees have a better understanding of what each other do on a day to day basis.
Risk Management
It should go without saying that better trained employees are able to carry out their work to a better standard and more safely, insulating companies to a greater extent against individual mistakes or accidents. In addition, though, it means that companies can quickly and easily fill a skills-gap in the event that an employee leaves, is on holiday or is off work sick.
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