Investing in Training for Long Term Benefit

Investing in training delivers incredible returns for your business - directly and indirectly - and provides a myriad of long-term benefits.

Investing in people through training is a fantastic way to demonstrate your commitment to personal development, and it helps to cultivate a thriving company culture. A workforce that feels genuinely valued is so much more engaged, fulfilled, and productive.

Here are some of the most significant benefits to your business, of investing in training…

Employee engagement

As Investors in People point out: “Your people are your competitive advantage – but only when they’re engaged.” By committing to personal development through training you show employees they’re valued, which automatically boosts morale and motivation. Effective training gives employees a sense of purpose, which in turn promotes loyalty and commitment.

Productivity

And it’s well documented that valued employees are more productive. When you teach your people new skills, morale improves and they become more fulfilled, more motivated and more productive. They also gain a better understanding of their role within the business, and how they contribute to the bottom line. Once someone understands how their efforts impact the company, they feel a greater sense of belonging and maximise their output. The Harvard Business Review says this is a clearly measurable benefit, offering a 56 per cent increase in job performance over time.

Talent acquisition

As a potential employer, you’re so much more attractive to prospective employees if you can show you continuously invest in training. Today’s workforce wants more opportunities to learn and grow, and the most talented people tend to prefer working for businesses that will invest in them and help to advance their careers. According to LinkedIn’s 2021 Learning Report, 83% of Gen-Z workers wanted to learn how to do their job better, and 76% said ongoing learning was the key to a successful career.

Staff retention

Similarly, businesses that invest in their staff enjoy higher retention rates than those that don’t. A 2018 report from Work Institute found that nearly a third of employees who recently left a job cited lack of training opportunities as the main reason for their departure. And LinkedIn’s 2020 Global Talent Trends report found companies that were rated highly on employee training efforts saw 53% lower attrition than their competitors. As well as being a key performance indicator for business success, retention saves your business money. According to Forbes, the median cost of employee turnover is 21 per cent of their annual salary, for all positions. It makes much more business sense to build a talent pipeline by investing in your existing staff, and preparing them for higher responsibilities, than having to recruit from an unknown external pool.

Knowledge sharing

Training can also improve cohesion and collaboration within your workforce. Every time someone completes training, they have more to contribute by sharing their new knowledge with colleagues. This benefits everyone.

Self reliance

By upskilling your own staff, your business becomes far less dependent on external support, which increases your delivery speed, improves flexibility, and saves money long term. Becoming self-sufficient, with the ability, skills and expertise to successfully manage data in-house serves the business far more effectively and efficiently.

Training tips

It’s clear that investing in your people through training fosters a culture of ambition, creativity, and innovation - all essential for the growth of your business. Training increases employee engagement, empowerment, productivity and job satisfaction. It boosts knowledge sharing and collaboration, and increases talent acquisition and retention.

But it’s important to remember that training isn’t a one-and-done activity. Training and personal development should be woven into annual appraisals and reviews, with a separate training budget ring fenced so it doesn’t get cut.

And training delivers much more to your bottom line long term when it’s aligned with your business goals.

Virtual training or face to face?

Human interaction is critical for effective learning, but this interaction doesn't necessarily need to take place in person. Take a look at how our popular virtual training sessions work.

We recognise that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t fit every business so we offer:

• Virtual training

• Training at your offices

• Training at our dedicated centre in Wokingham, Berkshire.

Bespoke training

As well as running scheduled courses, we design, build and deliver bespoke training, tailored to clients who have more specific needs. Find out more.

If you have any questions about our training courses, or you’d like to discuss your requirements, please get in touch.