With increased competition, accelerated change and more immediate demands from customers, you need a highly engaged team at the top of their game. By taking the time to develop your staff and carve out career pathways you build a stronger, smarter, more loyal organisation that is better equipped to handle the tasks, challenges and changes ahead.
Still not convinced that employee development is a worthwhile investment in your business right now? Here are four reasons developing your team can be your greatest advantage in a changing business environment.
1. You upskill and cross skill your organisation
Recruiting and replacing staff can be an expensive, time-consuming and risky exercise, so it makes far more sense to train and retain your existing staff members who know your business inside out and already have good relationships with your customers.
Upskilling and cross-skilling your team also gives you the ability to create cross-functional teams that can adapt to change more easily and move across your organisation to assist in whatever capacity is needed at the time, keeping your costs down and resources well utilised.
2. You boost productivity
When staff members have a purpose, feel valued and know there is room for career growth, productivity naturally increases.
Providing your employees with additional training, development and career coaching gives them greater clarity and confidence in their work which can equate to less time spent on tasks and less instruction, supervision and guidance needed from management. It can also improve the quality of their work giving you a greater return on their time investment.
3. You build culture
A happy workplace is a productive workplace. By developing your employees, you reduce stress and conflict and minimise absenteeism and mistakes. You also increase morale and empower your team to grow into their full potential.
When a staff member is happy in their work, they work harder, stay longer, are more motivated and are more accountable to the outcomes.
4. You increase loyalty and engagement
Research is continuing to show that employees who are given training, development and career coaching opportunities are, in most cases, more loyal to their employers.
By taking the time to help employees carve out their own career plan, you show them that you are interested in developing them and that you want them around for the long term.
Investing time and training can also appeal to a fundamental human compulsion we have – we want to help, repay or reward someone who has helped us.
To gain, retain and develop the best talent for your business, call us today on 1300 278 345.
