5 Reasons to Encourage
Employee Development

Employee development is more important than you might think. Many employers don’t give this area much thought beyond offering initial training when they first hire someone. After all, it is not unreasonable to expect an employee to have most, if not all, of the skills you require when you make them a job offer. However, this is rather a very short sighted attitude to take. So, if you have yet to recognize the advantages of encouraging your employees to undertake continuous professional development, here are a few reasons why you should:

1) Boost Morale

Stagnating in the same position for years is not good for anyone. We all get bored if we are doing the same thing, day in and day out. It makes us feel undervalued and stuck in a rut, and we are likely to start looking for a more challenging position. Offering employees the opportunity to undertake training is good for morale. It shows them that you value their input and are willing to invest in their future. They are more likely to work harder if they feel valued, so everyone wins.

2) Improve Productivity

Employees with the right skills for the position they are in are more productive. For example, if you let a junior employee take responsibility for your network architecture, but they don’t have the right skills or previous experience, it will likely end up in a disaster. However, if you send them on an appropriate training course from a company like commsupportnetworks.co.uk, they will gain the requisite skills and be much more productive as a result.

3) Improve Skills

Extra training means extra skills. It’s a no brainer really. However, a common fear among smaller employers is that the money they spend on training their staff will be wasted if the person then leaves for a more lucrative position elsewhere. Unfortunately, there isn’t very much you can do to prevent this from happening, with that being said though, taking a handful of workplace skills examples and focusing on these areas with your staff one at a time can be a great way to improve team cohesiveness. Making your employees feel like part of a tight knit team can improve morale and reduce staff turnover, which means your training efforts will pay off in the long run.

4) Make Your Business More Competitive

It is difficult to compete in the global marketplace if your employees are not up to speed with the latest developments. This is especially true if you operate in a technology related field where it is hard to keep up with the almost continual technological developments. In this instance regular training is essential. Anything less means your brighter staff will move on and your business will fall behind its competitors.

5) Build An Employee Up For Promotion

Do you have a bright employee earmarked for promotion, but they’re not quite ready? If so, a bit of extra training could be all they need to hit the bar. It is often a lack of ‘soft skills’, such as the ability to give a good presentation, that holds a person back. So build your employee up and create the right learning environment. It’s good for them and even better for you.

Employee development is very important, so if a member of your team asks you to pay for extra training, as long as it’s relevant to your business, make sure you give their request careful consideration.

Now that a large percentage of employees are working remotely, you’ll need to find new ways to communicate and further develop their professional skills. You might consider a variety of webinar platforms to achieve that goal.