Many companies struggle to justify continuing education for their employees, causing them not to offer the opportunity. As a line item, it doesn’t appear to positively impact revenue, leading many businesses to underestimate the value of this kind of training. That can be a severe mistake.
Continuing employee education is incredibly beneficial, both to the workers and the company. If you are wondering why you should offer this perk, here’s what you need to know.
Productivity and Efficiency Boosts
With a continuing education program, you create an opportunity. By making the right training accessible, you can close skill gaps and enhance the capabilities of any team. As staff members become more adept at handling their work, they typically finish tasks faster, create better quality outputs, or both. Not only does productivity rise, but so does overall efficiency.
Employee Retention Increases
Most professionals have goals beyond their current role. They want to keep growing and learning, as well as advancing up the ladder. Development is one of their core priorities. If you don’t offer opportunities to learn, then your best and brightest will start looking for positions elsewhere.
When you provide access to continuing employee education, you aren’t just making sure your team has a chance to enhance their capabilities. You also demonstrate that the company is willing to invest in them and their desire to achieve their goals. This can make the work more meaningful and rewarding while also boosting the company’s culture.
Essentially, you are taking active steps that set employees up for long-term success, and that’s something your team will appreciate. As a result, top talent is more likely to remain on staff, leading to a reduction in turnover.
Cross-Training for Coverage
Many workplaces struggle when key employees are unexpectedly absent. If you don’t have a backup person for specific responsibilities, work grinds to a halt if one person doesn’t make it.
By offering continuing education, you can cross-train employees, effectively creating your coverage. That way, if a team member is unexpectedly absent, another worker can step in and handle any duties they’d usually manage.
Cost Reductions
Investing in employee training can lead to cost reductions. For example, when your team is highly skilled, they typically make fewer mistakes. The need to redo work diminishes greatly, creating a cost-benefit.
Similarly, a more capable team can handle more than one that isn’t as adept. You can get more done without bringing in additional workers, creating an opportunity to reduce your personnel-related costs.
When turnover improves, you can also spend less on recruitment and hiring. Plus, you don’t suffer productivity losses associated with being short-handed, even creating a net gain.
Ultimately, continuing employee education is a smart perk to offer. If you’d like to learn more about how it can benefit your company and team, the staff at The Advance Group can help. Contact us today and see how our workforce development expertise can benefit you.
