The most important asset of any company is its employees. Which is why, successful companies would always aim to promote a culture of learning within their organizations. Whether it is for skills development, leadership training, or meeting specific job requirements, employees that are part of a work culture of learning are more engaged, satisfied, and productive. In fact, a survey by prweb has shown that 58 % of Millennials and 52% of Gen Z believe that success in their careers would depend on upgrading their skills and knowledge.
Employee Development
Employee development is all about the upskilling of employees in any industry, which include various training programs and learning practices. Employees are given opportunities to learn specific skills and knowledge to improve their work performance.
However, employee development does not refer solely to enhancing an individual’s skill set for a specific job role. Instead, it refers to the continuous learning that cultivates professionals and helps them advance their personal career paths. Which is why, employees often prefer to work with employers that provide training and development programs. In fact, according to a study conducted by Ceridian, 91% of high performing employees believes that it is important for an organization to provide training and development opportunities.
5 Key Ways Employee Development Improves Employee Experiences
1.Improves Employees’ Abilities
The most noticeable benefit of employee training and development is that it improves the skills, efficiency, and knowledge of employees. This increase in abilities would lead to an increase in the employee’s overall work productivity.
Employee development programs are vital for increasing employee performance. In fact, according to research, 90% of employees surveyed believe that development programs enhanced their job performance.
Employee development and training also allows workers to fix or overcome their current weaknesses. Every employee from ground-level staff to supervisors would have room for improvement, so if they lack a certain skill or have a gap in their current knowledge then they can enrol into a developmental program so that they can plug their weaknesses.
2.Fosters Employee Loyalty
The workplace and the roles within them are constantly evolving. As such, employee development has come to occupy such a prominent place in the minds of employees. Learning new skills, techniques, and knowledge is a great way for employees to feel that they have evolved within their job roles, and made progress in their careers.
Employee development increases employee loyalty, because investing in their professional growth would make employees feel that they are important to the organization. In fact, employees feel that training and development is vital in allowing them to maximize their work performance. According to ClearCompany, 74% of employees feel that a lack of employee development keeps them from reaching their full potential in the workplace. As such, organizations that fail to provide ample career development opportunities can lose out on hiring skilled workers to organizations that offer training and development.
3.Facilitates internal promotion
Additional training encourages employees to accept greater responsibility and learn new skills for higher positions and roles. The cultivation and development of talent from the lower ranks of the organization, so that they could be promoted to higher positions would create a workplace culture of continuous learning and improvement.
Employees gain new techniques, skills, and knowledge through professional development. Once they unlock the necessary skills, an employee can be promoted to higher roles in the organization. This incentive of a possible promotion would encourage employees to stay within the organization as they view this as an opportunity to advance their careers.
Employee development also promotes the longevity and stability of an organization’s work culture. As employees are trained through various developmental programs, they become more capable of handling new responsibilities. This advancement of talent from within can save organizations substantial amounts of cash by promoting someone who is already familiar with the company’s policies and work culture, and by limiting the cost of finding and training another person for the job.
4.Increased Employee Engagement
One vital factor that can promote engagement is employee training and development. When employees have the opportunity for upskilling to help them in their career progression, they become more active and willing to give 100% effort in the day-to-day operations of the organization. Employees would have an increased feeling of optimism about their ability to succeed, and that optimism would in turn improve their engagement with the company. Fully engaged employees feel a keen sense of responsibility and resolve and they become more focused on their work. This would lead to the overall increase in their performance and productivity.
Workplace idleness can create feelings of dissatisfaction and form negative working habits. Which is why regular training initiatives that keep employees engaged, would mean that they are more focused and alert at work, are more reliable, and more willing to go above accomplishing just the bare minimum for their job roles.
5.Boosts Employee Job Satisfaction
Employee job satisfaction is a critical component to consider for any successful business. Training boosts employee job satisfaction through opportunities for personal growth. Employees want to work for organizations that value their skills, effort, and time. As such, enhancing employee morale is a vital step to any organization’s road to success. Employee development would make employees feel valued and appreciated within the organization.
Additionally, when employees gain the training and development that they need, they will feel the positive impact of the training on their work. This would foster a sense of ownership and responsibility with their job roles and the success of the organization. Empowering employees through developmental opportunities would improve their overall job satisfaction.
Employees that know they are valued enough by their company to invest in them, would gain an increase in their job satisfaction. When employees are satisfied with their work, they show it through improved efficiency and output. Afterall, a happy employee is a productive employee.
