If your organisation invests in training for its employees, you can potentially use this as a tool to attract and retain talented staff.
When professionals look for organisations to join, they are interested in more than simply the salary on offer: They are eager to know they can grow their career with the employer, developing new skills and gaining additional experience on the job.
Where companies make a concerted effort to train employees, and develop their knowledge, understanding and practical capabilities, professionals have every opportunity to boost their CV. This can help them advance their careers in the future, whether internally or externally.
Professionals understand the value of learning and development. They realise that if they don't undertake training - to learn new skills and refresh the knowledge they already have - their skills will quickly become obsolete.
Then they will find themselves at a disadvantage compared to other candidates when it comes to progressing their career.
As such, talented individuals want to work for organisations who offer regular, structured training as an employee benefit.
High-calibre people will be interested to know about the development opportunities available to them should they join the company.
If there is little in place, in terms of organised training, this may dissuade professionals from accepting a job offer. If they have other options, they may choose to go and work for somebody else instead.
The same applies with existing employees. If you have high-calibre, valuable employees, it's important to support their development. If they feel they are no longer improving their skills set and CV, they may be inclined to start looking for new job opportunities.
Employees may get a new job, meaning you have to replace them. This can take a significant amount of time and cost your organisation money, during both the recruitment and onboarding processes.
You want to keep your best people onboard, as they are the ones who offer the greatest return on investment. You might not be able to offer them huge salary increases, but you may be able to secure their engagement by making every effort to offer the training they need.
If valuable staff members feel that you, as the employer, are supporting their development, they may stay for longer than would otherwise be possible. And during this time, they will continue to add value to your business.
It's important to prepare training sessions properly, ensure they are informative and engaging, and that they are conducted in suitable environments.
To succeed as an attraction and retention tool, they need to offer tangible value to the people involved.
