5 Simple Ways to Invest in Employee Development Leave a comment

You Don’t Build A Business
– You Build People –
And Then People Build The Business
~ Zig Ziglar

When we invest in ourselves and our people, we get back more than we could ever expect. Every dollar invested in employee development has a return between 20% and 100% higher than its cost. Now, this sounds great, but what exactly are you investing in? What are the benefits? And how can you go about doing it?

Although there are plenty of articles on this subject, not much focus is put on what you should be investing in. And I think that’s because it takes a lot of effort to come up with different strategies.

What is employee development?

Employee development is a topic that is often not given the importance it deserves. While business leaders might dream of being a future star player in their market, employee development usually takes a backseat to day-to-day tasks like managing projects and driving revenue targets. As a leader, this is the time to be visionary – you must start laying the foundation for success now, no matter how big or small your company is. We tend to focus more on our growth plans than those of our team members. Employees react to your initiatives and initiatives by themselves and their peers by changing their mindsets and opening themselves up to new, untested opportunities. Even if they do not change their perspectives on their own accord, we can always help them grow.

Employee development needs to be a continuous process, not a one-off training event. An organisation is in a constant state of flux, with its people being either the reason for its success or failure. Then why don’t more organisations invest in employee development? The answer lies in many business owners’ misconceptions about what they think this type of development entails.

In almost all cases, the success of a company is directly correlated to the success of its employees. While a business owner can contribute much to a company’s success, the real growth and development come from the workers themselves.

Employee Development Programs should-

• Centre around short and long-term goals
• Motivate and encourage employees
• Be available to all employees
• Cater to the needs and interests of your employees at different levels and tenure

Investing in employee development is a crucial part of any business, and it’s one of the most important things you’ll ever do as an employer. Investing in your employees is all about helping them reach their full potential and enabling them to succeed in your company.

Why must you invest in Employee Development Programs?

Studies suggest employee development positively impacts an organisation’s bottom line. From a company’s perspective, leaders know investing in their employees ensures a bright future for the company as a whole.

Employee development is becoming more of a priority for companies, especially since human capital tends to be one of the most valuable assets a company has. A result of an investment in employee development is that the employees have an excellent opportunity to improve their skills and expertise through learning new things on the job. It will directly impact an employee’s performance, which would lead to increasing your business’s profitability.

Here are 5 simple ways to invest in employee development.

#1. Set the learning goals

As a business owner or a hirer, our employee development and training investments mean more than we might think. These investments can be minimal, and they can lead to some truly amazing things. Setting learning goals can radically impact your employee’s career growth. And they don’t only work for grown-up employees, either.

Every employee has the capacity to grow their skills with the proper training and feedback. The gist of it is that it takes time and money to create great learning opportunities. If you don’t take this initiative, your best employees may not get the development they need.

#2. Think beyond practical

Employee development is essential for all businesses, but it is often neglected in the workplace. Often the positions of HR or Talent Management are understaffed or non-existent. Yet employee development is a strategic business goal that needs to be planned for and aligned with your business goals. It’s been shown to boost retention rates, staff satisfaction and productivity. It also helps staff to grow in their roles and find new opportunities within the business. It can also increase productivity by helping free up critical employees to focus on projects that drive the business forward.

Learning programs have only focused on career development/performance improvement/skills updating, which are essential but not enough. For each employee, there is always room for improvement in skill levels and even educational background.

#3. Provide new learning experiences

You have a great employee. When tasked, they do work that is high-quality and satisfies customers. They also often come up with ideas to make things even better. In many ways, they are your ideal employee, but what’s stopping them from hitting the next level? Maybe it’s time for a learning opportunity. One of the best ways to develop your employees is allowing them to learn and develop themselves in new (to them) areas.

You shouldn’t rely solely on online courses and classroom settings when it comes to developing your employees. We should strive to provide our team with effective learning opportunities to get up to the level quickly. You can offer the best learning materials adequate for a specific field of business. There are plenty of resources available, so check out VET Resources catalogue and find a kit that suits your needs in the best possible way.

#4. Take an active interest in the process

Developing your employees is the best way to prepare your business for the future. As an employer, you must take an active interest in the process of employee development. By staying involved in your employees’ onboarding and ongoing training, you will increase their skills so they can remain engaged in their work and flourish within your company. The business world is competitive, and you must keep up with your company’s needs and those of its employees.

It’s about investing in your employees and ensuring they have the knowledge and skills to move your business forward. Providing them with professional development opportunities pays off.

#5. Train your managers appropriately

When your company grows, it can be a challenge to maintain a learning culture. As an owner, you may not be able to supervise all the employees, which is essential for keeping the environment positive when it comes to learning. This is precisely where you should draw the line and let your management take care of those tasks.

A manager’s role is an important one when it comes to the success of a company. If you have a solid management team in place, it can significantly impact your bottom line. To be a successful manager, you need to know how to manage and motivate different types of employees.

The most valuable asset of any business may well be its people – and ensuring they have the capacity and skills to carry out their jobs effectively is a crucial aspect of running a healthy and profitable organisation.

Suggested Read: How to Design and Run an Employee Wellness Program?