The Value of Training

Not only does training, and the potential it creates for internal promotion, enhance self-worth, it also allows employees to see ahead, to plan a career path in terms of their own personal growth, crucially, within the company they have joined.

According to an IBM Survey conducted by Kenexa, top performing companies not only recognize the importance of their people but also the need to provide the right skills to enable their people to perform. 71% of CEOs cited human capital, ahead of products, customer relationships and brands as the leading source of sustained economic value, “People Skills” ranked in the top 4 of external forces that impact a business. The survey went on to indicate that 84% of employees in the best performing companies are receiving the training they need compared with only 16% in the worst performing companies.

As they say, the numbers don’t lie.

Today’s economy dictates that business needs to do everything possible to drive performance; people and skills are a strategic part of this performance. Staff who have been trained correctly and given the skills necessary to complete the task safely and efficiently, are known to be more content and job enjoyment, and are satisfied in their roles. Training builds self-esteem, self-worth, and a sense of belonging. They feel that the business values them and is willing to invest in their future.

An emerging problem, possibly driven by economic needs, or simply by changes in worker attitudes is the employee “round-about”. Employees who think the grass is greener elsewhere, or worse, other companies poaching staff. Good companies invest heavily in staff training, often sinking 10’s of thousands of dollars into employees to develop the skills required. Obviously, this training benefits the company paying for the training, in the form of having skilled staff, but it also benefits the employee because they have been transformed into a well-trained, highly employable person.

BUT WAIT. There is a simple solution. Make a simple amendment to your staff employment contract to read something like:

We pay for and provide you with all available training to ensure that your skills are developed to a very high standard, however if you choose to leave our employ within 6 months of any training provided, we reserve the right to recoup any training cost expended during this period.

Make the above point known to the new employee, and perhaps even have them initial the paragraph and as acknowledgement of their understanding. Problem solved.

The return on investment makes training worthwhile for all business’s big or small. When choosing RTO’s to meet your training needs please don’t just look at the price, proper training isn’t cheap, nor should it be. If all you want is a “piece of paper” then go “bargain hunting”, but if you want training that delivers an outcome that up-skills you team, do your due diligence – choose on reputation and quality outcomes.