From buying message chairs and nap pods to creating gaming spaces and massage therapy rooms, companies are inventing more new ways to make their employees happier.
All these innovations have become true game changers and turned the image of a typical workplace into something unconventional (in a good way).
But are all these implementations long-lasting?
What happens when their positive effect wears off?
Not a single employer can be safe thinking that providing their employees with some opportunities for leisure at a workplace is enough to keep them satisfied. At the end of the day, it’s career fulfillment, opportunities for professional growth and support of personal growth are those aspects that add up to employee satisfaction.
Many employers try to make the workplace as fun as possible understanding that Millennials now comprise the biggest percentage of their staff. It’s true that Millennials now are the largest generation in the U.S. labor force. According to the Pew Research Center, more than one-in-three American labor force participants (around 35%) are Millennials [1]:
It is common knowledge that Millennials are looking for a lot of things when it comes to employment, including the opportunities to have some fun at work and build strong relationships with other employees. But they are also very motivated by the opportunity to learn and improve the skills needed for their job.
According to the recent Gallup report, 59% of Millennials consider corporate training one of the most crucial “pro” factors, when applying for a job [2]. Thus, providing them with gaming consoles and comfy chairs is not enough. Rather, giving them an opportunity to learn will be a true game changer that will benefit your company in the long run.
But making your Millennial employees more loyal is not the only reason why developing a corporate learning program is necessary for your business. There’s definitely more to it.
So, let’s discover more reasons why your business can benefit from corporate training.
- Improved Performance Levels
Regular employee training as a part of a corporate learning program benefits overall employee performance. An employee that gets an opportunity to regularly attend different programs is more aware if different methodologies and practices that help them perform their job better.
Corporate training contributes to bridging the gap between the current skill level and the level, necessary for successful performance. Moreover, regular training sessions provide employees with an additional source of motivation to bring their new knowledge to practice, bringing new innovative methodologies into the workflow.
- Higher Employee Retention
It was already mentioned above that developing a corporate learning program can contribute to your millennial staff becoming more loyal. However, it is applicable to all generations that have entered the labor force.
According to a recent LinkedIn report, 93% of employees would have stayed in a company if their companies provided them with opportunities to improve their skills for professional purposes. Moreover, the same source claims that 68% of employees prefer to learn at work [3]. This supports the fact that employees are in utter need to regularly work on improving the skills, necessary for their jobs, and prefer doing it without leaving their workplace.
It is not fair to say that only Millennials are the generation that is in the constant need of improving work-related skills. With the rapid development of technology, baby boomers need regular opportunities to acquire new technology-related skills in order to perform the job more effectively. So, by developing a corporate learning program, you do not only retain your employees, you give them a chance to perform better.
- Properly Addressed Employee Weaknesses
Talking about some generations of employees lacking proper knowledge for performing their job, it is appropriate to talk about how providing them with learning programs can properly address their weaknesses and lack of skills.
Many employees that get hired today, are often presented with tons of requirements, giving them an impression that they should perfectly know what they will do without giving them a benefit of the doubt or an opportunity to learn. This results in them being not interested in getting hired and a company losing a potential employee that is eager to learn and improve.
Every company has employees that lack some knowledge at some point. The appropriate way to address it is to provide them with a corporate learning program that will help them bridge the possible gaps. It is especially true for companies, where employees largely rely on each other in order to do their job.
- Improved Workplace Ethics
Corporate training does not only include courses on skill improvement. It also includes programs on safety training, corporate ethics and employee interaction.
Such courses are not only beneficial for the new employees, but for the management team as well. Some ideas for workplace ethics courses may include:
- Ethics dilemma discussions – hypothetical cases of, for instance, sexual harassment, bullying, moral code breaches, etc.
- Role play situations and discussion – bringing difficult situations to action to help the part-takers see the situation from different perspectives and find a solution.
- Generating ethical dilemmas – discussing moral code rules and generating the situations, in which these rules can be applied.
Such programs will help the staff understand the corporate culture and the attitude towards some ethics-related dilemmas better. Regular sessions on workplace ethics also help you make sure that all employees are well aware of the company’s policies and keep up with them regularly.
- Gaining Competitive Advantage
Many companies still underestimate the benefits of developing a corporate learning program. According to Entrepreneur, the loss of productivity and constant replacement of employees costs the companies over $7 trillion dollars annually [4]. This shows that the measures that some companies are taking to keep employees loyal and create a positive company image aren’t working.
It is true that employees that stand behind the bigger picture and contribute to the success of your company are what your clients are more interested in. That is why paying attention to their learning needs and support their professional development do you a favor in terms of creating a positive company image and gaining competitive advantage.
- Exceeding Industry Standards
It’s simple: the more you invest in employee training, the more knowledge they get about the innovative methodologies, new technology and cutting-edge gadgets that can benefit the workflow and make your company stand out.
The thing is that your employees may see new opportunities, where you may not see any. Securing them with an opportunity to learn and improve also benefits you and the achievements of your company.
- Improving Overall Company Reputation
If you think that your competitors don’t know about your high employee turnover, think again. At this moment, they are probably tirelessly studying your mishaps and find solutions, among which – improving employee retention with developing a corporate learning program.
Moreover, with websites like Yelp, Glassdoor, and Indeed, where employees leave their reviews of the companies they used to work for, the online image of your company isn’t safe. It is a basic right of every employee that the company should be supportive of their learning needs. Refusing to provide your employee with the opportunity to learn can harm your company reputation, leading not only to higher employee turnover but to the loss of clients as well.
The Bottom Line
As you can see, developing a corporate learning program is not only necessary to support your staff and their learning needs, but also to maintain a positive company image. With a strong corporate learning program, not only your employees will be more loyal, but your company will gain more competitive advantage and will benefit from a more efficient workflow.
References:
- https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/04/11/millennials-largest-generation-us-labor-force/
- https://news.gallup.com/reports/189830/e.aspx?utm_source=gbj&utm_medium=copy&utm_campaign=20160630-gbj
- https://learning.linkedin.com/resources/workplace-learning-report-2018#
- https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/315095
Author Bio
Emma Robertson is a professional writer and an editor at WowGrade.net. Emma’s articles are often based on her experience working as a corporate education manager at IT companies, where Emma introduces new methodologies and shares interesting case studies. Emma’s articles provide experience-based advice on how to develop and implement corporate learning programs to increase employee satisfaction and improve workflow.
