How Professional Development Training Benefits Your Company

How Professional Development Training Benefits Your CompanyHow Professional Development Training Benefits Your CompanyProfessional development training is overlooked and underappreciated as an employee retention and recruitment tool. In fact, its often one of the first things to go when budgets get cut. Here are some reasons why investing in the growth and development of employees is a smart idea that is evergreen.Offering professional development training programs allows employees to perform better and prepares them for positions of greater responsibility. But it can also help employers attract top job candidates, retain their best workers and identify future leaders. Moreover, ongoing professional development is very appealing to many employees today who are looking to keep their skills relevant in a rapidly changing world.Investing in each of your workers is beneficial to the whole organization and can boost the bottom line. Following are six rewards you can realize if you support or provide professional development training initiatives1. You increase the collective knowledge of your teamEncouraging your employees to train in relevant subjects and applications - an advanced course in a software program they use daily, for example - can have an immediate effect on productivity. Professional development can also help raise overall staff expertise when employees with vastly different backgrounds and levels of experience are encouraged to share information.Idea Consider supporting continuing education by offering tuition reimbursement or covering the costs associated with pursuing industry certifications. Paying for employees to take a course offered by a local university or technical school can be a simple but invaluable way to help them grow their skills. You also might invest in a group membership to an e-learning training site, or simply allow employees to view educational webinars during working hours.2. You boost employees job satisfactionWhen staff memb ers can do their jobs more effectively, they become more confident. This leads to greater job satisfaction and improved employee retention. There are a range of low-cost professional development training options to choose from, including mentorships, job shadowing and cross training.Idea Leverage the expertise you already have within your office. A mentor, for instance, can serve as guide and teacher and help mentees sharpen both their soft skills and technical abilities. Gaining practical knowledge, institutional insights and hands-on guidance is a highly effective way for mentees to become more valuable and versatile employees.3. You make your company more appealingWhen you offer training and development opportunities, youre building a positive reputation as an employer that cares about its workforce and strives to employ only the best. Your customers and clients will benefit, too, from the high level of efficient service they receive. And keep in mind that your employees are your brand ambassadors. When they attend conferences and seminars, they represent and reflect all thats good about your organization.Idea To encourage knowledge sharing after events, have brownbag lunches or ask team members to lead a meeting to share what they learned at an industry conference. Beyond helping the employee sharpen his or her presentation and teaching skills, these gatherings can boost the groups knowledge base and help establish a greater sense of camaraderie.Competitive compensation is critical in the tug-of-war companies are waging over skilled professionals today. As you set compensation levels for new hires and talented team members, be koranvers to visit Robert Halfs Salary Center.4. You attract the right kind of in-demand candidatesDo you want to attract the most highly driven and career-focused candidates when you post a job opening? Offer them more than just a competitive salary and benefits paint an enticing picture of how they can grow professionally or expand the career avenues available to them if they come to work for you.Idea In job postings and during interviews, actively promote that your company does all it can to help employees develop and refine their skills. But you should also play up your companys learning culture and commitment to professional development training when meeting with potential employees at career fairs, conferences, networking lunches and other industry events.5. You aid your retention strategyYour workers want to feel like theyre appreciated and making a difference. But they also want to feel like theyre gaining expertise and becoming more well-rounded. If your team members dont feel challenged, or they sense stagnation in their careers, theyll look for advancement opportunities elsewhere. Lifelong learning exposes your employees to new experiences and keeps them engaged in their work. Professional development training helps build and maintain enthusiasm, but it also inspires loyalty.Idea Make sure employees know that you care about their evolving professional interests and objectives. Check in regularly and communicate your desire to help them build a long-term career with your firm. Giving high-potential team members challenging stretch assignments along with ongoing professional development and skill-building opportunities is a winning combination for improved retention.6. You make succession planning easierDo you feel like some employees clearly fall into the management material category? Leadership development programs are tools for grooming future leaders for your organization. If youd like to be able to promote staff to managerial positions in the future, targeted training now can help you ensure your best and brightest are prepared to move up.Idea Sending top employees to accredited leadership training seminars and conferences can be a great move. But its also important to expose promising candidates for executive- and management-level roles to different parts of your organizati on. These individuals may even work for other functions temporarily under the tutelage of seasoned leaders in those departments. The purpose of this type of professional development training is to help future leaders gain a more complete understanding of how the business operates, and to acquire a broad set of skills that will help them guide the firm through change.Finally, set a good example. Reinforce your commitment to professional development training by seeking educational opportunities for yourself. Research from the Center for Creative Leadership finds that its increasingly important for company leaders to take charge of their own learning. Plus, your promotion of professional development training to employees will be more impactful if its clear that you practice what you preach.Subscribe to the Robert Half newsletter for articles and resources to help you build and manage a winning team - all sent directly to your inbox.