But not everyone realizes what is the impact of employee training programs on their business growth. Employee training actually has the potential to cut costs, drive growth, and make your business more resilient and profitable overall.
Employee training can future-proof your company
The business world is changing at light speed, with new markets opening up, old ones imploding, and new innovations like AI and blockchain transforming the way that we do business. Enterprises need to ensure that they possess the right new skills to be able to stay relevant and competitive in a constantly-evolving market.
In 2019, PWC reported that 55% of executives face a skills gap that prevents them from innovating efficiently. Without regular employee training, your workforce and your company thought are liable to get stuck in a rut, undermining the agility and flexibility that you need to keep up. 46% said that they would use employee training to bridge the gap.
Few people expected the devastating impact of COVID-19, but enterprises with effective employee training programs were better equipped to pivot to a work-from-home model. Their employees are more confident about their ability to work remotely; have a stronger bond with their colleagues which helps them work as a team even when distant; and are better informed about the company’s goals which enables them to feel invested in powering business success even when working alone.
Employee training can close security vulnerabilities
Cybercrime is rising every year, as organizations become more complex and hackers feel more power to attack them. Cybersecurity tools, techniques, and monitoring systems are continually evolving to stay ahead of the game, using more advanced technology to detect and protect against cyber attacks, but the battle is fierce.
In most large enterprises, the weakest point in their armor isn’t their tech but their employees. Effective employee cybersecurity training ensures that your workers will use a strong password, successfully identify phishing emails, and avoid rookie mistakes that leave an open door for hackers. Data breaches can be incredibly costly, both in terms of the fine for exposing customer details and the loss of trust in your enterprise. In this situation, an ounce of employee tanning prevention is worth far more than a pound of cure.
Employee training can help you meet compliance requirements
Business regulations are multiplying, and it’s all that enterprises can do to stay level. The governance requirements, data protection and consumer privacy rules, and product standards that businesses have to meet are growing at every turn. As companies expand across borders, the burden only increases.
With the best will in the world, the only way to remain on top of your legal obligations is to ensure that your workers are aware of them and know how to fulfil them. In 2020, business compliance is only possible when it’s the responsibility of every employee.
Employee training can raise customer satisfaction levels
It shouldn’t be very surprising to hear that employees who have received more training also deliver better customer service. With greater confidence in their own skills, they are more willing to reassure customers and find innovative solutions to their problems.
Equally, the more employees understand about the business, the better they are able to answer questions independently, without raising customer frustration by passing them through a long hierarchy to a manager who might finally be able to help.
Employee training can help attract and keep top talent
Opportunities for personal and professional development have become steadily more important to jobseekers over the years, to the extent that now, 56% of workers say that it’s a more significant factor than compensation when choosing a new position. The top talent is looking for an employer who is willing to invest in their own career growth, and checks employee reviews about your company before deciding whether or not to apply. 38% of job hunters agreed that they would not even apply to a company with bad employee reviews.
At the same time, a good employee training program helps you retain your existing top talent. Close to three-quarters of workers are more likely to remain at a company that offers skill-building opportunities. Top employees will jump ship to a different organization that offers better prospects for advancing their skills, leaving you to bear the cost of attracting, interviewing, and onboarding new hires all over again.
Employee training underpins digital transformation
Digital transformation is a hot topic in the business world, with enterprises increasingly realizing that they need to be agile to compete with their rivals. But digital transformation can only succeed when it’s accompanied by effective employee training.
The best new tools, automated workflows, and cloud-based platforms won’t help much if your employees refuse to use them, or worse, only scratch the surface of what the tools can achieve. Employee training ensures that everyone understands the potential of your new tech stack and adopts it to the fullest extent, so that you can see RoI on your investment and achieve your goals for digital transformation.
Employee training is your Business Superpower
It would be a mistake to resent the time and money that you invest in employee training, because it pays out big time on every dollar. By improving customer satisfaction, talent acquisition and retention, and compliance, closing security vulnerabilities, supporting digital transformation, and making your company more resilient to whatever the future brings, employee training is a vital prerequisite for business success.
