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Why Employee Training is Critical to your Company’s Success
Cathie Leimbach • October 26, 2021
Do you think your employees don’t do what they are supposed to do? If so, you aren’t alone. Wondering why? A research project with 29,000 managers uncovered that one of the primary reasons is they don’t know how to do their job.
Do you think you already have a training program in place? It may be ineffective - here are several reasons employees still don’t know what to do:
- The people training them don’t know how to train or how employees learn best.
- There is a lack of any evaluation to see if learning has occurred.
- Experienced employees are often assigned to train new employees without having the skills to teach effectively.
- Employees don’t have an opportunity to practice what they have learned before having to perform the new skill in real time.
Your employees are your most important asset. Investing in training leads to greater business growth and success. A recent Gallup study showed that workgroups that engaged in employee development, including training, saw a sales increase and profits double compared with workgroups that didn’t engage in training
A consistent and effective training program has the following additional benefits:
- Higher employee engagement
- Lower turnover
- Higher productivity and profitability
- Better task management because of improved skills
- Increased confidence in performing their responsibilities
- Standardized processes and procedures leading to less wasted time and effort
- Improved company culture by building on each employee’s strengths and providing opportunities for growth and promotion
- Reduction of the need for constant supervision because each employee is equipped with the skills to succeed
Managers are key in the development of training approaches and programs. Here are the steps to make certain that the employees you supervise receive the training they need:
- Identify the skills and knowledge needed to competently perform each job in your work group. During this evaluation, elicit input and information from each employee doing the job.
- Identify available training programs for each of your employees.
- Assess each employee’s performance and identify gaps in skills and/or information.
- Ask each employee what skills they would like to develop to do their jobs better.
- Create and communicate an action plan for each employee outlining the training and desired outcomes.
One approach does not fit all employees. Best practices include:
- Targeting soft skills - soft skills help employees fully utilize their hard skills. Skills such as conflict resolution, emotional intelligence, time management, and working well under pressure are critical in the workplace. Employees with soft skills make for good team players and efficient managers.
- Personalizing the training – analyze what skills each employee needs to learn, acknowledge their current abilities, build on strengths, and identify their best approach to learning.
- Making training easy – remove obstacles by making sure employees are given time and support for learning. Use multiple platforms, including online and mobile, that make it easy to access the training.
- Allowing learning at their own pace – most employees prefer to learn when the need arises, making independent online learning a good choice for your workforce.
An investment in training will transform your workforce from “employees that don’t know what to do” to a well-honed team working efficiently and effectively to meet goals and business objectives.
Bad bosses aren't just a nuisance – they're an epidemic. A staggering 70% of employees report that problematic managers are commonplace in today's workforce. This reality has serious consequences for both workers and companies alike. What drives employees to pack up their desks? Unethical behavior tops the list, with 62% of workers citing it as a reason to quit. Following closely behind are hypercritical managers (54%) and those who burden their teams with unrealistic expectations or excessive workloads (54%). While some managerial shortcomings are merely frustrating rather than deal-breakers, they still damage workplace morale. Disorganized bosses frustrate 33% of employees, micromanagers irritate 29%, and unapproachable or inflexible leadership styles bother 27%. Perhaps most concerning is the communication breakdown: 72% of employees wish they could openly discuss workplace concerns with their managers, but 59% fear retaliation if they speak up. How might these issues be affecting your organization? High turnover rates don't just disrupt workflow – they devastate your bottom line. Between recruitment costs, training expenses, lost productivity, and institutional knowledge walking out the door, each departed employee can cost between 50-200% of their annual salary. Ready to understand what turnover is truly costing your company? Click Here for access to a free Cost of Turnover Calculator.
When leaders make decisions or teams vote on changes, not everyone automatically supports them. However, getting everyone's commitment can be crucial for team or organizational success. Two key factors create real commitment: clarity and emotional buy-in. Clarity means removing all confusion about what's changing and why. Everyone needs to understand exactly what they're being asked to do. Emotional buy-in happens when people want to support the change rather than just following orders. To build both clarity and buy-in, talk openly with your whole team. Encourage questions about how changes will work and when things will happen. Listen to concerns instead of ignoring them. Remember that feelings—whether worry, resistance, or excitement—strongly affect how people respond. Don’t be surprised when change doesn’t happen. Use a team engagement process that helps leaders understand and increase each team member’s readiness. Good leaders know they can't force real commitment. Instead, they build it by including team members in conversations about why and how to make changes work. This turns "their decision" into "our project," creating the team commitment needed for successful change.