How Investing in Your Employees Education Pays Off

Millennials are diehard job hoppers.

On average, millennials are twice as likely to leave their current employment than the older workers. And the primary reason for their hopping isn’t money. It’s a lack of professional development opportunities.

As an employer, you know the cost of a high employee turnover is high.

There are solutions, though. Either you stop hiring millennials, or hire them and find ways to make them stay. The first solution isn’t really viable. Millennials are simply the best generation of workers the world has ever seen.

So, how do you make them stay? Invest in their education!

Here are 5 reasons investing in your employees education is a smart move.

1. Low Employee Turnover

Unless your company is not in the business of making a profit, then you certainly won’t mind it being a revolving door for employees. But if you’re in it to create value, you want your employees to stick with you for the long-term.

As you already know, one way to achieve that is to support their education. When you send them to pursue professional certificates or even graduate courses, it makes them feel valued by your organization; that you want the best for them. They will thank you by staying loyal to your company.

Of course, there is a chance that some will leave your company even after you’ve invested in their education. Don’t let that stop you. They will have gained the skills to push your company to greater heights before moving on.

2. Your Company Gains a Competitive Edge

These days, the thing that separates the top companies isn’t the amount of annual revenue they generate. It’s the quality of innovations. A company that produces cutting-edge products year after year stands head and shoulder above the rest.

The question is, how do you gain this edge?

You can pump as much money as you can afford into your research and development department, but if your employees don’t have advanced training and skills, you will be flushing that money down the drainage.

What you need to do is invest in the education of your employees. It’s the only way they will sharpen their professional skills and put your R&D money to good use.

Equipped with advanced knowledge and skills, you can count on your employees to develop innovative products and services that will give your company a competitive edge.

3. Give Your Employer Brand a Boost

Employee recruitment is no longer what it was a couple of decades ago.

Back then, employers had the luxury of cherry-picking applicants. In 2018, the hunter (employees) has become the hunted. It’s job applicants who are now cherry-picking employers.

About 72 percent of job applicants won’t apply for a job position if the employer has a bad reputation!

Evidently, having a bad employer reputation is a double-edged sword. Besides not being able to keep hold of your current employees, attracting new competent hires will be hardly possible.

The good news is there are several steps you can take to improve your employer brand.

Developing policies that promote a positive workplace culture and increase work-life balance, for instance, will give your brand a good vibe.

Another thing you can do is to invest in employees education. Once job applicants know that your company supports educational development, they’ll not only respond to your jobs ads, but also look forward to getting interview invitations.

4. Increased Employee Self-Confidence and Self-Believe

As an entrepreneur, you know how important self-confidence and self-believe are.

Without these two qualities, you probably wouldn’t be where you’re now; company owner and employer. When starting your business, you must have encountered various challenges.

Perhaps your closest friends discouraged you, said your product is no good. But you believed in yourself, you were confident of being successful.

Don’t you want the same for your employees?

They might not (yet) be planning to start their own companies, but they need to be confident in their abilities. Employees who are highly confident have a strong sense of self-belief express themselves better, and believe in their solutions to challenges.

Supporting their education is an effective way to boost their confidence and self-belief. You see, with a strong education, one develops a strong belief in their skills.

How to Support Your Employees Education

Now that you know the benefits of investing in your employees continued education, how exactly do you achieve that?

There are a couple of ways.

The first and most straightforward way is to finance their ongoing education and offer them schedules that enable them to work and study. If an employee wants to pursue a master’s degree, for instance, you can simply ask them to take a paid study leave.

Of course, this strategy needs to be refined so it doesn’t put your company at a disadvantage.

You must develop guidelines on how an employee qualifies for paid study leave. For example, you can make paid study leave available only to employees who have been with your company for at least 5 years and have met certain performance standards.

Another way is to partner with a training and employment provider. This company will be responsible for evaluating the skills needs of your employees, developing training programs to address the skills gaps, and implementing them. Training providers like The Well-Trained Mind have what it takes to equip people with valuable skills.

Knowledge Is Power: Empower Your Employees

As an employer, you wear many hats, no doubt.

And if you haven’t been investing in your employees education, the time to wear a new hat is now. In your next budget planning, ensure you allocate enough money towards the training of your workers. Your company will benefit greatly.

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