Why is Employee Training so Important?

A question that a lot of employers may have is whether it is worth investing into training courses for their employees. There is often the assumption that many of the issues addressed in such training is “common sense” or something that does not require the amount of time and expertise that goes into teaching some of these topics. However, there is a lot to be said about those who decide to invest in training courses to improve their employees’ skill sets.

Communication Difficulties Can Affect Productivity and Workplace Relationships

Abbeydale Training recently held an Effective Handling of Difficult and Challenging Conversations online event. This event was designed to give individuals confidence in managing sensitive and challenging conversations with colleagues, staff or clients. The participants were able to practise communication strategies, as well as understand the concept of psychological advantage.

Research by Chartered Management Institute (CMI) shows that people in the UK may have more difficult conversations in the workplace than at home. The toughest conversations that British people have are related to pay at work, inappropriate employee behaviour and feedback on poor performance. Not only that, but they happen at least once a month or more to over half of workers.

CMI also asked Insight readers and managers to take part in a quiz that measured how effectively they handled difficult conversations, the results showing that only 55% of the 18,000 respondents were considered professional communicators.

It was found that many employees and managers lack the necessary coping strategies to deal with such conversations. This adds to the stress and anxiety employees feel surrounding work, yet more than 80% of the individuals said they never had any training on dealing with difficult conversations at work.

It is important to address these issues with employees as they can severely impact workplace relationships and productivity. Employees must be prepared for a difficult work conversation to avoid the large amount of anxiety they face beforehand. Training given that is applicable to real life and engaging to employees is very effective in conquering these issues.

Employee Training Benefits the Business Itself                                                       

In 2015, it was found that half of employers pay for training and certifications outside of their company to help develop employee skill sets and almost 7 in 10 employers offer training programmes to their employees.

An example of a course provided by Abbeydale Training is the Introduction to Leadership course. It is one of our online open access courses which covers leadership styles and giving effective feedback.

A global survey by the McQuaig Institute found that companies with effective leaders had more of an ability to attract and retain talent within the workplace. Ensuring that employees have strong leadership skills allows them to bring out the potential in their colleagues.

Employee Turnover

In a recent survey, it was indicated that 40% of employees who received poor job training left their positions within the first year. The employees stated that the lack of training and development was the reason they moved on from the job.

Out of an average of 4,300 workers per year, 74% of them revealed that they felt they were not achieving their full potential at work. Because of these statistics, it is important to take into account job satisfaction and its relation to training and development. If an employee does not feel their skills are being utilised or improved, it only makes sense that they will look for a more fulfilling role.

These are only some of the reasons why employee training is so important for a business and the employees themselves. It is the responsibility of employers to ensure that employees feel fulfilled and have the necessary skills to contribute effectively in their roles.

Do you have any questions on the topics mentioned in this post? Are you interested in our online training sessions? Contact us to find out more.

Sources: managers.org.uk / press.careerbuilder.com / hrdive.com / go2hr.ca / thelearningwave.com