It’s long been understood that companies need great talent to attain higher levels of innovation and success.
The only problem is, shortages in certain skill sets are making it difficult for organizations to hire the best. When this is the case, smart companies turn to training and development to bring their current and future employees up to speed.
Why make training a highlight of employee compensation and benefits?
It makes good business sense to offer on-the-job training for all your employees. While training can be a significant investment, it creates a workforce that’s better prepared to take on the future.
Including employee development as part of your compensation and benefits plan also:
- Produces the most knowledgeable and innovative employees in the industry.
- Sets you apart from competitors by raising the bar higher for your talent.
- Attracts employees who value and participate in life-long learning.
Along with improving productivity and performance, training can also strengthen recruitment and retention efforts. How? High-performing employees often view training benefits as a major boon to their long-term career goals. In fact, training can be a powerful incentive that attracts the best and keeps them engaged for long periods—helping your organization reap the rewards.
How organizations can incentivize the workplace with training perks
Fortunately, technology tools make it possible to get the most from employee training and development. From eLearning on demand to instructor-led training held onsite, there are many ways to bring training and education into the workplace. The keys are to understand the purpose of each learning campaign, who will benefit from it, and how to include it as part of a compensation plan. Here are some ways to create an incentive around employee learning programs.
Make it meaningful to employees and their career goals. A learning program is only as good as its ability to translate into real-world, actionable results in the workplace. Survey your current employees to find out what skills they currently have and what they believe are skill gaps for their positions. Then create learning around the gaps. Make sure to offer generous financial rewards for those who complete the training and become certified or earn advanced degrees.
Provide flexible ways to participate in learning. No two learners are the same. Along with having a great deal of responsibility at work, employees have a lot on their plates these days. Make learning feasible with flexible learning models, from online training to classroom learning, that honor all learning styles and time constraints.
Get executive management excited about learning. When launching a learning incentive along with other benefits and compensation, it’s important to lead by example. Get your management team onboard and participating in learning objectives. Leaders can be your best cheerleaders for your employee development programs, encouraging their teams to follow suit.
Create a standard training and development policy. Develop a self-serve employee portal with a clearly written employee development policy. Detail the program in your employee handbooks too. This can be promoted to employees throughout the year, and it will give them the information they need to get registered. A central learning management system can house all your courses by topic and level, giving employees more control over their ability to learn and earn more in the future.
As you start implementing more learning into the work environment, make sure to continue to monitor the participation levels and progress of your employees.
Leave a Reply