Can Training Increase Employee Retention?

With today’s changing landscape employers are looking at retaining their current work force and employees are looking at expanding their knowledge base.   So can offering training opportunities increase employee retention or will the employees take the training and move on to other companies?  This question has plagued employers for years and the answer is not a simple one.

Training can be an important component in employee retention.  I would not say that it is the only component in this complex issue of retention.  According to Training Magazine “The fear for many companies is that they spend time and money developing people, only to see them take those newly acquired skills to another company. However, training actually can increase employee retention, when the training reinforces the value of the employee. In addition, a well-designed training program plays a critical part in nurturing associates’ psyches. Associates want to feel that the job they do is important to the success of the business and that the business is investing time and money in them to have the job done correctly, and at the highest level.

 

Training also allows associates the opportunity to learn new skills and hone existing skills they bring to the job. Being able to grow in a position and feel good about the job they are doing is important to an individual and their view of the organization. By investing the appropriate training in an employee, they will develop a greater sense of self-worth as they become more valuable to the company. The company, too, will gain specific benefits from training and developing its workers, including increased productivity, reduced employee turnover, and decreased need for constant supervision.

We can see that we can increase retention and the knowledge base of our company expediently through training and development of our workforce.  In addition the cost of training can be reduced through web training and automated training courses.