Lisa Cleaver

Teaching your employees better cleaning strategies can deliver a financial return on your investment and more fully demonstrate your commitment to developing staff. With the right strategies and tools, you can facilitate training that will not only make a positive difference to your business’ bottom line, but will also put your employees’ health and wellbeing at the forefront. The importance of training and development Good training strategies can be a win-win for a business and its employees. A 2016 study by the American Staffing Association revealed that 61% of employees would perform their duties better if their employers offered more training. Some of the benefits of investing in training and development include: Improving employee retention—According to a 2022 LinkedIn report, 94% of employees surveyed said they would be willing to stay with a company longer if the company invested in learning. Training is a great way to retain top talent and make sure they are motivated to work. By investing in professional development, you show you’re willing to put the future of your employees and their wellbeing first. Happy employees are productive employees. As skill levels rise, so will their levels of satisfaction, which can make employees more willing to do good work. They might also be more likely to speak highly of your company to family, friends, and associates, which could attract more and better talent. Future-proofing your business—Three-quarters of the CEOs surveyed by PwC in 2019 said they were worried about a lack of essential skills in their workforce, which could threaten the future growth of their businesses. Rather than recruiting new workers to fill these gaps, training current employees on the skills you require now and in the future can set you up for long-term success. Saving time and money—The hiring and training process can be more expensive and time-consuming than retaining employees. Developing skills internally, as opposed to recruiting externally, will save time and money. Strategies for effective training and development The following strategies can bolster your training and development efforts: Get management involved—Training starts from the top. When training is mandatory and upper management takes an active interest, a teaching mindset eventually becomes part of the business’ overall culture. Executive team members should ideally deliver or attend the courses to demonstrate their support and commitment. Present formal training—Impromptu training programs typically aren’t successful. Formal training and development plans, as a facet of your talent management efforts, ensure that all parties involved get the best access to training on a regular basis. This way, training isn’t incidental and quickly Help your employees by establishing goals, identifying rewards, and providing the best tools to complete projects. Review and adjust goals as necessary. Measure training engagement—Having your employees engaged in the training process is critical. However, roughly one-quarter of human resources training and development specialists don’t measure learning engagement. Analyze data such as course completions, minutes spent training, and repeat visits to training materials. Provide employee surveys and feedback forms. It’s OK to ask employees directly and anonymously what they think, what they like, and how training could improve. Doing so also provides insight into what training workers would like to have in the future. Provide different types of training—No two people learn the same way, which is why modifying methods of development to meet the needs of your employees is important. While some might prefer classroom-style training, others might prefer watching short videos and taking quizzes. Combining methods is called blended learning. Some training and development activities that could be used within a blended learning program include lectures, on-the-job training, group discussions, games, quizzes, videos, and simulators. Review regularly—Training needs might change as your company grows, so maintaining the same training program for years can be detrimental to your business. Review results of your employee surveys in tandem with the performance of your employee development plan. You might need to change or add services or change the trajectory of your business at some point. Don’t forget to assess your training requirements to ensure you are developing the best skills for your staff. Leveraging training and development Companies large and small should invest in training and development. Not only is it great for employee retention, but it also aids in future-proofing your business. By committing to a culture of employee development, you’re ensuring everyone involved in the company is armed with the skills necessary to drive your business forward while showing you truly care about your team.

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Lisa Cleaver

Director of human resources at GSF USA

Articles by Lisa Cleaver

Training Strategies for a Better Clean and a Better Business

Training

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