To train or Not to Train
Should you only hire people who already have the skills and qualifications needed for the job or should you be investing in the staff you do have? A good question and one that is often up for debate.
“Train your staff so that they could leave but treat them so that they don’t want to” Sir Richard Branson
FYI: We would argue that is better to train your staff and here are six (6) reasons why we say you should train your staff.
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Enhance employee skills
By training your staff you build on your resources. You will have employees with new and improved skills which means better quality of work. This can only lead to you seeing business goals being met and productivity improve.
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Less need for supervision
Employees that are untrained and under-qualified need to be constantly supervised. This takes time and effort from your more senior staff. Those hours could be put to far more productive use if you train your employees so they become more skilled in their particular task area and independent.
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Higher staff retention
We advise that staff turnover is a critical part of a companies success. In the past i have actually asked about it in job interviews. From a company perspective, rather than suffer a high turnover rate, it is better to train and retrain your employees. Importantly, when you train your employees they know you are committed to developing their skills. This leads them wanting to stick around longer and contribute more. This is far better than having to continuously hire new employees and show them the ropes, which is again, expensive, time consuming and not without its risks.
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An alternative reward for employees
Sometimes it happens that you want to acknowledge the value of your employees. Contrary to what most people think, an increase in salary is not the only option. Giving them a chance to acquire new skills can sometimes be as good as a salary bump.
We’re not saying you should always train your employees to avoid ever giving them a salary bump, but you can show your appreciation and trust in their abilities with further training. The cost of training your staff is actually quite high which your staff may or may not know.
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Upskilling your staff is good for morale
Upskilling your staff rather than seeking skills from the outside sends a positive message to your staff. It tells them you are committed to their development and that there space for them to grow. It is motivating and good for company culture, which is good for the overall success of a business. Your staff are your biggest advertisement, they WILL tell people about their company, if they like it they will promote it, creating a positive vibe about the company. Everyone wants positive vibes.
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Enhance company image
Investing in your employees doesn’t just affect how those employees view you. Training your staff sends a positive message to both prospective employees and clients. your company reputation is important in business so you want to make sure the world knows just how inspiring and productive your work environment is. Employees talk about work when they are not at work and when this is positive, your company image shines through.
This post was updated on the 1st October 2020.