Learning and Development, why is it important?

Why is learning and development so important? Now that we have a little bit more information on what learning and development is, let’s pivot to discuss the reasons why L&D is important for organizations today and tomorrow. 1. Today’s Employees Demand Opportunities To Learn According to a 2016 Gallup report, 87% of millennials say learning and development in the workplace is important while 59% of millennials say having opportunities to learn and grow is extremely important when deciding whether to apply for a job. Why is that important? Well, by 2025 millennials will make up 50% of the US workforce. By 2030, 75% of the US workforce will be comprised of millennials. In order for companies to compete for top talent, they will need to be able to offer a commitment to an employee’s development. 2. Hiring Is More Expensive Than Employee Retention It is difficult to understand the actual costs of employee turnover, but we inherently understand that losing productive employees is not a good thing. In their 2018 Employee Retention Report, Work Institute reported that 1 in 4 employees will leave their job and nearly 77% of that turnover could be prevented by employers. Regardless of the exact dollar value, retaining employees is more cost-effective than the costs associated with separation, recruitment, and the hit to productivity. As mentioned earlier, 93% of employees say they will stay longer at a company that invests in their development. That’s incredible. This also means that companies are helping to retain their employees by investing in learning and development. L&D not only boosts employee productivity, but it is incredibly important to boost employee confidence in themselves and trust in their employer. 3. Training Employees Improves Your Bottom Line Employees are a company’s greatest asset. Right? Sure, they are! With the right team in place, the sky’s the limit. With learning & development focusing on filling in knowledge gaps and upskilling employees by focusing on the strengths of their employees, companies have reported anywhere between a 14%-29% increase in profit. An IBM study found that well-trained teams increased their productivity by 10%. Equipping employees with the ability to do their jobs better is just a smart move. As managers, our jobs are to get the best out of every employee. Coaching and training employees is a great way to empower them to succeed. 4. Untrained Employees May Put You At Risk So far we have mostly spoken about how learning and development reduces employee churn, attracts new hires, and improves your bottom line by making companies smarter and more productive. Also in the purview of learning and development is risk mitigation through compliance training initiatives and workplace safety training. Companies have a responsibility to ensure their employees work in a safe and welcoming environment. Though proper workplace behavior may feel like something people inherently know, companies can be proactive in training employees to maintain a safe and inclusive workplace. Implementing an effective ethics training program can help employees work better and minimize the risk of lawsuits for failing to comply with industry standards in safety and workplace behavior. 5. Improved Customer Service and Satisfaction Why does a customer get in contact with a company? Oftentimes all of the information they need is available on community boards or amazing knowledge centers that support teams create. Customers look at company employees as experts in their fields with the ability to deliver information through dialogue. When a customer takes the time out of their day to wait on-hold or schedules a session to speak with someone, then it is critical that employees are knowledgeable enough about their company’s products to have a fruitful conversation. It’s ok to say, “I don’t have the answer, but I’ll get back to you.” However, it’s far better to be able to communicate an in-depth understanding with answers customers appreciate. Empowering every employee to handle customer conversations effectively, has a remarkable impact on customer satisfaction. In fact, there is a 16% increase in customer satisfaction with companies that are using learning technology.

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