Employee training and skills development initiatives are not just business imperatives, they’re leadership ones. They are the foundations on which organisations build the leaders and managers of tomorrow through intelligent programmes and approaches that recognise internal value, employee potential, and the importance of cultivating a culture of growth, learning and innovation. Research by LinkedIn found that employees with the opportunity to learn at work are 47% less likely to be stressed, 39% more likely to feel productive and 23% more prepared to take on extra responsibilities. They are also 21% happier and 20% more likely to leave a company if they don’t have the opportunity to learn and grow.
There is little doubt that implementing training programmes is invaluable but it is important to recognise that training and skills development have to be managed intelligently and offer employees more than a mandatory tick box or perfunctory learning curve.
A recent article in the Harvard Business Review underscored the risks of a poorly managed and designed training platform within the business, highlighting how many employees aren’t that engaged with the training on offer, with many finding it interruptive and frustrating. This is echoed by a Forrester report that revealed how a staggering 40% of employees and managers are not enamoured with their on-the-job training.
Done right, training can foster a culture of intranpreneurship and growth. Employees will feel connected to the business and to their personal and professional growth within the company. Done wrong, it’s an expensive investment into a learning platform that sees little engagement and even fewer results. Today, more than ever, it is critical that companies reassess their learning methodologies and platforms to ensure that every employee within the business gains invaluable leadership skills. As a recent survey by the ASA revealed, resilient and agile skills development and training is the equivalent of paving the way to a successful business future with future-proof employees that are committed and engaged.
“Transformational leadership isn’t the exclusive remit of the C-suite or the managers,” says Paul Hanly, Founder of New Leaf Technologies. “It is felt in the intrapreneur – the employee that has been empowered to innovate within their role and to explore new ways of working with confidence. It is felt in the resilience of employees who are committed to the company and interested in how its growth will impact their own. And it is felt by HR professionals who see measurable returns on their training investments.”
Building future leaders
Organisations can build the leaders of the future while enhancing the potential of their people by creating a culture of learning that positively impacts strategy, engagement and retention. An environment that respects the time employees put into their skills development and that recognises the value of engaging with those skills is one that will be far more resilient and sustainable than one that mandates learning with little return or reward.
The people you invest into today are going to be trained with the skills and approaches that you need for your business tomorrow. They will be immersed in your culture and understand your unique business requirements and will intuitively know how to support your business. It’s not a straight line to achieving a culture of learning and skills development success, but it is one that will help the business stay ahead of its skills expectations and requirements.
After all, a recent PwC survey found that around 80% of CEOs find the search for skills to be one of their biggest challenges, and a report by Gallup unearthed a pile of statistics that truly capture the value of leadership training and development – 71% see an improvement in job satisfaction, 65% see an improvement in their standard of living, and 69% have experienced an improvement in their quality of life.
“The past two years have really highlighted the importance of investing into people and their futures within the company,” concludes Hanly. “It gives them confidence in their roles and in their career growth, and it gives them a sense of value – leadership can see their promise and is investing into it.”
New Leaf Technologies provides organisations with a smart and customisable eLearning platform that they can use to upskill and engage with their employees. Using the variety of training programmes, learning activities and practical training solutions on offer from aNewSpring, or the eLearning content authoring tool that allows for the organisation to build its own programmes using templates and custom functionality, the business can take skills development beyond the traditional and into the extraordinary.