What is one of the best ways to attract and retain top talent? Creating an effective training and development program. Opportunities should include not only skill training and development but also leadership and professional training and development.

What is the difference between training and development?

Training refers to a program that teaches specific skills and knowledge to improve performance in an employee’s current role. Development refers to the emphasis on an employee’s growth and future performance in a specific profession and/or growth within the company.

In a job marketwhere top talent is hard to find, emphasis on training and development has been proven to be a top incentive of current job seekers. Over 85% of millennials rate professional career growth and developmental opportunities as important to them in a job.

What are the benefits of employee training and development for the company?

1.   Attracts Top Talent – To set the company apart in a time when there are fewer skilled workers available, providing training and development opportunities for job seekers can help a company stand out. Being able to clearly communicate and layout the potential learning opportunities available is important when presenting an open position to candidates.
2.  Increases Workplace Engagement – Without clear challenges or goals, employees can become restless and/or dissatisfied in their role. Regular training and/or development can create new goals or skills to implement into the job and can prevent workplace dissatisfaction. And with the assistance of training and development opportunities, employees can also become more engaged in the company’s goals and objectives.
3. Improves Employee Performance – Cyclical training allows employees to be aware of top industry trends, and thus, they can be more conscientious, efficient, and productive in their position and profession. And with new skills and knowledge, they become more confident in sharing new ideas, or improving a process.
4. Establishes Positive Employee Retention –76% of employees are looking for career growth opportunities when searching for jobs (ClearCompany). To enhance retention of current employees, one of the best things an employer you can provide is new training and development opportunities. When offered, employees feel more valued as a member of the organization and are more likely to believe that their long-term contribution is vital to the success of the business.
5. Trains Future Leaders – Clearly communicating company goals and objectives is essential to identifying and developing core employees into future leaders that help the business accomplish its’ long term goals and/or company vision. Creating a clear process to identify potential leaders and core employees is critical in creating a successful developmental process.

How do you develop a successful training and development program?

1. Establish Company Goals – What are the company’s vision and goals, and how do employees contribute to them?  A business can identify the skills and knowledge needed to achieve these goals and how employees contribute once the vision and goals are set.
2. Create Personalized Training – “One size fits all” training is ineffective when creating future leaders. Emphasize developmental opportunities that focus on specific skills, attributes or knowledge that the company wants to capitalize on for key team members, allowing them to be a long-term asset to the business.
3. Track Employee Improvement – What you don’t track, you can’t measure. The best way to find out if a training or development program is successful is by tracking employees’ progress. Create an employee evaluation and establish metrics to measure progress and achievements. Define what success looks like for the training and development opportunities offered by the company. Look for ways to improve the program(s) providing new challenges and content for employees.

Creating a successful training and development program takes careful consideration, research, and creation. The process should be fluid allowing for adjustments to be made as business goals and needs change in the future.

In a job market where top talented employees are hard to find, successful training and development programs are as important as ever.

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For assistance in establishing and improving your company’s training and development program, contact Close HR.