It can be a difficult task to find a skilled team member, and it can present a real challenge for a company when losing one. However, this is a reality that organizations all over the world regularly have to face, especially with the pandemic still affecting people’s ability to work and travel.
To prevent the loss of key team members, sensible companies will make certain that their staff members feel challenged and fulfilled. They also develop their cultures and set up policies that meet what employees are looking for in terms of emotional wellness, flexibility, and career advancement.
To create a work environment that urges your staff to grow and stay with your organization, your company needs to have a strong learning and development (L&D) program. In this blog post, we are going to share with you three ways in which a superb L&D program can improve staff retention.
It keeps employees engaged
If you’re bored with your work or feel uninspired by it, then you’re probably not that invested in continuing to do it. This self-evident reality explains why employee engagement and employee retention go hand in hand.
L&D can boost employee engagement in three significant ways:
- Capitalize on curiosity,
- Build community,
- Provide purpose.
Learning opportunities help employees feel both personal and professional fulfillment. They’re not just advancing the company’s interests each day, but their own as well; and they continually feel like they’re building valuable skills for their career.
It elevates mutual trust and teamwork
With the rise of remote work, business leaders are seeking new ways to support collaboration and togetherness for their teams. It’s difficult to cultivate a magnetic work culture when people feel isolated.
That’s why community-based and social learning is valuable. Strong programs provide opportunities for employees to learn together, and from one another. Among L&D professionals LinkedIn polled:
- 86% believe learning is more engaging when people learn together,
- 91% believe employees who learn together are more successful,
- 92% believe that learning helps create a sense of belonging.
Belonging, success, and social connection fuel culture. The Employee Well-Being Report found that people in highly-rated work cultures are 31% more likely to recommend working there, and 25% more likely to report being happy there.
It sparks professional purpose and motivation
Last year, Prudential conducted a Pulse of the American Worker Survey and found that, among the many workers who made a career transition during the pandemic, 26% said the change was spurred by a desire to try something new. Meanwhile, they ranked “mobility opportunities” as the second-most important factor in deciding to stay with their current employer.
L&D programs help employees understand and grow the skills that can help them make moves within an organization, either vertically or laterally. This, in turn, helps satisfy that innate human need to try something new without needing to switch companies.
LinkedIn’s Employee Well-Being Report found that employers have some work to do on this front; only one in five respondents said they feel they can meet their career goals where they work today, and that they have both their manager’s and organization’s support to pursue those goals.
Takeaway
Overall, when employees feel like their company is investing in them, they will naturally be more inclined to invest their energy in the company.
Meanwhile, they are actively improving the skills that help that company innovate and grow. It’s a virtuous loop that helps drive employee retention and a more successful business overall.