Businesses need to invest in their employees. Developing staff is critical for business success, both long and short-term. Many argue that employee success equals business success and that the two go hand in hand.
According to a Forbes article, “Why Businesses Should Invest In Employee Learning Opportunities,” investing in your employees is a win-win scenario. Focusing on employee development can create greater job satisfaction and staff retention.
But how do businesses invest in employee skills development? We share some ideas for how companies can invest in their staff and their organisation.
Define your company values
A company might have a list of values in its mission statement. But how many of these do employees live and breathe every day? To invest in employee skills development, you must first define your company ethos, strategic plan and leadership competency framework. Once you have determined your values, you can start building employee development plans that align with these values, the kind of leaders you want to develop and with your company goals.
According to the 2024 LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report, with the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI), employee development is no longer just an added benefit. It’s now critical for success in a competitive marketplace. With a holistic approach, you can build a supportive learning culture, increase engagement and expand your organisational knowledge.
Build employee development plans
Once you have defined your company values and what type of skills you want to invest in, you can build employee development plans. Each employee is different, with a particular job specification and related performance so these plans won’t all look the same. You can tailor development plans towards specific career paths and roles in the business. According to the LinkedIn report above, many believe AI can be a valuable tool in creating personalised career development plans as it can help gather data about employee skills and proficiencies.
Development plans are more than just a theoretical list of courses to complete. It’s a holistic approach to continuing education. In addition to completing courses and getting certificates, skills development might incorporate practical experience, mentorship, job rotations, regular assessments, and opportunities to build interpersonal relationships.
Businesses also need to create opportunities for regular growth and training. For example, managers can create playlists of online courses for employees to complete. Offering consistent opportunities to upskill aligns with a global shift towards more flexible learning options.
Offer mentorship opportunities
Creating access to educational resources in a hybrid workplace, primarily online, is essential. However, mentorship and building relationships are also crucial for employee development. A culture of mentorship means that employees can develop in diverse areas, and mentors can guide employees to develop further.
Fostering a culture of collaboration on the job is also essential for holistic learning and development. This collaboration creates opportunities for people to implement what they’ve learned. Learning together also creates a more well-rounded workforce and helps employees reach short and long-term goals.
Encourage internal mobility
Internal role mobility allows staff to work across departments without always having to conform to a strict role. Doing so allows for the opportunity to learn various competencies by working and collaborating across multiple departments. The benefit of this approach is that employees can build multifaceted skill sets, which can enhance productivity and build a more robust internal talent pool.
Listen to feedback
As with any strategic endeavour, investing in employee skills development is a work in progress. What works for one company may not work for others. Different employees might also require more rigid or flexible development plans according to their personality, skillset, and career goals.
However, implementing an employee skills development plan is the first step in investing in your employees. No matter the size of your business, dedicating a person, team or department to learning and development will help you stay relevant and competitive.
The expansion of online learning has also created many opportunities to upskill, making career and personal growth more accessible and affordable.
Learn about online skills development at SACAP Global
SACAP Global’s short online courses and workshops can form part of a comprehensive skills development plan if you want to invest in upskilling your staff. Our range of specialised courses focuses on human behaviour, business management, coaching, communication, interpersonal relationships and human resources.
Our range of courses include:
- Recruiting and Retaining Top Talent
- Intro to Management and Leadership
- Advanced Interpersonal Communication
- Intro to Human Behaviour
- Coaching Skills for Managers
- Employee Motivation & Wellness
Interpersonal skills will be a focus in the years ahead as we use intelligent technology more to get things done. Our online courses can help build organisational knowledge by equipping employees with management and coaching know-how and a deeper understanding of human behaviour.
In a rapidly evolving world, investing in these competencies can help build more beneficial interpersonal relationships, which are vital to growing a business. As we’ve mentioned, AI will influence how we work in many ways, many of which we don’t understand yet. However, many agree that building durable human skills, such as interpersonal and management capacity remains critical.
Browse our courses to learn more, and contact us with any queries about how you can incorporate our online courses into your employee skills development plan.