More and more companies are experiencing worker shortages or difficulties maintaining employees. It has forced businesses to reevaluate their policies and the treatment of their workers.
Organizations are increasing wages, mental health awareness, vacation days, remote working, and vehicle allowances to keep employees happy outside of the office, but they are also providing more training within the workspace. This allows employees to feel set up for success, up to date on best practices, and have a sense of ownership in their learning experience.
Maintaining Best Practices
Staying up to date on best practices should be a no-brainer. Regardless of the industry, changes and improvements are constantly being made in the areas of technology, terminology, and trends.
Bringing in experts or company representatives for “lunch and learns” or weekly company-wide training provided by leadership keeps everyone on the same page and moving forward. Training also keeps companies competitive in their markets. Anything from medical and veterinary clinics to hair and nail salons are expected to provide the latest and greatest services or risk being considered out of date and antiquated.
Ownership in the Learning Experience
Making training relevant for employees is essential. Have the occasional insurance or retirement expert brought in on company time. It will encourage buy-in and appreciation from workers if their individual needs are considered from the corporate level. Allow time for specific meetings and questions. If someone wants to know if their procedure from Northwest Surgery Center is fully covered by insurance or how much they should be contributing to their 401K, take away the stigma of asking questions about serious issues.
Practice and ownership of training are also valuable for companies and employees. Large companies that emphasize training often assign employees with topics to research and then deliver their findings to their coworkers. It has been an education method for decades and it makes sense that corporations would also use this practice.
Individuals are assigned groups and a topic to learn about and then become the experts. They then have to prepare some sort of presentation to their fellow employees and answer any questions. Setting aside work time for this type of research and training allows employees to take ownership of their own training. They get to take a deep dive into relevant content and then deliver it in a way that they would enjoy.
Training is one of those things that literally has no downside. It may cost money, but the potential reward is very much worth the cost. Employees are more likely to stick around if they feel like they can continue to grow in a company that supports their individual needs.
Ultimately, maintaining experienced and quality employees is just good for business.
