Building a reputation as a company that supports and invests in your people will help you stand out and increase employee retention. And that happens when you invest in employee development.<\/p>\n
What employees want<\/h2>\n
People don\u2019t view their jobs as just a means to a paycheck. More and more, they value a work-life balance and look for more purpose and fulfillment in their jobs.<\/p>\n
Employees want the opportunity for career advancement and personal growth. And if they don\u2019t feel those goals are supported in their current workplace, they\u2019re likely to seek another.<\/p>\n
In a recent survey of remote workers<\/strong><\/a>, 35% indicated they were considering leaving their employer in the next year. Those considering leaving overwhelmingly cited feeling undervalued at work and didn\u2019t see room for professional growth if they stayed.<\/p>\n And companies aren\u2019t always helping them see the road to advancement. In that same survey, 61% of remote employees say that additional training would help them perform better in their roles<\/strong>, whether they already receive training or not.<\/p>\n Employee development can play a big role in alleviating those concerns. Remote employee training<\/strong><\/a> does more than just improve productivity. Employees who received training also feel more valued by their companies and report greater happiness in their jobs.<\/p>\n In that same survey, 9% of remote workers who receive training reported higher rates of happiness with their jobs than those who haven\u2019t received training. And nearly 20% more reported feeling valued by the company.<\/p>\n And those numbers are quite significant when you consider how easy it is for employees nowadays to land a new job. With the rise of remote work, they have a greater variety of options<\/strong>, so they\u2019re more likely to move to (and stay with) a company where they feel valued\u2014and so do their coworkers.<\/p>\n Employee development is a key factor in employee retention and should be central to your employer branding strategy. But a successful development plan goes beyond just offering training.<\/p>\n Most people would probably agree that training is important for career health. And many companies now offer training. But there are lots of ways to interpret what \u201ctraining\u201d entails, and not all learning strategies are created equal<\/strong>.<\/p>\n If by \u201ctraining\u201d, you\u2019re thinking of an onboarding session and access to an online library or tickets to an annual conference, don\u2019t expect it to make an impact on your employer brand. You need to think of training as employee development, an investment in your people and your growth.<\/p>\n Knowing the different ways employee training can boost your brand will help you know what kind of training to offer and how and when to implement it.<\/p>\n To increase employee retention and grow your company going forward, you need to be an attractive option to workers. Helping your employees feel valued and investing in their work experience and careers means putting careful thought into employee development.<\/p>\n Here are six ways you can use employee training to boost your employer brand:<\/p>\n There\u2019s training that\u2019s mandatory\u2014for example, when you train your new hires on company policies, when you deliver a course on cybersecurity, or when you give a company-wide presentation on workplace safety. And then there\u2019s reskilling and upskilling<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n This is the kind of training that helps people refresh and update their skill sets and sets them up for career success. When you invest in their skills, employees won\u2019t feel compelled to change companies when they want to advance professionally or when their role becomes obsolete.<\/p>\n And a necessary reality check:<\/strong> Not every employee will advance their career within your organization. This doesn\u2019t mean, though, you should skip out on offering reskilling\/upskilling opportunities to all<\/em> of your people. You may not be able to promote them, but they could transition to another department or keep their current role and take on new tasks or bring more creative ideas to the table using their recently acquired skills.<\/p>\n Some of your team members might still look elsewhere for their next career step. And that\u2019s ok. Showing that you care about their futures by teaching them the skills they need in today\u2019s workplace is good for your employer brand. Your alumni are the most reliable sources<\/strong> when someone wants to know what it looks like working at your company.<\/p>\n When you invest in their skills development, at least they\u2019ll recognize the effort and put a good word out there\u2014whether they stay in the long run or not. And at the most, you\u2019ll have gained well-equipped team members. It\u2019s a win-win in both cases.<\/p>\n eLearning makes it easier than ever to roll out training to employees no matter where they are. Just-in-time and self-paced learning mean you can reach everyone and provide a consistent learning experience across the board. But one-size-fits-all programs often lack the specific knowledge and skills required for every position.<\/p>\n Consider creating personalized learning specifically tailored to a learner\u2019s situation or connected to their career path. You can build different versions of courses for different roles<\/strong> and offer training specific to an employee\u2019s job.<\/p>\n For example, a sales rep is going to need training on how to talk about and highlight the features of a new product. They should be able to explain how it solves clients\u2019 problems or fits in their needs. A customer service rep, on the other hand, requires training that walks them through troubleshooting issues that come up with the product.<\/p>\n With online learning, you can offer different versions of the same training. In our example, both employees would get the same theoretical course on how a feature works. Then, depending on their role, they would have different assignments so they can learn either how to sell that feature or how to troubleshoot potential issues.<\/p>\n Use your LMS to recognize a learner\u2019s role when they log in. You can populate their homepage with a custom menu highlighting relevant training for them.<\/p>\n Deliver tailor-made training with TalentLMS. Don\u2019t limit yourself to training employees only for the role they have now\u2014waiting until they\u2019re moved to a new role to help them upskill. Instead, consider proactively training them to prepare them for the future.<\/p>\n For example, leadership training<\/strong><\/a> isn\u2019t just for those currently in leadership positions. Management skills benefit employees at every level in the company. And employees are much more comfortable moving into leadership roles when they\u2019ve already been trained to handle them.<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard for people to see a future with your company if you aren\u2019t helping them prepare for it. Don\u2019t leave your employees feeling stranded in their career goals by waiting to teach them important skills. You can start coaching them for what\u2019s ahead from the day they join your team. When you offer training proactively, you communicate your investment in their future.<\/p>\n Your training should focus on content that would attract and retain employees. Employees aren\u2019t just looking for the hard skills associated with their jobs. Yes, they need to know the ins and outs of how to succeed in the role. But consider expanding your offerings with content that improves people\u2019s employee experience.<\/p>\n That could involve hard skills like project management training. But, soft skills training<\/strong><\/a>, or even training that goes beyond the workplace, could be perceived as a meaningful benefit. For example, teach communication skills to help people better manage their work relationships. Or, roll out content on how to deal with mental health issues or how to practice mindfulness to help reduce stress and anxiety.<\/p>\n When you help employees have a better all-around experience with their jobs, they\u2019re more likely to stay with the company. And they\u2019re going to be happier, and thus more productive, in their work.<\/p>\n Meet TalentLibrary™ Interdisciplinary training is another form of non-job-related training that employees can benefit from. Help people understand not just their own jobs, but also the work that goes on around them. Understanding the connections can help them think more clearly about their own role and possibly invest more in it.<\/p>\n For example, developers already get training on new tech and new programming languages. But how about teaching them what happens once they\u2019ve released a product? With sales and marketing training, they can better understand user requirements and how the business operates as a whole. And that can help them build better products in the future.<\/p>\nHow employee development can help<\/h2>\n
![\"TalentLMS](\"https:\/\/www.talentlms.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/remote-work-survey-5.png\")
<\/p>\nEmployee development is more than just training<\/h2>\n
Employee training: an employer brand booster<\/h2>\n
1. Reskill and upskill<\/h3>\n
2. Personalize learning<\/h3>\n
![\"TalentLMS](\"https:\/\/www.talentlms.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/sub-accounts-in-TalentLMS.png\")
<\/p>\n
\n<\/b>Create sub-accounts for different audiences, customize as needed,<\/span>
\nand manage everything from one place.<\/span>![\"Create](\"https:\/\/www.talentlms.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/CTA.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\n3. Be proactive, not reactive with training<\/h3>\n
4. Deliver more than just job-related content<\/h3>\n
\n
\n<\/b>A growing collection of ready-made courses
\n<\/span>that your teams can access at any time, and at their own pace
\n<\/span>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.talentlms.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/TalentLibrary_CTA.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.talentlms.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/TalentLibrary-characters-row.png\")
<\/p>\n
\n5. Provide interdisciplinary training<\/h3>\n