Employee training benefits both businesses and employees, serving as the fuel that ignites workplace productivity. So one would think that companies would aim to optimize their workforce development strategies for peak performance.
But, as we’re seeing at many companies across the globe, this is not really happening. In reality, most L&D programs out there still rely on “broad-brush” training that fails to produce results. HR teams looking to realize the long list of employee growth benefits delivered by continuous learning must first grasp why personalization is key to success, and how to make it work.
This is more important than ever, considering today’s business environment. Increasing skill gaps, particularly in the face of artificial intelligence, are making L&D more than a ‘nice to have’. Companies that figure out how to run quality, ongoing employee growth programs will reap real rewards in the global competition for productivity.
What Is Continuous Employee Growth and Development?
Continuous employee growth is the ongoing process of supporting and investing in employee skill development to match current gaps and prepare for the future. Whereas standard employee development plans are usually based on single courses that address a specific skill, continuous employee growth covers a wide variety of skills with a process that lasts as long as the worker is employed by the organization. And these deliver highly-valuable advantages to companies that implement them (as we get into below).
The problem is, these programs are often not successful. We see this in statistics such as the fact that almost half of US employees don’t believe that they are prepared for workplace challenges. But what needs to change?
The 7 Benefits of Employee Growth & Development
The business advantages of continuous employee development are seemingly countless–and go far beyond those of periodic L&D programs. We’ve highlighted the top 7 real-world benefits below:
1. A “High-Development” Culture
According to Gallup, the pathway to creating a high-performance workplace is through a culture where individual employee growth is prioritized. When companies invest in workforce development strategies, they achieve an average profit increase of 11% and double their retention rate.
In organizations like these, learning is seen as standard, and not an exceptional activity that takes time away from more valuable pursuits. Leaders in these companies look for learning opportunities to share with employees throughout their daily operations, which makes the L&D process more relevant.
A learning culture also gets employees thinking in practical terms about developing the skills that they will need in new positions and over the course of their career path.
2. More Internal Mobility
Promoting from within is a practice that should be a cornerstone of HR strategy. It results in improved engagement and employee satisfaction, reduced risk, and lower admin costs, which is also a great way to show a healthy learning and development ROI.
The LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report illustrates how there is a direct connection between a workplace learning culture and internal mobility. Organizations with continuous L&D programs see an internal promotion rate of 23%, compared to 15% for average programs.
3. Improved Knowledge Retention
Losing professional knowledge takes two forms. The first is on an individual level. Over time, if people don’t use what they’ve learned, they no longer show proficiency and may forget completely. This problem is illustrated by the Forgetting Curve.
Secondly, organizations lose institutional knowledge whenever experienced employees leave. Institutional knowledge is the many practices, skills, connections, and trade secrets that companies use as they conduct their business.
Fortunately, employee growth programs help in both respects. Frequent L&D programs give employees a chance to learn and practice their skills, for example, during on-the-job training. Institutional knowledge is also supported by L&D programs, especially those that use mentoring, perhaps combined with succession planning.
4. Expanded Recruiting
Harvard University explains that workers see employee growth programs as essential for their careers, and would be willing to stay longer with a company that gives them such an opportunity.
However, the vast majority don’t have access to development courses, and this creates an advantage for proactive organizations to attract more recruits. Companies should publicize their employee development programs when searching for new workers, and even discuss learning and training plans during interviews.
5. Always Prepared
Implementing L&D programs can take time. Skills in need of improvement must be identified, along with experts; employees who have the time, motivation, and talent need to be signed up; and courses and materials require funds and organization. As the program gets sorted out, the gap in skills may grow as the company loses competitiveness.
With a continuous employee growth program in place, there is minimal ramp up time. Most of the resources and people that the program necessitates are already available.
In addition, it is now easier than ever before to begin continuous employee development due to technological advances.
Learning and development programs once relied on traditional classroom-based methods and seminar-type programs. Companies can now make learning convenient for both the worker and the company through online courses and virtual one-on-one instruction.
6. Recognition of Talent
Continuous learning programs allow managers to see which employees are the most interested in advancing, and the most capable at acquiring new skills (reskilling).
This occurs both when the employee is taught by outside experts and when the manager directly trains the employee. With the extended learning associated with continuous employee development, exceptional talent has frequent chances to be recognized.
7. Increased Employee Motivation
The many advantages of employee growth programs benefit the business, but employees also enjoy them. A study by SHRM showed that workplace L&D for the sake of learning new things motivates more employees than the effect of upgraded skills on a worker’s career. When employees are not challenged and only need to fulfill everyday tasks, they can lapse into indifference. Employee growth programs serve a double purpose of teaching interesting new abilities while increasing the chance that an ambitious worker will get promoted.
How to Implement Continuous Employee Growth in Your Organization
The underlying assumption of any continuous development program is that it is effective. But, as mentioned, this is often not the case.
At the core of the issue is a lack of personalization. Employees who receive training that does not fill in their personal skill gaps, or teaches them about subjects where they are already knowledgeable, is more than a waste of time and money. When workers don’t receive the training that they need, they can’t do their jobs properly, and that leads to a whole cascade of negative consequences.
Instead, companies must develop a method to provide truly customized learning and development. This is a complex process that involves analyzing skill gaps, sourcing L&D experts in those specific areas, and delivering programs where the outcomes are measurable.
Then, employees should be trained in the correct environment. The choice of setting depends somewhat on the recommendation of the expert. But HR teams need to understand why certain course set-ups are ideal for different sorts of learning. For instance:
Internal Mentoring
One L&D challenge that HR teams face is that no external expert will have a deep understanding of how a particular company works. The solution, in this case, is an internal mentorship program. These combine the educational skills of a mentor with the insights that only an insider can have. The key for a successful mentorship initiative is to identify senior employees who have the interest, ability, and time for becoming a mentor. After all, not everybody is able to explain complex ideas in a clear manner. It’s also important for the employee and the mentor to have “chemistry”, as they will be spending a lot of time together.
Internal mentorship is also great for fostering long-term relationships. Even when the employee is finished with a particular course, they can still be in touch with their mentor for as long as both of them remain in the company. For a continuous growth program, there is no better arrangement.
1:1 Skill Development
The downside of an internal mentor is that they might not be a professional teacher. Learning techniques are constantly changing, both in terms of delivery (for example, in-person vs. online) and focus (for example, the increased importance of soft skills compared to hard skills).
In this case, a one-to-one program that involves a professional coach might be the best way to go. Certified coaches tend to be up-to-date with all the latest L&D theories and methods. They are particularly relevant for busy executives who need focused instruction that makes the most of their time.
In addition, one-to-one instruction is an advantage when the upskilling challenge is connected to behavior. For instance, if a leader wants to become more empathetic or a better listener, then that’s related to their personality. 1:1 skill development enables the close personal attention needed for examining the underlying issues of a certain behavior and then guiding the employee towards their goal.
Team Instruction
All that being said, one-to-one programs are not always a practical choice for continuous learning. Most employees don’t have time for this relatively intense form of L&D. In addition, this is an expensive option in the long-run.
Team settings (where up to six employees attend) are an intelligent alternative for continuous growth. If you’ve got a group of workers with the same learning objectives, team instruction keeps them within a relatively compact setting so that they get a lot of attention. If the instruction is going to be online, the size of a team makes it a manageable situation for people to feel comfortable participating.
Teams are also a good way to evaluate the performance of individual employees and experts because they all go through the same learning experience. Another advantage is that participants get to know each other, and these connections often have benefits beyond the program.
Cohort-Based Learning
A final set-up for continuous employee development is cohort-based learning, AKA, workshops. They are similar to group sessions where employees require the same skills, but they involve more people and add an interactive element. The number of employees at a workshop makes it possible to form groups that can be frequently revised to enable new challenges.
Workshops are great for simulations, interpersonal discussions, and the exchange of information. From a financial standpoint, they make the most efficient use of resources. If you are evaluating the effectiveness of a course, the material, or the expert, a workshop provides a diversity of experiences and improves the quality of assessment.
But it’s important for participants to contribute, and that is often the responsibility of the expert. HR should pay attention to this factor by observing and making sure that employees who don’t feel comfortable have a way to make it known.
The Growthspace Advantage: Development Opportunities for Employees at All Levels
In today’s AI-influenced business world, skills are constantly changing. To remain competitive, it is simply crucial to invest in continuous employee growth, and capitalize on the benefits that it brings. After all, every employee has skill requirements that are specific to their job, their ambitions, and their abilities. The challenge really comes down to: how can L&D departments deliver the right courses to the right people?
The Growthspace L&D platform is a precision skill development solution that enables continuous employee growth programs through defining exact skill requirements on an individual basis.
Based on proprietary technology, the platform is highly scalable and can accommodate the needs of large organizations, offering development opportunities for employees of all levels. For these and many more reasons, Growthspace is becoming the go-to implementation for global companies looking to provide effective continuous employee development. For more information, contact Growthspace.
