Why not upskilling your team is more expensive than upskilling them

We all know that upskilling our workforce is one of the quickest and easiest ways to see a return on investment in employees. Not only will your people be happier, more motivated and invested in your business, they will have a wider skillset that enriches your offering.

In fact, companies that offer training programs have on average a 218% higher income per employee, according to the Association For Talent Development, meaning that it’s almost certain that your company will benefit financially from upskilling it’s people. Plus, according to ClearCompany 76% of employees are looking to upskill, so you’ll be able to keep your people happy too.

Why Are People Still Reluctant To Upskill Their Workforce?

It begs the question then – why are companies still in doubt about whether to upskill their teams? Well, many businesses question the initial cost of training and how long it takes to see a return. Effectively, they view training as a loss, rather than an investment.

This attitude is pretty damaging, as whilst the financial return of upskilling your people may take a couple of months the return is instant in terms of employee engagement, motivation and loyalty. This in itself offers a huge financial benefit in ensuring that you keep your most talented people.

Upskilling To Increase Employee Engagement

Often, employers fall into the trap of thinking that money is the only way to engage, motivate and retain their best workers. However, that is simply not true.

A recent GallUp study reported that 20% of workers claimed that development opportunities and training would engage them more than increased financial compensation. Plus, companies with high employee engagement are 12% more profitable and 18% more productive than their competitors.

When you couple that information with the fact that the cost of replacing a disengaged employee who quits is reported to be around 6-9 months of their salary, the instant return of upskilling suddenly looks a lot more attractive.

It’s Not All About Engagement Though…

Upping employee engagement and loyalty is a huge reason for upskilling your workforce, but it’s not the only one. Once employees have got to grips with their learning and can fully implement it within the workplace, your business offering will increase and you’ll be able to stay ahead of the curve.

So many businesses fall down because they don’t prepare for changes in their industry and business in general, and therefore don’t have the talent available when they need it. For this reason, it’s never too early to start training your employees for the future.

How To Future-Proof Your Business

Digital Learning is the way forward in terms of future-proofing your business. By investing in online learning, you’ll be able to define what skills you need and empower your team with the skills they need to succeed.

With AI powered digital learning, you can be sure that AI will deliver the right content to the right person at the right time, so that you’re never left behind. With personalised learning, and the most up to date training you’ll be able to put your teams collective knowledge together to drive results.

How Will A Company Know That Training Is Working?

Employee wellbeing, engagement and loyalty should be instantly recognisable. Most workplaces notice an instant rejuvenation as employees are appreciative of the investment you’re making in them. Learning is exciting, and that excitement is usually translated into good energy in the workplace.

Alongside that, there are some easy ways that you can tell if your company is benefiting from digital learning:

• Ask your people: Ask for employee feedback and use real time insights to discover how people are getting on with the training. A quality learning platform will offer this service.
• Notice employee behaviour: Did the mood in the office change? Are people more engaged? Did you see retention rates increase?

• Has performance improved? A more skilled workforce will approach challenges in new ways, and over time you will notice an improvement in performance.

• Client reviews: If you’re client or customer facing, this improved performance can often be seen in the service that your customers receive. Happier employees create happier clients.
• ROI: Measuring the return on investment is a sure fire way to see if the training has benefited your company. How much have you saved in employee retention costs? How much have you made in being able to offer new services? Are you able to tackle new challenges that you may have had to outsource previously?

Not upskilling your team is undoubtedly more expensive than upskilling them. But how can you ensure that your learning experience is an engaging one? Use our nine tips for getting your approach to upskilling right, where we also talk you through the key statistics on why it’s so important.

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