How Employee Training Impacts Turnover

How are training and turnover related?

According to a survey funded by Allied Van Lines, the average cost of filling one staff position is approximately $11,000, with additional relocation costs. So, an organization can recoup significant savings by reducing their staff turnover. Believe it or not, successful training can help you improve staff retention.

When an employee enters an organization, one of their first tasks is typically an HR onboarding training. This program should help them understand the company and know who to contact for help and support. Also, at an early point in the onboarding process, a supervisor should clearly state the new hire’s job role and success criteria so they understand their performance objectives. Completing the onboarding process is the first milestone in employee training.

As a new hire settles into their role, they need further training in order to improve their abilities. If you, as an organization, neglect to teach your employees how to enhance their skills, you are setting them up to fall short of the job expectations you set forth. Employees will take more time to complete their work and will likely not produce quality results. This may lead to lower morale and job dissatisfaction. Therefore, it is important to uphold a culture of ongoing training.  Almost all organizations are looking for people who are willing to learn and upskill with the changing needs of the business. Companies that encourage professional development can attract these valuable individuals.

Retaining Talent

The initial challenge is to attract the right talent. The next, and greater challenge, is to retain the talent. It is not easy to hold on to employees for even five years in the same job. They want to grow and find promotions, and they will seek higher positions outside your company if they are not available internally. To help retain employees, develop training plans that prepare them for promoting within the ranks of your organization. This will make employees aware of better opportunities inside the company and, ideally, give them a goal to strive for within the organization. By retaining the best talent in your company, you save the cost of selecting, recruiting, and onboarding new employees.

Training is an effective tool that helps companies build committed and productive employees. There are several ways to measure if your training is truly beneficial. If it is a skill-based training, you may be able to assign a metric to sales or productivity. Another method is to conduct pre and post tests before and after the training. Additionally, you can measure employee satisfaction through qualitative surveys that provide an understanding of how much they value the training opportunities.

Certain organizations believe that if they train their employees, they will leave the organization for better opportunities. But, that is not usually true. Ambitious employees are on a constant lookout to sharpen their skills and learn new things every day. So, if their employers do not offer them relevant opportunities to learn and develop professional abilities, they will look for companies that offer such opportunities. Happy employees are loyal employees. If you want them to stay put, make sure you meet their training needs. Also, if you do not train your employees for the fear of them leaving, you are forcing your organization to rely on an untrained, unskilled staff who cannot help you stay ahead of your competitors.

Designing Digitally, Inc. specializes in interactive elearning that keeps learners motivated. Our gamified training modules, Serious Games, and training simulations get learners excited about learning new skills.

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