Is it Expensive to Not Train Your Employees?

#1: Training existing employees is cheaper than hiring new ones.

An employee who values being upskilled will not be happy if he does not find training opportunities. As a result, he will either quit voluntarily or get fired for underperforming. Now, you may feel that it is easy to rehire for the position. Well, it may be easy but not cheap. Hiring a new employee may cost up to 40% of the position’s salary. This may run into thousands of dollars. But, if you decide to train an existing employee, it will cost you far less. You should also consider the time it takes to train a new employee. It will be far more than training an existing one. As per a study by Right Management, almost 70% of the companies believe that staff turnover has a huge negative impact on cost of hiring and productivity.

#2: Not training makes the work environment unsafe.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration believe that untrained employees are more

vulnerable to accidents and injuries. Since they are not trained properly, they lack the knowledge of operating equipment and supplies. This can be dangerous for a workplace that involves hazardous materials and heavy machinery. You may have specific procedures and protocols in place. But, if your employees are not trained adequately, then there will be accidents. These accidents can be costly. You will need to pay for medical attention upfront. You may also need to pay compensation to the injured employee’s family- not to mention the cost that you may have to pay for company lawsuits and loss of brand image.

#3: Untrained employees have lower productivity.

The market is highly competitive and ever-changing. There is tough competition in all industries. This means that it is critical to have employees who are adequately trained to keep the competition at bay. A poorly trained workforce is a group of demotivated people. They do not feel appreciated. They feel that they are not performing at the optimum efficiency level. They have difficulty maintaining a high-performance standard. As a result, both the quality and productivity of their work suffers. Substandard products and services will oust you from the market in no time.

#4: Undertrained employees hamper the productivity of their managers.

A manager or supervisor has strategic tasks to fulfill based on the role he is in. But, if his team in undertrained, then he has to take time out from his job role to deal with their problems. He will end up spending a lot of time resolving issues that would not have arisen with adequately trained staff. In the end, his accomplishments will suffer.

Trained employees are happy employees. And, happy employees make the business successful. The current workforce values training as it helps them stay ahead of the competition. When they do not receive training opportunities, they feel dissatisfied and underutilized. They are frustrated with their jobs and become less loyal to the organization. Eventually they leave. But, even when they are with an organization, they do not perform at their best.

The basic problem is when organizations see training as an expense and not an investment. They do not realize that under-trained employees will lead to ineffective use of company resources and hinder customer satisfaction. Ultimately, the bottom line will be affected. So, do not ignore the power of a trained workforce. If you do not have the time or budget for a face-to-face training program, opt for elearning. There are several benefits of online learning including reduced cost.

Designing Digitally, Inc. specializes in interactive elearning that keeps the learners motivated. We believe that learner interactivity is important. So, we convert common web-based training components to meaningful scenarios and relevant activities.

Get in touch with our team today to learn more about improving the training programs at your organization.