When you realize as a leader in your company that professional development to advance the careers of your employees is a worthy investment, you will begin to advance your business, too.
In every corporate well-being service BreakWell has provided, we have seen the extraordinary power and effects of nurturing employees’ careers. In fact, we deemed this as one of our 8 pillars of well-being – career well-being.
Unfortunately, many business leaders fear that investing in their employees’ careers will equip them to move on to other companies. Though that does happen occasionally, when you nurture career well-being along with the other 7 pillars of well-being, you will greatly reduce employee turnover. And this makes a significant positive impact on your business’ bottom line.
An Inside Look at Proper Professional Development
One mistake we see too often is when companies offer general training or career development workshops without getting feedback from employees first. This can cost you a lot of money – in expense and continued employee turnover.
Instead, you need to apply what we call Employee Care. Employee Care involves speaking with your employees as individuals, getting their objective, honest feedback and using that feedback to create your programs.
When applied to career well-being, the difference could look like this.
You find out your project managers want help with time management and how to use AI (artificial intelligence) to improve efficiency. They want to eventually handle more projects at one time, working more efficiently.
OR
You find out your project managers want help with time management but don’t trust AI or aren’t that technologically inclined. They want to eventually oversee other project managers and help with business development but do less of the actual project management.
Instead of offering general time management training, you might offer something that incorporates AI and other technology. Or for the second scenario, you might offer a professional development series that teaches lower-tech time management techniques and networking and sales skills.
The key is listening and then reiterating back that your career development options help them get to that next level they desire. It is crafted for them because you care about your employees.
Why Investing in Professional Development for Your Employees Is Wise
We already established that it’s critical to understand the WHY behind your employees’ professional desires – why they want to learn and what they want to learn.
Similarly, it’s critical to be clear on your WHY behind investing in your employees’ professional development and career well-being. Let’s consider these facts.
1) Employees desire to work in places where they can grow and advance in their careers – this is something they look for in a job.
2) Your employees’ feedback will reveal whether they feel like they need more challenge, feel satisfied with their workload or feel like they are on the brink of burnout.
3) A better understanding of your employees will help ensure each is in the right role and headed for the right next role. Otherwise, you risk having those employees leave and other employees getting burned out picking up the slack.
4) Also, when an employee leaves and no one knows how to do that job or takes extra time to acclimatize (job knowledge loss), your company can suffer a huge profit loss and client disappointment.
This heightened understanding can help you be more accurate and honest with job descriptions, resulting in better structuring and hiring decisions.
Let the Stats Speak
Yet, only 26% of Human Resource professionals report that they are developing effective leaders and managers, while 25% believe their organizations are offering NO career advancement opportunities (2022-2023 SHRM State of the Workplace Report).
According to this Randstad article, 58% of employees agree their companies don’t currently have enough growth opportunities for them to stay longer term. And 69% would be more satisfied if their employers better utilized their skills and abilities.
Developing your employees needs to be deep-rooted in your culture. It takes your team to the next level ongoing. It creates loyalty. And it shows your appreciation through Employee Care.
Are you ready to establish a culture of Employee Care, invest in professional development offerings your employees seek and take your business to the next level? Do you want to watch your employees enjoying their work as your business grows?
BreakWell and our Professional Partner Network offer career well-being and professional development services such as strategic talent planning and coaching, individual development training and talent assessment to help you succeed. Get on our schedule today!