Workers are leaving companies in record numbers for slight pay bumps or training opportunities elsewhere and many times the employers respond with comments like “There is just no loyalty anymore.” But statistics show that having a strong training program and dedication to employee skill development increases your employee retention rate by 30-50%! And we all know that Employee Retention is critical to the success of your business.
If you’ve ever considered the loyalty of your employees to your company to be of significance; I ask you – Do you care about the personal well-being of your employees? Do you check in with them about their physical and mental health? Do you make sure they have access to adequate health and financial resources? Do you pay a competitive salary? Do you offer a pension? And most importantly – do you invest in your employee’s training and skills development? If the answer to any one of those questions is no – you are not showing loyalty to your employee, so why would you expect loyalty in return? A study by Better Buys shows that 86% of employees would change jobs if a new company offered them more opportunities for professional development. Nobody wants to work a dead-end job!
Many skilled and employable individuals could be highly successful with the right training but have been leaving companies for positions where they feel there is an opportunity for advancement. Regardless of the impact on their business, employers it seems are still often refusing to hire entry-level skills or take on apprentices with the short-sighted thinking that if they commit to training an employee, particularly through a costly certification program (like apprentices) that they are just going to leave for another company that pays more and non-compete clauses in employment contracts are rarely enforceable and can only be written for a maximum of one year.
Compounding this is the complaint that they don’t have time to train employees and want to hire already skilled employees and/or certified tradespeople. Many employers want the number of skilled employees to increase without realizing that training and apprenticeships are necessary to get to that point and will often adopt a “Let someone else train them” attitude. That attitude is being a part of the problem rather than the solution.
Many people lost their jobs during the pandemic and research shows that 20% of Canadians who lost their jobs moved to different sectors where they felt there were more opportunities; often without having the required skills for that sector. This jumping between sectors creates skills gaps and highlights the need for increased training that enables more employees to perform the required jobs and tasks necessary to keep business flowing. It’s just not possible to find the perfect candidate with 10+ years of experience in a post-pandemic world. Ensuring your employees are well-trained and have a wide range of skills and abilities will ensure that no jobs or tasks go undone for lack of an experienced employee to handle them.
It’s no longer about the bottom dollar of your business – it’s about your employees. Going forward in a post-pandemic society, they will be the things that make or break the success of your business. So invest in them. Train them. Treat them well and they will take care of your business for you. One thing is certain – the Pandemic has changed the reality of the labour force and employers will have to learn to manage their businesses differently. The status quo just won’t work anymore.