It’s no surprise that today’s business leaders are beginning to look inward to assess how their employees’ experience their working environments.
Modern and inclusive management teams want to understand how their employees work, what’s working and what’s not, from day-to-day communication right up to corporate culture.
One of the reasons leaders are doing this is because employee churn is not only highly disruptive to productivity, but it is also very expensive. According to The Work Institute, last year more than 48 million employees left their jobs in the US, costing a whopping 600 million dollars in turnover costs – ouch!
For this reason, leaders are looking at new ways to engage their employees, and one very successful way to do this is to invest in people. Jobseekers are now looking for roles that not only tick the box from a salary and benefits point of view – they’re looking for working cultures that help them grow.
In this article, we explore the 6 ways to improve your company’s culture by investing in personal development.
1. On-boarding
Establishing a healthy team environment starts on day one – the on-boarding process. By showing your new recruit that you’re serious about their future in your business, they will feel secure in the role, valued, and clued up when it comes to actually starting the job.
The best businesses automatically enrol new starters on mandatory company training. Every individual must complete the training before they start the job. This can be anywhere from one day’s worth to a full two-week programme, depending on the level of knowledge required in the role.
A great way to get them started on this is to introduce the employee to the training ahead of their actual start date. You can do this through digital workplace software, intranets, or HR systems. All you’ll need is your new starter’s email address and away you go. That way, your new recruit will feel valued from the get-go.
2. Incentivise it
Sometimes it can be tricky to motivate teams to voluntarily attend training, especially if they’ve been in the business for a long time.
While better education up-front will help your team’s personal development long-term, it can feel daunting or even boring for some. Attaching an additional ‘what’s in it for me’ benefit can help seal the deal.
Some companies offer an extra day’s holiday for completing lengthy or challenging courses, while others incentivise teams by offering pay increases. It could be as simple as offering a free lunch voucher at the end of the course.
Incentivising staff can help boost personal development long-term
3. Lead from the top
If you’re a business leader or manage a large team, you’ll need to lead by example. After all, why would your team invest in personal development or training if their manager doesn’t?
Speak to your HR or Learning & Development team to find out what relevant courses or training is available in-house, and go along to understand what’s involved.
4. Throw it back to the team
There’s no getting away from it – in most large organisations, there will be a certain amount of mandatory training that everyone will have to go through to tick that compliance box.
Once that’s complete, how do you motivate your team to continue their personal and professional development? If you’re scratching your head to think of useful and engaging training that will help boost your team’s ability and productivity, throw it back to them to get some ideas. In specialised lines of work like Marketing or HR, there are loads of external courses available that will use innovative and exciting ways to educate their students.
5. Share the wealth (of knowledge)
Another great way to demonstrate your company’s investment in personal development is to shout about it from the rooftops.
While that may not be practical, the next best thing is to do so on your company’s social media or intranet platforms – these are great places to start the conversation.
Promote your company’s commitment to personal development on your internal social media
It can seem a little inauthentic if the boss is seen evangelising about the latest bit of training available, so why not engage a champion within your team to get the ball rolling? Your Corporate Communications team will be able to provide some guidance to boost engagement on such platforms.
6. Invite an expert in
If you plan to roll out blanket training, another great way to encourage a culture shift when it comes to personal development is to invite an expert in to lead the class or course. This will offer your colleagues an opportunity to learn together and is also a fantastic team-building opportunity.
Go one step further and offer prizes or incentives for those who complete the course first, or who answers ‘X’ number of questions correctly!
How have you invested in your team’s personal development lately? What tips and tricks have worked for you?
