Training is Important to Employee Satisfaction
From top-level CEOs to middle managers, everyone who supervises a staff knows that employee satisfaction and engagement are crucial to a company’s success. There are several factors that contribute to a worker’s feeling of being satisfied. Some of those factors, such as the overall tone of a company culture, can be complicated to address and challenging to change. Providing employees with training opportunities is both straightforward and universally recognized as having a positive effect on satisfaction and morale, however. It is not an end-all solution for building a crew of happy and productive workers by any means, but it can move you closer to that aim.
Why Does It Matter So Much?
Being offered employer-sponsored training and development opportunities is an important factor in boosting employee satisfaction for a few reasons:
It builds confidence.
Employees generally want to do a good job, they want to perform their tasks correctly and according to company standards. If they are unable to do that because they lack the proper skills or are unclear about expectations and requirements, they will feel stressed and insecure. They may even become resentful.
Giving employees the tools to perform well sets them up for success and allows them to approach tasks with a greater level of self-assurance and confidence.
It offers promise.
Most workers have a goal of upward mobility in their careers. While experience alone may sometimes open doors to promotion, it is more common for advancement to be contingent upon acquiring new skills. If employees aren’t given a chance to grow their skills, they can come to see their jobs as dead ends.
Improving skills and competencies through training gives employees a sense of self-betterment. It makes them feel that they are preparing for advancement and new opportunities.
It provides validation.
Even the most dedicated worker is a person first, an employee second. It is basic human nature to want to feel appreciated and valued. It is also natural for employees to want their company to invest in them in the same way that they are expected to invest in the company. Without validation, workers can find it difficult to be loyal and to truly care about their job and company.
Providing employees with opportunities to increase knowledge and develop skills makes them feel valued. It gives them a sense of being recognized for their potential, a sense of being invested in.
Is It Really Worth It?
Given the costs associated with training and developing workers, some employers may wonder if they can afford it. They may question if it’s worth the expense and end up looking for other ways to achieve employee satisfaction. Few other measures promise to offer as much of a payback as worker training does, however.
It Gets Everyone on the Same Page
Without formal training, workers are left to pick up information about standards and processes from co-workers. Yet unless those individuals are impeccably trained themselves, that sort of informal instruction can result in the spread of bad practices and misinformation.
Formally training your staff ensures that everyone is on the same page and up to par with company standards, protocols, and expectations. It addresses skills gaps and lays a foundation for consistency, which contributes to a better-quality work product.
It Sets Employees Up for Better Performance
Well-trained employees require less supervision and assistance. They operate with greater levels of safety and efficiency, wasting less time and materials from making and correcting mistakes. Knowledgeable and skilled employees produce a better product and offer more consistent service.
Formal professional training also boosts teamwork among employees. Confident, self-empowered workers who feel valued by their company are more inclined to collaborate and work together. And when cross-training is a goal, employees may also be able to function effectively in multiple roles, filling in for one another and ensuring smoother operations overall.
It Makes You Look Better
Employees are part of a company’s brand. They are often the face of an organization to customers and the public, and the quality of their performance influences- sometimes determines- a company’s reputation in the eyes of the world. An increasing number of Human Resources and business management studies are demonstrating that employee experience (or EX) contributes to a better CX- or customer experience. A well-trained and satisfied staff provides higher-quality service to clients, both in terms of tangible products and in terms of courtesy, attentiveness, and responsiveness to customers.
No matter what business you are in, the success of your company relies upon having happy clients. And if the satisfaction of your customers depends upon the satisfaction of your workers, can you really afford not to provide training to your employees?
