Welcome to the online world
The COVID-19 pandemic forced people working in all areas of life to re-evaluate their approach to work. Businesses have moved from offices to homes, coworkers opted for online meetings instead of personal ones. While it took some time getting used to, there is no better era to deal with the pandemic. We live in the age of digitalization. And it is digitalization which is key to the education of your employees.
The benefits of corporate education
It is estimated that one in three employees leave their job within the first year due to lack of training. This does not apply only to young adults who have just finished their university studies, but also skilled employees who have changed jobs. Both the former and the latter should be considered juniors during their first 6-12 months in the company, and should be given time to settle in. If a company has a well set-up education program and training plan, it makes it easier to build an internal database for future hiring, plan hierarchy change, create reward plans, etc. As stated above, many companies lack them. This may result in loss of senior staff as well. An astounding 94% of employees would stay longer in companies that are willing to invest in their professional development, according to LinkedIn’s 2018 Workplace Learning Trends.
These statistics clearly show that employees wish to broaden their knowledge. We live in an age when it is important to be different but also to possess specific knowledge in a very narrow field. Information is not passed down via printed books or even orally. It is stored and available online. That is what makes training so easy.
From a psychological standpoint, self-education is what prompts professional and personal growth alike. It is what drives many employees to improve themselves and eventually, provided they do not get enough chances to gain new knowledge in their current employment, to change a job.
How to start changing your attitude towards corporate education and make it easy for both you as an employer, and your employees to “hop on” the train of education and arrive at your destination of common satisfaction?
Well, the good news is, some of your employees might have already started their self-training. There are plenty of easily accessible ways for them to educate themselves, i.e. online webinars, live streams, debates, LinkedIn content, Google Discover, podcasts, etc. Some of them are for free, others require a fee. Either way, if employees see the topic or the platform as useful for their job, they are more willing to participate.
Even though 56% of HR managers are aware that the employees’ learning needs should be taken into consideration, only 13% of learners employ the newly-found knowledge, according to careermetis.com. The solution seems to be simple - let employees come up with suggestions for seminars which they would find useful. Trainings do not even have to be attended in a group - after all, a different job position requires different knowledge. The contents of the training should also reflect the learners’ expertise, skills, age and gender.
Motivation is key
As stated above, corporate education might be one of the ways to keep your employees satisfied. Except for prompting them to come up with suggestions for their further development themselves, you can also provide them with newsletters about various free or paid online trainings which they might find useful.
It is also possible that some of them already participate in various courses to widen their knowledge or skills, or even have a certificate. Why not reward them for it with a pay-rise or a monthly bonus? Moreover, an offering of quality training can also be a great way to get new employees - there are plenty of people in search of good jobs with good training. After all, with corporate education, you can expect to receive back as much as you are willing to invest.
Make use of the era when every training takes place directly at your employees’ home, saving their time and your money, and bring your corporate benefits to a new level. It might be a start of a more productive work environment, new ideas, and eventually great revenues.
Zuzana Legenová, PPC specialist, PROMISEO
Mária Duffeková, Copywriter, PROMISEO
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