In a time of economic uncertainty, it's all too common for organizations to view learning and development as a cost center instead of a strategically important business function. However, studies continue to prove that training employees not only increases the company’s bottom line but increases overall employee morale.
Many studies show that the total cost of losing an employee can equal tens of thousands of dollars. One recent article on employee retention points to a range of factors contributing to the high cost of employee turnover, including
- Cost of recruiting and hiring a new employee (including advertising, interviewing, and screening)
- Cost to onboard a new employee (including training and using company resources)
- Lost productivity (time it takes for a new employee to work at the same speed as an expert employee)
- Lost engagement (employees who witness high turnover tend to disengage and can affect productivity)
- Customer service and errors (new employees may make mistakes as they learn and grow)
- Cultural impact (high turnover can taint the culture)
If employee retention is important to you, then consider how an e-learning system can make an impact, decreasing your turnover and boosting your bottom line.
Focus on culture add and willingness to learn
Is the more technically qualified candidate always the best person for the job? In some instances, no! An individual's willingness and ability to learn, become efficient and prove a good culture add is more important than technical prowess. Those candidates who have room to grow take time to train and learn as they enhance the organization. According to Inc., hiring employees that don't mesh well with the existing or desired company culture can lead to poor work quality, decreased job satisfaction, and a potentially toxic environment. It is important to look for culture add rather than culture fit when examining potential candidates. Culture add refers to candidates that share goals and values with the organization but bring some characteristic of diversity that can become a huge benefit to your organization. A learning management system (LMS) can be the catalyst for building a learning culture within your organization and can give those with potential the support needed to quickly become indispensable to an organization.
Employees will recognize the investment
Having a well-developed training plan is critical to your organization’s success. Standardized training across the company is important, but this will also allow employees to feel like the organization cares about investing time and money on professional and career development. By using a learning platform or LMS to clearly communicate expectations and learning goals, employees are able to see where their intended career path leads. A Louis Harris and Associates poll reports that among employees with poor training opportunities, 41% planned to leave within a year, whereas of those who considered their company's training opportunities to be excellent, only 12% planned to leave.
E-learning programs boost overall morale
In a survey of more than 1,400 people, almost half (49%) didn’t think their employer was offering them enough learning and development opportunities. Employees want to feel satisfied in their growth and confident that they are working toward opportunity. Having a state-of-the-art LMS that gives employees an easy, productive, and rewarding experience lets them know that the organization cares about their growth. A comprehensive training program helps your employees understand their roles and responsibilities as well as how their role contributes to the organization, which will increase performance and lead to additional room for growth. Giving employees a clear path forward can boost morale. It doesn’t always have to be a job promotion or pay raise, instead, you can give them more development opportunities and offer incentives for completion.
Giving your employees a chance to succeed
An LMS gives your employees the opportunity to learn and train with structure and support. By investing in an LMS, you are essentially giving your employees the chance to reach their full potential at the organization. Not only will your employee’s quality of work improve, but you will likely be able to retain them as they understand appreciate the company's investment in them. An investment in your employees learning is an investment in your organization.