When we first looked at employees' priorities for their employers in 2019, we found that the most prevalent need was for ongoing training and education. In post-pandemic 2022, during the Great Resignation/Great Reshuffle/Great Reevaluation (pick your preferred nomenclature here) our findings are quite different.
While training, career opportunities, and values alignment are still important to employees, Forbes' Top Ten HR Trends for 2022 reports that employees are expecting more from their employers:
- Overwhelmingly the future of work is employee well being. Beyond EAP programs, employees want their employers to provide resources and education that enhance the individual and family life experiences of their employees. The concept of employee well-being has expanded beyond physical well-being to include emotional, financial, social, and career wellness.
- It's hardly a surprise that 83% of workers Accenture surveyed have placed a premium on hybrid work and over 60% of high-growth organizations have already adopted a "productivity anywhere" working model. The premium placed on hybrid, flexible work schedules is especially critical to working parents who are particularly challenged to meet childcare and homeschooling needs while COVID-19 and its variants are still impacting in-person school.
- Even pre-pandemic, employees looked for alignment between their values and their employer's corporate values. This is even more in evidence now, as 75% of those surveyed want their employers to be "a force for good"
- The labor market is tight in January 2022, with unemployment at a historically low 3.9%. In response, employers are more willing to explore skills-based hiring versus credential-based requirements. This not only expands the candidate pool but also supports greater visibility for current employees' career aspirations by providing them with educational pathways for specific industries and job functions.
The Original 2019 Article:
Your employees are smart, driven and their values align well with the company. That’s why you hired them, and that’s why you want them to stay with your organization.
Employees also know that the only way they will be able to grow and excel within their role and within the company is with education and training. Employees are looking to their employers for that training. A recent study by Clutch showed that 93% of employees say it is important for their company to help them build skills for their current job. Nearly three-quarters of people (73%) think it is very or somewhat important for employers to help them build the skills needed to grow or transition into another role.
Most employees want to improve at their jobs and become better employees. They want to be recognized for their contribution and viewed as more valuable to the organization and its goals. Employees tend to leave companies that fail to offer suitable job development opportunities or once they stop acquiring new skills.
The same survey revealed that half of the employees (50%) have not been offered any form of job retraining in the past year, yet seventy percent of employees (70%) say they are likely to participate in an employer-provided job retraining program.
As a company, you should be thrilled about helping your workforce grow, develop and improve. Every position needs some improvement or added skill sets, and job retraining opportunities can help encourage both employee performance and morale. In the end, you will have a dedicated, intelligent, and curious workforce – and THAT is a great asset.
This is a chance for your organization to select or build training programs that coincide with the company’s future goals and focus.
Let’s Consider an Example:
ABC Company is going to move its sales CRM information from one platform to another. The original idea was to invest in training the sales workforce on how to use the CRM in the new platform. However, when they considered the idea of retraining and asked employees what they would like more information about, they learned that the teams wanted information beyond the basic technology and platform. They wanted it to include best practices, new email marketing methods, social media skills, writing tips, how to handle certain situations, compliance updates, etc. They were also hoping to have workflows added to automate certain tasks and discuss ways that the new system can help eliminate redundancy.
If ABC Company didn’t ask the sales workforce about the training they needed for the new system, the sales people would have only been trained on the technology. Retraining the sales teams on best practices and helping them sell better by enhancing their social and writing skills will create a stronger sales team that can produce more revenue for the company.
Incorporating retraining and education into your employee program is your organization’s opportunity to help employees get better at their jobs, eliminate bad practices, teach new technologies and reward positive performance. When done strategically, retraining and building a clear path for growth and success can yield significant returns for businesses. Beyond building a smarter, more capable team, you will also be creating organizational loyalty and brand ambassadors simultaneously. Invest in educating your workforce and your organization will reap great rewards.
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