How can employee training & upskilling lead to business growth?

Introduction

If you are an L&D leader or HR, you probably dream about a workforce that is constantly upto industry levels and sharply skilled enough to pounce on every opportunity for your business. The reality is quite different. To ensure that your employees are trained and upskilled, you have to constantly plan, put in effort and be far sighted to ensure what the business might need tomorrow your employees become today.  

Now the question arises, if the pain of this constant planning and putting in money can really translate to business growth.  

The answer is yes.  

Let’s see the correlation.  

The benefits of training are wide-ranging. It boosts employee satisfaction and retention rates. It also leads to higher individual and organizational performance. When employees feel supported and invested in, they become brand ambassadors who are loyal to the company and invested in its success. In short, training is not just good for employees but vital for organizational growth, innovation, and results.  

Training Improves Employee Skills

A strategic employee training program is key for developing the job skills, technical skills, and soft skills employees need to succeed in their roles. Through training, employees can gain the specific competencies required to complete tasks efficiently and effectively. 

Technical skills training ensures employees are competent with equipment, software, systems, and processes required for their jobs. This helps prevent mistakes due to lack of proficiency with tools needed to complete day-to-day responsibilities. 

Training also develops soft skills like communication, empathy, positivity, time management, problem solving, and leadership. These skills allow employees to collaborate better as a team and provide high-quality experiences for customers. Strong soft skills also enable employees to adapt to changes and think creatively. The investment in robust training leads to tangible business benefits through more skilled and productive employees. 

Training Increases Productivity

A strategic employee training program is key for developing the job skills, technical skills, and soft skills employees need to succeed in their roles. Through training, employees can gain the specific competencies required to complete tasks efficiently and effectively. 

Technical skills training ensures employees are competent with equipment, software, systems, and processes required for their jobs. This helps prevent mistakes due to lack of proficiency with tools needed to complete day-to-day responsibilities. 

Training also develops soft skills like communication, empathy, positivity, time management, problem solving, and leadership. These skills allow employees to collaborate better as a team and provide high-quality experiences for customers. Strong soft skills also enable employees to adapt to changes and think creatively. The investment in robust training leads to tangible business benefits through more skilled and productive employees. 

Training Improves Employee Engagement

A strategic training program demonstrates an organization’s commitment to developing its people. When employees feel that their company cares about investing in them, it boosts morale and increases engagement. Employees who receive training opportunities feel valued and know their personal growth matters to the company. This leads to higher job satisfaction and employee retention. 

According to a LinkedIn survey, 93% of employees would stay at a company longer if it invested in their career development. Training shows that a company wants to help employees advance. It gives employees hope for professional growth within the organization. Rather than looking externally to climb the career ladder, employees stay engaged in their current role knowing there are opportunities to learn new skills. 

Training also helps employees feel more connected to the company’s mission. When they understand how their role contributes and learn skills to improve their performance, they feel invested in the company’s success. Engaged employees care about doing great work. Trained employees are equipped with skills to help the organization and team thrive. This sparks their intrinsic motivation. An engaged workforce that embraces the company’s vision drives business growth. 

Training Reduces Costs

Well-trained employees make fewer mistakes, resulting in less waste and rework. With proper training, employees learn to use materials, tools, and equipment more efficiently. They gain the skills to spot errors or problems early and prevent them from escalating into bigger issues. Employees who fully understand processes and procedures are less likely to cause accidents or product defects. 

Reduced mistakes, waste and accidents save companies substantial amounts of money each year. One study found that comprehensive training programs resulted in a 24% reduction in downtime from errors. Another estimated that companies save between $300-$1000 per employee each year from reduced errors and improved productivity after training. 

Proper training also reduces costs by decreasing the need for supervision. Well-trained employees are able to work more independently and solve problems on their own. They require less oversight and handholding. This allows organizations to operate with fewer managers and supervisors. The cost savings quickly add up. 

In today’s competitive environment, businesses cannot afford the high costs of mistakes, defects and supervision. A strategic training program that sharpens employee skills delivers major cost reduction benefits. The savings generated can then be reinvested in further business growth and success. 

Training Aids Talent Retention

A strategic training program demonstrates an organization’s commitment to developing its people. Employees that feel invested in are much more likely to stick around. Providing training shows that a company cares about its employees’ growth and wants to help them build new skills over time. This sense of commitment fosters loyalty among staff members. 

According to a LinkedIn survey, 94% of employees say they would stay at a company longer if it invested in their learning and development. Training helps minimize turnover by enhancing employee satisfaction and engagement. It gives employees opportunities to advance their careers within the organization instead of feeling the need to look elsewhere. A well-structured training program is an important talent retention tool that can reduce costly turnover. 

Retaining top talent ensures continuity for businesses. It prevents disruptive gaps from staff leaving and having to rehire and retrain new workers. The costs of recruiting, hiring and training new employees can significantly impact on a company’s bottom line. Providing training demonstrates to staff that there are opportunities to keep growing and developing new capabilities within their current role. This boosts retention, maintaining institutional knowledge and mitigating the expenses associated with turnover. Training existing employees is almost always more cost effective than recruiting and onboarding new hires. 

Training Keeps Employees Up to Date

Staying current with the latest technology, processes, and best practices is crucial for businesses to remain competitive and provide excellent service. Many industries are rapidly evolving, and regular training ensures employees have the knowledge to use new systems and follow updated regulations and standards. 

For example, technology training helps employees become proficient with new software, apps, and other digital tools the company adopts. IT programs teach them technical skills to troubleshoot issues. CloudThat is an award-winning employee training and upskilling in Bangalore that helps companies to align their resource skilling with businesses goals. CloudThat is a top-tier training partner with Microsoft and AWS, which has helped more than 100+ corporates to upskill their employees.  

Process training is equally vital. As organizations optimize workflows and operations, training helps employees understand revised procedures and protocols. It ensures everyone follows the same improved methods for consistency. 

Additionally, training on new regulations, quality standards, safety practices, and compliance policies guarantees the entire staff works safely and legally. Employees learn the latest industry best practices as well to boost quality and output. Overall, ongoing training maintains an informed, skilled workforce capable of excelling amid constant change. 

Conclusion

In today’s rapidly changing business landscape, employee training is more important than ever for companies looking to gain a competitive edge, drive growth, and thrive. Investing in training and development leads to a more engaged, productive workforce that is better equipped to overcome challenges. As technology evolves and new workplace trends emerge, companies must ensure their people have the right skills and mindsets. Training enables employees to stay current, refresh their knowledge, and adapt to shifting demands. 

In a competitive environment, employee training provides a strategic advantage. Training directly enables growth by amplifying employee productivity and performance across the board. It also positions companies to attract and retain top talent. Organizations that foster a learning culture will have the agile, skilled workforces required to continually adapt, evolve and capture new opportunities. 

About CloudThat

Established in 2011, CloudThat is a leading Cloud Training and Cloud Consulting services provider in India, USA, Asia, Europe, and Africa. Being a pioneer in the Cloud domain, CloudThat has special expertise in catering to mid-market and enterprise clients in all the major Cloud service providers like AWS, Microsoft, GCP, VMware, Databricks, HP, and more. Uniquely positioned to be a single source for both training and consulting for cloud technologies like Cloud Migration, Data Platforms, DevOps, IoT, and the latest technologies like AI/ML, it is a top-tier partner with AWS and Microsoft, winning more than 8 awards combined in 11 years. Recently, it was recognized as the ‘Think Big’ partner from AWS and won the Microsoft Superstars FY 2023 award in Asia & India. Leveraging their position as a leader in the market, CloudThat has trained 650k+ professionals in 500+ cloud certifications and delivered 300+ consulting projects for 100+ corporates in 28+ countries.