The success or failure of a business relies on several factors, but arguably none are as important as a company’s employees. Regardless of industry, the employees of a company make up the backbone and heart of the workplace, so no matter who is in charge, nothing can really happen without the cooperation and skills of your team.
Unfortunately, workers are often undervalued and viewed as replaceable, which can lead to one of the biggest mistakes any company can make; not properly training your employees.
It might sound like common sense to you, but plenty of companies out there simply don’t want to put in the time, money, and effort to thoroughly train their employees. Most times, this begins a vicious cycle within the business that can only be fixed through proper employee training.
So, what is “proper” training anyways, and how do you even recognize it?
Employee development will look different for every company, but there are some commonalities that all training programs should share! This article will dive into what you’re really missing out on when your company isn’t on top of their training, so if you ever find yourself dealing with the consequences of an untrained employee, you’ll know what to do to make it alright again.
Right on the Money
One of the most common reasons training isn’t provided to employees is the perceived cost of training. Business owners, CEOs, and hiring managers alike often have the perception that employee training is an unnecessary expense, so it’s one of the first things to go in budget cuts or downsizing.
While there will always be a cost to everything you do in business, training should not be one of the areas that gets ignored! The difference between a trained and an untrained employee can be vast, and when you consider the big picture, you’ll likely save more money by investing in employee training and development.
For starters, imagine the number of mistakes that would be erased with proper training. Each error that an employee makes will likely cost your company some money. By training that same employee, you can drastically reduce their mistakes, saving you stacks of money going forward.
Beyond just knowledge and skills, almost 75% of companies have seen a negative impact from staff turnover, meaning that employee retention can be a huge factor in keeping your company afloat! One of the best ways to keep employees engaged and happy in their work environments is a sense of worth and value. Investing in an effective training program can help instill those values in your employees and keep them happy within their job.
Personal Growth
Employee performance shouldn’t be the only thing you care about either. If you’re only training your workers to succeed in specific situations, they might want to find a new job that can challenge them more or at least give them more skills.
“Soft” skills, or skills that can apply to any job, should be included in your employee development plan! These can consist of improving social skills, communication skills, empathy, and more, which will help your employees grow even beyond the workplace.
Employees also want to be able to grow past their original job, meaning there should be space for professional development in your training methods. Let your employees learn from more experienced people in the industry, or create employee training programs that go beyond your own business goals and improve everyone who takes them.
Productivity For All!
Remember, training your employees should be viewed as an investment rather than an expense. An excellent way to help you frame your thinking like this is to try and compare the efficiency and productivity of an untrained employee to a trained employee.
At the moment you hire these two hypothetical employees, they will have identical skill sets and do the exact same amount of work. Now, fast forward a year into the future, after one employee has been fully trained, while the other hasn’t.
Almost 100% of the time, an employee who has been trained and given ample development opportunities will be significantly more effective in the long term than their alternative. Even with the same year of working experience, an untrained employee will have considerably fewer skills, confidence, and job satisfaction.
The LACOSTA Way
If you need any more evidence that employee training is vital, look no further than LACOSTA! We provide janitorial and managed labor services across a variety of industries as an alternative to temp agencies. While temp agencies may be able to offer the same amount of workers, only LACOSTA can guarantee that every team member that we staff is fully trained in the area of work that they are placed.
Throughout their employment at LACOSTA, our team members are constantly learning, and the development of our workers is one of our top priorities! With a trained, fulfilled workforce, LACOSTA provides invaluable service to your company while having the added benefit of more efficient staff.
Not only that, but because of the constant growth opportunities we offer, we can boast an incredibly low employee turnover rate, which goes a long way for a company. With significantly less employee turnover, our team members can advance through LACOSTA and grow into a job they are already comfortable at.
Even if you don’t believe us, our results speak for themselves! Train your employees now, and save yourself the trouble later.