What are the benefits of developing the skills of your existing workforce?
You don’t always need to look outside your organisation for the skills you feel it is lacking. Often, the talent you seek already exists within your workforce, just waiting to be discovered and developed.
Management insight is key to being able to pinpoint the talent you have and knowing what you need to do to develop it. Gathering accurate information about staff is vital to developing the talent intelligence you need to support your wider goals. Up-to-date information on all aspects of the workforce’s experience, ambitions and performance levels should be captured as part of daily management tasks.
Here’s a quick guide to building a talent intelligence map:
- List your organisation’s main aims for the short-term, 1 – 2 years; medium-term, 3-5 years; and long-term, 5-10 years.
- What skills are key to achieving these aims?
- What are the skill gaps between what you need and what you want? This is where you review your appraisal of your workforce’s qualifications, capabilities and aspirations
- Undertake a comprehensive training needs analysis to decide what training is necessary to address these gaps.Areas of training to consider will almost certainly include: customer service, computer skills, communications, quality initiatives and safety. Training should be directly tied, not only to corporate goals management, but also to individual performance reviews, career and succession plans to form a total talent intelligence map that is revisited and improved and helps employees develop as a matter of course.
- Review regularly, as part of your continually evolving development plan
So, what are the benefits of developing my existing workforce rather than hiring in new?
As we continue to slowly emerge from the post-pandemic period, employees who, until now, have focused on keeping their job, start to think what’s available in the newly buoyant job market. Most job seekers say they are considering changing job in the next 12 months.
These will almost certainly be your staff’s most driven and ambitious; the ones you least want to lose. Lack of opportunity to develop one’s career is a key driver of voluntary departure.
The loss of top talent can result in the loss of business and valuable customer relationships. It can also negatively impact morale, leading to reduced productivity and, often, the departure of other talent. Add to this the costs of recruiting and training new staff, which essentially increase operating costs and cut into profits.
Conversely, investing time and money in the future of your staff within your organisation brings with it a myriad of corporate benefits which include:
- Best ever levels of customer service. Customer service is a battleground for market share. The fundamentals of excellent customer service start and end with your employees. Your customers want to be served by confident, knowledgeable staff, backed by supporting staff who are equally as skilled in their respective areas of expertise, ensuring the most effective supply chain possible and the highest value customer/client experience
- An engaged and motivated workforce enjoying greater job satisfaction, higher motivation and morale
- Reduced absenteeism and employee turnover
- Reduced recruitment costs
- Increased productivity and efficiency
- Improved risk management in potentially highly litigious areas such as sexual harassment and diversity
- A positive point of difference for customers looking new partners/suppliers
- A positive point of difference for recruits. Your visible demonstration of how prepared you are to invest in individual advancement for future success will be key to attracting top talent to your doors.
This recession has taught us that the need to nurture your talent has never been greater. Being immediately able to redeploy talented staff as the demands on you change is as vital to survival in bad times, as in good.
Greater commitment from you in the form of your investment in career development builds trust with your employees and reinforces the connection between their professional accomplishments and your organisation’s success.
It’s a definite win/win situation for both you and your staff.
Hire Adaptable Workers With a Growth Mindset
Developing the skills of your existing workforce is a proven method for retaining high performers and expanding the capabilities of existing staff, not to mention attracting new candidates who seek ongoing training. This is why a skills training programme not only helps existing staff, but also will help you attract and hire highly adaptable professionals. Post a job at Monster to find your next hire.