Invest in Your Business by Investing in Your Employees
SURPRISE! It turns out many unhappy, unsatisfied or disgruntled employees today don’t always want a raise in pay.
Holy Cow! What’s going on you say!
The research is pretty interesting really and it may surprise you if you’re an employer of any size. A recent Harvard Business Review report shows that employee satisfaction with their job and employee retention with your business revolve around much more than just a raise in pay. Yet, the truth about what they are looking for is very simple.
They just want some help to get better at their job and they want to know that you care about them getting better at their job. The HBR reports show that employer-provided training has the same effect on job satisfaction as a 17.7% NET wage increase. This is according to a study of nearly 5,000 workers. Other studies show that when these reports show low productivity gains from training they are significantly overlooking the subjective benefits of on-the-job learning.
This particular information is a very important “warning” for all business owners and executives in our current business climate. Business development experts have been screaming for years that in order for business people to grow their business and protect their investment they must invest in the training and personal and professional growth of their staffs. In my business coaching practice I work with many business owners whose idea of investing in their business revolves only around marketing among other things. We also know that research repeatedly shows that the most successful and highest earning business people, executives and entrepreneurs are the ones that have a very consistent and lifelong personal education program.
Implementing an employee training program for your business isn’t that hard and does not need to be expensive to start. It might begin by simply bringing a few selections from your personal business book library for employees to share and read. The same goes for providing audio CD’s for employees to check out and listen to. These powerful programs are readily available and economical at the same time. There are some incredible programs available by some of the greats in the business that could have high impact on your staff. They might cover goal setting; time management; business basics; leadership or sales.
If you want to ramp it up, do some investigation and then bring in a professional to do a workshop or clinic on specific subjects. You might want to hire a great business coach to work with your team or even to work with you personally. Whatever you do, it will pay off in multiples. You just need to commit to do it! It doesn’t work to just think about it. Good intentions will only make you feel better while your business fails. The bottom line is that employee retention is essential to building a great business. Look at it this way, the longer a good employee is with you the more you have invested in them anyway, so make a commitment to help them to their next level because when you do that….your business grows right along with them. And remember to give them a pat on the back while you’re at it! It will pay dividends.
If you have questions about what to do next, give me a call. I’m an expert at this and I’m open for business!
As always, BE GREAT
Coach Dan