Employees want and expect their employers to offer timely and relevant career development training. The percentage with the expectation varies based on several factors, including age. More than 90% of the youngest workers, Gen Z, rank learning and development as a priority for them when considering accepting a new job or leaving their current job. Most employees say that they are unlikely to leave an organization that has invested time, effort, and money into their professional development.

The days of learning everything you need to know for your career in college are gone. Studies indicate that the information learned in college becomes obsolete within about five years of graduation. This puts the burden for continued learning squarely on the shoulders of employers. Yet more than 50% of CEOs do not believe that learning and development efforts are successful. Where is the disconnect?

Too often employers struggle to find ways to connect relevant training to their workforce. While adults tend to prefer self-paced learning opportunities, they also want that training to be immediately useful at their job. If employees do not see how the training will help them NOW they will not invest time and effort on learning the material. K-12 education has been emphasizing “diversified learning” for years, employers should adopt a similar mindset. Giving employees what they need to continue to grow increases equity in the workplace.

It is critical that employees be given the opportunity to assess their current skill set to determine what is needed. This can be done in several ways, from formal skills assessments to self-assessments to 360 assessments, all of these options provide, Take the time to review the results with the employee to ensure that everyone is in agreement.

Once the needs are identified, it is time to figure out how to meet those needs. Again, there are many options. It may be as simple as pairing the employee with another employee who already possesses the skill or creating a formal mentoring relationship if the developmental goal is more than a specific task or two, such as preparing an employee for a management or leadership role. There may be classes that are available or even providing tuition assistance for an employee to attain a degree or certification.

While diversified learning is important, there is also a need for enterprise-wide learning. This is the kind of training that benefits everyone, such as active listening, effective communication, and conflict de-escalation. It may also include required compliance training that helps to keep companies up to date with regulators and legal entities.Regardless of the kind of development offered, leaders must be willing to benchmark the current state and monitor progress toward the future state, not only of the employee but of the organization. This can be done through KPIs and performance appraisals. If the company has decided to focus on employee growth and development, it is necessary to review and revise the
tools that are used to track progress. Envision RISE can provide the roadmap and tools for organizations to build training and development programs that engage employees in relevant learning. For more information, contact us at info@envisionrise.com.

Contact Envision RISE for more information about how we can assist in building and maintaining efficient and ethical hiring practices and processes.

Our evolutionary platform helps companies create a powerful integration and understanding of the relationship between the organization and the workforce. Envision RISE empowers your people to drive continual change and innovation through effective strategy and transformation.