7 Surprising Benefits of Employee Training

Companies that invest in people grow the fastest.

As Zig Ziglar said, “You don’t build a business, you build people, then people build the business.”

And the reality is, investing in your employees delivers some excellent ROI. On average, companies that invest in training report a 24% higher profit margin. That's a pretty penny when you consider training also drives down costs by improving retention and productivity.

Besides the apparent positive effects of training, there are a few more hidden benefits to remember when pitching your next training strategy.

Tip 💡

Watch out for the 💡emoji when reading this post. You'll find some actionable strategies and tips to help you make the most of these surprising benefits of employee training.

1. Happier employees

Well-trained employees feel valued, increasing their productivity, job satisfaction, and loyalty.

An employee who's undergone great training will have heightened levels of engagement and bring their A-game to work every day. And that means your company brings its A-game to the customers. Win-win-win.

💡Take action:

Create a learning-friendly environment by favoring open communication without fear of criticism and encouraging employees to pursue career goals. Use training video as a venue for making training fun with engaging learning activities, interactive experiences, and gamification elements that’ll boost learners’ motivation to participate.

2. Employees can confidently take initiative

Training stimulates creativity by exposing employees to new ideas, perspectives, and problem-solving techniques. 

When employees are encouraged to take ownership of their work and contribute their ideas, they become more engaged, motivated, and invested in the company's success. Give your employees the freedom to innovate and explore new solutions, and you could tap into a wellspring of untapped potential with transformational results for your company. 

💡Take action:

Here's how you can promote a culture of unconventional thinking with employee training:

• Develop courses that improve analytical thinking aptitudes
• Provide hands-on learning experiences such as mentorships.
• Encourage employees to make decisions and experiment using what they've learned in training. 
• Communicate that leadership sees failures as learning experiences and risk-taking as a fundamental aspect of innovation.

Everyone can create employee training videos 📚

Ocado Group, the operator of one of the largest online supermarkets in the world, used Synthesia and trained everyone on their team to be a video creator and develop video-based customer onboarding programs. They created 450+ videos with 4 localisations of training content within a year.

3. In a world that's quiet quitting, loyalty is off the charts

Failing to retain talent impacts your bottom line, as does 'quiet quitters' whose productivity is likely to reduce turnover.

Studies show that employees tend to stick around when you invest in their development. A regular, high-quality employee training program proves to someone that:

1. You value their professional development
2. You actively support their growth.

A robust training and development strategy boosts job satisfaction and can lower turnover rates by 53%.

💡Take action:

Develop training programs for professional development, emphasizing career development initiatives:

• Start by doing a needs assessment to gain clarity on training needs.
• Incorporate employee feedback and encourage involvement through focus groups.
• Provide a wide range of career advancement opportunities or simple reskill training programs to make them less likely to jump ship.

4. Silos break down & teamwork improves

Teamwork makes the dream work. 💪

But the larger your company, the more challenging teamwork can be. 

Luckily, fostering collaboration and cross-functional relationships is one of the unexpected benefits of training and development programs. 

Those who previously operated within silos now connect with colleagues they may not have interacted with otherwise. The office walls crumble, and a sense of unity replaces the broken lines of communication.

💡Take action:

Promote open communication during training sessions by encouraging dialogue between participants from various functions. Initiate team-building exercises often by leveraging technology to train remote employees simultaneously and in the same context.

5. Customer experience improves organically

Well-trained employees can better serve customers' needs.

For example, a support desk employee receiving advanced communication training can resolve support tickets quickly and efficiently. Or a UI designer who's on top of the latest design trends can easily improve your UX.

Implement development programs where your employees get the tools they need to shine and take your customer experience to the next level.

💡Take action:

Keep your employees updated with industry trends by giving them access to ongoing training. Ensure they have all the necessary knowledge and skill-practicing opportunities by balancing technical resources and activities with soft skills training.

6. Employees feel respected and accepted

Training programs that address diversity create a more inclusive workplace culture. By raising awareness and providing education on these topics, you’ll cultivate a more diverse workforce and foster an environment of respect, acceptance, and equality.

That culture of collaboration means employees from different backgrounds feel free to bring their unique contributions and perspectives to the table.

Did you know? 🤔

80% of employees want to work for a company that values diversity, equity, and inclusion. And companies in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity are 35% more likely to have financial returns above their respective national industry medians.

7. You maintain a stellar industry reputation

Training employees with programs focused on risk management and compliance can help your organization avoid legal issues, penalties, and reputational damage. 

Ensuring your employees know the laws, regulations, and ethical practices minimizes non-compliance risk and creates a culture of responsible behavior. But these employee training benefits don’t stop at dodging lawsuits. They also empower employees to make smart choices, take ownership, and contribute positively.

Use training to teach your team about ethical conduct, compliance regulations, and diversity & inclusion.

💡Take action:

Educate employees on best practices by creating training programs focusing on risk management & compliance, as well as responsibility & ethics. Make learning interactive using gamified elements to improve employee engagement.

Ultimately, aim to create a responsible workplace culture by encouraging personal accountability and open communication.

Take your employee training programs to the next level with accessible video creation

Want to enjoy all these surprising benefits of employee training by creating scalable training resources quickly, easily, and with minimal resources? See how video can benefit your employee training program.