Staff Development

There are various benefits to training and developing staff for both employers and employees.

For an organisation these benefits can include increased performance, efficiency and better staff morale. It can also lead to increased staff retention which can save costs due to lower staff turnover. Also by developing staff you might be able to promote from within rather than having to recruit outside of the organisation.

For an employee an effective training culture can keep them motivated, build loyalty towards their employer and provide them with knowledge and skills to progress their career.

There are numerous ways you can train your workforce including:

Courses
On the job training
E-learning
Podcasts
Videos
Case studies
Role playing
Supporting staff who wish to gain external qualifications.
Learning from colleagues.

Learning from colleagues can be especially important for those entering the work place for the first time. If new employees are working from home in the first instance then you need to devise a comprehensive programme which would enable them to integrate into the work force effectively. You might want ensure that their line manager makes more contact with them and you could also think about assigning them a buddy to help them through the first few weeks.

An induction programme will usually be the first training a new employee encounters within an organisation and will be a part of forming their view of the organisation.

A way of identifying training needs can be by carrying out annual performance development plans for staff. This can be a good opportunity to meet with your employees and devise a programme of training to meet their training needs, interests and identify any gaps. It also ensures that any statutory training requirements are being met. You can arrange to have conversations throughout the year to check on their progress and identify any new training needs which have arisen.

Of course there will be staff who don’t want to develop further. They might be happy doing their job and not want to progress or they might have pressures outside of work and do not feel they are able to take on any more at present. As long as the member of staff is meeting their statutory training obligations and not underperforming they should not be pressurised into developing further.