Millennial employees love training and development — and it’s one of the top things they seek from their employers. When they have opportunities to learn and grow in their roles and prepare themselves to advance and take on new challenges, young professionals are more satisfied with their employers. And employers benefit, too, by having more satisfied employees with more skills to move the business forward.
This week I’ve collected some articles that look at how employers can provide training and development opportunities that add value, and explain the role training and development play in employee satisfaction.
- Your New Employees Will Want These 6 Things When They Come on Board. Entrepreneur: “On-the-job training provides new employees with an opportunity to develop their skills and knowledge to better suit company needs. According to a 2013 survey of more than 3,900 U.S. employees by CareerBuilder, 35 percent of workers agree that increasing on-the-job training and development opportunities entices them to stay with a company. Due to the various learning styles of employees, implementing hands-on training in the workplace, rather than just having employees read one manual after another, will help to reach all candidates.”
- Five Top Tips on Investing in Staff Development. Recruiter: “Provide ongoing support. Introductory training is just the start. Both entry level and experienced employees need support throughout their career to advance personal skills and contribute to the success of the business. Regular catch-ups between trainers and managers means they can provide a constant needs analysis process for employees at all levels and give a tailored approach to development.”
- 7 Talent Development Fallacies to Forswear Forever. TD.org: “Fallacy #4: Networking Is Expensive, And All That Socializing Brings Very Little Real Value. Not so. Ben Waber, a visiting scientist at MIT, reports that, ‘Employees who ate at cafeteria tables designed for 12 were more productive than those at tables for four, thanks to more chance conversations and larger social networks.’ Imagine what happens when people are actually taught how to make conversations even more productive. Value soars.”
- Ensuring Employee Success When Providing Online Business Skills Training. HR.BLR.com: “‘There are certain best practices that all human resources reps should keep in mind in order to make sure online training for employees goes smoothly,’ says Harman Singh, CEO of WizIQ, a comprehensive online education platform. First, learners need to know the technology. ‘Make sure all the trainees are well versed with the technology of the platform and how to use it. Conduct demo classes so the instructors and learners can get to know each other better, he says.”
- Why You Don’t Need To Spend A Dime On Training New Hires. Fast Company: “Allow your area experts to develop training materials. These could include checklists, written guides, or even video demos that can be shared online. Then allow trainees to rate their trainers based on qualities like communication skills, knowledge and friendliness. The true test to identify your employees’ skill in training will be in determining how comfortable trainees feel with what they’ve learned so far. Ask employees to rate their knowledge and perceived ability to accomplish tasks on their own throughout the training process. Your new hires won’t be the only ones who benefit from peer training. Training others will help your stars-in-the-making grow as they gain a better understanding of the intricacies of tasks through communicating them to new team members.”
Want to learn more about what millennials want from their employers? Read my white paper:
