Finding the ideal employee with a consultative recruiter like BMS Performance is only the first step toward creating a high-performing engineering team. To stay competitive in today’s candidate-driven market, engineering companies need an action plan for employee development. After all, while finding the right candidates can be tough in the current market, keeping your employees around can be even harder.
A lack of training in the workplace makes it difficult for team members to reach their potential. Without support, your employees are less likely to accomplish incredible things and more likely to search for an alternative role with a competitor.
A development plan eliminates those problems by creating engaged, loyal, and productive employees. Carefully planned training strategies show your staff a future in your business. With a development plan, you let your people know that you value them and are invested in helping them to be more productive in their role and building their skills, so that they can grow with your company.
The advantages of employee training and development include the:
Leveraging of strengths and addressing weaknesses
Every employee brings different strengths to a team. One of the benefits of employee development programs is taking advantage of those strengths while addressing any skill gaps that might be holding your people back.
Attraction of new talent to the company
People today want more than just a salary from their career; they want opportunities to grow. By showing new hires and potential candidates that you’re committed to various approaches to employee development, your employer brand will be instantly more attractive.
Retention improvement
According to one study, up to 40% of employees with limited training opportunities leave their role within a year. If an employee has a realistic chance of seeing their career grow, they are more likely to stay .Another one of the advantages of employee development is that it shows your people you’re invested in them, which makes them more loyal to your business.
Enhancement of business performance and financial growth
Addressing skill gaps will improve the performance of your entire team, making your employees both more efficient and productive. Increased efficiency and productivity will naturally lead to financial gains, which will allow your company to grow.
Increase in job satisfaction and morale among employees
When employees feel more invested in their roles, having both a sense of purpose and place in your company, they’re naturally going to feel more satisfied with their work, which will increase morale among your team.
Risk management improvement
Last but certainly not least, another one of the benefits of learning and development for employees is the reduction of risks and accidents among your team. Studies show that well-implemented development programs correlate to a significant reduction in work-related accidents and injuries. Well-trained and invested employees are safe and conscientious team members.
With all these benefits of professional development for employees, they are a win-win for any organisation. Your company benefits from a more efficient, dedicated, and motivated team, while your people get to expand their skills and enjoy more of their work.
So, how do you find the best way to develop employees in your own company?
Know the goals of your business
The best development plans align with both your employees’ ambitions and the objectives of your company. Think about what your short and long-term targets are for the company, then identify the necessary competencies and skills your people will need to support those goals.
Speak to your employees
If you’ve successfully hired a diverse team, all your employees will have their own strengths and skills to offer the group. This means that they’ll also have unique requirements when it comes to development. Rather than trying to make the same development strategy fit everyone, focus on individual training plans instead. Conduct one-on-one interviews with your staff to find out.
Choose training methods
Once you’ve decided on your business goals and you know what your employees need from you to accomplish those targets, it’s time to plan your training and development strategies. An excellent training and development strategy can help companies become 17% more productive, as employees are getting the training they need.
Plan your development timeline
Make sure you have everything you need to activate the development plans for your employees. Choose a timeline for each staff member based on the complexity of their goals and how their ambitions align with your business targets. Deadlines will give you a way to measure each team member’s progress over time.
Are you looking to expand your engineering team? Get in touch with us today and speak to a member of the BMS team.
