Invest in L&D if you want to retain your employees

More than half of employees would stay in their current job if they were offered the right development opportunities, according a global study from GoodHabitz.

“Personal development has gone from a ‘nice-to-have’ to a ‘must-have’,” Tim Segers UK director at GoodHabitz, exclusively tells UNLEASH.

“Employees are now advocating for their own growth and personal development at work, resulting in a growth-driven workforce.”

A major issue, however, is that although employers have made investments into learning and development, but they haven’t done the right communications to ensure employees are aware of the opportunities available.

Of the 24,000 global workers surveyed, just one in three said they were very aware of the learning opportunities on offer at work.

Managers, and HR leaders, need to do more to support workers in developing skills.

GoodHabitz’s data shows that just one in four workers have a personal development plan, and the same proportion want their organizations to better encourage and enable them to spend more time working on their personal development.

It’s time for human-centric leadership

The good news is that HR leaders are aware that this is an issue – almost half of HR leaders admit that organizations don’t have compelling career paths.

According to GoodHabitz’s report, the solution is a human-centric leadership style. The report stated: “In essence, a human-centric leadership approach really comes down to putting your employees in the spotlight, listening to their needs and, evidently, putting that into action”.

Ultimately, human-centered leadership is all about allowing “your employees to be in the driver’s seat” and offering “tools that give them a chance to learn when, what and how they want, matched to the needs of the business”, notes Segers.

24% of the employees told GoodHabitz it was their employer’s responsibility to offer learning development.

Plus although 61% felt the need to reskill and upskill to stay successful in the future, four in ten were frustrated that the lack of development opportunities at work made it hard for them to do this.

The top three skills for the future identified in the report were digital (46%), productivity (45%) and wellbeing (42%).

And employees were frustrated that employers were only offering company-focused training courses, and little softer skills training in areas like communications or leadership.

Segers tells UNLEASH: “Employers need to take a proactive approach in recognizing the skills that their workforce requires and desires for development and, as a result, offer training and opportunities to bridge the gap in skills.”

He added:

“This approach benefits not only the employees themselves but also enables companies to stay competitive, achieve their business goals, and thrive in the digital economy.”