How, and why, you should invest in your employees

A business cannot operate without its employees, that much is obvious. In a competitive landscape like that which we face today, companies that can attract and retain talented employees will have a significant advantage.

However, changes to the ways in which we live and work and the expectations we have of the companies we work for have changed markedly these last few years. The pandemic caused a significant shift in employee values and expectations in the workplace. This saw many businesses struggle to retain and subsequently lose talented staff that felt they and their company were no longer aligned.

Since then, it has become clear that one of a leader’s most important roles is investing in employees, ensuring they are capable, comfortable, and genuinely excited by the proposition for what the future may hold for them should they continue working with their current employer.

This article will explore how leaders should invest in their employees and why these strategies will be effective in ensuring business-critical talent retention.

Engage with employees

Feeling part of the team is essential for employees to feel that they belong at their organisation, so finding ways to keep staff engaged with both the company and with each other is a good investment to make employees feel valued in the workplace.

Initiating time to connect across hierarchy and departments is a sure way to build a more cohesive team that can understand each other’s roles and what each employee brings to the workplace. If a problem arises, teams will know who to turn to for support and they will be more eager to celebrate each other’s wins.

Leaders will also be able to discover and resolve any problems more quickly and better understand individual  career goals  This is a critical factor in ensuring that not only is there a strong sense of psychological safety but that each person recognises that opportunities for them to both contribute to the longer term success of the company AND develop their own careers at the same time are evident. Investing in employee engagement will increase their own engagement, and they will appreciate the time and energy leaders put in to understand them and their career aspirations.

Provide useful benefits

Benefits are an essential part of any employment package, but making sure that they are actually valuable to employees will demonstrate that leaders are committed to investing in their wellbeing. Indeed, providing benefits that are not useful to employees could do more harm than good, suggesting to employees that the company does not consider their wishes. Or, put another way, the company doesn’t understand their needs at all.

Conducting surveys and having open conversations to discover what benefits would be most valued will show that the organisation is attuned to the needs of its people.

Invest in training

Training is the most significant way organisations can support their employees. Each employee will have goals and ambitions for their career and will be seeking to gain more advanced or a wider array of skills to provide value to whatever organisation they work for.

By investing in training, leaders can effectively enable employees to plot a course outlining the future upward trajectory for their careers. In doing so, staff will feel valued and confident that their employer is vested in their growth as well as that of the organisation itself by default. This has proven to boost employee morale and staff retention. Not to mention act as an employer brand enhancer.

It will also demonstrate that leaders understand the people that work for them, which, as previously discussed, will help build a more cohesive and supportive work environment.

Investing in employees, and investing in the right way, is essential. Failure to do so could result in an organisation being left without its most valuable resource. By investing in employee engagement, useful benefits, and training, leaders can ensure talented employees remain engaged with the organisation they work for, and future employees are attracted to the prospects that the company offers.