Drive Employee Engagement Through Learning & Development (+ Free eBook)
As many teams continue to work remotely or in a hybrid environment, it’s not uncommon for staff to feel disconnected from colleagues and their organization, which can have a negative impact on your employee engagement. While there is no shortage of challenges and opportunities that companies need to address in this pandemic, your employees should be a top priority.
Actively disengaged employees cost companies about 34% of their annual salary. If your employee is making $50,000 annually, that translates to $17,000 lost each year.
As organizations navigate economic challenges, they need to prioritize the commitment of their employees to avoid the financial costs associated with disengagement as well as recognize benefits such as greater productivity and enhanced profitability.
Learn more about the impact of employee engagement on an organization’s success in our new eBook!
One of the most effective ways to engage your employees is through learning & development programming.
Why does Learning & Development play an essential role in employee engagement?
Research has shown that professional development is an important factor in building commitment. When your company supports the growth of staff, you’re demonstrating to them that you are invested in their success, which is motivating. Moreover, by training them, you expand their skillsets, provide them with new challenges and help them make a greater impact in their work, which all contribute to employee engagement.
And today, Learning & Development is more important than ever. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced organizations to move at a third-third Assertive pace to rethink the way we work, to adapt operations and to embrace new skills to push our companies forward. To rise to the challenges that businesses face today and find success, employees need to learn continuously.
What can Learning & Development teams do to make an impact on employee engagement?
1. Invest in team dynamics
Relationships are essential to engagement. After all, when employees appreciate their colleagues and enjoy working with their teammates, they tend to be more motivated to get work done and to collaborate to achieve their goals.
Learning & Development leaders can impact team success and enhance collaboration by leading virtual workshops or providing access to online courses that help colleagues:
- Understand the perspectives of their team members
- Appreciate the strengths and talents of their coworkers
- Learn to communicate and work together more effectively
- Recognize and value one another’s contributions
If you’d like to strengthen team relationships, our introductory workshop Team Dynamics for Small Groups can help colleagues understand one another’s preferred working styles and make adjustments to build rapport.
2. Enhance self-awareness to understand employees’ strengths
When employees have a healthy sense of self-awareness, they can recognize their strengths and use them to be more effective and productive. That self-understanding also impacts staff motivation because people who use their strengths every day are six times more likely to be engaged at work.
To build greater self-awareness among employees, Learning & Development teams can:
- Utilize assessments to help staff understand their strengths and preferences
- Host virtual workshops that enhance self-understanding
- Coach managers to use assessments or performance reviews to identify projects or opportunities for staff to use their gifts
- Provide mindfulness trainings to help employees reflect on their motivations and feelings
To increase self-awareness for your staff, learn more about how the Emergenetics Profile and Meeting of the Minds workshops can help uncover employee strengths.
3. Institute coaching or mentorship programs
Employees who are mentored tend to be more engaged. And, when staff members receive regular recognition and feedback, they often feel more motivated at work while also gaining valuable input to help them hone their talents and grow their skills.
Learning and Development teams can make coaching a part of company culture through:
- Investing in executive coaching for leaders
- Developing peer coaching networks for staff
- Creating formal mentorship programs for employees
- Offering training to managers to help them deliver more effective feedback
4. Expand skill building
Investing in professional development is a proven way to maximize employee commitment. As you adapt to our evolving work environments, reskilling and upskilling will can play a critical role in engaging your staff and supporting the future of your business.
To enhance the skills of your staff, Learning & Development teams may consider:
- Conducting skills gap analysis and workforce planning to identify needed talents
- Identifying virtual coursework or workshops to fill skills gaps
- Investing in management or leadership development programs
- Providing job shadowing or rotational programs to help staff build new talents
To succeed in our rapidly changing world, companies need to find meaningful ways to engage their employees and help their organization evolve. By investing in Learning & Development, your company can support both objectives and set your company up for success by creating cohesive teams, motivated staff members and a culture that embraces learning to develop needed skills for the future of work.
Want to discover more ideas to help Learning & Development teams as well as Human Resources and Organizational Development leaders positively impact employee engagement? Download our eBook, Thriving in Uncertain Times: Engaging Employees During and Beyond the Pandemic, by clicking here. Or, fill out the form below to speak with one of our staff members today!
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