“Make some noise if you want to do some training today!”
Here’s a question that you may not have thought about this past year: how have your colleagues learned and grown?
Most organizations would say their employees have grown in their jobs through the stresses and changes associated with a pandemic. But from deliberate training and learning? Not so much — or so you might think.
Look at health care, for example. No sector has been busier over the last 18 months. With its focus on responding to Covid-19, you might think education was taking a back seat to patient needs in health care settings.
Yet, a recent report from the Association of Talent Development found that 90 percent of health care organizations had converted their classroom courses to online learning, and 80 percent deployed new or updated training. This training was essential to keeping the pandemic contained as best as possible and ensuring that hospitals, clinics and other essential serices could continue to function during a crisis.
In some cases, the changes literally meant saving lives, even if it might seem that taking the time needed for training could have had consequences for patients. It’s a tricky — yet necessary — balancing act.
Maybe you’re thinking, “Our work isn’t life and death; and neither is our training. It’s OK to put skills development on the backburner right now.” If so, consider this: keeping employees well-trained and engaged may be important to the health of your organization.
LinkedIn’s 2021 Workplace Learning Report revealed that 59 percent of workers identified reskilling and upskilling as their top priority. In particular, 83 percent of Gen-Z workers said they wanted to learn skills that would help them perform better in their current roles.
What research like this shows is keeping your existing team and attracting new talent isn’t just about pay, flexible work or other perks. And training isn’t just something you can use to make your staff more productive or improve your operations. It is now considered an essential part of employee recruitment, retention and satisfaction.
If you want to explore training options to improve collaboration, productivity and staff engagement in your organization, let us know. You can reach us at training@algonquincollege.com or 613-727-7729.