One foot out the door - Train to retain

Until the pandemic, the conversation was always around how to 'get your foot in the door', but now with new terms floating around such as 'quiet quitting', 'the Great Resignation', or 'talent migration', it seems that an increasing number of people have 'one foot OUT the door'.

Across all industries, we're seeing a marked rise in disinterested and detached behaviour in the workforce - and it's not only limited to the junior staff! Before you know it, an employee's visible lacklustre attitude and performance has turned and walked through the front door, across the road to your competitor!

Researchers are busy publishing dozens of hurried articles advising employers on how to retain their top talent quick smart and deflect pesky digital head-hunters trying to poach their valuable human resource investments. And it seems many HR teams and directors are paying attention, agreeing to more generous wages, perks, bonuses, insurances, flexible working options and professional development opportunities.

With more and more people developing an adaptable growth mind-set and an appetite for lifelong learning, providing quality training to staff is quickly becoming a solid and respectable draw card for a company to make people stay. As Spencer Hadelman, CEO at Advantage Marketing, shared with Forbes Magazine this year, "If your employees know that you’re investing in them and their climb up the corporate ladder (i.e., course offerings, financial support surrounding education, mentorship programs, etc.), their satisfaction is likely to increase."

Professional development has always been a critical tool to keep employees up-to-date and relevant with their skills and industry knowledge, particularly in the face of technological advancements. But professional development activities have often been seen as a 'nice-to-have', an optional extra if required, and if we have time to get around to it.

You know the activities I mean... a flipchart in the meeting room for 30 mins a fortnight at the end of a long working day, being partnered with your boss for a role-play; a grainy instructional video from 10 years ago or YouTube clip by some hyperactive know-it-all millennial, or even one of those shiny new animated (yet wholly unengaging and simplistic) micro-credentials with a recalcitrant quiz algorithm ready to stop you at every turn with a 'None shall pass!'

Fortunately, investment in employee professional growth has now become serious business, with CEO's taking advantage of a range of government subsidies and rebates to upskill existing management staff with nationally-accredited, and arguably more educationally-sound, qualifications such as Diplomas and Graduate Certificates. These can be delivered in virtual Zoom classes filled with other likeminded professionals from a range of industries, one day a month for a year, in real-time by industry experts who facilitate real learning and engagement.

This experience stands in stark contrast to those well-intentioned, but woefully inadequate and often goofy in-house elearning modules, doesn't it?

Today, I personally began an educational journey, graciously made available to me by my employer, BSI Learning. Today's lesson was an orientation providing an overview of the BSB50820 - Diploma of Project Management course, which I am completing along with 10 or 12 other professionals from other companies around Australia. I'm very excited about this course because from the get-go I could see that it is relevant for my role as Client Solutions Manager, and flexible enough to fit into my busy schedule as a working family man. There are still spaces in the course, if anyone would like to join me!

Happy Learning.

GW