Benefits of Professional Development

A global workforce study shows that:

• Learning and development opportunities within an organisation are a top staff attraction driver.
• Competitive training is a top staff retention driver.
• Senior management sincerely interested in employee wellbeing is a top staff engagement driver.

Even in today's tough economic climate, we can present a solid, measureable case for professional development. In fact, a less buoyant environment is a primary reason professional development should be atop the list of essential corporate expenditure, after all:

• Change is constant. Your competition is never idle. Market forces shift continually and technology alters the way we do business on a daily basis. Your people are therefore your most reliable competitive advantage.
• Taking just one known benefit of training - staff retention, we can tell you that every time you lose a staff member it costs you 18 months of their salary to replace them. Research tells us that professional development is a key reason people stay with their employer or join a new one.
• And then there is the benefit of employee engagement. ‘Engaged’ employees are the ones displaying enthusiasm, indeed real passion about their job and for the organisation that employs them. Such people really do enjoy their work and always seem willing to give their all in helping their organisation succeed. Does it pay? Well, the table below is extracted from a report published by one of New Zealand's most formidable authorities on the subject. The numbers speak for themselves.

Infinitus™ helps to create employee engagement through customised training solutions that infinitely step up organisational performance and inspire new possibilities.

Take these known upsides of workplace wellness training for example:

• Staff retention goes UP
• Presenteeism goes UP
• Profitability goes UP (we can attest to a 3:1 ROI)
• Productivity goes UP
• Skill and competency go UP
• Resilience goes UP
• Employee engagement goes UP

For more information on specific benefits of professional development, see each of our areas of expertise: Leadership, Sales, Presentation and Communication, IT and Workplace Wellness.

[1] Defined as the increased efficiency, attendance and engagement of staff.