8 reasons why you should be prioritizing L&D NOW!

Yes, rolling out an effective L&D strategy can be expensive. But, in the long run, it's an investment that can pay for itself many times over!

So let's jump straight in with the research that can back up that boast, and explore eight good reasons why your organization should make learning and development a priority.

 1. Learning is important to employees 

It's important to listen to what your employees want. And, according to a 2019 report by human capital management software providers Ceridian, an overwhelming 86 percent of employees said it is important for employers to provide learning opportunities.

So, if you're not providing the training they want and need, and not allocating enough time for it, it's something that you need to address.

2. Learning opportunities attract new talent

Learning not only helps you to retain the talent you already have, it can attract new talent, too. Learning specialists Udemy surveyed Millennial workers for their 2018 Millennials at Work report. They discovered that 42 percent of Millennials placed learning and development as the second most important benefit when deciding where to work.

3. Learning leads to a happier workforce

Organizations that provide learning are found to have happier employees. And when people are happier, they're more productive. The same Ceridian report mentioned above found that 83 percent of employees who work for a company that provides learning opportunities feel happy in their jobs.

4. Learning leads to better engagement

If your employees are engaged with their roles, they're less likely to want to work elsewhere. According to U.K.-based recruitment specialists Robert Half, businesses with a strong learning culture enjoy employee engagement and retention rates around 30-50 percent higher than those without. 

5. Effective L&D boosts your bottom line! 

It's easy for the "bean counters" to target L&D when they're looking for ways to trim corporate budgets. But that could prove to be a false economy. Research suggests that 63 percent of companies who cited leadership and management development as their top priority had an increased year on year turnover.

6. Replacing employees is expensive!

Replacing talent is not only a time-consuming task: it's costly too. Figures from recruitment experts Maddison Approach show that that replacing a current employee can cost up to a third of their annual salary, so it seems that investing in ways to retain your talent is worth every penny.

7. You'll retain young talent

How often do you hear, "Millenials are job hoppers," or, "They're always on the hunt for their next role?" Well, it turns out that's not exactly the case.

U.S.-based employee development gurus Bridge reported that offering career training and development would keep 86 percent of Millennials from leaving their current position.

8. Learning reduces staff turnover

If you're not going to provide the training that your employees desire, it's likely that they'll start searching for somewhere else that does.

And this 2018 survey found that 51 percent of employees would quit their job if training was not offered. So unless you want your people to start sending out their CVs, you better get an L&D strategy in place, quick!

Click here to download your free infographic, and use it to help make your case for Learning and Development!