Investing in employees’ professional growth can yield big returns and increase employee retention and satisfaction if done correctly. But amid tightening budgets, many companies make the mistake of viewing these costs as too much.
According to a 2022 survey by The Conference Board, 58 percent of respondents said they are likely to leave their company if they do not receive professional development opportunities. Additionally, 96 percent of respondents stated it was important or very important to develop their skills continuously.
The cost of poor employee retention is also undeniable. A 2020 Emplify study found that the cost of replacing an employee is approximately 33 percent of an employee’s annual salary.
On the other hand, companies that invest in professional development and continuing education are reaping the rewards. According to data gathered from 2,500 firms by The American Society of Training and Development, companies that provided comprehensive training had 218 percent higher income per employee than those with less comprehensive training.
At DTLA-based InStride, investments in continuing education are not just a focus internally — it’s central to their entire business model.
“Our mission is to provide workforce education to corporations, and we see that investment in education pays off in a number of ways,” said Director of People Operations Manny Tafoya. “Individual employees benefit from professional development because it enables them to advance their careers, and it also helps people do their current jobs better.”
Meanwhile, at Centerfield Media, visualized career paths with connected learnings and access to thousands of trainings enable Centerfielders to take control of their careers and future. “Keeping Centerfielders in the long term is a top priority for us. We know there are many options for employment, so when someone chooses Centerfield, we want to continuously reinforce that they made the best decision,” said SVP of People Operations Gena Romano.
Read why these people leaders are prioritizing professional development and continued education.
Centerfield provides companies with digital marketing solutions and omnichannel experiences via its customer acquisition platform Dugout.
How, in spite of any industry turbulence, are you continuing to invest in your people right now?
We are always looking for new, progressive, exciting ways to invest in our people. Most of the new investments we make come from surveying Centerfielders on how they want to grow their careers and improve their skills and leadership capabilities. Currently, we are investing more in our learning, development and training departments and leaning into creative ways to keep our people challenged and engaged. We recently launched our first female leadership program, we have an upcoming people of color cohort, and we invested in LinkedIn Learning for all of our U.S.-based people. Giving our Centerfielders access to thousands of trainings at their fingertips allows them to take control of their career and how far they want to take it.
We are investing more in our learning, development and training departments and leaning into creative ways to keep our people challenged and engaged.”
We also have implemented benefits to support Centerfielders during their fertility journey, meditation during work hours and more team bonding events. We know how important mental health is and all of these benefits help Centerfielders alleviate stress so they can be mentally tuned up all year round.
How does continuing to invest in your people right now set your company up for success in the long term?
We know that the more we invest in our people, the more they will reinvest in Centerfield. Keeping Centerfielders in the long term is a top priority for us. We know there are many options for employment, so when someone chooses Centerfield, we want to continuously reinforce that they made the best decision.
This year, we introduced visualized career paths with connected learnings so Centerfielders can see where they can go and how they can get there. When Centerfielders can see the path to their career goals and see exactly what they need to do to get there, it brings their aspirations to reality. The more we grow Centerfielders, the stronger we will be in the long run.
Looking ahead, how do you plan to continue investing in your people?
We plan to continue to invest in our population by listening and implementing. We make a concerted effort to survey our various populations and listen to what they want for their career exposure at Centerfield. Last year, we heard that they wanted more training and more learnings, so we rolled out the most robust learning platform and offerings in the history of Centerfield. We will continue to listen to what they want and tailor our culture to meet the needs of Centerfielders.
Edtech company InStride aims to transform workforces by designing and providing employers with continuing education programs for their employees. The DTLA-based company was named one of Built In’s Best Places to Work in LA in 2022.
How, in spite of any industry turbulence, are you continuing to invest in your people right now?
We see the headlines and know that times are tough for many tech companies. Fortunately, we took a measured approach in 2022 so we can continue to work toward our mission without cutting the support we provide for our team. Without InStriders, our company would not exist, so we make sure to put our people first. In addition to basic benefits like health insurance and flexible spending accounts, we offer subsidized caregiver benefits so that InStriders can count on help when they need it, whether that’s to care for an aging parent or a child.
Our biggest benefit is our Step Forward program, through which InStriders can enroll in thousands of online courses and even earn college degrees without having to pay tuition. InStride pays tuition upfront so that any one of us can gain skills and knowledge to advance our careers. It’s our mission to bring employer-sponsored education to working adults, so we’re very proud to offer that to our own team.
How does continuing to invest in your people right now set your company up for success in the long term?
At InStride, we believe that investing in your people is the best investment you can make in your company. Our mission is to provide workforce education to corporations, and we see that investment in education pay off in a number of ways. Individual employees benefit from professional development because it enables them to advance their careers, and it also helps people do their current jobs better. When a person gains new skills and increased confidence, their work improves and their team benefits. In addition, a better-educated workforce is more prepared for whatever the future holds, and — as we’ve seen — a lot can change in a short period of time.
At InStride, we believe that investing in your people is the best investment you can make in your company.”
Investing in your people leads to more engaged employees, and more engaged employees do better work and stay longer. The corporations we partner with have seen significant improvement in their employee retention numbers, and employees who enroll in our programs earn promotions at a rate three times greater than those who do not enroll. We’ve seen during the last few years that employees want to know their employer is as invested in their future as they are, and if they don’t see that, they won’t stick around.
How does company culture benefit when people know that they’re still being invested in?
Research shows that it can take months, even a year, to fully onboard a new employee. During that time, you aren’t getting 100 percent from that person, and teammates may carry heavier loads while a new person gets up to speed. That can hurt your employee culture. The best way to get off the hamster wheel of recruiting and onboarding is to hire the strongest talent you can find and then keep those people in your company.
How do you get employees to stay? By demonstrating that your company values them and is as invested in their success as they are. At InStride, we’ve found that investing in your people through employer-sponsored education programs results in gains across several measures, including increased employee engagement, improved retention and a stronger talent pipeline. Employee engagement is a key part of company culture. The more engaged your employees are, the more positive your company culture is. We take great pride in the culture we’ve built and continue to build. InStride wouldn’t exist without InStriders, so we make sure we put as much into our people as they put into our shared mission.
