Being at the forefront of a small business is a challenging position to hold. This is especially true when you realise that your small business is competing with enterprises backed by a seemingly endless supply of funds and resources.
Among other areas, one of the most challenging aspects of this competition is finding top talent for your business.
Luring a high-performing candidate away from a corporate conglomerate that offers endless perks and benefits, coupled with a handsome salary is no joke.
So are small businesses supposed to just work with a sub-par team?
Of course not.
While there are a number of ways to attract top talent to your organisation, one that is often overlooked by small businesses is to BUILD a high-performing team instead of hiring one.
Why is this such a great solution? Here are a few reasons:
Developing Talent Is Cheaper Than Hiring Talent
Hiring a new employee is not as simple as taking an interview and giving out a joining letter. The process of finding the right person for a job is time-consuming and difficult.
When you do manage to find the right person, running background checks, combined with other onboarding activities also adds to the cost of finding a new employee.
Various studies have placed the cost of hiring a new employee between $4,000 and $7,700.
Now, developing a training strategy, course material, and deploying employee training isn’t exactly cheap.
However, the cost of developing an L&D strategy and course material is a one-time cost. In the long term, your business can easily generate a positive ROI on the investment you make in developing an employee training program.
Similarly, with the right small business LMS, you can control the costs involved with deploying the training material.
Happy and More Efficient Workforce
When employees receive training and growth opportunities from their employers, they are more likely to be happy with their jobs. This is true for two reasons:
- Training allows employees to be better at their jobs
- Training by an employer is viewed (by the employee) as an investment in their growth
This essentially means, with an effective training program, you can create an efficient and talented workforce that recognises your role (or your organisations’ role) in their professional growth.
While increased productivity is an obvious outcome of this, the recognition of your efforts by your employees has other hidden benefits.
One of these benefits is improved retention rates.
Improved Retention Rates
It’s no secret that it is much easier to retain happier employees.
With a robust training program in place, not only can you make employees more efficient and happier at their current jobs, but can help them build a clear career trajectory that also aligns with the growth objectives of your business.
With improved retention rates, the cost of employee turnover reduces, which can be considered the ROI of your investment into employee training.
L&D Opportunities Help Attract Top Talent
Finally, while competing with a large player in your industry is surely difficult when it comes to hiring better talent, a dependable employee training framework will surely help.
While employees do look at a number of factors before choosing the organisation to work for, a LinkedIn study has shown that employees will join any organisation that offers a better learning path and growth trajectory.
In the same study, it was revealed that 45% of employees quit their jobs due to the lack of satisfactory learning and growth opportunities.
Conclusion
Just as you have invested in your business, you must invest in your employees. Not only would this make for a happier workforce, but it will also help you build a loyal and dedicated team that is just as passionate about your business as you are.
