New research by e-learning solutions platform imc reports that 92 percent of employees consider training a deal breaker if choosing between two potential employers, amid a growing trend of employees expecting employers to offer better opportunities for learning and development.
The trend, which was sparked by the major societal shift in personal and professional priorities post-pandemic – also known as the Great Resignation or Great Reshuffle – is now being billed as ‘The Great Upskill’.
The Great Upskill is a natural evolution of the Great Resignation, as people seek greater fulfilment and engagement with their working lives. Aside from a greater expectation of flexibility, employees now want to work for employers that help them to enrich their working experience through ‘upskilling’, training, personal and professional development, and by creating engaging career paths for the short, medium and long term.
They want to achieve more, know more and generally be more engaged with the work they are doing – a move away from the traditional approach to benefits, which focused heavily on short-term perks, like free fruit.
Why do employees leave?
imc research has found that 52 percent of employees had left a role due to lack of personal or professional development opportunities. Interestingly in this context, 48 percent of employees have not received training in the last 12 months. The importance of creating pathways early for talent, and following through with them, can reduce the overall staff turnover, keep employees engaged, and help to nurture and retain talent in the long term.
Russell Donders, Director of International Markets, imc Learning shared, “We’ve seen the right enterprise learning strategies and e-learning technologies have a direct impact on both staff retention rates and overall employee job satisfaction, particularly among our larger multinational clients.”
A very considerable 86 percent of employees would remain with their current employer for longer if they were offered frequent L&D opportunities.
The Great Upskill: even managers report a lack of training
The trend is not only affecting junior team members. Among managers, 22 percent now say they do not receive enough training in their current role. This finding chimes with the Great Resignation trend of an average of 20 percent of the workforce looking for new roles in 2022.
In fact, 78 percent of managers would remain with their current employer for longer if they were offered frequent L&D opportunities. A clear development pathway is therefore key to retaining and nurturing senior team members – and now essential amid the recent talent scarcity concerns.
While economic conditions may influence some businesses to tighten their belts, the rise in demand for well-rounded and tailored training opportunities across all levels does not come at the expense of business interests. Quite the opposite as 81 percent of managers report a positive impact from training on their business bottom line.
Amelia Brand is the Editor for HRreview, and host of the HR in Review podcast series. With a Master’s degree in Legal and Political Theory, her particular interests within HR include employment law, DE&I, and wellbeing within the workplace. Prior to working with HRreview, Amelia was Sub-Editor of a magazine, and Editor of the Environmental Justice Project at University College London, writing and overseeing articles into UCL’s weekly newsletter. Her previous academic work has focused on philosophy, politics and law, with a special focus on how artificial intelligence will feature in the future.
