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Boost Employee Well-being Through Learning and Development

by Michael Murphy / March 23, 2022

At present, well-being and health in the workplace seem to be an increasing preoccupation for many organizations. This preoccupation could arguably be because of the positive links found between the health and well-being of an employee and their productivity and performance. What’s more, the dynamic relationship between employee well-being and profitability and talent retention rates is undeniable.

A workplace well-being intervention that has been gaining traction is Learning and Development training (L & D). The latter refers to learning aimed at enhancing professional skills, leadership capability, and organizational effectiveness. This initiative has been found to be a key anchor in models of organizational performance and could help buffer work intensification while still maximizing performance.

Reasons Why Learning and Development Is Important

Having highlighted a bit of what L & D initiatives are, let’s pivot to highlight the reasons why said initiatives are essential to businesses like yours.

Today’s Employees Demand Learning Opportunities

A 2016 Gallup report found that 87% of the interviewees valued having the opportunity for learning and development at their workplace. In fact, 59% of them reiterated that having opportunities to learn and grow is a critical deciding factor when applying for a job. In order for your business to adequately compete for talent, it, therefore, has to show its commitment to its employees’ development which would best be captured in L & D training.

The Cost of Hiring is higher than That of Employee Retention

Granted, it can be quite challenging to understand the actual cost of employee turnover. Still, the cost of losing a productive employee is quite apparent. As such, you want to have programs in place that prevent said turnover.

When you invest in the learning and development of your employees, you end up boosting their productivity. As a ripple effect, their confidence in themselves is improved as well as their trust in you as their employer. That way, you end up with an employee who has no reasons to seek employment elsewhere.

L & D Training Improves the Bottom Line

Your human capital is your business’s greatest asset. When you have L & D training in place, you are investing in filling the knowledge gap. This upskills your employees and equips them with the ability to carry out their responsibilities better, which translates to increased profit on your end.

The Role of Learning and Development in Employee Well-being

Well-being Education for Employees

The most basic way through which L & D can positively influence the well-being of the employee is through educating them on the importance of mental well-being in the workplace. This could take either the form of a one-off training session or an ongoing course that desensitizes mental health issues within the workplace. The training could delve into the root causes of some of the mental issues, which would then necessitate the involvement of experts within the field.

Training for Managers on How Best to Support Team Members

Oftentimes, an L & D program will include training for managers and leaders that’s meant to enable them to support their teams. Granted, the training might not bring about a complete culture change within the business, but it should equip authority figures on how to proactively support and manage issues that arise at the workplace.

This is important since while there’s been increased conversations around the issues of mental health and well-being, there’s still some stigma and misinformation associated with these. The training is meant to create a situation whereby an individual would feel comfortable walking up to the manager to share what they’ve been struggling with. Altogether, L & D training programs should help managers be personable and approachable, thus facilitating employee well-being within the workplace.

Some of the suggested training courses include Managing Team Conflict, Successful Behaviors for Leaders and Managers, Stress Awareness, and Coaching Skills. The idea is to upskill managers in a bid to foster a healthy culture.

Creation of a Safe Workplace Environment

As part of the L & D program, you ought to include safe health and safety programs that are meant to equip the employees on how to create a safe environment. You want to have the health and safety plan reflect the findings of the risk assessment done at the workplace.

Consider offering courses such as Mental Health Awareness, Assertiveness, Constructive Conversations, and Diversity and Inclusion as these would help employees through, for instance, abusive behavior at the workplace. Overall, the courses help workers get better in tune with self-care, which is integral to well-being.

Facilitates Personal Growth

Personal growth has been cited as a critical aspect of employee well-being. L & D training develops the employees’ skills which then leaves them feeling valued and having a greater sense of purpose. Essentially, ongoing training and development help create a culture of personal growth that contributes to employee well-being. Consider including a course on Difficult Conversations, which would be somewhat of pre-emptive training.

How to Design an L & D Program for Employees’ Well-being

Having your L & D program paired together with employee wellness initiatives is the first step towards promoting well-being at your workplace. The idea is to offer your employees a better work-life balance that will help drive productivity within your business. Consider offering these employees opportunities for professional upskilling, core skill development, and mentoring.

This optimizing of the potential of your L & D should not stop at just combining training and wellness. You want to use the program to showcase to your employees your commitment to their growth and development. Consider incorporating wellness programs from external parties and aligning this with your own L & D program. Employees will feel that the organization is invested in bringing in external expertise for their well-being which will organically encourage them to get involved in the company’s culture.

Consider an L & D program as an investment in your employees’ growth which avails your business lower churn rates, greater productivity, and consequently higher profits. When done right, the return on investing in an L & D program validates the cost incurred. View this guide for tips on what to look for when shopping for a Learning and Development System.

ABOUT PLATINUM GROUP

Platinum Group is a human capital management resource with solutions to help you streamline operations so you’ll have time to manage your business. No matter which division you work with: Payroll/HR or Accounting, our team is built upon a foundation of support, service, camaraderie and collaboration that we share both in-house and with our wonderful clients. For more information about Platinum Group, or to schedule a demo of isolved, please visit our website.

Tags: Health & Wellness Personal Development HR LMS

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Michael Murphy

Michael Murphy

Michael is the founder of Platinum Group. His passion is in helping businesses to simplify their employee management and accounting processes.