It's no secret that an effective employee training program can significantly impact a company's retention rate. For instance, a study from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found that 69% of employees  are more likely to stay with a company for three years if they experienced great onboarding.  Moreover, another survey found that 72% of candidates are driven by career advancement opportunities, partly by learning and development opportunities. 

How specifically does training and development correlate with employee motivation and retention? The following information discusses five ways an exceptional training program can lead to a happier, longer, and more productive employee experience. 

Improved job satisfaction 

Employees need to feel valued and supported by their employers to experience high job satisfaction. Of course, such feelings depend on several aspects of an organization's culture. Nevertheless, training and development opportunities are vital to improving job satisfaction. 

Making sure that each team member has the option to learn and grow, both professionally and personally, sends a strong message: "We care about you, and we're willing to invest in your development." The result of such an initiative will be enhanced job satisfaction and engagement, leading to lower turnover.  

Career advancement opportunities 

As mentioned previously, career advancement is a huge motivator for many employees. A well-rounded training and development program can give team members the skills and knowledge to advance their preferred career path. When employees realize that a company's training program equips them with long-term success, they'll be more likely to stay with the company. 

In addition, internal training may open up opportunities for internal advancement. If that is the case, workers may be willing to "climb the corporate ladder" without leaving the ranks of their current employer.  

Increased confidence and competence 

Feeling skilled at a particular job strongly correlates with confidence — and trust among your team members contributes to higher retention rates. In contrast, when employees feel unsupported in their roles and unable to provide high-quality service, they're much more likely to leave for a company that will support them. 

Take sales as an example. You certainly don't want your sales team to "wing it" or come off as unknowledgeable about your company's products and services (unfortunately, the case with 82% of business decision-makers, according to one study). Not only would that be bad for your business, but it would also be demoralizing for your sales reps.  

On the other hand, employees who are well-supported with comprehensive, in-depth training will enjoy increased job satisfaction, perform better for your business, and stay with you longer. 

Better employee-manager relationships 

A well-designed training and development program can provide opportunities for employees to interact with their managers in a positive and constructive way. They will see firsthand how the managers support them to be the best team members and reach their personal and professional goals.  

In a world where 75% of workers consider their immediate supervisor to be the most stressful aspect of their job, strengthening the relationship between employees and managers is a surefire way to boost retention rates. 

Greater sense of loyalty 

It's a natural human tendency: when someone treats us well, we're motivated to treat them well. In the context of training, applying this principle is simple: when employees receive exceptional training and development opportunities, they'll likely feel greater loyalty to the company. As a result, their appreciation will move them to stay with the company for the long term. Put another way, they'll be motivated to repay the investment that their employer has made in them. 

Partner with Navaquest for your training and development needs 

Employee training and development programs can contribute to higher retention rates by: 

• Increasing job satisfaction 
• Providing career advancement opportunities 
• Boosting employee confidence 
• Improving employee-manager relationships 
• Fostering a greater sense of loyalty 

Undoubtedly, your business can gain several benefits from investing in a state-of-the-art training initiative. A higher retention rate is just one of those benefits; other advantages include the delivery of a more consistent customer experience and increased revenues. Interestingly, research has uncovered a significant competitive advantage among companies that provide expert training for sales and marketing teams compared to companies that don't: they are 57% more effective at meeting their goals, and their training results in an ROI as high as 353%. 

If you want to provide your employees with exceptional training and development opportunities, explore the solutions our team at Navaquest provides. We offer three coaching paths that allow you to choose the level of our involvement with your training initiative. Still, each approach has the same ultimate objective: to transform your team into a productive, cohesive, profit-generating machine!