New research by e-learning solutions platform imc reports that 92 per cent 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.
imc research has found that 52 per cent of employees had left a role due to lack of personal or professional development opportunities. Interestingly in this context, 48 per cent 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.
“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,” said Russell Donders, Director of International Markets, imc Learning. “A very considerable 86 per cent of employees would remain with their current employer for longer if they were offered frequent L&D opportunities.”
The trend isn’t only affecting junior team members. Among managers, 22 per cent 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 per cent of the workforce looking for new roles in 2022. In fact, 78 per cent 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 doesn’t come at the expense of business interests. Quite the opposite as 81 per cent of managers report a positive impact from training on their business bottom line.
