Over the past few years, a trend has surfaced with power shifting from employers to employees in the talent market. Unemployment is down, and companies struggle to fill open positions. The most talented employees are more sought after than ever causing HR leaders to focus on retaining their stars. Learning and development opportunities have become a major focus with many organizations creating and expanding their offerings in hopes of improving employees’ skills and increasing retention.
According to a recent study conducted by LinkedIn, 94% of employees would stay at an organization longer if it invested in their careers. So why are employees still leaving if so many organizations offer workplace learning? A major contributor to this phenomenon centers on the lack of accessibility to these programs. Even the best designed programs will not yield results if employees are not accessing them.
What are the common barriers to entry for learning and development offerings? One common problem is the format is not conducive to the employees learning style. Sometimes employees do not have the time to participate in growth opportunities. Many organizations have a communication problem; their programs may be an unintentionally well-kept secret. Tearing down these and other barriers gives development programs the chance to make real change and improve organizations.
With over 30 years of experience, Career Partners International (CPI) has seen all these common barriers and many more. CPI works with managers to remove these obstacles and encourage their teams to participate in learning opportunities. According to that same LinkedIn survey, one of the biggest drivers of participation in development programs is encouragement from management, be it a verbal suggestion or freeing up time for participation. Employees want to learn and grow, organizations want their talent to stay, grow, and remain engaged. By turning managers into career coaching leaders CPI helps managers align the goals of employers and employees to promote lasting and mutually beneficial relationships.