Paid for and submitted by KeyBank.
By: Jeff Bardonaro, KeyBank’s Southwest Ohio Commercial Sales Leader
Today’s tight labor markets require new and innovative ways to keep staff loyal to their
business. It’s how companies remain competitive, while building a skilled and motivated staff.
According to a study by Deloitte1 83% of executives identified training and development as
important or very important. This stems from the growth of the “gig” economy – freelancing and
outsourcing, and the reduction in lifetime employment. Their personnel need and want more
employee education and training that will build specific skills. Although it may not initially seem
like it, this is good news for you as a business owner. The more flexible and open you and your
employees are, the better your company will be at taking advantage of shifts in the marketplace
or weathering short-term industry downturns.
Options for Education and Training
With emerging technology, there are countless ways you can provide training for your
employees:
• In-house seminars and courses
• Online resources
• Purchase specific programs or buy a company subscription from online training
providers such as Coursera or LinkedIn’s Lynda ®
• Send employees to off-site job or project-specific training
The benefits of ongoing education and training stretches far and wide for business owners.
Employees who are well informed can speak knowledgably about what your company offers
and how it supports its customers. This could also allow them to understand and follow
processes and procedures better. Plus, oftentimes they feel more empowered.
For the training or education to be effective, employees must retain and use the information. So,
the training you provide or sponsor must have a practical on-the-job component. Knowing that
they need to report on what they learn will encourage your employees to focus and get the most
from the training.
Taking time to focus on employee development can translate to higher employee engagement,
stronger morale and greater job satisfaction. Employees who enjoy their workplace often need
more than a 5-10% increase in pay to be lured away. Combined with an employee recruitment
incentive program – this can significantly decrease recruitment and acquisition costs.
Financial Education Can Breed Positive Outcomes
Financial wellness training can be beneficial to both your employees and your business. It can
include providing advice on budgeting, money management, saving, and general tax information
that can help reduce the financial stress in your employees’ lives.
Most generally, small businesses do not provide retirement benefits. Thus, employees will need
to rely on their IRAs, along with social security, to fund their retirement. By offering financial
wellness education, those who are approaching retirement age may feel less concerned about
their financial post-retirement well-being. They’ll may also be more willing to pass on knowledge
to others than those who are highly fearful of losing their jobs because of the adverse impact it
would have on their financial situation.
Do you have employees whose wages are being garnished for any reason? Do you provide
loans to any of your employees? If the answer is yes to either of these questions, periodic
financial wellness training can help alleviate any problems they may encounter. It can serve as
both a prevention tool and empowerment resource to augment all employees’ financial health.
Learning new concepts, processes and methods contributes to their professional growth. Your
commitment to their growth and well-being will be rewarded through higher engagement,
enhanced creativity, higher productivity and lower turnover.
About the author: Jeff Bardonaro is the Commercial Sales Leader with KeyBank in Southwest Ohio. He may be reached at 937-285-5256 or jbardonaro@keybank.com.
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