Let our HR risk experts (and their dogs) come to you

Like any victim of shock, HR has spent a lot of time recently bargaining existentially – “if the universe can keep resignations to a minimum, I’ll make sure we can bring our dogs to work/work from home for ever/promise my team they’ll never have to do a zoom quiz again.” And in a lot of cases it has worked – the dearth of candidates reported by UK recruitment firms indicates a total lack of appetite for job-hopping, unlike the US, which is experiencing the great resignation. But what if, like most trends from the US, it’s only a matter of time until employees start to vote with their feet? How can employers show their workforces that they’re committed to developing a long-term functional relationship that works for both parties?

Identifying your training challenges through feedback and focus groups

We speak to dozens of employees every single week. They’re attending our training courses and we make it our business to understand what role training and L&D in general has in their lives,  so we can design and deliver exactly what they need. And what employers, who are footing the bill, are expecting in terms of results for their investment.

Sometimes it’s obvious – employees are managing changes in every area of their lives. Constant updates and changes to legislation and government directives has become even more of a game of catch-up. Be it immigration law changes, online document checking, GDPR, IR35 or the myriad of other legal obstacles causing headaches for our audiences. It’s a fairly straightforward process to draw on our bank of experts – ensuring they are able to use the new virtual platforms to deliver as engagingly and seamlessly as they did in real life. We brief them to share their legal expertise, throw in some case studies and a few interactive sessions to check they’ve made sense and those new skills are absorbed and put into practice in real-time.

Even broader challenges are fairly straightforward to meet with decent training. Union relationships, especially in the public sector, are changing for employers and many HR teams are sleepwalking into making some very bad decisions. Brushing up on negotiating skills, understanding the new union:employer relationship and getting abreast of legal challenges are all key reasons we are being asked to train employers and union reps alike.

A culture of broadening and renewing skills, motivates and supports retention

We’ve noticed the companies that invest in training are really pulling ahead of the pack in terms of getting productivity back up and engaging and motivating their teams, whether they are working remotely, in hybrid teams or back in the workplace. A culture of broadening and renewing skills motivates all employees; becoming more employable across a range of roles has incredible effects on retention. Conversely, those companies who report a drop in training investment are struggling as their staff are insecure with new technology, new company structures and ways of working and other necessary post-Covid skills; not to mention the fact that in a difficult market, employees are demanding to feel valued and invested in.

Developing a culture of learning will be the hallmark of an employer of choice

Smart employers need to focus on internal mobility to stymie attrition and tackle the growing chronic talent shortage through training, reskilling and upskilling. Developing and nurturing a culture of learning will be the hallmark of an employer of choice over the next couple of decades; sharing and investing in learning resources and understanding how to quantify the impact of training will ensure your employees grow with your organisation through recovery and beyond. Although, do let them bring the dogs to work too.

Article written by Elizabeth Smith, Director of Research 17.02.22

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In-house training 

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