As a business owner, it can be difficult recruiting and retaining the skilled staff necessary to run your business effectively. In fact, the UK has the highest levels of employee turnover in Europe, with 18.9% of the UK workforce leaving their job in the year 2021. There is also a consistent increase in the number of employees leaving each year, with a 0.3-point increase in employee turnover year on year.
So how can business owners stem this tide? One crucial factor in retaining employees is to invest in your workforce, and a great investment to make is in their education. Here are some ways in which this helps you bolster and retain a happy and productive workforce:
By sponsoring a student through one of these programmes, you increase the skills and knowledge of your workforce, making your employees more competent and capable, allowing them to contribute more effectively to the wider organisation. This has multiple knock-on benefits as a result. For example, better educated employees tend to be more productive, as theoretical knowledge gained can be applied in a multitude of business situations, as their problem-solving and decision-making abilities improve.
In more specific terms, education helps foster creative and new ideas, which students can bring back to your company, giving you fresh perspectives and fostering a culture of innovation, granting you the potential to gain a competitive advantage over your rivals. The knowledge that they are equipped with, will be up-to-date industry trends, allowing your company to continue to deploy best-practices and not risk being left behind. This also makes for excellent succession planning, as employees become more capable to succeed your senior staff, with a marriage of their theoretical and company specific knowledge.
Finally, by supporting a student through one of these programmes, you create positive employer branding. This will not only help you to attract new talented individuals to your company, but through your demonstration of commitment to your employees, you will increase their job satisfaction and loyalty. In turn, this contributes to improving your overall company culture, as employees who feel empowered and fulfilled will create a positive working environment for everyone.
If you are an employer who would like to discuss some of the many opportunities for staff upskilling at the college, then please contact our employer engagement team on: 01743 342602