In the challenging labor market today we face today, many companies would choose to forego employee training because they simply don’t see the value in it. However, if you want a productive and happy work force, skipping out on training opportunities is not the way it’s done.
Yes it’s true training employees costs time, money and materials. Often, third parties are needed to conduct job training. Not only will there be missed time and unbillable hours, but there will also be additional costs. Another reason businesses often neglect to train employees is because of past training experiences. Sometimes the training was done poorly, or the topics just didn’t help. That could happen for several reasons. Failed training comes at a high cost and businesses often don’t want to take that risk.
However, as a business manager, you wouldn’t necessarily hire an unqualified employee. But so many companies today choose to employ under-qualified workers. Sometimes employees become under-qualified due to changing technology or the development of new methods. This is why companies need to see training as an investment and not a burden.
Here are five reasons you can’t afford not to train your employees:
1. Untrained Employees = Unhappy Employees
Employees who feel inadequate, underachieving, or unsupported are unhappy. If they don’t feel satisfied with their work, it can cause them to underperform, make mistakes and not care about the final product. In the construction industry, the final products are roads and building. If these structures aren’t completed to spec, this will cost your business more than lost time and money.
2. Untrained Workers Have a Low Production Value
This one is easy. The quality of work an untrained employee brings to the table is lower and of less value. This means the quality in performance is lower than it could (or should) be.
3. Untrained Workers Are Inefficient
When employees aren’t full or properly trained, more time (and therefore money) and effort is spent in order for the employee to perform their tasks or to fulfill their responsibilities. It takes them longer to do the work which costs you money.
4. Lost Time/Money Due to Mistakes
When an untrained worker makes a mistake, the time and materials used are lost. The work then has to be done again, or worse, the inadequate product was delivered to the client. Untrained employees can cause many of the mistakes listed above, and those mistakes and inefficiencies can cause your business to lose customers.
5. An Increase in Unforeseen Expenses
These are more difficult to track or attribute to untrained workers, but they are there. Creating an inaccurate survey of a jobsite can mean catastrophe for the entire success of the job. That means more time to fix the mistake, more materials cost in paper and ink and more time rechecking the work. If it were done correctly the first time, these costs wouldn’t be there.
Untrained employees can cause many of the mistakes listed above and more. Mistakes and inefficiencies can be a hidden cost that may cause your business to lose customers. Having a trained workforce means your workers are learning new skills that can improve production, cut time spent in creation of your product (or service), reduce production costs, reduce mistakes, build confidence in your workforce and create a better working environment.
Check out the training opportunities for our industry on page XX of this issue and make the effort to send both your new employees and your veterans out to learn something new. Remember, an investment in your employees is an investment in your company.
