Training and development

Why Training Matters

Training is the process of developing an employee's skills, knowledge, and capabilities to improve their performance in their current role. Development is a broader concept - it includes training but also covers preparing employees for future roles, building leadership capability, and supporting long-term career growth. Both are investments in the business's most important asset: its people.

The business case for training is clear: better-skilled employees perform more effectively, make fewer costly mistakes, require less supervision, and deliver higher quality to customers. Training also has a direct impact on motivation and retention - employees who feel invested in are more likely to stay.

Methods of Training and Development

• Formal training - Structured, planned learning activities such as courses, workshops, certifications, and classroom-based instruction. Formal training typically has clear objectives and measurable outcomes. It may be delivered internally by company trainers or externally by training providers. Examples: a health and safety certificate, a sales technique workshop, a leadership development programme.
• Informal training - Learning that happens through day-to-day work rather than in a structured setting: learning by doing, observing experienced colleagues, being coached on the job, or picking up skills through trial and error. Informal training is constant and inexpensive but less predictable in depth or consistency.
• Self-learning - Employees take personal responsibility for developing their own skills through reading, online courses, professional memberships, and independent study. Self-learning is cost-effective for the business and builds employee initiative and commitment. However, it requires motivated employees and may not align perfectly with the business's most pressing skill needs.
• Ongoing training for all employees - Rather than training only new starters or those in specific roles, progressive businesses invest in continuous learning across the entire workforce. This keeps skills current, supports adaptability to change, and builds a culture where improvement is expected and valued.
• Target setting and performance reviews - Regular one-to-one reviews between an employee and their manager identify skill gaps, set development targets, and track progress. Performance reviews create a structured mechanism for connecting individual development to business objectives. Well-run reviews are motivating and developmental; poorly run ones can feel punitive and demotivating.

Why Businesses Train and Develop Employees

• The link between training, motivation, and retention - Employees who receive training and development feel valued by their employer. This sense of investment improves job satisfaction, increases commitment to the business, and significantly reduces the likelihood of employees leaving to seek better opportunities elsewhere. High staff turnover is expensive - replacing an employee typically costs between 20% and 200% of their annual salary when recruitment, induction, and lost productivity are included. Training that reduces turnover delivers a strong return on investment.
• Retraining to use new technology - As technology evolves, the skills required to use it change. Businesses that introduce new software, automation, or digital systems must ensure their workforce can use these tools effectively. Failing to retrain leads to technology being underused, efficiency gains not being realised, and employee frustration with tools they do not understand. Retraining is not a one-off event - it is an ongoing requirement as technology continues to evolve.