CPD training as a tool for employee retention

Employee retention is an important consideration for any organisation. A high employee turnover can be costly – through the financial expense of rehiring but also the loss of skills, experience and knowledge. Investing in training and employee development is a key element in effective employee retention. A commitment to Continuing Professional Development (CPD) within an organisation can be an invaluable tool in providing the training and employee development needed to secure a high level of employee retention.

This CPD article will provide an overview of training as a tool for employee retention, including examples of key retention strategies and the importance of measuring the effectiveness of training.

Why employee training is an effective retention strategy

Although salary, benefits and overall work culture will play a part in employee satisfaction, training and a commitment to employee development is a substantial part of an effective employee retention strategy.

A survey published in October 2019 by Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning found that the majority of employees (more than 55%) consider opportunities for career growth in a company more important than salary and 21% of employees were three times as likely to leave their job if the training offered did not meet their needs.

Relevant training and development makes employees feel valued by an organisation and more likely to stay. Equally, as individuals develop new knowledge and skills, they become more productive and therefore feel more engaged and fulfilled within an organisation as a whole and want to continue contributing to the overall growth and success.

In addition, effective employee training can create a virtuous circle for an organisation. Investing in the development of employees increases employee fulfilment, and also improves productivity and success for the organisation. This makes the workplace seem a more appealing place to be, with further opportunity for individual growth and development.

The importance of measuring the effectiveness of training

As part of implementing any training and development programs, it is important to continually measure the effectiveness of the training offered.

In the first instance, this is identifying the wider objectives of an organisation and the knowledge and skills requirements. But it is also about ensuring individuals are benefiting from any training and are engaged and fulfilled by the process. If employees are not achieving the required benefits or are disengaged from training, it will lead to lower overall productivity and most likely lower levels of employee retention. An organisation must be able to measure the benefits of training in terms of wider objectives, but employees must also have recognised the value for themselves.

Some key tools in measuring the effectiveness of training include assessments during learning, post training feedback surveys and post training monitoring in the workplace. There is more on the importance of measuring training effectiveness and the use of learning and training metrics as a tool in our previous article here.

Ways to increase retention through Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

A commitment to CPD in an organisation can prove immensely valuable in delivering training and development requirements and ensuring high levels of employee retention.

CPD is a holistic approach towards the enhancement of personal skills and proficiency throughout a professional’s career. It encourages looking forward and identifying opportunities to learn something new. CPD combines different methodologies to learning, which includes training courses, events, and online eLearning programs, all focused towards an individual methodically improving within the work environment.

An advantage of CPD is that it can fulfil training and development needs, which leads to higher employee retention without necessarily making a huge financial investment. This can be particularly valuable for small organisations or businesses who do not have the resources to invest in expensive in-house bespoke training programs. There is more reading on the value of CPD for small businesses here.

However, even larger organisations and multinationals with bigger resources can find huge value through CPD. The advantage is that it is tailored to the individual. A one size all training program may not be beneficial to every individual and, therefore, can be a costly way of not achieving desired outcomes. CPD can be focused on the knowledge and skills requirements of an organisation, but also the different learning needs of an individual and the method of learning that is best suited to them. This can ensure individuals feel personally valued and consequently fulfilled in the workplace.

Ultimately, the fundamental value of an active dedication towards CPD is that it creates a culture of learning in the workplace. As its core focus is lifelong learning, it motivates individuals to always search for improvement. This aids organisation growth and success, but also creates a more positive work environment where individuals wish to remain because they feel valued and see a usefulness to learning with constant opportunities for growth and improvement.

What are some key retention strategies and examples?

Effective training is a vital part of securing high employee retention but there are a few other key strategies that are important:

Salary/Benefits – It is a basic truth for all organisations that salary and benefit systems are important. These must remain market competitive and organisations must always be sensitive and aware of market trends in remuneration. Significantly lower pay than immediate competitors is likely to lead to bad recruitment and high staff turnover. However, as previously established, salary is not always the number one issue in terms of employee satisfaction and retention. Opportunities for development and a positive work environment are just as important and in some instances will be more favourable to employees despite a nominally lower salary. 

Onboarding – Employee satisfaction begins when they join an organisation. The orientation and effectiveness of the initial training individuals receive (Onboarding) is crucial to the chances of retaining that employee. An individual who feels immediately settled in an organisation with the required tools to progress is likely to feel positive about moving forward. An already established culture of CPD can help facilitate the onboarding process successfully.

Management – Good management is critical to an organisation. Efforts to facilitate effective training will be undermined if management are not fully involved in the process and do not communicate effectively, and most likely lead to employee dissatisfaction. 

Effective management training is as important as wider employee training in terms of achieving overall objectives and a positive work environment. For example, management must be committed to their own CPD if a wider culture of lifelong learning and improvement is to be established within an organisation. Feedback is also a crucial aspect of good management. Employees need to receive acknowledgement for their success – as well as constructive feedback on where they can improve and develop.

Soft Skills – Increasingly, it can be observed that developing soft skills are often more important in a workplace than practical or specific technical skills. Soft skills would include the likes of leadership, communication, teamwork and time management. Encouraging the development of these skills is likely to lead to a more productive and fulfilled workplace overall and therefore a greater chance of high employee retention.

In all the key strategies in successful employee retention, CPD can be a valuable tool. It can be incorporated into the onboarding process, offers opportunities for management training, can facilitate the development of soft skills and can be the basis of training and development needs as an organisation progresses and grows.

Where to find CPD training courses?

If you are interested in incorporating CPD into your workplace training, please visit the CPD Courses Catalogue where you will find thousands of training courses and events across industry sectors. All the certified training has been reviewed and recognised as meeting the required industry standards and benchmarks. To find out more about a particular CPD course listed on our website, you can complete an enquiry form and the details will be sent directly to the relevant CPD provider.

CPD accreditation for your training and professional development courses

We hope this article was helpful. Established in 1996, The CPD Certification Service has over 27 years’ experience providing CPD accreditation. With members in over 100 countries, our CPD providers benefit from the ability to promote themselves as part of an international community where quality is both recognised and assured.

If you are interested in offering training courses, seminars, workshops, eLearning, or educational events suitable for Continuing Professional Development, please visit the Become a CPD Provider page or contact our team to discuss in more detail. Alternatively, if you are looking for a free online CPD record tool to help manage, track and log your ongoing learning, as well as store your professional training records and attendance certificates in one simple place, go to the myCPD Portal page.