How to Link Employee Retention to Training

Companies want to keep talented employees. Investing in employees by providing training opportunities comes with an additional cost, so establishing a positive link between training and retention provides a tangible reason for the expenditure. Typically, employees who attend courses and take self-study training or receive coaching and mentoring feel that their employer takes an interest in them and they perform better on the job as a result. Link employee retention to training by conducting employee surveys.

• 1

  Identify all the training courses your staff attends. Keep track of this data in a spreadsheet or use a commercial learning management system, which allows administrators to publish course catalogs and register students for classes, seminars and workshops. The system also allows them to generate reports on student progress, such as assignments, tests and final exams. Usually, companies publish monthly reports containing the names of employees completing training, adhering to privacy guidelines established for the company.

• 2

  Conduct employee surveys using free online questionnaire software, such as Zoomerang, Qualtrics or SurveyMonkey, or conduct personal interviews and focus groups to get input. Ask an employment question, such as "How long have you been employed at this company?" Ask about the number of courses taken, such as "How many courses related to your job have you completed this year?"

• 3

  Identify a correlation between the number of years of service and the cumulative number of training courses. Typically, employees who have been employed for many years have completed many more training courses than newly hired employees. Identify anomalies, such as newly hired employees who have received no training or older employees who have received less training than others.

• 4

  Assign coaches to new employees. Coaches teach new employees how to complete job tasks. These employees do not attend formal training. Each coach should assess the new employee's work on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis. Track and monitor the employee retention rate of these new employees. Make a note of formal training cost savings incurred.

• 5

  Calculate human resources (HR) metrics. For example, determine the number of your employees who get training. Reflect this value as a percentage of your total employee headcount. Other templates allow you to calculate and compile additional HR metrics related to training and retention. For example, calculate the percentage of employees who quit within the first year of employment. Compare this to new hire training rates. If employees who receive no training end up leaving, consider implementing programs to provide more initial education to new employees.

• 6

  Gather testimonials from employees who have been with your company for several years, ideally executives, who value training as the key to their career development. These employees typically set high standards that inspire others to learn, behave with honesty and integrity, actively pursue goals and passionately help other employees to develop their own skills. Recognizing these individuals with awards provides another way to help your company link employee retention to training and development activities.