Training employees definitely costs time, money, and other company resources. In most cases, a third party is even necessary to provide job training to employees, which results to additional costs, unbilled hours, as well as missed time. Many employers often hesitate to spend on training employees partly because of their past training experiences, too. It could be that training was done poorly, or the focus of the training just didn't help. Needless to say, failed employee training comes at a huge cost, which is why businesses are often not willing to invest in it.
However, not giving any form of training to your employees could also be costly.
Below are some reasons why having untrained employees will hurt your business:
1. Untrained employees are unhappy employees.
Naturally, when employees feel they are underachieving, inadequate or unsupported, they become unhappy. They feel unsatisfied with their work, and this causes them to underperform, commit mistakes, and just not care about their work. That could cost lots of time and money for the company.
2. Untrained workers produce low quality work.
Employees who did not get enough training are likely to produce work that is of low quality and value. You cannot expect them to perform at a high level if you don't even bother getting them trained.
3. Untrained employees are inefficient.
More time and effort is spent and wasted when employees are not properly or fully trained to do their job and fulfill their responsibilities. It takes them a lot of time to finish their tasks, and this is a huge loss for the company as well.
4. Increased miscellaneous expenses.
When employees keep making mistakes because they are not properly equipped with skills and knowledge to do a certain task, they have no choice but to do the same task over and over again. As a result, the miscellaneous expenses of the company continues to increase without the management being aware of it.
5. Underperforming employees can cause you to lose customers.
Untrained employees may commit a lot of mistakes, like what's mentioned above, and such mistakes can cause your company to lose valued customers. Yes, this is the worst case scenario, but this actually happens.
Conclusion
It is true that training programs for employees can cost the company a lot, but in the end, this is an important investment for the success of the organization. You also have to think about the higher costs of leaving your employees untrained.
Having a trained workforce means that your employees are able to learn new skills that can boost production, cut wasted time in office operations, lower production costs, limit employee mistakes, and of course, build confidence and boost morale of employees. In any business coaching program, investing in employees' development and training is always emphasized as one of the best ways to drive a company to success.
Cecile Peterkin is a certified career and retirement coach, and a registered member of the Career Professionals of Canada and the International Coach Federation. She is also the Founder and Senior Career Strategist at Cosmic Coaching Centre, provider of career and life management services for middle managers and mid-career professionals across Canada, United States and Europe.