

"A common mistake most companies make is that they start developing a training program without considering the skills gap," Papangelis says. Here are some best practices to successfully leverage learning and development as hiring and retention tools in 2022.īefore creating a learning program, it's critical to evaluate the needs of both employees and the organization. "If are confident in what they're doing and they can see a clear path for their career, they're more likely to stay with the company," she explains.Īs organizations continue to adjust to the realities of the pandemic era, business leaders are expected to prioritize such learning and development opportunities to make current employees feel valued and optimistic and to attract new workers from a restless and growing talent pool.

Seventy-five percent of Sam's Club managers started with the company as hourly associates, Buchanan says. The company's focus on employee development helps long-term retention. After completing the program in 2021, nearly 350 employees became eligible to receive up to a semester's worth of college credits from institutions that partner with Sam's Club's tuition-free college program, Live Better U.

The program, which lasts six to eight weeks, uses a combination of instructor-led learning, on-the-job practice opportunities and video tutorials. Sam's Club's Manager in Training program, for example, helps prepare high-potential team leads for managerial roles, Buchanan says. It helps the 95,000 associates-whether at stores, distribution centers or their home offices-"develop essential skills for the roles they're in now, as well as the roles they'd like to see themselves in down the line," she says. The main reason for that, according to Jennifer Buchanan, senior director of field learning and development at the retailer's Bentonville, Ark., headquarters, is the company's extensive employee development program.
#Research that learning on the job matters most full#
were significantly understaffed in late 2021, Sam's Club's 600 locations were at full employment. "In this challenging period, we've seen that learning and development can make a significant impact on both employee retention and attraction of new hires," says Thanos Papangelis, chief executive officer of Epignosis, a learning technology company based in San Francisco. In that survey, 66 percent of workers ages 18-24 ranked learning new skills as the third-most important perk when evaluating new job opportunities, behind only health insurance and disability benefits. In fact, skills training is one of the top perks younger workers look for in a new job, according to a 2021 Gallup survey conducted on behalf of Amazon. Learning and development (L&D) programs can be an appealing benefit. "Another way to be competitive is to allow for learning," Andreatta says. "Employers are getting a hard wake-up call around how competitive their offerings are-pay, benefits, flexibility," says Britt Andreatta, chief executive officer of workplace consultancy 7th Mind Inc., based in Santa Barbara, Calif.īut these standard, if shifting, incentives aren't the only options companies have for setting themselves apart. The pandemic has caused millions of people to quit their jobs, leaving companies scrambling to find ways to hold on to their top employees and attract new ones.
