If you have older, more experienced employees on your team, often they will assume that they no longer need training. After all, they’ve been doing what they’re doing for a while, so what value will training add? Perhaps nothing to the technical aspects of their job, but there is still a great deal of return on investment to be had on training in other areas. When it comes to verbal and written communication, relationship skills, leadership development, and personal development, there is always something new to learn. Or perhaps your employees aspire to other roles but previous managers have shut down their dreams. Now is the time to help them shine. When you insist that your employees, ALL your employees, continue to learn, the message you send is strong: “I value you enough to invest in you.” Occasionally, your veteran employees will fight you on this, stating: “I’m not looking to get a promotion or move to another job, so I really don’t need to attend any training.” Don’t buy into that excuse; be adamant in your resolve that they should always continue to learn.
What do you think? Is training an investment that will yield returns when it comes to older, more experienced employees? Please add your comments below.
P.S. In previous blogs, I’ve offered you ideas on how to capitalize on the value that older, experienced employees bring to the organization. If you’re interested, see:
2 Comments
The investment in older experienced employees is of utmost importance if they want to stay viable in the work place and reach full retirement age. I saw a quote a couple of weeks ago that said to survive in the work place you have to learn, unlearn and relearn.
The day when you can become proficient at your job and have a nice long career based on those skills has passed.
Good point Mary! So it isn’t just about making them feel valued, it’s also really about making sure that they continue to be relevant and productive. Thanks for the reminder!