As a leader, you want the best and brightest on your team. One of the best ways to ensure your team is living up to their potential is to offer them opportunities to build their skills. 

Not only will providing professional development opportunities for your staff improve productivity and quality of work, it will also increase employee retention. Most employees want opportunities to learn more and build their skills, but only 37% are satisfied with the training and learning opportunities at their current company. 

To build the skills of your staff and increase employee retention, you should look into offering some professional development opportunities. Here are some ideas:

Institute Cross-Departmental Training 

One easy, low- to no-cost way for you to build the skills of your employees is to develop a cross-departmental training program. As your staff learns how other departments operate, they will develop a better understanding of processes and workflows. This could spark ideas on how to streamline processes or may reveal business opportunities your staff wouldn’t have discovered otherwise. In the future, when departments have to work together on a project, your team will already have an understanding of how these other departments operate.

Establish a Mentorship Program 

Another low-cost way to develop employee skills is to establish a mentorship program at your company. Tapping senior-level staff to help guide low-level staff will not only build the knowledge and skills of your staff, it will also help foster team unity and collaboration.

Provide Upskilling Opportunities 

Upskilling is the process of learning new skills, typically through a structured program like a course. There are many ways you could provide upskilling opportunities for your staff, such as webinars, seminars, or industry conferences. One way to upskill that is gaining popularity is earning a micro-certificate or certificate. Many colleges and industry groups offer certifications that could help your employees learn more about a niche part of their career or gain a new competency. 

Cover Tuition 

One popular benefit beyond healthcare that will help you attract top talent is offering tuition reimbursement. Chances are your employees have their bachelor’s degree, but many may want to go back to earn their graduate degree. By covering the tuition for employees who earn their graduate, you’ll gain a more knowledgeable, skilled employee. The downside is obviously the cost of tuition. But if your tuition reimbursement program stipulates that the employee must stay employed with your company for a certain period of time after earning their degree, you should get a good return on your investment.

Offer Continual Training Opportunities 

You want people on your team who have the desire to continually learn new skills. To attract these people, you need to continually offer ways for them to learn. These training opportunities could come in many forms: videos, webinars, seminars, conferences and guest speakers, just to name a few. Offering such opportunities tells your current employees and prospective employees that you value them and care about their professional progress. 

Find Accounting & Finance Talent in St. Louis

If you need to hire top finance and accounting talent in the St. Louis area and beyond, contact the recruiters at Burchard & Associates. We help companies in St. Louis find talent for their open positions. For more information, contact us today.