Louise Smith, associate solicitor in the Employment team, discusses the merits of having a well-trained workforce.
Organisations in the UK reportedly spend over £40bn on training their workforces with around 40 per cent of spend coming from private or not-for-profit organisations. So it’s not surprising that the Employment team at Napthens has witnessed a significant trend in employers willing to invest time and money in training their people.
This is undoubtedly a very wise investment. Our team is being increasingly relied upon to deliver training sessions to anyone who has an employee reporting to them, on a wide range of issues ranging from performance management, equal opportunities, handling disciplinaries and grievances.
Training in this area is particularly pertinent where employees have progressed their career in an organisation but might not have had sufficient training in managing people and need to be upskilled in this area. In addition to making sure they are well-versed in key HR issues, we are also helping them develop their own management skills.
Leadership development programmes and general upskilling sessions are proving very popular as this helps managers to help to train other people around them, consequently helping them progress in their respective roles. Employers are also investing more time in understanding employment law. Instead of it being seen as a burden, many employers are seeing it as a means to ensure their employees are looked after, valued and demonstrate that they are aware of their obligations as an employer.
Anecdotal evidence shows that investment in training or upskilling a workforce helps lead to the obvious general increase in knowledge, but can also help employees feel more confident in their role within the organisation, help boost morale, build goodwill and loyalty but more importantly – productivity.
