Your employees are among your company’s most valuable assets. Through their knowledge, imagination and hard work, your company can achieve incredible things. All employees can potentially become even more valuable for your organization when you take time to educate them in different and relevant ways. While some companies leave it up to employees to take the initiative to pursue further or continuing education outside of the workplace, other employers structure various opportunities for valued employees. If you are looking for an exceptional way to encourage your team members to improve their knowledge and skills, consider adopting some of these excellent ideas.
Use Online Educational Opportunities
If you want or need your existing team members to gain new knowledge or skills for the future benefit of your company, it makes sense to take advantage of online educational opportunities. Online courses, such as those that teach a new coding language, oracle training, or a foreign language, are usually cost-effective and convenient for busy professionals to complete. You can easily find a wide range of online educational opportunities on various topics, including live online courses, video courses and more. You may pay for these courses and offer time at work to complete them, or you may simply find courses that you recommend your team members to take on their own as needed.
Encourage Attendance at Seminars
In addition to encouraging your team to take advantage of online educational opportunities, you may also find helpful seminars for them to attend. Industry seminars usually have educational courses in breakout sessions, and you can choose seminars for your team that are most relevant to their positions and to the future plans that you have for them. Seminars are also a great way for your team to refine people skills and to make excellent connections through networking.
Offer In-Office Mentoring
Some of your more experienced team members may have exceptional knowledge that they can pass on to younger or less experienced individuals. Keep in mind that some people may not want to mentor those who are lower on the totem pole because of a fear that they may lose their job. Others may not see that this is worth their personal time and effort. If you decide to offer in-office mentoring, ensure that the person who you select as the mentor is being properly acknowledged and compensated for the extra effort.
Pay for College Courses
Some companies also offer tuition reimbursement for employees. There is often a cap on the amount of tuition that may be paid for by the employer. In addition, the employer may place requirements that the employee work for the company for a specified number of years after the tuition reimbursement has been paid out as a benefit. Many companies that offer this perk also require the employee’s area of study to be highly relevant to the business. Tuition reimbursement may be used to help an individual obtain a higher level degree, a certification or another educational achievement.
You understandably want your business to be as successful as possible, and a critical component necessary to help you achieve the goals that you desire is your team. All members in your team should be seen as valuable, and all should be offered extensive training and educational opportunities that are relevant to their position and that are helpful to the company. Whether you decide to offer one or several of these ideas, you may discover that they are an excellent way to ultimately get the most out of each of your employees. Remember that your company may pay for these educational opportunities as a benefit, or you can simply encourage your team to pursue them in their free time.
