News: Performance Management
Boost motivation and retention with training, urges report
03 November 2008
Continual training and development of staff is inextricably linked to business performance, according to the latest research.
Furthermore, findings from Cranfield School of Management highlight that training saves money and is more effective than an ongoing search for new talent.
Half of the 1,189 companies involved in the organisation's Nurturing Talent study discovered that training employees made them more likely to stay, while one third claimed it boosted motivation.
"Sometimes training is seen as nonessential and, when budgets get tight, companies start to look at what they can save money on. But to be honest, cutting training is a false economy," the report's author Emma Parry tells the Times.
Cranfield's senior research fellow adds that "growing your own" affordably provides firms with the skills they need in place of using headhunters, recruitment firms or "time-consuming selection processes".
Staff are more likely to be committed and motivated to go the extra mile if they feel their skills are being expanded, Ms Parry concludes.
The report's appearance follows last month's open letter from UK business leaders, including Marks and Spencer chairman Sir Stuart Rose and BT chairman Sir Mike Rake, which urged bosses not to cut back on training during the economic downturn. 
