Why Is Professional Development Important in Business?

Retaining talented employees is crucial for an employer’s productivity and overall success. With industry trends and labor market conditions constantly in flux, employers can remain competitive by prioritizing employee professional development efforts. Such initiatives have increased in popularity and demand to support today’s workers and changing workplaces.

What Is Professional Development in the Workplace?

Professional development broadens and deepens the knowledge of employees’ career goals. It’s action-focused and requires constant practice and refinement to hone new skills into habits. Unlike training, which is the transfer of specific work-related skills, professional development is an ongoing process that can help foster employees’ career growth.

Why Are Professional Development Plans Important?

Employees highly value professional development opportunities as they strive for meaningful work and career growth. In turn, robust and personalized learning opportunities could be the enticing offerings organizations need to attract and retain talented employees in today’s tight labor market. As such, successful professional development efforts can help workers discover and master skills that will both further their individual careers and benefit the organization.

Investing in professional development may positively impact organizations in the following ways:

• Improves attraction and retention—Professional development programs show organizational commitment to employee professional development, which may make it easier to attract and retain employees.
• Contributes to employee performance and growth—Professional development opportunities can help employees improve in their jobs and overcome performance gaps, augmenting long-term employee and company growth.
• Improves succession planning—Organizations can prepare employees to take on other roles in the company by investing in employee growth and career development.
• Boosts employee engagement—Employees who don’t have development and career advancement opportunities may feel unchallenged or unmotivated in their roles. Providing professional development opportunities shows employees they’re valued and can improve engagement and satisfaction.
• Enhances workplace culture—An authentic learning culture supports a growth mindset, an independent pursuit of knowledge, and a collective understanding of missions and goals, which can boost internal communication and problem-solving.
• Contributes to operational success—Professional development initiatives can help leaders meet operational demands by aligning with overall company business goals and supporting the productivity and performance of employees.

We Can Help

Contact the professionals at Lyceum Insurance Services for guidance on creating professional development plans at your organization. We’re dedicated to helping organizations foster and maintain an optimal work environment.

This blog is intended for informational and educational use only. It is not exhaustive and should not be construed as legal advice. Please contact your insurance professional for further information.