Cultivating leaders: unlock your team’s potential

Develop future leaders through targeted leadership training for managers

Investing in training for your employees is one of the most effective ways to close skill gaps, improve retention, and develop a succession plan for existing leadership. As the workplace is evolving, so are the expectations for both employees and employers. Recent trends like remote work and an increased need for professional development have posed unique challenges to organizations looking to stay competitive. Let’s explore how leadership training can address today’s challenges and help your organization thrive.

BLR’s employee training software, TrainingToday, offers a solution to the modern workplace’s professional development problems. With hundreds of ready-to-use courses covering critical employee development topics, TrainingToday offers the key to unlocking the next generation of leaders within your organization. These mobile-friendly courses are available from day one, giving your team the flexibility to enhance their skillset whenever, or wherever, they choose.

Resolve skill gaps to increase productivity

Leadership skill gaps are a growing concern across industries, with 77% of organizations reporting gaps in leadership, according to Forbes. These gaps can lead to disengaged employees, lower productivity, and reduced profitability. TrainingToday’s Leadership and Management library addresses these challenges by providing leadership training to managers and employees, giving them the tools they need to step into leadership roles or improve on existing managerial tactics.

By closing skill gaps, your organization can:

• Enhance employee engagement and productivity
• Minimize turnover
• Strengthen leadership pipelines

Leadership skills are just one piece of the puzzle. According to Business News Daily, industries like technology, healthcare, manufacturing, construction, and transportation are facing crisis-level talent shortages leading to substantial financial losses. These skill gaps drive lower productivity, performance issues, decreased profits, and high turnover. Enhancing training programs with professional development courses can mitigate these issues and empower your workforce to take on greater responsibilities.

Develop the next generation of leaders with proactive succession planning

The modern workforce is undergoing a major demographic shift as current senior staff are retiring and the next generation is stepping into leadership roles. With nearly 10,000 baby boomers retiring every day and ever-expanding skill gaps in leadership, there is a growing need for organizations to establish succession planning programs.

What is succession planning?

Succession plans are strategies used by organizations to ensure an active talent pipeline that replaces existing leadership when they exit the organization. This pipeline helps convert high performers into leadership roles when they become available, minimizing costly transition periods. While the specific steps vary across industries, most organizations generally follow this process:

• Identify key roles within the organization. Create a list of roles that are critical to the function and long-term success of the organization. Begin this process by looking at the organization as a whole, then narrow it down to the department level.
• Gauge internal talent. Now that there is a list of critical roles, begin assessing the talent pool within the organization. This step identifies employees who might best step into a vacant leadership role, as well as identifying where skill gaps lie.
• Creating talent pipelines. Develop detailed plans for any of the employees identified above. This can include enrolling them in mentorship programs with existing leaders or involving them on larger projects. This is also the step where employers can address skill gaps that are preventing existing employees from consideration for leadership roles.
• Implement the succession plan. Allow some time for leaders to mentor employees and for employees to complete skill development courses. Employees will be gaining valuable skills and experiences that they can use if leadership roles become vacant.
• Monitor and evaluate. Once the succession plan is in motion, keep track of relevant metrics like retention rates, promotion rates, and employee performance in new leadership roles. Use this data to inform any future adjustments to the succession plan.

Organizations with long-term plans in place for the succession of their leadership teams can ensure business continuity, decrease talent shortages, increase employee engagement, and drive organizational goals. The cornerstone of a strong internal leadership pipeline is high-quality leadership training. TrainingToday’s Leadership and Management library can strengthen your internal pipeline with courses on developing company culture, effective delegation, and building a leadership mindset.

Invest in training to improve employee retention

Employee retention and engagement have become some of the most pressing concerns with the modern workforce. Teams with low engagement have 18-43% higher turnover rates compared to their highly engaged counterparts. Though there are many possible ways to address these issues, an investment in employee development can have lasting effects on engagement.

Offering Business and Professional Skills training gives employees a chance to make themselves, and your organization, more competitive. Courses on interpersonal skills enhance collaboration and communication, while project management courses teach employees how to manage multiple priorities while maintaining high-quality output.

Demonstrating a commitment to employee growth communicates their value to your organization. Employees who see opportunities for development and advancement are more engaged and less likely to leave.

How leadership training impacts your bottom line

While employee development is a critical investment, it requires leadership buy-in.

Making the case for a financial investment like this can be challenging since it doesn’t have a tangible impact on revenue at first glance. Fortunately, organizations like LinkedIn, Gallup, and Deloitte have analyzed sentiments from employees and employers, as well as profitability of companies that invest in employee development. Below are some of their findings:

• 94% of employees say they would stay longer if their company invested in their career development (LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report).
• Companies that strategically investment in employee development see 11% greater profitability and are twice as likely to retain employees (Gallup).
• Organizations that prioritize leadership training are 2.4 times more likely to meet performance targets (Deloitte).

TrainingToday’s employee training libraries offer courses that resolve skill gaps for employees at all levels, empowering employees with the tools they need to lead teams effectively and improve organizational outcomes.

See the solution in action

Get a personalized tour of TrainingToday’s employee training software and see firsthand how it can bridge skill gaps, improve employee retention, bolster succession planning, and provide valuable leadership training to managers.

Speak with a representative and find out how TrainingToday can upskill your employees into a versatile workforce while growing your talent pipeline.