Is The Value of Training Really as Much as a Raise?

Is The Value of Training Really as Much as a Raise?
Facebook Twitter Email LinkedIn

Is The Value of Training Really as Much as a Raise?
Could it be true?  Is the value of training as much as a raise?  According to a recent study of nearly 5,000 workers in Spain by Santiago Budría of the University of Madeira, company-provided training has the same effect on job satisfaction as a 17.7% net wage increase.  That surprised us.

What Younger Workers Want
While it may sound surprising and pay levels certainly need to be competitive enough to not cause disengagement, more and more studies are finding that younger workers expect their employers to invest heavily in their learning and development to improve their knowledge and skills, and to help them to advance their careers.

A Personal Example
Maybe it is not so surprising.  When I joined Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) 25+ years ago, I purposely took a lower salary than many of my peers because Andersen was a great place to start my career. The investment they made in me in terms of opportunities and learning and development felt unmatched.

What if Training Did More than Just Boosting Job Satisfaction?
If training, by itself, can boost job satisfaction as much as a 17.7% wage increase, just think about the additional impact you could get from the transfer of training to actual on-the-job behavior change and performance improvement.

How to Ensure Your Employees Believe You Are Investing in Their Future
Paying people more does not necessarily correlate to higher levels of employee engagement or improved performance. But well-designed training that transfers key skills and knowledge back to the job certainly does.  If you think your employees may value training as much as a raise, ensure your employees believe you are investing in their future by:

  • Cross-training them to do other jobs to get a fuller picture of how the business works and thrives.
  • Training them to do their own job proficiently.
  • Providing clear opportunities to learn new skills that will help them to succeed wherever they work.
  • Creating meaningful jobs with chances to learn and grow.

The Bottom Line
While it sounds a bit crazy to some that the value of training is greater than a raise, many employees would prefer opportunities for growth, learning, and advancement over better compensation.  Before you change your compensation plans to engage and retain top talent, ensure you are providing clear opportunities for people to learn and grow as part of your corporate training strategy.

To learn more about the transfer of training to improve performance and employee engagement, download 3 Steps to Building a Smarter Training Initiative – One that Gets Business Results

Evaluate your Performance

Toolkits

Get key strategy, culture, and talent tools from industry experts that work

More

Health Checks

Assess how you stack up against leading organizations in areas matter most

More

Whitepapers

Download published articles from experts to stay ahead of the competition

More

Methodologies

Review proven research-backed approaches to get aligned

More

Blogs

Stay up to do date on the latest best practices that drive higher performance

More

Client Case Studies

Explore real world results for clients like you striving to create higher performance

More