What is employee education?

What does it mean to educate employees? Employee education is often used interchangeably with training and development. All of these concepts involve employees learning new skills. Education typically includes any activities that help employees learn. It’s often a broad approach to keep your employees growing and gaining new skills.

Training often refers to a specific, short-term learning opportunity. You’ll likely have training as part of your onboarding process to teach new team members the basics they need to get started. You might also plan training to teach specific skills, such as safety processes or using a new software program. These things are part of the overall education program.

Benefits of educating employees

Consider the following reasons to educate employees who work for your company.

1. Filling skills gaps

Even with a broad range of skills on your team, you likely have some gaps. Educating employees can help you gain the skills you’re currently missing. Performing a skills gap analysis can give you a starting point. This can help you choose topics for employee education programs.

Filling in your skills gaps strengthens your team. It can keep you remain competitive and even push you ahead of other companies in your industry. You might be able to handle more work in-house instead of outsourcing due to a lack of the necessary skills.

2. Keeping employees happy

Many people want to learn new things, especially skills relevant to their roles. Some people might want to gain new skills, such as leadership skills, to advance or move into a different role. Sure, employees can pursue those skills on their own, but they’ll likely be happier to get those opportunities for free through work. Happier employees are often more productive and can create an overall more positive environment.

3. Motivating employees

A little taste of education can inspire employees to keep learning new things. One class might help them realize that new skills could make their jobs easier or more efficient. It could also spark natural curiosity that encourages employees to keep learning new things. That excitement and motivation could encourage them to try new solutions at work.

4. Retaining staff

Employee education could be an effective retention strategy. Offering learning opportunities can help your team feel valued. They may also realize the value of receiving free educational opportunities. Those extra perks can persuade people to stay with your company.

Improved retention can keep your productivity high and expenses lower. Hiring and training new employees often slows down normal work activities. You also spend more on hiring costs if you’re replacing employees frequently.

5. Attracting new employees

Job seekers look at the full compensation package when deciding if they want to pursue a job opportunity. Promoting your education program on your career page, social media and other platforms can attract candidates who value education. It could increase the number of applicants you have for job openings. You want people attracted by educational opportunities, as it’s a sign that they’re lifelong learners.

6. Creating an internal talent pipeline

Eventually, you’ll need to hire for leadership positions, whether due to resignations or growth in your company. Educational opportunities can prepare your current employees for these advancement opportunities. They can gain the technical and management skills they need to move into those positions.

Knowing they have advancement opportunities could help keep your employees motivated. That pipeline of talent also lets you hire for those higher-level positions faster. You can transition employees into new roles quickly. They already know your internal practices, which can help them reach their full production level in the new role faster.

7. Promoting diversity, equity and inclusion

Learning opportunities can support your DEI initiatives. You can impact DEI directly by offering education on diversity, equity and inclusion topics. These opportunities can help employees understand these concepts better and apply them to their work.

Encouraging all employees to participate in the education program can also help your diverse employees gain skills that can help them advance. This can be an opportunity to prepare employees from underrepresented populations for leadership roles.

How to create a plan to educate employees

Developing an effective training and development program helps to keep your educational opportunities organized and more effective. These steps can help you create your employee education program:

1. Evaluate your current learning opportunities. This allows you to figure out what you’re doing well and where you’re missing opportunities for employees to learn.
2. Set your budget. Training is an investment, so it’s essential to set aside funds for this purpose. Determining your budget early can help you choose affordable options.
3. Identify relevant topics and skills. Your education program should give your employees skills that relate to operations. That way, they’re not only gaining skills, but you’re also gaining new skills to improve your company.
4. Choose learning formats. Decide if you want to develop internal learning opportunities or rely on external training programs.
5. Designate required versus optional learning. Some learning topics are required, either legally or based on your internal needs. Examples include onboarding , safety, sexual harassment, discrimination and compliance topics. Other training programs might be optional.
6. Write an education policy. Once you clarify the details, putting the program in writing gives your employees information about what’s expected and available.
7. Promote the program. Announce the opportunities when you start the program. Mention it regularly in meetings, emails, newsletters and other communication methods. You might also talk to employees one-on-one if you feel they would benefit from certain learning opportunities.

Best practices for education

When your goal is to educate employees, you often need to fine-tune your offerings to get it right. Every team and workplace is different, so customizing what you offer helps your staff get the most out of it. These best practices can help you refine your learning program:

• Listen to your employees: Your learning opportunities should relate to your business, but letting your employees guide the process can also help. They often know which skills they need to improve their performance.
• Identify end goals: Developing your education program can be easier when you first identify the results you want. Maybe you want to increase productivity, incorporate more technology or prepare employees for leadership roles. Working backward, you can decide on learning that can help you reach those goals.
• Make it ongoing: Regular learning opportunities keep your employees curious. It can also broaden the skills they gain and help them retain the information they learn. For instance, you might offer multiple levels of SEO training sessions that build off of each other. Employees can advance through those options. As they do so, they’re practicing the earlier skills they learned to help them remember them better.
• Document completed training: Having a record makes it easier to see which employees have particular skills. It also shows you how much time different employees are putting into bettering themselves. This might help you identify potential manager candidates.
• Evaluate your education program regularly: This helps you decide if your efforts are effective. Look at data to show changes in performance. Employee evaluations can help gauge improvements. You can also use employee surveys to get direct feedback on how effective employees feel the training is.

FAQs about educating employees

How do employees learn best?

Employees often have different preferred learning methods. Some people like hands-on learning where they can test out what they’re learning or put their new skills to work immediately. Visual learning is another popular way that people learn effectively. Offering a wide range of teaching methods can appeal to a larger audience and give all employees better opportunities for absorbing the content.

How do you inspire employees to learn?

You can’t force your employees to get excited about learning, but you can encourage them to take advantage of your employee education opportunities. Building a positive workplace culture that values learning can help. Promote the wide range of learning sessions you have available to help employees find options that fit their styles. Getting input from your staff on what type of education they want might also help.

What are ways to educate employees?

You can offer in-house and external education options for employees. Examples of in-house education include classroom learning, lunch and learns, mentoring and job shadowing . Online learning is a flexible option that works for all employees, whether they work remotely or in the office. You can develop internal online training or pay for programs that are already available. External education options can include seminars, classes through industry organizations and college classes.