Bottom Line Benefits of Ongoing Skill Training

Any job at any company is going to offer some level of training for new employees. It’s a necessary step in equipping people for their work, especially in an industry like construction, where accidents can be costly. No one would argue about the importance of onboarding training, but what about ongoing development?

It’s tempting to put employees through training once and then never again, but that’s not ideal. Ongoing skills development may not be all that common, but maybe it should be. Continuing to train employees can lead to several bottom-line benefits for construction companies.

Here are five of the most substantial advantages.

1. Increased Productivity

When employees take advantage of continuous training, they get better at their jobs. New challenges give them motivation, and new or refined skills make them more versatile workers. With these advantages and motivators, employee productivity will start to increase, leading to faster project completion times.

The construction industry can’t afford to miss out on any increases in productivity. According to research, large projects are frequently over budget, sometimes by as much as 80%. Delays are costly in this sector. Thus, by improving employee productivity through ongoing training, companies can avoid these substantial hits to their bottom line.

2. Higher Employee Retention

If employees don’t feel like they’re challenged or fulfilled enough, they might look for work elsewhere. Ongoing training can help avoid high turnover rates by giving workers a clear path to development. Better employee retention can help companies prevent costs like those associated with interviewing, hiring and onboarding new workers. Ongoing training can even help retain employees who may otherwise plan on moving away from the company. If someone has big ambitions for their future career, they’ll want to develop more skills to help them achieve that. By providing ongoing training, companies can give them a way to do so, keeping them for longer.

3. Lower Machine Operation Costs

The operating costs of heavy machinery can have a considerable effect on a construction company’s bottom line. Ongoing skills training can help avoid some of these costs by ensuring employees understand their equipment better. As technicians train more on machinery, they learn more about it, including how to use it without increasing related costs.

Handling is a substantial part of fuel economy, so companies need workers who can operate machinery wisely to save money. A one-time training session may not be enough to give operators these skills, and certainly won’t help them remember anything. Continuous training, on the other hand, makes sure that people using this equipment know how to do so well.

4. Managing the Skills Shortage

As one generation starts to retire, and another enters the workforce, it leads to a skills shortage. Construction companies need skilled laborers to fill newly open positions, but often struggle to find qualified workers. Ongoing training programs give businesses a way around this issue by turning new employees into skilled workers.

Traditional employee onboarding usually doesn’t cover the skills needed for the job, but instead, adjusts new hires to the company workflow. By focusing on developing new skills in workers instead, companies can hire less experienced candidates and mold them into excellent employees. That way, they could have better luck hiring people, avoiding any costly labor shortages.

5. Improved Safety

Compared to other industries, construction can be a relatively dangerous job, and workplace accidents are expensive. Workers’ compensation payments cost employers $1 billion every week, and that doesn’t include indirect expenses like unplanned downtime. The best way to reduce these costs is to prevent accidents from happening in the first place.

Training is one of the most effective ways to avoid workplace injuries, and ongoing training is the best in this category. If employees have to learn about safety regulations repeatedly, they’ll be less likely to forget them. The more training and experience someone has, the better they’ll be at working safely.

Better Training Leads to a Better Bottom Line

The required work and upfront costs of ongoing training may make some companies turn away from it. Despite that, its benefits, especially given where the industry is today, are hard to ignore. Like any investment, it may take a while to show results, but they are considerable.

Ongoing skill training improves employee’s experience, morale and safety. All of these have an impact on a company’s bottom line. The economic advantages of this style of training are too substantial to miss out on.

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