The Link Between Leadership Training and Employee Engagement

It's no secret that leadership training and employee engagement are closely intertwined. When your organization has influential, developed leaders, that behavior affects employees at all levels. In fact, it creates the potential for more employees to continue to hone their skills and creates a pipeline for future leaders to grow and contribute to your organization. In a survey of over 200 North American employers, 54% reported not having enough leadership successors in place; another 14% didn't even know. This means most employers not only do not have sufficient leadership development in place, and are not setting up their future employees either.

A Better Leader proudly offers online leadership training for every leader in your organization. We have helped companies to be able to "provide consistent training that really gets people thinking!" Our mission is to support your workplace and equip your leaders with all the soft skills they need. They will be able to connect with, motivate, and encourage employees at all levels. Of course, we know you have other options when it comes to leadership training. We believe in transparency and letting you know that we see the bias, but genuinely want to educate and inform you on the link between leadership training and employee engagement.

The Benefits of Leadership Training

It's hard to imagine that there are any potential drawbacks to training your leaders. We've written about the many benefits of online leadership training specifically, but it covers many of the advantages any organization will see when implementing leadership training. A study by Manchester Consulting Group found that additional employee training led to an ROI of nearly six times the cost of the training program. Not only that, the study found that there was a 67% increase in teamwork and a 48% increase in quality. Clearly, leadership training has a multitude of benefits to your employees and your workplace overall.

Retention

According to a 2018 Linkedin Workplace Learning report, studies found that 94% of employees would stay at their company longer if it invested in their career development. Almost every single employee out of the 4,000 surveyed agreed they would stay in their position longer if their organization simply took the time to develop their career. 

Furthermore, a 2018 retention report by the Work Institute shared that the number one reason employees left their jobs was a lack of career development. Of over 230,000 employees surveyed, 21% shared that they left because there were not ample opportunities for growth, achievement, and security. It cannot be emphasized enough: leadership development plays a significant role in employee retention.

Take Steps to Prevent Turnover

Every year, the U.S. loses approximately $11 billion on employee turnover. When the cost to replace an employee is an average of $4,000 above regular salary costs, it's no wonder turnover costs can be so astronomical. As stated above, a surefire way to help reduce turnover is investing in leadership training to boost employee engagement further. 

A 2019 Workplace Retention Report found that for the ninth consecutive year in a row, lack of career development was the top reason why employees are leaving their organizations in search of something else. The research speaks for itself. To lower retention in your workplace, invest in leadership training for your employees. There are many options when it comes to leadership training. Depending on the size of your organization, your budget, and any specific areas of improvement you notice, you can be confident knowing you will find the right fit.

The Link Between Leadership Training and Employee Engagement 

According to a study by SHRM on retaining talent, "Engaged employees are satisfied with their jobs, enjoy their work and the organization, believe that their job is important, take pride in the company, and believe that their employer values their contributions."  Of course, employees who are satisfied are less likely to leave and are looking for opportunities to grow and thrive in their positions.

Additionally, a 2018 workplace retention report found that employees who feel in control of their careers are 20% more likely to stay in their positions, while employees who lack support with their career goals are three times more likely to be searching for a job elsewhere. As Insights stated perfectly, "Many organizations fail to remember that engagement really lies with the leaders in the business and that those leaders need to be guided to truly understand how to get their people inspired and energized to achieve common goals."

Bridging the Gap Between Leadership Training and Employee Engagement

As you can see, leadership training and a culture of coaching, in general, have a direct impact on employee engagement, retention, and turnover. Strong leaders foster a strong culture of employees who are excited to come to work and want to contribute to your organization's overall goals. If you have struggled to consistently train leaders, who know how to connect with your workforce, let A Better Leader provide you with the training materials to help you become an employer of choice. Instead of searching for ways to provide your leaders with the skills they need, we will create a custom online leadership training for you that works. We feel that online leadership training can be the solution that not only develops your leaders but boosts employee engagement and effectively reduces turnover.