
Brief
by Yvette Bassan   02 Jul 2019
The business impact of learning: why it matters, why you need it, and what learning can do to your bottom line
Employees expect learning as part of their daily jobs. And with good reason; current research shows that the average shelf life of a skill is less than five years. In the digital age, change is the new constant and both employees and organizations are feeling the pinch of trying to keep up. As an HR professional and practitioner of employee and company development, the new demands of learning in today’s workforce present an opportunity to build a new culture – a culture of learning.
Still you may find yourself in the position of having to make the case to leadership on why creating a culture of learning is worth the investment. Employee learning and career development has a direct business impact on productivity, engagement, and retention; which, in turn, impacts the bottom line and success of your company.
This guide will help you to define the business impact of creating a culture of learning for your company.
Companies with a strong learning culture:
Productivity
Are you motivating your employees to perform their best?
Mature companies spend 34 percent more on training and development than their less mature counterparts.4 These learning organizations reap the benefits of investing in training and development by financially outperforming their peers.
Engagement
Are you using learning & development to create engagement?
Learning opportunities are among the largest drivers of employee engagement and strong workplace culture. Organizations with highly engaged employees had an average 3-year revenue growth 2.3 times greater than companies whose employees were only engaged at an average level.9 Engaged employees are more productive and less likely to turnover – creating ROI for your company

Retention
Are you providing the development opportunities your employees crave?
According to Robert Half, providing professional development opportunities doesn’t just increase enthusiasm, it inspires loyalty. Different aggregated Bersin research studies on retention and engagement concluded that “company-specific training is one of the strongest contributors to employee engagement and retention.”
