Human resources professionals say they see several benefits from learning and development programs, according to survey results shared Nov. 10.
Upskilling, reskilling and cross-skilling initiatives help retain talent and therefore, valuable internal knowledge, respondents told ILX Group. Training also demonstrates to employees the availability of internal mobility and is cost-effective compared to other options, such as hiring, they reported.
While the survey was conducted by a training company, its findings echo what other recent research has concluded.
Learning opportunities can drive internal mobility and employee retention, a September report from Eagle Hill Consulting concluded, for example. Employers looking to remain competitive in today’s market will have to provide workers a path to achieve their professional ambitions, the firm’s president and CEO said in a statement at the time.
Perhaps recognizing this need, LinkedIn last month unveiled a tool to encourage internal hiring. “Today’s leaders need to embrace internal mobility and make it part of their holistic hiring strategy,” Hari Srinivasan, the company’s VP of product, said in a blog post announcing the feature. “This lies not only in making internal hiring the norm — encouraging recruiting teams and hiring managers to tap into the qualified talent pool they already have to fill open roles — but also creating internal growth pathways that align with employees’ career goals.”
