Getting new workers, leaders to turn learned skills into habits costs employers

Dive Brief:

When employers train new leaders or hires they can incur additional costs than just those associated with the training itself, research from VitalSmarts revealed. The time and resources needed for new hires and emerging leaders to convert learned skills into habits is also costly. According to VitalSmarts, it takes an emerging leader about six months to turn the new, learned skills required for their job into "reliable habits," and that time can cost employers $25,000 per new leader.
For employees on their first ever job, this transition can take about five months and cost $18,000 per person, the research found. It takes less time and costs less for workers with prior job experience and for workers transitioning into a new role from within an organization, VitalSmarts noted.
To help people transition, Vitalsmarts asked 1,400 survey respondents what their biggest challenges were when they took on new roles. Learning to discipline employees, communicating downward and delegating were managers top challenges. For first-time workers, mastering systems and processes, asking for help and taking initiative were their top three challenges, the survey found.

Dive Insight:

Turnover was recently said to be at an all-time high, and, as of 2017, the cost of replacing an employee was roughly 33% of their annual salary. With data to indicate that career development opportunities are important to workers weighing whether to stay in their organizations, employers are turning to development initiatives to control churn and attract new recruits. Development may reduce attrition among millennials in particular, now a vast, influential sector of the workforce.

While a lot of attention is being paid to the development needs of front-line workers, who may also need upskilling programs to cope with technological changes in their roles, managers need L&D, too, as VitalSmarts' research indicates. For many new managers, a lack of training in the nuts and bolts of their role is lacking; a majority said they did not get training and almost half reported feeling overwhelmed at work in a West Monroe Partners study.

When creating future L&D strategies, HR departments might consider the unique training needs at each level within their organizations. They might also encourage supervisors to give those managers continual support, experts have said.

"New managers need confidence," Nicole Bendaly, president of K&Co, previously told HR Dive, "and much of that confidence comes from having the knowledge and support they need to do the job well."