Improve employee performance, productivity, and sales by investing in your team.
“Take the time to appreciate employees, and they will reciprocate in a thousand ways.” That’s a quote from Dr. Bob Nelson, a leading authority on employee motivation and engagement. It’s also the perfect introduction to why you should invest in your employees.
Providing training and development opportunities can carve a path toward business success. It can also help you create a thriving and highly skilled workforce. And, of course, it can help you boost sales and reach new heights in your organization.
But how do you invest in your employees? This article explains everything you need to start investing in your team today.
In this article, we will cover:
- What it means to invest in employees
- Why investing in employees is important
- How to invest in your employees
What does it mean to invest in staff?
You can invest in your employees in many ways. But usually, it’s related to professional development. You might enroll them in a course, provide financial support for school, or shadowing at work.
All companies should be investing in their staff. It’s how you foster talent development, which leads to more sales.
Why investing in employees is important
Investing in employees is essential. It helps improve job satisfaction and productivity. There is a lot to offer and even more to unpack.
Continue reading to discover why investing in employees is worthwhile.
Create a more engaged and productive workforce
Low employee engagement costs the global economy an estimated $8.9 trillion.
Investing in your employees can improve their engagement. A Gallup report looked at employee engagement strategies.
Employees who had someone to encourage their development performed better, including in critical business outcomes. They mentioned mentors as great tools for keeping employees accountable for their performance.
See the image below for a snippet of the Gallup report.
Focus on employee development to boost sales by getting the most out of your employees. When they win, you win.
Build resilient employees who can adapt to new technologies
Investing in employee professional development will help you stay ahead of the curve. This may include attending workshops and conferences. Alternatively, you can help employees pursue relevant qualifications and certifications.
You want to support employee development to allow your business to grow and innovate. This includes adapting to new technologies. Upskilling helps your employees maintain a high level of performance, which in turn leads to more sales and business success.
Attract new talent
Organizations that invest in their employees are more likely to retain employees. When you’re competitive, you also have access to top new talent. This helps improve every aspect of your business, which includes driving more sales.
Reduce employee turnover
Investing in your workers can help reduce employee turnover. When they have development opportunities at work, they are less likely to look for new jobs. This allows you to develop a productive and loyal workforce without constant onboarding.
Furthermore, because you won’t have to train new employees, you can focus on talent development in the most relevant areas. For example, this could include upskilling your sales or marketing team.
Improve job satisfaction
When you invest in your workforce, you show how much you value your employees. Learning and development opportunities improve engagement and job satisfaction.
Think about it: when you provide everything an employee needs to grow and thrive at work, they have fewer obstacles to leaving. And more reason to stay—they enjoy their job, advance their careers, and your company looks after them.
Boost productivity at work
Engaged employees are more productive at work. They produce better quality work in less time.
Moreover, team-building activities can improve productivity, especially in teams where communication is essential. Team-building helps employees become more familiar with each other. It also improves communication, which carries over into the workplace.
We discuss team-building further later in this article.
How to invest in your employees
You can invest in your employees in numerous ways, some of which we’ve already discussed.
You can also use employee monitoring software to reveal employee working patterns. This can provide recommendations on what the best investment is for your team. See the image for an example of employee monitoring.
Below, we’ve compiled ten further ways to invest in your employees.
1. Organize team bonding events
One creative way to invest in your team and boost sales is by organizing regular team bonding events. These activities allow you to connect and spend quality time with your team. This helps foster strong bonds and trust. Such experiences improve employee satisfaction and performance, ultimately leading to improved sales.
Companies can choose virtual or onsite events, such as camping or road trips. For example, if you want to plan a winter time trip to Florida you could book RV rentals in Orlando and take your team on the road.
This shared adventure provides a break from routine and creates lasting memories and camaraderie. It will positively impact team morale and productivity, too.
If you’re working on a lean budget, you can book day trips or host company events in the office. Get creative with it!
2. Create a mentorship program
Mentorship programs are an excellent way to facilitate learning and professional development.
You can pair more senior employees with beginner employees to embrace and encourage a culture of continuous learning. This may include shadowing, whereby employees sit in on meetings, observe tasks, and meet new clients.
Mentorship may also include weekly meetings where goals are set for the following week to develop skills further. For example, this may include writing a sales script for review or editing work produced by a senior employee. Mentorship is widely underused!
3. Invest in employee health
The health of your employees should be a top priority. You should always want to invest in it.
Nowadays, this is easier to achieve as multiple programs offer special medical packages for companies. You can opt for nutrition programs that offer guidance with healthy eating habits. You can also combine it with special exercise days in the office to encourage physical activity. Beginner-friendly exercise classes may include desk yoga, dance, or a voluntary lunchtime walk.
4. Introduce a wellness program
Wellness programs at work are a great way to further invest in the health of your employees.
For example, you can host workplace challenges, e.g., who can achieve the most steps in a month and compete for prizes. You can also introduce other wellness initiatives, such as:
- Reimbursed gym memberships
- Nutritious lunch options at work
- Mental health education
- Walking meetings
The Harvard Business Review states several benefits of a wellness program for employers, including:
- Lower employee turnover and better retention
- Improved employee engagement and morale
- Reduced absenteeism
- Increased productivity
- Reduced health risks
- Cost savings
All top companies, including Google, Asana, and Microsoft, have wellness programs. These programs help companies create loyal employees. By forming new habits, employees improve productivity and even day-to-day life. It’s a win-win.
5. Improve communication
For your employees to be productive, you must provide them with the necessary tools to get the work done. So invest in a meeting minutes app.
This is a highly required tool for meetings. It’s always important to create an official record of what you’ve discussed in meetings so everyone can remain on the same page.
In addition, this allows employees who cannot attend a meeting to catch up on the latest project details. It also means less note-taking and more active listening.
6. Prioritize work-life balance
It may sound trivial, but prioritizing work-life balance will improve work performance. It helps to set clear boundaries, too. For example, not needing to respond to work emails on a weekend or after hours. This can help prevent burnout from creeping in.
Deliberate time away from work helps improve job satisfaction. You don’t want to feel like you’re always on the clock, and neither do your employees.
Other ways to prioritize work-life balance include:
- Including the option of remote and hybrid work arrangements
- Providing flexibility to adjust schedules when needed
- Teaching stress management techniques
7. Team training
Many businesses find it challenging to boost sales and differentiate themselves from competitors.
One effective strategy is investing in team training, which is especially crucial in the travel industry. Well-trained employees provide better customer service, which drives higher customer satisfaction and increased sales.
Beaches of Normandy Tours, a WWII historical tour company, often invests in training its tour guides, and this investment is evident in their reviews.
For example, on their Band of Brothers tour, past travelers consistently praise the excellence of the guides and mention how they will take a new tour in the future. Positive feedback improves the company’s reputation and significantly boosts sales by attracting more customers.
If you run a financial business, share the best investing blogs and X accounts with your team. This unique approach allows them to learn at their own pace.
8. Start a “buddy” system
Having a best friend at work can help drive employee engagement and job success. This includes getting more done in less time, sharing ideas, and having fun at work.
You can start a buddy system to help forge friendships. Having a friend at work is even more important for remote and hybrid workers. It can be more lonely, therefore negatively affecting work performance.
Having a best friend at work will also keep each other accountable. It’s a familiar face to rely on and confide in. It even reduces work accidents and improves productivity.
So, take down the cubicles and create a space of friendship. Yes, employees are there to work, but they can—and should—do it with a “buddy.”
9. Revamp your onboarding
Finally, consider revamping your onboarding process. This can include comprehensive training, an introduction to company culture, and more.
Onboarding is an excellent opportunity to assign new employees to a buddy, too. This increases accountability and helps them fit in from the beginning of their new role, which can be tough.
When your onboarding contains all of the appropriate material, new hires can get up to speed much quicker. This allows you to get the most out of your workforce to drive more sales.
10. Invest in leadership development
When team members learn to become strong leaders, they gain confidence, improve their decision-making skills, and enhance their ability to innovate. This results in a more motivated and engaged workforce capable of more effectively identifying and seizing sales opportunities.
Leadership development programs can also foster better communication and collaboration within the team, leading to a more cohesive strategy and a unified approach to achieving sales goals.
Investing in your team’s leadership capabilities creates a culture of excellence and accountability that drives sales performance and propels the business toward sustained growth.
Start investing in your employees today
There are many ways to invest in your employees, whether that’s investing in their education or hosting team-building activities. But the ultimate goal is to improve productivity and drive more sales.
When you invest in your employees, they perform better at their jobs. So start investing in the development of your workforce today to create the workforce of tomorrow. And hopefully, that workforce is one that drives you more sales!
Key takeaways:
- Investing in employees can improve productivity and reduce employee turnover
- Low employee engagement costs $8.9 trillion
- Professional development can improve employee engagement
- Employers who invest in employees attract and keep top talent
- Team bonding events can improve communication and productivity at work
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FAQs
Why do people invest in people?
People invest in people to extend their network, offer guidance, and provide support. At work, companies invest in workers to increase productivity, employee engagement, and loyalty.
What companies invest in their employees?
Companies such as Google, Microsoft, Apple, Asana, and Salesforce invest in their employees. They have wellness programs, development opportunities, and more.
Why is investing in your employees the future of work?
Investing in your employees reduces employee turnover. It also creates more productive and happy employees. If you don’t already invest in your employees, use this as a sign to start!
What is the ROI of investing in employees?
The actual return on investment can be tricky to calculate, but you will create more productive, happy, and loyal employees. Furthermore, you will improve retention rates and reduce hiring costs. So there’s lots to gain!
How can companies invest in their employees?
There are many ways to invest in your employees. These include employee training, creating a positive work environment, and providing opportunities for growth. Employee development helps create satisfied and engaged employees.