How Does Workforce Development Contribute to Company Growth?

How Does Workforce Development Contribute to Company Growth?
Tuesday, June 25, 2024 by Haines City EDC Staff

You know that growing your business takes strategy. But did you realize that one of the best ways to foster sustainable growth is through workforce development? When you make your team stronger, you make your whole company stronger. Here's how to use workforce development to power your organization's expansion.

Skill Up Your Current Employees

One workforce development method is training and upskilling your existing employees. Are there new technologies or best practices your team should learn? Look at where your business is headed and determine what skills or knowledge could help your staff perform even better. According to Lorman Education Services, 74% of workers are willing to learn new skills or re-train to remain employable. So, chances are high that your employees will appreciate and benefit from training opportunities. Provide internal training workshops or bring in outside experts to teach your team new abilities. Supporting your staff to continuously enhance their skills makes them more capable and confident in their roles. This leads to higher productivity and retention. Growing your employees’ capabilities grows your business, too.

Fill in Gaps With New Hires

As your company expands, you may find gaps in skills and capacity. Workforce development enables you to fill talent needs with strategic new hires. Look ahead at future growth plans and pinpoint what expertise or bandwidth your team will lack. Then, recruit and onboard people with those specific abilities. Adding employees with complementary knowledge reinforces your existing team’s capabilities. Targeted recruiting is more cost-effective than hastily hiring when expansion leaves you short-staffed. Being proactive about workforce development ensures you have the right human resources to actualize growth plans.

Develop Untapped Potential

Your current staff likely has untapped potential. With mentoring and training, you can uncover and develop talents and aptitudes. Employees gain motivation when you invest in their professional growth, and you get a more versatile, empowered workforce. Talk with employees about their career goals and interests. Then, provide opportunities to gain experiences and skills related to those areas. For example, an employee wanting to move into project management could shadow current managers or take on small management responsibilities. Facilitating your team’s growth generates positive energy and loyalty while expanding what your people can contribute.

When you focus on growing your employees, revenue and productivity will follow. Workforce development unlocks your organization’s full potential. By skillfully matching training, hiring, and mentoring to your strategic goals, you assemble a workforce capable of taking your business to the next level. Investing in your people pays dividends now and in the future. Our company offers workforce development resources for businesses, such as yours. Reach out today to the Haines City Economic Development Council to learn more about the ways we can help you.