Summary: Ongoing employee training is essential for small business growth, fostering loyalty, adaptability, and leadership among staff. A learning culture enhances productivity, retention, and employee satisfaction. You run a small business. Maybe you only have a handful of skilled, engaged employees. Do you really need to prioritize employee training, or is it safe to use your resources elsewhere? After all, your goal is long-term growth, right? What if we told you that employee training and development contribute directly to business growth? Educational opportunities help build loyalty, boost employee retention, and enhance your staff’s leadership ability. As you prepare your team for the future, regular training is a major key to getting your small business ready to scale. One mandatory class a year won’t cut it, however. The strongest small businesses prioritize a culture of learning. Team members are rewarded for building knowledge, and there are ample opportunities to develop new skills. In this guide, we’ll explain why training employees is one of the smartest moves a small business owner can make. Plus, we’ll offer tips about where to find quality workshops, panels, and more. Keep reading to learn how quality employee training can transform your company. What is a Learning Culture? In business, a learning culture centers education as a growth strategy. Businesses with a learning culture prioritize staff growth and development at every level of an organization. That means every team member has the opportunity to pursue learning. As a result, business owners cultivate a team that is engaged, knowledgeable, and prepared for the future. Giving all team members the chance to improve their skills inspires loyalty. Every employee understands that there is a route to growth within the company. Thus, they are inspired to work harder and imagine a future with your organization. By giving employees autonomy, individuals can seek the knowledge they need to succeed. They can then share that learning with others, building a sense of accomplishment and expertise. Building a learning culture begins at hiring. Those who prioritize learning go above and beyond to hire for the trait of adaptability. Thus, you can nearly guarantee that you’re bringing in a team that’s ready to learn, pivot, try new things, and go with the flow. That’s crucial in a dynamic small business environment. What a Learning Culture Looks Like in Practice Prioritizing employee training doesn’t mean assigning homework. In fact, it should encourage the opposite. Learning should be an intrinsic, compensated portion of the regular workday. Consider Google’s famous “Genius Hour” initiative. All Google engineers use 20% of their working hours to pursue passion projects that benefit the company. This practice inspires passion, breeds innovation, and keeps team members excited about the future. As a result, they spend more time actively engaged at work, not less. We realize that your small business doesn’t have the same resources as Google. Most SMBs lack the time and resources to commit to such a huge step right away. That doesn’t mean you can’t implement growth-forward changes that inspire and engage your employees. Here is what a learning culture looks like in a typical small business setting: Compensated time during the week to pursue training. As little as one hour to complete an online module is often enough to start. Opportunities for team members to lead training sessions or discussions based on new learning. Access to learning resources so employees can independently find the answers to questions they’re facing. Regular access to professional development, including workshops, panels, presentations, webinars, and more. Learning is part of conversations surrounding employee goals, including employee reviews and promotional goals. The Benefits of Quality Employee Training Employees who have the freedom to learn and gain new skills tend to possess or develop the following traits: Productivity. Employees bring new skills and knowledge to work that boost productivity and, ultimately, bring in more revenue. Gallup found that more engaged workplaces saw a 17% increase in productivity or more. Adaptability. Employees pivot more easily when a business grows, an industry changes, or they step into a new role. Confidence. Employees are more confident in general, as they both build and share unique expertise that adds value to your team. Independence. Employees feel empowered to seek out answers and try new things without fear of punishment. Loyalty. Employees stay with companies longer as they see their education as a pathway toward advancement within the organization. Harvard Business Review found 50% higher retention rates in businesses with a learning culture. Happiness. Employees who have time to learn, experiment, and pursue topics of interest enjoy work more. According to a LinkedIn survey, 80% of employees in learning-forward roles felt a sense of purpose at work. Where to Find Worthwhile Staff Training and Development Opportunities We advise you to provide a range of varied learning opportunities. Thus, your team will be able to access the resources that reflect their preferred learning style. Online Learning Platforms Consider a company subscription to an online learning platform. That way, your team can earn physical certificates and build their formal skills on paper, too. You will cultivate more qualified employees with stronger resumes while boosting staff retention. Look at Coursera, Udemy, LinkedIn Learning, Udacity, Masterclass, and Google certification programs. Podcasts & Webinars You can mix things up by creating a database of free online webinars and high-quality business podcasts, too. These can help your team learn and build new skills on demand, as they need them. They can also revisit these resources easily when needed. Small Business Expos One of the best ways to learn is through face-to-face interactions outside of your workplace. Consider sending employees to business expos, networking events, panels, and workshops. There, they’ll learn from inspiring business leaders who are eager to share their knowledge and expertise. They can curate a day of targeted learning, then come back and re-teach the rest of the team. Are you ready to prioritize a learning culture and improve employee training? Start with the Small Business University from The Small Business Expo. These live and recorded webinars give you access to the top leaders in the SMB world.