Too often, HR at many organizations is perceived as simply an admin function – a must-have, back-office cost center that simply handles hiring, paperwork, and the occasional complaint. For successful companies, HR is much more important, and investing in HR is good for business and a commitment to growth.
Asure Software, a leading provider of cloud-based Human Capital Management (“HCM”) company, recently released its 2023 Small Business HR Benchmark Report that found that the fastest growing companies prioritize a full continuum of HR best practices, including training. For example, fast-growth companies are 22 percent more likely to train managers about HR laws like equal pay, the difference between non-exempt versus exempt employees, overtime laws, and the Americans with Disabilities Act compared to companies that experienced a down year. The data also suggests a strong correlation between development programs and growth. Organizations that consistently provide employees with opportunities to gain new skills, support, coaching, and ongoing development training so they can grow in their careers are more likely to experience growth. So, what are the key elements of successful training, and how does a successful training program contribute to company growth? Let’s dive in.
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Focus on Compliance
Compliance is critical at every stage of the employee lifecycle. From crafting a compliant job description to successfully onboarding new talent, managers need to be aware of core compliance principles in order to help bring in and foster great employees. At Asure, we work hard to train our customers’ management team members on this critical element in order to help the entrepreneurs we service avoid potentially dire consequences like substantial fines and, in some cases, legal action.
What are some key compliance elements we recommend our clients focus on in their trainings? According to Asure’s HR Benchmark report,15% of all companies we surveyed may inadvertently be asking illegal questions on job applications, making it vital to have an SHRM-certified professional review any and all job application materials to avoid potential fines and legal action. In addition to a compliant job description, once a new employee is hired, providing an in-depth first-day checklist can help keep both new employees and managers on track when it comes to filing important paperwork like I-9’s.
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Early, Often, and Continued Employee Training Cadence
It’s never too early to begin integrating new employees into the company with thoughtful and thorough trainings. Whether these are monthly company-wide initiatives like sexual harassment training or more frequent, departmental-focused trainings, it’s important to have trainings at a regular cadence throughout the year. Repetition is key for retention and a continuum of learning helps elevate all employees and the company as a whole.
Bottom line, if a company consistently shows dedicated and continued investment in an employee and overall workplace culture, it only makes sense that that attention and care will inspire employees to invest more energy and care into their role at the company.
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Leadership Training
It’s an unfortunate yet common workplace scenario – a company is great, the benefits are great, but a terrible manager makes even the best talent want to leave the company, sometimes as quickly as they join. How do we at Asure combat situations like these that lead to increased employee turnover? Manager Training.
According to the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), 84% of US workers said a poorly trained manager creates a lot of unnecessary work and stress, negatively affecting their morale and company perception. Managers are the first line of action and communication to all employees so making sure they are up to speed on best HR practices and compliance is critical to company growth and success. Further, our HR benchmark report found that 75% of fast-growth companies provide leadership training to managers, which has proven to be a major selling point to attract top talent. Further, it’s critical that, along with being conversational in compliance, Managers have been trained on when to properly document and escalate employee issues to better support the employee and company.
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Follow-up and Adjust
The fortune is in the follow-up, especially when it comes to employee training. As important as it is to conduct regular and recurring training, it is equally as important for companies to follow up after training for valuable employee feedback. Whether it is in the form of a one-on-one conversation, an anonymous survey, or a 360 review, collecting this feedback is critical to shaping the growth and trajectory of a company.
Once feedback is aggregated, the most critical element to company growth and employee satisfaction is that a company acts on that feedback. Did employees lose interest in a training presentation because it was two hours long? Shorten it into four 30-minute segments next time. Implementing employee feedback on training will not only lead to employees becoming more familiar with the required material. Still, it will also serve as a valuable reminder to them that the organization sees and hears them.
To dive deeper into best HR practices, check out Asure’s inaugural Small Business HR Benchmark Report HERE. To learn more about Asure Software, visit www.asuresoftware.com.
