Investing in People Improves Performance

A structured training and development program can strengthen business operations and help create a culture that attracts the best talent and skills. As such, a well-trained workforce is a competitive advantage.

What sets world-class companies apart from their competitors is an understanding of, and commitment to, investing in human capital.

“In our work with manufacturers, we see that even if two companies have the same technology, equipment, processes, and materials, that does not mean they have the same success,” says Jeannine Kunz, managing director of Workforce and Education for Tooling U-SME, a leader in manufacturing training and development. “Companies that invest in developing their people see the strongest results related to increased profits and productivity and reduced downtime and waste.”

A structured training and development program can strengthen business operations and help create a culture that attracts the best talent and skills. As such, a well-trained workforce is a competitive advantage.

In its new white paper, “People Power: Human Capital Drives Manufacturing Competitiveness” (http://ppc.toolingu.com/human-capital), Tooling U-SME outlines research showing manufacturers at or near world-class workforce training and development recognize its importance, support it with investments, and enjoy improved performance.

  • 53 percent of facilities offer 20-plus annual hours of training per employee.
  • 77 percent experienced employee retention of more than five years.
  • 78 percent had 5 percent or lower annual labor turnover.
Lorri Freifeld
Lorri Freifeld is the editor/publisher of Training magazine. She writes on a number of topics, including talent management, training technology, and leadership development. She spearheads two awards programs: the Training APEX Awards and Emerging Training Leaders. A writer/editor for the last 30 years, she has held editing positions at a variety of publications and holds a Master’s degree in journalism from New York University.