The WSJ ran an interesting article earlier this week about banks that are failing to train and develop their top performers quickly enough. The result? Those performers are jumping ship. This is bad news for the banks. After surviving such a severe crisis, they are going to need all their talent to make good decisions and start growing again.
My guess is banks made a classic mistake in slashing their training budgets. Crisis is when companies have to evolve rapidly, be flexible, and perform at their best. What helps them do that? Training and development programs. Beyond the performance benefits, training and development programs also help build employee loyalty and increase retention levels. Employees know and appreciate when a company takes time to invest in their skills and career path. And the employees who are likely to appreciate it the most are the ones you want to hang on to. Those top performers who out-perform average performers by 40-50%.
Now that the economy is showing more signs of life, top performers stuck in companies with poor talent management practices are starting to look around. They remember how their company behaved when the going got tough, and are prepared to act. Unfortunately for companies, they are also the group with the best chance to make a change, even in a tough labor market.
What do you think? Has your company slashed training budgets? Has it made a difference in your retention levels?
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