Education benefits both employees and organizations, but leaders often wonder if their workers will experience a dip in productivity while taking classes. This is a good question, and the answer will vary slightly for each employee and their individual situation. However, there are three important steps employers can take to help their employees balance their professional and education workloads.
Online Education
On-campus education has many benefits, such as face-to-face interaction with faculty and classmates. But on-campus education requires a commitment to meeting in a certain place at a certain time, both to attend classes and to meet in study groups. This could lead to less flexibility for the professional, especially if meeting times overlap with work commitments.
Online education provides an alternative to the rigidity of an on-campus education. Classes offered 100% online do not require professionals to set their work schedules around class times, meetings and faculty office hours. Video lessons can be taken at any time of day or night, and group projects and discussion boards are facilitated through online discussion boards. Faculty can be reached through email.
If your organization is investing in employee education, it’s important to encourage your workers to explore programs that will produce the greatest return on investment.
Targeted Learning
If your organization is investing in employee education, it’s important to encourage your workers to explore programs that will produce the greatest return on investment. To achieve this, you need to identify your skills gaps.
Skills gap assessments need to be forward-looking. It’s not enough to have the right mix of skills to sustain your organization today — you’re your organization also need to know what capabilities and knowledge it needs to remain competitive in the future.
Skills gap assessments aren’t just advantageous for your organization. It also ensures that employees will be committed to their education, as they will see clearly how what they’re learning can be applied to their work activities.
Many organizations identify skills gaps in the following areas:
- Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma
- Supply chain management
- Program management
- Leadership and management
- Accounting and finance
- Cybersecurity
Certain industries may have different needs. For example, healthcare organizations might identify skills gaps in health informatics, healthcare management and nursing. Nonprofits might need to seek out specific programs related to nonprofit development and management.
Leadership and Support
Many organizations are successful with their employee education initiatives because they create a culture of learning. This starts at the top, with senior executives expressing their support for continuing education. Employees who feel that their education efforts are valued are not just eager to take advantage of their benefits, but are excited to share their new knowledge and skills with the organization.
Large organizations may have the resources to provide full tuition reimbursement, but smaller businesses and nonprofits might find ways to help employees defray the cost of higher education by negotiating with online education program managers.