Business Results Boosted with Sophisticated Employee Development, Study Says

A survey from Bersin Associates has attributed an average of three times higher revenue growth to companies with high-performance employee development programs. Categorized as “high-performance learning organizations (HILOs),” these companies are also eight times more likely to be perceived as strategically valuable and three times more likely to align development initiatives with general corporate goals. HILOs generally excel at driving business growth organization-wide.

According to the survey, successful companies develop a high-performing workforce while concurrently decreasing operating expenses. Developing such an effective workforce is a primary challenges for companies facing the current economic environment. But focusing on simply developing new training programs is not the method for dramatically improving performance. In fact, the survey found that the highest-performing companies had shifted away from employee training to focus on broader organizational capability including training and other factors.

The study noted three traits common to HILOs including:

• HILOs use sophisticated techniques to measure learning.

• HILOs focus on creating a “culture of learning” rather than solely on training.

• HILOs have developed strategies to create and organize a growing body of learning content.

Other important factors also impact results such as the structure of the learning organization, the use of learning technologies, and the existence, or lack thereof, of a chief learning officer. While these factors are not primary differentiators between companies, they help companies pass the growth plateau.