Employee Development for Organizational Success

Abstract

Today's organizations are faced with pressures not present 20 years ago. Demands are placed on leaders and managers to reduce overall expenses and to increase productivity and revenues at significantly higher levels than in the past. In this process, many organizations choose to reduce operational expenses in order to increase their profit margins and, in doing so, may target the Learning and Development departments often housed within Human Resources. Reducing these expenses may save some operational expense in the short term; however, over the long term, research shows that cutting learning opportunities is likely to have a negative effect on employee morale and job satisfaction. Investment in employee development is a strategy successful organizations adopt in order to remain competitive in the long run. Studies show that organizations that invest in employee development and training tend to consistently be the most competitive in their industry. This chapter makes the case that investing in an organization's greatest asset—its people—is a successful strategy for sustainable growth.