Pr Investing in employees is the single most important investment that a company can make." – Brian Smith

Prior research indicates that employers have struggled to fully invest in their employees and as such, their businesses have suffered as a result. A study by the Associations of Accounting Technologies showed that 15% do not spend money on training and 26% only invest in training for specific circumstances.

Tips on how to invest in them:

• Give them the chance to bring their own ideas into the fold and how you could develop them. This will have the benefit of giving the employee a voice as well as allowing for a more diverse perspective (a “thinking outside the box” approach).
•  Offer in-work training programs that will allow employees to further develop their skills.
•  Invest in the right resources for employees to work with to guarantee high productivity i.e. office equipment.

 In 2014, the British Chambers of Commerce identified 92% of businesses having some degree of skill shortage. As such, 80% of surveyed businesses planned to invest in some form of training. 39% intended to invest more than £500 per employee. Encourage your employees to become innovators.

ORC International’s HR Reflections survey revealed that 59% of HR professionals believe that innovation is critical for business success.

Check out Employee Engagement: Rule #9 - Keep them informed