Professional Development and Business Success

According to Zig Ziglar, “The only thing worse than training employees and losing them is not training them and keeping them.”

Professional development is an important ongoing part of business success. It should permeate all levels of organizations large and small. And while most employers would agree with the importance, many have come up short with sustained implementation. And in today’s tight labor market, it is even more important

Let’s look at this from two perspectives; employer and employee.

As an employer, it is your responsibility to provide meaningful opportunities for your employees to better themselves resulting in engagement and peak performance at work. If you don’t make this part of the very fiber of your organization, it will fade away and your workforce may find themselves as part of the estimated 70% of Americans who are not meaningfully engaged at work. Don’t let this happen to you.

As an employee, make it known to your employer you desire relevant professional development experiences. Do some research on your own, if necessary, and offer options for training. Take advantage of employment benefits that pay for further education. Seek affiliation with local, state, and national organizations that hold regular conferences filled with networking and development opportunities. In other words, actively participate in life-long learning.

We are fortunate to have many options available in the Cape /Jackson metro. The Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center and Southeast Missouri State University along with private training firms are front and center.