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When all is said and done and you finally receive a job offer, it’s the benefits package that makes all the difference. The amount and quality of the benefits offered by a company indicate how much a company will invest in its employees.
When you invest in employees, they give back and that promotes profit.
Tuition assistance is now regarded as an important and often expected employee benefit. Employers want to give employees the opportunity to seek professional development and further education, while employees rank educational benefits above child-care, flextime, and family leave. Education is rated as one of the top five benefits that employees look for in an organization. *
Your support of employee continuing education is a valuable benefit for both the employee and the company. Companies that offer education benefits see an 87% increase in employee morale and 40% increase in employee retention *
Human-resource departments often do not promote such benefits, especially among high-performers they want to retain. There are probably a lot of situations where people just don't know what their company offers, and may assume it offers nothing in the way of financial help for education. Many large companies are now hiring full-time talent managers in an effort to dedicate resources to developing and retaining critical talent.
By 2005, the average cost to corporations in the United States for turnovers is expected to be $176 billion. * Taking after-hours classes or enrolling in a degree or certification program may help some workers keep up with rapidly changing job demands or land a major promotion.
*As reported in the HR Magazine
This information has implications for benefit plans and other employer efforts to retain the most talented workers. For example, employers may want to consider communicating more about business successes, offering more training programs or linking educational opportunities to certain timelines or promotions.
Benefit plans can have an influence on employee commitment, especially in organizations that have made an effort to provide good benefits and have stood by past promises. Benefit plans may not drive employee commitment, but they can be symbolic of an organization's commitment to employees, and garner employee loyalty.
Key drivers of employee commitment
- Confidence in the organization's future
- Confidence in achieving career objectives
- Satisfaction with the work they do
- Opportunities to do challenging and interesting work
- Degree of teamwork and cooperation
- Opportunities for continuous learning to improve skills
- Employer's commitment to quality
Source: Mercer Human Resource Consulting's 2005 What's Working Survey - L.C.
Having ambassadors spreading the word about your company's resources is invaluable “WOM” or word of mouth, free company marketing.
Work/Life benefits
Flex-time, emergency loans, transportation benefits and tuition reimbursement attract the greatest participation, while the adoption assistance is the least-used benefit.
Companies see a payoff from work-life benefits, in the form of increased retention, increased productivity and reduced medical costs. Creating a positive environment has payback in many ways around stress, retention and health status. What is needed is recognize the critical needs of the business and at the same time recognize the critical needs of the employees.
Other statistics of Workplace education programs* more than likely applicable to any education program
Skills Gained by Employees Through WEPs
N=55
Percent of Employers
Reporting Skill Gain
Greater willingness and ability to learn for life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85%
Improved ability to listen to understand, learn, and
apply information and analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....84
Improved understanding and ability to use documents . . . . . . . . . . . ..84
More positive attitude toward change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84
Better ability to build and work in teams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80
Increased understanding of and ability to use numbers
by themselves or in charts and tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ….76
Improved capacity to think critically and act logically to
evaluate situations, solve problems, and make decisions . . . . . . . . …73
Better ability to communicate using English . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...67
Improved ability to use computers and other technology,
instruments, and tools and information systems effectively . . . . . . …. 65
Heightened understanding and willingness to work within
the group’s culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ….65
Stronger understanding of and ability to use prose . . . . . . . . . . . . . … 53
Employers reporting at least one skill gained . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .98
Organizational Benefits Gained Through WEPs
N=55
Percent of Employers
Reporting Benefit
Improved employee morale/self-esteem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87%
Increased quality of work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Improved capacity to solve problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Better team performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Improved capacity to cope with change in the workplace . . . . . . . . . . 75
Improved capacity to use new technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
More employees participating in job-specific training. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Higher success rate in promoting employees within the organization . 71
Improved effectiveness of supervisors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Increased capacity to handle on-the-job training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Improved labor-management relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 65
Increased output of products and services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 65
Higher success rate in transferring employees within the organization 60
Improved results in job-specific training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Increased profitability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Reduced time per task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Quicker results in job-specific training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Reduced error rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Better health and safety record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
Reduced waste in production of products and services. . . . . . . . . . . . .49
Increased customer retention. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 42
Increased employee retention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
Reduced absenteeism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
Employers reporting at least one benefit gained . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98
*6 Turning Skills Into Profit: Economic Benefits of Workplace Education Programs The Conference Board
Turning Skills Into Profit: Economic Benefits of Workplace Education Programs The Conference Board 7
Adult learners are the new Undergraduate Majority at college campuses around the county. The U.S. economy is an information-driven one and a college degree has become paramount to succeed in the global marketplace among new entrants in the workforce and those already employed. Creating a learning culture in the workplace will in the long run help companies remain competitive in global markets. | 
