Help Your Employees Further Their Education

One of the benefits that some employers include in their employee packages is assistance with continuing education or tuition reimbursement. While it is not part of most benefits packages, it does get a lot of attention when it is included.

Should you offer financial assistance with education? What do you get out of it?

Happy Employees

Most employees like to know they can grow within the company they work for. One way to do that is by furthering their education and learning new skills. A company that encourages additional education is promoting a happier workplace with employees that feel fulfilled in their jobs.

Many entry-level jobs are stressful, causing burnout over time. Employees generally have two options: either promote up or move out to another job. If they can continue their education with a degree that is beneficial in their current careers, they are more likely to stay. Employee retention is one of the main goals for a company in regards to human resources.

Employer Benefits

Helping employees continue their education has many benefits for employers. Employee retention may be the first you think of, but it is not the only one.

How many times have you said you wished you had more employees like one of your best? You would like to promote that person into a new position but he or she doesn’t have the skills or experience. Instead, you must look outside the company.

It is much better to have employees that you know and trust in higher positions within the company than hiring strangers that you do not know. One way to achieve this goal is to help them learn the skills they need to accept a new role.

How Companies Can Afford to Pay

Small businesses may not feel they can afford to pay for continuing education even if they see the value. However, it is an affordable option for almost any company if they are careful and set some guidelines. The article “4 College Degrees to Consider Going Back to School For” discusses popular choices for furthering your education. One of them is to get a Master’s in business or finance. This is a general degree that can be useful in almost any industry. At the same time, it prepares employees to rise up to a position of leadership in the company as it grows.

To afford the costs of continuing education, employers can do several things:

• Offer to pay a portion of the tuition costs instead of the entire amount
• Limit tuition help to relevant fields
• Require the employee to continue in employment for a period of time after completing the education
• Offer to pay for seminars or special classes at a community college rather than a degree