The Connection Between Staff Training & Employee Engagement & Wellness

In today’s competitive work environment, companies that care about their employees are the companies that last.

Training your employees won’t only build a positive company culture and improve staff retention . It’ll also help your company perform better and achieve higher levels of efficiency.

MANCOSA offers Corporate Staff Training Solutions to help your company build a workforce that allows it to thrive in the marketplace. This includes formal learning programmes, online short learning courses, and customised training programmes.

In this article, we’ll discuss the importance of staff engagement and employee wellness and why your company must invest in staff training and development for your workers to achieve optimal performance.

What is staff engagement, and why is it important?

Staff engagement is the emotional connection and commitment employees feel towards their company.

It involves the extent to which your employees feel committed to their jobs, helping your company grow, and whether they feel a sense of belonging.

Staff engagement goes beyond job satisfaction and focuses on the employees’ overall connection with the organisation. Effective staff engagement leads to better outcomes for your organisation and employees.

Some of the key elements of staff engagement include the following:

• Communication: Effective communication between the staff members and managers builds a sense of trust and belonging. Employers should always inform employees of the company’s goals, objectives, and other information that could impact them.
• Recognition: Acknowledging your employees’ hard work keeps them motivated and committed to helping your company reach its goals. Companies should acknowledge their employee’s accomplishments through awards and recognition programmes, for instance.
• Professional development: Providing employees with the opportunity to develop their skills and advance in their careers, demonstrates the company’s commitment to their success. This includes investing in learning opportunities like accredited staff training.
• Work-life balance: Ensuring employees have a good balance between their work and personal lives adds to the company’s success. This is because happy employees are more productive and provide better work outputs. Unfortunately, many South African employees experience quite a poor work-life balance, with some reports indicating that it is among the lowest on a global scale.

Some of the key outcomes of good staff engagement include the following:

• Employees who are committed to their work
• Higher staff retention
• Workers with positive attitudes towards the company
• Employees who are more productive and take pride in their work
• Employees who take initiative and are innovative in their thinking
• A strong sense of collaboration between workers and management

What is employee wellness, and why is it important?

Employee wellness refers to programmes and initiatives initiated by an organisation for their employees that serve to promote and support employees’ physical, mental, and emotional health and well-being.

Taking employee wellness seriously is essential because it can help improve the workforce’s health, enhance job satisfaction, and create a positive and productive work environment.

Employee wellness programmes can encompass various activities and services that focus on multiple aspects of well-being. Typically, some common types of effective

employee wellness initiatives include the following:

• Mental health awareness and support: These initiatives focus offer services and resources like counselling, stress management workshops, and mental health awareness campaigns.
• Physical health and education: This includes programmes that educate your employees about their physical health and well-being, such as HIV/AIDS awareness and cardiovascular health. Some organisations extend this initiatives to include on-site fitness facilities, gym memberships, and wellness challenges. It may also include health screenings, preventive health check-ups, and nutrition workshops.
• Work-life balance support: Involves teaching employees about creating an equilibrium between their professional responsibilities and personal lives. It involves showing one how to manage work commitments while preserving enough time for personal well-being. This promotes a healthy lifestyle and nurtures relationships outside the workplace for greater quality of life.
• Financial wellness: These programmes promote financial education workshops and retirement planning seminars.
• Ergonomics and workplace safety: These initiatives encourage workplace safety. It includes ergonomic workstations and equipment, safety training and awareness programmes, and regular workplace safety assessments.
• Leadership training: These programmes focus on career development helping employees build successful careers through leadership and management training. It also supports employee well-being and creates a positive and inclusive leadership culture.

Driving engagement & wellness with corporate training

Corporate staff training enhances employee engagement and wellness by fostering a number of new skills and creating a supportive work environment. Some of the benefits you can expect to see when investing in corporate training include the following:

1. Staff Engagement

Training is a powerful tool for promoting employee engagement by providing staff with the opportunities to acquire and develop new skills, additional qualifications, and soft skills. Here are key areas where staff training contributes to engagement.

• Skills development: Training programmes help employees develop new skills relevant to their current work roles. This includes mastering technology skills, communication and leadership abilities, and acquiring new competencies.
• Career development: Training allows employees to climb the corporate ladder to management positions and beyond. Whether they work through online short courses, higher certificates, diplomas, or advanced degrees, employees see a long-term future at a company that invests in their career progression.
• Enhanced productivity: Employees with the right skillset are more productive and efficient with their work. Training helps streamline processes and adapt to new technologies. This helps the company achieve better results. For example, the Higher Certificate in Digital Marketing significantly focuses on incorporating technologies into company advertising and marketing initiatives.
• Alignment with organisational goals: Training programmes can be tailored to align with the company’s goals and objectives. This ensures employees receive relevant training catered to the company’s needs and mission.

2. Employee Wellness

Employee wellness focuses on soft skills that contribute to improved mental health, staff development, and work-life balance. Here’s how training in these areas can positively impact employee wellness.

• Mental health: Training programmes addressing stress management and mindfulness can significantly improve workers’ quality of life.
• Leadership training: Training leaders within your organisation helps create a supportive environment for work culture. It displays an organisation’s commitment to prioritising its employees — who can then positively impact the whole organisation.
• Work-life balance: Courses on project management can contribute to a better work-life balance. Employees learn strategies to help them handle their workload more efficiently, which reduces stress and promotes their overall well-being.

Register for a workplace skills plan with MANCOSA Training Solutions

Invest in training for staff by developing your employees’s skills and promoting a culture of wellness and advancement will help you build a robust workforce that can carry your company into the future. Having a solid workforce won’t only help your company streamline its processes, but it’ll also help you retain employees and build a solid public image.

MANCOSA offers a range of courses, including short courses, higher certificates, diplomas, degrees, and postgraduate programmes to help all your staff members improve their skills. Visit our Corporate Solutions Training page to register your interest and find the right programmes for your staff.