LSC: Investing in employees can boost morale

By investing in training for employees, business owners can boost morale and increase productivity, according to the Learning Skills Council (LSC).

Jaine Clarke, director of Skills for Employers at the LSC, claims: "Individuals in the workplace always feel more loyalty towards a business that is taking a look at you and looking at how it can support you to do your job better, to understand the business better, or even to progress on within that business."

Ms Clarke says that small business owners should find out what training options are available for employees and themselves, such as the LSC's Train to Gain initiative.

By encouraging their staff to earn new skills, employers will see a number of benefits, such as "improved morale, improved adoption of health and safety practices, reduced absenteeism, as well as improved productivity and reduced waste", she adds.

According to the DFES report Workforce training in England 2006, around a fifth of employers say that cost is a barrier when it comes to training staff, with 20 per cent of small business owners claiming that it is difficult to spare employees.