Businesses across the UK are being heavily impacted by the rising cost of living and soaring inflation. In a May survey by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), more than a quarter (26%) of UK businesses cited “inflation of goods and services prices” as the main concern for their business. Additionally, recruiting and retaining staff is now more difficult than ever amid a post- pandemic rise in demand for greater working environments, better known as ‘The Great Resignation’.
This means many business owners are going to be looking at how they can cut costs and improve efficiency in their operation, as well as ensuring they remain attractive to potential and existing employees. A maybe surprising, yet great way to do that is through the use of effective workplace training.
iHASCO, a market-leading provider of online workplace training, recently sent a survey to their clients to gain a better understanding of their views when it comes to cost savings, compliance, and simplicity with iHASCO. The results suggested that effective training helped their clients to reduce costs and help them to improve employee retention.
Upskilling
There’s no doubt that businesses are in a battle for talent at all levels. With the Great Resignation underway, employees have developed higher expectations of their employers. And where some organisations cannot compete with the flexibility of other businesses, they must ensure they are offering rewarding job opportunities.
By implementing programs and initiatives for employees to develop their skills, organisations are making an investment in their future successes. If staff feel like they are being presented with opportunities to develop their existing skills and learn new ones, they are far more likely to feel engaged with their work and become more motivated and loyal to your business as a result.
Furthermore, it makes financial sense for businesses to help existing employees upskill. Research by Acas has found the cost of recruiting replacements each year is £5,433 per employee and the cost of lost productivity as new employees get up to speed is £25,181 per employee, totalling £14.9bn each year.
iHASCO’s survey found that 88% of their clients agreed that by using iHASCO’s services they had saved money as a business. Additionally, 98% of their clients agreed that their services were good value for money.
Improving workplace morale
According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), 0.8 million workers in the UK suffered from work- related stress, depression or anxiety in 2020/21, making up 50% of all new reported cases of work-related ill health.
And that’s not all: Deloitte has found an increase of 25% in the cost of poor mental health to employers compared to 2019, now up to £56bn.
Fortunately, employers can take action on improving workplace morale before it becomes an issue. A separate study by Deloitte has found that for every £1 a business invests in mental health initiatives, they can see up to a £5 return on investment!
Online training is a great way of investing in your employees. It provides them with an understanding that they are valued, it can help to improve areas of weakness, and ultimately makes their work lives easier.
iHASCO’s survey found that 91% of their clients agreed that by using their services, they have been able to build a more productive, happy, and safe workspace.
Understanding workplace responsibilities
In the UK, there are numerous pieces of legislation that place responsibilities on both employers and employees. Not only that, but those in work have a number of responsibilities that are not bound by legislation. For example, certain aspects of cyber security. Regardless, it is crucial that everybody in the workplace understands what is expected of them.
Receiving an enforcement notice or being subjected to a prosecution from the HSE can be crippling, with £26.9 million in fines being issued to duty holders found guilty of Health & Safety offences alone. Separately, in the last 12 months, 39% of UK businesses identified a cyber-attack. With these statistics in mind, and many similar available online, it’s clear to see why providing employees with an understanding of their workplace responsibilities is imperative to the success of a business.
When employees understand exactly what is expected of them, it also enables them to work as efficiently as possible. As a result, organisations can expect fully trained employees to be much more productive at work.
iHASCO’s survey found that 94% of their clients agreed that their staff are more aware of their responsibilities in the workplace as a result of using their services.
Reducing workplace incidents and avoiding legal action
When employees aren’t provided with effective Health & Safety Training or made aware of their responsibilities, injuries and accidents can quickly stack up, with a wide range of related knock-on costs.
£10.6bn - the cost of ill health in 2018/19, making up the biggest proportion of total costs at around 66%.
£5.6bn - the cost of injury in 2018/19, resulting in around 34% of total costs.
In the last available figures, employers paid around £1.3bn in Occupational Statutory Pay and Statutory Sick Pay. Productivity costs from recruiting and inducting temporary staff and work reorganisation totalled £144 million. It’s also important to address the human cost of workplace incidents. Each year:
- Millions of working days are lost due to work-related illness and injury
- Thousands of people die from occupational diseases
- Around a million workers self-report suffering from a work-related illness
- Several hundred thousand workers are injured at work
- A worker is fatally injured almost every working day
iHASCO’s survey found that 80% of their clients agree they would feel much more confident with a Health & Safety inspection as a result of using iHASCO.
Furthermore, employee tribunals can be famously expensive. As awards are given on a case-by-case basis, it’s hard to give just one average figure – but to give you an idea of how costly they can be:
£28,000 - That was the largest average award out of all claims in 2019/20 and came from sexual orientation discrimination claims.
£266,000 - That was the highest maximum award in 2019/20 and was for disability discrimination.
iHASCO’s survey found that 85% of their clients agreed they are less likely to have a health and safety or HR incident as a result of using iHASCO.
“We’re obviously thrilled with the results from this survey, but I think more importantly these results really highlight the benefits of partnering with a training provider who produce high-quality content and build a product with simplicity and the end-users right at the forefront of everything they do. We’ve seen first hand the number of businesses who try and cut corners when it comes to their training programmes and they soon realise they’ve wasted time, money and resources on something that has had little to no impact on their business.” - Nathan Pitman, Managing Director at iHASCO
Workplace training
You may think that choosing an effective workplace training provider could be too costly, particularly if you’re a small business.
However, as the numbers above demonstrate, finding the right training provider really can save you money in the long run – not to mention time, stress, and worry.
Looking for a premium training provider without the premium price tag? Call iHASCO on 01344 867088 today or request a bespoke quote to see how they could help you cut costs and improve employee retention.
