--- description: Can companies retain employees by offering learning and development opportunities? Read our survey report to know what makes Canadians feel valued at work. image: https://gdm-localsites-assets-gfprod.imgix.net/images/getapp/og_logo-94fd2a03a6c7a0e54fc0c9e21a1c0ce9.png title: Retaining employees with learning and development programs --- # Are learning and development programs for employees crucial for retention? Canonical: https://www.getapp.ca/blog/4354/learning-and-development-for-employees Published on 2023-11-24 | Written by Smriti Arya. ![Are learning and development programs for employees crucial for retention?](https://images.ctfassets.net/63bmaubptoky/1gIHeAJYDpPJrfFToZp0bB/11e2e7f536591306c5a5aa5765dd46a5/Learning-and-development-for-employees-CA-GetApp-Header.jpg) > Do employees in Canada feel valued at work? How much importance do learning and development programs hold for them? Has the emergence of generative AI tools made employees want to upskill more? Read our survey report that uncovers all these topics in depth. ----- ## Article Content Do employees in Canada feel valued at work? How much importance do learning and development programs hold for them? Has the emergence of generative AI tools made employees want to upskill more? Read our survey report that uncovers all these topics in depth.What we will coverA combined total of 71% of respondents consider L\& D opportunities a reason to stay with a companyHalf of the respondents feel a need to improve their skills due to the emergence of generative AI9 in 10 employees consider personalized courses important to some extentMore than 1 in 5 respondents are interested in gamified online coursesEnhancing learning and development programs: A key to talent retentionEmployee learning and development is not only about training employees to perform their work-related tasks, but it’s also about making them feel that the organization is invested in their growth. According to research by Gartner, learning and development is one of the top 4 HR investment priorities in 2023. Citing the report, Nieberg, director of the Gartner HR practice, also said, “It’s about intentionally exploring where, how and when employees learn, as well as what impacts their ability to learn effectively.” Therefore, organizations should potentially understand what kind of learning programs attract employees, how to best utilize software tools to facilitate this and keep them engaged in the workplace.Also since AI solutions are expected to bring half a billion net new jobs by 2033, organizations should ideally consistently upskill their teams to adapt to new technologies. To learn more about the learning needs of employees in Canada, we surveyed over 1,000 full-time or part-time employees who have access to online courses at their workplaces. You can scroll down to the bottom of this article for the full methodology.A combined total of 71% of respondents consider L\& D opportunities a reason to stay with a company According to LinkedIn’s 2023 workplace learning report, the top strategy for improving retention is providing employees with learning opportunities. The same report also goes on to say that people look out for a new job because they are not getting enough learning opportunities at their current workplace.Similarly, our survey indicated that learning and development opportunities provided by the organization encouraged employees to stay with the company. A combined total of 71% of the respondents agree with the statement: ‘The learning and development opportunities provided by my company encourage me to stay with the company’In fact, only 7% of the respondents disagree that learning and development encourage them to stay with the company. From the data, it is quite clear that learning and development programs are one of the top factors that can drive people to switch jobs. The reason behind such a factor could be that continuous learning can help employees grow and advance in their careers while making them able to adapt to changing technologies. Our survey also found that a combined total of 80% of respondents said that they would prefer to apply for new roles in a company that offers learning opportunities through online courses. Only 7% of them said they would not do so, further highlighting the need for robust and well-planned learning programsHalf of the respondents feel a need to improve their skills due to the emergence of generative AIArtificial intelligence (AI) is nowadays becoming a vital part of day-to-day work operations and is being used to enhance business operations, boost employee productivity, and improve customer service. In addition, the emergence of generative AI in the workplace is creating demand for new roles. According to a report by Gartner, generative AI technology will create more than half a million new jobs. What is generative AI? Gartner defines generative AI as AI techniques that learn a representation of artifacts from data, and use it to generate brand-new, unique artifacts that resemble but don’t repeat the original data. In a nutshell, generative AI has the potential to generate a variety of content, including images, audio, video, or text. Therefore, in order to embrace the technology and understand how it works, it is ideally crucial for employees to have AI-specific skills. Our survey also revealed that more than half of the respondents (55%) reported feeling the need to develop their skills more due to the current advancements in generative AI.With that said, it may be more important now for organizations to ensure their employees are equipped with the right knowledge to leverage generative AI tools safely. In fact, according to one of our surveys on GetApp, overreliance on AI is one of the top ethical concerns for generative AI usage. In this sense, training employees on how to make the best use of AI technology without being affected by any security risks should be the responsibility of every organization utilizing such technology. Of those respondents who answered that they would like to improve or learn different skills due to generative AI being incorporated into work, we asked them about the skills they want to improve with the development of generative AI. This is what they said:65% of respondents want to develop more analytical skills (data and information analysis, research, or problem-solving)49% of them want to develop skills on how to work with generative AI tools39% of them want to develop programming skills The reason that majority of respondents want to learn more about analytical skills could be that generative AI can help businesses automate the data analytics process. Using generative AI, users may simply interact with data via commands or text-based questions. For example, you can ask a generative AI tool, ‘what are the top five social media channels where most reviews were received in the last quarter?’, and the tool can then analyze the company’s data and come up with the answer you’re looking for. Learning such skills can assist employees in improving their productivity by automating time-consuming tasks. 9 in 10 employees consider personalized courses important to some extent Personalized learning is a strategy designed to customize learning experiences to meet each learner’s needs, abilities, and preferences. While it is important for organizations to offer certain learning and development programs to their employees, knowing how they prefer to receive such training is equally important. Creating personalized learning programs may not only keep employees engaged but also help them achieve their goals. Considering this, we asked our survey respondents how important personalized online courses are to them. A combined total of 90% of respondents feel that personalized courses are important to them, of these: 40% feel that they are very important50% feel that they are somewhat important Unsurprisingly, only 1% said personalized courses are not at all important to them. Looking at the numbers, it can be said that organizations should potentially invest in personalized learning courses so that employees can focus on skills where they need the most help. Tips on how to deliver a personalized learning experience to employees Know your employees’ preferences The first step in personalizing learning experiences for employees should be knowing their interests and requirements. Organizations should conduct surveys to understand the preferences of their workforce and identify areas where they need additional training. Set learning goalsOnce you identify preferred learning styles, the next step could be to set goals you want to achieve for a specific role/department. For example, a marketing department can aim to bring in 30% more potential clients in the coming year. Identify the right technology to deliver learning coursesTo ensure that employees receive learning in a more engaging way, you may leverage tools such as learning experience platforms. Such platforms enable organizations to consolidate different training resources into a single place and deliver customized learning experiences to fit the unique needs of employees.More than 1 in 5 respondents are interested in gamified online courses While it is essential to keep employees’ preferences in mind, what also matters is that learning sessions should not be boring or repetitive. Adding game elements to learning can help create a fun and engaging experience for employees. According to GlobeNewsWire, the gamification market worldwide grew from $14.87 billion in 2022 to $18.63 billion in 2023 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.3% and is expected to grow to $46.44 billion in 2027 at a CAGR of 25.6%. What is gamified learning?Gamified learning can be defined as a learning approach that uses gaming techniques to make training more interactive. Organizations may leverage elements such as badges, levels, leaderboards, and points into learning programs that can turn learning into gaming contests.Delving deeper into such methods, we also investigated what employees feel about online classes that leverage gamified learning strategies, and this is what they had to say:Here are some benefits that gamification can bring to the workplace:Boosts interaction between peersSince gamification typically leverages badges, leaderboards, and point-based strategies, it may create a sense of competition among players. The need to win rewards and points encourages employees to collaborate within teams. This might result in effective team bonding among peers, which, in turn, can build a positive work environment. Makes learning engaging and fun As gamification learning methods use interactive ways of delivering knowledge, this can help employees retain information better compared to other traditional methods. In addition, gamified learning can help deliver training in more time-bound chunks, which could allow the workforce to process skills in a more timely manner. Provides immediate feedbackOne-time courses may not always provide employees with a way to track their progress. However, it is ideally important for both employees and employers to understand how they are progressing once the training is done. This is where gamified learning can come into play. Gamification strategies can provide instant feedback to employees using points, badges, or rewards so that employees can understand how much they have learned and what should be improved to progress more effectively. Enhancing learning and development programs: A key to talent retention LinkedIn’s 2023 workplace learning report reveals that learning and development budgets are expected to increase by 41% in 2023. Investing in L\&D could help both employees and organizations adapt to the changing times and stay ready for whatever comes next. For a learning and development strategy to be successful, organizations should first assess employees’ needs, understand which areas they should focus on, and set clear objectives of what to achieve with those programs.Once the needs and goals are assessed, companies should ideally work on designing the training plan. For instance, what kind of content is needed, who will deliver the training and how should the training be provided to employees? Lastly, organizations should also evaluate training programs after completion to understand how employees are progressing and what can be done further to improve employee learning strategies. This may ideally help companies make employees feel valued and retain them for a long time.  Looking for learning management system software? Check out our catalogue\! ## Disclaimer > MethodologyThe data for GetApp’s Career-driven Learning Survey was collected in August 2023 and comprises answers from 1,002 respondents. We selected our survey sample based on the following selection criteria:Canadian residentBetween 18 and 65 years of ageEither full-time or part-time employed in a company with more than one employeeHas access to online courses at their workplacesMust use online learning systems as a part of training sometimes ## About the author ### Smriti Arya Smriti is a Content Analyst for GetApp, helping SMBs deliver key insights into software, business and tech trends. ## Related Categories - [eLearning Authoring Tools Software](https://www.getapp.ca/directory/1391/elearning-authoring-tools/software) - [Learning Experience Platform Software](https://www.getapp.ca/directory/1687/learning-experience-platform/software) - [Online Course Software](https://www.getapp.ca/directory/37/courseware/software) - [School Management Software](https://www.getapp.ca/directory/701/school-management/software) - [Training Software](https://www.getapp.ca/directory/266/training/software) ## Related Articles - [7 Construction technologies to watch in 2023](https://www.getapp.ca/blog/3429/construction-technologies-trends) - [Employee development program: A majority of Canadian respondents believe online learning helps meet work and career goals](https://www.getapp.ca/blog/4346/employee-development-programs-in-canada) - [Ethics in generative AI: Concerns and potential solutions for businesses](https://www.getapp.ca/blog/4149/ethics-in-generative-ai) - [Modernizing libraries: Areas of library automation](https://www.getapp.ca/blog/3499/areas-of-library-automation) - [Hardware vs software explained](https://www.getapp.ca/blog/3052/hardware-vs-software-explained) ## Links - [View on GetApp](https://www.getapp.ca/blog/4354/learning-and-development-for-employees) - [Blog](https://www.getapp.ca/blog) - [Home](https://www.getapp.ca/) ----- ## Structured Data