Short selling is a term in trading. We usually invest in something that we believe will grow and increase in value. When we consider investing in candidates, we see the ROI on long-term investments in employees. When you “go long” in investing in employees, you expect the value of your employees to rise and drive the success of the organization. 

“Shorting” is a different way of looking at things. In terms of finance, instead of buying first, or investing, you sell first. Kind of confusing right? How and why can you sell something that you don’t own? Selling short means the actual investing happens after the value has risen….or fallen.

Are you waiting too long to invest in your employees? This is a big gamble. A lot of employers will wait to invest until they see, or anticipate a return. This could be too late. Investing in employees is how employers show them that they are valued and a relevant part of the organization.

Investing in employees shouldn’t be seen simply as a means to and end. It shouldn’t be exclusively considered a benefit to employees. Real investments in talent should benefit both the organization and the workers.

These investments can come in many forms, but training is a huge part of this equation. A good example of shorting employees is the “two years experience” requirement for entry-level employees. This is how employers get around training and it really only ends up shorting everyone -the organization included.

When organizations make the decision that investing in workers will come later (or not at all) they are taking a huge risk on their quality talent leaving, or their subpar talent never reaching their full potential. This is a dismal waste of scouting, recruiting, hiring and onboarding resources.

Sure, they may stick around, and they may continue to grow on their own or via informal learning, but this would be the exception rather than the rule. Waiting to invest in employees simply isn’t a worthwhile gamble.

Investing in a relevant and quality LMS is the perfect fix to turn a short sell into a long-term investment in talent. 78% of HR leaders say that finding top talent is their number one challenge. It stands to reason that retention should then be pretty high on these organizations’ list of priorities. Once that quality talent is obtained, the investment in retention and engagement should start immediately.

Offering employees the chance to continue to learn and grow, will not only retain key talent, it will attract more quality candidates. Relying just on job listings and applicant tracking systems attracts a mere 5% of the workforce. When a company makes it clear that they want out of the box talent that shows up for a paycheck, that’s exactly what they’ll get. The right LMS allows companies the chance to facilitate tailored skill sets and employees with experience unique to their industry and company.

Companies should look at shorting their investment in employees as gambling their most prized asset –quality candidates. Training and the right LMS go a long way in attracting and retaining the talent that organizations need to drive success.

Visit our main blog.