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Building a Budget for Professional Development

By Steve Antill, Foundation Software

reating an annual budget can their qualifications in and knowledge Given the high turnover rate, it would
be daunting for any business. of their field. It’s also something that seem to make sense to invest less in
Add to it the uncertainties that many contractors don’t include in their employees. If they’re just going to leave,
come hand-in-hand with the yearly budget. According to a 2019 why spend the money on development?
Cconstruction industry — survey of nearly 400 contractors by the The truth is that, yes, scenarios like this
like planning the right amount of funds Institute of Construction Management, can — and do — happen, but investing
needed to complete anticipated jobs only about 13% include professional in professional development actually
while making sure employees get paid development in their annual budget. helps with employee retention. And
consistently and the business stays Specific reasons for omitting it will while turnover can never be 100%
profitable — and it becomes an even vary from contractor to contractor, avoided, but it can often be prevented.
more delicate balancing act. Still, from believing that there simply aren’t
contractors should try to make room for enough funds to go around to it not Gallup research indicates that 52%
one more line on their annual budget being viewed as a priority. But what if of voluntary employee turnover is
for the professional development and investing in employees’ professional preventable. Unrealistic job expectations
continuing education of their employees. development could provide monetary and working conditions contribute to
benefits through employee retention? turnover, but nearly equally as important
Professional development, while maybe to an employee’s decision to leave is
not as flashy as new equipment, can be It’s old news that employee turnover in a lack of professional development
a valuable tool for retaining employees construction is high, with rates around and growth opportunities. This is
and setting a company up for success. 21% across the entire industry. While some especially true for millennials, with 87%
There’s also a chance that it might save turnover is to be expected and happens indicating professional development
a contractor money in the long-run. in every field, the costs associated as a key factor for job satisfaction in a
with losing valuable employees are 2017 Forbes article. While it may not
DEVELOPMENT AND significant. A 2017 report by Employee prevent all cases of employee turnover,
Benefit News estimates that it costs
offering professional development
EMPLOYEE TURNOVER around 33% of an employee’s salary to opportunities can be a proactive measure
fully replace them — not to mention to increase employee satisfaction and
Professional development can take the additional loss of familiarity with keep them on board before they decide
a variety of forms, but it’s essentially the business and its processes. to take the leap to a new company.
anything that helps employees build

32 Insights Magazine | March/April 2020 | www.ieci.org