Columnist

Developing and retaining top talent

Internal mobility is the new a buzz phrase among a number of leading talent managers and HR specialists.

But it’s one that employers from blue chip companies to SMEs are taking note of because it has huge potential to help businesses retain their best staff and improve morale.

Forbes reports that professional development opportunities are a key factor in turnover rates and a lack of them will pop up frequently in exit interviews. Numerous other studies have also found links between staff development and retention.

Training and retaining your key staff encourages loyalty, improves and widens the knowledge base within the business and can lead to increased productivity.

There are a number of ways to help your staff develop professionally but being able to offer them a degree while they work is something most ambitious employees would relish.

The Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship (CMDA) at Sheffield Hallam University is a trailblazing way for organisations to do just that.

The CMDA includes a combination of work-based learning and business education that fosters the skills, creativity and loyalty employers need for employees to commit themselves to an organisation and drive it to the next level.

Whilst media attention for degree apprenticeships has focused on their potential to develop the next generation of talent, more and more employers are realising the advantage of using them to develop existing staff.

Whether the staff member is relatively new to the business or has spent decades with the company, they can benefit from networking with their peers and learning new professional skills to further their management career.

On completion of the course they will also receive professional Chartered Manager status from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).

Course content can be tailored to a wide spectrum of industries and sectors to ensure maximum benefit for both the business and employee.

As an employer, if you and your employee meet the current Skills Funding Agency eligibility criteria you could receive funding of up to two thirds of the course cost. There are also incentive payments for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

From April 2017 there is an even greater reason to look to degree apprenticeships to help develop and retain top talent with the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy. Whilst only the largest employers will pay into the levy, such organisations will no doubt be keen to keep former chancellor George Osborne to his word that they will “get out more than they put in”.

Even without the benefit of funding support for degree apprenticeships, growing your own talent to address skills gaps and develop bespoke management skills makes clear financial sense.

Research by the University of Pennsylvania shows it takes up to two years for externally recruited staff to perform as well as internal candidates promoted on the job.

In this ever more competitive market, having an engaged, highly-skilled workforce is a way to benefit both the business and the employee.

No matter the size of your organisation or the number of staff who could benefit, the CMDA at Sheffield Hallam can develop and retain your top talent internally and help your business to flourish.

It is an excellent opportunity to achieve this and so much more.

Tim Davidson-Hague, Head of Education and Corporate Programmes at Sheffield Hallam University

To find out more about the Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship at Sheffield Hallam University visit our website or email us at apprenticeships@shu.ac.uk.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sheffield Hallam University .