Purpose of this Template

This template provides reasons why implementing and optimizing continuing education programs can have a lasting impact on your organization and most importantly your employees - your most important asset.

Introduction

Continuing education is a win-win for employees and employers. Research proves that when employees invest in themselves by upgrading their skills and gaining knowledge, organizations benefit. It can be seen in a myriad of ways including an increase in achievement of organizational goals, decrease in turnover, positive impact on customer satisfaction, stronger employee engagement, higher productivity and profits. A recent Harvard Business Review article shares insightful numbers on how investing in learning and development can make an impact: organizations with a strong learning culture are 92% more likely to develop novel products and processes, are 52% more productive, 56% more likely to be the first to market with their products and services, and 17% more profitable than their peers. Their engagement and retention rates are also 30–50% higher. Therefore by promoting skill building and supporting employees’ continuing education, organizations can achieve long-term viability.

But what if management is doubtful, viewing continuing education training as costly or bad business because staff may leave for other opportunities once their skills improve? Organizations that make continuous education a core value or key component of its culture understand its greatest assets is its workforce. According to a 2018-2019 Ceridian Pulse of Talent report, people who work for companies that invest in resources for learning are 83% more likely to be happier in their job. Happier employees have a higher likelihood of remaining valuable contributors for the long haul.

Background on Topic

In some instances, organizations have included employer-sponsored employee education programs and tuition reimbursement programs as a part of its benefit packages. There are a few pros and cons of tuition reimbursement offerings to consider when making them part of employees benefit packages.

Continuing Education

A business that adopts an "improve through learning" as a core value should ensure learning manifests itself throughout the day-to-day experiences, but it shouldn’t stop there. Continuing education is an all-encompassing term describing additional formal learning activities which can include:

Earning a GED
Postsecondary Degrees (associate, bachelor’s or graduate)
Professional Certification
On-the-job/Cross Training
Conferences
Military Training
Informal career or professional development (lunch & learn, speakers presentations)
Corporate Training and Universities
Extension Schools
English as a Second Language: If you have employees who would like to improve their English skills for personal or professional gains. This can be particularly helpful for customer service, sales, and employee relations related roles
Personal Development and Self-paced learning
Voluntary Services Training
Industry Associations and Conferences offering Continuing Education Units (CEU's)
PLA (Prior Learning Assessments)

Continuing education can be delivered in formal face-to-face course based education programs or delivered with self-directed, group-based or online hybrid mediums. Distance or online education courses and programs have been increasingly effective for employees seeking flexible learning opportunities. These became especially important in spring of 2020 when the Coronavirus pandemic began to disrupt education in the United States and demand remains strong.

Fostering a continuous learning culture at an organization should be strategic. Making a clear plan that includes evaluating the ideal learning format, short term and long term business goals. Before implementing any major changes it is important to get employee feedback. Doing so will result in better buy-in. workers will feel motivated to participate in educational programs because they envision a clear pathway to career advancement, knowing their effort will result in a real career outcome – whether that's a promotion or gaining new skills that allow them to succeed in their current role.

Books

Organizations using book clubs as part of their internal continuing education workshops is a valuable tool to help employees improve professionally and grow as leaders. Hosting monthly meetups to talk about the content builds community and creates a learning culture. Building a company virtual library and spotlighting certain books encourages employees to start and pursue their continuing education journey. DEI book club discussions have been cited as a more effective informal way to elicit meaningful debate around tough issues by fostering deeper empathy,encouraging participants to take away something important and actionable.

Kindles or audiobook platforms are a great way to easily implement a book club.

Language

Why should a company encourage its employees to learn a language? Organizations and employees benefit from learning a language to communicate cross-culturally, expands opportunities for globally dispersed employees, fosters inclusion through language learning, and encourages a depth in analytical skills from employees.

For those aiming to learn a foreign language, subscription-based language learning software and e-learning platforms can lead employees toward some degree of fluency. These platforms such as Babbel incorporate effective education methods with state-of-the-art technology.

Laws & Regulations

IRS regulations limit tuition reimbursement programs. When building out programs like this, it is important to liaise with your Finance team as there are often tax incentives for the employer. For additional information concerning employer-provided educational assistance:

Chapter 11 of IRS Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education.
Information concerning the business deduction for work-related education can be found in Chapter 12 of IRS Publication 970
Information about tax benefits for work-related education can be found in Chapter 27 of IRS Publication 17, Your Federal Income Tax.
See also “Working Condition Benefits” in Chapter 2 of IRS Publication 15-B, Employer's Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits.
Statutory language appears in the Internal Revenue Code at 26 USC 127 and 26 USC 132(a)(3) and (d). Current regulations can be found at 26 CFR 1.127-1, 26 CFR 1.127-2 and 26 CFR 1.162-5.

Best Practices for Implementation

Organizations must consider many factors when designing a robust, successful, and financially beneficial continuing education program. These programs should ensure that every employee gets a chance to learn and succeed by removing barriers and prioritizing accessibility. Organizations should consider the following when building equitable education programs and policies:

Prevent and eliminate debt: Instead of implementing traditional tuition reimbursement programs which perpetuates inequality because employees have to pay costs upfront including tuition, fees and books, roll out a direct pay, debt-free model so employees don’t incur the financial risk.
Get rid of clawbacks or repayment agreements: These are used by employers to pursue tuition funds from employees who do not meet their employer-defined program criteria (hitting a certain academic standard or staying with the company for a certain period of time after finishing a program). Clawbacks discourage program enrollment, negatively impact program persistence and employee participation.
Set policies for learners, not compliance: Examples of policies that deter participation and program success are grade requirements and manager approval. Grade requirement policies that apply retroactively to an employee’s benefit creates an anxious dynamic. This is because employees consider the financial risk while they’re enrolled and only know if the employer will pay tuition costs at the end of the course when they receive their grades. Manager approval can also introduce biases (I.E. where certain managers have a preference towards employees who are similar to them). If there is a need for some programs to have grade requirements or need manager approval because of the size or type of program, make sure your HR Business Partners are looped in for additional support.

Communication

What are some ways to promote continuing education to your employees in a way that gets them excited?

Connect with internal communications team to promote
Use existing communication mediums (intranet, email, Slack, IM etc)
Create a calendar for education offerings and invite everyone to it. Oftentimes working with the person in charge of internal communications to tie these offerings into an already existing company calendar. If not, creating a calendar similar to our People People calendar for OPHR is easy and effective to share information.
Hang creative posters in common space
Use digital signage and hub TVs in common spaces
Host a continuing education open house
Provide an incentive or reward

Resources

Articles:

How to Ask Your Employer to Pay for Your Education Harvard Business School Online
Why is Professional Development Important? Harvard Division of Continuing Education
How Can Education Benefits be More Useful Hechinger Report
How to Encourage Employees to Pursue Professional Development Business News Daily

Grab time to chat through your ideas - we’ll help brainstorm a way to bring them to life! Book time to chat today!

Contributors to this Template

Kamilah A’Vant, DEI & Black Culture Speaker

www.risewithophr.com

OPHR: One Person Human Resources