I hear this a lot.
“Why invest in training? What if we train them and they leave?”
“Better they learn on the job. Saves time and cost.”
But here’s a powerful counter-question
💥 What if you don’t train them and they stay?
⏰🧨Real scenario from the field
A growing business hired junior execs to support sales. No product training. No customer handling skills.
Within 2 months:
– Sales conversion dropped
– Customer complaints increased
– Staff confidence plummeted
Instead of saving money, the company ended up losing revenue all because they skipped training.
Training isn’t a cost, 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. Even basic training can lead to
🚀Higher productivity
😎More confident employees
💬Better customer experience
🔁Lower error rates
❤️Stronger loyalty and retention
The myth “If we train them, they’ll leave.”
The truth If you don’t train them, they’ll either underperform or leave faster.
Today especially GenZs value growth, if they don’t see it, SAYONARA baby!
Think of training as a retention strategy.
When you develop your people, they
– Feel valued (motivated)
– Become better at their job (effective)
– See a future with your company (retention)
– Contribute more effectively (increased efficiency)
– Speak good about you (attract talents)
In fact, many employees leave because they feel they’re stagnating not because of salary.
What businesses can do (without breaking the bank or HRDF funds)
1. Use online learning platforms; Coursera, LinkedIn Learning, Udemy; affordable, flexible
2. Cross-train internally; Let staff shadow each other or rotate roles for broader skills, those who train learn themselves to be better too
3. Run monthly “Lunch & Learn” or “Teh-Tarik” sessions; 45-minute internal knowledge sharing cost = zero
4. Assign mentors; Senior staff guiding juniors = win-win
5. Focus on soft skills too; Communication, time management, customer handling; these make a huge difference
Bonus tip : Keep it documented.
Even simple checklists or SOPs can serve as mini “training modules” for:
– Onboarding
– Daily tasks
– Crisis handling
– Quality checks
Build your internal knowledge base. It grows with you.
Make sure you’re training those who wants to learn and grow, those who don’t, they’ll soon be gone.
Here’s the bottom line:
“What if they leave after we train them?”
That’s fear talking.
💥”What if they stay because we trained them well?”
That’s strategy.
Businesses grow through people.
And people grow through learning.
Let’s stop using turnover as an excuse and start building stronger teams. 💪
I am Kevin Goh, Empowering People & Businesses | Building Modern HR for the Evolving Workplace
#HRMythBusters #Leadership #FutureOfWork
This article originally appeared on LinkedIn by Kevin Goh – Director. You can read the full post here. Adapted and shared with permission.
