Tuition reimbursement programs can have great value to both employers and employees.
In tough economic times, companies look for ways to trim their expenses and get leaner. Employee benefit programs are often the first items cut. However, instead of thinking of these programs simply as a money drain, companies need to look at the benefits that these programs create and weigh them into the equation. Even in the tightest of budgets, there are often ways to keep a reworked version of the program so that the company can still manage to accrue the advantages of the program while minimizing the costs. One of these programs is tuition reimbursement.
Increased Morale and Confidence
Education brings a sense of confidence in employee interactions on the job and with customers. This confidence improves an employee's general sense of well-being and morale, creating a positive lift in the workplace that can be sensed by customers. This can increase a company's competitive advantage.
Improved Productivity
Better-educated workers have an increased skill set that often directly translates into improved productivity. This is most apparent in tuition reimbursement programs that focus on work-related programs, but even classes that may seem to have little relation to job training can reap benefits. Literature classes can enhance written communication and critical thinking skills. Theater and language courses can promote better communication and presentation skills. Painting courses can provide stress relief, improve manual dexterity and improve visual and visually based thinking skills.
Reduced Turnover
Despite the impression that educating employees promotes turnover, the opposite has shown true. Employees value employers that place an interest in their development, which encourages loyalty and the desire to stay. A 2004 study published in the "Academy of Management Journal," entitled "You Paid for the Skills --- Now Keep Them," showed that turnover among employees taking undergraduate degree courses dropped by 50 percent. It also creates a better-educated, experienced in-house workforce from which to promote.
Higher-Quality Prospects
The best and brightest employees value improvement and education. By offering tuition reimbursement, an employer draws those employees by encouraging and making it easy for them to continue to improve their skill set and further their education. According to CollegeRecruiter.com's Steve Rothberg, this can be a way for an employer to tip the scales its way when looking for high-quality candidates.
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