How Deep Should I Go on Employee Development? 4 Talent Lessons From a High-Stake Industry Any company can benefit from embracing a culture of operational excellence and continuous improvement

I work in the data center industry, which has precious little margin for error. Downtime isn't an option — as the digital backbone of the economy, data centers must operate 24/7. On top of that, even a small mistake could be a $150 million snafu.

Because the stakes are so high, we spend a lot of time and money training and developing the people who keep our facilities — and our company — running. Add in the talent shortage in our fast-growing industry, and we can't afford not to invest in our employees and managers.

While not every industry faces this level of pressure, any company can benefit from embracing a culture of operational excellence and continuous improvement. That starts with talent development, which helps the business run smoothly and makes it more likely that people will stick around. A program that gets those results is one that is well-spent. Yet, all too often, businesses drop the ball.

In the U.S. alone, companies pour more than $100 billion a year into training people. However, just 25% of respondents to one survey said their corporate training programs moved the needle on business performance. At the same time, only four out of 10 workers think their employer is helping them improve their current skills or gain new ones.

Clearly, when it comes to training and developing people, companies themselves have room for improvement. Here are a few places to start.

Related: How to Improve Your Leadership Style With Cohort-Based Leadership Training

1. Hire trainable people

When it comes to upskiling talent, starting with a strong foundation is a huge leg up. That means striving to bring on the right people for the job and those eager to acquire the skills they need. In fact, willingness to learn is one of the top three soft skills that hiring managers consider essential.

I've seen that enthusiasm pay off in our operations team. For these roles, we often bring on military veterans and other folks who are comfortable in high-pressure situations and used to navigating complex new processes and systems. Top performers can come from diverse backgrounds, but a shared passion and drive are essential qualities. One notable example is a former barista who rapidly advanced within our organization to become a program manager in just a few years.

Related: Is Your Employee Training Program Up To Snuff?

2. Take a customized approach

Outside certifications can be important, but for many organizations, generic training won't cut it. Programs should be tailored to your business objectives with industry-specific protocols. Our head of operations, a Navy nuclear vet with deep management and instructional experience, has brought that same culture of learning and rigor to his team. He built a customized training program for our company where the first stage takes up to a year, with internal qualifications at every subsequent level.

We aren't the only company taking this approach. IBM, for example, is known for its culture of continuous learning. The tech giant, which requires employees to do at least 40 hours of learning a year, gives them access to an online platform that offers recommendations based on their interests and goals.

3. Run simulations

In the real world, things don't always go as planned. Simulation training — whose effectiveness has been well documented — allows people to practice skills in situations that replicate being on the job. We regularly run drills of different scenarios to see how employees respond. Since last year, our operations team has held more than 45 such drills and 50 training sessions. This approach can give your people access to critical experiential and interactive learning opportunities — ensuring they're ready for real-time challenges.

4. Bring on executive coaches

The approach I've been describing shouldn't just apply to technical folks. It's equally important to train and develop people in leadership positions. To that end, we offer mentorship and executive coaching to members of our leadership team. Taking factors like higher productivity and retention into account, such coaching can deliver an almost eightfold return on investment.

Related: 6 Ways Executive Leadership Coaching Pays Off

Remember: Training and development isn't "set it and forget it"

Continuous feedback and evaluation are equally crucial for nurturing talent. By constantly assessing people's performance, managers can see who's adding value and who needs coaching or upskilling.

This starts with leaders being tapped into how their team is doing, which isn't necessarily achieved through tactics like annual or quarterly performance reviews. It's one reason why I'm a proponent of management by walking around (MBWA). Being everywhere at once isn't possible at a big company, but getting out and talking to people helps leaders cut through the noise and identify top performers or those who may be struggling.

Another way to do this? Recurring internal audits. At the operations level, we've put together a team of internal experts who conduct ongoing and annual assessments to identify areas of improvement in operations, processes, maintenance and training.

Regular feedback and evaluation help identify up-and-coming leaders — as we've done with several folks who have risen to management roles. When people know where they stand, they're also more present: 80% of employees who say they got meaningful feedback in the past week are fully engaged.

The real ROI of talent development

When a company puts employee training and development at the center of its business, good things happen.

For starters, the organization runs well. The better their training, the less likely team members are to make mistakes that can cost a company money, customers and even its reputation. In our case, that minimizes downtime and helps us uphold service-level agreements with clients. Such preparation is vital in an industry where several outages last year cost companies millions — and where human error figures in as much as 80% of such incidents.

Effective training and development also make a company more appealing to current and prospective employees. When people see that the business is willing to invest in them and support their careers, it gives them a sense of purpose and a reason to stay. The word gets out, too.

For us, that's translated to low turnover in a highly competitive talent market. And as a desirable place to work, we're less reliant on external recruiters to attract people. Other companies enjoy similar benefits. Organizations that invest strategically in employee development are about 10% more profitable than peers that don't, while their odds of retaining people are twice as high. And three-quarters of employees say they're more likely to stay with a company that offers continuous training.

Ultimately, every company must create an employee training and development program that suits its needs. Just make sure it isn't a box-ticking exercise. Instead, talent development should be at the core of the business and deliver tangible results. By encouraging operational excellence and continuous improvement, a company can motivate its employees, serve its customers better and attract the right people. Make no mistake.