Here's why learning and development stipends are the cornerstones of a progressive, happy, and successful workforce; along with best L&D Stipend Options
When it comes to an organisation’s success, it’s a result of the determination, grit, and a group of hardworking chaps ready to give it all. While these factors sound like the ultimate concoction of cooking up a profitable venture, the backdrop of knowledge is often ignored. After all, all the efforts in the world can’t catch the fish if you’re oblivious to laying down the bait and hook.
Learning and development are substantial for every individual on scales of their jobs, personal lives, and their ventures. An organisation can’t progress if its workforce keeps doing what it was hired to do without a change in mentality or getting their socks wet. That leap of knowledge brings forth success and experiences that define an organisation’s course of action in the long run.
It’s not about whether your employees learn and leave for greener pastures; but about when they stay and rock it.
Also Read: 25 perks your employees can’t live without>>
Now that we have talked about why constant thirst for knowledge leads to growth, let’s move to learning and development courses for which you get stipends—the cornerstone of a progressive, happy, and successful workforce.
Long story short, learning stipends are dedicated funds for learning provided to the employees to spend on their personal development in accordance with their needs and requirements. Now here’s the catch—learning and development stipends don’t have to be related to one’s job description. While it can be something completely in sync with it, it can also be something totally out of connection with the employee’s job description, or in most cases, indirectly relevant.
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This pill is pretty hard to swallow for conservative organisations because a coder spending the learning stipend on poetry classes won’t come without a few eyeballs there, but that’s the way it is. Learning and development stipends don’t have to be related to the job but make much more sense when they are. The coder-cum-poet situation would really make the employee happy though; hence it must be present in the picture.
Apart from happiness and self-growth, here are a few pointers as to how learning and development stipends benefit the employees.
There are two broad spectrums through which an organization can distribute learning and development stipends to its workforce. While one involves reimbursing each and every application of stipend by checking its specifics and seeing if it qualifies, the other one saves all the hassle.
In the case of organisations that digitise their perks, rewards, and recognition practices, distributing learning stipends is a breeze. All that has to be done is offering your workforce courses, classes, and seminars through URLs and codes which they can use to take up the learning in question.
This also leaves open the element of choice as the organisation can reward points to employees which can be cashed in at the store for the courses they want to take up. The question is, where would you find a catalogue with a variety of learning and development courses? At Xoxoday Stores!
Xoxoday Plum is your one-stop shop for digitizing rewards and incentives. Learn more>>
Let’s look at some learning and development courses & stipends that you can offer your employees for ironclad knowledge and immense wisdom.
Where: Udemy
With more than 50 million students gathering tons of knowledge from 57,000+ teachers, instructors, professors, and connoisseurs, Udemy offers courses in more than 65 languages which means there is something for everyone. This digital marketing course is one of the best learning and development courses, a comprehensive one, with a series of 12 courses bundled into one-- everything that's needed without loose ends.
Your workforce can get it at Xoxoday Plum>>
Where: Udemy
The Python language is dominantly used in all aspects of code and it's a crucial lesson for new ones stepping into the world of back-end tech. This all-pervasive Bootcamp course on Python would be just the perfect start for your employees.
Get Udemy's Python Bootcamp course at Xoxoday Plum>>
Where: Udemy
MS Excel is still the most prominently used data management tool in the MS Office package and all over. This handy pocketbook has a lot more to offer than just crunching up numbers and is capable of handling enormous data. Learn all about it with a concise Advanced MS Excel course that rules them all.
Sign up for the course on Udemy via Xoxoday Plum>>
Where: Udemy
Get into the web developer's gloves and gift your employees the complete web development Bootcamp by Udemy which comprises all the important guides and materials for anyone to step into the world of web development.
Get the best deal on Xoxoday Plum>>
Where: Udemy
Labelled as the hottest job of the next decade, everyone is getting into data science and big data as the possibilities are limitless from a personal development point of view. This full-fledged Bootcamp on Udemy will have your employees covered.
Data Science Bootcamp Gift Voucher on Xoxoday Plum>>
Where: Whiz labs
Along with cloud computing, Java, big data handling, and technologies like Red Hat and CompTIA Linux+, Whiz labs offer a course on the blockchain which caught our eye and it gets all eyeballs of employees too.
Get 10% OFF on Whiz labs courses on Xoxoday Plum>>
Where: Sprint Zeal
Sprint Zeal offers skills that are in demand throughout the globe and with courses in agile management practices, project handling, digital marketing, and AI, it's a great gift as a voucher for employees.
Get the vouchers at Xoxoday Plum>>
Where: Cakap
A people deemed to be a better fit if s/he is proficient in not just two, but three languages. Online learning has been revolutionized for learning new languages and this course from Cakap unlocks a lot of new languages to learn.
Get the vouchers at Xoxoday Plum>>
Where: Edureka
In modern times, the crucial nature of cloud computing, data science, AI, big data can’t be ignored. Many professionals are looking for avenues to upskill themselves in these areas and Edureka is a prominent learning resource for learning technical courses.
Flat 30% off on ALL COURSES at Edureka—only on Xoxoday Plum >>
Where: Eduonix
E-degrees are the new age replacement of the powerful document rolled into a scroll and ready to be used for the most important purposes. At Eduonix, E-degrees in cybersecurity, cloud computing, IoT, and stack development courses are all up for grabs with wholesome bundles. Give your workforce the technical edge by providing them an option to opt for Eduonix E-degrees.
FLAT 20% OFF on all E-degrees at Eduonix via Xoxoday Plum>>
Where: Eduonix
With a myriad of technical courses up for grabs at Eduonix in the field of AI, Machine Learning, Web & Mobile development, Software Engineering, Digital Marketing, and much more, give your employees the freedom to opt for what suits them best. Catch them all at Eduonix.
FLAT 15% OFF on all courses at Eduonix with Xoxoday Plum>>
Where: Stay Qrious
Coding is the modern art of storytelling and with a huge fraction of technical fields dependant on people knowing at least a novice level of coding, your employees would love to cash in their learning and development stipends on learning how to code.
Flat 50% off on Live Coding Classes for Xoxoday Plum users >>
Where: Peak Performer
This one's for all the leaders in your organization-- get remote managerial coaching from Peak Performer and work upon issues like stakeholder management, effective communication, remote team development, conflict resolution, and much more. Watch your organization get smoother as the leaders run how to be super-effective in remote management.
FLAT 25% OFF on Remote Managerial Speed Coaching at Peak Performer (Xoxoday Plum-exclusive) >>
Where: SimpliLearn
SimpliLearn has the best courses to offer for working professionals and they have been crafted by industry experts in fields of IT, Cloud Computing, AI-Machine Learning, and lots more. This comes up as a Xoxoday Exclusive with great discounts for Xoxoday Plum Users.
SimpliLearn-certified training for employees with Xoxoday Plum>>
Where: We Make Creators
The onus of the internet has blessed us with digital marketing and it's a miraculous process to take any business to the top-- be it in terms of fame or numbers. This course comes from "We Make Creators", who shall guide you through the intricacies of digital marketing with ease.
Where: We Make Creators
This MS Excel course is an excellent perk to offer your employees as they can easily get into the nitty-gritty of the package tool which comes in use in daily walks of work life.
Get it for 20% Less amount with Xoxoday Plum>>
Where: IOA
The International Open Academy (IOA) is the biggest open learning destination for everything and everyone. The courses range from Arts and Crafts to Med-School, Animal care to Hospitality and so much more. They are highly accredited for their courses. Get a XOXODAY-EXCLUSIVE offer at the IOA's courses for your workforce.
Up to 90% OFF at the International Open Academy EXCLUSIVELY on Xoxoday Plum>>
Where: Udemy
Redis is an open-source (BSD licensed), in-memory data structure store, used as a database, cache, and message broker. If your employees are geeky enough to know what all that is, they surely would be intrigued to take up this course from Udemy-- it's got thousands of participants and they keep growing every day.
73% EXTRA SAVINGS on Learn Redis from Scratch Course at Udemy-- only on Xoxoday Plum>>
Where: We Make Creators
Photoshop is a tool that insurmountably comes to use for everyone-- the writer, the editor, the designer, and the campaigner. It's a must-have skill and this course would give your workforce a firm grip on Adobe's Photoshop tool.
FLAT 20% OFF on this Photoshop Course at Xoxoday Plum>>
Where: We Make Creators
Video content has been consumed the most in the latter half of the 2010s and this decade belongs to it. With platforms like YouTube and TikTok doing rounds, a YouTube marketing course for your workforce would surely set up your end consumer's business on a platter.
Get this formidable YouTube Marketing Course at 20% off on Xoxoday Plum>>
Where: University of Singapore
The National University of Singapore (NUS) is globally recognized as one of the excellent multi-faceted universities. With edX-- the online portal where n number of courses can be done from the best global universities, this course from NUS would be a great value addition for practical coding and Python Programming.
Enroll in this course FOR FREE with Xoxoday Plum>>
Where: Vital Source
Books are an indispensable part of learning and meanwhile, most organizations prefer maintaining an in-house library, book stipends are important for remote employees. Help your workforce by equipping insightful books in their arsenal through a book-specific learning stipend.
Save up to 80% on your favorite books with Xoxoday Plum >>
Where: SkillShare
SkillShare is one of the most grown platforms for e-learning courses that are on the creative end of things apart from the business frenzy. From mastering photography to piano lessons, sketching and poetry, writing, your workforce can truly choose to discover itself by picking up any of these.
With Xoxoday Plum, get free classes on SkillShare for 2 months>>
Where: ScoopOn
People management isn't just a day job for HR. In fact, managers tend to face all the problems that HR faces on their ends because it involves running a team together. That's why this HR Management course from ScoopOn will get all the leaders in your team in the groove.
FLAT 80% OFF on HR Management Courses at Xoxoday Plum >>
Where: ScoopOn
The AI and Machine Learning course from ScoopOn rigorously deep dives into the intricacies and clears all doubts for novices, experts, and beginners alike. The best part? You can get it at 90% OFF for your team via Xoxoday Plum.
Save up to 90% on ScoopOn's AI and Machine Learning Course with Plum>>
Where: ScoopOn
ScoopOn’s digital marketing course is available for just 6% of the price and this limited deal is only available at Xoxoday Plum. Urge your workforce to take their marketing aspirations on another level with it.
Get ScoopOn's Digital Marketing Course @ up to 94% savings with Xoxoday Plum>>
You can check the full list of learning resources that Xoxoday Plum offers on the Xoxoday Stores.
Every human being wants to personally grow into a self-determined, highly esteemed, efficient, and happy individual with wisdom (and sometimes money). To add it all up, the benefits of continuous learning and development and learning stipends can easily be embossed on the individual’s personality as it blooms them into who they are in professional life.
68% of employees say training and development is the company’s most important policy. - ClearCompany
Let’s look at how learning and development courses & learning stipends help employees.
The person who grooms out of an employee who’s making the most of learning stipends in the right manner is just perfectly holistic. Not only does it pan out to be a great investment to bloom them into something better but save on potential costs of hiring a whole different prospect with the same knowledge as the current employee who’s filling the same shoes with their wisdom.
24% higher profit margins are up for grabs for employers who develop L&D programs for their employees -HuffPost
Well-rounded employees turn out to be more efficient than the specialists they once were before obtaining new avenues of knowledge. The organisation, with the help of learning stipends, can encourage them to step into a tricky role that needs a person who’s been with them for a while rather than a new joiner. This pretty much ensures that a multi-faceted employee will outperform anyone who’s specialised in just one thing.
An organisation’s culture determines its efficiency. An organisation can’t punch in big numbers or cash in fat retainers with burned-out employees. To prevent that from happening, keeping the workforce engaged is fairly crucial. Be it something as simple as a peer-to-peer book exchange of a structured learning and development program; it keeps the workforce engaged as they always have something to look forward to in terms of self-growth.
When the learning and development training programs are left to be decided for themselves by employees, they grow a sense of mutual trust as the organisation makes a statement by trusting that employees know what’s best for them. This bolsters the employees’ judgment, and they consider their jobs while choosing what to learn next through allocated stipends.
Now that we know the benefits of learning and development stipends, let’s look at how the management can capitalise on learning stipends.
Learning stipends aren’t just a non-associative perk where the employer gets an unfair end of the bargain. On the contrary, learning stipends shine the organisation’s image in bright light, and here’s how it helps the organisation:
Every learned employee knows that a learning and development stipend is nothing less than a reward. Managers, HR, and CXOs can incentivise these stipends and unlock them for every target achieved by the workforce. In most cases, employees would be more than happy to oblige to the given targets, which of course are aligned to the organisation’s objectives. This leads to a learning curve that is incentivized as and when the employees achieve their targets.
It’s been established that a young hotshot can climb the corporate ladder faster with tremendous potential, while a polished professional might have their own hard ways that get things done. With Gen-Z set to dominate the workforce share in the next decades that follow, ones who have a knack for learning can be of great use to the organisation in the future course.
The number of people using the organisation’s learning stipends will give a formidable insight as to what are their aspirations. A way to persuade the employees to make use of learning stipends is to communicate suggestions through managers as to what courses would help whom.
About 70% of learning on-the-job happens informally. -Forbes
Since every organisation’s key selling point is its mission, vision, and value statement, it is important to put an element of self-growth in there. When learning and development would be in the organisation’s Mission-Vision-Value statements, anyone who’ll join the crew would know the importance of self-growth to stay with the flow. As most businesses simply perish without innovation, anyone who’s a part of your organisation would bring the learning attitude with them.
Here are a few examples of employers offering lucrative learning and development stipends.
This was all about learning and development stipends that are offered by many organisations as a magnet for new talent, fresh skills, and greater success. Although the cost might look to be handsome at first, the opportunity costs are abysmal if it pays off!
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