Education-Friendly Workplace Best Practices
Learn about ed-friendly practices, polices and resources
Practices & Policies
Learn about the value, goals, hiring practices and more
Benefits
Foster a workplace where employees are valued
Cost & Challenges
Learn the cost and challenges of offering educational support
Financial Aid
Funding opportunities for employees seeking higher education
Partners & Programs
Support employee goals with additional resources
Definitions
Browse helpful definitions for clarity of educational terminology
Education Friendly Practices, Polices and Resources
Mission & Values
Level 1
Incorporate a commitment to employee educational attainment into your mission and vision statements.
Level 2
Align the employees’ education and development to the organizations’ ability to achieve its mission.
Level 3
Document and advertise educational benefits, supports, and programs.
Educational Goals
Level 1
Document and share the goal of higher education attainment for your employees.
Level 2
Introduce educational benefits, goals, programs, and support during on-boarding and employee training.
Level 3
Align education goals to annual performance evaluation and document education support plans.
Hiring Practices
Level 1
Rethink old “minimum” qualifications, allowing people without traditional degrees or experience to demonstrate affinity and openness to learn.
Level 2
Provide extensive training and support for skill development as part of on-boarding.
Level 3
Commit to working with new hires’ schedule of external education commitments.
Promotion
Level 1
Create career ladders of opportunities and trajectories tied to upskilling and credential/degree attainment.
Level 2
Introduce/share career ladders during on-boarding, training, and performance evaluations
Level 3
Honor career ladder advancement with promotion and increased benefits & salary.
Celebration
Level 1
Announce & publish employee participation and completion of educational opportunities.
Level 2
Apply for the Family Friendly New Mexico Business Award and Education Support Special Designation.
Apply Now
Level 3
Host a gathering to acknowledge and celebrate educational attainment.
Organization Implementation
Sample Education Support Policies & Other Resources
Organization Implementation
How can our organization implement education support policies?
- Identify organizational priorities and objectives.
- How might these be tied to increasing employee training and education?
- Which institutions/programs/partners might assist with these?
- Calculate potential costs
- Avg. costs of courses, expected number of participants, expected ROI
- Estimate redirected time & effort
- The Graduate! Network Education Benefits Calculator
- Identify desired level of assistance and create budget
- Low-cost local partnerships, utilizing NM Opportunity Scholarship
- Tuition coverage or reimbursement for one course per semester
- Create policy which includes a description of the benefits, qualifications, requirements
- Promote, market, and support employee access to benefits
- Identify staff member(s) to champion efforts, serve as mentors, navigators, or trainers
- Setting up Successful Internal Mentoring
- Uplift & celebrate employee educational milestones
- Create policy/plan to incorporate priority education and training-related language and goals to performance reviews
- Promote and support employees, particularly supervisors and leadership, in developing and following through with individual/departmental/organizational goals
- 5 Ways to Put Learning at the Center of Performance Reviews Guide
- Measure and monitor results, adjusting overtime
Sample Education Support Policies & Other Resources
Subsidized Education Assistance | Employers provide coverage of or assistance with costs for career development opportunities, tuition, course fees, books, etc. |
Educational navigation, mentorship, & leadership training | Provide internal guidance and support to help employees identify goals and navigate educational and career advancement opportunities. UNM Health Staff Mentorship Program |
In-house offerings & partnerships | In-house offerings and partnerships to provide tailored services, training, and educational opportunities. |
Performance reviews and goals | Incorporating educational and training goals into performance reviews. Put Learning at the Center of Performance Reviews |
Benefits to an Ed-friendly workplace
Businesses are increasingly experiencing difficulty in finding and retaining talent. Fostering a workplace in which employees are valued, invested in, and who see opportunities for personal and professional growth can help organizations and businesses hire, develop, and retain skilled employees. This in turn increases productivity, quality production of goods and services, and drives profits.
Q & A
- What are the benefits of offering subsidized education assistance?
- What are the benefits of offering educational navigation, mentorship, & leadership training?
- What are the benefits of offering in-house programs and/or establishing formal partnerships?
- What are the benefits of offering performance reviews and goals tied to employee career and/or educational development?
In 2022, only 36.7% of working-age adults in New Mexico had an associate degree or higher. This lags behind the national average of 43.6% (US Census). There is a positive correlation between the workforce’s level of education, a state’s median wages, and productivity.
Talent is often an employer’s most critical asset when building and scaling their organization. When businesses and organizations strategically plan and invest in talent development, it’s a win-win for employers, employees, and the local economy and community.
What are the benefits of offering subsidized education assistance?
What are the benefits of offering educational navigation, mentorship, & leadership training?
What are the benefits of offering in-house programs and/or establishing formal partnerships?
What are the benefits of offering performance reviews and goals tied to employee career and/or educational development?
What are the benefits of offering subsidized education assistance?
- Assistance can include reimbursing, covering some, or all costs of tuition, workshops, courses.
- Tuition assistance programs are shown to increase employee satisfaction, reduce turnover, and lead to internal promotions
- Reduce business costs related to recruiting and onboarding caused by turnover. Calculate Costs of Employee Attrition & Turnover
- Employers can decide what and how much to cover depending on their needs and budgets, recouping costs with increasing loyalty, motivation/productivity, and internal promotion.
- Internal promotion rates increase and for front-line workers, employees participating stay with a company for at least two years while completing a degree – longer than usual in high-turnover positions.
What are the benefits of offering educational navigation, mentorship, & leadership training?
- Showing commitment to and investment in the value and long-term prospects of employees increases morale and motivation.
- Employees are much more likely to begin and complete educational/training programs with support and mentoring
- Increased productivity, skill-set alignment, and internal promotion.
- Internal promotion is 18-20% less expensive than external hiring.
What are the benefits of offering in-house programs and/or establishing formal partnerships?
- Tailor offerings to specific needs and access industry-related credentials.
- Control the costs and scheduling of offerings.
- In-house activities contribute to team building and harness collective motivation and incentive to participate.
- Access support through partnering with local colleges (financial aid & application process).
- Partnerships may include special benefits such as early registration and individualized advising.
What are the benefits of offering performance reviews and goals tied to employee career and/or educational development?
- Increase employee knowledge and utilization of educational and training benefits.
- Help employees, supervisors, and employers prioritize personal and career growth.
- Solve talent and skills gaps.
- Boost employee motivation, efficacy, morale, and loyalty.
Costs & Potential Challenges
What are the costs and challenges of offering educational support?
Challenges
One challenge faced when offering educational support is addressing misconceptions such as offerings will be costly and time-consuming or that employees will be lost to competitors. Each workplace can address needs and begin assessing the costs of options such as how much to invest in in-house programs or how to best subsidize educational assistance.
With the recent NM Opportunity Scholarship which covers tuition and fees for adults pursuing first-time industry certificates, associate, or bachelor’s degrees, a significant amount of pressure has been taken off employers to offer comprehensive tuition coverage or reimbursement benefits. Instead, a workplace can target other cost-effective supports such as covering books, supplies, or other related costs.
Costs
Costs associated with supporting education and training are often offset by increasing productivity, internal promotion, and loyalty while reducing stagnation and turnover. An additional challenge is to ensure employee buy-in. Employees must be adequately supported and encouraged to see the long-term personal and professional benefits and outcomes associated with participating in educational and training programs. Other challenges may include addressing scheduling flexibility or differing employee goals.
A helpful tool for calculating potential costs compared to benefits:
Pros and Cons | employers vs. individuals
Employers
Individuals
Pros
1)Savings on recruitment and training costs
2)Increased productivity and efficacy through acquired skill and knowledge sets 3)Larger pool of potential applicants for recruitment and increased retention
cons
1)Investment of time and planning
2)Investment of resources
Pros
1)Opportunity to continue or complete credentials 2)Feeling valued and supported by workplace 3)Opportunity to advance career
Cons
1)Challenge of balancing education, work, and home life 2)Investment of time and planning 3)Investment of resources
Financial Aid
Financial aid is money to help pay for a student’s higher education. Funds can come from the state, federal government, higher ed. institutions, or private funders such as non-profits and businesses. Costs such as tuition and fees, books and supplies, room and board, transportation, and some living expenses may be covered by financial aid. Funds typically come in the form of grants, scholarships, work-study, and loans.
Apply for federal & state financial aid by filling out the FAFSA – The Free Application for Federal Student Aid
Grants – Funds to pay for college or career training, typically given based on a student’s financial need. Grants do not need to be repaid.
Resources:
Scholarships – Funds to pay for college or career training, typically based on a student’s unique background, talents, interests, major etc. May be funded through the state government, higher education institution, or private entity such as a non-profit or business.
Resources:
NM Opportunity & Lottery Scholarships
Fire Fighters & Peace Officers Survivors Scholarship
Wartime & Vietnam Veterans Scholarship
Albuquerque Community Foundation Scholarships
UNM’s Additional Scholarship Website Resource
Work-study – Part-time work available to students with financial need, organized by the higher education institution and funded by state or federal government.
Resources:
Loans – Money that is given to a student to pay for college or career training and which must be paid back, including interest. Loans may come from federal or state government, or from private lenders.
Resources:
College Savings Plan – A tax-advantaged savings account for education expenses.
Resources:
Local Colleges, Partners & Programs
Partnerships with local or national institutions and programs can reduce the need for employer organization and management of educational opportunities. Local colleges have advisors to help support employees with applying for and accessing financial aid, arranging class schedules, and more. Additionally, in-house offerings offered by partners can be tailored to employers’ specific needs.
Helpful Definitions
Learn the common terminology used in higher education settings.
Apprenticeship
Programs that combine paid on-the-job training with related classroom instruction.
Learn More
College Savings Plans
A tax-advantaged savings account for education expenses.
Grants
Funds to pay for college or career training, typically given based on a student's financial need. Grants do not need to be repaid.
FAFSA: The Free Application for Federal Student Aid
This form assesses an individual's or family's need for financial aid using recent tax returns. Filling out the FAFSA is the first step to accessing federal and state financial aid.
Learn More
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