Hiring great employees is now more competitive than ever. To keep up, companies are racing to provide better and better benefits to recruit and retain the best talent. Many have begun to offer a scholarship program that provide financial assistance to employees going back to school.
Deloitte, Amazon, and Home Depot are among the companies that will cover all or part of an employee’s tuition costs. So why should you add a scholarship program to your company?
It’s a Way to Invest in Your Workforce
Offering a scholarship program helps your company stand out to potential hires. It demonstrates your commitment to employee wellbeing and shows that you recognize the value and potential of your workforce.
When your employees advance their education, they bring their new skills and knowledge to their jobs. This can help your company overcome challenges, take on new opportunities, and build resilience.
Providing further education to your existing workforce also means you’ll have more opportunities to promote your employees and hire from within the company.
Research has found that it’s up to 20% more expensive to make an external hire than to recruit internally. Making external hires also results in lost efficiency. In one study, 57% of executives reported that it took them six months or more to get up to speed in their role when they joined a new company.
Internal hires tend to adjust to new roles much more quickly. When companies recruit from within, it helps retain organizational knowledge, save money, and improve employee engagement and morale.
You can Support Non-traditional Students
Non-traditional students have children or other dependents or are over the age of 25. They accounted for nearly 74% of undergraduates in 2018.
Many of these students were motivated by the rapidly evolving job market. They felt a degree or certification would help them better align their skills with what employers are looking for in new hires.
Non-traditional students may be more likely to need assistance to complete their degree program or certification successfully. Being older often means they have other financial obligations, such as supporting children. Assistance from a company scholarship program can relieve this stress, allowing them to focus on their education.
Having a larger workforce with the skills you’re looking for means jobs are less likely to go unfilled. This helps improve company productivity. Employer support also improves employees’ morale and engagement with their job, making them more likely to stay and deliver higher quality work.
What are the options for setting up a scholarship?
There are a few different options for setting up a scholarship program within your company.
One is to create an endowment fund with a specific college or university. This allows you to outsource much of the administrative work to school officials. But, it also means that it may not be your employees who are awarded the scholarship, and it limits the benefit to students at that school alone.
Another option is to establish a standalone non-profit foundation. This gives you greater control over who receives the scholarship and provides more flexibility regarding where and how the money is spent. This option requires a significant amount of time dedicated to management and administration.
You can also use a scholarship management program, such as Scholar’s App. Scholar’s App simplifies the selection process for both donors and applicants. It only shows you qualified candidates for your scholarship (such as your employees) and allows you to review completed applications, collaborate with your review committee, and send award notifications.
Conclusion
A scholarship program sends a clear message to your employees about the values you hold as a company. Investing in your workforce and supporting non-traditional students are just some of the long-term benefits your company can derive from a scholarship program.
If you’re ready to simplify your scholarship management process, get started with Scholar’s App today.
