With the average length of an employee’s tenure declining dramatically, many managers are asking themselves if it’s worth investing time and energy (and dollars) in employee development and training programs. In past generations, the average time an employee stayed with a single company was 10 to 15 years, making investing in employees easy to justify. But now, as opportunities have become more fluid and the talent marketplace more competitive, it’s not unusual for an employee to change companies every two years or so. However, this makes it hard for employers to justify investing serious resources in their employees, and managers exist in a place of constant uncertainty. However, this insecurity might be shortsighted. A well-trained staff not only makes a company more valuable as a whole, but it can also increase an employee’s individual productivity and loyalty to the company. According to a recent trends report from Fortune magazine, the 100 best companies to work for offer an average of 66.5 hours of training for salaried employees and 53 hours of training for hourly employees, and fill approximately 31 percent of positions internally.