Your employees will have unique skills that need developing, depending on their particular field. A key function of any leader is to keep developing employees’ skills and enlarging their understanding of the field. Not only is this important for your business — you want to keep ahead of the competition, and keep your employees active so they stick around — it’s also just the right thing to do.

When employees stagnate, businesses die. It’s that simple. The whole essence of a competitive firm is based not so much on staying current — though that’s important, too — as on coming up with something new. A graphic design firm that keeps churning out the same style of logos or the hair salon that does only those cuts found in last year’s magazines will see their customers run quickly to other providers. Ideally, your employees shouldn’t just stay ahead in the game, they should set the rules of the game. The only way to do that is to take good employees and keep making them better.

That’s not just important for today’s bottom line, but for tomorrow’s as well. You need to think about who’s going to be running your business in the future. Whether you expand, or simply need replacements through attrition, there are benefits to filling future leadership positions with employees who have been with you for a while. In order to do this you’ll need to develop not just their technical skills but also their understanding of business and leadership. And remember, it’s quite possible these folks will leave you — people change jobs pretty often — but you might want them back at a higher level someday, so make that investment in them now with a view toward the long-term rather than just toward tomorrow.

Another reason for developing your employees is that they tend to want to grow and improve and try new things, and if you don’t support that, they’ll find an employer who will. A recent study in Singapore found that 51% of employees surveyed valued skill development as their highest priority. Sure, you may find some employees who are content to not improve themselves, but is that really who you want working for you? Think about it: if they are not going to put much effort into themselves, how much effort will they put into YOUR company? If all you want is a bunch of employees who are content to come in and pick up their paycheck with the minimum effort, you can certainly find that, and if you don’t put some investment into your workforce, that’s exactly what you’ll get. It just won’t lead to a very interesting workplace. Or a very profitable one.

Finally, workforce development is simply the right thing to do. There is a social contract between you and your employees that goes beyond whatever paper the two of you signed. They are giving you their best work and you are giving them the tools they need to succeed. If you do your part, they should do theirs, and one aspect of “your part” is the opportunity for personal and professional growth. You may find that your employees don’t want to take advantage of that, and that’s their right, but if that’s the attitude they bring to work, you might want to consider getting some new employees.