Research commissioned by Hilton International strongly suggests that there is a link, between employee development and reduced staff turnover.

In a survey completed by 1,854 team members across all parts of Hilton International's business worldwide, 37 per cent say that being offered development opportunities is the most important factor in them deciding to continue their career with Hilton. A further 50 per cent say that although it isn't 'the' factor, being given the opportunity to develop professionally is very important to them.

Hilton team members across the globe are able to access a wide range of learning activities through Hilton University, the group's online learning platform. These include:

• 550 SkillSoft e-learning courses - covering business, professional and IT skills
• Books24x7 Referenceware – featuring best-selling management, business and technology books and reference materials
• Online mentoring
• Virtual classroom environments

Team members also have the opportunity to visit the Hilton University Bulletin Board, which is used increasingly to share ideas and best practice with colleagues in other countries.

The survey, whose participants remained anonymous, took place online during the summer of 2005. As well as helping to prove the link between training and staff loyalty, it also highlighted how learning is being applied in the workplace. 90 per cent of respondents are convinced that the resources they access through Hilton University help them with their professional development and an astonishing 95 per cent believe that what they learned yesterday during a learning activity can be used today in their work.

The link between learning and development and team member loyalty is further reinforced by 95 per cent of respondents who say that they appreciate the opportunity Hilton is giving them to develop their knowledge. 98 per cent go on to say that they would recommend Hilton University to colleagues.

Commenting on the survey findings, Maarten Staps, International Learning and Development Manager for Hilton International said:

"We are committed to ensuring that we offer the best learning experiences to our team members, so it is encouraging to see real proof that they are using the Hilton University for both professional and personal development.

"Our focus will continue to be on the quality and relevance of the learning activities available through Hilton University. However, the increase in employee loyalty and the potential reduction in staff turnover as a result of this commitment is a welcome knock-on effect!"

About SkillSoft – Nasdaq: SKIL (www.skillsoft.com) SkillSoft is a major provider of comprehensive e-learning content and technology products for business and IT professionals within the Global 2000. SkillSoft's multi-modal learning solutions support and enhance the speed and effectiveness of both formal and informal learning processes and integrate SkillSoft's in-depth content resources, learning management platform, virtual classroom technology and support services.

Content offerings include SkillSoft's business and IT skills courseware collections; ITPro™, BusinessPro™, FinancePro™, EngineeringPro™, OfficeEssentials™, and ExecSummaries™ Referenceware® collections by Books24x7®; and health and safety compliance courseware by GoTrain. SkillSoft's complementary technologies include SkillPort®, the company's learning management platform with its powerful Search-and-Learn capabilities, and SkillSoft® Dialogue™, the company's newly introduced virtual classroom offering with associated tools for blended learning solutions.