I am a manager of a software developer whom I really want to retain because he is a high performer and a joy to work with.
In our 1:1 meetings, he has expressed the desire to learn a skill which is not quite applicable to his job at my company, but nevertheless I'm considering asking my company to pay for him to attend this training so that he can develop the skills he's passionate about, even though it isn't directly job related.
On one hand, I believe he'll really appreciate this gesture and may stay with us longer because he's getting to scratch this itch without changing jobs.
On the other hand, I may very well be expediting his departure from my company by training him for another job!
So, my question: Is it a good idea to provide non-job-related training as a perk to an employee I wish to retain?