Corporate Trainings

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Have you ever heard the famous Benjamin Franklin quote that “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest”? He definitely got it spot on. Many organizations support this idea today and consider corporate training an essential part of a company's investment and growth strategy.

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What Is Corporate Training?

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Corporate training is a means of providing learners with the knowledge and skills they need to perform their jobs at a high level. This is typically the responsibility of the Learning and Development / Talent teams in larger companies and the Human Resources department in smaller organizations. They’re responsible for identifying training needs, developing training programs, and making it available for employees.

 

Advantages of Corporate Training

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Corporate training is critical to the success of any business. Your employees are the powerhouse behind what you do, so helping them increase their knowledge and improve their professional skills will only boost your business. Here are at least four reasons why you should care about this.

 

Increased efficiency

Well-designed training that meets employees’ needs makes your workforce more productive and efficient. Over time, these improvements will make your company more profitable.

 

Increased motivation

Training programs help individuals, teams, and departments unite as a single organizational structure. Employees who know how their job role supports the overall mission and goals of their company can draw a line between “my work” and “my company’s success.”

 

Reduced turnover

Surveys have shown that today’s young professionals want more than just a paycheck. Millennials (aged 22-37 years old) particularly value employers that offer flexibility, professional development opportunities, and a sense of purpose. They are likely to change jobs if they are unhappy with their current role.

 

The tendency to job hop can be expensive for employers. A recent Gallup study found that the cost of replacing workers is at least one-half of an employee’s annual salary. Turnover is preventable, so corporations have a financial incentive to keep workers engaged and productive.

 

Building corporate culture

High-quality training aligns corporate values and strategy. Going beyond the basics shows that an organization is willing to invest in its staff over the long term. For employees, robust learning sends the message that “You matter to us.”

 

Types of Corporate Training Programs

Various companies may have several different training programs, depending on their size, diversity, and the specifics of their business. Here’s a list of the most common types of corporate training programs:

 

1. Onboarding and orientation

This kind of training is hosted right after a newly hired employee comes to the workplace and continues until they are able to work independently. Its main aim is to streamline the new employee adaptation process – help them feel comfortable and become productive faster.

 

The onboarding training program is quite flexible but is typically broken down into two main parts:

 

Training for all new hires. It provides the general information about the company, its history, mission, vision, and values, as well as corporate policies and regulations.

Specific training for a particular role. This is focused on developing basic knowledge and skills that are necessary for a new hire to acquire for a certain position.

New Employee Onboarding 101 – Set New Hires Up for Success from Day 1 →

 

2. Compliance training

Compliance training is often a part of new hire onboarding and has a mandatory nature. It is typically a formal program that is focused on company policies or rules that enable employees and employers to prevent both problems in the workplace and violations of the law.

 

These policies and procedures are usually job or industry-specific. Location can also influence what staff should be compliant in and what kind of training is required. For example, compliance training can include anti-harassment and diversity training programs, business ethics, workplace safety, and data protection and privacy training.

 

3. Hard skills training

No matter how professional your staff members are, there’s always room for improvement. Hard skills are a core of employee development because this kind of training helps employees to improve the skills they need in their role to become even better professionals. For example, a graphic designer who has mastered Photoshop can go further by learning how to work in other design applications, or a programmer who is great at coding in CSS and JavaScript, can undergo further training to learn to program in Python. Employees need to train on a regular basis to stay current with the latest developments.

 

4. Soft skills training

How your employees behave is equally important to what they know – that’s why soft skill training should not be overlooked. Studies have shown that by mastering soft skills, employees can positively affect the company’s success and increase ROI.

 

Soft skills relate to interpersonal relationships and involve things like communication, problem-solving, and decision-making. They help employees to interact effectively and harmoniously with their colleagues and customers. They are important for bringing new clients, improving customer service, and building a solid team.

 

5. Product knowledge training

Product knowledge is a skill where your team members fully understand and can confidently speak with customers about what you offer: its features, benefits, uses, and costs. This training is often included in the onboarding program for new hires. It also can be useful for employees who need to refresh their knowledge on the company’s products and services, and is conducted when a new feature or a new product is introduced so that the staff is always up to date.

 

Good product knowledge training is a sure way to improve both sales and customer satisfaction metrics in the company.

 

How to Organize Corporate Training

So, how can an employer create a high-quality learning program that works for all employees? The best corporate training meets the learner at their point of need. Corporate learning should be available on demand and delivered in a variety of ways.

 

Here are four common types of corporate training you can use in your company. Let’s look at how they differ and what benefits and drawbacks they each have.

 

1. Instructor-led classroom training

Traditional classroom-based training is the very definition of “old school” learning. And it’s not going away any time soon. A 2018 survey by Training magazine found that 32% of organizations use it for almost one-third of their overall training.

Pros

• Familiar to all participants

• Relatively easy to deliver

• Easy to customize

• Supports a variety of assessment types

• Easy to create and maintain

Cons

• Higher cost-per-learner than other methods

• Requires dedicated space and instructors

• No standardized learning experience

• Quality can vary depending on instructor

• Limited number of learners per session

 

2. Virtual instructor-led classroom training (VILT)

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VILT puts a 21st-century spin on traditional learning by moving the classroom online. VILT software allows instructors to deliver lectures, show videos, conduct break-out sessions, lead discussions, and observe learner performance. Virtual sessions can be recorded and accessed for review at a later date.

Pros

• Eliminates need for classroom space

• Builds on familiar learning experience

• Makes learning accessible to participants regardless of location

• Supports a variety of activity types

• Can be recorded for future review

• Less costly over time

Cons

• Users may feel disengaged

• Requires experience with technology

• Requires a dependable high-speed internet connection

• Tech glitches can kick out learners

• Instructors may need upskilling

• Higher up-front costs to create

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3. Online learning

Online learning has become the “new norm” for corporate training. Between 2002-2018, corporate use of online learning grew by 900%. The term “online learning” can include any number of learning products, including eLearning or microlearning modules, games, assessments, learning activities, videos, and discussion boards

Supporting materials, such as job aids and learning documents, can be saved in a .pdf format to create content that is both digital and accessible to learners.

 

Pros

• Globally scalable and accessible

• Standardizes a common learning experience for all participants

• Accommodates unlimited learners

• Meet learners at point of need

• Preferred learning method by many younger professionals

Cons

• May take longer to develop than ILT

• May require ID to upskill the technology and content development process

• Bandwidth can affect access to content

• Lack of face-to-face interactions

• May intimidate learners who are not technologically adept

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4. Blended learning

A blended learning approach combines classroom-based training and online learning into one curriculum. Bringing these two methods together can create a learning experience that captures the best of each method.

Pros

• Globally scalable and accessible

• Greater opportunities for learner collaboration and connection

• Increased accessibility to learning

• Flexibility for participants to complete assignments

• Can increase engagement and interest for many learners

Cons

• Requires a solid technology infrastructure

• May challenge learners who are not technologically inclined

• Instructors and IDs may need upskilling

• Less motivated learners may struggle to complete work without instructor support

Assess your existing training to see if you are using the best training methods for your organization.

 

Better workplace learning is more in demand than ever. According to a survey conducted by LinkedIn, 94% of employees stated that they would commit to staying at a company longer if the company invested in their development. Complimenting this statistic is the fact that 90% of top management also believe that investing in their employees’ career development is a positive requirement for the growth of the company.

 

SBMC is one of the most admired talent transformation organisations, enabling sustainable business & social impact through technology enabled solutions. An ISO 9001:2015 certified company, its mission is to provide training that impacts business productivity. SBMC, with over 20 learning and development specialists and their domain expertise in 10+ industry verticals, has trained more than 3k  people globally.