Corporate learning is a community-based approach that provides upskilling and professional development to employees and teams. Because corporate employee training has the potential to increase productivity, improve team culture, and create new career opportunities, it has a tangible impact on people’s lives.
In fact, 58% of employees say professional development contributes to their overall job satisfaction. Although investing in a training program requires money and resources, the payout is significant on a micro and macro level.
When companies invest in corporate training, they can attract and retain top talent, create growth-driven cultures, and stay competitive through innovation. If you’re ready to improve your organization’s corporate training strategy, let us show you why a robust learning and development program is the missing piece of the puzzle.
What is corporate learning?
At its core, corporate learning is an initiative that seeks to teach, train, or equip an organization’s employees with valuable knowledge required for job performance. According to Indeed, corporate learning is:
“...a systematic approach to educating employees. Businesses and organizations use corporate learning programs to introduce new ideas to employees and explore new solutions. Corporate learning includes both the training of employees and a company-wide approach to gathering knowledge for the purposes of improvement.”
As this definition highlights, a corporate learning plan is both individual and organizational. Individual employees can learn valuable skills that will serve them well after leaving the organization. But the organization as a whole also benefits from hiring well-trained workers who actively contribute to the broader team environment.
Benefits of corporate learning—how it influences everyone
From the top down, a company’s corporate training strategy impacts everyone. Learning and development leaders benefit from modern corporate training programs that go beyond the basics by catering to the way real people learn and grow.
From identifying growth gaps to incentivizing developmental milestones, let’s take a closer look at some of the ways corporate learning benefits the entire business ecosystem.
Identify areas for growth and development
Training helps leaders easily and quickly identify skill gaps or red flags that would eventually impact performance. As team members go through modules, areas for improvement within the organization become more apparent.
By evaluating the needs of each employee, companies are better equipped to design targeted training programs that enhance specific skills and boost core knowledge. As a result, employees start to become more productive in their roles while developing skills that align with where the company wants to go and grow.
Improve employee engagement and participation
When employees feel they’re continuously learning, there’s a higher chance they’ll stay more engaged and committed to a single organization or business unit.
Corporate learning contributes to a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction because employees are often exchanging work time for new knowledge and skill sets. Such personal growth results in a more positive impact on job performance, satisfaction, corporate loyalty, and even personal relationships.
Hold everyone accountable to a higher learning standard
With corporate learning, teams also benefit from a more steady culture of accountability. When employees feel (and know) that their own personal development is crucial to where the organization is headed, stronger job dedication takes root.
A higher level of motivation also promotes a corporate culture of continuous improvement. If you want to build a company of high-performers who get the job done, expect to encourage better business (and revenue) outcomes along the way.
Incentivize growth with professional programs
Incentivizing happens when leadership inspires employees to take on new challenges as a way to earn or pursue higher opportunities. Companies can encourage employees to step out of their comfort zone, learn new skills, or take the lead on challenging projects that push their professional capabilities.
If an employee steps up and conquers new milestones, consider rewarding that growth and responsibility. While not every training program can or should offer financial compensation as a perk, think about other ways to incorporate tangible recognition (like shout-outs or extra PTO) into your corporate training goals.
Build community with learning pathways
When employees experience training as part of the collective team, they often enjoy a stronger, more connected sense of community within the organization.
To ensure these relational benefits become even stronger, tailor learning pathways to the needs and interests of different employee groups based on things like interest, role assignment, or common aspirations. This tactic inspires more collaboration and knowledge-sharing and leads to a sense of camaraderie. With the right platform to speak up, employees get a chance to share their own unique learning experiences, personal knowledge, and ideas.
Skills gaps among employees—responding respectfully
As leaders get to know their teams through training, it might become clear that certain employees bring specific skills or pre-existing knowledge to the table.
But what happens when teams recognize that some valuable skills are missing among the group? In learning and development, this is often referred to as a “skills gap.”
A professional skills gap describes the disparity between the skills an employer expects their employees to have and the actual skills employees possess. This mismatch makes it challenging for employers to fill open positions, according to BambooHR.
There are a few different ways that skill gaps show up in the corporate context.
- Staff to staff: Team Member A has desirable skills, knowledge, or experience that Team Member B lacks. Training among individual team members can help resolve the disparity. Learning goals, groups, and paths can provide additional insights.
- Employer to employee: A corporate employer has skills standards for a given position, and the new hire lacks those skills. Corporate training may be needed to ensure that everyone on a team understands expectations and is up to speed on performance.
How to identify professionals’ skills gaps in corporate training
Identifying skills gaps prior to training doesn’t have to be a matter of guesswork. Tools like initial interviews, employee assessments, and strategic onboarding initiatives make the process more beneficial (and courteous) for everyone.
Initial interview process
Conducting thorough interviews with new employees is the first step. During these scheduled times, ask open-ended questions that allow each candidate to honestly identify their own strengths and weaknesses. For instance, if a potential new hire mentions they are not very comfortable working remotely or serving on a hybrid team, you might explore training opportunities to sharpen their remote workplace skills.
Active assessments
Assessments such as personality tests and exams that measure personal strengths are important for initial identification. These tools allow HR team leaders to build comprehensive hiring profiles based on objective third-party metrics.
By securing an objective set of personality and skills results, you’ll be able to quickly spot opportunities for additional training or support. Plus, when you know how team members learn best according to their personality type, you can adapt flexible training programs to specific learning styles.
Real-world application: CYPHER identifies skills gaps with assessments and measures progress and performance with real-time insightful analytics. Trainers and leaders quickly see where individuals and teams stand across an entire organization.
Onboarding process
During the onboarding process, new employees are often overwhelmed with information. By going above and beyond to provide transparent access to learning modules, managers and leaders can identify areas of concern early—while making it easier for new employees to get up to speed.
Mentors or new employee “coaches” can also be helpful during onboarding, as they may be able to closely monitor training and spot notable performance gaps. If your organization relies on mentorship as a training protocol, always equip mentors with the right tools and strategies to ensure peer-to-peer training is as effective as possible.
Close the gaps with corporate learning programs
Once you identify workforce skills gaps, addressing them in a timely manner is crucial. Well-designed corporate learning programs (including sessions, workshops, and digital courses), effectively help employees level up in certain areas.
To ensure these programs are as personable and human-centric as possible, leverage feedback, interviews, and onboarding surveys to guarantee that expectations are in line with reality.
Customization, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach to learning, is ideal for eliminating skills gaps and giving every individual the tools they need to succeed.
Suitable learning strategies for all levels
Within corporate training environments, innovation is crucial. Today’s digitally minded learners expect more than a slide deck and lackluster presentation.
A multi-channel, forward-thinking approach is your best bet for creating corporate training initiatives that are memorable, engaging, and relatable.
Blended learning options
A hybrid or blended learning format combines traditional classroom training with virtual components, enabling learners to access training from anywhere. Instructors can also leverage blended learning to change the experience – from coaching, presentations, quizzes, forums, and more.
Online learning platforms (LMS)
Online learning platforms are also known as Learning Management Systems (LMS). These platforms offer a centralized learning solution, especially for fully remote learners. With an LMS like CYPHER, corporate training managers can ace multiple processes: course design, delivery, management, assessment, and even certification.
Instructors are also able to leverage various LMS features, such as gamification, social learning, and personalized learning paths, to keep learners motivated and engaged.
Tracking employee progress can help employers see the impact of corporate learning. A modern and capable LMS becomes one of the most important tools in the corporate trainer’s tech stack if they want to level up their organizations.
Design your corporate training programs easily
Enterprise teams have unique motivations, budgets, and timelines for implementing corporate training programs. Regardless, learning and development should contribute to a corporation’s results—not take away from it with tedious implementation.
With CYPHER, course creation for employee learning is quick and simple - and can be done in minutes. A few clicks lead to the creation of all different types of course styles. Consider the ways in which different methods (instructor-led, self-paced, blended, or micro learning) suit your needs and learning style. Plus, the various options can then be customized to meet the needs of specific learners.
Support multiple career pathways
The ability to personalize content is helpful for supporting employees at all levels of skill development and growth. Plus, training that supports multiple learning pathways has tangible impacts on the business as a whole. When more employees feel supported, equipped, and engaged, retention and career progression become more predictable.
Use gamification for better engagement
Learning should feel fun and competitive to ensure that the material is memorable. With CYPHER’s gamification abilities, it’s easy to create engaging content. With CYPHER’s AI 360 bundle, Copilot can automatically create games mapped to specific competencies. Learners can earn points and badges for completing tasks while learning valuable skills. Gamified elements and activities boost learner outcomes and help employees retain more valuable information.
Evaluate learner performance and competencies
It’s easy to mark a course as “complete” without ever truly absorbing the information. How can enterprise organizations avoid this? By clearly assessing performance and having access to important evaluation metrics in real time.
It’s vital that all business leaders and learning and development professionals have a way to accurately measure training ROI. CYPHER has been recognized as one of the top 2023 LMS platforms for monitoring ROI in corporate employee training.
Access revolutionary corporate training methods
If you want to create a win-win scenario for employees and your organization, it’s time to look at training as a way to drive business success.
At CYPHER, we’re using innovative AI technology to disrupt the corporate training industry and put more power, personalization, and learning potential at your fingertips. Are you ready to join the corporate training revolution?
