Implementing custom corporate education for improved productivity and bottom line results
by Kathy Seaton
By: Brian Breen, Director, Corporate Education, UCI Division of Continuing Education
Competition is fierce in today’s increasingly complex business environment. As your customers demand that you deliver more than just good products and service, gaining and sustaining a competitive industry advantage will depend on how well your staff executes. Research shows that well-trained employees are more efficient, more satisfied and are proven to remain loyal to the company. A well-trained workforce is the key to building a long-term, sustainable advantage in your industry.
Bringing corporate training to your workplace ensures that your employees are all receiving the same quality education, getting the most relevant and immediately applicable skills and knowledge, while meeting budget and company objectives.
When implementing a corporate training program in your company, there are several considerations to keep in mind. Here I will outline the top three steps you need to take when implementing corporate education in order to ensure corporate success.
I. Set Training & Development Goals
Your first step is the most important: identify your organizational needs and goals.
You need to be able to answer the question, what are you looking to achieve from corporate training? Are you simply looking to update your employees’ skills, or prepare them for career advancement? Is it an enterprise-wide initiative that all employees be given training in a particular functional or management area?
Investing in training will improve your organization’s capabilities, productivity and bottom-line results. Understanding the importance of continuing education for employees and the longterm advantage of having well-trained, efficient employees is a big undertaking, logistically and financially. Your company can only be successful if it begins with capturing the right content and specific training needs.
Focus on management expectations, performance goals and expected outcomes to create individually-tailored solutions. The best learning experience for students is practical education with real-world applications. You want to give your employees the valuable tools that they need to help your company gain a competitive edge.
II. Make It Convenient
Once you know what you would like to achieve, it is time to look at the best methods for integrating training into your organization for the greatest impact.
A well trained staff is one of the biggest investments a company can make. Having engaged employees participating in the training is crucial to the success of the program. Offering flexible training options will ensure that your investment does not go to waste.
Consider weekday on-site classes, short intensive weekend workshops, online, hybrid or any combination of these. A custom solution will be more flexible, with a number of delivery options available to select from, and ready to be tailored to your business and employee needs.
Finally, you want to select a training provider that can help you achieve your goals with a custom solution designed just for your organization.
For the greatest success, it is vital that your training partner should be fluent in your industry, and with the way you do business. You should ensure that your provider can deliver high-impact, collaborative solutions.
The instructors leading your training program should be seasoned professionals in their respective fields, with a results-oriented approach. The instructors’ expertise and real-world insights in the classroom can result in immediate improvements in skills and capabilities as employees take what is learned in class and apply it immediately on the job.
The best corporate training solution provider for your company should take into consideration these key factors:
- A pre-training assessment, building the foundation for a training program that meets company goals and addresses specific training objectives
- Development or adoption of a results-oriented program geared to meet your company’s exact needs
- Selection of a provider that incorporates your company’s processes and systems into the curriculum to ensure immediate impact on performance
- Training delivery offered in flexible formats in order to reach all students without sacrificing productivity
Conclusion
This three-step approach toward corporate training will ensure that your employees learn and grow, ultimately improving productivity, and providing your organization with numerous benefits including:
- An immediate return on your training investment
- A better trained and more productive work force
- Higher employee satisfaction and retention
- Increased customer satisfaction