Companies carry out internal training programs at least once a year. 

Basically, corporate training refers to the educational or learning activities at workplaces that are designed to inculcate skills and values among employees so they can advance professionally. This is believed to have a great impact on the company’s general performance. 

Although the ultimate goal of these training programs is to ensure higher and steadier business revenue by keeping employees up to date about the latest changes in company policies and trends, employees at the receiving end often benefit from skills development and knowledge acquisition crucial to their career advancement.

Employees could be trained for:

• Managerial positions
• Skills improvement
• Job promotion
• Legal know-how
• Health and safety
• Technological orientation

Different Approaches to Corporate Training

Corporate training is also essential in onboarding new hires. Every new hire must be trained on how the company operates, what software systems are used, and what their role and responsibilities are. Older employees must also be informed and educated about new products or product features and be introduced to system upgrades. This is even more necessary if there are newly acquired software applications or hardware devices that need proper handling.

Depending on the purpose of training, companies use a certain corporate training approach that will best help subject employees under optimal learning mode and deliver information effectively.

The training can be computer-based or follow the traditional classroom approach, or the interactive setup. Computer-based training programs are done with the use of a computer in which learning takes place by reading documents, watching videos, or interacting with visuals. The classroom-style which is the most used training style by companies works in a manner that there is an instructor who leads the classroom. The trainer can decide to train via lecturing with the use of PowerPoint presentations among other tools to enhance the training.

Qualities of An Effective Corporate Training Program

The following are the qualities of an effective corporate training program.

1. Relevance is an important quality training programs must have. The training must be relevant to the employees and is in alignment with the organization’s values. This leads to the organization’s growth as the training impacts the employees with creative and innovative skills and dynamics. 

Unless the training solves a business problem, addresses the needs of the employees, or contributes to certain business operations, it will be a waste of money for the company.

2. It has a good plan outline. The outline for training programs must start with the training objectives.

The training has higher efficacy if its objectives will be able to answer all the questions surrounding the program, its goals, and its advantages. The objectives have to be structured in a way that they go hand in hand with the trainee’s skills. 

This means that once the objectives of the training have been achieved, there should be a directly proportional impact on the trainee’s skills hence leading to their professional advancement. Once the employees getting trained realize there might be a positive impact on their skills, they become more active and eager to learn.

3. The training program must be learner-focused. It addresses and solves the important issues affecting the employees by being engaging. Incorporate in the practice sessions done after each and every module games and other fun exercises. But engaging the employees is more than just cracking jokes.

Your training program can make use of a rewards system that offers perks to employees who will be able to reach a specific milestone. In this way, your employees become more motivated to pay attention to the training.

4. Corporate training becomes more effective if trainers are equipped and effective in communicating. The trainers should also be clear in their verbal and non-verbal communication especially if the approach requires that the trainer lectures a lot. 

They should also be open-minded. The message to be communicated to the employees should be concise and also concrete meaning it should be specific in both the facts and the figures. Both the trainer and trainee should be ready to use the appropriate language.

5. There must be a provision for the right technology to go along with the training. Training programs that make use of new technologies are not only appealing but helpful in such a way that they tap into the technical skills of the trainees. As much as possible, when a training requires technical skills, there has to be an allotted time for practical skills application. 

In fact, you can do away with too much lecturing if the training intends to improve the actual skills of the trainees in using a certain tool or software. Nothing beats the practical experience.

6. It is an inquiry-based program. This means that the employees are allowed to share their different experiences and also to research on different sources and types of education and training materials. Sharing of information from different people increases knowledge and helps people solve some issues through proper discussion and making agreements on the best and relevant solution. It is believed that more networking increases the net worth. The training participants need room to widen their networks.

7. Effective corporate training must be followed through with evaluation. The training program should not only involve the employees’ participation but also engage them in planning, decision making and the implementation by having an effective evaluation system.

If the trainees are allowed to evaluate a program after conducting it, they will be able to help in developing the program further. Not only that, your employees’ feedback will also provide your company with insights on which areas of a training needs more attention, needs changing, or needs refinement.

Observing these qualities can be very advantageous to all the stakeholders of an organization. The advantages of an effective corporate training program go beyond the company and its employees. The company’s clients or customers will also be able to enjoy having access to better products, services, and employees. 

Make sure that those who are behind your company’s corporate training consider the employees in mind. Apart from being the key to a more informed, better-skilled workforce, corporate training paves the way towards growth as you scale your business further.

What particular strategy worked for your company in terms of conducting corporate training? What other qualities do you think a training must have in order to be effective?