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ATD Blog

How to Develop an Effective Corporate Learning Strategy

Tuesday, September 23, 2014
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There are two types of educational strategies that most corporations need to develop: education for new hires, and ongoing education for employees in each team, section, or division. 

Education for new hires is a given. How else will new employees know what is expected of them? Ongoing educational programs for employees are equally important—whether those employees be at the management level, the team leader level, or the general employee level. These educational programs can be presented in a variety of ways depending on the corporation’s business niche, and the amount of funds it has for such training. 

The goal of a corporate-wide learning strategy must be to ensure that all employees are not only able to perform their jobs and fulfill their responsibilities to the best of their ability, but also be able to “rise up the corporate ladder” if they so desire—from valuable team member into a management position. These educational strategies are, in essence, part of an “employee retention plan.” 

Education for new hires

Depending on the type of organization, new hires may enter the company en masse, or they may dribble in one at a time. All new hires need to receive education in two parts:

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  1. The history of the corporation, its policies, and standards regarding how to conduct business, how to treat and interact with fellow employees, and so on.
  2. Training in their specific job responsibilities. 

If the new employees have been hired en masse, it is usually more time efficient if they are trained en masse, by a human resources representative skilled in giving such training. Most businesses hire one employee at a time, however, and so it is more cost-effective if the new employee be given training via a computerized lesson plan. 
Depending on the business, a new employee will spend his first two days sitting in front of a computer screen learning everything about the company—and then segue into learning about the specific area in which they will be working. Examples of this type of training would include employees in grocery stores or fast good restaurants. 

Because the new employee will be sitting in front of a computer all day long, learning information that they will be expected to remember once they are actually “out on the floor,” it is important that the training materials be well written, well presented, and require user engagement. 

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Ongoing education and development 

An effective corporate learning strategy depends on the type of corporation, of course. Certain fields require that employees attend a certain amount of hours of training in their discipline each year, from an institute of higher learning, in order to retain their certifications, for example. 

In-house educational programs would consist of providing training in appropriate computer applications—either job-specific applications or office applications such as Word and Excel. Both management and general employees can benefit from training in how to interact with others, appropriate behavior on the job and so on. 

Checklist for developing an effective strategy 

  • Determine what education is needed for new hires, and what is needed for long-term employees. If employees need to attend certain classes at a college or university to keep up their certifications, management should ensure that they are encouraged to take these classes, and even reimburse employees for them once the classes have been satisfactorily completed.
  • Determine the best way to deliver the education program. This depends a great deal on the corporation’s education budget. Do they have the funds to commission a training program put together on video or computer by an organization that specializes in devising such lessons, or do they prefer to work in-house and have a live individual deliver the training with the aid of PowerPoint slides, for example.
  • Ensure that training programs are offered not only for management, but also for the general workforce. Institute a strategy to measure the success of all educational programs. Are employees taking advantage of optional computer classes, for example, or is the class being delivered to only a couple of people at a time? If this is the case, the class should not be cancelled, but efforts must be made t find out why employees are not showing an interest in such classes designed to help them improve themselves in their job!
  • Any effective corporate learning strategy depends on communication between the instructor and the learner, between the top management instituting these training classes and the individuals, and between the management and general workforce to ensure that classes are being made available to them in subjects that they want and need to learn.
About the Author

Ravinder Tulsiani has more than 13 years of experience in training and development. Because of his knack for leadership he was asked to be a leadership teacher, he began teaching and taught so well, he penned his innovative leadership book Your Leadership EDGE: Mastering Management Skills for Today’s Workforce a step-by-step program that will strengthen your core leadership competencies and provide a foundation for solidifying Your Leadership EDGE.

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