Changing Paradigms In Corporate Training

Changing Paradigms In Corporate Training
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Summary: The corporate world is changing at a fast pace because of the advent of new technologies developed to make the processes cost-efficient, quality delivering and satisfactory.

Paradigms In Corporate Training And These Change Over Time

To compete in the global market, companies need the best-skilled workforce, that is powered with innovative concepts, well-tested strategies, perfection in implementing required changes are must-have characteristics. The perfection in implementing changes in the processes at a different level come from objective-oriented corporate training often conducted time to time as per requirements assessed by HR professionals and Project Managers.

Wider Scope Of Corporate Training For Additional Benefits

In a technology-driven corporate world, the success of a business depends on the skills and perfection of employees that are regularly refined through objective oriented training. Just up to a few decades back, corporate training was used to train just the new hires, sales professionals and leaders. Today, corporate trainers are seen as the strategic growth partners by the businesses. As the diversity in requisites of employees is widening due to the increasing focus of businesses on labor cost-cutting, the corporate training is also getting new dimensions ensuring following key benefits essential to have a competitive edge:

  1. Customer retention and satisfaction
  2. Increased efficiency for financial gains
  3. Increased productivity as per the industry best standards to lessen turn around period
  4. Better cooperation and automation requiring less supervision because of improved decision-making
  5. Reduced employee-attrition because of favorable learning environment

6 Paradigm Changes To Redefine Corporate Training Beyond 2019

The expectations of modern age learners have changed; and, businesses must keep the pace with ever-changing expectations to keep the employees happy and retained for long. However, it is not just the only reason driving changes in paradigms in corporate training. Employers too have accepted that only an organization having a supportive learning culture, aligned for short-term and long-term goals, can outperform the competition. Several factors contribute to an evolution in corporate training that L&D professionals can't overlook:

1. The Growing Acceptance For eLearning

eLearning has become a multi-billion dollar market because of wide-scale social acceptance started from accessibility and affordability of new technology and online training. The academic and corporate eLearning market had surpassed the $180 billion fig. in 2018. The high cost of classroom-based Instructor-Led Training is the prime factor contributing to its increased use. In parallel, the necessity for continuous learning to compete also drives its growth. Almost all the topics can be addressed effectively in eLearning training. The new eLearning technologies are definitely going to keep eLearning as a preferred choice for corporate training.

2. Retaining And Engaging Employees By Training And Development

Corporate training is increasingly seen as an employee incentive. The employees believe that training helps them to refine professional skills and to develop new skills that will keep them abreast with future competencies. Employee retention has emerged as the key driver for personalized training. Using online software as part of digital learning is being used widely to refresh the skills of employees according to the current needs as well as to fill up the identified gaps in proficiency.

3. Skills Gap Grows

Because of the emergence of new business practices empowered by new technologies, the professional skills required to perform well yesterday are not as much effective and supportive to perform well today. Most employees feel that they need to be lifelong learners to compete. Digital transformation in all the business sectors is creating skills shortages. HR professionals are taking more time to recruit a person of necessary talent. To compensate for the gap, many employers are investing for re-skilling or up-skilling of existing employees with the added advantage of their experience.

4. Millennials View Corporate Training Differently Than The Previous Generations

According to an estimate, the millennial generation will comprise 75% of global employees by the end of 2025. The millennial generation ranks L &D as a high priority. They want the training to simplify the task but with better quality and output. They want an easy to access corporate training model; they want the training to address their personal deficiencies and aspirations; and, it brings a new shift in the paradigm of corporate training. The millennial generation is eager to incorporate the learned skills to improve their competencies within the organization as well as for the career boost.

5. Anytime - Anywhere Corporate Training

The modern-age professionals, poised to grow fast, prefer training modules that they could attend anytime from anywhere whenever they need and have time. The increasing use of mobile devices supports this possibility; therefore, mobile training modules are in demand also because these are more cost-effective and convenient. Distance learning is also getting the attention of Millennials, who prefer work-life balance with flexibility.

6. Personalized Experiences

Employees expect the training to be relevant to their working profile. The designing of training programs need to account more aspects like the working environment, the organizational culture, the company's background, the employee experience accounted for job performance, the location, etc. Each training session needs to be optimized for the particular cause concerned to all the participants.

The Latest Corporate Training Trends

1. Business Centric Learning

Almost 40% of businesses develop their training and development strategy according to current needs. The strategies can be categorized as:

  • The Content-Centric Training
    It eliminates the role of the instructor but the participants get the relevant content that updates their skills for the particular objectives.
  • Just-In-Time Learning
    It is a learner-centric training program that allows the learners to access the latest information when and where they want.
  • Just-For-Me Learning
    It provides the exact information just for a particular learner when and where he/she wants to update professional skills for new needs.

2. Video-Based Learning

The open online courses have become an integral part of online training. Almost 80% of trainings are video-based. The combination of video and audio helps the participants learn easier. The complete training is imparted just by sharing a training video.

3. Multiple Learning Formats

The corporate training is provided in different formats to facilitate the participants use their own devices to have the provided information saved for future reference. Training format, with responsive design, is tailored according to the objective oriented content and identified needs of learners.

4. Competency-Based Training

It is primarily based on the concept that the participants should be able to do better at the end of the training session. The training content is optimized around the expected demonstrable skills. Learning outcomes are measured by developing assessments that need using imparted knowledge and skill.

Concluding Note

Tasks are becoming increasingly specialized; therefore, possessing the requisite skill is necessary to remain competitive and productive. The success of corporate training depends upon the learning content quality and delivery mechanism. As the learning requirements and preferences are changing fast, a continuous shift in paradigms of corporate training is also being noticed.