Advancement and innovation have always been essential for businesses that wish to truly thrive. However, many corporations today aren’t able to innovate and advance in a way that heightens their competitiveness; at present, 70% of organizations in the United States have cited capability gaps among their employees. Interestingly, the reason these companies struggle to foster an optimally-skilled team isn’t for their lack of training programs or half-hearted implementation of them. As Forbes reports, corporate spending on training programs increased by a record-breaking 15% from 2013 to 2014 in the U.S., with total spending amounting to over $70 billion. So if companies are willing and able to implement these training programs to gain a competitive edge, why aren’t they working?
It all comes down to the details.
Identify Specific Company Objectives and Challenges
Many corporate training programs fail because their itineraries aren’t guided by specific goals. Rather, plan training seminars that are tailored to the individual aspects of your company’s short-term and long-term goals, and think through how each topic or concept to be presented at the seminar will help employees meet these goals. It’s also important to think about all of the potential challenges your company faces, as well as challenges that employees could encounter as they attempt to meet goals. If your company’s shortcomings aren’t identified, even the best training seminars will likely yield little to no results. The same can be said if employees’ performances are obstructed by complications and inefficiencies that have yet to be addressed.
Determine your Target Training Audience
Who exactly could benefit from a corporate training program? Is it an entire department, your management team, the entire company, new hires, or low performers? The more specific your audience, the more tailored (and in turn, the more helpful) your training programs can become; narrowing your audience also saves those who don’t need training in a certain subject valuable time.
Rely on Experts
You know your company best, but when it comes to planning, organizing, and implementing training programs, it can be highly advantageous to partner with professionals. A professional training program will rely on experts with extensive experience making these learning opportunities engaging, interactive, well-communicated, and enriched by a variety of resources, all while driving home your company’s specific training objectives.
Measure Program Effectiveness
Did your program work? Many companies that implement corporate training programs fail to follow up to see if introduced skills and concepts stuck with employees. A check in shortly after a program concludes, whether through a no-pressure “quiz,” evaluation of performance data, surveys, or forums can help a company find ways to reinforce concepts or improve training programs in the future.
Offer On-Going Support
You’ll also want to ensure training programs are followed up with adequate support. Even if employees seem to grasp new skills while attending a program, questions may arise as they put these skills into practice. Establish a support system in which managers or trainers are highly accessible to employees, and in which they proactively reach out to see if employees are encountering any difficulties.
The Rutgers School of Business’s Executive Education Corporate Training Programs help organizations implement training programs that effectively meet each of these criteria and more by providing customized learning solutions guided by exceptional business expertise. Contact the Rutgers School of Business’s Executive Education Program today to learn more about our corporate training programs.