If the term “corporate learning” sounds dry to you, years of cookie cutter training seminars may be to blame.

Corporate learning isn’t another HR onboarding activity to check off on your employee communications plan. A well designed training program can develop, empower, and retain your best talent. Without an engaging program, organizations will miss crucial opportunities to empower their employees to take ownership of their growth and drive business productivity.

The majority of employees surveyed by Clear Company confirm corporate training and employee development are a company’s most important policies — because employees want to learn. And your best employees probably already learn on the job, so you may as well support and reward them for it.

Corporate learning should continue throughout a knowledge worker’s employment at any organization. Whether it be a new hire or a tenured employee, each team member is an integral aspect of a company’s culture. In this guide we’ll delve into the meaning of corporate learning, and review strategies to unlock the power of continuous learning, development, and productivity.

What is corporate learning?

Corporate learning consists of the training, tools, processes and knowledge that educate and empower employees to navigate the realities of the organization at any given time. The goal is to equip each employee with organization-specific knowledge to empower effective decision making and actions that help drive positive outcomes. 

Organizations have a vested interest in providing a comprehensive and effective corporate learning and corporate training strategy in order to increase employee productivity and drive employee engagement.

Corporate training helps employees understand both internal and external factors that could impact an organization. For example, corporate learning can help employees identify internal factors like historical decisions, data, projects, and outcomes that shine a light on the strengths and weaknesses of a company. External factors in a corporate learning environment may include customer sentiment, competitive offerings and intel, as well as overall market position. 

Corporate learning is invaluable. Not only do employees feel a sense of clarity, but they also communicate that clarity and sense of alignment to customers when they interact with an informed employee.

No matter how many terms for corporate learning there are — the concept of curiosity and learning leading to growth remains constant. Before we dive into the things your company needs to focus on to achieve a culture of curiosity, we wanted to present a few of the benefits of personalized, accessible corporate learning.

6 benefits of corporate learning in the workplace

Company-wide learning and skill development benefit both the individual and the organization. Enabling ongoing learning is the key to building a culture of curiosity.

Attract the best talent

According to cognitive scientist and researcher Elizabeth Bonawitz, people are innately curious. We love to learn new things — especially things that excite us. 

Investing in corporate learning will attract talented employees who are hungry to acquire new skills and add to their existing professional expertise. According to a 2021 Gallup survey, skills training is one of the top perks younger workers look for in a new job. In fact, 66% of workers aged 18-24 ranked learning new skills as the third-most important perk when evaluating job opportunities, behind health insurance and disability benefits.

Employers have also gotten a hard wake-up call on competitive employee benefits. Offering learning and development opportunities might be the nudge that pushes your offer top of mind.

Retain the best talent

Companies that invest heavily in training have seen 53% lower employee attrition. Building a comprehensive and ongoing corporate learning and development program allows employees to improve their skill set, provide more ideas and outcomes to positively impact business goals, and continue to grow within an organization.

Close the skills gap

The skills gap or skills shortages can occur when there’s a mismatch between the skills an organization needs to get things done and the available skills of their existing employees or hiring pool. A recent survey from McKinsey found that over 87% of survey respondents their organization is experiencing a skills gap or will likely experience one in the near future. .

Corporate training can help ease those gaps. Organizations can build training programs that account for technology changes or market trends, adopt new processes or work modes to improve teamwork and collaboration, and encourage incentives that allow employees to continue to hone, develop, and master critical skills.

Connect remote teams

Corporate learning can take a variety of formats depending on learning preferences or workplace environments. From pre-recorded videos to live stream sessions to in-person conferences, different learning methods provide ways for employees to access important knowledge and meet and collaborate with teams. 

Connecting employees through corporate learning, especially in a hybrid working world, will set a foundation for more resiliency and flexibility while also communicating your company’s investments in developing top talent.

Encourage employee autonomy

When employees have autonomy, they feel more motivated and productive. 76% of Gen Z see themselves as the owners of their careers, driving their own professional advancement. 

Building corporate learning and development opportunities into your organization will allow employees to discover the skills, tools, and knowledge they’ll need to do their best work and advance their careers. After all, they’re the ones who will have the best knowledge of upcoming trends and tech that your company will eventually want to adopt. 

Autonomous employees make better problem solvers, and when employees feel empowered within a company culture they’re more motivated to do their best work.

Develop leadership internally

A successful corporate learning program can help develop and spotlight up-and-coming leaders. Find ways to identify and grow your leaders who participate in corporate learning programs. 

From an employee’s perspective, this can validate why it’s important to invest in corporate learning and development and encourage employees to participate in order to take on new projects or grow into senior positions. 

Remember: talent is a company’s most important resource. And when your employees see examples of internal growth, they will be more encouraged to use these types of programs.

Mistakes companies make when it comes to corporate learning

It’s quite possible to have a great employee who is disengaged with corporate learning because the method of education isn’t working for them. Like all learning, corporate learning works best when it’s personalized for the learner. 

According to a LinkedIn survey, 94% of employees say they would commit to staying at a company longer if the company invested in their development. Corporate learning is a valuable asset to retaining and growing a business.

So what mistakes are companies making when building out a corporate learning and development programs? Here are the four most common mistakes organizations make when it comes to designing and implementing a program.

Unengaging training mediums

People are 95% more likely to retain information when conveyed via video than text alone. HR and onboarding teams have found that the most effective alternative to in-person training sessions is video. 

Corporate training can be challenging, so it’s important to make content, presentations, and town halls more entertaining and interactive. Remote corporate learning gets even more difficult as you attempt to engage your audience from behind a screen.

Video is the modern medium of today’s workforce, and offering remote onboarding, virtual training, educational videos gives your company a fresh perspective and can help with recruitment, retention, and ramp time for new employees, and overall employee engagement.

Create more effective trainings

Training trends show that people want quick-hit video content and retain best when learning sessions are between six and fifteen minutes.

Forgetting personalization

In order to engage different learners, organizations should explore different ways to learn and access knowledge. 
For example, Axalta is a global coatings company with a passion for providing customers with innovative and sustainable solutions. Axalta has relied on Vimeo to host live virtual trainings to help reach their partner workforce of nearly 13,000 technicians.

“It’s not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ for our diverse group of learners,” says Steve Hamaday, Virtual Training Manager. “What we wanted to do is find something that worked for them. We wanted to make our virtual trainings fun to watch.”

No matter the size of your company, odds are you have a diverse group of learning styles and interests to cater your corporate learning to. By utilizing video, Axalta was able to add a personal touch to their corporate learning approach.

Pro tip: Surveys can be a great starting point for personalizing corporate learning.Check out examples like CliftonStrengths is a great quiz employees can use to get to know their strengths and weaknesses.

Not thinking culture-forward

The importance of building an inclusive learning environment within your company cannot be overstated. If employees are afraid to fail or ask questions, if they don’t feel valued, if they don’t feel supported or heard or accepted — they aren’t going to take the space and time to learn. 

Building a growth and learning culture by providing corporate learning opportunities is the best way to invest in developing talent within your team. It also showcases an employee-first (as opposed to results-first) approach to leadership.

Thinking onboarding is where corporate learning stops

Onboarding training and corporate learning are two different ideas. One stops about three months into employment, once all the processes and structure and acronyms have been digested.

Corporate learning, whether that entails personal development, professional development, or sharpening up the skills needed to perform your job, should continue throughout your employment. Maybe onboarding is where corporate learning starts, but it should never be where it ends.

How to enable better corporate learning

A culture of curiosity will influence your team to ask questions, think outside of the box, and ultimately become better problem solvers. If your team sees that leveling-up within their skillset is celebrated and rewarded, they are more likely to embrace corporate learning as a continuous process in their career. 

Building learning into your culture starts from the inside. And to empower corporate learning, you’ll need to think bigger than just your education methods.

Diversity

Diversity in the workplace means creating a company culture where employees of different backgrounds are accepted and included. Everyone feels invited to participate. Having a diverse company brings more diverse perspectives and solutions to the table, allowing for a better chance of finding new solutions to existing problems.

Psychological safety

Creating a psychologically safe work environment is critical to supporting high-performing teams. Psychological safety can be defined as “a shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking. By building a culture with this belief built into it, you allow your employees to share their ideas freely.

Transparency

A transparent organization is one that trusts its employees with information. Implementing transparency allows your employees to search for information, tools, and new training methods on their own. Plus, transparency encourages employees to seek out their own opportunities since they’ve been trusted with the flow of information. They’re more likely to see new opportunities and get excited about what they can improve on.

Keeping a transparent promotion structure will also assist with building a culture of learning.

Encouraging remote learning

Remote work is the ultimate equalizer. By leveling the playing field, all team members have the same opportunity to have a seat at the virtual table in more flexible and inclusive ways than they had access to before. Check out Vimeo’s in-depth virtual training guide to jumpstart your remote corporate learning program.

Download the virtual trainings handbook