Did you know the corporate training market size is forecast to increase by a whopping USD 46.22 billion from 2021 to 2026?

So, what has caused this exponential growth? Study after study has shown that employees value professional growth. Continuous learning helps them feel motivated, valued, and engaged. 

Plus, companies that invest in corporate training see increased productivity, better performance, and low staff turnover rates. Not a bad result, huh?

Our guide to employee training and development breaks down:

• Why online learning is the best bet for corporate training programs 
• The benefits of corporate training everyone needs to know about 
• Some examples of corporate training you can implement in your organization 

Let’s start with the basics–What is corporate training? 

We explain in the next section.

What is corporate training?

Corporate training, also referred to as workplace learning, is the process of educating employees. 

From onboarding new employees to professional development programs, it covers all the learning and development that goes on within a company. 

Training can be delivered as part of formal learning programs or informally through mentoring or knowledge sharing.

Organizations design these activities to give employees the skills and knowledge they need to perform their jobs at a high level and develop professionally. 

In most smaller companies, the HR department owns corporate training and development. Larger organizations may have specific departments for learning and development, such as a Talent team or L&D specialists. 

Corporate training programs can be delivered in-person or online via a Learning Management System (LMS). 

Why do companies invest in corporate training? 

Workplace learning has grown in importance over the years. As the pace of technology increases, companies need a workforce that can rise to the challenges of modern business. Investing in corporate training gives returns in the form of higher productivity, employee engagement, increased customer satisfaction, and reduced turnover rates.

According to a LinkedIn Workplace Learning report, 94% of employees say they would stay in a company longer if it offered opportunities for professional development.

Corporate training is also necessary to close any skill gaps that might exist in an organization. A survey conducted by McKinsey revealed that 83% of companies are either experiencing skill gaps or expect to be in the future. 

What do we learn from these stats? 

Well, effective training programs are the answer to many of the most important challenges facing businesses today. Companies can increase the competencies of their employees, teach them new skills, and reduce attrition rates. 

Up next, we’ll discuss why online training is a great option for most companies.

Why should you do corporate training online?

In recent years, e-learning has emerged as a de facto standard for corporate training. 

Of course, more and more human activity has moved online, but e-learning and online training have proven their worth in a very short time. 

That’s why it’s not surprising that the use of e-learning by companies has increased by a staggering 900% between 2001 and 2017. 

Compared to face-to-face instruction, there’s plenty that online training does better. 

First off, it’s more cost-effective and flexible. Thanks to emerging technology, such as on-demand learning and mobile learning, employees can learn at their own pace.

For instance, instead of having to get the entire team to take time off work and meet at a specific place, employees can access course material at any time and from anywhere. 

And employers don’t have to fork out for training costs such as travel, accommodation, and instructor fees. 

Significant cost savings come from the fact that companies can easily reuse online training courses. Anytime you need to run a program again, such as annual compliance training, the e-learning content is there, ready for employees and partners to access without having to hire an instructor every time. 

Of course, there’s engagement to consider as well. Millennials now make up the majority of the workforce, and they are the first digital generation. For them, online learning is more engaging, especially when learning experience designers add engaging features such as gamification.

But, there are times when in-person training is necessary. A blended learning approach brings the best of both worlds. Face-to-face instruction and interaction, when needed, and all the flexibility of e-learning. 

The proof is in the pudding. Did you know that companies that use e-learning have 25-60% higher retention rates? These companies also save a lot of time because online training is 40-60% faster than face-to-face instruction. 

Companies can unlock all of these benefits through online corporate training and with the use of a powerful LMS that helps create, deliver, manage, and centralize all learning activities within an organization. 

In the next section, we look at the benefits of corporate training in depth.

Four benefits of corporate training that all companies should know

Learning is a must for today’s organizations, whether they are companies or non-profits, or anything in between.

But what exactly can you expect if you take the plunge and invest in an LMS to implement a corporate training program?

We look at the four main benefits of corporate training and how it can help you achieve your business goals.

Benefit #1: More productivity

Productivity is essential for any business. And it’s pretty clear to see why. Higher productivity means more profits, and the bottom line is a top priority for most private organizations.

There are plenty of ways to increase productivity. Learning is one of the most powerful ones.

Well-designed training programs fill skill gaps and give employees the know-how and competencies they need to be better at their jobs.

All team members need to have the necessary KSAs (that’s knowledge, skills, and abilities) to perform their tasks effectively and productively.

Without these, regardless of their talent, they’ll simply not achieve as much as they could.

All in all, this means that every employee stands to benefit from corporate training. When you give your sales reps sales training, they connect with prospective customers better and close more deals. Soft skills training is very useful for anyone in your company that regularly interacts with customers and clients.

Corporate training also includes leadership development training. This develops essential leadership skills, such as decision-making and performance management, ensuring tomorrow’s managers have the skills to lead. 

All training processes have something in common: they make workers better at doing their jobs. This, in turn, increases productivity.

You might be wondering what we mean when we say “well-designed training?” Training is effective and well-designed when it improves task management, gives employees confidence and KSAs, and makes it clear what employers expect from each employee.

The end goal of corporate training is a work environment made up of engaged and confident employees that have the skills and knowledge to excel in their positions.

Benefit #2: Increased morale

Company morale reflects overall job satisfaction, employee engagement, and employee satisfaction.

When morale is low, you get absenteeism, attrition, and reduced productivity.

Luckily, providing professional development opportunities goes a long way in keeping employees motivated and engaged.

Training programs can address challenges such as skill stagnation, fatigue, and lack of motivation. Corporate training can unite team members across departments and show them the connection between personal and organizational success.

So, investing in corporate training programs is a win-win. Employers get a skilled and motivated workforce, while employees feel valued and supported in their career goals.

According to a poll, 74% of workers say a lack of employee development opportunities is preventing them from reaching their full potential.

Millennials especially value professional development. Even more than their paychecks—87% of millennials say they care more about learning opportunities. Non-millennial workers care about this too, 69% of them, to be exact. 

If that’s the way so many people feel, it’s clear to see why they might lack morale. Who could feel motivated if they also feel a lack of learning opportunities is holding them back?

A positive takeaway from this is that there’s a lot of room for companies to improve their corporate training efforts and give team members what they need to feel engaged and motivated.

Benefit #3: Increased employee retention

Employee turnover is a nasty problem. Not only do you lose the employee, but you also lose a lot of money.

Letting employee churn run rampant in your company is the same as throwing money down the drain.

Don’t believe us? Here’s a sobering stat from Gallup: Turnover costs businesses in the United States a staggering $1 trillion every year.

You probably know what we’ll say now: Corporate training can help you confront this challenge.

According to LinkedIn’s 2020 Global Talent Trends report, companies that invest highly in corporate training have 53% lower employee turnover.

In light of that, it’s kind of baffling that only 29% of organizations have clear learning and development plans for their employees.

So, don’t be in this 29%. Be an organization that invests in corporate training and reaps the employee retention benefits.

If you do that, you’ll be ahead of the competition in lowering churn rates and attracting talent that is hungry for professional development opportunities.

Remember the stats from the previous section. 87% of millennials think learning is more important than money and 74% of workers feel they’re not learning enough to excel in their positions. These stats apply to employee retention too.

Benefit #4: Cost-efficiency

By this stage, it’s pretty clear that not investing in learning is a major resource drain.

Lost productivity due to lack of skills and low morale. Employee turnover costs off the scale. It’s not exactly a winning combination.

Putting in the time, effort, and resources to implement corporate training pays dividends. Retaining an employee is cheaper than going after new hires. Upskilling will cost you less too.

Engaged employees who have training for the KSAs they need to thrive are more productive and do their jobs better.

Effective corporate training will help you identify potential weaknesses, such as skill gaps, and fix them with appropriate employee development programs.

To sum it up, you’d be wrong to look at corporate training as purely a cost center in your organization. It can reduce costs associated with employee turnover and lost productivity.

In the next part of our guide, we’ll take a look at four types of corporate training that you can implement in your organization.

Four types of corporate training programs to create

There are a lot of different types of corporate training. 

Corporate training is a broad term that includes pretty much all types of learning in a company. 

This list of corporate training types is by no means exhaustive, but it’ll give you an idea of what you can do.

So, here are the most common (and most useful!) types of corporate training.

Type #1: Onboarding

Onboarding leads the charge when it comes to corporate training. It’s your company’s one chance to make a good first impression and set expectations right from the very beginning. 

Simply put, onboarding is when a company introduces new employees to their new roles and the expectations of their position. 

Typically, during onboarding, learners go through general company training and then a specific training module for their role.

The former training includes things such as:

• Company vision
• Mission
• Values
• Policies
• Regulations

Investing in a strong onboarding program results in a better employee experience, higher employee engagement and retention, and stronger company culture. 

Many companies use the blended learning approach when onboarding new hires, which means that they deliver some parts of the training in person and others online. 

One of the advantages of using an LMS is being able to provide an employee knowledge base that employees can access any time they have a question or are unsure about something. 

Human resources teams can use LMS reporting to ensure that all new hires have completed their onboarding program and are ready to jump into their roles.

Type #2: Compliance training

We know, compliance training doesn’t exactly spark joy in employees.

But there are good reasons why we all must go through it. Whether it’s fire safety or ethics training, compliance helps keep things safe and above board.

And it’s not like you have a choice! The law mandates a lot of compliance training.

Where you do have a choice is in how you approach compliance training. The best approach is to use an LMS. Its built-in features, such as gamification and certification, help make it all a lot more engaging. 

Plus, certification is handy since it allows you to keep track of which employees are and aren’t yet certified. It also creates an audit trail that proves to any relevant regulatory body that you have undertaken the mandated training. 

This is also important to reduce your legal liability.

Type #3: Soft skills training

Soft skills are all about behavior and people skills. Because it’s not just important what your employees know, it also matters how they communicate, treat each other, and interact with clients and customers. 

What soft skills do your employees need to align with company values and goals? Team building, conflict resolution, and collaboration techniques are just some of the competencies that can make up soft skills training. 

Soft skills training aims to increase social and emotional intelligence and promote communication and understanding.

A healthy company culture depends on these soft skills. Soft skills are also an integral part of any leadership training program. 

This doesn’t mean only leaders and those likely to be leaders need soft skills. Everyone does. 

Case studies have shown that offering soft skills training brings a substantial return on investment, such as increased productivity and a boost in learning retention. 

Soft skills are a must for any client-facing position, and investing in this type of training can lead to increased customer satisfaction.

Type #4: Hard skills training

Soft skills are very useful, but you shouldn’t ignore technical skills. 

The objective of hard skills training is to improve existing or teach new skills that will improve employee performance.

Technology and market trends move so fast today, that continuing education is necessary to keep up.

Opportunities for hard skills training don’t just make your organization more competitive but also increase engagement and loyalty. Hard skills training is a necessary part of professional development, allowing employees to learn new skills and become confident and qualified enough to advance into new roles. 

Companies can offer hard skills training through various training methods. Webinars, workshops, online courses, MOOCS—whatever works best to achieve your training goals. 

In the next part of our guide, we’ll recap everything we’ve learned so far.

Now over to you

Corporate training develops essential knowledge and employee skills.

Whether it’s compliance training or a soft skills workshop, the objective is to give employees the skills and competencies they need to be more productive and efficient. 

At the same time, corporate training provides many benefits, such as increased productivity and better employee retention rates. 

Want to learn more about how corporate training and development can drive business results? Take a look at our A-Z glossary of the essential L&D terms.