corporate education - a practical guide to effective corporate learning - chapter 1

Corporate Education:

A Practical Guide to

Effective

Corporate Learning

Lindsay Ryan

First Published in 2010 by

Griffin Press

168 Cross Keys Road

Salisbury 5106

Australia

Copyright © 2010 Lindsay Ryan

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be

reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any

form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,

recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of

the publisher.

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry

Ryan, Lindsay

Corporate Education: A Practical Guide to Effective Corporate

Learning

ISBN 9780646528120

Includes index.

Bibliography

Employees - - Training of - - Australia.

Employer-supported education - - Australia.

Vocational education - - Australia.

Technical education - - Australia.

331.25920994

Cover design: Milestone Design

Contents

Preface v

Acknowledgements xi

Chapter 1 Introduction 1

Chapter 2 The Changing Corporate Workplace 16

Chapter 3 The Strategic Importance of Corporate 33

Education

Case Study: South Australia Police 58

Chapter 4 Adopting a Strategic Approach to Corporate 65

Education

Case Study: Textron Corporation 86

Chapter 5 Developing a Corporate Education Learning 93

Culture

Case Study: Parente Beard Pennsylvania 110

Chapter 6 The Strategic Management of Corporate 115

Education Programs

Case Study: ETSA Utilities 134

Chapter 7 Delivering Corporate Education Programs 143

Case Study: A Learning System for 165

Corporate Education

Chapter 8 Corporate Universities 172

Case Study: Woolworths Limited 189

Chapter 9 Measuring the Impact of Corporate 197

Education

Case Study: A Participant’s Perspective 218

Chapter 10 Corporate Partnerships with Universities 224

and Education Providers

Chapter 11 Reviewing Your Organisation‟s Corporate 242

Education

References

Index

v

Preface

The Global Financial Crisis has had a swift and significant

impact on many organisations and their standard mode of

operating. As a result, many of the traditional approaches to

business operations are changing, including learning and

development.

Much of the learning and development in organisations has

been ad hoc and centred on the development of employees as

individuals. However, many chief executives and senior

managers are starting to look at corporate education and

training from a different perspective. In particular, many are

now investigating their organisation‟s expenditure and seeking

ways to improve the return on investment from corporate

training. Many are also starting to recognise the strategic role

corporate education and training can have in their organisation

and the impact the learning and development has on their

organisation and not just on individual employees.

The purpose of this book is to provide chief executives,

senior managers, line managers, human resource managers,

chief learning officers and training managers with practical

information and relevant cases studies to assist them to better

understand the role and potential of corporate education and

training. The book draws on my 20+ years in the design,

delivery, coordination and management of corporate education

and training and reflects my passion, experience, observations

and research of effective corporate education and training

programs and strategies.

I use the term „corporate education‟ as an overarching term

to reflect the growing strategic importance of corporate

education and training. When approached from a strategic

perspective, corporate education has the potential to transform

an organisation and facilitate the development of a distinct

competitive edge for an organisation in an increasingly

competitive global business environment. Not only is corporate

education a means for an organisation to develop the

knowledge, skills and capability of employees but also the

depth, culture, capability and capacity of an organisation.

Chapter One, the Introduction, discusses the growing

importance for organisations to adopt a strategic approach to

their corporate education and training. The chapter presents a

definition of the difference between corporate education and

corporate training in order to encourage a more holistic and

strategic approach to corporate learning and development, with

an emphasis on developing organisation capability. This

compares to the traditional approach by organisations where

training is a predominately competence-based activity.

Although corporate training continues to evolve in its role and

methods used, there is still a tendency for training to be treated

as a series of events and a tick-the-box exercise. The term

„corporate education‟ is used to elevate the importance of

corporate learning as a strategic and continuous activity that

should encompass every employee in an organisation.

Chapter Two explores the growing importance of

corporate education and employee learning and development

from the perspective of the changing corporate workplace. The

discussion briefly considers the different generations now in

the workforce and some of the characteristics of the different

generations that can influence their approach to corporate

learning. The chapter also discusses the ageing workforce and

the implications this will have on workforce planning and the

growing imperative for corporate learning.

Chapter Three discusses the strategic importance of

corporate education as an investment rather than being treated

as a business expense. Instead of organisations approaching

corporate training as a function undertaken by necessity,

corporate education adds a new dimension of thinking to

employee learning and development with benefit to both the

organisation and the individual participants. This chapter also

explores some of the outcomes reported by organisations that

have adopted a strategic approach to their corporate education,

including: greater employee retention and attraction, more

effective succession planning, enhanced knowledge

management and facilitating innovation in an organisation.

Chapter Four introduces the Corporate Education „Iceberg‟

model as a means of contextualising formal corporate

education and training (above the water-line) blending with

informal and workplace learning (below the water-line). The

discussion in this chapter centres on the need for organisations

to develop a strategic approach to their corporate education and

a number of strategies and suggestions are provided to assist

organisations engage and involve employees at all levels to

participate in corporate learning and development. In

particular, this chapter highlights the importance for all

corporate education and training to align with the corporate

goals of an organisation and for these goals to cascade through

the different levels of an organisation to the respective learning

and development goals by departments and individuals.

Chapter Five discusses the importance of developing a

corporate education learning culture as organisations continue

to play an increasing role in the lifelong learning of their

employees. This chapter also explores a number of factors that

are essential in developing and sustaining an effective

corporate education program, especially the role of managers,

from the chief executive to senior managers and an employee‟s

line manager.

Chapter Six looks at the strategic management of corporate

education and the elements that contribute to the successful

development, implementation, coordination and management

of corporate education and training programs. The chapter

suggests mapping learning strategies in an organisation and

using a matrix to identify the types of learning programs

required for different discipline areas and different operating

levels in an organisation. The discussion also considers the

importance of identifying and consulting with key stakeholders

during the planning and development stage for a corporate

education program.

Chapter Seven discusses many of the practical issues

involved in delivering corporate education programs from the

perspective of: who, what, when, where, how and, importantly,

why. Program delivery options are also considered, including

face-to-face, online and blended learning approaches as well as

the importance of blending formal learning with informal and

workplace learning. In addition, the chapter presents some

learning tools, techniques and resources that organisations can

use in the delivery of their corporate education programs.

Chapter Eight draws on global research of corporate

universities to assist organisations make an informed decision

on the role and feasibility for investing in establishing a

corporate university as a means of developing, delivering,

coordinating and managing its in-house corporate education,

training and development programs. The chapter provides

background information on the history and growth of corporate

universities, a definition of corporate universities and an

overview of the role of corporate universities. The discussion

outlines some of the benefits as well as some of the

shortcomings of corporate universities.

Chapter Nine looks at issues associated with measuring the

impact of corporate education and includes discussion on

Kirkpatrick‟s Four Level Model and Phillip‟s ROI method. As

well, the chapter presents some guidelines for organisations to

consider when measuring their corporate education programs

and encourages organisations to use a combination of

quantitative and qualitative measures. In addition, employees

should be encouraged to assess their own performance

regarding their approach to learning and the impact of the

learning on their performance.

Chapter Ten recognises that organisations rarely have the

resources to develop and deliver all their corporate education

and training programs in-house. This chapter explores

corporate education partnerships with universities and

education providers and provides guidelines for planning and

selecting a corporate education provider. In particular, the

chapter explores a number of factors identified from global

research that are vital for transforming the arrangement from a

customer-supplier situation to a corporate education

partnership. Factors discussed include: senior management

commitment, developing trust and openness in the

arrangement, having a shared vision and clear goals for the

corporate education program and the role of regular

communication between the organisation and its education

provider/s.

Chapter Eleven draws on many of the topics and key

points covered in the book to provide a framework for

undertaking a comprehensive and systematic review of an

organisation‟s corporate education. The chapter includes a

template for analysing the demographic profile of the

workforce, with an emphasis on the education and training

qualifications of employees. The corporate education review

includes both quantitative and qualitative questions for

assessing an organisation‟s strategic approach and performance

in corporate education.

In addition to the eleven chapters there are seven case

studies that provide further insight into the application of

corporate education and training in a number of organisations.

The intention of the case studies is to highlight and

demonstrate the relevance and application of corporate

education and training in different contexts. The case studies

include a police/community safety organisation, a commercial

conglomerate, a professional services firm, a utility and a

national retail chain. There are also two case studies that

provide an insight from a participant‟s perspective of their

experience in a corporate education program and the

observations of an associate on the elements of an effective

learning framework based on their observations and experience

in working intimately with a number of major organisations in

diverse geographical regions.

1

1. Introduction

The purpose of this book is to assist organisations develop their

understanding of the concept of corporate education and the

often untapped potential that corporate education can have on

the culture and performance of an organisation. Managed from

a strategic perspective, corporate education can be deployed as

a means of identifying and guiding the future development of

an organisation and ensuring an organisation has the people

and depth of capability it needs to achieve sustainable business

success. Corporate education can also be used as a source of

fresh ideas and innovation to assist an organisation to

continually evolve and maintain relevance to its market, as well

as identify new customers and market opportunities by

harnessing the knowledge, skills and capabilities of employees.

Corporate education is emerging as one of the most

influential, dynamic and effective means for an organisation to:

Retain existing employees;

Attract new employees;

Develop the capability of the organisation;

Develop the skills and capabilities of employees;

Actively engage employees with the organisation;

Build cooperation and collaboration among employees;

Build and/or reinforce the culture of the organisation;

Facilitate innovation: new products, new services, new

markets and/or new channels to market.

It is intended for this book to be a practical guide for chief

executives, senior managers, organisation development

managers and human resource managers by providing insight,

thoughts, ideas, examples and understanding of the potential

for corporate education in their organisation. The idea and

content for this book emerged from global research undertaken

during the development of my PhD thesis on the strategic

management of university-corporate education partnerships.

This research is combined with over 20 years experience and

observations of effective corporate education programs in

Corporate Education: A Practical Guide to Effective Corporate Learning

leading and successful organisations. My experience also

includes over seven years as the head of the corporate

education unit of a major Australian university.

In this chapter we will define the difference between

corporate education and corporate training, distinguish between

competence and capability and discuss a number of workplace

issues that make corporate education a growing imperative for

virtually all organisations.

Defining The Difference Between Corporate Education and

Corporate Training

It is important to clarify what is meant by the term „corporate

education‟ as most organisations tend to think of corporate

education as corporate training. Corporate training programs

are often competency based and usually related to the essential

training employees need in order to operate certain equipment

or perform selected tasks in a competent, safe and effective

manner. The focus of corporate training is on developing the

competence of employees to be able to do things effectively

and, ideally, efficiently. The outcome of a corporate training

program is a participant who is either able to operate a piece of

equipment or perform a specific task, or not, according to pre-

determined training criteria. If the trainer assesses the

participant as being competent, the participant usually receives

a certificate confirming their compliance with predetermined

criteria.

The primary role of corporate training is to ensure an

employee has the knowledge and skills to undertake a specific

function for an organisation to continue operating.

Fundamentally, corporate training is centred on knowledge

transfer, with an instructor teaching or demonstrating how to

undertake a particular function and the student learning and

demonstrating they can apply what is known to assist an

organisation to maintain a functional operation.

Corporate education, however, adds another dimension

and depth to training by involving learners as participants in

Introduction

the generation of new knowledge that assists an organisation to

develop and evolve, rather than maintain the status quo.

Corporate education focuses on developing the capability of an

organisation to be able to do things and, in particular, the right

things in order to be a sustainable and successful organisation.

In the future, organisations need to assume the majority of their

leaders and development will come from within the

organisation, rather than from external sources. This will occur

due to the shrinking pool of skilled people and growing

competition for suitably qualified, experienced and skilled

employees. When organisations do appoint leaders from

external sources their role will most likely be that of change

agents.

Corporate education involves a facilitator, rather than an

instructor or trainer, to engage participants and encourage them

to think about the what, how and why of what they are doing

and to challenge their current paradigms. In particular,

corporate education is centred on introducing learning

techniques for employees to think about where their

organisation is heading, potential new opportunities for the

organisation and new and better ways of doing things. While

the role of corporate training is to develop the operational

competency of individuals, the intent of corporate education is

to promote the development of capability of both an individual

and their organisation.

The following diagram, Figure 1.1, demonstrates the

distinction between corporate training and corporate education.

The circle represents the total corporate knowledge within an

organisation. The horizontal arrow represents the role of

corporate training in reinforcing and maintaining the skills and

competence of employees. The organisation continues to move

forward, often with more employees undertaking the prescribed

corporate training programs or employees undertaking training

at the next level of competence. Complementing the horizontal

arrow is the rising arrow that represents the role of corporate

education in raising the level of thinking in an organisation,


challenging traditional approaches, exploring new ideas and

developing new knowledge.

In this diagram, while both arrows start from a common

base, over time corporate education evolves new knowledge,

thinking and learning within an organisation that expands the

amount of knowledge contained within an organisation. In the

growing „knowledge economy‟ this new knowledge can be a

significant asset and a vital source of new business

opportunities and intellectual capital for organisations.

Figure 1.1 Corporate Education Vs Training

Obviously an organisation needs a combination of both

corporate training and corporate education. Corporate training

ensures an organisation can maintain its existing operational

performance and effectiveness. Corporate education is the

means of harnessing the knowledge, skills and capabilities of

employees to assist an organisation to grow and evolve and,

occasionally, to take considered, quantum steps in its

development.

Competence Vs Capability

Another way of thinking about corporate training versus

corporate education is in the context of competency and

capability. The vast majority of corporate training programs are

centred on developing the competency of employees.

Corporate Training: Reinforce and

maintain skills and

competence.

Corporate

Knowledge

Corporate Education:

Develop and evolve

knowledge and

corporate capability.

Introduction

Competency is the ability to perform an activity well, and

consistently, that is at the core of an organisation‟s

competitiveness and viability.

By comparison, corporate education is centred on

developing the capability of employees. Capability reflects the

combination of resources, skills, learning and experience that

enables an organisation to operate proficiently and with an

advantage over competitors. Organisation capabilities are the

fundamental building blocks for developing competencies.

A simple example of competence versus capability is the

activity of driving a car. Most people are familiar with the

process of obtaining a driver‟s license, which usually requires

completing a written examination of their knowledge of the

road rules and then demonstrating their competence of being

able to drive by undertaking a practical driving test under the

watchful eye of a driving examiner. To demonstrate

competence, an individual would need to ensure they can drive

and steer the vehicle, comply with road speed limits, use

appropriate indicators when turning or changing lanes and are

alert to other vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians as they

undertake their journey.

The capability dimension with this example includes the

above skills as well as the knowledge, experience and skills to

recognise the challenges of driving in different situations.

There is a difference between driving in daylight compared to

night driving and driving on a fine sunny day compared to

overcast wet conditions. Different driving skills are required

when driving in a metropolitan area compared to an open road

or country area, as well as on a dirt road compared to a bitumen

road. In addition, the preparation for driving to a country area

is likely to be different to that for a metropolitan trip, perhaps

including checking oil and water levels and tyre pressures

before starting the journey.

In this example, capability means a person having learnt

either through trial and error, perhaps a mishap with their car or


a breakdown in an awkward location, or through an advanced

driving program providing practical information and guidance

on different types of driving situations and driving hazards.

The person‟s knowledge, skills and experience informs them to

think about the type of driving journey they are about to

undertake and to make the appropriate preparation and, when

necessary, relevant defensive action to prevent an accident or

other misadventure with their driving.

The real difference between competence and capability

becomes apparent when operating in an environment of

certainty and uncertainty. An organisation draws on its

competence in known or certain business environments by

using proven and familiar processes.

However, an organisation harnesses its capabilities in

order to respond in an effective manner to unknown or

uncertain business situations and environments by drawing on

the resources, learning and knowledge of the organisation.

Given the expansion of globalisation, new technologies that

leapfrog predecessors, increasing levels of competition in

virtually every industry, as well as the growing global

competition for skilled workers, this creates a challenging and

uncertain scenario for managers and leaders and highlights the

need for organisations to approach their corporate education,

training and development strategically.

I have been involved in the development and customised

delivery of countless corporate education programs in a diverse

range of corporate settings and found each organisation has its

own distinct requirements and learning outcomes for their

corporate education and training programs. Each organisation

is unique and the role of their corporate education program

depends on the strategic priorities of each individual

organisation. For example, over the years I have observed

corporate education playing an integral role in the strategic

development of organisations in such aspects as:

Building management and leadership capability;

Introduction

Succession planning;

Identifying future leaders and testing their capabilities

in different projects and settings;

Establishing a minimum and consistent level of

capability at a senior management level;

Facilitating innovation: generating new ideas in

products, services, markets, distribution and channels to

markets, as well as time-to-market for new products

and services;

Building corporate culture;

Bringing senior managers from multiple global

operations together to facilitate greater collaboration

across the organisation.

Engaging Employees

Corporate education can act as a stimulus for engaging

employees with their organisation. Research by Gallup (2006)

investigating the effect employee engagement has on team-

level innovation and customer service delivery had some

disturbing revelations. The research explored employee

responses to a range of factors related to innovation to see

which of the factors differed more noticeably between

employees who were engaged and those who were not

engaged. The findings indicated that only 29 percent of

employees were engaged with their employment. Another 56

percent of employees were not engaged, while 15 percent were

actively disengaged, unhappy and actively spreading their

discontent to fellow employees.

The Gallup research identified three types of employees:

Type 1 – Engaged employees who work with passion

and feel a profound connection to their organisation.

These employees drive innovation and contribute to

moving the organisation forward.

Type 2 – Not-Engaged employees who essentially

“checked-out” and are sleepwalking through their

workday, putting-in time, but not energy or passion,

into their work.


Type 3 – Actively Disengaged employees who are not

just unhappy at work, but actually busy acting out their

unhappiness. These employees undermine what their

engaged co-workers accomplish.

Based on the research findings, if a typical organisation

has only just over a quarter of employees actually engaged in

their work, the first priority should be to ensure it does not lose

the engagement of those employees. The next step is to try to

increase the number of employees engaged with the

organisation, that is, try and engage some of the 56 percent of

employees who are not engaged.

Corporate education can play an integral role in reaching

out to employees and making a positive contribution to

engaging them with the organisation, their work and

colleagues. Gone are the days when managers are the only ones

who have ideas and all the other workers clock-on and leave

their thinking and intelligence at the front gate. Corporate

education is a means of involving employees in their

organisation, directly seeking their input, helping them to

understand the challenges the organisation is facing, as well as

potential opportunities, and encouraging them to contribute

ideas through discussions in corporate education programs and

virtual learning formats. Ideally, corporate education should

provide a non-threatening environment in which employees are

free to suggest ideas, discuss various ideas, contribute their

thoughts and think out loud without fear of repercussion or

their ideas being subject to judgment and dismissal on the spot.

The implication here is for organisations to seek ways of

involving employees in various activities that contribute to

engaging employees with their organisation. This can include

providing employees with a sense of control over their

workplace by giving them the flexibility and autonomy to

make day-to-day operating decisions that impact on them.

Consulting with employees before major decisions are made is

another way of demonstrating respect for employees and

valuing their input. The more employees feel their work and

Introduction

ideas are valued, the more they feel engaged with the

organisation. An additional benefit for their organisation is the

development of an environment that nurtures open innovation,

where employees contribute ideas to the organisation and make

suggestions for developing new products, services, processes

and possibly new markets for the organisation to consider.

Promote From Within

Another means of engaging employees is to demonstrate

opportunities for career development and progression from

within their organisation, rather than regularly advertising

positions and appointing people from outside the organisation.

In fact, organisations that do not promote suitably qualified and

experienced employees from within send a message that it

prefers to explore the market place to see if there are any

external candidates who might be better than any internal

candidates. There is also a strong possibility the organisation

lacks depth in its ranks or underestimates the potential of their

employees. This can have a negative impact on morale,

employee engagement and the perception employees have of

their organisation and influence their view that the only road to

career progression is outside the organisation. Needless to say,

upwardly mobile employees start to see their current employer

as just another paragraph in their CV.

A 2006 study by Booz Allen Hamilton found that 57

percent of departing chief executives were replaced by internal

candidates (BRW, 2007). While this is a commendable figure,

what is more interesting is that internally promoted chief

executives in Australia created, on average, a 21 percent

shareholder return compared with 17 percent created by chief

executives appointed from outside the organisation. It would be

reasonable to suggest this performance would be similar for

many other employees promoted to more senior roles within

organisations. For a start, people promoted within an

organisation already know the culture and aspirations of their

organisation and are likely to already have an understanding of

the requirements and expectations of a particular role before


they even apply for it. This means, appointees successfully

promoted to a new position do not have to spend time getting

to know the organisation, the values, culture and political

environment, the position and everything that entails, as well as

products, markets and key customers. Therefore, employees

promoted from within their organisation can usually hit-the-

ground-running considerably faster than an externally

appointed person.

Anecdotal feedback also indicates that internally promoted

employees tend to be more loyal as they appreciate the

opportunity their employer has provided in giving them a

chance to demonstrate their capabilities at a higher level. As

such, they are usually determined to demonstrate to their

employer that the right appointment has been made and they

are the right person for the job. Another benefit is that many

internally promoted employees do not see the opportunity as

just another career progression on their CV which they can use

as leverage when they apply for their next position in 2-3 years

time. This means greater stability in the leadership of the

organisation and consistency in decision-making, which often

produces stronger financial performance for an organisation

over the short, medium and longer-term in contrast with a

short-to-medium term focus by those treating the position as a

stepping-stone to their next career advancement.

Global Integration

The shrinking labour pool and growing competition for skilled,

qualified employees is not restricted to just one country or

region, but is a growing global issue. This is a reflection of

how the world is changing and the increasing inter-

connectedness of countries and businesses.

I first became aware of the growing inter-connectedness of

the world in 2006 while attending a conference in the United

States. While discussing recent issues, challenges and

developments of the time with fellow delegates at the

conference, I started to relate that what I had been experiencing

Introduction

in Australia was somewhere around 10-14 days behind what

my colleagues had been experiencing in the United States and

Canada.

This new age of inter-connectedness is largely facilitated

through the continuing developments in information and

telecommunications technologies. However, it highlights the

need for organisations, regardless of where they are located, to

have employees with knowledge, skills and capabilities

consistent with their global standards and expectations. Every

business, even a small corner shop or a taxi cab, is affected by

developments and competition emerging on a global basis.

While they operate on a localised basis, they are affected by the

growing number of franchise outlets and systems that are often

part of global networks. I have ridden in a taxi that resembles a

technology-connected office-on-wheels. While driving me to

an airport, the driver was also organising a pick-up two hours

ahead as well as his first pick-up the following morning

through two mobile phones and a computer booking facility.

This global inter-connectedness highlights an even greater

need for organisations to manage and plan their workforce.

This has particular importance in regard to workforce

demographics so as to be able to have employees across the

age spectrum and not distorted towards an aged workforce, as

well as having a workforce that is skilled, capable, flexible and

adaptable to changes and opportunities in the business

environment. Increasingly, corporate education is becoming an

investment, not a cost, to ensure an organisation has a

workforce with the knowledge and skills to survive and

compete while evolving the capability of the organisation to

meet and even anticipate future threats and opportunities for

the organisation.

Age and Learning There is emerging research and experience that highlights age

is not, and should not be, a barrier to people learning and


having the opportunity to participate in corporate education,

training and development programs.

Some managers and executives have the view that

spending money on training older employees is a waste of time

and resources. Anecdotal research among some human

resources managers finds that for many older workers seeking

training their request has only around a fifty percent chance of

being approved once they reach 45 years of age. Once workers

turn 50 years of age the chance of having their request for

training approved tends to drop to around 20 percent likelihood

of being supported. However with skills shortages now

occurring in many industries, perhaps these managers will

reconsider the untapped potential of mature employees.

Alternately, as these managers and executives start to get older

they might have a different view and consider corporate

education and training programs to help them evolve their

knowledge and skills and remain relevant to their organisation.

Mature workers accumulate considerable knowledge and

skills in their lifetime in the workforce. However, the growing

use of new technologies, new processes and new ways of

operating can often leapfrog ahead of employees if they do not

receive regular training and development to keep them current.

Age is irrelevant as long as employees of every age are

provided with the opportunity to learn and apply their new

knowledge and skills. Every employee should have a tailored

development program aligned with their performance

management that identifies their learning and development

needs and provides structure to ensure they receive the

appropriate learning program. Corporate education programs,

regular training, information update sessions, workplace

challenges and special projects can stretch, develop and evolve

the knowledge and skills of employees, regardless of age.

Employees also respond well to having a new skill or concept

demonstrated to them and then giving them the opportunity to

practice and apply what they learn. Studies also find that once

mature employees grasp and understand what they are learning,

Introduction

they tend to retain information better than many of their

younger work colleagues.

Another benefit of retaining and maintaining mature

workers is their above average commitment to their employer

and their work ethic. Research finds older workers often have

the lowest levels of absenteeism among the demographic

profile of an organisation‟s workforce.

Individual Learning Styles

It is important to recognise that each employee is different and

their approach to effective learning and development is also

different. Organisations tend to adopt a one-size-fits-all

approach to corporate training and development, especially

with the move to online learning during recent years.

Online learning, and other digital learning media, provide

considerable flexibility for supporting the learning and

development of employees, but need to be seen as tools to aid

learning and not the corporate education solution. Online

delivery of corporate education programs can provide greater

access to learning for employees and the breadth of content and

embedded resources and links can be enormous. However,

some employees take time to adjust to non-traditional learning

and a blended approach that combines online with face-to-face

learning, supported by other learning infrastructure such as a

mentor, can help employees to expand the options for effective

learning available to them.

Therefore, when working with employees to construct

their individual development plans, each employee‟s particular

learning style and preferences needs to be considered in the

context of the organisation‟s strategic development plan.

Learner-Driven Program Content

Traditionally corporate education and training has involved a

group of employees attending a class and receiving instruction

or participating in a facilitated session led by an instructor or


lecturer. This approach assumed that the session presenter was

a topic specialist who had greater knowledge and skills on a

particular subject than the program participants.

This traditional approach is rapidly changing. The amount

of knowledge and the pace at which business, markets,

technology and our understanding of business concepts

continues to evolve is gathering momentum. It is impossible to

be a master of everything, even in a well-defined area of

business.

Technology is also allowing people to access information

at anytime from any source that has posted information on the

web. The information may not always be totally accurate but it

does expand the breadth of information readily available on a

particular topic. This highlights the importance of assisting

employees to develop their skills to search for information, to

be discerning and question the validity, credibility, reliability

and source of the information they access rather than accept the

information as given.

Having gathered new information and knowledge based on

their workplace and life experience, as well as from other

sources such as industry publications and a network of industry

and social contacts, employees increasingly are being

encouraged to contribute and share that knowledge with their

fellow employees. This is leading to greater learner-driven

content in corporate education, training and development

programs.

Encouraging learner-generated content in corporate

education programs has the benefit of ensuring the content is

up-to-date as well as engaging employees in the learning

process as employees learn, in a structured manner, from their

colleagues. This can give the corporate education program

content more relevance to the employees‟ workplace in

contrast to standard off-the-shelf programs with generic

content. Employees participating in developing and

contributing to the content of corporate education programs

Introduction

increases the level of „ownership‟ of the learning experience,

both for the person contributing as well as those receiving the

program content. Having employees contributing to the content

of programs can help in developing employees with a depth of

knowledge and expertise in certain areas as well as assist with

knowledge sharing and retention within organisations.

Summary

There are already some organisations that have discovered the

potential of adopting a strategic approach to corporate

education. Looking beyond the surface at the performance of

successful organisations, large, medium and small, there is a

strong likelihood you will find a higher than average

commitment to corporate education, training and development

of their employees.

As each organisation is unique, so too is the purpose of

their corporate education program. The role of corporate

education ranges from providing a means of identifying future

leaders and facilitating leadership development, to assisting

with succession planning and developing, evolving or

reinforcing the culture of an organisation. However, a

consistent outcome corporate education delivers in virtually all

organisations is the development of organisational capability.

A key issue for organisations that do not embrace

corporate education and the learning and development of their

employees will be the increasing difficulty to attract and retain

good employees. Instead employees will be attracted to

organisations where they have the opportunity to learn and

continue to develop their skills and knowledge.

In the next chapter we will look at some of the global

issues impacting on industry and adding to the imperative for

organisations to adopt a strategic approach to corporate

education, training and development.


This material is an excerpt from the book

Corporate Education: A Practical Guide to Effective

Corporate Learning

by Lindsay Ryan

Published by Griffin Press

Copyright © 2010 Lindsay Ryan

ISBN 9780646528120

Available from:

Corporate Education Advisers:

http://www.corpedadvisers.com.au/resources/book-

corporate-education

Amazon Books: http://www.amazon.com/Corporate-Education-Practical-Effective-Learning/dp/0646528122/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1292193607&sr=1-1

http://www.corpedadvisers.com.au/resources/book-corporate-education

http://www.corpedadvisers.com.au/resources/book-corporate-education

http://www.amazon.com/Corporate-Education-Practical-Effective-Learning/dp/0646528122/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1292193607&sr=1-1




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