Priyanka Malik
16 Best Corporate Training Programs & Courses (2023)
- Published: September 8, 2021
- Updated: August 14, 2023
In the ever-evolving landscape of business, where innovation and adaptability reign supreme, organizations must invest in their employees to enable them with the skills to do their job effectively.
Enter corporate training programs—the cornerstone of learning and development (L&D) strategies that equips professionals with the knowledge needed to excel in their roles and contribute to the organization’s growth.
From technical expertise to leadership development, these comprehensive learning initiatives play a pivotal role in nurturing a skilled, engaged, and adaptable workforce. In this article, we explore the significance of corporate training programs, their benefits, and share best practices for creating effective training programs.
What are the best corporate training programs?
Leadership training
Team communication training
Project management training
The power of negotiation
Conflict resolution
Time management training
Closing the sale
Emotional intelligence training
Unconscious bias training
Compliance training
Decision-making training
Remote work training
Presentation training
Stress management
Intercultural communication training
Diversity, inclusion, and equity (DEI) training
What Is a Corporate Training Program?
A corporate training program is a structured and strategic initiative designed to enhance the skills, knowledge, and competencies of employees within an organization. These programs aim to improve employee performance, productivity, and job satisfaction while aligning individual development with the organization’s goals.
Corporate training programs cover a wide range of topics and types of employee training, including technical skills, leadership development, communication, project management, compliance, and more.
These initiatives may be delivered through various training methods, such as in-person workshops, virtual sessions, eLearning platforms, on-the-job training, or a combination of these approaches.
By investing in employee development, organizations foster a culture of continuous learning and equip their workforce with the tools to adapt to changing business demands, driving overall success and growth.
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16 Best Corporate Training Programs in 2023
The corporate training market was valued at $200 billion in 2021, with many companies opting for multiple training programs depending on their L&D goals and business needs.
Here’s a list of 16 of the most common corporate training programs to enable your employees:
1. Leadership training
Leadership training involves targeted learning initiatives designed to enhance the skills and qualities of individuals in developing them into leadership roles.
These programs offer comprehensive training modules focused on various aspects of effective leadership, including communication, decision-making, problem-solving, team management, emotional intelligence, and strategic thinking.
Through a combination of workshops, scenario training, case studies, and interactive sessions, participants develop the competencies required to lead teams, drive organizational growth, and adapt to dynamic business environments. Leadership training programs aim to cultivate confident and empathetic leaders who can inspire and motivate their teams, navigate challenges, and contribute to the overall success of the company.
Exercises like the 9-box grid framework help you identify and choose promising candidates for leadership training.
2. Effective team communication training
Effective team communication is crucial for successful team collaboration and goal alignment. Team communication training focuses on improving verbal and nonverbal communication, active listening, clarity in conveying messages, and the ability to provide and receive constructive feedback. Through workshops, role-playing, group discussions, and real-life scenarios, participants learn to foster open dialogue, resolve conflicts, and collaborate more cohesively.
This training offers multiple benefits such as team building, increased productivity, and efficient problem-solving. Your team members will also be able to resolve conflicts better and send out effective business communication in emails and messages.
Pro Tip: Implementing collaborative training programs within the organization enables your employees to share their knowledge and expertise, teaching and learning from one another which helps improve overall communication.
3. Project management training
Project management training for corporate programs involves structured learning initiatives aimed at equipping individuals with the skills and methodologies necessary to effectively plan, execute, and manage projects within an organization. These programs cover key project management concepts such as defining project scope, setting goals, allocating resources, scheduling tasks, risk management, and communication strategies.
Through a combination of practical exercises, case studies, and hands-on experiences, participants develop the skills needed to lead projects and deliver quality results. The objective of project management training is to empower employees with the tools to handle complex projects, improve efficiency, and contribute to the overall efficiency and success of the organization.
4. The power of negotiation
Negotiation is a difficult skill and can be mastered over time with practice. Negotiation training programs allow employees to practice negotiation in an environment where stakes are low and learn how to be influential without clouding their judgment.
An effective negotiator brings a sense of power to the table and drives the conversation in their favor. Negotiation is a highly crucial skill set in situations like third-party collaborations, partnerships, and sales organizations.
5. Conflict resolution
Workplace conflicts reduce productivity and lead to poor workplace satisfaction if not resolved in time. Conflict resolution training is mandatory to empower employees to solve their differences without escalations and third-party mediation.
A conflict resolution training program allows employees to fill their interpersonal skills gap and take responsibility for their behavior. It also helps them recognize conflicts early on before they become an issue.
6. Time management training
Time management training in corporate programs focuses on equipping participants with effective strategies and skills to optimize their use of time, enhance productivity, and achieve a better work-life balance.
These programs cover techniques for setting priorities, setting realistic goals, overcoming procrastination, delegating tasks, and utilizing time-saving tools.
Through workshops, interactive exercises, and practical tips, participants learn how to allocate their time efficiently, handle multiple tasks, and manage distractions. The goal of time management training is to empower employees to make better use of their time, meet deadlines, reduce stress, and ultimately contribute to improved individual and team performance within the organization.
7. Closing the sale
Sales is the revenue generation department for an organization, and every lost deal costs an organization revenue. Sales training programs can go a long way in teaching entry-level sales employees negotiation, objection handling, and practical decision-making skills.
Training employees to close the deals focuses on equipping both sales professionals and negotiators with the skills and techniques necessary to successfully finalize business agreements and transactions. These programs cover strategies for building rapport, addressing objections, understanding client needs, negotiating terms, and creating win-win scenarios.
Through simulations, role-playing, and real-world scenarios, participants practice effective closing techniques and refine their persuasive communication skills. The goal of this type of training is to empower participants with the confidence and expertise to navigate complex sales situations, overcome obstacles, and secure successful outcomes that benefit both the organization and the client.
8. Emotional intelligence training
Emotional intelligence is instrumental in an individual’s success, and a training program for developing emotional intelligence can provide your leadership team with the emotional skills to become better leaders. By training your leaders to be emotionally intelligent, you make them self-aware and improve their levels of compassion. These training programs positively modify your team’s daily interactions by forming more meaningful relationships and collaborations.
9. Unconscious bias training
People have unintentional biases towards others and can unknowingly cultivate certain work habits and prejudices, leading to managers treating employees differently in terms of opportunities at the workplace.
An unconscious bias training program can help managers be more self-aware and reflective while making important decisions. It will reduce the incidents of favoritism and provide every employee with a fair work environment to grow.
10. Compliance training
Compliance training is an industry-specific new employee training mandated by legislation or regulatory bodies to familiarize employees with regulations and laws that govern an organization or a particular job role. These training initiatives are mandatory to minimize risk, ensure workplace safety, and improve the overall work environment for employees.
11. Decision-making training
Decision-making often becomes difficult when your managers are in a tight spot. Therefore, you need to train them for effective decision-making in a safe and low-risk environment.
With well-designed decision-making training, you can delegate more decisions and be confident that you can rely on your managers to make informed decisions in crucial situations.
12. Remote work training
Remote work training in corporate programs is designed to equip employees with the skills and strategies necessary to excel in a virtual work environment. These programs cover various aspects of remote work, including time management, communication tools, virtual collaboration, self-motivation, and maintaining work-life balance.
Through interactive workshops, online modules, and practical exercises, participants learn how to effectively manage their tasks, leverage digital platforms for communication, build strong virtual relationships, and adapt to the unique challenges of remote work.
The aim of remote work training is to enable employees to remain productive, engaged, and connected while working remotely, contributing to the overall success of the organization in a flexible work environment.
13. Presentation training
Presentation training is designed to enhance employees’ skills in delivering effective and impactful presentations. These programs cover various aspects of presentation delivery, including structuring content, using visual aids, managing nerves, engaging the audience, and handling questions.
Through workshops, practice sessions, and feedback, participants learn how to communicate their ideas clearly, maintain audience interest, and convey their message with confidence. The goal of presentation training is to empower individuals to become compelling and persuasive speakers, capable of delivering memorable presentations that inform, influence, and inspire both internal and external stakeholders within the corporate setting.
14. Stress management
Hectic work schedules can often lead to technostress for your employees, resulting in decreased productivity. Stress management training aims to equip employees with strategies and techniques to cope with and reduce workplace stress effectively.
These programs cover a range of stress-related topics, including recognizing stress triggers, time management, relaxation techniques, mindfulness, and fostering a healthy work-life balance.
15. Intercultural communication training
Intercultural communication training is designed to enhance employees’ abilities to effectively interact and collaborate with individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds. These programs cover various aspects of intercultural communication, including cultural awareness, nonverbal cues, understanding cultural norms, adapting communication styles, and avoiding misunderstandings.
Through cross-cultural simulations, case studies, and interactive discussions, participants develop the skills needed to navigate multicultural work environments, build rapport, and foster inclusive and respectful interactions. The goal of intercultural communication training is to enable employees to bridge cultural gaps, facilitate effective teamwork, and contribute to a harmonious and globally-minded workplace within the corporate context.
16. Diversity, inclusion, and equity (DEI) training
Diversity, inclusion, and equity (DEI) training aims to cultivate a workplace culture that values diversity, fosters inclusion, and promotes equitable opportunities for all employees. These programs cover topics such as unconscious bias, cultural sensitivity, promoting gender equality, LGBTQ+ inclusivity, and creating accessible environments.
The goal of DEI training is to empower employees to embrace differences, contribute to an environment of respect and belonging, and drive positive organizational change in alignment with ethical and social responsibilities.
Benefits of Corporate Training Programs
Here are some of the most significant benefits of implementing corporate training programs within your organization.
1. Addresses skill gaps and workforce development needs
As industries evolve and technology advances, new skills, and competencies become essential for employees to remain effective in their roles. Corporate training programs play a crucial role in identifying and addressing skill gaps within the workforce. Training programs provide a platform to equip employees with the knowledge and abilities required to adapt to changing work demands.
By conducting thorough skills assessments and identifying areas of improvement, organizations can design targeted training initiatives to bridge the gap between current employee skills and the skills required to meet organizational objectives. Addressing skill gaps through training ensures that employees are competent, confident, and capable of taking on new challenges, ultimately contributing to the success and growth of the organization.
2. Fosters a culture of learning and continuous improvement
A strong culture of learning is a hallmark of successful organizations. Corporate training programs foster this culture by emphasizing the importance of continuous improvement and professional development. When employees are encouraged to engage in learning opportunities, they become more proactive in seeking knowledge and upskilling themselves.
A culture of learning also promotes innovation and creativity within the organization. Employees are more likely to experiment with new ideas and approaches when they feel supported in their learning journey. This leads to the generation of fresh perspectives and innovative solutions to organizational challenges.
3. Increases employee engagement and retention
Investing in employee development through training demonstrates the organization’s commitment to its employees’ growth and success. This, in turn, boosts employee engagement and job satisfaction. When employees feel valued and see opportunities for growth within the organization, they are more likely to be motivated, and committed to their work.
Training programs contribute to employee retention by providing a clear path for career advancement. Employees are less likely to seek external opportunities when they see a future within the organization that aligns with their personal and professional aspirations.
4. Contributes to organizational agility and adaptability
In today’s rapidly changing business landscape, organizational agility and adaptability are critical for survival and success. Corporate employee training programs equip employees with the skills and knowledge to embrace change and respond to new challenges effectively.
Through training, employees gain the ability to learn quickly and apply new concepts to their work. This adaptability allows organizations to respond swiftly to market shifts, technological advancements, and emerging industry trends.
How to Develop an Effective Employee Training Program in 2023
7 Tips to Create an Effective Corporate Training Program
Research suggests that, on average, companies spent $1,111 per employee on training employees in 2020. Given such high costs of employee training, here are seven tips to make your corporate training programs successful.
1. Enable employees with contextual onboarding
Employee training begins the moment a new employee joins an organization. To build an effective and engaged workforce committed to staying with your company for the long haul, the employee onboarding process is the first critical factor in building that commitment.
A strong onboarding process increases employee engagement, invokes a sense of loyalty in new hires, promotes proper training and adoption of business processes, and helps improve long-term employee retention rates.
Employee onboarding programs can vary depending on your company’s niche and policy. But the below elements are universal to any organization:
Company Overview Training |
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Company Policy Training |
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Role-Specific Training |
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2. Assess your training needs
Training needs assessment helps identify employees’ current level of competency, skill, or knowledge in different areas and compares that competency level to the required competency standard established for their job roles. The difference between the current and required competencies helps determine corporate training needs.
Here are some steps to get you started on assessing the training needs of employees:
- Skill gap analysis: Identify the gap between the actual and desired knowledge and skills. A skill gap analysis results in a list of skills your employees already have, need to improve, and need to develop. From there, you can fill the skill gap using training programs to build a team of skilled workers that meet your company’s needs.
- Figure out what employees know: Give employees a chance to show what they know (and identify gaps) before you start designing your corporate training programs. This information can be collected via questionnaires, surveys, observing employees and examining their work, or conducting formal assessments.
- Talk to your employees: Encourage open communication and feedback with your employees. Ask them if they lack any skill sets that could help them do better at their jobs. This helps decide the right methods of training that will be the most effective for each employee and learning type.
- Evaluate current training resources: Determine what training resources are already in place and what needs fine-tuning (or scrapping altogether). This will help you identify training gaps in your corporate training strategy.
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3. Set training objectives
Set realistic training objectives and design your training programs accordingly. Training goals and objectives make it easier to understand and measure the value training brings to your organization.
The SMART goals method simplifies this process by providing five criteria for creating goals. The SMART in SMART goals stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
Defining these parameters ensures the objectives are attainable within a specific time frame. This approach eliminates generalities and guesswork, assigns a clear timeline, and sets employees up for success. Defining SMART goals makes it easier for managers to track the progress of their employees while completing the goals.
4. Personalize the learning experience
A generic training program would be economical but not that helpful. However, a personalized corporate training program clubbed with a personalized learning experience will be more relevant and engaging for your employees.
Basis employee roles and responsibilities, you can leverage the same instance for different training programs, making the multi-tenancy feature a mandate under your training software.
5. Invest in training technology
As mentioned in the point above, personalized training programs are more effective. However, manually creating personalized training for individuals that align with your employees’ training goals is time-consuming and inefficient—and if your company has over 100 people, likely impossible.
Therefore, organizations must invest in online course authoring tools and employee training software to create a relevant training program for modern learners:
- Digital Adoption Platform: A digital adoption platform (DAP) is an employee training solution that integrates with digital tools to provide automated, personalized training in the flow of work. DAPs assign each learner a contextual task list containing interactive walkthroughs and other in-app content based on the learner’s profile. Walkthroughs are a series of step-by-step prompts that show users how to complete a certain process by guiding them through each step, showing them relevant training videos, or providing informative articles. DAPs work hand-in-hand with learning management systems (LMSs) and eLearning software like xAPI and SCORM for you to track learners’ progress and build more relevant content in the future.
- Learning Management System: LMS provides personalized learning paths for both mandatory and non-mandatory courses based on that employee’s actions taken within the LMS. Corporate LMS solutions track what courses your employees commonly access and complete within the LMS database, as well as suggest similar courses that the employee might be interested in. It’s a completely automated process that requires little time investment from your L&D team outside of the initial setup and content creation.
Create personalized learning & training flows for your enterprise apps with Whatfix
6. Choose the training method
To find the employee training method that works best for your workforce, L&D teams need to understand the different learning styles of their workforce and build personalized flows. Some of the most common corporate training methods include:
- eLearning: enables employees to learn in the comfort of their homes, according to their individual learning styles and needs.
- On-the-Job Training: enables active participation for employees by allowing them to learn in the flow of work.
- Instructor-Led Training: This face-to-face learning style mimics physical classroom spaces with an instructor present to lead the training session.
- Coaching: involves an experienced professional – a supervisor, mentor, or veteran employee – who mentors or coaches an employee on specific job tasks and responsibilities.
- Simulation Training: lays out different scenarios that allow employees to practice tasks that mimic the actual work of their specific job’s role.
- Video Training: Video-based training is effective because it is convenient and puts the learner in charge of their learning, is easier to digest, promotes knowledge retention, and improves employee engagement.
7. Leverage analytics to improve
Offering training isn’t enough. You need to measure the effectiveness of corporate employee training, and analytics comes in handy.
Implementing a digital adoption platform such as Whatfix can significantly contribute to measuring training effectiveness by providing insights into learners’ actual usage and proficiency with digital tools and processes. These platforms offer real-time analytics that tracks employees’ interactions with software applications and digital workflows, capturing data on their actions, completion rates, and task efficiency.
Examples Of Corporate Training Initiatives
Here are some real-life examples of four big brands that have implemented corporate training programs for their employees:
- Google: Google is known for its robust employee development initiatives. The company offers a wide range of training programs, including technical skill development, leadership training, and diversity and inclusion workshops. Google also provides continuous learning opportunities through its internal learning platform, “Googler-to-Googler” (g2g), where employees can share knowledge and expertise.
- Microsoft: Microsoft invests heavily in employee training and development. The company offers various training programs to enhance technical skills, leadership capabilities, and professional growth. Microsoft’s “Microsoft Academy” provides resources for employees to improve their skills in areas like cloud computing, data science, and software development.
- IBM: IBM has a comprehensive learning and development program called “Think Academy.” This program offers a wide array of training options, including technical training, soft skills development, and leadership programs. IBM’s approach emphasizes continuous learning and encourages employees to take ownership of their learning journey.
- Apple: Apple places a strong emphasis on employee development and training. The company offers a range of training programs, from product-specific training for retail employees to leadership development programs for managers. Apple’s training initiatives focus on providing employees with the knowledge and skills needed to deliver exceptional customer experiences.
Implement effective corporate training with Whatfix in-app guidance
Investing in the right tool for your corporate training initiatives can make all the difference. When employees have the right resources, materials, and platforms to learn — and retain — a new skill or process, you can see positive returns on training investments. Not only will your employees feel more fulfilled with their jobs, but they’ll be more productive and engaged with their work.
Whatfix is a digital adoption platform (DAP) that provides powerful content creation tools for organizations to create in-app training experiences. Through real-time on-screen guidance, task automation, and contextual tips, Whatfix empowers employees to navigate through software applications seamlessly. It streamlines the learning curve, enhances user proficiency, and reduces the time spent on mastering new tools. This results in efficient training, improved productivity, and a smoother transition for employees to adapt to new technologies, ultimately fostering a culture of continuous learning and driving enhanced performance within the corporate environment.
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