Corporate Learning Trends: What you should know today about learning and development in your company

“There is only one thing more expensive than education in the long run: no education.

These words of John F. Kennedy warn of the problems of a society that saves on education and ends up paying for it. But they can also be applied to a company. Here, too, it can have fatal consequences to believe that one can profit by saving on the education and training of employees.

A company that does not continuously develop itself today will quickly fall behind the competition. And this applies not only to processes and technologies, but also to the knowledge and skills of each individual employee.

Corporate learning is therefore considered one of the most important tools for long-term corporate success. We tell you what you should know about it and how you can successfully implement the Corporate Learning Trends 2022 in your company.

Corporate Learning Definition – What does the term really mean?

If one were to explain corporate learning simply as “further training in the workplace”, this would be too short-sighted. The actual definition of corporate learning encompasses much more. Rather, it is about all strategies and methods that are used in the company for training and further education in order to exchange and expand knowledge. It is therefore actually a company’s knowledge management and thus an important part of its corporate identity.

This includes vocational training, further education measures such as training courses and seminars, individual knowledge development and transfer (for example via e-learning offers), but also the general creation of a learning-friendly atmosphere in the company. The goal is not only the know-how of the employees as individuals, but also the accumulation of knowledge in the company as a whole.

Corporate learning as a competitive advantage

Those who integrate a willingness to learn into their corporate philosophy secure competitive advantages in several respects:

• The company and the employees are qualified and always stay up to date.
• The investment in further education is perceived as appreciation and a possibility for further development. This increases employee loyalty and motivation.
• Good qualifications are not just for advertising. Customers and business partners actually notice the difference.
• A learning-friendly atmosphere also promotes a positive culture of mistakes.
• Investing in knowledge transfer with a system is a sustainable investment that ensures the future viability of the company.

New opportunities, new challenges: Corporate Learning Trends 2022

In almost all areas, the signs are currently pointing to digitalisation. This also applies to corporate learning solutions.
More and more agility and flexibility are demanded of companies and their employees. Conventional training can no longer adequately meet the resulting need for up-to-dateness, adaptability and availability of information. If an employee misses a training session, his or her level of knowledge will lag behind until the next training session in six months. If the employee from Brazil only understands half of the English seminar due to the language barrier, this is not satisfactory for anyone and leads to misunderstandings and mistakes.

This is why e-learning for companies is one of the major corporate learning trends of 2022. In today’s working world, an adaptable knowledge offer on demand proves to be an effective supplement to conventional ways of imparting knowledge in the company. Learning can then take place anytime and anywhere, and in corporate learning English is no longer the only language available.

Learning-on-Demand

For a successful learning-on-demand strategy, it is important to distinguish between long-term core concepts and project-related information. Charles Jennings calls this approach “find-access”.

The “find-access” approach is based on the fact that, given today’s information overload and increasing dynamism, it only makes sense to memorise and “learn” core concepts. These are the foundation that is needed for some time. Core concepts are unchanging or change only very slowly. Core concepts apply to most situations and it is helpful to have them in mind. Then you need to familiarise yourself with contextual job and project related information. These are likely to change more frequently, so having them memorised is often a hindrance. You are more familiar with this kind of information. You know where to find it. You are familiar with its nature and content, and you know how to find, retrieve and review it when you need to.

Finally, most of the detailed information or “knowledge” we need at any given time is not only ephemeral and constantly changing, but is very often in the heads of other people. With the right “Know Who?” you will be able to find and retrieve the detailed information quickly.

E-learning videos can be a useful learning-on-demand component in companies, as the audio-visual learning experience is a particularly direct and memorable one. An example of operating an ERP tool in German, English, Chinese and Spanish might look like this:

E-learning courses for companies are organised in Learning Management Systems (LMS). Such programmes ensure that educational content can be optimally organised and managed. Learning management systems are now available in various forms for a wide range of needs, both as cloud solutions and on-premise. With them, employees have access to the content provided according to their needs.

Another advantage of corporate learning management systems is their security. Unlike learning materials in paper form, content provided here cannot get lost or fall into the wrong hands.

More success with Corporate Learning Solutions – What is important?

It pays to establish a modern and sustainable training and development management system in a company. But what is the best way for companies to do this? Ideally in coordinated steps:

• Define goals: Develop your own corporate learning definition and consider where the initiative should lead. What learning goals make sense for employees? Which contents are target-oriented for the company’s success? Is it about efficient technical training? Do you want to promote soft skills? Is it about pure knowledge transfer or should the exchange of knowledge between employees also be promoted?
• Determine contents and methods: Now the learning content can be defined in more detail. It is also important to consider which contents are relevant for which employees and how they can best be made accessible to them. Appropriate corporate learning solutions can then be selected accordingly. Different methods such as seminars and trainings, working with a corporate learning management system and also offers for informal knowledge exchange can be combined for a customised, easily accessible and varied delivery. Such a combination of different methods is also called blended learning. Blended learning accommodates different preferences in the acquisition of knowledge and thus offers employees a lot of room for individually optimised learning.
• Create structures: Once the desired methods and content have been determined, the appropriate technical and personnel structures are established. Delivery methods and learning channels are organised and implemented.
• Transfer of learning: Learning content is only meaningful and sustainably effective if it can also be used practically. So be sure to give your employees the opportunity to apply and implement what they have learned so that their knowledge can really become established in the company.
• Reflection: A good learning environment is open to change and improvement. The decisive factor here is, of course, the feedback from the target group. And that is the learning employees. Therefore, there should always be room for feedback. This helps to reflect and optimise content and methods.

Making the best use of Corporate Learning Solutions: other helpful quick tips

Draw up a learning concept from the perspective of the target group and involve employees if necessary: What is the need? What prior knowledge is available? Which other languages would be useful for corporate learning in German as a supplement?

• Create motivation: communicate the meaning and relevance of the learning processes to employees
• Use varied methods and media
• Check the technical requirements for e-learning: Which devices are available to employees and where?
• Consider user-generated content (e.g. explanatory videos by employees for employees).
• Micro learning: Small learning units with clear and functional visual preparation of content for in-between are easier to integrate into the daily work routine than extensive lessons.
• Storytelling helps learning: Packaging content in stories increases interest and acceptance.

If you would like to learn more about the optimal use of e-learning courses in your company as part of your corporate learning strategy, we would be happy to inform you about our possibilities and offers. Take advantage of contemporary learning opportunities – anytime, anywhere and without language barriers!