Internal Training: Corporate Universities - Example

27 March Internal Training – Corporate Universities Introduction In the world, today being a full-time employee does not mean one has to stop schooling. The corporate world is engaging employees in various forms of learning. Most companies have come up with what is widely known as corporate universities. A corporate university can therefore be understood as a centralized strategic umbrella for employee education and development, serving as a tool for disseminating an organization’s culture and foster development of job skills, leadership, creative thinking, learning to learn and ability to solve problems. Corporate universities have been developed by those organizations that have seen the need to shift from employee training to employee education due to the emergence of the knowledge economy. Corporations nowadays have seen the need to provide employees with education so as to enable them meet the demands of changing organization requirements so that the organizations can maintain a competitive advantage in the business. It has become a common belief among many corporations that continued employee education can enable them attain set goals and improve performance (Hearn 1). Objectively, companies will form corporate universities so that they can systemize the training function thus maximizing the investment in education to drive change in the organization and expand on workforce employability in order to remain competitive. The organizational models for corporate universities take three forms that are classic, education portal and tailored training. For the typical design, tuition is structured in a way that the employee pursues a degree based on the colleges standard curriculum. Education portals are provided by corporations working with traditional universities to provide the courses on-line. The tailored model has the corporations, and the universities are developing a cycle of distant learning courses that address the organizations needs. The system is designed and delivered in a variety of ways through either satellite communication, virtual campuses, and web-based instructions. Through satellite education, employees are brought together in real time to participate in the course through video conferencing. Similarly, web based training is conducted via internet and advantageous to the corporations in that it helps them customize learning experiences for individual needs and preferences, thus providing a means of measuring performance. Virtual campuses simulate training to mimic actual employee jobs and duties by linking through computer components. Advantages of Corporate Universities It is cheaper to train employees in the corporate universities rather than sending them to the traditional universities. With the technology, organizations can train both their employees and any outsiders interested without having to incur a lot of cost in infrastructure development. Web-based training and virtual reality enable corporations to deliver content to individuals even those who are far. A group of managers sits in a class in Minneapolis headquarters and several miles away in Connecticut, more managers gather in a room (Landau 22). Both groups are attending an M.B.A class conducted miles away. They are connected with high-speed video links, and the various groups can interact with the professor and other students live in a real-time manner (Landau 22). This is a classic example of how corporations can team up to deliver instructions and training within the work environment without having to undergo costs such as sending employees to other institutions. Employees are performing their duties and at the same time, they are learning on the job. Employee retention is another advantage of having to undertake training within the work environment. In organizations that are constantly developing the skills of their workforce, chances are that most employees will prefer to stay in such an environment compared to one where their development is retarded. The current generation likes challenges, and many are curious and eager to learn new skills and add to their knowledge thus corporate universities will provide workers with needed structure to emphasize ongoing learning. "Business managers realize that corporations that offer ongoing education and training enjoy a high rate of employee retention and benefits of a skilled workforce” (Dillich 25). Customization of content in the form of corporate universities does not only work for the company, but also helps develop individual skills hence enhancing knowledge retention among the employees. Corporate universities are also beneficial in engaging the organizations management and workforce. With technological changes and dynamic market structures, companies need to deliver top-notch services. It requires research and a lot of studies to maintain competitive advantage over other service providers. The corporate university framework provides a means that the management can tailor delivery, such that they concentrate on training and delivering knowledge and skills that benefit their organization. Since it is a university within the organization, training can be very specific to the areas of production rather than a general outlook in the traditional universities. Therefore, it makes it easier to engage individual employees in various departments. With these corporate universities opening up to outsiders, nowadays they have turned out to be profitable to the organizations. Just like different units of the organization, the corporate university can fetch income for the company. For instance, Automation University of Zurich, Switzerlands ABB Ltd., Applies the same profit-centered financial system and thorough cost accounting in the training center as it does to other units. They have opened their courses to outsiders especially customers who purchase their equipment (Landau 22). And with technology, the organizations can deliver the content even to individual miles away and individuals do not have to go the facility, at least not for the entire period of the program. Disadvantages of Corporate Universities Corporate universities are not independent thus they do not award credit, degrees or masters and for those that do, they have to be in partnership with other traditional established universities. Most of the time, training can take place without accreditation, and this cannot serve the employee outside his work environment. In most cases except when the universities have partnered, individuals lack proof that they possess particular skills. Employees are only trained to serve a particular organization. The learning model has been criticized for being too idealistic in its approach in that it does not convey the real world scenarios. Content delivery is based on the area of production or specialization of the organization. In the real world, an individual can encounter different environments or work conditions that require similar skills or close to them, but since training was very specific, replicating the skills becomes a challenge. The design methods and delivery framework is not exhaustive in that most of the courses offered in the corporate universities run for a short time rather than the long duration courses in traditional universities that are involving and practical. Setting up the corporate university may be cheap in the short run, but the cost of running the program may be enormous especially when returns are not appealing. The training costs may at times be very high and yet the results achieved will not add to the organization objectives and goals. Therefore, a good program should consider ways to measure and deliver results over the cost of spending on the interests of the organization. The short term savings should not blind managers who should rather focus on long-term results that can be achieved from the program. The question one asks is, are the corporate universities posing a threat to the traditional universities, or they are presenting an opportunity to deliver content to employees? The model designed for delivery of corporate university education serves the program right. Traditional universities though are bound to suffer from competition from these corporate universities. The short courses that the traditional universities used to offer such as ‘leadership for extraordinary performance are being provided by corporate universities such as Disney University (Landau 23). The competition means income that accrues from such programs diminishes since the corporate universities are offering the courses at a much cheaper rate. Although there is competition, top schools such as Darden do not consider it as something to worry about since there is plenty they still have to handle, as such institutions are moving to providing online programs too for the same courses. Measuring Employee Training In order to be competitive in the business world and ensure that employees are retained, companies need to conduct trainings and development of employees. By investing in employee development and training, companies get ahead of the business and it enables them to remain competitive. Human resources managers are tasked with the obligation of ensuring employees remain competitive and have the relevant skills. It is crucial to identify organization’s training needs, design an appropriate plan and select the best means to implement the program. For the functions of the program to be effective, they have to be in line with organizations objectives. Training is considered an important aspect of helping organizations achieve objectives, as there is a strong relationship between organization successes and investing in employee training. Some of the main advantages of employee training include; increased employee engagement, internal knowledge transfer, on-boarding of new employees, diversification of initiatives, career planning and development of leadership. Organizations should come up with ways to measure if the program is functional. The success of any training or mentoring program is very necessary for harnessing support from the rest of the departments of the organization. When evaluating the program, consider the initiative in the context of a higher organization need with realistically set performance indicators and targets (Fickenscher 1). The strategy should elaborate the segments to be measured, and the tactics employed. The organizations objectives can form a basis on which employees are training and mentoring will follow, since they are an overview of the initiatives that exist in the company. The objectives can focus on a broad array of areas such as employee competency, retention and transfer of knowledge, leadership skills, and employee retention among others. After establishing the initiative, the organization ought to come up with the main performance indicators for measuring success. The indicators should measure employee behavior and response to the program, participation and the outcomes at the organizational level. These are the main areas that will help in establishing and determining the cause-effect relationships between achievement and failure. For instance, if satisfaction is high among employees who are part of the program, but membership is still minimal, then as a manager, one should have identified one of the factors that are the core to attaining organizational goals. For example, if among the objectives that need training is employee competence, to measure it, the manager should evaluate expertise based on skill assessment, the number of training sessions completed on average per trained employee. Once the indicators have been set, the organization will look forward to establishing targets to measure success and segments for outcomes to analyze against targets. The process turns the objectives to be defined as specific, measurable, attainable, and realistic and time-bound (SMART). It is nice to measure improvement of a particular segment of organizational baseline (Fickenscher 1). In order to measure results after establishing the performance indicators, the manager needs specific benchmarks against which he is going to assess the program to see if it is performing well or failing. For example, Indicators that track acquisition and behavior like program behavior and completion should be evaluated by use of workflows and segments. A completed program means that the employee has been in training in at least five program areas, and has engaged in a variety of sessions or established a record of success. Once the goals and units of measurement are well defined and developed, then the manager can set up mechanics on how to measure results. At this stage, computer software programs are of great use since they provide several metric features to employ. Some of the features include analytics that track the training program and individual connection progress, reports that assess real-time performance of employee and export details for more evaluation and lastly, another feature is surveys that collect feedback from participants over the whole training exercise. For a company like Ford motor company, they deliver their training through their corporate university FORDSTAR, which is a network that allows Ford to deliver training and offer expert and product information straight to their dealers. Training is conducted via one-way video streaming and two-way audio through digital world network. The program is designed for employees in their sales, technical service, and parts departments. Ford does its assessment of the program through various measures. To begin with, each session requires progression of steps and if employees fail to progress through the course facilitators, the deficiencies can be quickly noticed and changes made on the learning techniques as necessary. FORDSTAR nurtures its educators by provision of instructional designers and instructors with their orientation courses, and each focuses on the roles of the learner rather than that of the instructor (Hearn 1). With proper objectives, well-articulated performance indicators and measurements, human resource managers and fellow stakeholders can effectively implement and evaluate the success of any training program thus enhancing employee engagement and building a stronger workforce. Conclusion Coming up with corporate institutions requires commitment to the value of investing in employee training and development. Organizations develop corporate universities that aim at improving employee competencies, skills, and abilities, to ensure they are competitive for the prosperity of the organization. Employee retention and satisfaction are the key objectives of establishing these corporate institutions, as well as the desire to outsmart fellow competitors in terms of service delivery and client satisfaction. The corporate institutions and training facilities are built on a structure that understands the primary concern for knowledge and information among employees in their various aspects of specialization. The benefits to the employees far outweigh the roles they will be assigned to perform, as the availability of institutions near them adds to their knowledge pool and opens employees to new ideas and innovations. Corporate universities have presented the world today with a revolution, as they are the fastest growing segments of adult education. In addition, organizations that provide services of corporate universities are said to have an advantage over the eligible employee pool since there is the perception that they are the employers of choice. Future projections indicate that corporate training is going to be the best way to enhance employee skills and knowledge retention in organizations, as individuals strive to outsmart fellow competitors. With the opening of the corporate universities to the outside world, it is becoming evident that these organizations are going to create their employee niche with specialists majoring in various lines of operation tailored to fit organization objectives. As the system diversifies, managers may look to introduce some live components to programs although much of the work can only be done online due to limited infrastructural development. Works Cited Dillich, sandra. "IT Training & Careers." Computing Canada 26.16 (Aug 4th 2000). Print. Fickenscher, Kira. “How To Measure The Effectiveness Of Your Mentoring Program.” TLNT. 31 October 2013. Web. 27 March 2015. Hearn, Denise R. "Education in the Workplace: An Examination of Corporate University Models.” newfoundations.com. 2001. Web. 27 march 2015. Landau, Meryl Davids. "Corporate Universities Crack Open Their Doors." Journal of Business Strategy 21.3 (2000): 19-23. Print. Read More