Do you teach a scientist? Corporate training as a way to motivate

Forward-thinking managers know: qualified employees are as much an advantage of the company as high-class service, extensive range and high quality products. In order to constantly improve the level of qualification of employees, it is necessary to create the right system of corporate training, which will also become a tool for motivating staff.

… The experts answered three questions about corporate training:

1. Is corporate training an effective way to motivate employees?
2. For which employees will corporate training be the most effective motivation tool?
3. should the choice of corporate training courses be based on the needs of each employee or should the same courses be offered to everyone?

Yulia Shchedrinskaya, HR Development and Training Manager at Informzaschita.

«1. Corporate training has long been one of the most effective and actively used tools of staff motivation in the company. This is due to the fact that the training market does not stand still, and today one can enjoy not only getting the necessary knowledge for further development, but also the training process itself.

Personnel training belongs to the factors motivating to work (Herzberg theory), and it means that the company, sending its employee for training, counts on long-term relations with him/her.

2. Everything depends on the level of readiness of the employee and well-chosen training programs. But it is unprofessional, in my opinion, to single out certain categories of employees. If we are talking about corporate training, then all employees should study. The other thing is what methods to use for training to be effective in two directions: obtaining information and motivation.
3. When choosing courses, one should clearly understand the purpose of training and, most importantly, the result. Training for training is money for the wind! Ideally, before choosing a course, a pre-training diagnostic is carried out, which involves employees who have applied for training. This information will primarily help in developing a training program that will be written based on the needs of the organization, as well as clarify the situation and give an indication of how well the employees are aware of this issue. It is possible to offer the same courses, but the probability of not achieving the planned result at the beginning of training will be maximal, because the level of training is different for each employee: someone needs to develop skills, and someone also needs to know”.

Nadezhda Shalashilina, HR Director, LANIT Group.

«1. For many specialists in the field of information technologies, the possibility of continuous professional growth and the expansion of their horizons are among the main life priorities. In addition, it is simply necessary for IT specialists to learn to keep up with the rapidly changing technological context.

Finally, in our industry there is often a direct correlation between training, prestigious international certifications and salary increases. Therefore, those who link their future with information technology value companies that can provide such training. For us, learning is not just an effective way of motivation, but a “norm of life”. Everything is permeated with training: we use the possibilities of our own training center “Network Academy” and training with vendors, participation in partner conferences and constant confirmation of our qualification by certificates. Opportunities to share experiences in the professional community and participate in major projects under the guidance of more experienced mentors are another part of the training.

2. Corporate training will be the most effective motivation for those employees who feel responsible for their own development. In other words, training, which the employee himself felt and realized, is particularly effective.

The training system should be flexible. In our practice, we focus on individual employee development plans. The plans are prepared jointly by the employee and his or her immediate superior. In this way, the preferences of the individual and the interests of the company are aligned.

3. The selection of specific activities in the plan is based on recommended and proven training courses. However, the development plan is not limited to courses only. It also includes independent development of any skills, study of new products, participation in projects in new roles, training of younger colleagues”.

Svetlana Starikova, Head of Baltika Breweries Corporate University.

«1 — 2. We do not consider training to be an instrument of motivation. This is one way of development, and training is provided on the basis of business need.

3. The choice of training courses is conditioned by the business tasks to be solved by obtaining new knowledge and/or skills on training.

Of course, we try to form corporate groups for training in such a way that the number of participants approximately matches the level. All programmes are divided into 4 faculties. Thus, the Leadership and Management Faculty includes programs related to career and succession planning, development of managerial and leadership competencies. The Faculty of Production and Technology is designed to transfer specialist knowledge and to develop a mentoring system. The third faculty – Business Skills Department – conducts trainings of the same name, provides development of applied skills (such as work in Excel and PowerPoint) and provides the opportunity to learn a foreign language. Finally, the Professional Department is responsible for functional and cross-functional training that develops skills in their respective areas.

Elena Stikhina, Development Director, TransConsultingGroup HR agency.

«1. Corporate training is one of the effective tools for motivating mid-level personnel who are motivated to acquire status in the company, for career growth. For such employees obtaining new knowledge is a new opportunity both in this company and outside it. Corporate training is beneficial not only for the employee, but also for the employer, because if an employee receives new knowledge, he will achieve much greater results in his work.

Besides, the employee feels involved in the company in this way, which is important.

2. There are two options for corporate training: for all employees (necessary when creating a new product or direction) and for groups of people or individual specialists. It is necessary to conduct regular surveys and identify the need for training, because in the end it affects the effectiveness of each and the team as a whole. Then it will be an effective means of motivation.

If a company has a narrow focus (specialization), then corporate training gives a person the necessary tools for work. For example, corporate seminars “VAT on transportation services”, “Supply chain management” in the transport and logistics holding are very effective, for employees this knowledge is invaluable, although outside the company this knowledge may not be useful”.