Corporate Learning and Development
As Benjamin Franklin once said “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest”, and we think Mr Franklin got it to spot on. Corporate learning and development isn’t something that’s ‘nice’ to have in your organization. It’s a vital part of a company’s long-term investment and growth strategy.
In today’s environment of economic instability, increasing calamities natural as well as man-made and empowered learning and development team improves employee retention.
The changing global dynamics help develop and implement learning strategies and programs that meet business needs. Learning and development commonly referred to as training and development, is a part of the HR structure. The objective of learning and development is to align employee goals and performance with that of the organizations.
Corporate learning and development aim to identify skill gaps among employees and teams so that they can develop and deliver training to bridge those gaps.
The Insurance sector can broadly be divided into two areas:
1. Insurers who protect the risk clients face.
2. Insurance broker who provide their expertise to ensure that their clients receive the best cover for the risks they face.
Every individual has their idea as to what makes a ‘good training program’. The truth is that there isn’t a unique model of what constitutes the ideal training program.
Training and development are the key factors concerned with organizational activity aimed at bettering the performance of individuals as well as a group setting. It has been known by several names, including Human Resource Development, and learning and development.
However, some things remain the same in all good training programs; no matter what the industry, the employee size, the purpose of the program, the geography, and demography.
An individual is evaluated on the current job he/she holds based on the training procedure.
When structuring training programs, ensure they are goal-oriented and the Key Performance Indicators are chosen to paint a holistic picture – time, cost, effectiveness, quality, and quantity of the program.
Also, a Manager’s involvement helps increase employee engagement in learning. A survey conducted by LinkedIn noted that 56% of employees would spend more time on their training if their manager directed, or recommended, them to a specific program that directly they believe will improve their skills.
Creative Workplace learning is evolving into a place where adding fun, bite-sized, and relevant activities to training are becoming increasingly popular to increase employee engagement.
Also Incorporating post-training follow-ups, such as short lessons or activities to review new concepts learned or face-to-face feedback sessions, can help ensure concepts are understood and actively practised.
The essential training area that falls under the insurance sector is primarily industry-specific which covers the insurance skill training industry as well as the technical training and regulatory industries, a board and senior management training is also set up to enhance their risk-based decision-making skills. The secondary essential training area is the generic one that covers: Sales and marketing, Business and people skills, Financial skills, Soft skills and Induction, and onboarding industries.
As mentioned earlier, while the Insurance needs continue to grow with an increase in population, infrastructure, and wealth, the Learning and Development teams in this sector have several challenges that need to be addressed.
The regulated industry mandates that the required pieces of training happen across the organization and within the stipulated time. It also requires that attestation of completion and records for the same are maintained meticulously.
The ongoing updates, similar to the Finance and Healthcare sector, the need to ensure that the updates reach all users is very high and of utmost importance. Not only does the learning strategy requires to have a provision for a speedy update, but it also requires to ensure that these reach the users and get applied on the job and are noticed in the work.
High volumes of information are to be safely kept as the insurer’s data and personal information which they have shared with the trust of not being leaked any further are of utmost priority.
The reasons why Learning and Development are important for organizations today and tomorrow is that the employees desire opportunities to Learn as, According to a 2016 Gallup report, 87% of millennials say learning and development in the workplace are important while 59% of millennials say having opportunities to learn and grow are extremely important when deciding whether to apply for a job.
Moreover, hiring is more expensive than employee retention as the actual difficulty is to understand the actual costs of employee turnover, however, it is an inherently understood thing that losing productive employees is not a favourable thing. In their 2018 Employee Retention Report, Work Institute reported that 1 in 4 employees tend to leave their job and nearly 77% of that turnover could be prevented by employers. Learning and Development not only help in boosting employee’s productivity, but it is incredibly important to boost employee confidence in themselves and trust in their employer.
Providing Training to Employees Improves the Bottom Line as a company’s greatest asset is its employees. Right? As learning & development focuses on filling in knowledge gaps and upskilling employees by focusing on the strengths of their employees, companies have reported anywhere between a 14%-29% increase in profit.
According to an IBM study, it was found that well-trained teams increased their productivity by 10%. Coaching and training employees is a great way to empower them to succeed as it would result in the success of the company as well as, Untrained Employees Result to be a Risk as it is the responsibility of the companies to ensure that their employees work in a safe and efficient office environment.
Somehow it is presumed that proper workplace behaviour is something people inherently know; companies can be proactive in training employees to maintain a safe and inclusive workplace. Carrying out an effective ethics training program would help ensure employees work better and minimize the risk of lawsuits for failing to comply with industry standards in safety and workplace behaviour.
Learnsure provides insurance companies with innovative corporate learning and development solutions to increase productivity and improve the competencies of your workforce.
