8 Best Training and Development Programs for Employees

As a business owner, you know that your employees are the backbone of your company. Yet, without the proper training, even the most talented professionals might be unable to live up to their potential.

Providing training and developing your employees’ skills are essential to a successful organization and critical to effective Human Resources (HR) management. However, nearly 59% of employees claim they had no workplace training and that most of their skills were self-taught.

It’s crucial for organizations to take the time to assess their talent development needs and implement a training strategy for their employees. This article explores the importance of employee training and how it can help your business thrive. We’ll also highlight examples of training and development programs for employees.

Let’s start by understanding what employee training and development is.

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What is employee training and development?

Employee training and development refers to providing employees with the necessary skills and knowledge to improve their performance and productivity in their current positions—and prepare them for future roles within the organization.

This process involves many programs and activities designed to enhance employees’ abilities, improve performance, and increase job satisfaction. At the minimum level, most new employees undergo an orientation process during their first few days at a company to learn critical information about their position.

With continued engagement, employee learning and development programs can take many forms, such as classroom instruction, on-the-job training, self-paced learning modules, seminars, and coaching sessions. Virtual training programs are a great way to ensure effective learning for remote teams.

We’ll review some examples of employee training programs later in the article, so keep reading to learn more.

The benefits of training and developing employees

These programs are beneficial for employees and employers. Some benefits of employee training programs include:

• Improved employee performance. The first and most apparent benefit of employee training and career development programs is that they boost employees’ knowledge and skills, leading to improved job performance. This leads to increased efficiency, productivity, and quality of work, helping you build a more successful team.
• Increased job satisfaction. Employees who feel they’re learning and growing are more likely to feel satisfied with their job and employer. In fact, 59% of millennials claim development opportunities are extremely important when deciding whether to apply for a position. Providing training sessions can boost employee morale and motivation, leading to a more positive work environment.
• Reduced employee turnover. Replacing an existing employee is expensive and can cost six to nine months of their salary. What can you do to reduce employee turnover and related recruitment costs? According to iHire’s 2022 Talent Retention Report, some of the top reasons people left their jobs in the past year included few growth or advancement opportunities (28.3%) and a lack of professional development opportunities (23.9%). Both issues can be tackled by having effective development and training programs.
• Avoiding compliance issues. Training courses can go a long way in ensuring employees are aware of legal requirements and regulations relevant to their work, reducing the risk of legal or regulatory violations. This helps businesses save money on legal fees and avoid damaging their reputation.

Characteristics of effective training and development programs

While training and development programs are essential for a business’s success, not all are created equal. You can recognize an effective program using certain key characteristics. These include:

• Individualized training. Well-designed training and development programs recognize employees’ learning styles and requirements. Provide training tailored to meet each employee’s specific needs. You can also offer training in various formats, such as online courses, in-person workshops, and hands-on technical training.
• Ongoing learning opportunities. A good training and development plan provides ongoing learning opportunities to employees, ensuring the coursework improves continuously and stays updated with industry trends and best practices.
• Incorporating feedback. For a training program to be effective, it must incorporate employee feedback, including their thoughts on the training materials, delivery methods, and content.
• Mentoring. Consider including mentoring in the program to allow employees to learn new skills from experienced colleagues and leaders. The valuable insights and guidance from top-level professionals can help new hires further their knowledge and contribute positively to the company culture.
• Well-timed training. Businesses should provide their employees with suitable training at the right time. This means training is provided before or during significant change or growth, such as when an employee takes on a new role or responsibility.
• Training for current and future roles. While a business should provide employees with training relevant to their current job responsibilities, it should also prepare them for future roles. This includes training in leadership and other hard and soft skills to help them advance in their careers.

Top training and development programs for employees

The right program for your organization depends on your specific needs and goals, so it’s best to research before deciding which one to choose.

‍Our picks for the top training and development programs for your employees:

1. LinkedIn Learning
2. Coursera for Business
3. Udemy Business
4. Harvard ManageMentor
5. Skillshare
6. Udacity for Enterprise
7. Pluralsight
8. In-house training and development

1. LinkedIn Learning

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LinkedIn Learning is an online training platform to help individuals and organizations develop skills and knowledge. It offers more than 20,000 courses, videos, and other learning resources on leadership, time management, digital marketing, software development, and many other subject areas.

Features:

• Personalized learning. LinkedIn Learning uses user profiles and activity data to recommend courses and content tailored to individual needs and interests.
• High-quality content. The courses are created by experts and instructors with real-world experience. This helps the platform to provide updated and relevant content on various topics.
• Progress tracking. LinkedIn Learning allows organizations to track employee progress and completion of courses. This can aid managers in identifying areas where employees may need additional training and measuring the effectiveness of the training program.

Pricing:

• Individual. $239.88 billed annually, for access to all courses
• Enterprise. Custom pricing

2. Coursera for Business

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Coursera for Business offers more than 8,500 online courses and training programs to provide employees with impactful skills that support your business needs. It focuses on hands-on learning and provides step-by-step guidance from experts to help your employees stay competitive in their industry and advance in their career paths.

Features:

• Access to top-ranked universities. Coursera for Business offers learners access to courses from over 275 top-ranked universities and institutions worldwide, including Yale University, Duke University, and Northwestern University.
• Measurement and benchmarking. The platform’s Skills Dashboard allows you to identify your employees’ skill gaps and compare your organization’s proficiency to industry peers.
• Guided projects. Help your employees master new and in-demand skills in under two hours with Coursera for Business’s Guided Projects.

Pricing:

• Team (5-125 users). $399 per user billed annually, for access to all courses
• Enterprise (125+ users). Custom pricing

3. Udemy Business

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Udemy Business is a complete online learning solution to help upskill your workforce at scale. It’s trusted by over 14,000 businesses worldwide and offers courses on topics like human resources, engineering, and learning and development.

Features:

• User-friendly interface. Udemy Business has an intuitive interface that’s easy to navigate and offers 24/7 access, making it easy for employees to find and enroll in courses.
• Localized learning. Courses from Udemy Business’s International Collection are taught by instructors in their native languages, providing a diverse and inclusive learning experience.
• Top-rated courses. Udemy Business courses are taught by real-world experts with an average learner review score of 4.5 out of 5.

Pricing:

• Team (5-20 users). $360 per user billed annually, access to 8,000 courses
• Enterprise (21 or more users). Custom pricing, access to 20,000 courses
• Leadership Academy. Custom pricing

4. Harvard ManageMentor

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Harvard ManageMentor is a digital learning experience that offers a collection of on-demand, world-class content to develop leaders at all levels. It features interactive courses in 42 topic areas to equip students with the most in-demand skills in today’s job market and help them thrive in the workforce.

Features:

• High-quality content. The program offers content developed by Harvard Business School faculty, ensuring learners receive a top-notch educational experience.
• Customizable learning. Your employees can customize their learning journey and choose to focus on specific areas of interest or complete the full curriculum.
• Real-world scenarios. The courses use real-world scenarios and interactive exercises to help learners understand and apply the concepts and skills in their own work environments.

Pricing:

• Topics (1 topic). $49.95 per user billed annually
• Curated Collections (3-4 topics). $125 per user billed annually
• Premium Collection (42 topics). $665 per user billed annually

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5. Skillshare

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Skillshare is a leading platform for online courses. It’s well suited for businesses looking to invest in their employees’ creative personal and professional development and equip them with the skills they need to succeed in areas like photography, digital art, culinary arts and so many more.

Features:

• Wide range of courses. Skillshare For Teams gives your employees unlimited access to 35,000 classes, covering everything from soft skills to marketing essentials.
• On-demand learning. The platform allows employees to learn at their own pace and schedule. Employees can access courses whenever they have free time, making it easy to fit training into busy work lives.
• Detailed analytics. Stay updated on your employees’ learning progress with in-depth reporting, including which courses they’ve completed and how they’ve performed on assessments.

Pricing:

• Skillshare For Teams. $159 per user billed annually

6. Udacity for Enterprise

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Udacity for Enterprise is a product offered by Udacity—a popular online education provider—designed to meet the learning needs of organizations and their employees. The program provides a range of courses and nanodegree programs in technical skills, such as data science, artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, cloud computing, and autonomous systems, as well as executive leadership in technical subject areas..

Features:

• Flexibility and customization. The platform is consultative—it partners with you to understand your team’s skill gaps and curate a program to meet your specific business objectives.
• Quick response time. Udacity’s team of technically trained mentors answers all questions in under two hours to prevent any delays in learning.
• Co-created with business leaders. The courses are designed with the insights of top tech companies, including Google, Facebook, and Hootsuite.

Pricing:

• Udacity for Enterprise. Custom pricing

7. Pluralsight

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Pluralsight was created to advance the global tech workforce. It’s an online tech skills platform that can help unlock your team’s potential and allow your employees to develop critical skills. More than 7,000 courses are available.

Features:

• Adaptive learning technology. This ensures employees get an e-learning experience tailored to their needs and learning style.
• Role-based learning. Pluralsight offers courses designed for specific job roles. This allows employees to gain the particular knowledge or skill set they need to excel in their current position or prepare for a new one.
• Hands-on labs. The platform provides a secure, real-world environment where your employees can practice their newly acquired skills without risking any damage to your organization’s systems.

Pricing:

• Starter (2-10 users). $399 per user billed annually, access to limited course library
• Professional (2-10 users). $579 per user billed annually, access to full course library
• Enterprise (11+ users). $779 per user billed annually

8. In-house and custom training and development

Of course, you can create an in-house or custom employee training program to improve your team members’ knowledge and capabilities. This can have many benefits and allows you to cater to your employees’ specific needs.

Features:

• Tailored to the organization’s needs. An in-house or custom training program is best suited to cater to your business’s unique requirements. You’ll have greater control over the program’s content, timing, and delivery and can adapt it to your business’s changing needs.
• Cost-effective. An in-house training program can be more cost-effective than outsourcing to an external provider. The organization can leverage existing resources to deliver and develop the courses.
• Greater employee engagement. When you create an in-house employee training program, you foster a culture of learning and development within the organization. This can improve employee morale and motivation since your team will appreciate that you dedicated resources for their growth.

Pricing:

• Nominally free if you use in-house resources. Training and development professionals may charge various fees for developing and delivering custom courses.  

Things to consider when choosing a program

You’ll want to consider many factors before zeroing in on an employee training and skills development program for your organization. These include:

• Budget. Consider the costs associated with the program and the cost of taking employees away from their regular roles to attend the training.
• Learning style. Employees may have different learning styles; some prefer hands-on learning, while others prefer traditional lectures. Pick learning programs that support different approaches to skills training and personal development.
• Organizational goals. Training programs should be aligned with the goals and objectives of the organization. Consider the specific skills and knowledge needed to achieve these goals, and choose a program that can help employees develop those qualities.
• Timing. Training is most effective when the skills learned can be put to use during or soon after completing the training. Follow-up reviews can also aid retention.

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Build effective training and development programs with help from Upwork

Effective employee training and development programs help team members achieve their full potential while contributing to the organization’s success. While investing in employee development programs may seem expensive, it can positively impact your bottom line in the long run.

Consider all your options and spend time picking the right program and implementing it. You can also work with a training and development professional on Upwork to create a custom program for your business.

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‍Upwork is not affiliated with and does not sponsor or endorse any of the tools or services discussed in this article. These tools and services are provided only as potential options, and each reader and company should take the time needed to adequately analyze and determine the tools or services that would best fit their specific needs and situation.