Corporate learning activities still represent a significant cost for many organisations according to Prof. Colin Coulson-Thomas, author of ‘Developing a Corporate Learning Strategy ’. The experience of companies recently visited suggests many opportunities to generate revenues are being missed. According to Coulson-Thomas: “A corporate learning strategy should add value for shareholders and customers … not impose extra costs.”

The ‘Developing a Corporate Learning Strategy’ report lists 25 examples of information and knowledge-based services, as well as learning and development activities, which could be shared, undertaken collaboratively, or offered to third parties commercially by electronic means.

The Professor believes: “Corporate learning has already crossed a watershed in some organisations to become a vital business driver. HR and training professionals who are not at the heart of what needs to be done in others are going to be increasingly marginalised. That won’t be good for their organisations, or for their own career prospects.” Coulson-Thomas insists there are no off-the-peg answers: “Each organisation needs to review the issues it faces and understand the far-reaching nature of corporate learning challenges and opportunities. The debate needs to be informed and realistic. Your solution should be different from others but right for your situation and context, right for the people you are responsible for, and right for customers and those you serve.”

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Based on in-depth research involving 69 organisations with 460,000 employees, the 239 page A4 report ‘Developing a Corporate Learning Strategy’ can be used to review an organisation’s learning strategy, brief the top management team on learning issues, find out how to set up a ‘corporate university’ or centre of learning, focus on the new learning agenda, develop a strategy to create knowledge entrepreneurs, and discover ways of generating add-on revenues from corporate learning activities.

9 policy issues are examined in depth in the ‘Developing a Corporate Learning Strategy’ report, including developing the skills and assembling the internal and external capabilities to build a learning organisation. The report contains diagrams, checklists and 13 revealing case studies to help ensure an organisation’s corporate learning strategy adds value for its customers and shareholders.

Table of Contents:

• The research team
• How the research was conducted
• Executive summary
• Understanding the learning landscape
• Determining the rationale and purpose of learning
• Formulating learning vision, objectives and strategy
• Agreeing learning centre roles, responsibilities, tasks and priorities
• Building learning competencies and capabilities
• Acquiring required learning capabilities
• Setting up learning programmes
• Supporting corporate learning
• Measuring learning performance
• Further reading