Digital transformation and change management involve multiple components and each has to be arranged in a way that could lead to achieving the goals successfully. Forward-thinking leaders realize that the first step towards improving competitive advantage is to digitally transform their corporate training program. Mostly overlooked, one of the most important elements in digital transformation is the role of providing professional support to the existing employees and training new ones.

When done properly, it produces employees who are confident and are prepared and happily support organizational transformation. It can have adverse effects if done poorly, resulting in the employees that are unengaged, unwilling, and reluctant to accept the change in ways of working. This also results in managers spending extra time and effort in enforcing workflows and policies which makes digital transformation less likely to succeed.

With the spread and restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, knowledge workers across the globe are forced into quarantine and work from home. Digital transformation expedited and became more urgent for training organizations due to this change in the work environment. However, organizations have realized during the COVID-19 pandemic that it is not easy to transform corporate training programs for the progressively digital and virtual corporate work environments.

Some steps to begin with the digital transformation of corporate training programs are:

Alignment

Most learning and development professionals often begin with choosing a platform for training programs. The most important aspects of a training program should be a focus on the goals of the training program, ways of measuring the impact and outcomes of training programs, and to see how aligned are the learning goals to the corporate performance measures of the company. When taken into consideration, these will inform the company's digital transformation of corporate learning blueprint.

Engaging Corporate Leadership

The engagement and backing of corporate leaders while making any efforts to digitally transform corporate learning programs is crucial. The corporate leaders have to be engaged at all levels in order to support and contribute to the digital transformation strategy to make it a success.

Create Culture of Digital Learning

With the support of corporate leadership, which is important in initiating the digital transformation, it is also important to invest in change management measures for trainers, learners, and subject matter experts. With these strategies in place, it will be easy to gain momentum and pull off return on investment.

Agility

While working towards the digital transformation of corporate training programs, there should be a focus on agility in order to handle the increasing rate of change. The focus should be on people, culture, and tactics. During this time of uncertainty, especially in 2020 that has introduced us to COVID-19, lockdowns, and remote work, the rate of change is increasing and the future is difficult to predict. It is useless to have a strategy that doesn’t allow for quick course corrections.

Iterative Approach

To have an iterative approach in designing a digital transformation blueprint is significant. One should be willing to admit a timely change in strategy and thoughtful consideration of ways to change it. It can be achieved by creating a learning and testing pattern, acknowledge failures, and learn from other companies.

Employee corporate training is not just ensuring that employees know their job and how to do it, but also helps new employees introduced to a corporate culture where they feel engaged, invested, and contributes to the business success as a whole. Relevant and useful corporate training programs and corporate training courses for employees are important for the success of digital transformation, and employees do all they can to support them.