Since IT specialists already wear many hats, you likely won't have time to build an entire training platform from scratch yourself. While it's not impossible to create a virtual-training system internally, you can also reach out to a software vendor for prepared videos or work with a company that specializes in creating custom training modules geared toward a particular objective. Whichever way you choose, we've culled some tips to help you keep your colleagues in mind.

As much as we believe in the benefits of initiating training programs, we know that sometimes it's easier said than done. Since no two employees are the same, it can be tricky to balance providing them with additional tools and giving them the personal attention they require. On top of that, you have budgets to consider and other tasks that need your attention, so you have to introduce a system in which you're not spending all of your time training. Self-training is often a useful solution to this conundrum, as growing and learning can provide a more impactful sense of satisfaction among your employees than money alone.

In 2014, Bersin by Deloitte released the results of its 2014 Corporate Learning Factbook, the results of which have been highlighted in the likes of Forbes and TLNT. The data from the study, which analyzed benchmarks and trends in the American and global training markets, provides some great insight into how training and business growth correlate. We've outlined some of the key messages that can be gleaned from this information to help your bottom line.

In a Forbes contribution by Josh Bersin, founder and principal at Bersin by Deloitte, he writes: "US spending on corporate training grew by 15% last year (the highest growth rate in seven years) to over $70 Billion in the US and over $130 Billion worldwide." With these numbers, it's evident that there are a lot of options out there when it comes to training and developing your employees. We know that it can be tough to sort them out and determine which are best for your particular business.

Micromanagement is a burden on everyone involved. It takes time away from a supervisor's day and only frustrates the person being managed. It goes without saying that the best-case scenario is for an employee to prove his or her ability to manage his or her own time, thus earning a degree of independence and negating the need for micromanagement altogether. In order to help you encourage your colleagues to take this initiative, we've gathered some tips for you to share with them.

The Train the Trainer approach has expanded its reach into many contexts, including laboratories, schools, hospitals and the corporate world. Its breadth speaks to its intuitive design and ease of adoption, as Train the Trainer simply involves "initially training a person or people who, in turn, train other people at their home agency," according to a report by the Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness. In other words, one subject-matter expert shares his or her expertise with a group of trainers from your organization. This group then uses this information to instruct others.

Gamification is the process of taking elements from real-life or video games and leveraging them within the corporate environment. According to Gartner Inc.'s Brian Burke in a contribution to Forbes, "When designed correctly, gamification has proven to be very successful in engaging people and motivating them to change behaviors, develop skills or solve problems." The trend has roots in employee performance, corporate training and personal development, though it has also expanded into customer engagement and innovation. No matter the end goal, gamification can add clarity and inject fun into your corporate-learning initiatives. 

In the age of technology, we are virtually connected 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We use technology for everything from scheduling a grocery delivery from our laptops to communicating with a loved one over a text message. Technology, in short, is a way of life. The evolution of technology and its uses, however, aren't immediately adopted by everyone. 

What if your team could become significantly more efficient in its daily tasks? As you may have learned in one of our previous posts, they can—with the right employee-training tracking software. In fact, you can maximize efficiency across your entire business landscape. But you probably have one vital question: How can you effectively measure your return on investment? This is especially true if you want to allocate more time and budgeting toward further training for your employees, but need to ensure it's worth the investment. How can you gain insight into your employees' current progress? 

Looking at the big picture, optimizing new-hire training is about minimizing ramp time. In other words, the quicker your new hires complete training and contribute to the work that needs to get done, the better. In order for key business objectives to be met and exceeded, however, you need to address the new-job learning curve. What can you do to shorten it?

If you've introduced an organizational software platform before, you've probably heard the associated grumblings from your fellow employees. There are several reasons why they could be on auto-disgruntle mode: taking time out of their already busy schedules, being treated as masses instead of individuals, not finding the interface adaptive, and more. The truth is if you operate with a certain mindset, however, you can encourage your employees to follow suit.

A library of training resources puts valuable information at your employees' fingertips. In addition to providing them with the knowledge they need to succeed in their roles, it also lets them return to the lessons if their skills need a brush up. Since they put their trust in you to provide this system, it's important you accumulate the right sources of information. We've compiled a methodology of what to consider for your library, along with some of the benefits of videos vs. slides, to make this process easier.

There's no denying the fact that training employees on new software can take a tremendous amount of time and effort. This problem is only compounded when the software you're dealing with isn't particularly popular and there aren't that many resources out there to help you. The solution for this predicament could be to create a custom curriculum. While this sounds like it could take a lot of work, you'll reap some major benefits in the end. In this post we'll take a closer look, so you can feel empowered in putting together a custom training agenda for your employees.

A corporate learning initiative is no small endeavor. There are, however, a few adjustments to your corporate learning system that can set you up for success in the long run. We've culled some tips to help you accomplish this.

So you've chosen a new software platform to roll out at your company and identified and segmented the employees who will be using it. However, the idea of organizing your own training program for a whole group of people in various roles is understandably a bit daunting. Luckily for you, this is something that's best left in the hands of the experts anyway.