By Hamish Williams

In a dynamic and constantly changing business environment, the way we develop our people is also constantly in a state of flux. The traditional apprenticeship model was long relied upon for developing many professional roles. New employees would arrive at an organisation with only base level knowledge of a role and simply learn the job from those above them.

This model is fast becoming extinct as layers of management are removed from organisations and managers have less and less time to spend personally developing their own people. Individuals are now expected to enter into some form of formal learning and development program to develop their abilities and in turn improve organisational performance.

Metrics for measuring the effects of training on organisational performance are still sorely lacking for many organisations however. A  McKinsey study found the demand for credible metrics for measuring learning and development program effectiveness has greatly increased in recent years.

With today’s greater focus on formal learning and development programs, organisations are quite entitled to expect measurable results from their expenditure. The same study revealed that organisations who reported “very effective” learning programs placed greater emphasis than others on cooperation between the human resources function overseeing the development programs and the business units.

This study reflects the view that the effect of learning on a business is greater when those delivering the training and those undertaking it “co-own” the program, along with its results. At AIM, we have a long history of partnering with corporate clients to ensure they receive the best results possible from their learning and development programs.

The key idea is that of a partnership as we believe that as a training and development provider, we have a real stake in the success of our clients. Rather than providing a one-size-fits-all approach to developing organisational capability, we know that every organisation has different needs that relate to their industry, their competitive environment and their unique business strategy.

As a preferred training provider to more than half of ASX200 listed companies, our Nationwide Corporate Solutions team has developed a strong reputation for delivering learning and development programs that guarantee real performance improvements. Their ability to deliver results is highly reliant on setting a client’s expectations at every stage of the design process and building a feedback loop that ensures these expectations are met and exceeded during delivery.

Like any partnership, understanding each other’s expectations at the outset is crucial for success. We have an innate understanding of this principle at AIM which is why we’ve been the trusted learning and development partner for Australian businesses for more than 75 years.

To find out more about how AIM can help your organisation achieve real and measurable performance improvement from your learning and development programs, please visit AIM Customised Solutions.