Corporate trainer
Encyclopedia
A corporate trainer is a specialized skill
development position in a corporation
where the goal is to help improve the performance of the employees. The performance areas can range from "soft skills" or "people skills" to “hard skills” relating to specific technical tasks. The term is generic and could be applied to nearly any skill whether technical, physical or otherwise. Also, the role is not solely reserved for corporations. Other organizations such as non-profit groups or government organizations can make use of a corporate trainer's services.
An effective corporation or other organization functions as a system and lack of the skills mentioned above and others can keep the organization from functioning as an effective system
, and thus keep the organization and its members from reaching their goals. An effective corporate trainer can remove these impediments and be very valuable to the organization.
In order to effectively support the team, corporate trainers must work as a business partner of the organization they are supporting. In other words, trainers should not operate in a bubble - removed from the realities facing their clients. Either internal or external trainers can be partners, depending on the needs of the organization.
Internal trainers have the advantage of knowing the organization and employees well. They are more likely to have a long-term relationship with the organization and continue to support skills improvement over time. External trainers have the advantage of an outside perspective. They can effectively deliver training or intervene in a way that is difficult for internal trainers.
Trainers can help employees learn new skills but to have an impact on broader organizational change, they need the support of senior management.
Some employees become corporate trainers through their expertise in a particular subject matter and an interest in instruction. Others have formal education in Instructional Technology
, Instructional Design
, Organizational Development or Human Resources Development. There are two professional organizations that help guide this profession:
The corporate trainer role rose in the consciousness of most people in the US
after Richard Hatch
, a corporate trainer by trade, won the Survivor reality television
competition. Other corporate trainers include Simon Davie from Sliding Doors Australasia, who launched the world's first Finish at Four campaign designed to increase awareness of the risks of overwork and workplace stress by encouraging workers to finish at 4pm on October 12 2007.
Skill
A skill is the learned capacity to carry out pre-determined results often with the minimum outlay of time, energy, or both. Skills can often be divided into domain-general and domain-specific skills...
development position in a corporation
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
where the goal is to help improve the performance of the employees. The performance areas can range from "soft skills" or "people skills" to “hard skills” relating to specific technical tasks. The term is generic and could be applied to nearly any skill whether technical, physical or otherwise. Also, the role is not solely reserved for corporations. Other organizations such as non-profit groups or government organizations can make use of a corporate trainer's services.
An effective corporation or other organization functions as a system and lack of the skills mentioned above and others can keep the organization from functioning as an effective system
System
System is a set of interacting or interdependent components forming an integrated whole....
, and thus keep the organization and its members from reaching their goals. An effective corporate trainer can remove these impediments and be very valuable to the organization.
In order to effectively support the team, corporate trainers must work as a business partner of the organization they are supporting. In other words, trainers should not operate in a bubble - removed from the realities facing their clients. Either internal or external trainers can be partners, depending on the needs of the organization.
Internal trainers have the advantage of knowing the organization and employees well. They are more likely to have a long-term relationship with the organization and continue to support skills improvement over time. External trainers have the advantage of an outside perspective. They can effectively deliver training or intervene in a way that is difficult for internal trainers.
Trainers can help employees learn new skills but to have an impact on broader organizational change, they need the support of senior management.
Some employees become corporate trainers through their expertise in a particular subject matter and an interest in instruction. Others have formal education in Instructional Technology
Instructional technology
In education, instructional technology is "the theory and practice ofdesign, development, utilization, management, and evaluation of processes and resources for learning," according to the Association for Educational Communications and Technology Definitions and Terminology Committee...
, Instructional Design
Instructional design
Instructional Design is the practice of creating "instructional experiences which make the acquisition of knowledge and skill more efficient, effective, and appealing." The process consists broadly of determining the current state and needs of the learner, defining the end goal of instruction, and...
, Organizational Development or Human Resources Development. There are two professional organizations that help guide this profession:
- American Society of Training and Development (ASTD)ASTDThe American Society for Training & Development is a non-profit association for workplace learning and performance professionals.-Membership:...
- International Society for Performance Improvement
The corporate trainer role rose in the consciousness of most people in the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
after Richard Hatch
Richard Hatch (reality TV)
Richard "Rich" Hatch is the $1,000,000 winner of the first American Survivor series, and was a contestant on The Celebrity Apprentice 4.-Early life:...
, a corporate trainer by trade, won the Survivor reality television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
competition. Other corporate trainers include Simon Davie from Sliding Doors Australasia, who launched the world's first Finish at Four campaign designed to increase awareness of the risks of overwork and workplace stress by encouraging workers to finish at 4pm on October 12 2007.