Corporate University

Corporate universities go far beyond training sessions. They offer professionals the opportunity to qualify in a convenient and effective way without having to leave the company (or the home office). It improves employee performance and retention – priorities for many companies. Corporate universities are the perfect solution for large companies looking to provide their teams with a specialization or even a college experience, encouraging a culture of lifelong learning and taking the individual development plan seriously.

Corporate University

Corporate universities go far beyond training sessions. They offer professionals the opportunity to qualify in a convenient and effective way without having to leave the company (or the home office). It improves employee performance and retention – priorities for many companies. Corporate universities are the perfect solution for large companies looking to provide their teams with a specialization or even a college experience, encouraging a culture of lifelong learning and taking the individual development plan seriously.

what is a
corporate
university ?

A corporate university is an educational institution inside a corporation – usually large corporations. It offers tailor-made learning and development activities to employees according to their interests and needs, including leadership training to stay competitive in ever-changing markets. This is a corporate education model that will help to ensure all workers will receive qualified instructions in work methodology, team operation and also personalized courses on specific topics, such as management techniques or entrepreneurship. In this way, the corporate university stands out as a strategic tool for an organization to achieve its goals. It brings value by enabling advancement and growth in all business strategies.

what is a
corporate
university ?

A corporate university is an educational institution inside a corporation – usually large corporations. It offers tailor-made learning and development activities to employees according to their interests and needs, including leadership training to stay competitive in ever-changing markets. This is a corporate education model that will help to ensure all workers will receive qualified instructions in work methodology, team operation and also personalized courses on specific topics, such as management techniques or entrepreneurship. In this way, the corporate university stands out as a strategic tool for an organization to achieve its goals. It brings value by enabling advancement and growth in all business strategies.

Why are corporate universities important?

Employers expect employees to come prepared and ready to do their jobs, but the truth is that what they learned in traditional academic institutions may not be enough in a top-notch organization.

Some higher education programs may prepare students with generic basic contents. Even so they will never closely imitate or replicate a company’s culture, or a department’s specific mode of operation.

In addition, many employees join a company searching for progression and a career path. Corporate universities are great initiatives to retain and leverage professionals who want to stay in your company for a long time, which reduces the cost of acquiring and training new talent.

Evolution of
corporate universities

The corporate university model was first introduced in 1950, but the idea of training employees is not new. The American companies General Electric and General Motors had already implemented training programs on topics such as safety and compliance in 1914. Still, the idea didn’t materialize until 1950, when corporate universities began to be implemented across the United States.

In the 1980s, most large corporations understood that an organized learning facility would help them create a more consistent experience across branches and departments. By 1990, more than 2,000 companies had some form of corporate university in place.

Corporate universities in large corporations

Corporate universities are already a reality within multimillionaire companies. Giants like Amazon, Google and Microsoft successfully handle their educational efforts by implementing corporate university programs in order to train employees in new technologies, tools, how to deal with the public and other topics.

Google – Googleplex

When it comes to corporate universities, Google is one of America’s most innovative and creative companies. The magic of their learning takes place in the Mountain View complex. Learning initiatives enable employees to explore spontaneous interactions with one another while learning, just like at a university, and also allow employees to invest professional time in brand-related side projects. This not only creates new technology for Google, but also boosts employee morale.

Disney – Universidade Disney

Disney’s corporate university is highly personalized with the brand, from training materials to program names. In other words, it’s a constant reminder of their success over time. Disney University provides new employees, on their first day, with a lesson in culture, history, values, policies and traditions.

Intel – Universidade Construtores de Redes Intel

Intel University provides an online library of content covering a variety of topics, but also offers face-to-face training. Intel University is part of a global campaign to spread knowledge, and can be accessed from anywhere in the world, by anyone, at no cost. The program is focused on teaching Intel technologies to professionals so they can better understand how these advances impact our digital world today, and so they can better apply Intel technologies.

Apple – Universidade Apple

Apple sets itself apart by doing things differently and expects the same from its employees. The company doesn’t just teach them to do things differently; they are also taught to think creatively so that these lessons can be transmitted from one team member to another. Everything is done to maintain Apple’s edge over its competition.

Apple’s first marketing brochure announced that “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” The motto of simplicity has been instilled in Apple University’s workforce, with courses revolving around the company’s culture and history, as well as its structure. Managers also study other companies to learn how they succeeded or failed.

McDonald's – Universidade do Hambúrguer

McDonald’s has been training its employees in the art of making hamburgers since 1961. Hamburger University, which was first opened to employees, is still going strong nowadays. Even though employee retention is not high at McDonald’s, they are able to identify and retain their top talents by teaching them skills and how to better use their time, while working together as a cohesive unit. Professors at Hamburger University are experts in restaurant operations and teach using a variety of different tools. For example, they can use the classroom as well as hands-on activities or scenarios where students can see how it’s like to work at McDonald’s restaurants first-hand, in addition to distance learning and other methods.

Why are corporate universities important?

Employers expect employees to come prepared and ready to do their jobs, but the truth is that what they learned in traditional academic institutions may not be enough in a top-notch organization.

Some higher education programs may prepare students with generic basic contents. Even so they will never closely imitate or replicate a company’s culture, or a department’s specific mode of operation.

In addition, many employees join a company searching for progression and a career path. Corporate universities are great initiatives to retain and leverage professionals who want to stay in your company for a long time, which reduces the cost of acquiring and training new talent.

Evolution of
corporate universities

The corporate university model was first introduced in 1950, but the idea of training employees is not new. The American companies General Electric and General Motors had already implemented training programs on topics such as safety and compliance in 1914. Still, the idea didn’t materialize until 1950, when corporate universities began to be implemented across the United States.

In the 1980s, most large corporations understood that an organized learning facility would help them create a more consistent experience across branches and departments. By 1990, more than 2,000 companies had some form of corporate university in place.

Corporate universities in large corporations

Corporate universities are already a reality within multimillionaire companies. Giants like Amazon, Google and Microsoft successfully handle their educational efforts by implementing corporate university programs in order to train employees in new technologies, tools, how to deal with the public and other topics.

Google – Googleplex

When it comes to corporate universities, Google is one of America’s most innovative and creative companies. The magic of their learning takes place in the Mountain View complex. Learning initiatives enable employees to explore spontaneous interactions with one another while learning, just like at a university, and also allow employees to invest professional time in brand-related side projects. This not only creates new technology for Google, but also boosts employee morale.

Disney – Universidade Disney

Disney’s corporate university is highly personalized with the brand, from training materials to program names. In other words, it’s a constant reminder of their success over time. Disney University provides new employees, on their first day, with a lesson in culture, history, values, policies and traditions.

Intel – Universidade Construtores de Redes Intel

Intel University provides an online library of content covering a variety of topics, but also offers face-to-face training. Intel University is part of a global campaign to spread knowledge, and can be accessed from anywhere in the world, by anyone, at no cost. The program is focused on teaching Intel technologies to professionals so they can better understand how these advances impact our digital world today, and so they can better apply Intel technologies.

Apple – Universidade Apple

Apple sets itself apart by doing things differently and expects the same from its employees. The company doesn’t just teach them to do things differently; they are also taught to think creatively so that these lessons can be transmitted from one team member to another. Everything is done to maintain Apple’s edge over its competition.

Apple’s first marketing brochure announced that “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” The motto of simplicity has been instilled in Apple University’s workforce, with courses revolving around the company’s culture and history, as well as its structure. Managers also study other companies to learn how they succeeded or failed.

McDonald's – Universidade do Hambúrguer

McDonald’s has been training its employees in the art of making hamburgers since 1961. Hamburger University, which was first opened to employees, is still going strong nowadays. Even though employee retention is not high at McDonald’s, they are able to identify and retain their top talents by teaching them skills and how to better use their time, while working together as a cohesive unit. Professors at Hamburger University are experts in restaurant operations and teach using a variety of different tools. For example, they can use the classroom as well as hands-on activities or scenarios where students can see how it’s like to work at McDonald’s restaurants first-hand, in addition to distance learning and other methods.

How to create
a one corporate university

Creating a corporate university is not a simple process. With over 25 years of experience in corporate education and education technologies, DOT Digital Group has created a basic model of the required process to successfully implement a corporate university in Brazil. Although each initiative is unique, especially if we consider that each company has different products, markets and objectives, it is possible to chart a basic path for the process of creating or planning a corporate university. Take a look:

Bring your top executives together around a table - virtual or not!

Determine how this will support your vision and strategic goals for the company’s success, as well as get their buy-in at this early stage so they are involved since day one

A corporate university is a place for employees to learn and grow in their current position.

Therefore the first step in creating it would be to figure out what you want to accomplish. Then write your mission statement (both long and short-term), and the vision that will guide this university’s decisions in the future. Don’t forget to provide some objectives too.

Gather a corporate training team

This is a team that will support the functioning of your corporate university. Regardless of your corporate university’s learning methodology, whether face-to-face or virtual training (distance learning), it is important to keep in mind that your corporate training team must be composed of people with communication skills.

Your training team should be composed of external professional managers, directors, executives, trainers and professors, ensuring that you provide training to all hierarchical levels of the company.

Align your curriculum with your organization's goals

All training courses, content and activities should match your needs. You will also need to align it with the cultural standards of your employees, which mean different things based on the size of your business.

Use technology to make your content easily accessible and to break learning barriers

The best way to ensure people are up to date on their skills is to hire a learning experience provider. The right design will engage them and promote retention, information absorption, as well as recall. And it should be customized to each individual’s profile, so you can convince your staff that continuing education also benefits them.

Define the objectives of your learning initiative in terms of business success and stakeholder expectations

Define whether talent retention or development is at stake, and how you will measure the impact on customers/employees, whether it’s retention rates or overall productivity increases.

If applicable, associate your corporate university initiative with established business schools

These universities have a combined mandate in educating future professionals and provide a rich curriculum to help cultivate the skills of their workforce to achieve success on the job, both academically and practically.

If you have a team that is interested in pursuing long-term development plans, you might want to offer certification programs.

Empower your staff by working closely with them. Engage your marketing department to start communicating your corporate university’s efforts to your team. A deployment plan should have a detailed and organized timeline. Each activity must have its own assignee in order to be done on time.

How to create
a one corporate university

Creating a corporate university is not a simple process. With over 25 years of experience in corporate education and education technologies, DOT Digital Group has created a basic model of the required process to successfully implement a corporate university in Brazil. Although each initiative is unique, especially if we consider that each company has different products, markets and objectives, it is possible to chart a basic path for the process of creating or planning a corporate university. Take a look:

Bring your top executives together around a table - virtual or not!

Determine how this will support your vision and strategic goals for the company’s success, as well as get their buy-in at this early stage so they are involved since day one

A corporate university is a place for employees to learn and grow in their current position.

Therefore the first step in creating it would be to figure out what you want to accomplish. Then write your mission statement (both long and short-term), and the vision that will guide this university’s decisions in the future. Don’t forget to provide some objectives too.

Gather a corporate training team

This is a team that will support the functioning of your corporate university. Regardless of your corporate university’s learning methodology, whether face-to-face or virtual training (distance learning), it is important to keep in mind that your corporate training team must be composed of people with communication skills.

Your training team should be composed of external professional managers, directors, executives, trainers and professors, ensuring that you provide training to all hierarchical levels of the company.

Align your curriculum with your organization's goals

All training courses, content and activities should match your needs. You will also need to align it with the cultural standards of your employees, which mean different things based on the size of your business.

Use technology to make your content easily accessible and to break learning barriers

The best way to ensure people are up to date on their skills is to hire a learning experience provider. The right design will engage them and promote retention, information absorption, as well as recall. And it should be customized to each individual’s profile, so you can convince your staff that continuing education also benefits them.

Define the objectives of your learning initiative in terms of business success and stakeholder expectations

Define whether talent retention or development is at stake, and how you will measure the impact on customers/employees, whether it’s retention rates or overall productivity increases.

If applicable, associate your corporate university initiative with established business schools

These universities have a combined mandate in educating future professionals and provide a rich curriculum to help cultivate the skills of their workforce to achieve success on the job, both academically and practically.

If you have a team that is interested in pursuing long-term development plans, you might want to offer certification programs.

Empower your staff by working closely with them. Engage your marketing department to start communicating your corporate university’s efforts to your team. A deployment plan should have a detailed and organized timeline. Each activity must have its own assignee in order to be done on time.

Corporate universities improve talent and make better professionals

Education is an investment and does not require buildings and logos. With a few simple changes, like giving employees the resources they deserve to succeed or investing time in training programs to guarantee your people can keep up with industry trends, it is possible to create a basic corporate university.

Investing in your employees’ future is not just innovative but it is the right thing to do

A company that invests in education, cares and creates opportunities for its staff and increases the chances of having happy and loyal employees. Nowadays learning can take many different forms. The modern university is no longer limited to corporate training programs designed for the company’s immediate interests; instead, they should focus more on the individual benefit of continuing education and less on what benefits them in their immediate work environment. The corporate university model creates a curriculum that nurtures the talent of its professionals and fosters leadership development. Companies that embrace this commitment to developing high-level skills separate themselves from conventional organizations, precisely because they emphasize learning opportunities for their team.

Corporate universities improve talent and make better professionals

Education is an investment and does not require buildings and logos. With a few simple changes, like giving employees the resources they deserve to succeed or investing time in training programs to guarantee your people can keep up with industry trends, it is possible to create a basic corporate university.

Investing in your employees’ future is not just innovative but it is the right thing to do

A company that invests in education, cares and creates opportunities for its staff and increases the chances of having happy and loyal employees. Nowadays learning can take many different forms. The modern university is no longer limited to corporate training programs designed for the company’s immediate interests; instead, they should focus more on the individual benefit of continuing education and less on what benefits them in their immediate work environment. The corporate university model creates a curriculum that nurtures the talent of its professionals and fosters leadership development. Companies that embrace this commitment to developing high-level skills separate themselves from conventional organizations, precisely because they emphasize learning opportunities for their team.

Corporate University