Effective Corporate Training Activities to Engage Employees

Did you know that 40% of the global workforce will require reskilling by 2030 due to automation and technological advancements? This statistic is not just a number; it indicates that corporate training activities are essential in enhancing an organization's productivity, knowledge, and skill sets. Corporate training activities, directed to particular corporate goals and staff development needs, are efforts to increase productivity, stimulate innovation, and gain a competitive edge. However, many companies find it challenging to find suitable training activities to engage the employees. To resolve this confusion, read this blog.

This blog discusses 10 best corporate training activities to engage employees.

Top 10 Corporate Training Activities

Corporate training activities enhance employee skills and foster a positive work environment. Here are the top 10 corporate training activities, along with examples from a perspective:

1. Role-Playing Scenarios

Role-playing scenarios immerse participants in simulated workplace situations, enabling them to hone their communication and problem-solving abilities. Through realistic scenarios, individuals practice responding to challenges they may encounter in their roles. This activity cultivates effective communication, enhances decision-making under pressure, and fosters empathy toward diverse perspectives. Whether in-house or virtually, role-playing empowers participants to navigate complex interactions confidently and competently.

Objective: The main objective of this activity is to provide a safe and open environment for your employees to practice handling real-life workplace challenges and interactions.

Format: Conducting meetings inside the building and via video conferencing platforms is possible.

Steps to Conduct: 

• Select or design a real-life corporate scenario for your employees to participate in. Make sure that the scenario is relatable to the actual client cases and problems they have to deal with in the workplace.
• Assign the roles to your employees, for example, CEO, client, manager, spokesperson, technician, etc.
• Explain the scenario to them clearly and what you expect them to do in the activity.
• Give them reasonable time to prepare and collaborate with others, followed by working on a solution.
• Finally, it provides them with the stage to enact their roles and solve the problem.
• After their performance, provide constructive feedback to them about their work.

Highlights: 

• Encourages active participation
• Fosters soft skills
• Promotes critical thinking

Learning Benefits for the Participant: 

• Enhances communication skills
• Builds confidence
• Improves conflict resolution abilities.

2. Team Building Exercises

Team-building exercises are carefully designed activities that improve trust, collaboration, and unity within teams. They help foster meaningful interactions and understanding between team members. In-person or via the Internet, they promote open communication, problem-solving, and collaboration. In addition, they help foster a sense of solidarity and camaraderie in teams; team-building exercises help create positive working conditions that enhance your team's overall performance and boost morale.

Objective: Team-building exercises in corporate offices aim to foster collaboration, improve communication, and strengthen relationships among team members, enhancing overall productivity and performance.

Format: It is often conducted in-house and outdoor, but virtual team-building activities are also possible using online collaboration tools and platforms.

Steps to Conduct: 

• Divide your team into smaller groups and assign them different tasks or challenges to complete together.
•  Provide opportunities for reflection and discussion after each activity to encourage open communication and learning from each other's experiences.

Highlights: 

• Teams can strengthen their bonds
• Promotes open communication channels among team members.
• Employees learn to collaborate, leveraging each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
• Provides opportunities to address conflicts constructively.

Learning Benefits for the Participant:

• Facing various challenges and tasks in team settings helps participants become more adaptable to different situations and environments.
• Completing team-building activities builds trust and fosters stronger relationships among team members.
• Many team-building exercises are time-bound, requiring participants to manage their time effectively to achieve objectives within set deadlines.

3. Leadership Workshops

Workshops for leadership are a vital part of corporate training programs designed to develop important leadership qualities for employees. Participants develop their communication, decision-making, and team management skills through engaging workshops, case studies, and hands-on exercises. Led by highly experienced trainers, these sessions offer a lively learning environment in which participants can examine and develop their leadership skills, which will help them drive the organization's success and motivate their teams to excel.

Objective: Organizing leadership workshops in the workplace aims to develop and enhance essential leadership skills among employees, empowering them to lead teams effectively, make informed decisions, and drive organizational success through effective communication and strategic thinking.

Format: The majority of the time, they are in-house. However, virtual team-building events are possible with collaborative tools online and on platforms.

Steps to Conduct:

• Identify leadership skills gaps and determine training objectives.
• Choose relevant topics and engaging activities aligned with objectives.
• Conduct the workshop with experienced facilitators, encouraging active participation.
• Gather feedback, assess effectiveness, and provide ongoing support for skill application.

Highlights:

• Provides valuable insights and guidance to participants.
• It helps in expanding your employees’ professional connections and support network.
• Leadership workshops offer an engaging platform for participants to interact with trainers and peers.

Learning Benefits for the Participant:

• Enhanced decision-making skills.
• Strengthens team management.
• Refines problem-solving techniques.

4. Debates

Debates during corporate training provide a stimulating platform for employees to participate in lively discussions, share ideas, and develop the ability to think critically. Based on relevant business issues or scenarios, these debates help participants consider the problems from various perspectives, articulate their opinions effectively, and defend their arguments with evidence and reasoning. Through this collaborative and interactive process, participants improve their communication skills, expand their knowledge of complicated questions, and build crucial problem-solving abilities vital to professional development and decision-making within the workplace.

Objective: Organizing debates in corporate offices aims to promote critical thinking, enhance communication skills, foster teamwork, and encourage leadership development among employees while facilitating knowledge sharing and boosting engagement and motivation within the organization.

Format: It can be in-house or virtual.

Steps to Conduct:

• Choose relevant topics that encourage critical thinking and discussion within the organization.
• Select participants representing diverse perspectives and expertise relevant to the chosen topic.
• Define the debate format, including the structure (e.g., opening statements, rebuttals, closing arguments), time limits, and moderation guidelines.
• Facilitate an open and inclusive discussion, encouraging all participants to express their viewpoints and engage in constructive dialogue.
• Follow up with action points or further discussions to leverage insights from the debate and drive organizational learning and decision-making.

Highlights:

• Enhanced Critical Thinking
• Improved Communication Skills
• Effective Conflict Resolution

Learning Benefits for the Participant:

• Participating in debates requires participants to think about complicated issues, analyze evidence, and create persuasive arguments, which sharpens their critical thinking abilities.
• Debates require that participants express their opinions clearly, listen attentively to opposing perspectives, and be persuasive in their responses, which leads to improves communication skills in both written and oral formats.
• Participating in debates can boost participants' confidence in their capacity to voice their opinions and assert their views. Engaging in lively debate also increases confidence and self-confidence in professional environments.

5. Games

Corporate training gamification is enjoyable and clever, teaching staff members new skills and knowledge. 83% of workers report being more motivated after gamified training. Training games encourage learning behaviours that improve information retention and training outcomes by offering rewards such as scores, points, and prizes.

Objective: It aims to make tasks more enjoyable and rewarding, foster a sense of achievement, and drive desired behaviours within the workforce.

Format: Depends on the game which is being played.

Steps to Conduct: The steps to conduct corporate games depend on the type of game you decide to play.

Highlights: 

• Incentivizes participation in corporate activities.
• Improves knowledge retention.
• Boosts employee engagement and motivation.

Learning Benefits for the Participant:

• Gamification within corporate settings increases employees' engagement by making the learning and task-completion process more rewarding and enjoyable.
• Gamified activities offer the chance for employees to learn and develop diverse skills in an exciting and interactive environment that leads to a higher level of performance.

6. Cross Training

Teaching employees knowledge and skills outside their primary duties is called cross-training or cross-departmental training. This is the best activity for employee engagement in corporate training. Employees become more versatile by learning how to do various tasks rather than specializing in just one. Cross-training guarantees a smooth operation in the event of an employee's absence and assists staff in realizing the value of other team members in achieving organizational objectives. But it's important to note that, depending on the goals and resources of the company, cross-training can also be carried out via alternative techniques like online courses or on-the-job training.

Objective: Organizing cross-training in corporate organizations aims to diversify employee skill sets, foster flexibility and resilience within teams, and ensure continuity of operations during absences or transitions.
‍
Format: Corporate cross-training programs can be conducted in-house, where the sessions are held in the company's physical premises online or via videoconferencing platforms and online tools that allow remote participation and collaboration between employees.

Steps to Conduct:

• Identify training needs and skill gaps within the team.
• Select experienced trainers with expertise in relevant areas.
• Develop comprehensive training materials and schedule sessions.
• Conduct interactive training sessions, allowing active participation.
• Assess learning outcomes and encourage knowledge sharing for continuous improvement.

Highlights:

• Enhanced skill diversification.
• Improved collaboration and efficiency.

Learning Benefits for the Participant:

• Exposing participants to a wider range of skills and knowledge beyond their primary role enables them to develop a versatile skill set that enhances adaptability and proficiency across various tasks and projects.
• Participating in cross-training sessions fosters a deeper understanding of different departments' functions.

7. Case Studies

Real-world examples are more effective team-building exercises. After receiving information about a particular problem or circumstance in case studies, employees work with a team member to identify viable solutions. Instead of discussions that may center on fictitious issues, case studies depict actual circumstances that workers have encountered, giving them the knowledge and self-assurance to deal with such circumstances in their regular jobs.

Objective: Analyze real-life business scenarios, apply theoretical knowledge to practical situations, and foster critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and decision-making abilities among employees.

Format: Case study activities can be conducted in-house and virtually, depending on the organization's and participants' preferences and requirements.

Steps to Conduct:

• Choose relevant and engaging case studies that align with the learning objectives.
• Provide participants with the case study materials in advance, including background information, data, and analysis. 
• Divide participants into groups and allocate time to discuss the case study together. 
• After the group discussions, invite each group to present their findings, insights, and recommendations to the larger group. 
• Encourage peer feedback and discussion to deepen understanding and explore different perspectives.

Highlights: 

• They provide a hands-on approach to learning, allowing participants to apply theoretical knowledge to practical business challenges, enhancing their understanding and retention of key concepts.

Learning Benefits for the Participant:

• Case study activities challenge participants to analyze real-world scenarios, fostering critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Participants make strategic decisions based on available information, honing their decision-making abilities in complex situations.

8. Webinars

Webinars, also known as web-based seminars, are conducted by experts or trainers that utilize slides, audio, and occasionally video to walk participants through a particular subject or skill set. Webinars are the best among the corporate training activities for training distant teams or disseminating knowledge to several places. By enabling participation from any location with internet access and eliminating the need for travel or actual meeting spaces, they provide a degree of ease that more traditional approaches might not be able to match. 

Objective: By organizing webinars, companies can create a well-trained, informed, and engaged workforce, ultimately contributing to increased productivity and achieving organizational goals.

Format: Since these are web-based seminars, they are purely virtual.

Steps to Conduct: 

• Define the objective, target audience, and content of the webinar. Choose a suitable date and time, and select a webinar platform. Prepare the presentation materials and promotional materials to invite participants.
• Set up the webinar platform, ensuring technical requirements such as audio and video equipment are working correctly. 
• Start the webinar on time and welcome participants. Present the content according to the agenda, engaging participants through interactive elements such as polls, Q&A sessions, and discussions. Conclude the webinar by summarizing key points and any next steps or follow-up actions.

Highlights: 

• Facilitates knowledge sharing.
• Fosters active engagement.
• Cost-effective training.

Learning Benefits for the Participant:

• Webinars provide participants with professional insights, industry trends, and the latest developments, enhancing their understanding of the relevant issues and encouraging continuous learning.
• Through interactive sessions and Q&A questions, participants will improve their communication, presentation, and technological skills, which are essential for advancement and professional growth.
• Webinars offer flexibility and accessibility, allowing participants to participate in learning without disrupting their work schedules or requiring much travel. They are a great choice for continuing professional development.

9. Polls

While polls gather opinions and preferences or feel the group's pulse on various issues, quizzes are typically intended to assess understanding. This is one of the most effective team-building exercises, and it fosters a more diverse and cooperative learning environment by encouraging open communication among participants. To find out what employees want to learn from the training, you can conduct a poll at the beginning of the session. Intermittent surveys can gather feedback on the course's pace and the material's complexity or decide which topic to cover next. 

Objective: Using polls in corporate training activities fosters active participation, real-time feedback, and inclusivity, ultimately enhancing knowledge retention and the overall effectiveness of the training sessions.

Format: These can be conducted both virtually and in-person in workplaces. 

Steps to Conduct:

• Choose a suitable polling platform or software that allows for easy creation and distribution of polls. 
• Create engaging and relevant poll questions related to the training content or discussion topics.
• Distribute the polls to participants at appropriate intervals during the training session. 
• Encourage participants to respond to the polls in real time. 
• Analyze the poll results in real-time or post-training to gain insights into participants' understanding, opinions, and preferences. 

Highlights:

• Real-time feedback.
• Promotes active participation.
• Provide valuable data and insights into participants’ knowledge gaps.
  

Learning Benefits for the Participant:

Interactive polls stimulate cognitive processes, such as recall and reflection, aiding information retention and reinforcing key concepts. Thus, they result in more effective and lasting learning experiences for participants.

10. Mini Tutorials

Mini tutorials, which comprise training in bite-sized, easily digestible chunks, aren't conducive to ILT. Because of this, every learning module is extremely narrowly focused and attempts to answer just one topic, issue, or learning goal. They can be created as a game, slide course, podcast, or video, among other formats. Microlearning focuses more on organizing content than it does on delivering it. This training exercise benefits both you and your learners if your goal is to increase knowledge retention in the shortest amount of time. Interactive polls stimulate cognitive processes, such as recall and reflection, aiding information retention and reinforcing key concepts. Thus, they result in more effective and lasting learning experiences for participants.

Objective: The goal of mini tutorials for corporate learning is to provide clear and focused learning material that efficiently addresses specific skills or knowledge gaps to facilitate quick and targeted employee skills acquisition.

Format: These are usually virtual using learning management systems.

Steps to Conduct:

• Find out the abilities or areas of knowledge that the mini tutorials are designed to focus on while ensuring they align with organizational goals and training needs.
• Develop short and informative tutorial materials, including videos, slides, or interactive modules. The focus should be on important concepts and their practical application in a short amount of time.
• Choose the right virtual platform to host the mini-tutorials while ensuring accessibility and user-friendliness for participants.
• Set an ongoing schedule to conduct the mini-tutorials, considering the participants' availability and time zones, to ensure the maximum number of participants and attendance.

Highlights:

• Targeted learning.
• Bite-sized format.
• On-demand accessibility.

Learning Benefits for the Participant:

• Mini tutorials offer quick and accessible learning opportunities that fit into busy schedules.
• These can be accessed anytime, anywhere, making learning more convenient for participants at their desks, on the go, or working remotely.
• Mini tutorials reinforce learning concepts over time by offering frequent, bite-sized learning opportunities.

Importance of Employee Engagement in Training

Employee engagement in training is crucial for the overall success and effectiveness of organizational learning and development initiatives. Here are 6 importance of employee engagement in corporate training: 

1. Adaptability to Change

Employee engagement in corporate training demonstrates higher resilience and adaptability when faced with organizational changes. They are more likely to adapt to new technologies, processes, and strategies introduced during training sessions. Actively participating in training encourages employees to develop a growth mindset, fostering a culture where change is seen as an opportunity for learning and improvement rather than a disruption.

2. Innovation and Problem-Solving

Engaged employees are more likely to contribute to a culture of innovation within the organization. They bring creativity and critical thinking skills to the training environment, leading to the development of innovative solutions to business challenges. Effective team-building exercises that encourage collaboration, brainstorming, and experimenting help employees cooperate, think outside the box, and improve their problem-solving skills.

3. Health and Well-being

Employee engagement in training is linked to overall well-being, as learning and personal development contribute to a sense of purpose and fulfillment. Organizations that prioritize employee wellness in corporate training programs may positively affect physical and mental health, reduce stress levels, and increase job satisfaction.

4. Alignment with Organizational Goals

Engaged employees are aware of the organization's strategic goals and how their efforts fit into them. Employees can better relate their daily responsibilities to the organization's mission, vision, and goals when corporate training activities convey these elements, increasing motivation and dedication. 

5. Continuous Feedback and Improvement

Engaged employees actively participate in feedback loops during and after training sessions, providing valuable insights into the effectiveness of the programs. Regular feedback ensures that training content remains relevant and aligns with evolving business needs. This iterative process contributes to continuous improvement in training methodologies and materials.

Benefits of Corporate Training Activities

Activities ensure employee engagement in corporate training. Here are some of the benefits of corporate training activities:

1. Skill Development: Corporate training activities help keep everyone's skills sharp and up-to-date with the latest trends, technologies, and methods. It's about ensuring our team keeps up and leads the way, making our work more productive and efficient.

2. Employee Engagement and Satisfaction: These training activities make the employees feel valued and seen, which is crucial for job satisfaction. Happy and engaged employees are likely to stick around, so the organization spends less time and money on hiring and training new people.

3. Fosters Innovation: Training is a seed for innovation. It introduces new ideas and ways of thinking, encouraging the team to be creative and solve problems in new ways. This thinking pushes a company forward, keeping them fresh and competitive in the market.

4. Improves Teamwork and Communication: Good teamwork and clear communication are the backbone of any successful project. Corporate training activities help break down walls between different parts of the company, making it easier for everyone to work together. This leads to better project management and smoother work processes.

5. Enhances Company Culture: Training does more than just teach skills - it helps cultivate a strong, positive company culture. We create an environment that attracts and keeps the best talent by aligning everyone with our goals, vision, and ethical standards. This boosts our reputation and ensures our customers get the best service.

Case Study: Skyrocketed Graph of Employee Engagement in Learning Programs 

Overview: The SkillGym case study developed by Andrea Laus, CEO, highlights the challenge of maintaining engagement in digital learning, especially when applied to the development of soft skills. The case study includes users of three leading companies in the Insurance, Retail, and Automotive industries. The solution to the challenge provided the implementation of the SkillGym Digital Role Play system, using a tripartite strategy to tackle the engagement and learning efficiency issues.

Challenge: The challenge consisted of gradually losing engagement in corporate learning activities on all platforms over time. The loss was particularly pronounced in the case of soft skills training. While motivation levels upon program launch were high, they gradually subsided, leading to low participation and poor learning outcomes. Lack of engagement was particularly concerning for the soft skills sector, which had already implemented digital role-playing instruments but could not stop the trend regardless of the novelty and interactive quality of the initiative.

Solution and Key Takeaways 

The SkillGym strategy deployed can be divided into three steps:

Learning by Doing: The system was devised as an interactive roleplay to keep users engaged. It allowed a 100% engagement rate upon implementation but did not sustain the levels in subsequent interactions.

F.O.M.O.: The strategy implies the “fear of missing out.” The system made learners see the performance of a particular task by peers and the global standards, doubling user engagement rates and maintaining the 100% engagement initially achieved by step 1.

Habits: The third step implies automatizing calendar integration and learning time-space via the system SkillGym Butler, which ensures 100% engagement due to its alignment with the human nature of following a schedule and maintaining a habit.

This case study reinforces the crucial role of understanding human behaviour in sustaining user engagement in digital learning, particularly for soft skills. It reminds us that innovative content alone in corporate training activities is not enough; we must leverage technology and creativity to facilitate consistent, habit-based participation.

Conclusion

Anyone who wants to keep its competitive edge and innovative advantage should prioritize training initiatives. By focusing on skill development and employee engagement, as well as teamwork, innovation and communication, companies can foster a positive and positive workplace as well as enhance their culture of business and risk management strategies. In the future, the world of education is expected to become more customized, efficient, engaging, and enjoyable by leveraging cutting-edge technology like Virtual Reality (VR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) and focusing more on social skills and soft skills.

Accountability. To maximize the effectiveness of this effort, it's essential to design extensive, innovative, flexible, and stimulating training opportunities that are tailored to the individual's needs. This will help equip employees with the required skills and foster motivation and retention. 

Are you ready to take your company's training to the next level? Explore Edstellar's vast training offerings, designed to equip your workforce with the knowledge they require to succeed in today's highly competitive world.