9 Must-Have Skills and Tools for a Corporate Trainer

With rising industry competition, companies are investing in corporate training now more than ever. Employee training is not just an HR fad but the need of the hour. This means that corporate trainers also need to be constantly upskilling to keep up with the changing market needs. Here are the top 9 must-have skills and tools for a corporate trainer to excel in their career.

See also: 30 Best corporate training programs for 2022.

A Middlesex University study shows that nearly 74% of employees feel a need for corporate training. Unfortunately, a lot of the companies ignore this and the ones who do invest in employee development, are not very effective. With the help of these skills and tools, a corporate trainer will be able to successfully train the recruits and cut down company turnover rates.

Key skills for a corporate trainer:

If you wish to excel as a corporate trainer, these five skills are crucial to have. Not only will they make your job a breeze to get through but they are foundational to this very profession.  

1. Research skills

How skilled one is in terms of finding out relevant information and how vigilant they are in staying up-to-date with the recent trends determines their overall professional success. How so? One is only able to perform the expected duties well when they are fully informed about their task. As corporate trainers, not only do you have to be informed yourself but you also have to inform others.  

It is not just about fishing information online. There are a few tips and tricks for researching content online. For instance, boolean operators and symbols can help you with quick and targeted google searches.

Another tool for targeted research is the CRAAP test, an acronym for currency, relevance, authority, accuracy, and purpose. It is a measuring tool for checking the credibility of any research source.

2. Communication skills

When you think of skills and tools for a corporate trainer, communication pops up immediately. Without a doubt, communication forms the backbone of corporate training since it is all about how well one gets the message across. Inadvertently, knowledge retention also depends on communication skills.

Furthermore, they are crucial for delivering constructive feedback, grabbing people's attention, and building a community through interpersonal communicative skills. Communication is not limited to speech, it also has to do with body language, self-confidence, content delivery, and written words. As a skilled corporate trainer, you should be proficient in all these aspects.

3. Organizational skills

This particular skill can be thought of as an umbrella skill that looks at time management, managerial, and project-management skills. As a corporate trainer, you have to develop training content, deliver them, and manage these programs. One needs to ace organizational skills to be able to keep up with it all.

Moreover, you should be able to plan and structure the training modules, prioritize the content and tasks to manage efficient training, and resolve any unexpected problems. It really is a versatile job.

4. Adaptive skills

Every job requires individuals to be able to adjust to new changes and needs. This flexibility or adaptability is a sign of one's interest in growth - personal and professional. It is through trial and error that you learn to fix your mistakes. Besides, adaptability is important to deal with unexpected challenges which there will be plenty of once your begin.

Lastly, on a slightly different note, your flexibility also shows your ability to integrate with team members and foster a collaborative environment. All of this is vital for a healthy thriving workspace.

5. Passion for continuous learning

To have a passion for continuous learning and growth is also a skill in itself. A corporate trainer cannot expect to be successful if they lack the willingness to learn more. So make it a habit and add it to your resume.

With changing needs and emerging techniques, you will be required to master the new concepts. Moreover, it will enable you to see the training from the perspective of your learners. This skill is all about diversifying your skill set.

Key tools for a corporate trainer:

These tools act as aides for trainers to deliver effective training. That is to say, they enable corporate trainers to showcase their skills. These are more generalized categories of foundational tools that you will need in your career.

1. LMS

An LMS (learning management system) can be thought of as the backbone of corporate training. It is where you host your training programs. Therefore, it is an absolute must to have knowledge about how to use an LMS.

With Teachfloor's easy-to-use UI, you do not need to be a tech expert to navigate your LMS. Teachfloor also offers immediate support to its users to help resolve all of their queries. Moreover, with its data analytics dashboard, you can easily track the activity of your learners and be on top of your corporate training statistics.

2. Content authoring tool

Content authoring tools are softwares that enable creators to add different media files to their LMS to create interactive learning content. They also help you to convert media formats hassle-free. Usually, LMSs come with an inbuilt content authoring tool to make your life easier.

3. Video editing software

Since COVID several company operations have moved online or have gone hybrid for good. In the time of virtual learning, it only makes sense for corporate trainers to provide their services online as well. For virtual operations, knowledge of video-editing and video-making softwares is necessary.

Gone are the days of complicated editing tools and taking classes on video editing. Nowadays there are plenty of on-the-go editing options that you can use on your smartphones.

4. Social media

The final one for our list of top 9 skills and tools for corporate trainers are the social media. An often ignored tool, social media is immensely powerful when used in the right way. By integrating social media with your LMS, you can create personalized learning spaces. Furthermore, you can use social media platforms to start discussion groups (such as Facebook community groups) and micro-communities for like-minded professionals such as the ones on LinkedIn. Since people already have their active profiles on these platforms, that is half your work done. All you need to do now is to engage them by creatively posting your learning content.

Lastly, social media is an asset for marketing. For corporate trainers looking to spread the word about their expertise, here is your chance to shine and reach out to prospective learners.

Conclusion

Clearly, becoming a corporate trainer is no piece of cake. It requires having knowledge of multiple skills and tools which makes it a multidisciplinary professional. With these skills and tools, you will be able to master your role as a corporate trainer in no time. Let us know what you make of these skills and tools. Did we miss anything? Feel free to comment and contribute to the discussion.  

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