A new model of collaboration between EdTech and traditional universities offers 5 steps to developing a world-class, affordable employee retention and development strategy.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Article Author: <\/div>\n

Mat Jacobson, Founder and CEO, Ducere Global Business School<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Several of the world’s largest employers have created strategic alliances with universities in an attempt to address one of the highest priorities facing corporations: how to attract, retain, and develop key talent.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Virgin United has spearheaded the 100% Human at Work initiative, which has “brought together a network of more than 150 organizations around the world that have helped us to shape and identify the elements that define a 100% Human Organization.”<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The B Team, a global nonprofit initiative co-founded by <\/span><\/span>Sir Richard Branson<\/span><\/a><\/span> and <\/span><\/span>Jochen Zeitz<\/span><\/a><\/span> has a<\/span> line-up of talented business leaders—including the CEOs of Salesforce, Allianz Group, Mastercard, the UN Foundation, and PepsiCo—who share<\/span> a central mission: the creation of “business models and environments where all employees can thrive today—and in the workforce of the future.”<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Challenges<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

With all the best intentions, even with many of the world’s business leaders on board, most corporate development plans fail to achieve their objectives. Tuition reimbursement plans often are regarded as merely a perk to employees, rarely designed to solve complex corporate initiatives.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Corporate educational training is polarized. On one hand, there are short, skills-based, non-award courses often in the form of internal training or via external sites such as Udemy, Coursera, and other aggregator platforms. The short course advantages include low cost and targeting of specific skills. However, these courses rarely increase staff retention or build corporate loyalty. Further, because they are not formally recognized, they don’t lead to meaningful career development.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

At the opposite end are formal university qualifications. These have the advantage of building long-term retention, employee morale, and loyalty, as degrees can run over years. The disadvantages are that degrees are more expensive, and university degrees often are disconnected from the immediate skills needed to solve current challenge.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Short course providers offer various band-aid recognition solutions such as badges and certificates that can seem like a trivial acknowledgement. Consider a manager evaluating a promotion prospect who has a badge in Effective Communication. What does the manager make of this? On the other hand, the same manager may have strong preconceived ideas about the quality and reputation imbued in an MBA, even if they find it difficult to draw a direct line between an academic MBA and the ability to tackle complex business challenges.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What Is the Corporate Impact of Poorly Executed Strategies? <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Significant! According to SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management), the cost to replace a salaried employee is equivalent to 6 months’ salary—and that is just the out-of-pocket costs. Then there is the impact of lost productivity and, possibly worst of all, the corporate knowledge and intellectual property the organization loses. According to CIO Magazine<\/em>, the true cost of turnover could be “as much as 2.5 times an employee’s salary depending on the role.”<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Rethinking the Future of Workforce Development<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Is it possible to offer a recognized but affordable Bachelors or MBA degree, ensuring retention of key talent? <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Is it possible to deliver university accredited degrees, meeting all the compliance requirements for formal accreditation, while also being agile and customized to solve individual corporate needs?<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

By developing a new model of collaboration between EdTech and traditional universities, we believe the answer to these questions is, “Yes!”<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n