The complete list of training resources for HR professionals
We all know how important Learning and Development (L&D) is for an organisation. It is an HR pillar you cannot skip out on if you want a shot at reaching your business goals. It ensures the skills needed to deliver your long-term strategy are present within the business. And that’s before we’ve even mentioned how much of a talent attraction and retention lever development is for both potential candidates and current employees. It is no coincidence that successful organisations have perfectly aligned their L&D strategies to their organisational goals, and achieving this isn’t reserved to the Fortune 500 only.
In fact, compiling a competitive L&D library isn’t as hard (or expensive) as you might think in today’s modern learning landscape. The kind of blended L&D model that can win you the war on talent will require a mix of channels, formats and materials so that the needs of the many learners within your talent pool are catered for. And whilst many HR professionals and business leaders can’t afford the time or budget to create this from scratch, there is a plethora of resources available online that can not only help you fill the gap, but elevate your L&D offering to a whole new level. Here is Let’s Talk Talent’s list of some of the best ones out there.
Free or subscription-based training platforms
The below resources are popular platforms amongst the learning community, mostly because they are easily accessible and cover a very wide range of topics and course options. Whilst classes and modules can be a bit more generic, they can also help staff develop key skills and gain additional expertise.
Udemy features thousands of courses, from IT and software development to marketing, music and personal development. The overall cost is fairly low for licence users.
From free courses to full degrees, Coursera offers the advantage of clearly defined learning pathways for those working towards a particular qualification.
With LinkedIn Learning, users can access over 16,000 courses designed and taught by industry experts from several business areas. The platform works on a monthly subscription model and training courses are centred around business topics and leadership skills.
TedTalks are all about discovering something new, whether that’s learning to read body language or the potential behind quantum computing, in 20 minutes or so. Easily incorporated into a working day, some TedTalks are built as series for those hoping to dig deeper into a particular topic.
Medium is a collection of stories and thoughts from writers on just about any topic there is. Great way to discover new perspectives and opinions.
Yes, every single free book ever written is available to download on the Project Gutenberg site. A huge library of content, particularly loved by students hoping to skip on expensive book fees.
HBR is, as the name states, a publication focused on business. It contains regularly updated articles and thought-leadership features from leaders across the world. News articles, reviews, podcasts and videos are all available on the site, with access offered on a monthly subscription basis.
In order to progress along with their chosen career paths, some people may need to learn a new language. Duolingo is a gamified learning platform offering short daily sessions, making it easy to integrate learning into a daily routine.
Staff can learn to code for free with Code Academy.
Learning Management System (LMS) Looop offers a series of learning resources, from blog articles to podcasts and whitepapers, providing HR professionals and business leaders with inspiration on how to elevate their L&D offering.
Skillshare offers a huge library of hands-on creative classes.
Have a look for free online talks from experts in the legal, marketing, HR, finance, IT, R&D and sales industry.
Resources to help staff map out their career path and get into learning
The authors of The Squiggly Career book publish a weekly podcast full of advice for people on how to be their best selves at work.
While not a training platform, the Tiny Habits website offers a five day programme to help anyone learn new habits. This could jolt your people into making training a part of their daily routine.
Another great resource focused on helping staff build good habits, such as learning something new on a regular basis or taking up new challenges.
Resources aimed at HR progressions
Whilst it’s great to continually look for ways to help your colleagues unlock their potential, we also know that the altruistic HR community often neglects their own development to focus on others. So don’t forget about yourself and free some time to get some training, which will in turn better facilitate L&D for your people.
The professional body for HR and development professionals has a fantastic knowledge hub, filled with resources on a range of current topics relevant to HR.
Yes, we do offer a lot of training material, from downloadable whitepapers and useful checklists to podcasts and webinars. We also offer free WhatsApp courses on all things HR, from career progression to succession planning.
The Talent Tales podcast gathers stories from HR pioneers dedicated to bringing design thinking to the field. Worth checking out regularly.
Have a look at the many editorial features published daily on the industry magazine’s website to keep abreast of the latest news.
The digital HR publication focuses on helping the HR community to adapt to an ever-changing industry. Keep track of the latest trends and have a look at their resources section for additional info.
Internally created content
Whilst there are plenty of learning courses available out there, none of it will have been created specifically for your organisation. Having some material designed and maintained specifically by your talent pool is a fantastic way to achieve greater impact. Examples of this include:
- Using inhouse experts to create high quality videos or short capsules on topics specific to your organisation
- Forums and discussion groups, monitored by staff
- Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)
- Collaborative platforms such as Sharepoint, Wiki or Confluence
Other content sources
- User generated content (UGC)
Have a look at the Harper Collins case study for some inspiration on how to utilise, and optimise, user generated content: https://www.looop.co/blog/harpercollins-challenge.
- Curated content sets
In a world of endless possibilities, don’t forget that people may need a bit of help to narrow down their gaze. Make sure you organise your resources into set pathways to guide users towards their next learning step. Curated content playlists can be created on YouTube, TedEx, your LMS or even most podcasting platforms.
- Externally commissioned content
This option is a bit more costly, but buying something off the shelf or even commissioning bespoke content could be a great way to add content that truly hits the mark to your training library. Potentially one of the best ways to help your people learn the specific skills they need in order to do well within your organisation, but also one that requires more resources overall.
Conclusion
We hope this list has inspired you to add new material to your blended L&D offering. No matter how big or small your organisation is, or even how much budget is available, there are ways to create a truly effective training package that will give your talent pool the tools they need to unlock their full potential. In short, there are no excuses not to have a kickass L&D library!
Do you have more resources to add to the list? Drop us a line, we’d love to keep this up-to-date with more great content platforms. And in the meantime, have a look at our Blended L&D Whitepaper to find new ways to give your colleagues the best learning experience.
Related Learning & Development Resources:
- [Free Whitepaper] Your recipe for a successful L&D Strategy
- How to use virtual coaching as part of your L&D kitbag [Blog]
- Make the most of Learning at Work Week [Blog]
- Why Learning at Work Week should be top of your L&D priority list [Blog]
- What is L&D? And why is it important? [Blog]
- How L&D can improve your employee experience [Blog]
- 10 ways to modernise your Learning and Development strategy for the modern workforce [Blog]