Businesses often understand the importance and benefits of providing, or helping to pay for, ongoing business education for their larger employee workforce, and increasingly are turning to consulting firms like Pearl Lemon Consulting to help them create and implement strategies to provide such things. However, executive education tends to be neglected.
As providers of executive education consulting across a wide range of disciplines we know that this omission can be a big mistake.
What is the definition of executive education? Executive education generally refers to courses and programs aimed at professionals in administrative and executive positions, as well as those who aspire to them. The majority of executive education courses offered by business schools are two to six days long, although others can take up to a year to complete part-time.
Executive education tends to concentrate on strengthening the business knowledge and abilities required to be a successful leader. Unlike management degrees like an MBA, MSc, or Master in Management, most executive programs concentrate on honing specific areas of an Executives toolset, such as accounting, finances, strategy, or communication. As a result, executive courses are typically significantly shorter than full-fledged degree programs, which tend to be much wider and cover a broad variety of topics.
Executive education programs are frequently intended for managers who must deal with issues in which they have no professional expertise. Executive education courses on ‘Finance for Non-Financial Managers,’ for example, are becoming increasingly popular.
Despite the fact that most executive courses are brief, other executive education options, such as modular general management programs (GMPs) or Executive MBA programs, provide more comprehensive training for present and prospective managers and executives.
Specialized executive education courses are sometimes intended for individuals working in specific areas (such as healthcare or information technology), or for those in or advancing to various management or executive roles.
The benefits of executive education to those directly receiving it are often very clear. These individuals learn skills and gain tools that will make their jobs easier, their work more effective, and the credentials they might earn via executive education are certainly great additions to their CV or resume.
But what’s in it for a business to make it worth their while considering offering executive education at their cost, and engaging executive education consultants to help them strategize a plan to do so?
There are in fact lots of ways that executive education can benefit any business, including the following.
The better an executive is at fulfilling their role, the better it is for the business they work for. Any business is facing an increasing number of challenges from all sides, and as it is their senior staff they look to to meet those challenges the more educated and updated they are the better.
Executive education is a very broad term. Often, as executive educational consultants the areas of study we recommend are not role specific, but designed to help executives meet these challenges.
Becoming better informed about industry compliance, about dealing with issues such as race and gender discrimination in the workplace, employee relations in general and about technological developments via executive education will not only help executives address these issues more effectively but help keep the business on the right side of the law and enhance its brand reputation with all its stakeholders.
Job dissatisfaction at any level is one of the biggest reasons that businesses can struggle to retain their best talent, and job satisfaction is not all about the money, especially at the executive level. If they are not challenged, or feel that they are being offered no opportunities for professional growth, any employee will begin to look elsewhere to find these things, including those in the C-suite.
Hiring the best possible talent is one of the keys to growth for any business, but doing so is increasingly difficult. By offering well-thought-out opportunities for executive education after a hire is made, businesses can give themselves an edge over their competitors when it comes to attracting, and retaining, the very best executive talent in their field.
Understanding the benefits to your business of executive education is one thing. Strategizing a formal plan for offering it is quite another. Which is where the executive education consulting team at Pearl Lemon Consulting comes in.
We help businesses understand more about how ongoing education will benefit their executives, help them find the best programs, courses and seminars, both from a financial and quality of instruction point of view, and then continue to work with a business to ensure that the planned initiatives are executed fully and efficiently.
We can also remain available to advise businesses as new educational opportunities arise that will help their executives meet new challenges.
To do all of this effectively often calls for more work than many consulting firms are willing to put in. Pearl Lemon Consulting is not one of those businesses.
Every executive education consulting project should begin with an in-depth examination of the needs of the current executives, as well as a review of any initiatives that are already in place. Such reviews should also include just what educational offerings might be useful to attract new executive talent in the future.
This will involve meetings with CEOs and top leadership, the executive themselves, HR and financial staff and even, in some cases, higher level employees who are hoping to move into executive roles in the future. It will also involve a comprehensive review of the (many) educational offerings available to determine which best fit the needs of the individual client business.
At Pearl Lemon Consulting, not only are we willing to put in this extra work, we feel it is a must. We are also ‘in it for the long haul’ and will remain available as your executive educational consultants for as long as you need us.
Want to learn more about how executive education consulting could benefit your business?
Contact Pearl lemon Consulting today and let’s talk about it.
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