By Zac Rule, VP of Enterprise at Coursera
Widespread economic uncertainty is causing businesses to rethink their priorities in the new year. With shrinking hiring budgets, more companies are now looking internally to fill the critical skills gaps needed to maintain growth and drive innovation. Ensuring strong leadership throughout the organization to help navigate rapid changes in the business is a top focus.
Currently, 88% of businesses cite the need for stronger leadership development. A key driver for this is employee retention. Research shows that when managers are not leading effectively, employees are more likely to leave. A recent survey of U.S. workers found that 82% would potentially quit their jobs because of a bad manager. Between the pandemic, remote work, and fears of a recession, today’s managers are dealing with more unique challenges than ever before. Providing these managers with effective leadership training is critical.
We’re excited about the momentum we’re seeing around leadership training on the Coursera for Business platform. With our expansive content catalog, Coursera helped generate 16 million + leadership and management-related course enrollments in 2022 alone, representing a 37% increase over pre-pandemic levels. In particular, management skills that help guide teams through change are now among the fastest growing.
Coursera is working with leading brands around the world to help these businesses develop the next generation of leaders.
Equifax, a global data, analytics, and technology company, has partnered with Coursera to deepen its culture of learning and help employees take the next step forward in their careers by developing essential leadership and technical skills.
“We are building the industry’s top leaders in Product, Data & Analytics, and Technology, with a cloud-native edge,” said Dan Glennon, Senior Vice President of Global Product Operations, at Equifax, Inc. “Great leaders infuse our culture with new energy and innovative thinking, which weighs the value we offer to customers and consumers every day. Coursera’s extensive, world-class content and custom-tailored curriculum have been a key element of our talent development strategy.”
From high-speed trains, metros, and monorails to turnkey systems, infrastructure, and signaling, Alstom provides one of the broadest portfolios of smart and sustainable mobility solutions in the industry. As a leader in transportation, the company recognizes the importance of having strong leadership in a remote work environment.
“Effective leadership is crucial for the success of any organization, especially when considering the unique challenges that the growth in remote work presents to businesses,” said Franck Gaillard, Global Learning Director at Alstom. “By partnering with Coursera to deliver the right leadership training to managers across the company, remote teams can feel more supported and engaged, leading to increased productivity and collaboration.”
Pernod Ricard, a global leader in wine and spirits, continues strengthening the culture of learning within the organization and is collaborating with Coursera to help employees develop a range of business, data, and technology skills. With more than 2,500 employees enrolled in courses, leadership and management is the most frequently acquired skill by its learners.
“Interest in leadership training is growing, as our employees recognize that having these critical skills can strengthen their personal and professional growth, and unlock new opportunities at every stage of their career,” said Albena Trifonova, Director of Pernod Ricard University. “Our goal is to provide equitable access to learning for all employees. Coursera’s high-quality content, and ability to integrate with our existing learning management system makes them an ideal partner and an important component of our holistic approach to learning & development.”
Jindal Steel and Power, a leading Indian conglomerate with a dominant presence in steel, mining, and infrastructure, is partnering with Coursera to enhance employees’ leadership skills and help them guide the business through unforeseen challenges. A key focus of this program is providing employees with content that strengthens their ability to lead themselves, teams, and larger organizations.
“As our industry evolves, we recognize that the leadership skills and qualities needed in today’s business environment are also changing,” said senior leadership at Jindal Steel and Power. “We are placing more emphasis on building emotionally resilient, calm, and compassionate leaders that thrive under pressure and will help the business navigate uncertainty. The breadth of Coursera’s leadership and human skills content helps create a clear leadership development path that aligns to our vision.”
Leadership content on the Coursera for Business platform is created by leading university and industry partners. Some of the top-rated leadership courses include:
Coursera launched its Leadership Academy offering in August 2021, which featured development in over 35 skill areas, from feedback and coaching to storytelling and decision-making. We recently released a new Leadership Academy promotional offering for customers looking for a lower-cost, stackable leadership solution that can scale quickly and effectively. The new offering provides organizations with a slice of the entire leadership catalog including a curated selection of 11,000 short videos, 500 leadership courses, and 70 Guided Projects from world-class companies and institutions.
There is a growing sense of urgency within businesses around providing high-quality leadership training. We look forward to continued collaboration with our customers to help employees at all levels develop the new, job-relevant skills needed to become successful leaders in the modern workplace.
For more information on Leadership Academy, visit:
