Our PeopleArticle
Prioritizing Learning and Development Improves Retention and Performance
April 04, 2022
When we invest in our people, our business realizes exponential value.
At Trane Technologies, our 2030 Sustainability Commitments are the foundation of our strategy as a sustainable company and compel us to enable Opportunity for All. We know that opportunity flourishes when we invest in the growth and advancement of all our people, no matter their role. According to a report by LinkedIn, 93% of employees would stay at a company longer if it invested in their careers. Meanwhile, a Deloitte survey found that lack of professional development was one of the biggest reasons for Millennial job-hopping. In today’s market, investing in a robust learning and development program is an important way to attract and retain talent.
We’re investing in the long-term learning and development of our people to inspire innovation and realize a better future. Our learning and development offerings were designed with our highly talented and engaged people in mind. The return on our investment has been huge. When we prioritize learning and development that is accessible and beneficial to all, employees perform better and have a higher retention rate. It also sets the stage for a more inclusive workplace, where we position all our people for a better, brighter future.
“Our goal is for Trane Technologies to be a company where exceptional talent wants to come and, once here, wants to stay,” explains Mairéad Magner, Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer. “An essential aspect of that is ensuring that all of our employees have the skills, resources and tools they need to succeed in their current roles and be well-prepared for future ones.”
Re-envisioning Learning and Development
We’re proud to be an industry leader in learning and development, offering a suite of specialized and transformative programs and learning experiences under the umbrella of Trane Technologies University. In 2021, we redesigned every Trane Technologies University program to align with our company’s purpose, strategy, leadership principles and approach to diversity and inclusion.
One of our most groundbreaking advancements has been to move more programs to a learn-on-the-go online format that allows employees to integrate learning into their own schedule, at their own pace. “We embraced a non-traditional approach to learning outside of a classroom that made a huge difference,” said Cherie Hicks, Diversity and Inclusion Learning Leader. “Our people from all over the globe and throughout different functions and businesses can participate in these important learning experiences during times that work best for them.”
As part of this transition, we launched our online Global Learning Library in June 2021, with thousands of training programs, audiobooks and videos. Since its launch through December 2021, approximately 5,800 employees have attended 35,000 hours of training and earned 8,700 certificates of completion. We’ve also continued to expand our wide range of Learning and Development programs that coach employees at pivotal career points and help them transition into leadership positions.
Through this extensive programming, we strive to reach employees where they are. In our Learning Management System, employees can learn about value-based topics such as our leadership principles, curiosity and ethics. In our Inclusive Culture Learning Experience, employees are offered extensive Diversity and Inclusion trainings to enable heightened inclusivity in the workplace. In Engage Your Employees, managers learn how they influence their teams, as well as best practices to create an engaging work environment. Leaders who completed this program significantly outperformed peers who did not. Our Team Leader Development Program further develops leadership skills and has won the prestigious Business Transformation and Operational Excellence Industry Award for Best Achievement in Cultural Transformation & Sustainability.
Our goal is for Trane Technologies to be a company where exceptional talent wants to come and, once here, wants to stay,
Fostering Diversity and Inclusion
We continue to advance our goal of enabling opportunity for all by working to promote gender parity in senior leadership roles and ensure our team mirrors the diversity of our communities. Learning and development has become an essential tool in accomplishing these goals. We’ve developed nine distinct programs aimed at meeting the needs of specific groups of people, including women and leaders, in order to equip everyone with the skills and resources they need to excel and advance in their career.
Our Women in Action Program shows this commitment at work. This voluntary, self-directed, remote learning journey provides women with convenient access to content that promotes leadership skills and addresses the unique challenges faced by women in business. The virtual, self-paced format allowed us to reach a wider variety of women than ever before, with participants logging 4,565 learning hours. Overall, in 2021, we more than doubled participation in our women’s development programs, enrolling the largest volume of women to date.
As Hicks explained in an episode of the Skillsoft podcast, “We wanted to reach women at every level, including emerging leaders and informal leaders, and this program provided an opportunity to do that, as well as being assessable to women that were outside of the US.”
The success of the Women in Action Leadership Development Program has helped us pave the way forward in professional development. By continuing to invest in the growth of our people, we’re cultivating a workplace where everyone can thrive. The result is a future-fit organization that’s prepared to tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges.
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