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Organisations today are beginning to realise that executives can benefit greatly from educative programmes and hence, are bringing back the conventional wisdom of teaching combined with modern-day training methods

"Organisations are looking at executive education as an important tool for the development of its employees. However, different organisations have a different take on this. While some organisations have been looking at leadership development through executive education only, there are others that are taking a more proactive and well-planned approach by identifying specific skills and levels for which executive education makes maximum sense. Further, executive education particularly from some of the esteemed colleges internationally, serves as a very strong motivation and engagement opportunity. Again, at senior levels, employees look at executive education as a way of networking and gaining exposure to some of the best practices in the function," says Chaitali Mukherjee, country manager, Right Management.

"Over the last few years, the growth of organisations has been increasingly associated to the growth of the human capital. This consequently has created the need for attracting, developing and retaining the talent pool across various organisational segments. The days of conducting standard training programmes for employees are passé and the focus has now shifted to specialised courses depending on actual professional requirements," explains Prateek Jain – partner, tax and regulatory services, KPMG India.

"We, at Hilton Worldwide, invest heavily in talent developing initiatives and offer a multitude of learning and development opportunities and professional training across functions. Globally, team members at Hilton Worldwide are provided access to Hilton Worldwide University, a virtual university that offers more than 2,500 tailored learning courses that target different skills and  tracks all courses taken over an employee's career," illustrates Sunil Kumar, regional director – India, HR, Hilton Worldwide. Similarly, KPMG has tied up with NIIT Imperia to launch three taxation programmes namely - Certificate Programme in Tax Regulations, Advanced Programme in Tax Regulations and Diploma in Tax Regulations, primarily designed to meet the growing training needs of finance, accounting, taxation professionals and other stakeholders.

"These programmes include serious engagement among executives, who are on the leading edge of current business thought and management theory development," says Kamal Meattle, CEO, Paharpur Business Centre & Software Technology Incubator Park.

According to Udit Mittal, MD, Unison International, executive education helps organisations and employees reap the following advantages:

• Talent management;

• Improved business performance;

• Flexibility in meeting one's business needs;

• A positive influence on the organisation's brand value;

• International focus.

Whatever the route, executive education seems to be a viable alternative to losing employees to higher studies.

- Ankita Shreeram