Tuition reimbursement: benefit of employment or strategic investment in talent? Some data points to add to the 2007 CorpU study.

Topics: Align

Contents

In the five years following CorpU's study of tuition reimbursement programs, companies have been retooling their approaches to tuition reimbursement/prepayment for certificates, courses, or programs to develop individual skills. During the Great Recession, many US-based Fortune 1000 companies trimmed these programs or suspended them as a way to conserve cash during the turbulence. In general, a scan of companies indicates that the programs have progressed little from their perception as a check-mark employee benefit, with little attention paid to whether a company gets any value from the money spent. Some companies, however, have been making adjustments to governance and measurement to align these programs to serve as part of a broad strategy to develop — and retain — staff. 

A few interesting trends are worth noting:

1. Tuition reimbursement is appearing more frequently as a recruitment benefit than as a retention effort (comparing postings from 2012 to 2011).
   Tuition reimbursement programs are starting to appear more frequently as part of recruitment tactics, appearing in job postings. On the flip side, companies are not touting tuition reimbursement as part of a "value prop" to current employees.
2. Tuition reimbursement operational processing (administration of billing and reimbursement) is often outsourced.
   Organizations have been outsourcing the billing and payment management of tuition reimbursement programs to companies like Cube Billing and Crosby.
3. It can serve as an indicator for a strategically aligned learning function.
   Organizations that place the governance of tuition reimbursement programs under the chief learning officer or the learning and development group rather than the benefits function of human resources often do so because the program is clearly integrated with talent development
4. The freeze and cutbacks to tuition reimbursement programs are reversing, but slowly and thoughtfully. 
   Many companies are in the process of revamping and retooling tuition reimbursement programs after limiting them during the Great Recession. 
5. Successful programs tend to offer help on pick the right learning experience. 
   Organizations that offer guidance to employees regarding providers (whether directly or through a third party) have higher rates of usage and completion.
6. Successful programs generally help employees see how certain skills and competencies that can be developed through learning can be part of advancement in the organization. 
   Organizations that provide competency or skills guidance on internal job postings to employees have higher rates of usage and completion.

Members of CorpU can read more detail, including information from the industry data scan and some of the implications below.