How can you build a corporate learning system that helps specialists strengthen their expertise, build careers within the company, and at the same time address real business needs? Drawing on RedCore cases, Svitlana Khaikova, Head of Learning & Development, shares the tools that work in practice and the results they deliver for the business group.
Today, corporate learning is part of almost every large company. But where is the line between a collection of courses and a fully-fledged L&D system?
It starts when learning is no longer driven by the idea, “Let’s create another course,” but by the question, “Why does the business need this?”
At RedCore, a business need is the starting point for any internal learning initiative. We need to understand what challenge we are trying to address, who the target audience is, and what impact the initiative is expected to have.
Today, RedCore offers more than 50 learning programs in six languages, covering everything from management and soft skills to hard skills and product-specific training. Last year alone, we launched 39 new programs, which were completed more than 26,000 times in total.
And these aren’t simply courses on “how to be a product manager or a good person.” We constantly keep our finger on the pulse of our key business areas and develop industry expertise ahead of the curve — focusing not only on what is needed today, but also on what may be needed tomorrow. For example, we recently launched a course on iGaming metrics, giving specialists a systematic understanding of the industry’s key metrics and product context.
The demand comes from both sides: the business and the specialists themselves. We continuously collect feedback after training and analyze requests for external programs, books, and other resources. When the same topic keeps recurring across different requests, we see it as a clear signal that it is relevant and requires deeper focus and further analysis.
50 internal courses sounds impressive. Why does RedCore create most of its training in-house when there are so many ready-made programs on the market?
I wouldn’t frame internal and external programs as competing alternatives. Of course, established hard skills and foundational disciplines are much easier to source externally than to reinvent the wheel. But when we’re talking about training directly connected to our internal reality, the situation is different.
The external learning market doesn’t always keep pace with rapidly evolving business needs. Training is often either too basic or disconnected from the realities of the business.
When it comes to our products, processes, and internal tools, the necessary context and expertise often come from within. The same is true for onboarding and management development programs: to be effective, they need to reflect our culture and the real situations our teams face across the business group.
That is why we create a significant part of this content ourselves. Behind this work is a team of 30+ experienced specialists within the L&D function, with diverse areas of expertise. In addition, we create some of the programs — mainly hard skills — together with colleagues who are subject matter experts. They share their professional expertise, while we help turn it into knowledge and scale it through learning content for all RedCore specialists.
For example, Product Atlas and Key Business Metrics: From Acquisition to Retention are two flagship courses completed by all newcomers joining RedCore. Both are essential for understanding the industry and how our business works. Both courses are the result of cross-functional teamwork involving several C-level executives, including our CEO & Founder, Marina Ilina, personally.
We also place a strong focus on management training. We have a modular program designed to develop and strengthen specific management competencies, including time management, hiring, delegation, and control. CEOs and C-level executives are directly involved in creating these courses, sharing their own experience, mistakes, and practical tips. In addition, as part of the onboarding process for managers, we have a dedicated course on HR processes within the organization.
We are constantly experimenting with learning formats. This year, we recorded and released several video podcasts for managers featuring our CHRO, Oksana Izmailova. This format was very well received by our colleagues.
So, does the internal expertise of specialists itself become a learning resource?
Yes. There is already an enormous amount of knowledge within the business group, and our role is to make sure that this expertise doesn’t remain within a single team or with one individual.
To support a culture of expertise and knowledge sharing, we launched the Knowledge Sharing Space on RedCore TEAM, our internal interactive platform. Over the past year alone, 93 sessions with 2,500+ participants were held within KSS. The format allows specialists to share knowledge gained through internal or external training, as well as their own professional experience and practical tips. The most successful cases become the basis for sessions for a broader audience and can later evolve into a full-fledged internal course.
I’d go even further: this exchange is not limited to the corporate space of our business group. We openly share the knowledge we have accumulated with the professional community: we organize external conferences and meetups, while our experts speak at industry events. For example, in Cyprus, we regularly host HR MeetUp by RedCore, where our specialists discuss real cases, practical tools, and approaches they use in their own work.
This gives our internal development system a much broader impact: we not only create opportunities for our specialists, but together with them, we raise professional standards across the market, shape new practices, and contribute to the industry as a whole.
But surely a single knowledge-sharing session isn’t enough when you need to transfer a complex professional skill “from colleague to colleague”?
Of course. Sharing experience is one thing; helping someone learn how to apply it independently is another. That requires more practice, feedback, and time. And this is where mentoring becomes one of the key tools.
First and foremost, it is a way to address specific expertise gaps within the business. Sometimes, there is literally just one skill that needs to be acquired quickly. That’s why the program is limited to a maximum of three months. There is a mentor, a mentee, a clear development plan, and a specific expected outcome.
In the end, both sides benefit: the specialist expands their professional capabilities, while the business gains the expertise it needs. At the same time, the mentors’ experience starts creating value far beyond their own role or team. Mentors participating in the program receive additional compensation in accordance with the applicable internal policy.
We’ve talked a lot about development within existing roles. But career growth isn’t always about moving vertically. What if, at some point, a person realizes: “I want to keep growing, but in a different direction”?
That’s where our Swap & Work program comes in — an opportunity to try out a new profession within the business group before making a decision about a full-fledged internal transfer.
First, the specialist has a career consultation with L&D, where we discuss their motivation and expectations and assess how well they understand the specifics of the chosen field. We then connect them with the receiving team. This gives both sides an opportunity to test the potential fit in practice.
For us, this is a powerful tool for internal mobility and talent retention. Specialists gain a new career path in stable, clear, and comfortable conditions. The business, in turn, gains a candidate we are confident in — someone who understands our internal processes and shares RedCore’s values.
Last year alone, 400+ specialists applied for Swap & Work, and 80% of them found new roles in other teams. Professional and personal development within the business group, in turn, ranked among the top RedCore benefits highlighted by employees in our latest eNPS survey. And we see this not only in the feedback, but also in the numbers. Today, nearly 5,000 specialists work across the business group’s brands: 74% have been with RedCore for more than a year.
For us, a successful L&D system is measured not simply by the number of courses and programs launched, but by the impact it creates at different levels: specialists can deepen their expertise, explore new directions, and grow from within, while the business gains the competencies it needs and the industry sees new practices developed and scaled.
Ready for your next career move? Explore open roles at RedCore and grow with us. https://redcore.group/career/