Training & Development

The Quest for Excellence: It’s Why Learning Never, Ever Ends

by Ron Thomas on Jan 30, 2012, 7:45 AM | No comments yet

“I will be glad when this is all over. I will never have to study anything anymore.”

That was a statement from my daughter during finals week in her senior year of college at Penn State. She sounded worn out. As I listened on the other end of the phone, I looked at my watch and realized it was too late to respond to that. I knew she was not in the mood to be receptive.

Last week, I was in Pittsburgh leading two seminars for the Human Capital Institute (I am a faculty member). As I spoke, I kept emphasizing the need for constant learning.

As I thought of that statement I realized the model for professional learning and development has changed tremendously. There once was a time when I would choose to attend a couple of learning events per year. When I returned from them, the vast majority of the time the courseware would eventually end up in the credenza in my office. Read more…

Training & Development

Maximizing the ROI on Employee Training with Mobile Learning

by Chad Udell on Jan 19, 2012, 8:50 AM | 1 comment

No executive in their right mind would argue with the fact that employee training is a basic business necessity. When organizations experience growth, change or competitive pressure, gaps emerge between what employees know and what they need to know in order for the company to remain relevant in the marketplace.

Good training bridges those gaps and impacts bottom line measurements like productivity gains, cost reductions and customer satisfaction levels as well as improvements in employee safety, morale and team building.

But here’s the rub: According to the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), U.S. businesses invest more than $125 billion per year in employee learning and development. That’s a lot of cash. Yet in today’s economic climate, employers and HR teams are being asked to do more with less – and for many executives, that means carefully calculating the costs, benefits and potential returns they will receive from learning technologies before they invest. Read more…

HR News & Trends, Training & Development

Study: Employers Are Unhappy With Preparation of Recent College Grads

by Eric Chester on Dec 8, 2011, 9:35 AM | 3 Comments

According to yet another new survey, America’s employers believe that colleges and universities and not adequately preparing students for success after graduation.

While this is not a revelation to those who’ve listened to the collective moans of employers over the last decade, what is surprising is that this particular study is not one conducted by a conservative pro-business organization or publication, but one produced by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools.

In other words, even the governing bodies of higher education are starting to get it that higher education hasn’t yet got it. Read more…

HR News & Trends, Training & Development

Need to Improve Your Job Skills? If So, You’re Probably on Your Own

by John Hollon on Nov 16, 2011, 10:57 AM | 4 Comments

Need more proof that Corporate America isn’t investing much in training workers these days?

According to a new study just released by global consulting and outsourcing company Accenture, although more than half (55 percent) of workers say they are under pressure to develop additional skills “in order to be successful in their current and future jobs,” only 21 percent “say they have acquired new skills through company-provided formal training during the past five years.”

Yes, you read that right; only one in five employees say they have developed their skills through formal workplace training since 2006. Gives you a little different perspective on the current high unemployment levels, doesn’t it? Read more…

HR News & Trends, Training & Development

When The Whistle Blows, Do You Know What You Need to Do?

by John Zappe on Nov 15, 2011, 3:26 PM | No comments yet

With the potential for whistle-blowing employees to reap hundreds of thousands, even millions, in bounties for reporting securities violations, companies are understandably concerned that they may become the target of a claim.

Worry, though, isn’t translating into planning for what to do about the tipster.

A survey by Littler Mendelson, one of the nation’s largest employment law firms, says only 54 percent of the mostly S&P 500 firms responding are confident managers and supervisors know not to retaliate against whistle-blowing employees.

When you consider that 45 percent of companies have already had claims filed against them, and two-thirds expect claims to increase in the near future, it’s remarkable that 32 percent of the respondents admitted they lacked confidence their leaders knew how to treat tipsters. The balance, said they just didn’t know if their managers and supervisors “understand unlawful retaliation concepts and know not to engage in such conduct.” Read more…

Training & Development

Employee Learning: Companies Are Spending a (Little) Bit More

by Ann Bares on Nov 15, 2011, 9:05 AM | 1 comment

Following two years of substantial cuts, training budgets saw what we can only hope is the beginning of a turnaround in 2010. This is according to the Corporate Learning Factbook published by Bersin & Associates (which in 2010 surveyed 748 learning & development organizations from a range of company sizes and industries).

Overall, the Factbook tells us that companies spent 2 percent more in 2010 than in 2009, with average spending of $682 per learner. While this slight increase in L&D investment may be encouraging, it follows a pretty precipitous drop during the recent downturn, as the chart below indicates.

These figures tell us trends in overall practices; however, Bersin notes that the story is playing out differently in different segments. Read more…

Recruiting and Staffing, Training & Development

Hiring Veterans: They Want a Chance to Show How Great They Can Be

by Tim Sackett on Nov 10, 2011, 9:05 AM | No comments yet

I got a chance to spend some time this past weekend with a group of veterans and here’s what I came away with…

As HR/Talent Pros we are constantly looking for “silver bullets” when it comes to hiring. We’ll pretty much try and do almost anything it we think it’s going to bring our organizations better talent.

This is why I’m perplexed at the one huge talent miss most organizations are not fully invested into using – veterans! Think about the following benefits of hiring veterans: Read more…

HR Insights, Training & Development

The Brainstorming Boondoggle: Forced Collaboration Doesn’t Always Work

by John Hollon on Nov 9, 2011, 12:32 PM | No comments yet

I believe wholeheartedly that you usually get a better solution when a group of people put their heads together to solve a problem.

I’ve seen it work time after time for years, and it speaks to the notion that the sum of the group effort is usually greater than what each individual brings on their own. For example, the Beatles did greater things together as a group than the four of them ever did later as individual performers.

Yes, the whole is usually greater than the sum of the parts.

So that’s my experience, and I’ve seen it work time and time again. But group problem solving only works, I’ve also found, if the process is flexible and free flowing. That’s why enforced brainstorming — of the off-site, out-of-the-office variety — can be such a bust. Read more…

HR Insights, Training & Development

Learning From on the Job Experience: Sometimes, the Bear Gets You

by David Sneed on Nov 4, 2011, 10:30 AM | 3 Comments

Timothy Treadwell loved grizzly bears so much he wanted to marry them. Well, not marry them so much as be near them all the time.

Timothy spent 13 summers by salmon streams filming himself fondling bears while speaking softly to the camera. The gist was that he had a special relationship with the animals. Only he, Timothy went on, knows how to play with grizzly cubs. Only he understands bears, and they understand him.

Legitimate bear scientists told him not to touch bears, and Park Rangers told him not to go near them. Timothy knew better. Timothy was different.

And then a bear ate him. Read more…

HR News & Trends, Training & Development

Survey: Companies Spend on Technology Instead of Training – or Talent

by John Zappe on Oct 27, 2011, 7:45 AM | 4 Comments

“Technology — rather than hiring — is on the minds of most executives of mid-market companies.”

So says Mid-Market Perspectives: America‘s Economic Engine – Competing in Uncertain Times, a Deloitte survey of almost 700 executives at companies with revenue of $50 million to $1 billion.

A majority of the executives surveyed expect both revenue (61.2 percent) and profitability (52.6 percent) to increase next year, despite limited faith in any significant improvement in the national economy. What drives their optimism is a continued focus on cost controls and increased productivity. Read more…

Training & Development

The Quest for Excellence: It’s Why Learning Never, Ever Ends

Maximizing the ROI on Employee Training with Mobile Learning

Study: Employers Are Unhappy With Preparation of Recent College Grads

Need to Improve Your Job Skills? If So, You’re Probably on Your Own

When The Whistle Blows, Do You Know What You Need to Do?

Employee Learning: Companies Are Spending a (Little) Bit More

Hiring Veterans: They Want a Chance to Show How Great They Can Be

The Brainstorming Boondoggle: Forced Collaboration Doesn’t Always Work

Learning From on the Job Experience: Sometimes, the Bear Gets You

Survey: Companies Spend on Technology Instead of Training – or Talent

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