UK-Based Research Shows Learning Tech Industry Is Failing to Understand Client Organizations
The biggest problem organizations experience with suppliers of technology-supported learning and communications is a failure of the supplier company to understand the client's business, new research has shown. In a survey commissioned by LINE Communications, leading provider of learning and communications solutions, respondents cited lack of understanding of their sector, brand, values, culture, process, and of project objectives as major bugbears. The survey also reveals that suppliers tend to fall down on technological incompatibility of their solutions with the organizations' in-house systems and IT infrastructure, and lack of customization of solutions.
On a more positive note, respondents valued highly the specialized expertise they get from their suppliers, and the external perspective they bring on learning and communications problems. Over all, however, a picture emerges of an industry which is weak in requirements capture, and too ready to provide an off-the-shelf-solution regardless of the underlying business problem being addressed and of the organizational context in which it will be deployed.
LINE itself comes out well from the survey. Respondents rated the company as creative, smart, specialist, customer-friendly, leading edge and technically advanced. "LINE is an honest and thoughtful business with excellent individuals who bring a mix of skills and technologies and creativity to their work," said a typical respondent. "They really aim to understand the mindset of the companies they partner with."
The survey was carried out in July and taken by 157 individuals within organizations that use technology-supported learning and communications. Fifty-two percent of respondents were at senior management level or above. Thirty-four percent were from organizations that have used LINE, and 66 percent were non-clients. The survey was carried out online, and distributed widely among the target market using LinkedIn groups and Twitter.
Further details of the survey will appear in the coming weeks on the LINE blog at www.line.co.uk/headline.
Department of Labor Announces an On the Job Training Toolkit
Earlier this summer, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced an online toolkit to help local workforce boards and agencies implement the On the Job Training (OJT) programming through the Workforce Investment Act and National Emergency Grants (NEG).
The toolkit, located on the web at http://ojttoolkit.workforce3one.org/page/home has all of the details. It is very comprehensive and is broken down into several areas on strategy, implementation and measurement. The site is very specific on who is eligible and how the resources available for OJT are to be used. For those local areas that have not started a program, the site is very useful and user friendly.
For those of us who work in the field, we know that on boarding new employees can be time consuming and costly. This is a great way for you to work with your local workforce board to help offset some of those costs and find another avenue for new employees.
There are also materials on the site to deliver a one-day workshop on how to implement the OJT program that is available through DOL. It may be something your local workforce board may want to download and deliver. Everything to run the seminar is there.
If you and your organization are involved in a DOL OJT project, please let us know! We would enjoy sharing your story in a blog posting. Please email Jennifer Homer at ASTD, jhomer@astd.org.
by Michael Ferraro
OfficeTeam Survey: Employee Training Top Concern for HR Managers
It's back-to-school time, but teachers aren't the only ones with lesson plans on their minds this fall. Human resources (HR) departments also are focused on continuing education for workers, suggests a new Office Team survey. Nearly half (45 percent) of HR managers interviewed said their greatest staffing concern is employee training and development. Retaining top performers came in second, with 27 percent of the response.
The survey was developed by OfficeTeam, a leading staffing service specializing in the placement of highly skilled administrative professionals. It was conducted by an independent research firm and is based on telephone interviews with more than 500 HR managers at companies with 20 or more employees.
HR managers were asked, "Which of the following is your greatest staffing concern as a human resources professional?" Their responses:
|
Training and developing employees |
45% |
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|
Retaining top-performing employees |
27% |
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|
Recruiting new employees |
23% |
|
|
None/doesn't apply |
5% |
|
|
100% |
|
|
|
|
"As workers take on expanded responsibilities, it becomes more important for companies to offer professional development to help their teams keep up," said OfficeTeam executive director Robert Hosking. "Training programs boost job satisfaction for employees by enabling them to build new skills and take on more challenging roles."
Workplace Redefined (www.roberthalf.us/workplaceredefined), a recent Robert Half study that examined the attitudes of multiple generations of workers, showed that professionals of all ages value ongoing education. "Job security is on everyone's minds, and having up-to-date skills is the key to staying relevant and marketable," noted Hosking. "By providing training opportunities, companies demonstrate they're committed to their employees' long-term career growth, and this can help with their retention efforts."
Gaining Control of the Remote Workforce
Are employees today working virtually or virtually working? Mostly the former, though the lack of in-person interaction comes with its share of challenges.
Only 60 percent of participants on these virtual teams consider them fully successful, according to “Virtual Teams Survey Report 2010—The Challenges of Working in Virtual Teams,” released by intercultural training consultancy RW3 CultureWizard, even though 80 percent of corporate managers work virtually at least part of the time and 63 percent consider themselves members of global virtual teams.
“In other business situations, we would never take that as a successful percentage of a behavior or activity,” says Charlene Solomon, executive vice president of RW3 CultureWizard. “The fact that 40 percent of respondents believe that virtual teams are not successful is pretty stunning.”
The survey isolated the main challenges of virtual teams into three areas: time zone and language difficulties, communication styles, and cultural differences.Eighty-one percent of respondents indicated time zones as an obstacle when working on virtual teams, and 64 percent said the same of language, whether it be accents or dialects.
“Time zones and languages are things that you can’t change,” says Solomon, but she advises training around them by addressing aspects that are more flexible. For example, if a U.S.-based team is used to holding its meetings with a team in India in the morning—meaning the participants overseas are convening during nighttime—then the meeting time could be adapted as part of a compromise. In terms of language, Solomon suggests having a printed agenda so everybody can follow along during meetings, and a recap typed up at the end so everyone is on the same page and can refer to the notes if there were any confusion.
In terms of communication, 94 percent of participants found the inability to read nonverbal cues challenging while another 90 percent said the lack of face-to-face contact interfered with the ability to build relationships. In addition, 81 percent cited that it was more difficult to build trust and rapport while working virtually.
Solomon suggests practicing active listening skills, as well as holding informal water cooler–type meetings to form connections and build community within the team. She also recommends using a webcam or Skype when possible to pick up on visual clues.
Cultural barriers include slower decision making (80 percent of respondents) and frustration with different leadership styles (77 percent). Another 75 percent reported the challenge of nonparticipation by some colleagues.
Solomon emphasizes building a process and structure around meetings to include a set schedule and predefined work rules and roles. “You need to allow time for team members to think,” she says. “It requires awareness and practice to become comfortable with it.
“When it comes down to it, people really do prefer being able to see each other,” adds Solomon, explaining that face-to-face communication will never go out of style.
But virtual teams are time-efficient and cost-effective, and are a manageable challenge given time and training.
by Aprarna Nancherla, ASTD associate editor
Upside Learning Releases Paper On Mobile Learning
Upside Learning, a recognized leader in training outsourcing, LMS solutions, custom e-learning and mobile learning, has published a brand new paper, “Mobile Learning—Here and Now.”
The paper is based on the fact that technological developments and the increase in the mobile device penetration among the population have led to sustainable change in all spheres of our lives - radically changing the way we live and learn. Authored by Abhijit Kadle, manager of instructional design at Upside Learning, this report takes a comprehensive look at mobile learning, starting with the basics and delving deeper into the nuances of m-learning design, including
• what is mobile learning?
• when to use mobile learning
• design considerations for mobile learning
• advantages (and disadvantages) of mobile learning.
The paper also highlights a framework for evaluation, identifying three core areas: usability, technical, and functional, which is handy while considering varied mobile devices available. It addresses key trends occurring in the mobile learning space and its rapid growth across businesses, globally.
Abhijit Kadle commented, "The PoV is intended for a general audience to acquaint themselves with the concept of Mobile Learning. It will also help readers with understanding the use of Mobile Learning and some associated considerations."
A complimentary copy of can be obtained from Upside Learning's website www.upsidelearning.com/white-papers.asp.
Learning Tree International and Four Points Technology Partner
Learning Tree International, a leading global training provider, announced a partnership with Four Points Technology, a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business provider of IT products and services to the federal government, which will enable the firms to work together in offering compelling off-the-shelf and custom training solutions to government customers.
"Training is a critical need across every government agency, and by partnering with industry-leading vendors like Learning Tree International, we can offer a broad range of solutions to our customers," said David Gilchrist, president and CEO of Four Points Technology. "With physical and virtual training solutions across more than 235 IT and related topics, combined with the operational capacity to deliver training anywhere in the world, the Learning Tree International portfolio delivers unmatched capabilities for scalable, effective solutions for government agencies."
Many government organizations already rely on Learning Tree International for training solutions, including the U.S. Army, NASA, and Department of Veterans Affairs. "Working with Four Points Technology gives Learning Tree International another effective channel for providing services to government agencies that require mission-critical training solutions," said Don Berbary, president and general manager of Learning Tree International. "With this important partnership, we have further established Learning Tree as the leading training partner for the federal government."
May 17, 2010
TrainingIndustry.com Names 2010 Top 20 Training Outsourcing Companies
TrainingIndustry.com continuously reviews companies that provide training business process outsourcing (BPO) services and conducts an annual assessment to determine suppliers' experience and capabilities. This list is intended to help buy-side learning and procurement organizations searching for the right training outsourcing partner.
The Top 20 list recognizes the leading training outsourcing companies for their high quality services and comprehensive capabilities. All have demonstrated expertise and experience in managing major BPO engagements as well as creating a significant impact on the industry.
Selection to this year's "Top 20 Training Outsourcing Companies” list was based on the following criteria:
- breadth and quality of the training services provided
- industry visibility, innovation and impact
- commitment to the training outsourcing industry
- strength of clients
- geographic reach
- experience in serving the market
- company size and growth potential.
The Top 20 list should help buy-side companies make informed decisions and improve the costs and quality of learning services that they procure. Because of the diversity of services included in training outsourcing engagements, no attempt is made to rank the Top 20.
- Genpact Content Solutions
Gurgaon, India
- Intrepid Learning Solutions
Seattle, WA, United States
- MicroTek
Downers Grove, IL, United States
- Expertus
Mountain View, CA, United States
- CGS - Computer Generated Solutions
New York, NY, United States
- RWD Technologies
Baltimore, MD, United States
- Lionbridge
Waltham, MA, United States
- Element K
Rochester, NY, United States
- Accenture
New York, NY, United States
- Logica
Reading, United Kingdom
- The Training Associates
Westboro, MA, United States
- Adayana Inc.
Indianapolis, IN, United States
- Delta College Corporate Services
University Center, MI, United States
- KnowledgePool
Berkshire, United Kingdom
- Raytheon Professional Services
Garland, TX, United States
- NIIT Limited
New Delhi, India
- General Physics Corporation (GP)
Elkridge, MD, United States
- Tata Interactive
Andheri East, Mumbai , India
- ACS
Irving, TX, United States
- QA
Slough, United Kingdom
- IBM
Armonk, NY, United States
Focus on Training in Washington
With unemployment in the United States hovering at the 10 percent mark and “real” unemployment projected to be almost 18 percent, the public workforce system has been very busy helping millions of citizens develop their skills, build their résumés, and find employment.
Two major components of the system are 600 Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs) that lead the workforce development strategies in local communities and 3,000 One-Stop Career Centers that provide employment and training services for adult workers, businesses, and youth. In many areas across the United States, traffic in and out of One-Stop Career Centers has more than doubled during the recession.
With the theme of “Preparing a Competitive U.S. Workforce: Reflection, Reinvestment, Recovery,” the National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB) held its annual Forum in Washington, D.C., in early March. Board members from state and local WIBs, community partners, and other organizations attended the conference, which achieved record attendance and brought together tremendous energy and enthusiasm for sharing best practices and achievements in workforce development at the local level.
During the conference, Jane Oates, assistant secretary for employment and training at the U.S. Department of Labor, noted that getting people back to work is priority number one. In addition to providing an overview of the agency’s draft strategic plan for 2010-2016, Assistant Secretary Oates acknowledged the commitment and hard work of the entire workforce investment system at the federal, state, and local levels during the ongoing economic crisis and shared some interesting data:
· A record 7.7 million people benefited from the services of the workforce investment system in 2009, which is a 320 percent increase compared with the previous two years.
· The focus on summer youth programs was tremendous—more than 300,000 youth (double the original estimate) were given summer employment opportunities, and 15,000 of those were able to go to work full-time with the same employer from the summer job.
In addition to funding other grants, the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) has awarded $715 million thus far in competitive grants from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. More information about grant funding, including information about new solicitations, can be found at www.doleta.gov/grants.
Looking ahead, ETA is continuing to focus on the Rapid Response program that provides resources for employees affected by a company layoff; continuing to support and build Registered Apprenticeship programs; strengthening youth programs; funding competitive grants, including those that support workforce training for high-demand industries; and providing funding to foster innovation within the workforce system.
By Jennifer Homer, ASTD
Mentoring Millennials
In a Harvard Business Review article, Jeanne Meister and Karie Willyerd, co-founders of Future Workplace, report on a new study about how to mentor Millennials. Based on the survey results, the partners have devised a list of several resource-efficient ways to mentor millennials -- the people born between 1977 and 1997.
They surveyed 2,200 professionals in various industries and concluded that Millennials want a constant stream of feedback, are in a hurry for success, view work as a key part of life, seek work that is personally fulfilling, have high expectations of their employers and themselves, and are used to overachieving and making strong commitments.
With these things in mind, the pair identified three types of mentoring for Millennials: reverse mentoring, group mentoring, and anonymous mentoring. Reverse mentoring shifts responsibility to the employee and allows them to mentor senior executives by, for example, teaching them about a new social media platform. This gives the Millennials access to senior-level players and a behind-the-scenes view while allowing executive mentees to provide some advice and gain understanding of a new portion of their workforce. Group mentoring typically uses an online platform and allows employees to define mentoring in their own terms.
Managers can share the mentoring responsibility and employees can learn from their peers, which most seem to favor. Anonymous mentoring uses psychological testing and background reviews to match mentee and mentor, who then meet online and converse for six to 12 months in what often develops into a close relationship. Meister and Willyerd conclude that Millennials put into words what all generations desire: getting straight feedback from managers; feeling valued, empowered, and engaged at work; and continual growth and learning.
Read the full article at http://hbr.org/2010/05/mentoring-millennials/ar/1.
ASTD Presents 21 Excellence in Practice Awards
During its 2010 International Conference & Exposition, the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD) presented the Excellence in Practice Awards and Citations to 38 organizations from eight countries: England, Hong Kong, India, Philippines, Taiwan, The Netherlands, Turkey, and the United States.
The Excellence in Practice Awards program recognizes organizations for results achieved through learning and performance practices and solutions. From 131 submissions, 21 awards and 38 citations were given in nine categories: career development, diversity and inclusion, learning technologies, managing change, organizational learning, performance improvement, training management, technical training, and workplace learning and development.
“The winning organizations advance the knowledge and strategic importance of the training and development profession,” notes Tony Bingham, ASTD President and CEO. “The accomplishments demonstrate how the alignment of learning to organizational goals and strategies increases the performance and success of organizations worldwide.”
The Excellence in Practice Awards are presented to those organizations with proven practices that have delivered measurable results in achieving organizational goals. The organizations and their partners selected to receive Excellence in Practice Awards are:
· Accenture, Chicago, Illinois
· Ball Corporation - Metal Beverage Packing Division, Williamsburg, Virginia and Training Modernization Group Inc., Poquoson, Virginia
· CA, Inc., Islandia, New York and Bay Group International, Larkspur, California
· Farmers Insurance Group, Agoura Hills, California
· Farmers Insurance Group, Agoura Hills, California and Inner Harbor Partners for Improved Performance, Baltimore, Maryland
· Farmers Insurance Group / University of Farmers ServicePoint, Agoura Hills, California and The Next Level Sales Consulting, El Segundo, California
· Ferguson Enterprises, Newport News, Virginia and TrainOne, Charlotte, North Carolina
· Hewlett-Packard Company, Palo Alto, California (2 awards)
· The Hong Kong Police Force, Hong Kong SAR, China
· IBM Corporation, Armonk, New York
· iGATE Global Solutions, Bangalore, India
· Infosys Technologies, Bangalore, India
· Intel Technology India, Bangalore, India
· Lai Lai Convenience Stores Company, Taipei, Taiwan and Institute for Information Industry, Taipei Taiwan and aEnrich Technology Corporation, Taipei Taiwan
· Reliance Industries Limited - Hazira Manufacturing Division, Surat, India
· Residential Finance Corp., Columbus, Ohio and Vermillion Consulting, Santa Rosa Beach, Florida
· RWD Technologies, Baltimore, Maryland
· U.S. Coast Guard Training Center, Petaluma, California,
· United Laboratories, Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila, Philippines
· University Hospital Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands and Tulser Business Improvers, Maastricht, The Netherlands
The Excellence in Practice Citations are presented to those organizations with practices that have shown that they will demonstrate measurable results. The organizations and their partners selected to receive Citations are:
· Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, California
· Amway Global, Ada, Michigan and Allen Communications, Salt Lake City, Utah
· Booz Allen Hamilton, McLean, Virginia (2 citations)
· Booz Allen Hamilton, McLean, Virginia and Kaiser Associates, Washington, DC and Blueline Simulations, Tampa, Florida
· BP, Houston, Texas and ESI International, Arlington, Virginia
· City of Minneapolis, Minneapolis, Minnesota
· Cognizant Technology Solutions, Teaneck, New Jersey
· County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency, Agency Contract Support, San Diego, California
· Farmers Insurance / University of Farmers, Claims, Agoura Hills, California and Second City Communications, Chicago, Illinois
· Farmers Insurance Group, Agoura Hills, California and Applied Learning Labs, Toledo, Ohio
· Forest City Enterprises, Cleveland, Ohio
· Hewlett-Packard Company, Palo Alto, California (2 citations)
· Hewlett-Packard Company, Palo Alto, California and NIIT (USA), Atlanta, Georgia and HD Productions, Fort Collins, Colorado and Systems Documentation, Inc., South Plainfield, New Jersey
· Hewlett-Packard Company, Marlborough, Massachusetts and Systems Documentation, Inc., Nashua, New Hampshire
· Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, Mumbai, India
· Intel Corporation, Chandler, Arizona (3 citations)
· InterContinental Hotels Group, Denham, England and Phil Dourado Business Communications, Banbury, England
· Reliance Industries Limited - Hazira Manufacturing Division, Surat, India (2 citations)
· Reliance Industries Limited - Nagothane Manufacturing Division, Nagothane, India
· Rotary International, Evanston, Illinois
· Sodexo, Gaithersburg, Maryland and American Research Institute, Morrisville, North Carolina
· Spectrum Pacific Learning Company, An Affiliate of the National University System, La Jolla, California
· Synergis Management Service, Hong Kong SAR, China
· Turkcell, Istanbul, Turkey
· tw telecom, Littleton, Colorado
· U.S. Coast Guard Training Center, Petaluma, California and L3 Communications, Engineering Services, Petaluma, California
· U.S. Navy - Manpower, Personnel, Training and Education Directorate, Selection and Classification Office, Washington, DC and Hewlett-Packard Company, Ramona, California
· U.S. Navy - Naval Education and Training Command, Center for Information Dominance, Pensacola, Florida
· U.S. Navy - Naval Education and Training Command, Center for Personal and Professional Development, Virginia Beach, Virginia
· U.S. Navy - Naval Education and Training Command, Surface Warfare Officers School, Newport, Rhode Island and University of California, Los Angeles, California
· U.S. Navy - Naval Service Training Command, Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Illinois (2 citations)
· Western & Southern Life, A Member of Western & Southern Financial Group, Cincinnati, Ohio and The Last Word, Xenia, Ohio
April 19, 2010
Research Suggests Changes for U.S. Workforce Development System
With the United States still struggling to recover economically, the need for developing and deploying a high-skilled work force is more important than ever. Four leading researchers (Public Policy Associates, Berkeley Policy Associates, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, and University of California-San Diego) are calling for a “re-imagining” of the Workforce Development Act (WIA) to promote the creation of talent development systems that foster regional cooperation and prepare workers not only for the jobs of today—but for the jobs of tomorrow.
The researchers have released a white paper, Strategic Workforce Development as a Catalyst for Economic Growth: Lessons and Insights from the Field and Implications for the Future of WIA. The report comes at a critical moment, as Congress debates reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act which was enacted in 1998.
The researchers, who have vast experience in evaluating workforce development initiatives across the United States, recommend that the WIA be recharacterized and christened as the “Strategic Workforce Development Act.” The change would reflect the need to develop integrated workforce development systems that thrive on collaboration across functional and jurisdictional boundaries.
Too often, the researchers conclude, various workforce development entities work in their own silos. In some cases, that can result in training workers for jobs that do not match the current or future needs of employers and fail to retool America’s workforce in alignment with long-term economic goals.
By thinking and acting more strategically, workforce development leaders can work to ensure that the various stakeholders—employers, economic development and workforce development boards, community colleges, and others—collaborate to create effective approaches to transforming their regional economies and providing high-wage job opportunities for workers.
The researchers laid out three central issues to be considered in reauthorizing WIA:
· need to effectively integrate systems
· recognition that social change and economic transformation happen most effectively at the regional level
· new systems of measurement and accountability are needed to assess and improve strategic workforce development efforts.
In other words, change happens best at the regional level, where partners work together, pooling their knowledge and resources to identify, address, and measure the success of efforts to address short and longer-term workforce and economic development needs.
Strategic Workforce Development as a Catalyst for Economic Growth: Lessons and Insights from the Field and Implications for the Future of WIA is available on the Public Policy Associates website at www.publicpolicy.com.
USAF Adds Cyber Training for Recruits and Officers
The United States Air Force will train all new recruits in the basics of cyberwarfare and add more advanced schooling for others to help combat the growing threat of attacks on U.S. computer networks, a top commander said April 19.
Four-star Gen. Robert Kehler said details are still being worked out on a cyberwarfare component for basic training, but it would be brief, perhaps an hour or two total, and would cover only the fundamentals.
A more advanced, undergraduate-level training program will begin in June to train officers and enlisted personnel for a new Air Force career field in cyber operations, Kehler said. He likened it to existing undergraduate training for pilots, navigators, missile operators and space operators.
Kehler, who heads the Air Force Space Command at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, spoke to the annual National Space Symposium and in a separate interview. The Space Command oversees the Air Force's cyberwarfare operations.
Kehler said the basic training component would cover such basic precautions as using firewalls and passwords."We teach them at basic training fundamentals of an M-16 (rifle), for example, and an M-9 (pistol), and so we want them to know the fundamentals of the computer network that they're going to be operating in," he said.
The more advanced training will last six months and include skills currently taught to communications operators plus additional skills in computer networks and vulnerabilities. That will be followed by more specific training.
The first class will include about 16 officers. Kehler said several sessions are planned each year because the Air Force will need to produce about 400 officers annually with skills in cyberwarfare.
They will be assigned jobs across the Air Force, including the 24th Air Force, based in Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, a component of the Space Command responsible for cyberwarfare and Air Force computer networks.
By Dan Elliott (AP)
Global Lead and Novations Group Form New Firm
Global Lead, LLC, and Novations Group, Inc., announced today the merger of the two companies to create Global Novations. The new firm will leverage its collective thought leadership and technology expertise to offer end-to-end solutions on a global scale, including benchmarking, strategic leadership consulting, enterprise-level training and measurement to increase the productivity of organizations worldwide.
Global Novations is positioned to meet the increasing demand for business leaders who can manage global enterprises across multiple cultures and diverse workforces. The firm will be headquartered in Boston—Novations’ headquarters—and will maintain staff and offices in Cincinnati. It will retain its global capabilities throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
Oris Stuart, CEO and managing partner of Global Lead, will serve as CEO of the new organization. Novations’ CEO and president Mike Hyter will serve as Global Novations’ president and managing partner, as well as on the board of directors, leading integration efforts and consulting with clients to address evolving business needs.
“Companies recognize the need to transform their leadership competencies and organizational cultures to succeed in an environment where global commerce, shifting market forces and increased competition for high-value talent are the norm,” said Stuart. “Using an integrated suite of solutions, Global Novations is uniquely positioned to aid organizations in responding to these challenges by developing and executing end-to-end strategies that lead to sustainable business results and competitive advantage.”
“As category leaders, our two firms have helped clients unleash the capacity of their employees at every level of the organization,” said Hyter. “Fostering inclusion and engagement, building leadership skills and optimizing talent are critical components to build a successful, next-generation company.”
The Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group, a private equity investor in Global Lead, invested additional capital to help Global Novations better serve its clients and reach a broader scope of businesses. “These companies are adding value and providing services to evolving workforces that are trying to meet demands in multinational marketplaces,” said Martin Chavez, Managing Director of Goldman Sachs. “Together they bring a stronger wealth of experience and knowledge to this sector.”
IRS Code 127, Needs Congressional Attention Before Year End
In 1978, Congress passed the Revenue Act; and as part of that Act, the employer-provided educational assistance was created. Prior to 1978, only specific “job-related” education was excluded from gross taxable income. So, what does the code do for you and your organization?
Section 127 of the IRS code gives employers these opportunities:
1. Allows employers to exclude from employees wages up to $5250 per year for payment or reimburshement of tuition, fees, book and other supplies. This also includes certain undergraduate and graduate level eduction. Employees who receive these benefits can exclude up to $5250 for those benefits from their taxable income.
2. It also allows employers to apply employer provided job and non-job related courses of instruction for their employees, including the costs of books, supplies and equipment.
3. Employers who use this benefit can deduct these costs as a business expense in determining their income tax liability.
Each year thousands of employees use this benefit to pursue higher education opportunities that develop and expand their skills to stay competitive in today’s marketplace.
Congress needs to take action; the provision had been extended 10 times and is due to expire on December 31 of this year. ASTD has been a very strong supporter on Section 127 and will continue to reach out to Congress to act. Please speak to your member of Congress about this issue and how important it is in ensuring a competitive workforce.
Also, the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration, (ETA) announces $90 Million in National Emergency Grants to States. Please take a look at this link for more information. If you serve on a State or Local workforce board, please share this with your staff: http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?docn=2882
By Michael Ferraro, ASTD
March 18, 2010
Google Goes Social
It’s official: Google recently announced Google Buzz, its newest push into the social media foray. This confirms earlier reports of Gmail integrating a social status feature. Buzz is built right into Gmail, so there's nothing to set up for existing users—you're automatically following the people you email and chat with the most.
Buzz's five key features include:
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automatic friends lists (friends are added automatically who you have emailed on Gmail)
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"rich fast sharing" combines sources like Picasa and Twitter into a single feed, and it includes full-sized photo browsing
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public and private sharing (swap between family and friends)
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inbox integration (instead of emailing you with updates, like Facebook might, Buzz features emails that update dynamically with all Buzz thread content, like the photo viewer we mentioned above)
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"Recommended Buzz" puts friend-of-friend content into your stream, even if you're not acquainted. Recommendations learn over time with your feedback.
If you want to learn more, visit buzz.google.com.
U.S. Department of Labor Announces $125 Million in Community-Based Job Training Grants
The U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration today announced the availability of approximately $125 million in funds for Community-Based Job Training Grants.
"We are delighted to be able to create opportunities for working Americans to train for high-demand occupations with the help of community colleges and community-based organizations," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "These grants will help workers across the country prepare for good jobs. Funding community colleges and career centers ensures that we will reach a broad base of individuals in need."
Community-Based Job Training Grants will be awarded through a competitive process to support workforce training for high-growth/high-demand industries through the national system of community, technical and tribal colleges. In order to be eligible for consideration under this solicitation, an applicant must be: (1) an individual community or technical college, such as a public community college, a nonprofit community college, a tribally controlled college or a tribally controlled university, (2) a community college district, (3) a state community college system, (4) a One-Stop Career Center in partnership with its local workforce investment board that specifies one or more community or technical colleges where education/training activities will occur or (5) another entity proposing to serve an educationally underserved community without access to community or technical colleges that meets requirements outlined in the solicitation for grant applications.
It is anticipated that awards will range from $1 million to $3 million each. The exception is that applications including three or more community, technical or tribal colleges will be considered consortium applications and may request awards ranging from $1 million to $5 million. Additionally, ETA expects to allot up to $50 million of the total designated funds to organizations that have never received a Community-Based Job Training Grant.
The solicitation for grant applications is published in today's Federal Register. It provides background information and the closing date, describes submission requirements, outlines the process that eligible entities must use to apply for funds and details how grantees will be selected. To view the full solicitation online, visit http://www.doleta.gov/grants/find_grants.cfm.
For additional assistance in applying for these grants, interested parties should review ETA's online suite of resources for grant applicants. These tools introduce potential grantees to ETA grants and provide examples to guide applicants through the process. The site also includes "Grant Applications 101," an interactive, self-paced tutorial. The toolkit is available at http://www.workforce3one.org/page/grants_toolkit.
Training Magazine Closes Shop
Training magazine, after 41 years of publication, is closing shop. The magazine’s publisher, Nielsen Business Media, recently announced the closing of the publication and its website, trainingmag.com, after the March 2010 issue.
Neilsen recently sold several of their publications, including Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Commercial Property Executive, and Multi-Housing News, to other media concerns. BtoB Magazine reported that Neilsen is exiting the trade publishing business.
Global Survey of Executives and Professionals Shows Social Media Use Key to Job Success
The latest wave of Toolbox.com/PJA research reveals that social media has become critical to career advancement across IT, finance, and HR professions. This survey of more than 4,300 global professionals reveals that smart professionals -- both job seekers and those looking to advance in their jobs -- find social media and online collaboration tools invaluable.
"Although global markets have stabilized and some indicators point to improving economic conditions, we are seeing a largely jobless recovery. People need to give themselves every career advantage," commented George Krautzel, co-founder and president of Toolbox.com. "The results of this wave of research confirm that professionals are utilizing social media as an important part of career management. It has become a greater part of workflow to access relevant information, build their reputation, and create professional opportunities."
The survey shows that active participation in social media is seen as key to career advancement, both in building competitive edge as a job candidate and keeping it as a professional. Fifty-five (55) percent of IT professionals say social media is important in building their personal brand. Among HR and Finance professionals, responses were 52 percent and 49 percent, respectively. All three groups surveyed believe social media's biggest impact on career is to increase their level of expertise.
"The news for me here is that the true value of social networking isn't just the connection part, which most people have achieved, but the collaboration and ability to work together and solve problems," said Mike O'Toole, president at PJA Advertising + Marketing. "These results speak to the Social Media 2.0 world that we entered in 2009: It's no longer enough to just be there, you have to actively participate to get value out of it. I particularly enjoyed the open-ended response of one participant, who said, 'For my profession it is largely a credibility factor. Using social media helps me to demonstrate that I am not a fossil.'"
This survey revealed the following about social media usage:
· Consumption of social and user-generated content (blogs, podcasts, online communities, wikis, and profiles/social networking) continues to rise ahead of editorial media. The Toolbox.com/PJA Social Media Index now stands at 190*, compared to 132 for online editorial sources.
· IT respondents named staying current (71%) and networking with peers (69%) as the most popular uses of social media. Among HR professionals, responses were 78% for staying current and 71% for networking.
· More than half of IT decision-makers have responded to a question posed by a peer, while nearly 50% have posted a question themselves.
· Nearly half of respondents say that a social media presence greatly increases or increases their value as a job candidate, while more than 50% claim that social media is important or very important in building their personal brand.
· Executives and professionals from all Toolbox.com communities (IT, HR, and Finance) agree that social media's biggest impact on career is to increase their level of expertise in their current job position.
View complete survey results at http://bit.ly/9yX235.
February 15, 2010
SkillSoft Announces Acquisition by Investor Group
SkillSoft PLC, a software as a service (SaaS) provider of on-demand e-learning and performance support solutions for global enterprises, government, education and small to medium-sized businesses, today announced that it has reached agreement on the terms of a recommended acquisition of the company by a new company formed by funds sponsored by each of Berkshire Partners LLC, Advent International Corp. and Bain Capital Partners LLC.
Under the terms of the recommended acquisition, SkillSoft shareholders will receive $10.80 in cash for each SkillSoft ordinary share, representing a 26 percent premium to the average closing price over the one-year period ended on February 11, 2010 and a 49 percent premium to the average closing price over the five-year period ended on February 11, 2010. The fully diluted equity value of the transaction is approximately $1.1 billion.
"Skillsoft is pleased to announce this transaction, which is being unanimously recommended by the board of directors," said Chuck Moran, CEO of SkillSoft. "We believe the transaction is good for our shareholders as the offer represents an attractive premium relative to our trading history and, as an all cash offer, provides liquidity for shareholders. We view the transaction as an endorsement of SkillSoft's leadership and success, which has been achieved through the commitment of a dedicated team over many years."
"We are delighted to have reached agreement with the board of SkillSoft on this recommended transaction," said Michael Ascione, a managing director of Berkshire Partners, speaking on behalf of the investor group. "We believe the acquisition represents a compelling opportunity for SkillSoft and its shareholders that maximizes value and certainty, reduces execution risk and provides immediate liquidity. Berkshire, Advent and Bain Capital Partners look forward to supporting Chuck Moran and the SkillSoft team in creating long term value for SkillSoft's customers and pursuing the opportunities for growth that we see in existing business lines and new products and customer solutions."
SkillSoft will continue to be headquartered in Dublin, Ireland and led by the current management team, including Chuck Moran as CEO.
LXCI Remains Steady
The ASTD Learning Executives Confidence Index (LXCI) for Q4 2009 was 60.2 based on responses from 271 learning executives to an online invitation-only survey, demonstrating that collectively learning executives expect their learning functions to remain the same or marginally improve over the next six months.
Q4 2009 highlights include:
· The confidence of learning executives (LXs) stabilized in the fourth quarter of 2009, after rebounding earlier in the year.
· The overall LXCI for Q4 2009 was 60.2, essentially even with Q3 (60.7), demonstrating that collectively LXs expect their learning functions to remain the same over the next six months.
· Two of the four major indices (impact on corporate performance and status as a key strategic component) decreased slightly in Q4, while the other two (ability to meet learning needs and availability of resources) registered only minor increases. This pattern highlights that expectations are stabilizing after reaching their highest on record in Q3.
· Expectations for outsourcing on external services that aid in the learning function showed minor changes in Q4, with an increasing number of LXs foreseeing a continuation of the status quo or an increase in outsourcing.
· Nearly three-quarters of LXs anticipated WLP funding to increase or remain the same in the next six months, an increase from Q3.
· A majority of LXs who anticipated a decrease in their learning expenditures over the next six months predicted an improvement in their organization’s WLP expenditure from Q3 2011 onwards.
Learning executives (LXs) revealed plateauing scores in key indices in the fourth quarter, suggesting a continued sense of optimism in most key areas. After the drops at the end of 2008, executive confidence began to stabilize in Q1 2009, with increases being seen across the board in Q2 and Q3. In the latest quarter, the positive outlook on the performance of the learning function stabilized after confidence levels reached their highest on record in Q3.
The overall Learning Executives Confidence Index (LXCI) decreased only 0.5 points in Q4, from 60.7 to 60.2. Outsourcing is anticipated to increase, with 25.1 percent of LXs reporting that their utilization of external providers would increase, compared to 24.2 percent in Q3 and 17.0 percent in Q2. The effects of the economy continue to be evident among LXs, as a significant majority indicates the current economic conditions will impact the learning function. Conversely, only a small proportion (9.9 percent) of LXs indicates it will have no impact on the learning function in the next six months.
ASTD has created the ASTD Learning Executive Confidence Index (LXCI) to assess the outlooks and expectations of learning executives for the next six months on a 100-point scale, modeled after the CEO Confidence Indices reported by Chief Executive Magazine and The Conference Board.
For more information, go to www.astd.org/content/research/LXCI.htm.
Professional Instructional Design Volunteers Needed to Make a Difference for Children
e-Learning for Kids, a global non-profit foundation that reached more than 1.5 million children in 2009, depends on learning professionals like yourself to continue to grow the more than 175 basic skills curriculum by providing new best-in-class, highly engaging and interactive free e-learning courses for children ages 5-12 around the world. Courses help students build and strengthen skills in math, language arts, science, computers, health, life skills and the English language.
How can you help? The organization is seeking volunteer instructional designers to develop one or more storyboards for courses, as well as volunteer e-learning project managers and quality assurance volunteers to review, test, and give feedback. The start dates are in January, February, and March 2010 and the approximate time commitment is 50 hours during a period of eight weeks for the development of two storyboards.
You can keep your skills fresh, give back to the community, and have an opportunity to work collaboratively with other professionals around the world. If you are interested and available to participate as stated in any of these roles, email mail@lidyboone.nl.
2010 BEST Award Applications Due by March 31, 2010
The ASTD BEST Awards recognize organizations that demonstrate enterprise-wide success as a result of employee learning and development. We are looking for organizations that get it: They use the learning function as a strategic business tool to get results.
Award winners demonstrate that they are excellent in many aspects of the learning function:
· learning has an enterprise-wide role: involved in the executive team, creating solutions to business issues, and setting organizational strategy
· learning has value in the organization's culture: learning opportunities for employees, C-level involvement, learning for growth of the organization, and innovation
· learning links to individual and organizational performance: alignment with the business, efficiency, measurement of the effectiveness of learning, and success with non-training solutions for business needs
· investment is made in learning and performance initiatives.
The 2010 award winners will
· be featured in the October issue of T+D magazine
· be honored at a ceremony September 30 in Washington, D.C. at the Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center
· meet their peers and share their award-winning practices at the annual Learn from the BEST conference October 1 at the L'Enfant Plaza Hotel in Washington
· have the privilege of using the 2010 ASTD BEST Award Winner logo.
To learn more, go to www.astd.org/ASTD/aboutus/AwardsandBestPractices/bestAwards.
Bersin & Associates Study Shows Drop in Employee Learning and Development Spending
Corporate learning and development (L&D) spending dropped sharply in 2009, leading to much leaner budgets and staffs. This is according to a just-published Bersin & Associates study, The Corporate Learning Factbook 2010: Benchmarks, Trends, and Analysis of the U.S. Training Market, which found that L&D spending dropped by 11 percent in 2009, for a total of a 22 percent drop over the last two years. The 2009 drop is the largest ever in spending on U.S. corporate training since Bersin & Associates began analyzing the market in 2001. In addition, the reduction in spending significantly impacted staffing. The median L&D staff size fell from 7.0 per 1,000 learners in 2008 to 6.2 in 2009.
According to Josh Bersin, president, the belt-tightening has forced L&D organizations to streamline and consolidate training functions. “The past two years have been a wake-up call for L&D. In order to survive, they’ve had to improve alignment with the business, centralize learning functions and focus on those training initiatives with the highest impact. As a result, they’re in a stronger position today – as the economy stabilizes and improves – to help their organizations gear up for new programs to support growth.”
Now in its fifth year, the Corporate Learning Factbook is based on a survey conducted in August 2009. The survey resulted in data from more than 1,400 organizations of all sizes and across a wide variety of industries. Other key findings of the study include:
· After a decline in 2008, the percentage of training funds directed toward leadership development rebounded to 24 percent – an indication that companies are moving beyond a short-term, crisis management mode and are looking to strengthen their leadership teams for future success.
· Although instructor-led training (ILT) remains the dominant delivery method, its use declined from 67 percent of training hours in 2008 to 60 percent in 2009. Some ILT hours were replaced with virtual classroom training (vILT), which uses a live, remote instructor broadcast online or over video. Use of vILT increased from 8 percent of training hours in 2008 to 13 percent in 2009. It allows organizations to maintain the benefits of live instruction, while avoiding the costs associated with travel and facilities.
· More companies adopted newer technologies to facilitate learning through knowledge sharing and collaboration. Blogs and wikis both posted significant gains in 2009, with 14 percent of organizations using these tools in a learning context. Communities of practice also remained popular, used by 24 percent of companies for learning. These tools are not only cost-efficient but appeal to the collaborative and self-directed learning styles of today’s workforce.
January 4, 2010
New Study Shows Training Evaluation Efforts Need Help
When it comes to evaluating the effectiveness of training, most organizations admit they could do a better job, according to a study recently released by the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD). The study, Value of Evaluation: Making Training Evaluations More Effective, found that only about one-quarter of respondents agree their organizations get a “solid bang for the buck” from their training evaluation efforts.
The study, conducted in partnership with the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp), is based on responses from 704 individuals in high-level positions in business, human resources, and learning. Eighty two percent of respondents worked for companies headquartered in North America, and 40.5 percent were employed by multinational or global organizations.
The study found that the five-level Kirkpatrick/Phillips model of learning evaluation is the most commonly used evaluation tool. Findings show that almost all organizations (92 percent of respondents) use the first level of evaluation which measures participant reaction. The use of the model drops off dramatically with each subsequent level, with very few organizations (17.9 percent of respondents) using Level 5 evaluation—return-on-investment for training. Findings also show that for organizations that effectively evaluate at Level 4, which measures business results, there is a positive correlation with marketplace performance.
Other key findings in the report include:
• The Brinkerhoff Success Case Method is the second most widely used evaluation method. About half of respondents used some version of this method, which highlights individual training success stories to communicate the value of learning.
• There are several barriers to the evaluation of learning including metrics that are seen as too difficult to calculate, isolating training as a factor that affects behaviors and results, and lack of leadership interest in training evaluation information.
• An average of 5.5 percent of training budgets is spent on evaluation, and organizations tend to spend the largest share of their evaluation budgets on Level 1 (reaction) evaluations.
Also included in the report are recommended actions for learning professionals:
• Don’t abandon evaluation. Learn to use metrics well as they are associated with evaluation success and overall organization success.
• Establish clear objectives and goals to be measured from the outset of a training program. For example, if measuring at Level 3 (behavior change) identify and measure the behaviors that should change before and after training.
• Collect data that is meaningful to leaders. Recognize that this type of data is not primarily found in participant reaction (Level 1) evaluations.
• Indentify the key performance indicators to be measured. When evaluating results, focus on metrics such as proficiency and competency levels, customer satisfaction, employee perceptions of training impact, business outcomes, and productivity measures.
• When choosing a learning management system, investigate the evaluation tools available with the system.
The report, Value of Evaluation: Making Training Evaluations More Effective, shows conclusively that organizations struggle with evaluating whether their programs meet the business needs of their organizations and whether they are meaningful to employees and business leaders. By delineating what organizations are currently doing, and identifying best practices and recommendations for improvement, ASTD hopes this report will help learning professionals and their organizations become more proficient and strategic when evaluating learning.
Training Executives Optimistic about Training in 2010, Reports CLO
Every other month, IDC surveys Chief Learning Officer magazine’s Business Intelligence Board (BIB) on a variety of topics to gauge the issues, opportunities and attitudes that are important to senior training executives. This month the magazine looked at the CLO outlook toward the coming year.
CLO reports that training executives are increasingly optimistic about the outlook for employee development in 2010, with 60 percent of companies feeling more optimistic about 2010 compared with 2009. The reasons for optimism are not surprising.
Cushing Anderson, program director of learning services at IDC, writes “Training organizations and the wider enterprise report having a better understanding of what training topics have an impact on the bottom line and sharpen their focus.” Specifically, the survey found that 90 percent of companies expect that training will be more aligned with company business objectives in 2010, and 75 percent believe that the perception of training within their company will be higher. Finally, 74 percent report that the quality of their training offerings will improve in the next year.
When asked what they consider the most important activity their organizations tackle, CLOs listed leadership training; informal learning; self-paced e-learning; live e-learning; and instructor-led training. CLOs also continue to value learning management systems (LMSs).
Cushing concludes from the survey that much about this upcoming year is uncertain, and many CLOs see 2010 as another challenging year. Challenges from hiring to retirements and job changers will increase the importance of the training function. But less than 35 percent expect budget increases, and more than two-thirds of CLOs expect their organizations to do more training.
He writes, “Overall, companies believe the outlook for the learning function is similar to that of industries overall—it will be difficult, but there will be positive developments in the way organizations leverage and align learning, use tools and refocus on providing value to the organization.”
For more results and analysis of the survey, go to www.clomedia.com.
New Standard Supports Web 2.0 Information Sharing and Strategic Planning in the Public Sector
Enterprise content management solutions company AIIM announces the release of AIIM 21:2009, Standard Recommended Practice—Strategy Markup Language—Part 1: StratML Core. "Consistent with President Obama's directives on openness, transparency, collaboration, and participation, the StratML standard will enable agencies to use Web 2.0 social networking technologies in support of their missions to engage citizens more efficiently and effectively in pursuit of strategic goals and objectives," said Owen Ambur, AIIM StratML committee chair.
This standard specifies an extensible markup language (XML) vocabulary and schema (XSD) for the elements that are common and considered to be part of the essential core of the strategic plans of all organizations worldwide. Included in the standard are two kinds of elements: the StratML core elements themselves, and administrative metadata that provides useful context to the core elements and a sample schema. (View specifics at www.stratml.net.)
AIIM believes that StratML will formalize the strategic planning practice that all organizations go through but in an inconsistent manner. The use of this standard will enable information contained in strategic plans to be efficiently shared and analyzed. At the Federal level, StratML will enable citizens to provide feedback on agency strategic plans in a more efficient way than was previously possible.
"StratML will not only enable agencies to comply with the provisions of the eGov Act, but also bring together a greater sense of reality to the concept of strategic alignment in organizations of all types, by enabling literal linkages among strategic objectives and the records created in the ongoing business process supporting the objectives" said John F. Mancini, AIIM president. "This standard directly supports the Obama Administration’s initiatives for transparency that is an important step toward more effective content management in the government that can also be implemented in the private sector."
“StratML supports GPO’s core mission of ‘Keeping America Informed’ by providing a standardized framework in which federal agencies can develop, plan, share, and report on strategic initiatives. It also supports the Government Performance Results Act (GPRA) and provides transparency to government information through websites like GPO’s Federal Digital System (FDsys). GPO was pleased to work on StratML and serve the public’s needs by increasing the access to, and the usefulness of, Federal information,” states Adam Schwartz, GPO Program Planner.
Leading experts in strategic management participated on the committee representing U.S. Federal Government agencies as well as private sector organizations. Through the development of the standard, the committee with assistance from a number of organizations that provided tools and services to conduct proof-of-concept plans resulting in over 550 strategic plans being converted to StratML. These plans can be found at http://xml.gov/stratml.
The AIIM StratML committee is currently working on Part 2 of this standard which deals with performance plans and reports. Anyone interested in participating in the development of Part 2, is encouraged to contact AIIM's Director of Standards, Betsy Fanning at bfanning@aiim.org. For more information about StratML, please visit http://www.aiim.org/stratml.
CompTIA Boosts High-Tech Employment with Training Opportunities
CompTIA, the leading trade association for the information technology (IT) industry, recently launched a new initiative aimed at boosting high-tech employment opportunities—Getting America Back to Work. This initiative will assist local Workforce Investment Boards across the country and their “One-Stop Centers” to help individuals with adequate technical aptitude gain the training and certifications needed to secure IT jobs.
“The current employment market for high-tech workers can best be described as a paradox,” said Todd Thibodeaux, president and chief executive officer, CompTIA. “At a time when unemployment is at its highest level in more than a quarter century, hiring managers struggle to fill tens of thousands of jobs requiring certain high-tech skills,” he adds.
The Getting America Back to Work program is designed to streamline the process that Workforce Investment Boards and One-Stop Centers use to place unemployed individuals, career changers, and people new to the workforce into an IT job. The process has just four steps:
• Assess: MeasureUp, Inc., an assessment and certification practice test company, provides an aptitude test to measure an individual's technical knowledge and ability to determine if they should pursue a career in IT.
• Train: Individuals who show promise can take IT certification classes at one of CompTIA's Education to Careers member schools or commercial training providers that teach to the skills required for certification.
• Certify: CompTIA’s vendor-neutral certifications map to the skills required for many of the open IT jobs across the country; and many employers mandate or prefer IT professionals with industry certifications. At this step, individuals are directed to the right certification test upon completion of their training.
• Place: A job placement tool filters through local job opportunities by zip code and job titles that are consistent with the skills covered by CompTIA certifications to hasten the placement process.
CompTIA’s Getting America Back to Work website is free. For more information, visit www.comptia.org/certifications/backtowork.aspx.