Strategic Alignment | September/October 2017

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER2017

STRATEGIC

ALIGNMENT ACHIEVING TRUSTED ADVISOR STATUS | 16

Getting a Seat at the Decision-Making Table

DITCHING THE TECHNOLOGY BANDWAGON | 32

Avoiding Fads and Focusing on Outcomes

TAKING TIPS FROM MARKETING | 40

Using a Content Strategy to Drive Performance

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BUSINESS

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ON

MANAGING

WORLD-CLASS

T R A I N I N G|

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THE MOST INCONSISTENT THING YOU CAN DO IS TREAT EVERYONE THE SAME.

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PERSPECTIVES - K E N TAY LO R

My guess is that the cover of the magazine may have tipped you off about the focus of this edition of Training Industry Magazine – the goal of strategic alignment. In the corporate context, we sometimes allow ourselves to default to the state where strategic alignment means we deliver the program that a leader suggested. We then spend a significant amount of time and resources to develop the most micro-simulated, blended learning experience we can with all the tools we have in the shed.

While that is not the worst thing we could do, it is by far the most risk-laden strategy for any head of learning that I could imagine.

The key is to try to strike a balance between great customer service (a key part of every learning leader’s job description) and a detailed understanding of the true drivers of performance in the various groups of employees you are ultimately responsible for providing training to. I believe that we must start with the problem rather than the answer.

I know that sounds obvious and probably a heck of a lot more work than taking the “order,” but we are talking about building the most impactful function in the organization, aren’t we?

Many training managers are judged on the ability of the function to meet the

needs of the organization with metrics like attendance rates, cancellations, hours of training provided per L&D employee, number of learners supported per L&D professional, Level 1 evaluations, etc. The reason these metrics are included in your performance plan is because they are easy to measure.

The problem is that focusing on these metrics really challenges our ability to execute on the right thing: Getting the employees who need training access to the right training at the time of need.

In order to generate the most impact, I believe that leaders of training organizations need to have the courage to challenge the “order,” invest the time to uncover the performance problem and hold their L&D team accountable for being the masters of learning objectives, available content, modality and, most importantly, developing solutions that address the learner’s true needs.

GET THE EMPLOYEES WHO NEED TRAINING ACCESS TO THE RIGHT TRAINING AT THE TIME OF NEED.

I think you’ll find this edition of our magazine ripe with ideas to help you toward that goal. As always, we would love to hear your thoughts about the point of views shared in the magazine.

Ken Taylor is the president and editor in chief of Training Industry, Inc. Email Ken.

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CO N T E N TS

TA B L E O F VOLUME 10

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I

ISSUE 5

I

SEPTEMBER /OCTOBER 2017

FEATURES

16 GETTING A SEAT AT THE DECISION-MAKING TABLE

16

21

25

28 32 36

40

32 AVOIDING FADS AND FOCUSING ON OUTCOMES

40 USING A CONTENT STRATEGY TO DRIVE PERFORMANCE

THE FIVE CORNERSTONES TO BECOMING A TRUSTED LEARNING ADVISOR

By Tiffany Poeppelman

Help shape new opportunities by obtaining trusted advisor status and getting a seat at the table.

ALIGNING BUSINESS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR MEASURABLE IMPACT

By Noelle Akins & Kathy Telban

A backward-design approach can ensure learning and business outcomes are properly aligned.

CREATING A DATA-DRIVEN LEARNING STRATEGY

By Brian Blecke & Kelly Smith

Ensure L&D is focused on high-value and high-impact initiatives with a data-driven learning strategy.

L&D AS GLOBAL AS POSSIBLE, AS LOCAL AS NECESSARY: FINDING BEAUTY IN THE BALANCE

By Jan Rijken

A globally fit L&D organization must find the balance between local autonomy and global scale.

SQUIRREL! AVOIDING THE BRIGHT, SHINY OBJECTS AND FOCUSING ON OUTCOMES

By Britney Cole

Drive business results by learning how to control the conversation around adopting new technology.

CONSCIOUS ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING

By Rukmini Iyer

Facilitate collective growth and evolve learning as a culture by learning through the individual.

A CONTENT STRATEGY ISN’T JUST FOR MARKETERS

By Bianca Baumann

L&D can create learning experiences that make a difference by taking a page from marketing’s book.

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THOUGHT LEADERS

03 09 11 13

PERSPECTIVES

By Ken Taylor

Learning leaders should challenge the “order” for training.

GUEST EDITOR

By Michelle Kohn

Driving business growth starts with developing internal talent.

SCIENCE OF LEARNING

By Srini Pillay, M.D.

Brain-based conversations can better align leaders with their teams.

DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

By Dr. Shawn Andrews

Policies are not enough when it comes to creating an inclusive workplace.

15 51 53 55

BUILDING LEADERS

By Sam Shriver & Marshall Goldsmith

Effective performance management requires a clearly defined strategy.

SECRETS OF SOURCING

By Doug Harward

Focusing on the success of the business is critical for strategic alignment.

GEN WHY

By Michelle Eggleston

Communication enables organizations to go the distance.

TECH TALK

By Amar Dhaliwal

The future of corporate learning belongs to experience design.

INFO EXCHANGE 44 I CASEBOOK

The Ports of Auckland has reduced training costs by reassessing necessary skills and competencies.

46 I GLOBAL OUTLOOK

Business success increases when cultural intelligence training and a global mindset are in place.

48 I MEASURING IMPACT

Use big data analytics to better identify patterns, improve learning and measure training’s impact.

56 I CLOSING DEALS

FranklinCovey has developed a one-stop shop for training organizations by acquiring Jhana.

57 I COMPANY NEWS

Keep up with the latest in the training industry by reading news from the last quarter.

58 I WHAT’S ONLINE

Find additional articles, case studies and information available only on TrainingIndustry.com.

59 I TRAINING TALK

Review Industry insights and polls collected from learning leaders around the world.

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A B O U T OUR TEAM

STAFF CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Doug Harward dharward@trainingindustry.com

Stephani Mager smager@trainingindustry.com

EDITOR IN CHIEF & PRESIDENT

SENIOR DESIGNER & ART DIRECTOR

Ken Taylor ktaylor@trainingindustry.com

Heather Schwendner hschwendner@trainingindustry.com

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

DESIGNER

Mary Lewis mlewis@trainingindustry.com

Michelle Eggleston meggleston@trainingindustry.com

ADVERTISING SALES

EDITOR

sales@trainingindustry.com

Taryn Oesch toesch@trainingindustry.com

Dr. Shawn Andrews Founder & CEO Andrews Research International

Barbara Jordan Group Vice President, Global Learning & Development Sims Metal Management

Derek Cunard, LPC Chief People Officer Pinnacle Automotive Hospitality Services

Karen Kocher Chief Learning Officer Cigna

Vince Eugenio, Ph.D., HCS, CCMC Senior Leader, Talent Development Boys and Girls Clubs of America

Meredith Lubitz

Carol Gajus, Ph.D. Director, Stores and Military Executive Development Programs Macy’s Corporate Nancy Gustafson Workforce Learning and Development Manager American Red Cross Lorna Hagen Vice President, People Operations OnDeck Laura Moraros

John Hovell Senior Manager, Learning Operations and Technology BAE Systems Kaliym Islam Vice President Depository Trust & Clearing Corp.

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GUEST EDITOR

BY MICHELLE KOHN, CPTM

DRIVING BUSINESS GROWTH THROUGH INTERNAL CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS

Working for a global organization oftentimes means working on projects with people from around the globe who have very different skill sets and backgrounds. In this dispersed environment, it is imperative that learning and development (L&D) be strategically aligned with business goals to ensure consistency across the organization.

At Arup – an independent firm of designers, planners, engineers, consultants and technical specialists, working across every aspect of today’s built environment – we employ more than 13,000 people in more than 35 countries.

Managing large multi-disciplinary projects is one of the key skills that sets us apart from many of our competitors.

After identifying this skill as essential for select team members to have, our L&D department created an internal

USING REAL-LIFE EXAMPLES HAS BROUGHT THE PROGRAM TO LIFE. certification program for project managers, with the goal of ensuring that no matter where the employee is located (in a large or small office), they will receive a consistent training experience.

But having a small L&D team meant we lacked the ability to deliver this program on an ongoing and consistent basis. Our solution was to partner with senior staff

in the initial design and delivery of the program. Here are a few areas that our team focused on during development.

Stakeholder Analysis We first interviewed senior staff in both large and small offices to determine what skills were necessary for someone to be successful in this role. The L&D team then designed an initial outline of nine core courses and four optional ones covering project management, finance, legal, technical and people skills based on those interviews. We then vetted this list with a team of senior engineers from across the region to ensure we would be meeting their needs.

Subject Matter Experts We then assigned subject matter experts to each topic to work with a designer to create the courses using a combination of in-person and e-learning modules, depending on the topic. We also created a learning path for these modules, allowing learners to take different courses at different points in their career so they can continue to learn and grow as their career progresses. Courses are delivered in-person by a senior engineer in the office, and once a quarter we do train-the-trainer classes in each office to get facilitators comfortable with the topic and presenting.

Certification The final step to becoming internally certified as a project manager is an interview with a panel of senior principals in their local office. A series of scenario-based questions were created

for the senior team to ask, along with a ranking matrix for them to use to score the answers. This format ensures that we are giving learners the opportunity to demonstrate that they have the skills required to apply the learning to realworld examples.

OUTCOMES The certification program has been extremely successful due to the amount of buy-in from senior staff. By having them involved in designing the curriculum as well as facilitating, we now have a direct loop to when things in the business change and courses need to be updated. Using real-life examples has brought the program to life and allows us to keep it specific to our company and our culture. By having senior leaders teach, they are able to share their experiences with junior staff and end up unofficially mentoring many of the people who take their course. It’s been a great partnership between the business and L&D to create a custom program that addresses a critical business need and has resulted in a stronger more robust pool of project managers, which is critical to helping grow our business.

Michelle Kohn, CPTM, is the head of learning and development for the Americas region at Arup. She has experience driving all facets of the talent process: leveraging succession planning, identifying high potential talent and talent mapping for key strategic roles in global matrixed environments.

Email Michelle.

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CONGRATULATIONS

TOP 20 COMPANIES

The Top 20 Companies are a service provided by Training Industry, Inc. Due to the diversity of services offered, no attempt is made to rank the “Top 20s.”

SCIENCE OF LEARNING SRINI PILLAY, M.D.

BRAIN-BASED CONVERSATIONS FOR STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT

On the surface, “strategic alignment” is easy to understand. It simply requires that people executing a business strategy be on the same page. Many leaders mistakenly believe that this only requires a clear plan, communication and a personal sense of responsibility to complete it. While necessary, they are rarely sufficient. Several other unconscious biological factors play a role in whether this alignment is successful or not.

LEADERSHIP SYNCHRONY Ideal alignment essentially requires synchrony. In a recent study, investigators asked, “What distinguishes leaders from followers in a group?” By attaching electrodes to the head of each person in the group, they found that leaders will initiate synchrony of their brains with others within 23 seconds. Rather than a dictatorial stance then, leading a team requires brain synchrony. But how?

COMPONENTS OF SYNCHRONY Daniel Siegel proposed a model that clearly explains three important components of synchrony: presence, wholeness and resonance (i.e., much like a member of an orchestra, leaders must be present, self-possessed and resonate with others). To help concretize how this can be achieved, I developed a biological model with suggested actions.

BIOLOGY OF PRESENCE For a leader to be present, it helps to connect empathically. Two brain systems can help achieve this: the mirror system (i.e., feeling what others feel) and the mentalizing system (understanding others’ points of view). When these

systems are activated, a strategy will not only be felt, but truly heard. And when activated optimally, the leader’s presence has been registered.

Brain-based conversation suggestions: Leaders may ask, “Is there anything that conflicts with your expectations? How can we resolve them? Is this achievable?

Let’s discuss why or why not.”

DAYDREAMING WHEN STRATEGIZING MAY HELP RATHER THAN HURT. BIOLOGY OF WHOLENESS Feeling whole requires a strong sense of self. Connecting with yourself requires periods of unfocus throughout the day.

In this sense, unfocus is not a distraction, but a pause that allows for the self-circuits in the brain to activate. Intelligent pauses for strategic alignment can be enhanced by reverie, a state of mind that involves contemplation rather than focused communication. Your brain can only take so much focus, making unfocus crucial for the brain to function optimally.

Brain-based conversation suggestions: Rather than devising a strategy and communicating it, leaders should involve employees from the very outset to encourage buy-in. Strategy discussions might involve questions, invitation for suggestions, and an authentic exploration of doubts and concerns.

Doing this early will prevent conflict and allow leaders to be more effective.

Also, a certain kind of daydreaming when strategizing may help rather than

hurt. Positive constructive daydreaming requires doing something low-key like walking, and then having positive and wishful images of the outcome. (Note: these are images, not just ideas of what it could look like.)

BIOLOGY OF RESONANCE Resonance implies that employees are on the same page and feel connected to the leader and the strategy. In the brain, resonance implies that the brain feels rewarded (i.e., the reward center is activated), and that employees feel like they are part of the strategy.

Brain-based conversation suggestions: To achieve this, certain physical activities can change brain activation.

For example, walking in tandem or even dancing together makes people like others more, remember them better and even trust them more. Talking about the strategy on group walks, or incorporating dancing into a retreat may be helpful in enhancing employee resonance to improve alignment.

CONCLUSION When there is strategic alignment, people and their brains are on the same page. By incorporating brain-based conversations into strategic communication, alignment will become much more likely because the brains of leaders and their teams will be aligned too.

Dr. Srini Pillay is the CEO of NeuroBusiness Group. He is also assistant professor (parttime) at Harvard Medical School and teaches in the executive education programs at Harvard Business School and Duke CE. Email Srini.

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DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION DR. SHAWN ANDREWS

INCLUSIVE WORKPLACE PRACTICES When it comes to diversity and inclusion (D&I), having an aligned strategy is of critical importance. D&I are essentially standalone concepts. Is it possible to have diversity without inclusion? Yes. Is it possible to have inclusion without diversity? Not likely.

Diversity is the collective mixture of differences that includes individual and organizational characteristics such as values, beliefs, experiences, backgrounds and behaviors. Many workforces today are diverse simply as a reflection of society.

However, inclusion is the achievement of a work environment in which all individuals are treated fairly and respectfully, have equal access to opportunities and resources, and can contribute fully to the organization’s success. Most companies today are not very inclusive, and without an aligned strategy, the two concepts will not integrate.

THERE NEEDS TO BE A DEEP CONVICTION IN THE IMPORTANCE OF INCLUSION. Many organizations have created a new executive position, Chief Diversity Officer (CDO), with the sole responsibility of promoting workforce diversity. These CDOs are implementing comprehensive programs to help their company boost diverse recruitment, help those employees advance, implement diversity training, and even forge relationships with diverse vendors.

These types of diversity efforts are what’s known as diversity management – the voluntary organizational actions

designed to create greater inclusion of employees from various backgrounds into the formal and informal organizational structures through deliberate policies and programs. It’s important to remember that diversity representation in the workforce is only the initial step toward workplace inclusion. Inclusion reflects the extent to which employees perceive that they are part of the communication systems, informal networks and decision-making processes. Therefore, increasing diversity representation and achieving inclusion is a two-stage process with each stage affecting the other in a circular way. The first stage is reactive: Organizations are recruiting and employing a more diverse workforce. The second stage is proactive: Organizations are investing efforts in active diversity management with the aim of enhancing inclusion and fostering organization effectiveness.

Questions organizations should ask themselves are, “Is our organizational culture inclusive and culturally competent?”; and, “To what extent are employees from different identity groups participating in formal and informal networks and actively involved in the decision-making process?” For organizations to become truly inclusive, it is not enough that they have policies and guidelines in place; there needs to be a deep conviction in the importance of inclusion. This level of commitment to D&I can only come from the very top of the organization.

Here are some inclusive workplace practices that companies can apply to their own workforces.

• Leadership involvement: Assign a top executive to lead and sponsor the

diversity program, and create a diversity council from various levels within the organization.

• Performance and accountability: Establish diversity goals, quotas and metrics. Develop action plans to meet the goals of the organization. Hold managers accountable to these goals by linking diversity performance to compensation.

• Policies and procedures: Create a diversity mission statement, antidiscrimination policies, corporate values, and behavioral standards that reflect D&I. Create HR policies that offer flexible work arrangements to accommodate diverse needs.

• Employee networks: Create affinity or employee resource groups and mentoring programs to empower employees of diverse backgrounds, and to provide opportunities and visibility.

• Education and training: Offer unconscious bias or sensitivity training workshops to increase diversity awareness and skill building.

These practices provide opportunities for the future of work, and for training professionals, this is good news. More programs and a focus on reaching broader, more diverse audiences means more training opportunities. And training will continue to be an important component in helping organizations become more inclusive.

Dr. Shawn Andrews is CEO of Andrews Research International. Her dissertation research focused on leadership, emotional intelligence, gender and unconscious bias in the workplace. Email Shawn.

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BUILDING LEADERS SAM SHRIVER & MARSHALL GOLDSMITH

CONSTRUCTING A

MONUMENT? When we found out the central theme of this issue was “strategic alignment,” several executive acquaintances flashed through our heads. None was more prominent than the image of David Brennan. Among many other career highlights, David is the former CEO of AstraZeneca. He currently serves on a number of boards and advisory committees of one kind or another. Central to our purposes here, he has always been the kind of person who could reduce the most intricate and complex dynamics into their most practical and concrete essence. We spoke with him recently about strategic alignment and he did not disappoint:

“I’ve always thought about strategic alignment this way. Say you are walking down the street and happen to be passing a busy construction site. You see three bricklayers. You approach the first one and ask him what he is doing. He answers by saying, ‘I’m putting mortar on the bottom of these bricks.’ You continue and ask the second one the same question and he tells you, ‘I’m putting up a wall.’ You get to the third, repeat the question and she stands up, looks you squarely in the eye and with unrehearsed conviction tells you, ‘We’re constructing a monument!’

With David’s vignette as a backdrop, let’s agree that strategic alignment translates to people (in many cases large numbers of people) who are frequently diverse in every imaginable manner and focused on achieving two or three goals of significance. There are many benefits imbedded in that kind of working relationship, but chief

among them are increased productivity and amplified engagement.

PRODUCTIVITY Effective performance management initiates with a clearly defined strategy.

As per the age-old analogy of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” approaching the Cheshire cat in the tree at the fork in the road and asking, “Which road should I take?”; if you have no idea where you are going, it simply does not matter which path you follow.

EFFECTIVE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT INITIATES WITH A CLEARLY DEFINED STRATEGY. Clear strategy that is simple and easy to understand affords everyone the opportunity to align their daily activities and calibrate their progress. This connection in and of itself doesn’t necessarily guarantee productivity targets will be achieved, but the probabilities associated with delivering desired outcomes is greatly enhanced when “the flag at the top of the mountain” is in plain view for all to see, and represents a destination that captivates the aspirations of those signed up for the journey.

ENGAGEMENT We are all well-acquainted at this point with the power of discretionary effort.

If you have an organization full of people who have “bought in” to a strategy, it almost invariably translates to increased communication and incremental adjustment based on emerging circumstance.

Stated differently, people who have “bought in” care, and when people care, they take ownership. And when they take ownership, they take personal responsibility for fixing problems (that no one could have predicted) pretty much in real time.

Read anything ever written about CEO Alan Mulally and the Ford Motor Company from 2006-2013. What you will find is a real-life example that chronicles the efforts of thousands of Ford employees worldwide in a monumental turnaround effort. In overly simplified terms, the strategy developed and communicated by Mulally was, “Here’s where we are … here’s where we need to be … and you (Ford employees) are the people that are going to get us there!”

We would argue there is not a more effective technique of increasing employee engagement ever devised than providing a crystal clear “what,” and supporting those with a vested interest in achieving that “what” to figure out the details associated with the “how.”

Marshall Goldsmith is the world authority in helping successful leaders get even better.

Sam Shriver is the senior vice president of commercial operations and product development at The Center for Leadership Studies. Email Marshall and Sam.

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5 THE

CORNERSTONES TO BECOMING A TRUSTED LEARNING ADVISOR

BY TIFFANY POEPPELMAN

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T

he relationship between work and learning in today’s organizations has never been stronger. Research results from the Bersin-Deloitte study (2017) show that learning and development (L&D) has kept “learning and work separate for nearly a century, technological advances have now made it possible to bring them together again, both using work itself to provide employee development and utilizing development to improve work.”

Previously, learning was either largely limited in the classroom or focused on specific needs.

But with the disruption of virtual communications, repositories and databases that enable instant delivery of learning experiences, and a growing demand for real-time learning – we are now able to meet business needs and deliver a consistent employee development experience due to rapid business advances.

This evolution puts L&D professionals in a strategic position to serve as a partner and advisor to organizational executives and leaders, given the constant shift in demands and need to integrate fully into the organization. But how do those professionals who’ve been deemed “training leads,” and merely there to only develop skills or deliver a one-time solution, step out of that

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shadow into a more strategic light to drive a learning culture?

partner or HR professional get a seat at the right table.

First, let’s define the term “trusted advisor” within the context of work and learning. When you think of someone in your business who is a trusted partner, what words come to mind?

Perhaps partner, confidant, business and consultant. Well, all of these are true. That said, it’s typically defined by characterizing what qualities a person exhibits like authenticity, credibility, reliability, and above all – how they show a genuine interest along with insights around one’s business, which is beyond their own role. Being a trusted advisor isn’t just for L&D, training and analytics, but one way you might spot an L&D partner, is looking for these “trusted advisor status” behaviors:

1. D EVELOP A STRONG PERSONAL BRAND.

• Someone who is asked to regularly weigh in, or provide advice into key decisions (related or unrelated to their work) often in advance.

• Someone who adds value to areas of the business beyond their current role.

• S omeone who grows and fosters relationships outside of their core programs or immediate projects.

• Someone whose personal brand is strong - they often speak at events, are asked to write articles, or take on critical business projects.

Overall, the outcome of being a trusted advisor will allow L&D professionals to deepen customer and stakeholder relationships and provide more insight and development of high-impact solutions. This can also result in higher satisfaction at work and in one’s job when they are treated and seen as a leader in their space – both inside and outside of the company.

Here are the five cornerstones with tactics that will help any learning

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Continue to grow one's reputation and voice through a personal brand, both internally and externally. This means every event or social media post can help shape the perception people have of an L&D partner. If stakeholders respect one's work and value their opinion, doors will continue to unlock for input into processes, improvements and, importantly, future roles.

• G et to know others in the business.

Likeability is a huge factor of influence, so build one’s network accordingly.

• A ttend events.

Seek opportunities to attend external events and present on any innovation or lessons that others can learn from in the community. Additionally, write a blog or post, share or tweet articles, or research to drive thought leadership in the space.

EVERYONE HAS A STAKE IN THE COMPANY’S SUCCESS – ACT LIKE IT. • B e aware of your behavior.

Be genuinely passionate, enthusiastic and authentic when working with team members. They can feel the energy when it’s genuine.

2. LISTEN INTENTLY.

When invited to meetings and opportunities to learn about current business needs, listen to your leaders and the team’s problems. The main skill to build is how one reinforces what they heard, comes up with a viable solution or

alternative, and finds a way to succinctly share that with leadership. What does the client need? Aim to look beyond the surface needs and understand a leader’s underlying interests.

• Ask to get involved in planning meetings to provide updates.

Attending business-critical meetings can give insight into upcoming changes that may shift the leaders and L&D program goals.

• Provide the right program recommendations.

In order to gather the information needed to provide practical program recommendations, continue to keep an eye on leadership priorities, and talk to the learners about what the growth areas are for the team. Additionally, never assume training is the solution.

Ask questions around “What’s the reason for this request,” or thank someone for the insights or request.

But before accepting the assumption, ask for time to investigate whether the skill or knowledge gap really exists. One way to pipeline constant feedback is by asking questions in pre-existing surveys such as “what areas do you want to grow next year?” Or when in meetings, use natural discussions to listen to the pulse of the learners so you know what is top of mind while in critical business meetings.

3. COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY.

This applies to any situation when an L&D professional refers to their roles or introduces oneself. Think

WHEN INVITED TO MEETINGS TO LEARN ABOUT CURRENT BUSINESS NEEDS, LISTEN. about instances of providing program updates to teams, or meeting someone for the first time and telling someone about one’s position. It’s important to not describe oneself as a “trainer” or “learning developer,” but rather a “consultant or advisor to the business” who enables performance.

The reality is, L&D professionals understand human behavior and ways to drive performance through learning activities, reinforcement and unlocking a team’s potential through various methods and structured programs or materials. How an L&D professional describes themselves does matter, and it shapes the brand going forward.

• C reate a 30-second pitch around one’s role and team to ensure the right message when meeting new people in the business.

• Create a mission and vision with the larger L&D team in one’s business for how the group will grow as advisors together.

4. BE VOCAL.

When seated with leaders, provide recommendations for business or process improvements, even if it has nothing to do with your job. Trusted advisors are willing to speak up and give their thoughts no matter what the topic.

As a partner to the business, everyone has a stake in the company’s success – act like it.

• B uild relationships.

Growing one-on-one relationships to

ensure trust across teams at all levels will help make oneself more confident to be open and honest about views.

• O ffer recommendations.

Position recommendations with collaboration and business growth in mind.

• S peak up.

Be transparent on views with the business’ best interest in mind. This will grow credibility.

5. ALWAYS KEEP LEARNING.

Continue to learn about the business as a whole in order to be a true thought partner and advise on areas outside of your role. Take time to learn about things outside of your job. Bonus: It makes everyone more well-rounded and confident when engaging with senior leaders.

• Ask for your leader’s yearly and quarterly priorities.

Knowing what is top of mind for them will allow you to ask the right questions in meetings or all hands. Another way to do this is to watch the company earnings calls and read annual reports since they often highlight current areas of strength and parts of the business that are being invested in (or not).

• Stay on top of the industry and market trends.

This will help any L&D professional stay well rounded as a person but also in one’s business’ area of expertise. This

can be done by enrolling to receive email digests from articles or notable news sources, searching for keywords on social media channels for the latest articles, or googling news updates on any topic.

Which area resonates as a place to begin? There’s nothing to lose! If leveraged correctly, the tactics provided can start to shape new opportunities to sit at the leadership table with organizations to provide a humancentered development approach and share input on the business decisions.

The result of doing so can allow L&D professionals to glean insights on rapid changes to the business, and ensure a continued investment in employee development.

As all L&D professionals collectively grow the brand as trusted advisors to businesses, there will be stronger relationships across L&D and the business, as well as a global brand of consultative advisors. Embrace the opportunities presented or go seek them out today – step out as a trusted advisor.

Tiffany Poeppelman is a regional sales performance consultant within sales readiness at LinkedIn. She oversees the development of the Marketing Solutions EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) sales teams in over seven countries, and the global emerging business around the world.

Email Tiffany.

THE 5 CORNERSTONES TO GET A SEAT AT THE TABLE 1. Develop a Strong Personal Brand 2. Listen Intently 3. Communicate Effectively 4. Be Vocal 5. Always Keep Learning

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BY NOELLE AKINS & KATHY TELBAN

How can an organization optimize business outcomes using learning as its critical enabler? To meet this challenge, think business first. Align your learning outcomes with business outcomes for measurable, enterprise-wide impact.

Imagine an IT implementation for finance and HR solutions slated to reduce operational and administrative costs by over 20 percent through cost reductions, streamlined business processes, and real-time analytics.

These gains are realized only by solid user adoption and proficiency, which are direct outcomes from learning.

In this scenario, training leaders collaborate with business leads and configuration partners at project onset to identify and support desired business outcomes. Committed to the alignment of business and learning outcomes, the training team makes strategic, datadriven decisions on essential content for each target audience and reduces time spent on training design and learner time in the classroom. Focused, hands-on sessions equip subject matter experts (SMEs) in finance and HR, while demos and just-in-time learning interactions support user adoption and learner proficiency for managers and the broader employee audience.

THE NEED FOR AN OUTCOMES-BASED FRAMEWORK Common instructional design and evaluation models like Criterion

Referenced Instruction created by Robert F. Mager, the ADDIE model, and The Kirkpatrick Model set standards for design, development and evaluation of training programs, now challenged by emergent agile models such as SAM. What is often missing is a focus on learning outcomes that enable business outcomes.

Instructional design frameworks have evolved from content-based to competency-based to an outcomes-based framework.

• What will learners do “in here” to demonstrate evidence of the outcomes?

A proven outcomes-based model developed for and by colleges provides the right framework, by adding questions on business outcomes and metrics. Its focused line of inquiry guides a backward design process.

The process answers the following key questions:

Answers to these questions define the training scope in a one-page design document called an Outcome Guide (OG), read from right to left. This is approved by stakeholders prior to training development and ensures alignment of all elements. Figure 1 on page 23 provides an example.

• What are the business outcomes where learning is a critical enabler to realize those results?

OUTCOME ALIGNMENT: BUSINESS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

• What data will be used to determine when business and learning outcomes are met?

• What do learners need to be able to DO ‘out there’ in their role that we are responsible for “in here” and that will impact the organization’s outcomes?

• What skills must the learners master to demonstrate the outcomes?

• What concepts must the learners understand to demonstrate the outcomes?

• What issues must the learners be able to resolve to demonstrate the learning outcomes?

Alignment of business and learning outcomes requires a focus on what learners will do “out there” outside and after the training experience, using the language of stakeholders. In the training scenario, the business outcome is: Make faster, smarter financial and human resource decisions within departments

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to reduce operational costs by 23 percent and administrative costs by 22 percent.

Data-points to measure business outcomes could include reduced cycle time, increased volume and lower costs.

The OG example below shows learning outcomes, assessment tasks and essential content for both employee and managers in this scenario. Typically, an OG is developed for each audience and can be created at the program, course or workshop level. Iterations are expected through the refinement process.

Learning outcomes are robust, integrated and contextualized, describing what learners do “after” and “outside” the learning experience. Outcome statements determine the scope of learning – breadth and depth. Learning objectives can be developed later to scaffold learning.

Be careful not to start with learning objectives – a pitfall that typically narrows the focus to one concept or one skill and uses one verb. Another pitfall is the use of vague language that is not measurable or contextualized.

Key Alignment Question

Do the learning outcomes align and contribute to the business outcomes and stated in a language a stakeholder would use?

OUTCOME AND ASSESSMENT ALIGNMENT Alignment of assessment tasks to learning outcomes requires a focus on what learners will do to provide the best evidence of the outcome. Often, learning outcomes are written without attention to measurement. Defining assessment tasks early increases the likelihood of measurable outcomes.

Iteration sharpens both elements, which is why assessment tasks should be identified in the design phase rather than after development. In the scenario, employees must enter and edit time and absence requests while managers must approve team’s procurement, expense and travel requests.

A pitfall to avoid is relying solely on surveys and tests to provide evidence of learning. Post-class surveys provide only

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indirect evidence based on learner’s perception, which infers learning. Tests often focus on concepts and low-level learning. True assessment tasks, known as performance tasks or authentic assessment, provide direct evidence of real learning. Assessment should simulate what the learner is expected to do in their actual role. Having both direct and indirect evidence can provide a more complete picture of the learning.

TRUE ASSESSMENT TASKS PROVIDE DIRECT EVIDENCE OF REAL LEARNING. Key Alignment Question

Do the assessment tasks provide sufficient evidence that the learner meets the learning outcome?

OUTCOME AND SKILLS ALIGNMENT Alignment of learner skills to business and learning outcomes requires a focus on what abilities learners must master in order to demonstrate learning outcomes. Maintain an emphasis on the learner’s capacity to perform the assessment tasks and achieve the learning outcomes.

In the training scenario, finance and HR super-users master new system skills via hands-on mapping sessions, minimizing the need for siloed legacy systems that formerly required high levels of IT support. End users master electronic self-service transactions for HR and purchasing, reducing rework and improving cycle time for workflow.

Budget owners demonstrate the ability to monitor budgets for more accurate tracking and data-driven decision making. Managers model utilization of the system that supported user adoption.

A pitfall to avoid when aligning skills to outcomes is the tendency to confuse

participant knowledge with participant skills. Remain focused on learners’ actions.

Key Alignment Question

Do the skills that learners demonstrate contribute to the learning and business outcomes?

OUTCOME AND CONCEPT ALIGNMENT Alignment of learning concepts to learning and business outcomes means a focus on what learners must understand in order to demonstrate learning outcomes. For example, learners in the systems training scenario master an understanding of new internal processes and company policies. They understand electronic workflows and integration of time and absence data in the system, as well as the impact of approved procurement and travel requests on budget commitments. Managers also understand the importance of their role in reinforcing user adoption.

A common pitfall with concept alignment is the tendency toward information overload or content creep.

Ward against the temptation to add more content than is truly necessary to achieve results required for learning and business outcomes.

Key Alignment Question

Do the concepts that learners apply contribute to the learning and business outcomes?

OUTCOME AND ISSUES ALIGNMENT Alignment of potential learning issues to learning and business outcomes requires one to identify, in advance, what potential issues learners must resolve when demonstrating learning outcomes. These can be internal to learners, but are more often found in the external environment. Include these issues in your training design and your assessment tasks so that learners practice resolving these reallife complexities.

Potential issues in the systems training scenario may include minimal experience with electronic workflows, complicated supplemental pay options, multiple job assignments, and a major

IT CLOUD IMPLEMENTATION (HCM/ERP)

FIGURE 1.

CONCEPT & ISSUES

SKILLS

What must the learners understand to demonstrate the intended outcome?

What skills must the learners master to demonstrate the intended outcome?

What will the learners do in here to demonstrate evidence of the outcome?

What do learners need to be able to DO “out there” in the rest of life that they’re responsible for “in here”?

• Electronic workflows

• System Log In and basic navigation

• Locate pay and benefit information

• Locate pay and benefits

• Enter and edit time and absence requests

• HCM Accurately record time and absence, employee pay & benefits info weekly; Process HR transactions within 48 hours of request.

• Data integration • New segments for Chart of Accounts • Changes to company finance and HR policy and processes • Budget planning (M) • Budgetary controls (M) • Dashboard monitoring (M) • User adoption and proficiency (M) What issues must the learners be able to resolve to demonstrate the outcome?

• Enter and edit time and absence requests • Enter and edit procurement, expenses and travel • Approval of time and absence (M) • Approve team’s procurement, expense and travel requests (M) • Transfer a direct report (M) • Locate budget actuals, monitor budget line items (M)

ASSESSMENT TASKS

• Enter and edit procurement, expenses and travel • Approve team’s time and absence requests (M) • Approve team’s procurement, expense and travel requests (M) • Transfer a direct report (M) • Locate budget actuals and monitor budget line items and make changes (M)

• Data integration • Complicated pay options

INTENDED OUTCOMES

• ERP Process electronic procurement and travel expenses within 30 days.

• HCM/ERP Management Approve time, absences, pay, benefits and travel expenses and transactions weekly; use manager dashboards for monthly monitoring and course correction; use real-time budgetary controls for quarterly planning and justin-time decision making.

• Multiple assignments • New expense categories for budget line items

© 2017 The Learning Organization. www.outcomeprimers.com Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial -NoDerivs 4.0 International License

shift in expense categories. Pitfalls to look for include undervaluing or overestimating the impact of these issues and not devoting enough time on these issues with the learners.

Key Alignment Question

Do the issues that learners resolve contribute to the learning and business outcomes?

PULLING IT ALL TOGETHER The Outcome Guide is a proven tool that ensures learning outcomes and business outcomes are aligned for maximum impact. This high-level design document delivers conclusive insight into the “what” of your training

content, informing subsequent work related to the “how’ and “when” of training strategies, learning modalities and content development.

A backward-design iterative approach saves time and resources by driving clarity on essential content derived from learning outcomes aligned with required business outcomes.

Stakeholder approval of learning outcomes in the OG, a formal step in the process, confirms language and ensures that scope and assessment measures are jointly agreed upon. Outcome Guide development supports rapid design and lean learning principles.

Development decisions facilitate alignment of learner skills, knowledge,

and issue resolution for achievement of learning and business outcomes.

Position learning as your organization’s critical enabler by realizing the measurable impact of learning outcomes and business outcomes that deliver a return on your investment.

Noelle Akins is the senior consultant for Navigator Management Partners and chief visionary officer for Akins & Associates.

Kathy Telban is the chief outcome strategist for iSOLVit. Together they bring a systems perspective to the design and development of sustainable learning approaches that make a measurable impact for their corporate and higher education clients.

Email Noelle and Kathy.

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BY BRIAN BLECKE & KELLY SMITH

A data-driven learning strategy aligns learning goals with the business and ensures the learning function is putting its design, manufacturing and reporting capabilities to good use by working on high-value and highimpact initiatives. It also describes the relationship between the learning function and its two internal customer groups, business leader stakeholders and the learners themselves.

A learning strategy differs from an operational strategy (see Figure 1 on page 26). An operational strategy for the learning function describes the current, near- and long-term capabilities and capacity of the function, as well as a roadmap of activities and milestones. Decisions regarding governance, technology, staff and staffing levels, using internal or external resources, reporting, etc., are guided by the operational strategy of the learning function.

learning strategy forecasts anticipated results with associated metrics and establishes a roadmap to guide the organization to those outcomes. It also provides numerous points of measurement that will indicate progress towards an achievement of that state.

To be effective, different kinds of data need to be identified, collected and analyzed in the early stages of learning strategy development.

The data-driven learning strategy effectively uncovers and brings into balance the goals, needs and realities of the organization, learning function and the learner. It places strong emphasis on business alignment and business outcomes, ensuring learning strategy and learning outcomes produce needed changes to performance.

A data-driven learning strategy utilizes formal and informal data.

For business leaders, data-driven learning strategy improves their confidence that the direction and focus of training appropriately reflect the business’ goals. For the learning leader, it provides a business-centric framework for prioritization, decision-making and efficient deployment of L&D resources.

For the instructional designer, it guides and focuses design choices. For the learner, it improves the odds that their learning experiences will meet important developmental needs, and be engaging and meaningful.

In addition to aligning L&D to business goals and outcomes, data-driven

WHAT WE MEAN BY DATA Formal data: Most organizations today are awash in data, reports and dashboards. Often gathered and organized automatically and behind the scenes, this type of structured data provides an understanding of financial and operational performance, highlighting gaps between expected and actual outcomes, and modeling or forecasting future state scenarios. In some cases, the data is unstructured and requires some effort to organize, consolidate and interpret. Formal data is useful in estimating and calculating actual business impact and return on investment (ROI).

Informal data: Most organizations have this kind of data readily available as well; however, it’s not often captured automatically and typically requires manual effort to uncover and organize. Informal data is valuable in setting direction by capturing goals,

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FIGURE 1

OPERATIONAL STRATEGY & PLAN

DATA-DRIVEN LEARNING STRATEGY

LEARNING FUNCTION CAPABILITIES & CAPACITY

STRONG, VISIBLE ALIGNMENT

WHY

WHO

WHAT

Organizational Direction & Goals

New or Changes to Performance Outcomes

Learning Outcomes

Goals Obstacles Measures

Roles Impacted

clarifying priorities and trade-offs, establishing training design preferences, understanding tolerance for both risk and innovation, and confirming organizational constraints. Informal data is invaluable in forecasting a future state and aligning learning strategy to business goals.

A potential Achilles heel of a data-driven learning strategy is in the data itself.

While better than a learning strategy that is based on best guesses and hunches, incomplete, inaccurate or outwardly conflicting data will undermine the strategy from the moment data issues are uncovered. Poor quality or inaccurate data is an issue that’s hard to overcome after the fact. To ensure a data-driven learning strategy rests on a solid foundation, it’s important to ensure the data is sufficiently trustworthy to the stakeholders.

Another potential pitfall is the paralysis that can come from too much data or the wrong data. A guiding principle is to uncover enough data to get the primary, or the majority of, stakeholders comfortable with the direction and substance of the learning strategy.

Imperfect, yes, but practical.

DATA TYPES AND SOURCES Performance Data: Performance data measures the actual performance of an organization, function, process or role, highlighting gaps and focal points for the learning strategy to address.

This formal data covers operational goals, capturing things like units manufactured, cycle time, accuracy and errors, price captured, discounts applied, realized risks, cost of losses, etc.

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Additional gaps can be identified by looking at the data across time (e.g., months, quarters, or years). Stratifying, segmenting and isolating the data creates an understanding of variations that are common and uncommon.

WORK AS AN INTERNAL TEAM TO ADDRESS THE HIGHPRIORITY AREAS, GOALS AND GAPS. This kind of structured data can be used in a predictive way, by assuming certain changes and their impact. For example, “What would it mean if we were able to reduce errors by 15 percent? What would have to change to achieve that goal?”

The data can then be used on the backend as part of a Level 4 or 5 evaluation.

Financial Data: Financial data provides balance sheets and internal P&L insights. It can also highlight where the organization is about to expand, make a directional shift, increase or decrease staff, invest in new technology, or phase out old technology.

Tactically, it’s a good idea to include a finance person among the stakeholders (stakeholder data is a topic we’ll discuss in a moment). Rather than learn all the ins and outs of the financial world and risk being incorrect, work closely with

HOW Governance model & practices

Learning Management Systems

Staff

Reporting

Processes, (e.g., ADDIE, SAM)

Facilities Management

Authoring Tools

Etc.

the finance stakeholder to uncover key insights from the financial data.

Work Analysis Data: For a functional, role-specific, or course-level learning strategy, specific work analysis data is crucial. Documenting the work outcomes, processes and tasks, measures, knowledge and skill requirements – and performance gaps – helps all the stakeholders understand the tactical targets of the learning strategy.

Stakeholder Data: Stakeholders are often the primary source for uncovering informal, unstructured data through their insights into organizational goals, strategic direction, the organization’s tolerance for risk/innovation, and weighing in on decisions regarding priorities and trade-offs.

Different leader stakeholders see the future differently. Partly due to their role, organizational home, or functional goals, these stakeholders provide unique and sometimes conflicting goals.

They describe possibly divergent future states and different perspectives.

As such, it’s best to engage multiple stakeholders to avoid being guided by a single perspective and, as a result, missing the mark. An effective learning strategy finds an appropriate and reasonable balance among the stakeholders. Whether a single view of the future is confirmed by each stakeholder, or multiple views emerge, a data-driven learning strategy accounts for the widest reasonable future state, and ensures it will be supported by a broad community of leaders. It’s often beneficial to include leader stakeholders with challenging, or perhaps contrarian,

views of the future. They often speak for a community who, for whatever reasons, refrain from engaging.

There are a number of ways to capture stakeholder data. Figure 2 shows an example of stakeholder data taken from a role-specific learning strategy initiative.

When considered together, stakeholder data and work analysis data allow for traceability between specific learning outcomes and organizational goals.

Learning Function Data: The learning function’s operational strategy, associated roadmap and performance metrics will enhance understanding of the function’s capabilities and capacity, and will be an important input to the learning strategy. This data may also uncover organizational constraints to contend with related to skills, timeframe and budget.

External Benchmarking Data: Though not a primary data source, benchmarking data provides insights into organizational performance of industry peers or across industries. Market comparison data provides insights into the actions, decisions and spending of other organizations’ specific areas. Sortable by industry, organizational size and other factors, it is often useful to understand how the organization compares to the market.

Cognitive and Learning Research Data: Also not a primary data source,

research data provides insight into the learning strategies, instructional modalities and tactical investments being made in the market.

MAKING USE OF ALL THIS DATA Today’s evolving global marketplace and increasingly competitive business environment require prioritization of organizational needs and goals, while ensuring that learning initiatives drive business results. Successful companies understand the importance of designing, developing and delivering training programs and activities that meet those demands through strategic alignment with a focus on business outcomes and the bottom line.

Talking to business leaders is one of the most important steps to aligning learning with the business. Engage leaders to gain their wisdom, insights and judgment as well as their understanding of relevant data, strategic direction and key operational goals as they shape training decisions and investments.

Devising the learning strategy happens in the following stages: • Explore Gather and analyze appropriate types of formal and informal data to understand the business goals.

• Target Determine the right roles and right

FIGURE 2

changes in performance to achieve the business goals.

• Define Work as an internal team, guided by the input of subject matter experts or other representatives to define a learning solution that addresses the high-priority areas, goals and gaps. Additionally, make sure it fits within the organizational “realities” of timeline, budget and design preferences.

• Confirm Review learning solutions with the stakeholders and demonstrate the traceability of learning outcomes to priority business goals – adjust as needed.

CONCLUSION Since the L&D function is in the “hot seat” when it comes to balancing the needs and goals of the organization, the learning function and the learner, using a data-driven learning strategy ensures L&D is focused on high-value and highimpact initiatives.

Brian Blecke and Kelly Smith are founding partners and performance consultants at Actio Learning. With 25 years’ experience, they are passionate about helping organizations design and deliver innovative learning and performance improvement solutions to address workforce challenges.

Email Brian and Kelly.

STAKEHOLDERS

QUESTION

SR. EXECUTIVE

What are your organizational goals?

Move clients out of the atrisk category

Shorter time to proficiency

Reduce employee burn-out

Modern, Better trained millennialteam members friendly training

What obstacles stand in your way?

No evidence of capability at critical development stages

Lack definition of proficiency

Chaotic work environment, poorly prepared employees

Old, outmoded, incomplete/ inaccurate training

Complex system, old training, no practice

No clients in either at-risk or operational red categories in two years

Clear definition of proficiency with milestones

Reduction in overtime hours

All content refreshed within two years

Reduced tier 1 help requests

How will you measure success?

BUSINESS LEADER 1 BUSINESS LEADER 2

No employee development roadmap

Comprehensive development roadmap

Alignment between assignment and capability

HR / L&D

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IT

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FINDING BEAUTY IN THE BALANCE L&D: AS GLOBAL AS POSSIBLE, AS LOCAL AS NECESSARY

BY JAN RIJKEN

An increasing number of learning and development (L&D) professionals are struggling to find a good balance between their global L&D initiatives and their local and business unit operations.

This article aims to provide insights and a few proven answers for chief learning officers (CLOs) to handle the global-local L&D balance.

It is not news that the world is changing at an accelerating pace. In order to face these complex changes, a study by Hay Group and Z_Punkt identified several megatrends that lead to the main challenges corporate organizations face when adapting in order to stay competitive: • T echnological convergence New technological breakthroughs transform many areas of everyday business.

• Digitization Work goes remote, and people increasingly live online.

• Individualism G rowing freedom of choice and options for work.

• Demographic change The population is aging and the workforce is composed of three to four different generations.

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Within corporate organizations, L&D teams are being asked to do more with less, produce higher quality and achieve greater consistency, which puts them under greater pressure to redefine their roles and re-evaluate their structure.

A large international Telecom provider faced major challenges in the L&D area following a recent acquisition. L&D was managed at a business unit (BU) level (strategy, content, budget), and skills training was not consistent across those BUs with the outcome that workforce exchange between BUs was challenging in terms of skills gaps (common capabilities). Recommendations from a global L&D review included: • Develop and implement a global core skills curriculum.

• Determine the optimum for design and deployment for the core curricula: What’s global, what’s BU.

• Economic downturn Climate change and scarce raw materials.

• Improve the curriculum design: Blend classroom and digital learning, and add social and workplace learning elements.

• G lobalization 2.0 Economic power shifts and growing competition.

In today’s globalizing business environment, it is a risk for the L&D function to hang on to traditional

structures and remain focused on the local workplace. There are opportunities in building on local best practices and leveraging these at a global L&D level, linked directly to the core business strategy. In order to achieve this, the L&D organization must find the best possible balance between global and local (or business unit).

The challenge is getting the balance right between local autonomy and global scale. In recent years there has been a swing in balance from local to global L&D. In the case of a global bank, a review revealed 12 LMS systems, overlapping technical, skills and leadership curricula, and a lack of clarity on measurement and governance. In reaction, a first-time global L&D strategy was developed and launched that implied a shift from local to global, which turned out to be a rough ride in practice. Despite the efficiency opportunities, it quickly became clear that there were downsides to centralization (e.g., loss of flexibility and commitment at a local level). It took the bank in question approximately five years to get its balance right and benefit from synergies.

Conversations and surveys with 40+ CLOs provided a high-level overview of the pros and cons of centralizing L&D. Pros for centralization include efficiency and cost savings at a global level, scale and consistency, global control, and clarity on decision-making and investments. Cons for centralization include increase of local costs (shortterm), reduced flexibility, loss of local commitment (L&D and sponsors), and loss of local autonomy.

GLOBAL-LOCAL (CENTRAL/DECENTRAL) ASSESSMENT MODEL After recognizing that globalizing L&D in a corporate environment is a long and painful journey that should be tuned to both the structure and culture of the business, it became apparent that the only answer to where optimal balance lies is covered by “as global as possible, as local as necessary.”

This does justice to both the pros and cons of centralizing, and provides corporate L&D leaders the opportunity

to define the gap between reality and ambition in their business environment.

A deep-dive into a professional services’ global L&D operation revealed all the described opportunities and challenges, leading to the initiative to develop a model that could be used by CLOs to identify the global-local “gap,” and as a basis to develop and implement action plans to progress. This model has now been optimized by the CrossKnowledge Learning Institute for the needs and challenges of global companies (Figure 1).

The beauty of the model is that it provides insights into core L&D drivers: strategy; measurement; governance; content; L&D staff, technology and its steps on the bandwidth global > local without being directive. The model provides the opportunity for each corporate organization to define both the “As Is” and “To Be” for each L&D driver and develop an action plan.

The model does not have the rigor to globalize in every dimension; 100 percent globalized strategy and technology can go hand-in-hand with a more collaborative governance.

FIGURE 1 LOCAL AS POSSIBLE, GLOBAL AS NECESSARY

GLOBAL AS POSSIBLE, LOCAL AS NECESSARY

STRATEGY

Domination of local strategies

Some countries share strategic principles but operate autonomously

High-level agreement on strategy, with particular focus on a small number of high profile priorities

Global strategy for L&D, agreed and championed by business leaders, HR leaders and L&D practitioners

MEASUREMENT

Various country specific benchmarks. No common definitions. Local reporting

Some benchmarks common to some practices. Little or no global reporting

Broadly similar benchmarks allowing for country specific tailoring. Reporting loosely linked to firm-wide scorecard

Aligned KPI’s and metrics, locally and globally, embedded in a firm-wide scorecard

GOVERNANCE

Local L&D sounding boards largely focused on knowledge sharing & local priorities

Learning councils encouraging collaboration on cross-border initiatives & best practice sharing

Governance over global investments and collaboration on cross-practice initiatives

Robust governance, strongly led by business leaders, with strong oversight of priority setting and the achievement of KPIs

CONTENT

Learning content is locally developed & delivered, no globally-driven content development

Content development & delivery, mostly local with limited global initiatives focused on new topics

Best (content) practices identified and leveraged at global level; strategy to reduce overlap in development & contracting

Clear global-local development & delivery strategy with major investments driven by global priorities

L&D ORGANIZATION

Separate country teams with occasional knowledge sharing

Separate country teams. Some cross-border collaboration. Small global teams focused on needs of smaller practices

People working on global programs report globally, even when funded through regional/local budgets

Global reporting and funding of all globally focused L&D resources

TECHNOLOGY

Local technology platforms

Some cross-practice technology solutions

Greater commonality, but...

Integrated global technology platforms

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FIGURE 2 ALIGNMENT

EFFICIENCY

EFFECTIVENESS

GLOBAL DESIGN, GLOBAL DELIVERY

GLOBAL DESIGN, LOCAL DELIVERY

LOCAL DESIGN, LOCAL DELIVERY

L&D Infrastructure

Business & Leadership Skills

Local Bespoke Programs

Leadership Development & Talent Management (high-end)

70:20:10 Strategy & Implementation

Local Vendor Management

Digital Learning

Technical Curricula & Career Paths

Measurement & KPIs L&D Processes

20% (max) Adaption -Language, Cases, Delivery

L&D Needs Analysis Onboarding & Core Skills Curriculum

More than 20 CLOs have used the model successfully in the past two years to plot their specific L&D situation and make the present and future of their L&D operation transparent. In addition, they’ve identified where and how they could progress toward as global as possible, taking the pros and cons into account.

MANAGING GLOBALLOCAL STRATEGY, CONTENT AND TECHNOLOGY A topic that has not been addressed so far is how to find a global-local balance in L&D content management. Based on corporate benchmarking meetings with CLO-peers and first-hand experience, this clearly shows to be a huge challenge, not only in terms of cost-efficiency but also in relation to consistency, cultural flexibility and buy-in from the local L&D community.

Let’s explore the real case of an organization with 16 different onboarding programs developed and rolled-out with one global business strategy. A review showed that 80 percent of the onboarding content was similar, but obviously countless time, energy and resources had been invested to design and deploy the 16 programs.

The review recommendation was to pull

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together a global-expert design group from different locations who drafted a global onboarding program design populated with existing best practices.

IT IS A RISK FOR L&D TO HANG ON TO TRADITIONAL STRUCTURES AND REMAIN FOCUSED ON THE LOCAL. The result of this was an 80 percent blended onboarding solution, which could be launched in each company location with the opportunity for maximum 20 percent local adaption to realize a perfect culture fit, if needed in terms of language and cases. Not only is this method more efficient, it also led to an increase in global L&D consistency and buy-in from the local L&D colleagues, who felt recognized rather than neglected!

Based on similar examples related to L&D content, technology and processes in corporate L&D environments, the globallocal matrix framework that enables CLOs to populate this framework tuned in to their own organization (Figure 2).

For each content area, there’s an opportunity to consider where it makes the most sense to plot design and delivery in your organization. For digital learning, it’s most efficient and effective to design and deliver globally. In practice, identify and contract the best global provider with a relevant portfolio available in multiple languages. For personal skills, it’s most effective and efficient to design globally and deliver locally. In practice, determine the core skills curriculum and design incorporating benchmark content with the option to locally adapt.

For a specific country-legal program, it’s best when designed and delivered locally, AND share this local initiative as a possible best practice with the global L&D community.

In summary, global L&D strategy and local optimization are twin goals attainable through exploring the “as global as possible, as local as necessary” balance. Local flexibility drives agility, growth, and L&D community and business sponsor engagement. All these ingredients are necessary to develop an L&D organization that is globally “fit for purpose.”

Jan Rijken, former CLO for KPMG, ABNAMRO and Mercedes-Benz, is currently the director of the CrossKnowledge Learning Institute, where he conducts strategic L&D research.

Email Jan.

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LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT

SQUIRREL! AVOIDING THE BRIGHT, SHINY OBJECTS AND FOCUSING ON OUTCOMES

BY BRITNEY COLE

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REGARDLESS OF THE INDUSTRY, THERE’S AN APPEAL TO WHAT’S NEW AND TRENDY. IT’S EXCITING WHEN THE BRANDING OF A PRODUCT CHANGES TO SOMETHING MORE MODERN. NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND WIDGETS ENTER THE MARKET DAILY, PROMISING CONVENIENCE, AUTOMATION AND ENGAGEMENT.

Recently, a team used an augmented reality (AR) app to train retail store associates, bringing “oohs” and “ahhs” from colleagues. But then, just as the team was celebrating, someone asked rather skeptically, “Isn’t that just a fancy alternative for a QR code?” The team paused. QR codes are so 2012, and AR is so new and so cool. One certainly could have argued that the technologies were completely different and that the application of AR is much more seamless and integrated than using a clunky and unattractive QR code. But in reality, the outcome the team was trying to achieve wasn’t entirely different: giving associates a way to learn more about a product in the store while talking to a customer. A QR code could work. And so could AR. ARE WE USING TECHNOLOGY FOR TECHNOLOGY'S SAKE?

MANY L&D PROFESSIONALS TEND TO GET BLINDSIDED ON WHAT LOOKS “COOL.”

The “technology first” conversation drives learning solutions more than ever before. In many ways, it’s also a “deployment first” conversation: “If I want to use this app or technology to design and develop and deploy content, how can I reverse-engineer the entire learning solution to make it work?”

Many individuals in learning and development (L&D) organizations tend to get blindsided on what looks "cool" - whether it’s a live-action video, hand-drawn animation, 3D e-learning module, flipped classroom, AR or virtual reality (VR). It’s easy to understand why – clients/business partners are asking for assets that are visually appealing and "micro” to meet employees’ short attention spans and competing

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demands. Clients and business partners are integrating technology at home and in their products and there’s an expectation for learning to keep pace.

shiny objects and start realigning their gaze with an outcomes approach to help people perform their job and engage in their career.

THERE’S SO MUCH OUT THERE…

SO, HOW CAN WE TURN IT AROUND?

The industry has become flooded with so many new platforms and tools: curation engines, applications that one can design, develop and deploy content all in one space, mobile learning, social collaboration sites, MOOCs/SPOCs, AR/ VR, badging, and don’t forget that LMSs are upping their game to stay alive and relevant. The impact of flocking to the "shiny object" can obscure whether there was a learning need in the first place.

HOW DOES L&D FEEL ABOUT THIS?

L&D professionals have become so averse to having something that looks and feels the “same” as what was done previously, anything other than a technology-driven solution is considered “traditional” (such a dreaded term for any creative professional to hear!). Many have expressed concerns that if learning organizations don’t embrace technology and find newer ways to deploy and distribute content, they will be left behind and become irrelevant.

But how does L&D analyze learning needs and the performance outcomes for a particular role and stay on top of the various learning experience platforms or cloud-based content development tools at the same time? How does L&D ensure that outcomes drive the learning experience, not the tools themselves?

And nobody's even talking about the sustainment of any of the content that is developed within these tools/platforms, and the financial impact of organizations if they choose to part ways.

When technology dictates the learning experience, what often results is an asset that can quickly become out of date (with a high cost to update). Or worse, the asset fails to help people do their job. While the number of "likes" or "views" may seem like an immediate success, learning organizations must stop focusing all efforts on the bright,

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How can learning professionals prevent getting distracted by all that is shiny and focus on the outcome of what the business needs to achieve? How can technology enhance (rather than dictate) the learning experience? How

CONTENT MAINTENANCE AND SUSTAINMENT IN A LEARNING 3.0 WORLD: AN OPERATIONAL EXAMPLE A company went “all-in” on an e-book platform that offers rich performance support. If content changes, it’s updated, published, and voila – the learner is accessing current information via the same link. Add in self-assessments, embed videos and forgo the costs of developers. But, what happens when the company no longer wants to pay the yearly subscription fees? They can’t click “Save As” and get a document that replicates the same experience.

They can’t print, which was a benefit originally. Before investing in any learning platform solution, consider the long-term impact. Some questions to ask: • Does the cost of the platform proportionally reduce the cost of resources to build the content using “more traditional” technologies?

• Is there an alternative, cost-effective platform that can be used?

• Do the benefits of on-demand performance support that’s accessible on any device outweigh the fact that the content lives in the cloud on a platform you don’t own?

• Does the cost have to be owned by you? Can you work with other functions who see the value and share the cost?

can learning professionals balance the need for innovation and creativity and still ensure learners can do their job well? By focusing on outcomes, and then allowing those outcomes to drive the solution.

Often, learning professionals join the conversation when a business partners says, “I need training.” And, if technology is involved, it might sound like, “I need training and an infographic or video would be cool.” But one might be thinking, “The performance issue is sluggish sales on the newest product.

Will a video really solve those issues?”

This brings us to the five ways to control the conversation around technology to focus on outcomes.

STEP ONE

IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING.

If you’re put into a situation in which the learning solution is dictated to you, call it out. In the case above, it would be easy to execute and create an infographic that’s visually appealing on the sales process. Be bold and take the conversation a step further. Here are some conversation starters.

• A n infographic could be a great way to show the sales process, but I’m wondering what our top sellers are doing. Are they doing something else to drive sales? How can we add an application element so that salespeople are learning AND applying what top performers are doing in their own work?

5 WAYS TO CONTROL THE CONVERSATION AROUND OUTCOMES (NOT DELIVERY) If you see something, say something.

1

YOU CAN’T RECOMMEND WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW.

Determine if it’s a REAL gap in knowledge, skills and abilities, or something else.

2

3 Engage with the technology.

4 Know what’s available to you.

• A video could be a great way to introduce the product, but producing one could be expensive and using it to train on skills may not be the way path forward. Could we use video to call out specific behaviors on the job or capture testimonials, and then craft a learning experience in which they can apply those behaviors?

STEP TWO

DETERMINE IF IT’S A REAL GAP IN KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES, OR SOMETHING ELSE.

If you can guide the conversation around tasks and outcomes, then allow the tasks and outcomes to do the talking.

For example, let’s say during analysis you found that top performers who were selling the newest product could confidently use competitive intelligence and proactively position the newest product against the competition, whereas average and low performers were unable to defend against the competition. That’s a gap.

If during analysis, the issue is something else (e.g., product overload, low motivation/incentive for selling, ineffective systems/tools, etc.), then training is not to blame. And regardless of the technology used to deliver it, the business issue will persist.

STEP THREE

ENGAGE WITH THE TECHNOLOGY.

You can’t recommend what you don’t know. Go to trade shows and experience

these new learning technologies first hand. Many of these platforms have a free personal use account – download it and figure it out. Once you do, the benefits and drawbacks of many of these platforms become rather evident.

STEP FOUR

KNOW WHAT’S AVAILABLE TO YOU.

Even if you learn about these technologies, the cost or effort may be prohibitive, especially in larger organizations. Regardless, allow the original gap and outcome to drive the technology innovation options that may be available to you.

Are there apps that individuals can use to record videos of themselves roleplaying their positioning statement, and then send out for others to rate and evaluate? Yes. But what if your organization isn’t willing to invest?

Can you find an alternate way to create a similar experience? The lack of investment doesn’t impede the ability to create an experience in which a learner takes a video of himself using a smartphone or tablet practicing a positioning statement and sending it out for others to review.

STEP FIVE

PROVIDE OPTIONS THAT ADDRESS THE TASK THAT PRODUCES THE OUTCOME.

Offer your business partners options.

You might be surprised they are willing to pilot a new technology if you are

Provide options – all options should address the task that produces the outcome.

5

able to articulate the costs, real and perceived, and the work involved to deploy it. At minimum, if your business partners aren’t ready to commit, you already have an alternate plan that is creative!

SUMMARY

These five steps won’t prevent your business partners or peers from wanting to chase their inner-squirrel and jump on the latest and greatest technology bandwagon to drive their decision-making. But applying these steps can propel you to trusted advisor status with them because you remain focused on improving performance outcomes. It’s exhilarating when learning organizations can use technology to enable people to do their jobs and drive business results.

But there’s always more than one way.

Sometimes, a quirky QR code can get the job done too (even though I’d much rather use AR).

And wait ... is that a new app I saw on how to deliver training...

Britney Cole is a learning strategist with GP Strategies. Britney provides thought leadership on the concept of Learning 3.0, learning architecture, leadership and professional development, and experiential learning via technology. Email Britney.

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CONSCIOUS ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING

BY RUKMINI IYER

Learning as a human need has always been natural and stemmed out of curiosity.

In an organizational context, it has often evolved as a reaction to business needs with business being at the center of learning (Figure 1).

FIGURE 1

LEARNING AS A REACTION TO BUSINESS NEEDS

OUTPUT Learning inputs in the form of workshops, e-learning, executive coaching, etc.

OUTCOME Competency enhancement of learners

IMPACT Higher knowledge and skill levels of individuals Higher human capital readiness index, in certain cases

This has had its own benefits and, in many ways, served the needs of the time. But going forward, it is important to stay aware of the mechanics of this approach to learning: • The modality of learning is usually learner-centric, which means that the target audience of learning is the individual learner.

• Learning and development (L&D), in such cases, is usually perceived as a department or vertical with certain deliverables, and learning is consequently a process that learners have to go through.

• From the learner’s perspective, the organization may be considered a demanding entity that aids in the process of learning, but also expects behavioral change (in both hard and soft skills), which the learner may or may not concur with, depending upon the level of engagement.

IMPACT OF LEARNING AS A PROCESS While the intention of learning departments in organizations is commendable and useful, approaching learning as a process tends to leave loopholes in the system, which may make employees feel disengaged.

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Let us explore the general status of stakeholders in such a scenario: • The organization usually acts as the custodian and owner of knowledge assets, and manages data relevant to the business. The learner receives and processes parts of these assets in the form of training interventions, certification programs, etc.

• The organization certainly benefits from heightened competencies of employees and it is likely to result in the desired level of business performance, should market conditions be conducive.

The employee, on the other hand, is helped to raise his/her skill and capability levels through formal or informal coaching and mentoring processes.

• I t is the responsibility of the organization to maintain a motivational environment through engagement measures and open communication. If this is facilitated, the employees may be open to receiving counselling and feedback when required.

THE LOOPHOLES The intent in this process may be right; however, the impact as observed in

many organizations around the world is not always encouraging. Here are some of the loopholes that may occur due to this approach.

Environment not conducive to performance.

Sometimes, organizations are quick to send learners into a learning intervention without checking if the environment is conducive to performance. For example, if an employee has been trained in a certain soft skill, such as assertiveness, and has to go back to a supervisor who expects him/her to not question back, the learner feels let down. The perception then is that the organization demands something from the learner without giving him/her a fair opportunity to utilize the skill or knowledge.

Wrong intervention utilized.

At times, a wrong kind of intervention is utilized for learning simply because it is cost or process efficient. For example, a low-performing sales person may be sent to revisit a sales training course, when he/she may already have the

ORGANIZATIONS MUST STRIVE TO EVOLVE LEARNING AS A CULTURE, AND THEN AS A PROCESS. knowledge in place. What the person may need instead could be allocation of a mentor or a buddy who could help to convert the existing knowledge into performance through practical tips and encouragement. If such instances are repeated, learning is perceived as an enforced activity conducted simply to justify the existence of a department.

Lack of alignment.

Sometimes, engagement and rewards mechanisms in organizations are designed to fulfill a macro target, but the reality at the micro-level may not be aligned. Individuals may not feel the need to perform or utilize their learning productively perhaps because of a specific relationship issue within their teams, or even in their personal lives.

However, the learning system does not have a way to address this.

FIGURE 2

LEARNING AS A CONSCIOUS CULTURE

IMPACT Active dissemination and appreciation of knowledge and skill assets

These are general issues encountered around the globe that impact effectiveness of learning initiatives.

While some organizations do better than others, the approach does not lend itself to having an equal conversation between an organization and its employees.

THE CASE FOR ORGANIZATIONAL VULNERABILITY The times call for a change of tone in the conversation. Learners need not learn “for” the organization – that is, the organization need not demand learning simply for the sake of enhancing performance while the system claims to be conducive and facilitative.

Instead, the organization needs to adopt a stance of vulnerability and stating that the system needs to learn through the individuals, so as to facilitate collective growth. This opens up the possibility of evolving learning as a culture, and then as a process.

CONSCIOUS ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING

OUTCOME Creation of a learning organization

OUTPUT Learning through engagement Leadership through coaching

this takes care of the business objectives and the mission of the organization, against which the capacity is anchored, it also facilitates the creation of a learning culture. When we integrate this further into rituals, engagement becomes the facilitator of learning, and coaching and mentoring may well be styles of leadership in the system.

Here is why it is important to adopt a conscious learning approach when we are now working actively with disruptive technology and millennials:

The conscious learning process is an alternative approach that can help organizations move toward a vulnerable stance that can enhance engagement (Figure 2).

• The modality is learning-centric, not learner-centric. This ensures that individuals do not feel unfairly targeted for learning even as the environment around them may not be perfect.

This process begins with defining the intent of learning in an organization: that of optimal utilization and enhancement of capability and capacity of both employees and the whole system. While

• Learning is perceived as a cultural stance rather than as a process. There is more depth and buy-in because the system visibly learns simultaneously with the learner.

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• The organization now becomes a vulnerable organism showcasing that it values its people, because it learns only through its employees.

STEWARDING CONSCIOUS LEARNING For conscious learning to happen in an organization, it is imperative to have a perceptual shift of the roles of L&D teams, including external vendors.

Figure 3 shows the evolution of L&D’s role in organizations.

From being a department that was approached only when a training program had to be organized, L&D evolved to integrate forward and backward, and proactively take up other allied services including organizational diagnostics, content design and delivery, effectiveness evaluation and on-the-job integration of learning.

What a lot of learning teams seem to be aspiring for now is to be a true business partner: understand the mission, vision, values and business objectives, and track competency development in a manner that results in achievement of the objectives, even as motivation and morale is kept up.

Conscious organizational learning calls for a step forward. It requires the learning team to adopt the notion of stewardship and redefine engagement. Once the impact of learning is articulated, they need to execute systems and processes that capture and disseminate learning happening organically in the system, through means such as an internal wiki (crowdsourcing learning experiences – technical and behavioral), facilitated

CONSCIOUS LEARNING REQUIRES L&D TO ADOPT THE NOTION OF STEWARDSHIP AND REDEFINE ENGAGEMENT. through regular documentation and other data capturing processes in the regular course of work.

Leaders in such a system need to double up as coaches and mentors when needed – in fact, coaching may well be the preferred style of leadership. At the core of coaching is the belief that the client (employee) knows the answers; it is simply about asking the right questions and holding a neutral space in a manner that the answers emerge and are utilized productively. The mentoring role of the leader can help in aligning the answers with the larger business cause.

FACILITATING CONSCIOUS LEARNING Here are some competencies that emerge as critical for L&D professionals if they have to steward conscious learning.

and deliverables and get employees to respond to engagement as a learning mechanism.

Organizational engagement While engagement is sometimes equated to fun-at-work and low attrition, it is powerful enough to be the central learning enabler. If it becomes the key deliverable of L&D, then design and deployment of creative, organic engagement practices may be the order of the day.

Coaching culture creators The tone of conversation in a system can change with the principles of coaching. This demands that coaching is adopted not only just as a competency, but as a value, by the entire system. At the base of this is the belief that the learner is capable of finding answers, if he/she is asked the right questions.

Some companies already may be on the path to create conscious learning systems. We could look forward to organizations speaking a more compassionate language in the coming years, even as they continually evolve and adapt through learning.

Rukmini Iyer is a leadership facilitator, coach and an organizational transformation consultant at Exult! Solutions, based in Mumbai, India. Conscious capitalism and integral leadership (balancing the feminine and masculine) are at the center of her work. Email Rukmini.

Influencing skills They need to engage with top management to redefine their perception

FIGURE 3

Learning resource provider

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Learning service manager

Business partnership through learning

Stewards holding space for learning through engagement

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Visit www.niit.com/greatlearning.

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MARKETERS ARE PROFICIENT IN USING A CONTENT ENGAGEMENT CYCLE – A PRACTICE IN WHICH THEY DECIDE WHEN TO ENGAGE WITH WHO AND WITH WHAT KIND OF CONTENT DURING THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY. THEY PLAN MONTHS AND EVEN QUARTERS AHEAD IN ORDER TO CREATE A CONTENT STRATEGY THAT ALIGNS WITH BUSINESS GOALS AND ENGAGES THEIR AUDIENCE PRE- AND POST-SALE. L&D professionals, on the other hand, often only think about one single training program instead of looking at the entire learner journey and experience. Mapping out the learner lifecycle and assigning content that engages them along the way does not only help create unforgettable learning experiences, but also helps with the transfer of knowledge after a training session ends.

IT’S TIME FOR L&D TO TAKE A PAGE OUT OF MARKETING’S PLAYBOOK AND LOOK AT HOW A CONTENT STRATEGY CAN HELP DRIVE PERFORMANCE.

It’s time for L&D professionals to take a page out of marketing’s playbook and look at how to create engaging and thought-provoking content, how to plan content for the next quarters or even year, and how this strategy helps drive performance. Digital education success, a concept that combines marketing and customer success best practices with L&D principles, allows every L&D professional to create learning experiences that stick, are measurable and make a difference in a learner’s journey.

WHAT IS A CONTENT STRATEGY? According to Kristina Halvorson, CEO and founder of Brain Traffic, content strategy is the “creation, publication, and governance of useful, usable content.” It looks at content as a business asset. “Content” includes written content, images and multimedia.

Ultimately, having a strategy in place helps create meaningful, engaging and sustainable content, and allows to identify the right content at the right time for the right audience. It is easy to determine what content already exists,

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what content should be created and, more importantly, why it should be created. Putting measurements in place allows to see which content is in high demand, and which content has barely been touched.

FIRST STEP TOWARD A CONTENT STRATEGY The basis for a content strategy could be a simple shared document that your team can work on collaboratively. Creating the right format, however, takes time and requires research from your end. A great starting point is Brain Traffic’s Content Strategy Quad, describing the people and content-oriented components L&D professionals should keep in mind when creating content. At the center is the core content strategy, the central idea for using content to achieve an organization’s business goals or, in this case, L&D’s goals. There are four components to achieve that strategy effectively: Content-focused components • Substance What kind of content do we need (e.g., topics, types, sources, voice and tone)?

Substance fulfills business objectives by meeting the audience’s needs.

• Structure How is content prioritized, organized, formatted and displayed? Structure makes content findable and usable.

People-focused components • Workflow What processes, tools and human resources are required for content initiatives? Workflow creates efficiencies across content properties.

• Governance How are key decisions about content and content strategy made (i.e., policies, standards, guidelines)? Governance empowers, facilitates and aligns.

At first glance, these categories seem rather marketing heavy. However, L&D professionals do need to think about substance, structure, workflow and governance. For example, a content

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strategy could align training initiatives with quarterly product releases (topic), whereas one part of this initiative is an internal excitement strategy (structure) run by the marketing department (workflow), and another part is the actual face-to-face training session accompanied with hands-on exercises and role-plays. The content itself is provided by product managers and being maintained by the HR department (governance).

IMPLEMENTING A CONTENT STRATEGY Many L&D professionals create learning based on the ADDIE model – an outdated way of approaching content when considering marketing to give your training a boost. Nevertheless,

it is a great starting point and, in combination with the seven steps of creating a content strategy, the solution that digital education success is aiming for.

1. ANALYSIS Identify learning content requirements.

Explore if training is needed (sometimes a communication will do) and, if it is, what content will help fill the gap. For example, after successful completion of onboarding, the staff still don’t perform as expected. Analyzing the reasoning behind this by interviewing stakeholders, gathering historic documentation and evaluating the content environment (i.e., where and how the content is being consumed), will lay the foundation for a content strategy.

ADVANCE YOUR CONTENT STRATEGY ADDIE is already giving L&D professionals some great basics when it comes to a content lifecycle strategy. By adding some additional steps such as topical ownership, voice, branding and a maintenance plan, everyone can be a great content creator.

Start advancing the content strategy planning and think beyond repurposing content. Curata suggests that 65 percent of content should be created from

scratch, 25 percent should be curated and 10 percent syndicated.

Keep in mind who contributes to each step and how those different contributors come together to define the final product. There is value in including multiple perspectives on deliverables by inviting other departments and specialists to the team. In the end, L&D professionals don’t create content for themselves, but for learners.

its way to the onboarding program. If marketing created an e-book for clients, leverage this and create engaging webinars for your staff. Collaborate with coworkers who are responsible for writing such content.

5. DELIVER

2. STRATEGY Develop a content strategy. Following ADDIE, L&D professionals would dive into the design of a course. When it comes to the content lifecycle, an additional step should be added, namely determining topical ownership areas and processes for content creation. For example, who writes content for staff onboarding vs. content for process updates? To achieve this, it is best to include a sourcing plan and, most importantly, determine a voice and branding for each topic.

3. PLAN Develop the content plan. After strategizing, you will either realize that you have everything you need or that some sources are missing. For example, you might want to recommend staffing solutions to help write content or bring in a specialist to do so. Most important of all, create a communication plan that includes responsibilities and timelines for everyone, as well as content or learning management system distribution and customization. Use any of the free online project management tools to help plan this stage and work collaboratively with your team.

4. CREATE Create structured and engaging content that is reusable. For example, content for process updates will most likely find

Deliver the right content at the right time and place. For example, not everyone needs to attend the latest product update training if they are already aware of the content and using this knowledge successfully every day. For those learners who need training, identify if they will access it online, on their desktops or tablets, or prefer face-to-face sessions. Leverage historical data, Google Analytics, your learning platform or your intranet’s metrics to identify how and when content is being accessed.

what content is needed to drive an individual’s performance.

Put measurements in place, such as video views or click-through rates, and leverage your learning platform’s metrics to be able to see which content is in high demand, and which content has barely been touched. Don’t be afraid of deleting content you don’t need anymore, but recycle wherever you can. Leverage digital education success to become an excellent L&D content creator and keep the learner’s journey in mind at all times.

This will allow you to create learning experiences that stick.

Bianca Baumann, CTDP, focuses on digital education success, combining L&D, marketing and customer success to create outstanding learning experiences that stick.

She shares her expertise in her blog and at conferences. Email Bianca.

6. MEASURE Measure training success. Both ADDIE and a content strategy measure (content) success. For example, is staff able to talk about the newest product update and decrease call duration times based on the right content delivered at the right time? The best way to create successful measures is to align them to your business objectives and ensure that they are realistic and attainable.

If the training doesn’t hit the mark, the content wasn’t on par and needs to be revisited.

7. MAINTAIN Keep content fresh and up to date.

Maintenance is a step hidden in the evaluation stage of the ADDIE model and often overlooked. Manage content in a definitive source, plan for periodic audits, continuously improve highvalue learning content, and set regular intervals for maintenance.

THE MODERN LEARNER Modern learners want information right at their fingertips when the need arises, and they want to apply it in that moment of need. A thorough content strategy will help identify exactly

3 Easy Steps to Get Started Step 1: Create a content task force Most organizations have an abundance of content with no central repository or one person responsible for maintaining it. Get all stakeholders together, including instructional designers, facilitators, copywriters and someone from marketing.

Step 2: Summarize what already exists Create a content strategy template.

This can be a very simple Google sheet outlining, for example, content titles, descriptions, delivery channel, production timelines, measurements, responsibilities, tags and maintenance cycle. List existing content and content being used on a regular basis.

Step 3: Repurpose content The last step is to look at content that can be reused for the next two quarters.

Think about upcoming training initiatives, look at existing content and mark reusable pieces. This will help identify current gaps and show what additional content is needed to drive performance.

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CASEBOOK

SLASH YOUR TRAINING TIME

BY WISE SELECTION

BY DIANE EDWARDS

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Making sure you have the right people to train may seem like a blindingly obvious statement. Yet it is not unusual to find a disconnect between the way that recruitment is done and the learning function. All too often learning professionals are tasked with training or developing people who are not in the right job. The Ports of Auckland recognized this issue and chose to tackle this head on; this is their story.

onto ships. Training a new crane operator is incredibly expensive and takes up valuable time of the trainer and trainee; every hour of on-the-job training means that a working crane is operating well below its capacity. This learning continues for a period after training, significantly impacting both profitability and profit. Four years ago, based on these factors, the cost of training was on average approximately $526 per hour.

Ports of Auckland is New Zealand’s largest major port, and through its network of freight hubs, it facilitates the supply chain throughout New Zealand.

The Ports undertook a major strategic review of their training practices, but not by following traditional assessment and evaluation practices. In doing so, they dramatically slashed the training hours needed to build competent crane drivers and in the process shaved almost half a million dollars off the overall cost of training in the first six months. Three years in, it is estimated savings could have been as high as $3 million.

As part of the efficiency review, it was noticed that the time it took to train crane operators varied considerably.

Some could train to full competency in 210 hours of training, others might take as much as 352 hours or more. This is equated to a cost difference of more than $70,000 between the shortest and the longest training time. And so, a Lean Six Sigma Project was born, with the goal to “reduce variation in the hours taken to train crane operators to operational status, to reduce training cost and improve resource utilisation without impacting quality.”

TRAINING COST & EFFICIENCY REVIEW

LEAN SIX SIGMA PROJECT

One of the most expensive training activities is the training of portainer crane operators. Portainer cranes are specifically designed to load containers

Lean Six Sigma is an efficiency methodology designed to eliminate waste and reduce variability using data to identify root causes and collaboration

THE SEARCH FOR EFFICIENCY IN TRAINING IS NOT OVER.

to design effective solutions. This methodology was chosen to focus on the variability in the training times.

The analysis of data was substantial.

A project team of trainers, crane specialists and Six Sigma trained business managers examined a range of variables including the type of ships being serviced during training; the weather; the age and make of the crane; the instructor; the frequency of training sessions; and the time of day. Yet, despite substantial statistical analysis, none of these variables, nor the combination of variables, showed a correlation that was statistically significant.

So, the team changed tactics and started interviewing the trainers about their experiences with trainees. Suddenly, an interesting factor took center stage.

Every trainer said that they could predict reasonably accurately when a new trainee started, whether they would take a longer or a shorter time to train.

So, the project team focussed on trying to identify what factors they were using for their hypothesis.

At first the trainers found it difficult to articulate how they made these predictions. The variables used were processed subconsciously. But with careful questioning, the critical factors slowly began to emerge. These were tested and found to have a significant correlation to training times. Two in particular seemed to account for the majority of the training time differential.

The first variable was the ability to judge, on first attempt, how high off the ground a container was. The second was the ability to stop a container from swinging excessively when moved out over a ship.

These two variables were then defined as specific skills and an “aptitude�

test was devised to test for them. The trainees would be given a specific task to do and measures were put in place to assess performance against a set of predetermined criteria.

For example, to test depth perception, a potential trainee was asked to lower a container as close to the ground as possible without actually touching the ground. This was repeated several times. Trainees were not expected to be perfect; achieving this needs practice. But if they met the threshold of lowering the container to no more than 10 centimeters above the ground without hitting the ground, they passed the first test. To put this into perspective, trainees were sitting 48 meters above the ground in a crane cab with a glass bottom. A good head for heights was therefore also tested!

To test for swing control, the instructor deliberately set up the container under the crane to oscillate, as might happen when a container is lifted over a ship.

An experienced crane operator can land the container on the ship on the first swing. Trainees were asked to successfully stop the container from swinging within three swings. If they could do this, then they passed the second test. If they passed both tests, then they were cleared for training.

A pilot was run with two groups from the next recruitment round. Half of those recruited were given the aptitude test and the other half were not. Everything else in the recruitment process was the same, but it did not take long to see the difference in training performance.

OUTCOMES Before the Lean Six Sigma Project initiative, the average crane training hours per trainee was 250.4 hours

equating to a cost of $131,368 per person. During the first intake using aptitude testing, the average crane training hours per trainee reduced to 187.3 hours, lowering the cost to $94,219 per person. Following a few revisions to refine the testing, and during the second intake, the training time reduced again to an average of 120.5 hours, costing $70,941 per person.

After the first intake, total savings across the trainee group that passed the aptitude test was $185,745. This was not even closely matched by the control group. After the second intake (where all trainees had passed the aptitude test), a further saving of $302,000 was made, making the total amount of savings $487,745. Over the first year this trend continued with estimated savings of over $1 million, which means as much as $3 million may have been saved over the following three years.

The search for efficiency in training is not over. Ports of Auckland have further cut the cost of training using a crane simulator. Crane operators are trained initially by an instructor on the simulator, reducing the need to use a crane in an operational environment when the trainee is at their least productive.

Virtual reality is also being explored to see if it can further accelerate training.

The lesson is for trainers to be more proactive in working alongside HR and for managers to develop a recruitment process where aptitude is considered.

A person does not need to arrive with all the requisite skills, but consideration must be given to whether those skills can be easily acquired.

Diane Edwards is the general manager people systems and technology at Ports of Auckland, New Zealand. Email Diane.

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G L O B A L OUTLOOK

GOING GLOBAL

CREATING A GLOBAL MINDSET AT WORK

BY NEAL GOODMAN, PH.D.

All organizations, regardless of the country where they are headquartered, are struggling with the development and movement of talent to deal with the globally dispersed and culturally diverse workplace and marketplace. To a large degree, the success or failure of global business lies in the hands of the training department.

CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE TAKES OVER WHERE EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE LEAVES OFF.

Based on over 34 years of working with over 300 Fortune Global 500 companies, only a handful have a coordinated and strategic training approach to going global. This has resulted in billions of dollars in lost revenue due to culture clashes, inappropriate product development, inefficient global teams and humiliating public relations. With headlines such as: “Home Depot Pulls Out of China”; “Wal-Mart Leaves Korea”; “Lockheed Martin Loses Out on Contract in India”; ‘Puma Sneakers Offensive in Multiple Markets,” one would think that organizations would grasp the necessity of understanding the buying habits, cultural customs and negotiation styles necessary for success in the global marketplace. Yet, these headlines will continue until organizations take seriously the need for global mindset and cultural intelligence (CQ) training across their organizations.

Harvard Business Review reports that CQ is the most important competence for successful global business. HBR reports that CQ takes over where emotional intelligence (EQ) leaves off.

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The Economist reports that 70 percent of international JV’s and acquisitions fail due to cross-cultural differences.

There are many ways to create a global mindset. While there are integrated approaches, here are a few successful strategies used by Fortune Global 500 corporations.

1 | GLOBAL MINDSET TRAINING 101 Everyone in today’s organizations needs a core understanding of how to work effectively with associates, clients and suppliers from various cultural backgrounds. A core course to meet this requirement should cover cultural awareness of self and others, ethnocentrism, the consequences of cultural assumptions, ways to promote effective working relations, reward and recognition, vacation policies, styles of doing business globally, cultural differences in communication styles, the impact of virtual communications on intercultural understanding, an overview for each major region, and a review of available resources for more in-depth information. Such a course is part of the leadership curriculum of many organizations and the core competencies for promotion are directly linked to the program’s learning objectives. Participants can become global mindset leaders who take the initiative to bridge cross-cultural misunderstandings. By the very nature of the topic, these programs should be in-person and highly interactive for

maximum benefit. When AT&T learned that it was going to go global, it put over 125,000 employees through a program called Working Globally.

2 | GLOBAL TEAM TRAINING Global teams need to go through a cross-cultural, team-building program in the formative stages of the team’s development to avoid misunderstandings and establish trust. It is critical that team members explore the cultural nuances that often undermine global team effectiveness. This includes team members’ mutual perceptions, setting global standards for roles, responsibility and accountability, leadership and management styles, discussion of virtual and face-to-face communication styles, and the development of a communication plan. Other relevant topics to be covered should include the cultural tendencies of all relevant countries and how these impact trust and teamwork. In one recent training program, a team member from China became very emotional as they explained why they felt their American team members did not trust their Chinese associates. Additionally, since many global teams communicate virtually, a separate program on virtual communications and leadership skill is used in many organizations to promote teamwork.

3 | COUNTRY OR REGION SPECIFIC TRAINING Employees working with specific countries need in-depth, cross-cultural training on the nuances of these cultures, including communication styles; approaches to risk-taking; negotiation style; ways to promote effective working relations with representatives of the country; contrasting styles of doing business between each relevant country; an in-depth regional and historical overview of the country and its relationship to its neighbors; and an as-needed review of available resources and other functional topics such as labor unions, quality/standards, work habits, intellectual property, holidays, etc. Far too many companies repeatedly

make the same mistake of not bringing together people working with a specific country into the same training program, where they can learn together and share their common challenges, cases and best practices. In one program with China, several business units were able to create a cohesive approach to their sales and marketing strategy based on their new understanding of Chinese values, customer habits and use of media.

4 | IMPLEMENTING

A GLOBAL LEADERSHIP CURRICULUM

All training and development departments, by now, should have a global leadership curriculum. In addition to other skills, global leaders need to be able to create personal and organizational action plans for effective intercultural leadership in the multicultural/global/virtual workplace.

This includes not only an understanding of globalization, diversity and crosscultural differences, but also an intuitive grasp of the areas in which misunderstandings are likely to occur, so they can proactively forecast and develop appropriate strategies in advance. Many organizations make the mistake of sending their current or future leaders to a university-based program, which prevents the opportunity for leaders to address specific issues facing their organization. Many organizations we work with have created their own curriculum – J&J created its own global leadership development program, which proved very successful.

5 | HIGH-POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS Once a global cohort of future leaders is identified, they meet over a period of 1-2 years, receiving customized training and working on global project teams. Oftentimes, these projects are sponsored by senior leadership. To be effective, we have found that these programs need to begin with an inperson retreat with a strong crosscultural training component. PwC is among the leaders in this area with their

Genesis program, and BD has an Early Career Experience, which has improved its pipeline of global leaders.

6 | S HORT- AND LONG-TERM

INTERNATIONAL ASSIGNMENTS

All employees selected for an international assignment will need in-depth, cross-cultural training on working and living in their respective host countries. Family members or partners who are joining the assignee also need cultural training since they often have the hardest adjustment. The assignee needs to learn the cultural nuances of their host country, ways to promote effective relations, an in-depth understanding of the country and region, an understanding of how to balance local vs. headquarters’ requirements, strategies for dealing with culture shock, and other functional topics as needed. It is strongly recommended that an executive coach with expertise in global/cross-cultural business support the assignee to make the most of the experience. BMS, a biopharmaceutical company, created a unique program to develop leaders from emerging markets through an international assignment program. These programs are led strategically by L&D, HR and talent.

7 | C REATION OF GLOBAL KNOWLEDGE

MANAGEMENT TRAINING DATABASE

To protect and leverage the investment of learning, training departments should capture and retain, in a central database, all the information obtained through every training program that has a global and cross-cultural component. The deployment of this information across all groups within the corporation is essential and will demonstrate the value that the training department brings to global operations.

Dr. Neal Goodman is the president of Global Dynamics, Inc., the leading provider of global mindset and cross-cultural training services. Email Neal.

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MEASURING I M P A C T

BIG DATA VS. TRADITIONAL APPROACHES TO MEASURING THE BUSINESS IMPACT OF LEARNING

BY PETER DOBINSON

The impacts of big data analysis can be seen all around us. If you’ve ever bought a product that Amazon’s recommended for you, or found Google predicting the exact term you were about to search for, that’s it in action. So, what makes a big data approach to learning measurement so different from the old models, and why should you use it to measure your learning?

BIG DATA VS. TRADITIONAL APPROACHES In a basic sense, measuring learning using a big data approach isn’t too dissimilar from utilizing approaches like the long-established Kirkpatrick, Phillips or Kaufman’s models. When using these approaches, you start by generating a hypothesis that a change you are going to make to your workforce’s learning will affect your organization’s performance.

You then measure a baseline, make the change and measure again to see how your baseline data has changed.

The difference with the big data approach is that you start by harvesting and storing data and then look for patterns, often without a specific question in mind; although, you should be aware of the broad drivers for measuring, such as a desire to monitor and improve aspects of a course, or to better understand impact. Then you look deeper into those patterns and analyze the data, looking for correlations which may prompt unexpected insights or results, which you can communicate or use to optimize and improve your learning.

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You can utilize big data analysis in a much more in-depth way than traditional methods. Traditional approaches can only look at the impact of your learning on one or two real-world metrics, whereas big data analytics allow you to look for the unexpected impacts of your learning.

You could, for example, measure if your learning intervention has affected both your sales figures and your NPS scores, but also if call center staff are using more positive language or providing better descriptions of products. You can then link these to improved performance and business impact.

GETTING STARTED WITH BIG DATA ANALYTICS To start, you need some form of data analysis tool. Big data analytics cannot and should not be performed with Excel. There are some excellent learningfocused analytics tools out there. Find one that allows you to import and utilize your comparative data, rather than focusing solely on the analysis of the learning data.

Once you have this tool in place, you need to get access to your data and get it into your tool. xAPI has given us a wonderful tool for getting loads of data out of our learning interventions, from the standard tracking data like time spent and completion score to more esoteric data points like CPR dummy statistics, and data mined from transcripts of oneto-one sessions. True data analytics, however, also need the comparative real-

world performance data (sales figures, NPS scores, call satisfaction scores, 360-degree review data), which can be harder to get.

Most organizations are beginning to utilize this data for other analytics, so it is often easier than you think to get ahold of this and plumb it into your analytics tool. Ideally, you’d collect this comparative data as widely as possible across your workforce for as long as possible.

While a high-quality learning analytics tool will give you an impressive amount of well-structured analytics to get started with, it’s critical to make sure that these are set up correctly and you are analyzing the results properly, as data can easily be misinterpreted. To ensure this is the case, I’d suggest you get help (unless you're a statistics expert already). Most organizations nowadays have internal data analytics teams who can help, and your analytics tool provider should have experts to help you along.

In the right hands, you’ll be able to correctly assess the validity of data, as well as key elements such as genuine signs of progress. In one case, when the data analytics experts at Watershed helped to create the VISA University digital learning ecosystem, they also helped the organization to evaluate which key learning moments contributed to exceptional leadership development.

There are lots of reasons why any conclusions need to be drawn carefully.

Bias, a lack of control studies and variables like employees’ personal learning are a few of the factors that can affect the results of your training, or at least make it more difficult to work out what’s really going on.

USING DATA TO PREDICT BEHAVIORS The level of analytics provided by big data techniques are a lot more

detailed than what can be achieved with traditional models. We are finding that utilizing these approaches puts us on the path of what are known as predictive and prescriptive analytics.

This is the kind of information that helps the likes of Amazon and Apple’s Siri to be so pioneering and effective, and is considered by many to be the holy grail of analytics.

When your phone tells you how long your journey to work will take, it uses data on the distance between your home and your office, as well as how long the journey has previously taken you. This is a fine example of predictive technology, and it’s taken a step further by prescriptive analytics, which will increasingly allow machines to automatically optimize what happens in the future.

TRADITIONAL APPROACHES ONLY LOOK AT THE IMPACT OF LEARNING ON ONE OR TWO REALWORLD METRICS. Prescriptive data allows you to notice that a person is showing the same patterns of results that previous learners in the organization have shown. By using prescriptive analytical techniques on the data, you can begin to predict a certain set of results from people displaying the same behaviors, like a computer anticipating moves in a game of chess.

You might observe a particular series of behaviors which have typically led to employees leaving the company six months later, or spot signs which have previously led to people causing a reportable event. Then, in the same way Amazon might take data from a

user’s shopping habits, you can see what interventions have stopped this outcome in the past, and suggest (or force!) the user complete these.

PUTTING DATA ANALYSIS INTO PRACTICE This is really useful for L&D departments in terms of planning remedial action. A machine might show that a person took certain modules on a training course to improve their knowledge and skills, or learning managers could ask what, empirically, stops certain unwanted outcomes from happening. You can also look at other valuable insights, such as how a learner preferred to learn; if that turns out to be video, for example, you might serve more learning through short films or animations.

The new methods of measuring learning are much subtler and rewarding. For AT&T, which provided focused learning to 243,000 employees with the help of training data, Watershed’s design saved hundreds of thousands of hours of employee and course production time, increasing the time engaged with learning by 25 percent.

Remember that you don’t need to measure anything specific when you set out. The data might initially look unrelated because the patterns and inferences offer an array of correlations rather than more limited data from a single experiment. Over time, this data will go from useful to invaluable, and you’ll be able to truly measure the impact of training.

Peter Dobinson has had over 10 years’ experience in designing, building and managing online products. At LEO, he is responsible for some of the largest learning architectures, working as both solutions architect and technical lead. Email Peter.

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Recycled & Reused

Repurposing Training Content for Digital Delivery.

Read the Report

SECRETS OF SOURCING DOUG HARWARD

TRANSFORMING FOR STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT

Through our years of research on what makes a great training organization, we’ve identified eight core capabilities of high-performing training organizations.

The first, and most important, capability is strategic alignment – an organization’s ability to design learning solutions and processes that support the business’ mission-critical objectives.

Our research found that most training leaders understand the importance of alignment. But, ironically, it also told us that most training leaders struggle with how to transform their organization into one that is strategically aligned.

In some ways, strategic alignment seems like a nebulous concept. But there are very specific practices associated with how to ensure that your organization’s processes and solutions are aligned to the needs of the business. These activities are not about waiting until after you’ve selected a course and later trying to rationalize its usefulness and value. All the practices of alignment are proactive activities done prior to making decisions about whether a course should be offered, or more so, to determine if training is even needed.

SUCCESS IS A MOVING TARGET. To implement these practices, some training leaders recognize their organization needs a transformation or some type of change that transforms them from traditional approaches of training management to those that are performance-oriented, competencybased, and with processes that are well-defined, measured and truly create

value. They are looking for a better way to manage their function and recognize their organization is going through the motions of running courses but not making a difference.

Transforming to an organization that is strategically aligned means transforming to one that focuses on the success of the business, and the performance of those that make the business successful. So, here are a few ideas to consider prior to beginning a transformation initiative.

Invest time in learning the process of transformation.

Transformation is a change management initiative. Change of this magnitude requires a structured, methodical approach. It is not an approach that you learn as you go.

Change your focus to performance.

High-performing training organizations are not course-oriented, they are performance-oriented. Courses are a vehicle for performance change, not the reason your organization exists.

Create a vision of what your organization should transform to.

This is often referred to as defining your mission. I like to refer to it as defining future state. Be very clear about what you expect your organization to look like, behave like, what it will deliver and how it will measure success in the future state.

Establish a baseline.

Before creating an implementation plan, take a step back and assess where you are. A common mistake of training leaders is to begin creating a plan of change without a clear

understanding of their organization’s current capabilities. Using a third party to conduct an objective assessment may help minimize bias and help you focus on what your clients may see that you may not.

Engage your constituents and partners.

The process of transformation is not your initiative to manage alone – it requires the collaborative efforts of your staff, constituents and your partners. They all have a vested stake in the success and can contribute to the design, plan and implementation process.

Optimize current resources.

Before a full-scale change, clean up the easy wins that won’t require massive effort. Evaluate your portfolio. Stop doing things that don’t have value.

You may be surprised how much improvement you can make quickly by focusing on doing less.

Remember that change is about incremental improvements.

Organizational transformation is not a one-time effort. Change comes in incremental steps: you implement change, you assess and you implement new changes. And when you think you have arrived, it’s time to start over.

Everyone else is not standing still around you; your company is changing while you are changing, and technologies are changing while you are changing.

Success is a moving target. So, think of transformation as an ongoing cycle of improvement.

Doug Harward is CEO of Training Industry, Inc. and a former learning leader in the hightech industry. Email Doug.

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ARE YOU BEING HEARD?

Ever feel like senior management isn’t really hearing you?

Start by speaking their language. Earn your Certified Professional in Training Management (CPTM™) credential and build alignment between L&D and business goals.

Learn more at cptm.trainingindustry.com.

GEN WHY MICHELLE EGGLESTON

GOING THE DISTANCE:

SPEED AND OTHER CONCERNS

Today’s workforce is on the move. Between flexible hours, remote employees and global teams, organizations need extra bandwidth to go the distance and meet the training needs of a dispersed workforce.

In fact, training all employees globally in one cohesive way is cited as one of the main objectives by learning and development (L&D) professionals in LinkedIn Learning’s 2017 Workplace Learning Report. But, developing a consistent training experience across the organization proves challenging for many L&D departments.

With so many moving pieces and people, how can we develop an effective training strategy that targets business objectives and transforms the behavior of learners in the face of constant change? For starters, L&D must open the lines of communication with business executives – and the learners.

START TALKING TO BUSINESS EXECS In many ways, L&D professionals act as mediators between business executives and the learners. Learning professionals must understand the goals of the business, design training solutions that will deliver on those goals, and “sell” learners on the value of this training.

To achieve all this, L&D must first sit down with senior executives and stakeholders and actively listen to the challenges, vision and direction of the business. These conversations will become the foundation for the development of any and all training programs. Training should begin with the business in mind – and, when executed effectively, should deliver results that drive bottom-line value.

TALK TO THE LEARNERS, TOO Business executives are not the only ones who are interested in hearing about the value of training. Learners want to know what’s in it for them, too. Learners need to understand what training is available to them, why it’s important to their job role or function area, and how to access the information.

It’s those details – like communicating value, setting expectations and managing performance – that need to be emphasized to learners. Employees will appreciate the transparency, especially the valueseeking millennials who want to understand how they influence and impact organizational goals.

TRAINING SHOULD BEGIN WITH THE BUSINESS IN MIND. Communicating with learners should not wait until programs are ready to be deployed. Getting learners invested in training prior to deployment will generate added buzz and help employees understand what is expected of them once the training is available.

THE SPEED OF CHANGE The average shelf life of skills is less than five years, according to LinkedIn Learning’s study. That’s not very long when you consider the amount of time it takes to plan, design and develop training programs. Just when L&D is ready to deploy its “cutting-edge” program, the content is already outdated. L&D must strive to become more responsive and

flexible to meet the evolving needs of their organization.

While today’s learners are embracing technology to find answers and information outside of work, organizations are still primarily investing in instructorled training as their delivery method of choice. Although in-person training remains king, organizations can offer coaching opportunities, e-learning or even videos to provide more flexible, justin-time learning solutions. In fact, highperforming organizations use three to five delivery methods to enhance the learning experience.

For example, many people turn to videos to learn how to do something.

The popularity of YouTube is increasing every day. Garnering over a billion users, YouTube has captured the attention of almost one-third of the people on the internet. Corporate training can take a cue from YouTube and develop a library of video content focused on navigating software challenges, inspiration and tips for young leaders, and do’s and don’ts for giving presentations. These videos can be utilized as part of a training course or as standalone content.

MOVING FORWARD The business world is rapidly changing, requiring L&D to keep up. Improving the flow of communication within the organization and developing learning solutions that are responsive to change are necessary steps to help organizations go the distance and provide a seamless training experience across boundaries.

Michelle Eggleston is editorial director of Training Industry, Inc. Email Michelle.

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INSIGHTS. ON DEMAND. 40% of employees will leave in the first year due to poor job training.”

Kathy Irish, Instructional Design and Project Management

Learning has evolved. Today’s learners decide in 7 seconds if something is worth holding their attention.”

Clay Salit, Senior Product Manager

Companies with high levels of trust out perform companies with low levels of trust by 50%.”

Seek to understand before you seek to be understood.”

Jonathon Darville, Master Trainer

Alan Mulally, Retired CEO

TIMELY AND STRATEGIC INFORMATION ABOUT THE BUSINESS OF LEARNING

FROM THE MOST INNOVATIVE THOUGHT LEADERS IN OUR INDUSTRY

Browse upcoming free webinars or dozens of recorded presentations available on-demand at www.trainingindustry.com/webinars.

TECH TALK AMAR DHALIWAL

THE FUTURE BELONGS TO

EXPERIENCE DESIGN

The world of corporate learning is undergoing the most radical transformation in a generation.

The impact of new technologies (AI, machine learning, collaboration, etc.), the onset of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (digitization, robotics, and cyber-physical systems) and sweeping demographic changes (the gig economy and the rise of millennials) are placing a new set of demands on learning professionals.

These changes provide an opportunity for the learning department to reinvent itself and establish a new strategic position inside of their organizations.

What should such a roadmap for change look like?

YOU SHOULD OBSESS ABOUT YOUR LEARNER’S JOURNEY. As Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr prophetically stated in 1849, “The more that changes, the more things stay the same.” In learning, this could not be truer. Ever since the emergence of e-learning and learning management systems (LMS) in the 1990s, there has been no shortage of technology at our disposal.

However, whereas we previously focused on the tools – which resulted in a lack of engagement and strategic impact – we have the opportunity today to focus on the ultimate outcome: the employee experience. Just as we use consumercentric apps like Netflix for our

entertainment, AirBnB for our lodgings, and Uber for our transportation, we need the learning we deliver to be as easy and as intuitive to use as these ondemand services.

Rather than a focus on buzz phrases such as “data-driven learning” or “microlearning,” we should focus on the learner experience. This means a very fundamental switch from “instructional design” to “experience design.” You must be experts in, and champions of, service design thinking. You should obsess about your learner’s journey and produce learning that is simple and easy in the flow of work.

A basic tenet of good design is that form follows function. In the exact same way, the technology, content and learning programs you select should follow from the employee-centric learner journeys and experiences you design.

The huge advantage of this approach is that the conversations you need to have with your business partners and employees in the design of your learner journeys will force a strategic alignment that is often missing.

There is a lot of chatter about whether the LMS era is over. I don’t believe it is today, but the signs are there that it may be in the near future. The LMS paradigms that were previously built were focused on the idea of a course catalog construct that makes sense for formal education.

But that no longer feels relevant for today’s learning journeys.

As a result, the LMSs we built tended to be very hard to use; they were admincentric and not learner-centric. They

now often contain thousands of courses (many outdated and irrelevant), and most employees justifiably find them of limited value.

If the past belonged to LMSs, the future belongs to learning experience platforms.

I suggest you start planning now and watch your strategic impact grow.

This does not imply that classroombased learning is also going away.

Instructor-led events play a very important role, but almost inevitably as part of a broader mixed program.

Josh Bersin calls these types of programs “macrolearning” (as a very explicit contrast to microlearning, which serves a very different purpose and solves very different problems). He goes on to say that while we used to call these programs “courses,” in the context of digital learning, they are simply “macro” in size and should be designed for use in special ways.

Despite the influx of so many exciting technologies, training initiatives will inevitably be a combination of macrolearning and microlearning.

This is no different than how we have approached things in the past, but with a very important difference. We have to let the programs, including the content and tools, be driven by both the learner journeys we need to support and the employee experiences we need to deliver.

Amar Dhaliwal is the chief evangelist at EdCast. He was co-founder of THINQ and, after its acquisition by Saba in 2005, led Saba’s product, engineering, cloud and customer operations teams. Email Amar.

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CLOSING D E A L S

DEVELOPING A ONE-STOP SHOP FROM

CONTENT TO OUTCOMES

BY TARYN OESCH

About 15 years ago, FranklinCovey embarked on a journey to transform from a company focused on training content to a company focused on training results. That meant becoming a one-stop shop for clients, providing content but also, according to Adam Merrill, executive vice president of innovations, “connecting capability to outcomes.” This strategy has informed recent acquisitions, including the May acquisition of Robert Gregory Partners and the July acquisition of Jhana.

“A lot of learning leaders have to act like a general contractor,” says Rob Cahill, co-founder of Jhana and now managing director of innovations for FranklinCovey.

Managing multiple vendors can be time-consuming and difficult, so FranklinCovey’s goal with its All Access Pass is to reduce the number of vendors needed by one organization.

The All Access Pass provides unlimited access to FranklinCovey content and, importantly, is “modality-agnostic,” so clients can use whatever platform they need for the results they want.

FranklinCovey’s acquisition of Robert Gregory Partners expanded its offerings to include add-on coaching services to the All Access Pass, and its acquisition of Jhana added microlearning for managers to its portfolio.

Cahill founded Jhana six years ago to provide the bite-sized, research-based management content he felt was missing when he became a manager. “The firstlevel manager is a linchpin,” he says, “and there’s data [showing] that teams of effective managers have 25 percent higher performance and 40 percent

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lower turnover.” Such a critical position, he feels, requires good preparation and continuous learning. Jhana provides a library of specific, practical articles, videos and worksheets developed by its in-house research and editorial team.

Cahill says that Jhana’s learner adoption rates are ten times higher than the industry average.

customer loyalty per store across the chain to see real business impact. For manager training, according to Cahill, organizations should measure not only business outcomes, like increased revenue, but also the impact on learners. For example, has the training increased new managers’ confidence and decreased their stress?

FranklinCovey serves two audiences: learning leaders and business leaders.

According to research by LinkedIn, those audiences tend to look at different types of outcomes to measure training results. While learning leaders measure qualitative feedback from learners and

Poorly performing managers are expensive.

According to Gallup, “managers account for at least 70% of variance in employee engagement scores across business units” and, “when companies can increase their number of talented managers and double the rate of engaged employees, they achieve, on average, 147% higher earnings per share than their competition.”

POORLY PERFORMING MANAGERS ARE EXPENSIVE. their managers, business leaders look at business impact and ROI. That said, Training Industry research has found that learning leaders are increasingly focused on aligning training with business needs and measuring the impact training has on business results.

Merrill says that since FranklinCovey clients are looking at outcomes through both of these lenses, FranklinCovey measures outcomes in both areas. For example, customer loyalty training for a retail chain not only measures manager and learner feedback but also

Obviously, having good managers is a significant business outcome, and aligning training with that outcome is important. Grovo research has found that over half of surveyed managers believe faster manager training would help their organizations achieve key business objectives and that effective manager training includes small pieces of information that are reinforced over time.

By acquiring a company like Jhana that provides microlearning for managers and focusing on connecting training to results that matter to both learning leaders and business executives, FranklinCovey is working to support training alignment in a one-stop shop for training organizations.

Taryn Oesch is an editor at Training Industry, Inc. Email Taryn.

C O M PA N Y N E W S

ACQ UI S I T I O N SAN DPA RTN E R SHIPS Global Knowledge announced its acquisition of ctc TrainCanada, solidifying Global Knowledge’s position as the leading provider of IT training in Canada and around the world. With this acquisition Global Knowledge increases its broad portfolio of more than 2,500 courses to include training on desktop applications, and expands its presence to locations in 10 major cities across Canada.

Alchemy Systems, the world’s largest training company for the food and retail sectors, has acquired Wisetail.

Wisetail provides restaurants, retailers and franchises a modern employee learning and engagement platform so that they can deliver a consistent guest experience and foster a great work environment. The acquisition further accelerates Alchemy’s expansion in the restaurant and retail sectors.

Degreed, the world’s first career-long skills-building platform, has partnered with C2 Technologies to bring an award winning, consolidated learningexperience platform to the US Federal Government. C2 Technologies is bringing Degreed’s innovative platform to the Federal Government to centralize all proprietary and external learning resources in one place.

Coursera, a leader in online education and learning, is partnering with AXA, the worldwide leader in insurance.

Coursera will work with AXA to curate relevant content and integrate courses into existing learning paths with a goal to further equip the global workforce with the knowledge and in-demand skills required to succeed in tomorrow’s workplace and economy.

Accenture acquired marketing and sales capability consultancy Brand Learning, to help organizations drive sustained customer-led growth by enhancing their marketing, sales, HR and leadership capabilities. The acquisition strengthens Accenture’s ability to drive end-to-end marketing and sales transformation for clients by creating a seamless service spanning marketing and sales strategy, organizational design and industryspecific consulting.

HMP, a leading healthcare education and events company, announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Imedex, a privately held global medical education company. With this combination, HMP strengthens its position as a foremost producer of healthcare events for the global healthcare community.

INDUSTRY NE WS Reflection Software and Turning Pointe Autism Foundation Partner Reflection Software is a partner of Turning Pointe Autism Foundation in developing online training modules for their Made to Inspire Café located inside the Dan Wolf Lexus of Naperville dealership. The training modules focus on how to work the café equipment, such as understanding the various parts of the coffee grinder, the proper procedure to grind coffee beans, and how to brew different coffee, cappuccino and espresso.

Coaching for Customer Success Managers SuccessHACKER, the leading customer success management consultancy for high-growth SaaS technology companies, announced the industry’s first coaching program for customer success managers.

The six-month, instructor-led, interactive program is designed to empower participants with the tools, knowledge and support network they need to build successful customer success careers.

Dress for Success® and FedEx Launch New Interactive Online Learning Platform Dress for Success Worldwide, in partnership with FedEx, is set to launch The Career Hub, an innovative digital platform that will provide access to online learning and workforce development resources for women through their computers or smart phones. The Career Hub, fully funded

by FedEx, directly supports Dress for Success Career Centers which focus on providing programming for women at various stages of their employment development cycle.

Facilitating In-House Career Development and Skill Building Startup Institute, the leading career accelerator for the innovation economy in Boston and New York City, has launched its first intrapreneurship program as part of its part-time program offering. The program was a response to the demand for innovation within organizations looking for ways to upskill their employees. The intrapreneurship pilot was designed to teach students to become innovators within their company by identifying specific organizational pain points and gaps.

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WHAT’S O N L I N E T R A I N I N G I N D U S T R Y. C O M

ARTICLES HOW TO DISAGREE WITHOUT BEING DISAGREEABLE | By Doug Upchurch Avoid workplace “difficulties” caused by strained relationships between coworkers.

THE SECRET TO GREAT INTERNAL COMMUNICATION: ASK, LISTEN, ACT AND MEASURE | By Annabel Dunstan and Imogen Osborne New technologies can help leaders gain more insight on their organization and people.

PROFESSIONALIZING DIGITAL TRAINING CONTENT | By Jonathan Halls Editorial standards can align the voice and quality of content with a training department’s brand.

AGILE ROLE-BASED ENABLEMENT IS THE KEY TO ORGANIZATIONAL SUCCESS | By Juliana Stancampiano Success in an organization cannot be achieved unless everyone is on the same page.

RESEARCH

WEBINARS

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IDENTIFYING SALES TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT INVESTMENTS THAT DRIVE LEARNER OUTCOMES

By Sales Performance International and Training Industry, Inc.

BETTER DECISIONMAKING: THE INTERSECTION OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND RISK APPROACH

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TRAINING T A L K

5 TIPS TO

DEVELOP A LEARNING STRATEGY

1 |

INDUSTRY

PO

S

Which of the following competencies is the most important for a training manager to possess?

5% 15% 18%

53%

COMMUNICATE WITH THE BUSINESS

Talk with senior executives to better understand business goals.

2 |

ADDRESS PERFORMANCE GAPS

Conduct a needs analysis and identify any performance gaps.

3 |

ESTABLISH TRAINING OBJECTIVES

Identify the organization’s training objectives based on business goals.

4 |

SELECT DELIVERY METHODS

Decide on a delivery method that is most suitable for the need.

5 |

KEEP TRACK

Track results to ensure training is achieving intended outcomes.

31% N=122

I nter personal sk ills Business acumen Projec t management Personnel management Technical literac y What is your preferred modality for taking a sales training program?

15% 17%

36% 33% N=156

Classroom Coaching E-learning Online – Mobile

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