January/February 2018 | CLOmedia.com
Gilead Sciences’
Brian Miller Investing for Soft Skills - Adapting to Adaptive Learning - Changing How People Feel About Change Zooming in on Purpose-Driven Microlearning - From Content Curation to Insight Curation
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EDITOR’S LETTER
Stressed, Pressed and Blessed
I
n learning, as with just about anything in life, it’s easy to focus on the negative and get preoccupied with the challenges that inevitably pop up to block our way. There’s never enough money, time or attention to do all that we want. Add to that the unavoidable fact that learning and development is a long-term strategy for a short-term obsessed business world dominated by quarterly results-driven thinking and it’s no wonder that learning leaders feel the pressure. Lofty expectations come from all directions: executives want real results, business partners come with pet projects and learners have an insatiable demand for help in advancing their careers. Piling on top of that is the ever-expanding set of tools, technologies and methodologies at hand for the job. Learning leaders have a dizzying array of choices in their work: in classroom or online, in person or on the go, via programs that take months to complete or bits of learning consumed in a matter of minutes.
With all the challenges, it’s easy to lose sight of just how special learning work is.
learning-fueled technologies, there are a host of platforms and applications being developed by vendors that promise to make learning more accessible, more effective and most importantly more enjoyable. Let’s face facts. Learning is uncomfortable. There’s a tension inherent in stretching people’s knowledge and capability and challenging them to think in new and different ways. But that doesn’t mean the experience should be painful. For inspiration, I look at Jesse Schlueter at Nordstrom who told me the experience of learners should mirror the high-quality, customer experience shoppers expect when they visit the retailer. Or 2017 CLO of the Year Damodar Padhi who completely redesigned the digital learning experience for the nearly 400,000 employees of Tata Consultancy Services because the one thing a CLO can’t do is sit still. In the year ahead, I’m excited by the talent agenda that sits atop the priority list for many organizations. Learning is at the heart of growth plans, especially as business becomes faster and more unpredictable. Learning leaders like Mike Kennedy of the National Basketball Association aren’t squandering the opportunity. When the NBA’s new commissioner came in with a new vision, Mike was the right person in the right place at the right time to lead the organization’s renewed efforts to find and develop the next generation of talent. I’m inspired by the many smart, passionate learning leaders I continue to meet. Whether that’s people like Biogen CLO Angela Justice with her doctorate in neuroscience or Deloitte’s Jeff Orlando whose psychology background gives him deep insight into human behavior and organizational change. Our profile subject this month, Brian Miller of Gilead Sciences, is no exception. Learning leaders “embrace the scramble” as he says and find joy in the challenges that come with the job. The pressure and stress are just the side effects of the incredible privilege it is to be the leader whose No. 1 job is simply to make people better. CLO
But all that pressure and stress is nothing new for chief learning officers. You signed up for it. Being an executive, whether the role is learning, marketing, finance or operations, means you have to deliver. Learning is the right thing to do for the health and wealth of the organization and employees alike. But that doesn’t mean you get a free pass to the board room. With all those challenges, it’s easy to lose sight of just how special learning work is. It’s a blessing to be able to be a chief learning officer. That message is crystal clear as I look to the year ahead. One of the benefits of my job is the ability to travel around the country and meet learning executives at companies large and small in a wide range of industries. From Boston to Seattle, Atlanta to Anaheim, I met dozens of learning leaders in 2017 who have me excited about the future of the profession. Take technology. I’m a short-term skeptic when it comes to the effects of emerging technology on learning. Too often, emerging fields like artificial intelligence are used to sell a product rather than advance the practice. Mike Prokopeak But I’m bullish on the long-term effects of technol- Editor in Chief ogy. From virtual and augmented reality to machine mikep@CLOmedia.com 4 Chief Learning Officer • January/February 2018 • www.CLOmedia.com
A PUBLICATION OF
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 | VOLUME 17, ISSUE 1 PRESIDENT John R. Taggart jrtag@CLOmedia.com VICE PRESIDENT, CFO, COO Kevin A. Simpson ksimpson@CLOmedia.com VICE PRESIDENT, GROUP PUBLISHER Clifford Capone ccapone@CLOmedia.com VICE PRESIDENT, EDITOR IN CHIEF Mike Prokopeak mikep@CLOmedia.com EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Rick Bell rbell@CLOmedia.com MANAGING EDITOR Ashley St. John astjohn@CLOmedia.com CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Frank Kalman fkalman@CLOmedia.com ASSOCIATE EDITORS Andie Burjek aburjek@CLOmedia.com Ave Rio ario@CLOmedia.com Lauren Dixon ldixon@CLOmedia.com COPY EDITOR Christopher Magnus cmagnus@CLOmedia.com VIDEO AND MULTIMEDIA PRODUCER Andrew Kennedy Lewis alewis@CLOmedia.com EDITORIAL INTERNS Alexis Carpello acarpello@CLOmedia.com Marygrace Schumann mschumann@CLOmedia.com
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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Jos Arets Ken Blanchard Bob Danna Karen Eber Charles Jennings Laci Loew Elliott Masie Lee Maxey Bob Mosher Casey Mulqueen Tim Rahschulte Jonyce Ruiz Aarti Sharma Amy Bladen Shatto Bob Szostak
AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Cindy Cardinal ccardinal@CLOmedia.com DIGITAL MANAGER Lauren Lynch llynch@CLOmedia.com DIGITAL COORDINATOR Mannat Mahtani mmahtani@CLOmedia.com DIGITAL MEDIA INTERN Emma Wilbur ewilbur@CLOmedia.com LIST MANAGER Mike Rovello hcmlistrentals@infogroup.com BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION MANAGER Melanie Lee mlee@CLOmedia.com
CHIEF LEARNING OFFICER EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Cedric Coco, EVP, Chief People Of ficer, Brookdale Senior Living Inc. Lisa Doyle, Head of Retail Training, Ace Hardware Tamar Elkeles, Chief Talent Executive, Atlantic Bridge Capital Thomas Evans, ( Ret.) Chief Learning Of ficer, PricewaterhouseCoopers Ted Henson, Senior Strategist, Oracle Gerry Hudson-Martin, Director, Corporate Learning Strategies, Business Architects Kimo Kippen, Vice President, Global Workforce Initiatives, Hilton Worldwide Rob Lauber, Vice President, Chief Learning Of ficer, McDonald’s Corp. Maj. Gen. Erwin F. Lessel, ( Ret.) U.S. Air Force, Director, Deloit te Consulting Justin Lombardo, ( Ret.) Chief Learning Of ficer, Baptist Health Adri Maisonet-Morales, Vice President, Enterprise Learning and Development, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina Alan Malinchak, CEO, Éclat Transitions LLC and STRATactical LLC Lee Maxey, CEO, MindMax Bob Mosher, Senior Par tner and Chief Learning Evangelist, APPLY Synergies Rebecca Ray, Executive Vice President, The Conference Board Allison Rossett, ( Ret.) Professor of Educational Technology, San Diego State Universit y Diana Thomas, CEO and Founder, Winning Results David Vance, Executive Director, Center for Talent Repor ting Kevin D. Wilde, Executive Leadership Fellow, Carlson School of Management, Universit y of Minnesota Chief Learning Officer (ISSN 1935-8148) is published monthly, except bi-monthly in January/February and November/December by MediaTec Publishing Inc., 111 E. Wacker Dr., Suite 1200, Chicago IL 60601. Periodicals postage paid at Chicago, IL and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Chief Learning Officer, P.O. Box 8712 Lowell, MA 01853. Subscriptions are free to qualified professionals within the US and Canada. Digital free subscriptions are available worldwide. Nonqualified paid subscriptions are available at the subscription price of $199 for 12 issues. All countries outside the US and Canada must be prepaid in US funds with an additional $33 postage surcharge. Single price copy is $29.99 Chief Learning Officer and CLOmedia.com are the trademarks of MediaTec Publishing Inc. Copyright © 2018, MediaTec Publishing Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Reproduction of material published in Chief Learning Officer is forbidden without permission. Printed by: Quad/Graphics, Sussex, WI
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CONTENTS J
anuary/F ebruary
2018
20 Profile A Dedication to the Craft Mike Prokopeak At Gilead Sciences, Brian Miller takes the same thoughtful and dedicated approach to learning that he was taught a young age.
52 Case Study Cox Drives Sales Training Ave Rio Cox Automotive is using video to drive peer coaching and align sales teams on values and approaches.
54 Business Intelligence Stuck in the Middle Mike Prokopeak Technology investment plans show learning executives caught between legacy systems and the promise of future technology. ON THE COVER: PHOTO BY BRIAN FLAHERTY
8 Chief Learning Officer • January/February 2018 • www.CLOmedia.com
January/F ebruary 2018
CONTENTS
48 40
16
Features
16 32 40
Experts
Investing for Soft Skills: Build, Buy or Both
10 IMPERATIVES
Tim Rahschulte What differentiates high performers from the rest is the soft skills that create alignment, connection and joint purpose. But when should you invest in building those skills versus hiring for them?
Adapting to Adaptive Learning
48
Elliott Masie Becoming Tech Wise in 2018
11 SELLING UP, SELLING DOWN
Aarti Sharma and Bob Szostak Even small and midsized organizations can harness the power of adaptive learning to achieve powerful personalized results.
Bob Mosher Your Refrigerator Is Running
12 LEADERSHIP
Changing How People Feel About Change
44
32
Casey Mulqueen Resilience training techniques can improve engagement and help people overcome their fears about change.
Ken Blanchard Make Deadlines for Your Dreams
14 MAKING THE GRADE
Zooming in on Purpose-Driven Microlearning
Lee Maxey Too Little Progress
58 IN CONCLUSION
Amy Bladen Shatto and Jonyce Ruiz Emerging technology is only as good the purpose to which it is applied. Two L&D practitioners from Avanade explain how they take a purposeful approach to microlearning.
From Content Curation to Insight Curation
Karen Eber Make Waffles, Not Spaghetti
Resources
Jos Arets, Bob Danna, Charles Jennings and Laci Loew A group of industry analysts argue the future of business requires a network of experts who share wisdom as a team fueled by a new type of learning technology.
4 Editor’s Letter
Stressed, Pressed and Blessed
57 Advertisers’ Index ARE YOU A PART OF THE CLO NETWORK? Follow us:
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Chief Learning Officer • January/February 2018 • www.CLOmedia.com
9
IMPERATIVES
Becoming Tech Wise in 2018
Commit to learning more about technology in the year ahead • BY ELLIOTT MASIE
C Elliott Masie is chair of the Masie Center’s Learning Consortium, CEO of the Masie Center and host of Learning 2018. He can be reached at editor@CLOmedia.com.
hief learning officers and learning leaders must rapidly increase their technology wisdom to handle the significant shifts in technology innovation and deployment in our workplaces. Most CLOs can navigate the current conversations about talent/learning databases and mobile devices and can decode many conversations as they delve into the inner workings of application programming interfaces, technology stacks and clouds. And, as good leaders should, they rely on their team members to support their tech-readiness along the way. But it’s time for many learning leaders to build a deliberate learning program to become more tech wise and ready for technology conversations. In recent months, I have seen the eyes of learning leaders glaze over when conversations dive into topics such as block chain technology, audio search and knowledge technology, machine learning, augmented reality context, automation process cycles and big data for talent analytics. It is not the role of a learning leader to be an expert in any of these technologies but at the core we need to have a conceptual understanding and vocabulary to have a dialogue and test the reality of predictions, claims and product assertions. Let’s build a learning pathway for learning leaders to get more tech wise in 2018: Vocabulary time: We need to build a vocabulary of five to 15 phrases for each technology that will build our ability to have conversations about them. Ask a member of your team or in your IT department to build a vocabulary list with a one-paragraph definition for each term. Example time: Learning leaders need concrete workplace examples of each technology. For example, you might hear the term block chain and think it is about geeks playing with bitcoins. In truth, it is a much wider, global exchange for financial transactions. Learn two to three examples outside your corporate setting. Timeline time: Technologies lives on a predictive timeline from idea to productive implementation in the workplace. Or not. Technology suppliers often exaggerate how ripe and ready their tech truly is or predict they will change the world of learning in just three years. Build a timeline and plot where these technologies might fit into your workplace future. Personal time: Some of the most provocative technologies now start in the home. Look at the role of Am-
10 Chief Learning Officer • January/February 2018 • www.CLOmedia.com
azon’s Alexa or Apple’s Siri. They grow in the personal technology marketplace years before they are fully adopted into the corporate setting. A tech-wise learning leader has their own at-home lab to engage with emerging technologies, perhaps even observing family members as their test users.
Learning leaders must become more tech wise and ready for technology conversations. Replacement time: Watch for the technologies, systems or platforms that are fading from use or even being eliminated in the workplace. Are new features in talent systems radically reducing the use of some learning technologies? Work to understand which technologies are shrinking in the workplace. Evidence and data time: Learn what evidence and data are essential to track as new technologies are deployed in the marketplace. How will an organization know if these technologies are having an impact on the workplace and the workforce? User experience (UX) time: The growing field of user experience is researching how emerging technologies are being accepted and embraced by users. The UX field is an ideal one for a learning leaders to follow as it is focused on the key question of how a technology will be experienced by real people in a real work setting. Smart innovation time: Learning leaders should avoid being either the foremost advocate or leading cynic on technologies. Your role is not to push any specific technology but to be the leading facilitator of discussions about how to mix and match existing and emerging technologies and changing work processes. Benchmark fiercely in your field and beyond. Learning leaders should be curious, open and willing to experiment with new technology. Their approach should be supported by technology. They should have the vocabulary to have meaningful conversations about it. Learning leaders should be tech wise. CLO
SELLING UP, SELLING DOWN
Your Refrigerator Is Running
You better catch it if you want to be at the forefront of learning • BY BOB MOSHER
T Bob Mosher is a senior partner and chief learning evangelist for APPLY Synergies, a strategic consulting firm. He can be reached at editor@CLOmedia.com.
he other day my new refrigerator’s water filter needed to be changed. How did I know that? Not from the taste of the water and not from the color of the water but rather because my refrigerator told me so. It knew when I purchased it and began using the filter. It knew how much water I had consumed over the past several months. It knows how long a good filter should last. So when the time came it flashed a warning light on the front of the water dispenser and gave me a six-day countdown to have it replaced. That warning grew more daunting as the final day approached. So I’m ready to replace the filter for the first time. I open the door to see the make and model of my refrigerator prominently displayed on the inside frame, nicely embedded for the moment of need. My original intent was to take that information, Google the manufacturer’s website and research how to change the filters on this particular model. But upon examining the label, I noticed a QR code alongside the model number. I took my smartphone from my back pocket, scanned the code and was taken directly to my specific refrigerator model on the product section of the manufacturer’s website. As I looked at the bottom of my phone display (with no scrolling involved), I saw a list of commonly asked questions. The first one is about how to change a water filter. I clicked the link and was taken to a page of directions with a video at the top explaining how to change the filter. Problem solved in less than five minutes. I hope you see the connection to what we do for a living every day. This particular manufacturer is not in the L&D industry. They didn’t direct me to the user manual. They didn’t post an 800 number to call for assistance. They didn’t have a link on their home page directing me to their L&D team or their LMS. They designed fundamental and powerful learning and support right into the experience. First, they anticipated my performance problem. They took steps to know my behavior, track it and begin preparing me in increasingly overt ways before the problem occurred. Second, they embedded the support right into the workflow at my point of need. I didn’t need training. The resource fit perfectly both in location and context. Two clicks or 10 seconds is as long as my attention would last and that’s how quickly I was guided to my answer. Third, the technology to answer my question
was perfectly matched to the context of the problem. It was literally in my back pocket. And finally, they took me right to the appropriate resource, giving me two options but clearly recommending the one they felt was most helpful. That’s a powerful way of looking at learning and support.
We have to be brave enough to look at learning and support through a different lens. I keep using learning and support in the same sentence because that’s the new range of offerings we need to build. In fact, if you build for support you do less training. My refrigerator manufacturer is highly motivated by the same things we in learning are: • Lower support costs. In our case, we want to lower help desk and post-training support costs. • Optimize support resources while reducing inhome visits. In L&D we want to decrease the overhead of expensive learning resources such as the classroom while optimizing their impact. • Increase customer satisfaction. We want to empower learners’ confidence in their ability to solve problems and own their professional development. • Increase customer loyalty and sell more products. In our case, we want to create better and more impactful learning products that those we serve will want to continue to buy. We can do all these same things right now if we choose. If we’re brave enough to look at learning and support through a different lens. If we’ll risk enough to produce a different product in the first place. If we’ll have different conversations with those we serve. If we build different kinds of expertise and skill sets within our L&D team. If we invest in new and emerging tools to create learning and support experiences. I have seen organizations of every size, from every industry begin to do this successfully. The time is now. Let’s not let a refrigerator manufacturer show us up. CLO Chief Learning Officer • January/February 2018 • www.CLOmedia.com
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LEADERSHIP
Make Deadlines for Your Dreams
Take time each day to focus on goal achievement • BY KEN BLANCHARD
T Ken Blanchard is chief spiritual officer of The Ken Blanchard Cos. and co-author of “Collaboration Begins with You: Be a Silo Buster.” He can be reached at editor@CLOmedia.com.
he busiest people tend to be the ones who have the most trouble accomplishing goals and sticking with New Year’s resolutions. The problem is that these people often go through the motions of dayto-day busy work instead of focusing on the important things first. You may have heard the theory that we all have two selves: the external, task-oriented self that focuses on getting the job done and the internal, thoughtful and reflective self that considers things before acting. Our task-oriented self is the first to wake up in the morning, of course, and is focused only on task achievement. We read email while we eat breakfast, then head to the office and start attacking our to-do list in order to get everything checked off before we go home. It’s easy to get so caught up in doing urgent but unimportant tasks that we don’t have time to think about new goals we have set. So how do we start focusing less on task achievement and more on goal achievement? I have a suggestion. Instead of jumping out of bed and right into task achievement, enter your day slowly and thoughtfully.
Instead of jumping out of bed and right into task achievement, enter your day slowly and thoughtfully. Take 20 or 30 minutes to think through what you need to accomplish for the day. Read your New Year’s resolutions during this time and think about how you might fit them into your day. Use this time to plan your day so that you can accomplish your tasks and work on your goals and resolutions. Then each night before you go to bed, jot down a few notes about your day in a journal or reflect on your day for a few minutes. What did you do that was consistent with your goals and resolutions and what got in the way? Soon you’ll be able to spot patterns — both positive and negative — so you can make changes to get your focus back on goal achievement. 12 Chief Learning Officer • January/February 2018 • www.CLOmedia.com
You might be thinking, “I don’t have time to spend 20 minutes in the morning to plan and more time at night to reflect.” But taking that small amount of time will set you up for success in achieving your New Year’s resolutions as well as your other goals. My wife, Margie, has often said, “A goal is a dream with a deadline.” As you think of your New Year’s resolutions go ahead and dream that you’ve achieved those goals. When you send the energy out to dream sometimes people show up in your life to help you achieve it. That’s what happened when Spencer Johnson and I wrote “The One Minute Manager.” On a Sunday in May, 1982, Spencer and I met at a beachfront park near San Diego. Our book was set to come out that September. We had brought along The New York Times book review section and a bottle of champagne and we discussed our goals and vision for the book. We set a goal to sell 500,000 copies — no business book had ever sold that many — and we dreamed that it would be on The New York Times best-seller list for six months. We celebrated and clinked our glasses together as we were sitting there. It was a fun and memorable time. The very next day on a plane bound for Chicago, I introduced myself to the man sitting next to me in first class. I asked what he did for work and he told me he was a regional sales manager for B. Dalton Bookseller. I said, “You sell books?” and he said, “Sure, we have 750 stores.” I told him about “The One Minute Manager” and the goals Spencer and I had set. During our conversation, I laid out a strategy to get to the business and economic buyers of B. Dalton, Waldenbooks and other major bookstores. Toward the end of our flight I asked, “You weren’t supposed to be sitting here, were you?” He said, “How did you know that? They goofed up my ticket and at the last minute I was upgraded to first class.” I said, “You had no choice. I sucked you into this seat with the energy from our dreams and vision for our book!” So dream big in 2018. Enter your day with a plan and a focus on achieving your goals and resolutions. And tell others about your dreams. You never know who might be able to help make them happen. CLO
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MAKING THE GRADE
Too Little Progress
More is needed to fulfill the promise of microcredentials • BY LEE MAXEY
M
Lee Maxey is CEO of MindMax, a marketing and enrollment management services company. He can be reached at editor@CLOmedia.com.
ia Radic credits a microcredential program with helping her find her dream job ahead of schedule. Radic, a former supply chain specialist, took a series of graduate-level courses as part of the MicroMasters program developed and taught by universities and delivered by edX, a private company created by Harvard and MIT in 2012 as a portal for online learning. Other portals include Coursera, Udacity and Udemy. In the case of MicroMasters, programs feature courses from MIT and Harvard as well as more than a dozen other universities and cover subjects ranging from information technology and business management to data analytics and, in Radic’s case, supply chain management. Radic told me via email that it takes determination to finish the program. She balanced full-time work with school and some assignments would consume an entire weekend. But the pros, like building a professional network and picking up new skills, outweighed the cons of trying to squeeze it all into a packed schedule. The concept is interesting and is getting employers’ attention. In November, General Electric committed to interviewing any Massachusetts resident who completes a MicroMasters program in supply chain management, cybersecurity, cloud computing or artificial intelligence. But I’m concerned, not because I doubt GE’s commitment or the tremendous amount of work invested by Radic. Rather I’m not sure all employers will take the time to vet her story the way I did. And that could undervalue her credential. Microcredentials, sometimes also known as badges, should work on a widespread basis. They are available to anyone and showcase their growing set of skills. They sync with the goals of groups like the Lumina Foundation to increase the number of Americans with postsecondary credentials and put more workers into the economy. They are also affordable. A MicroMasters from edX costs between $600 and $1,500. Anant Agarwal, CEO of edX, said certain students who complete a MicroMasters can matriculate at places like MIT just because they have the credential. Boeing and General Electric recognize the MicroMasters as a bona fide way to advance an employee’s career. The MicroMasters, like many MOOCs offered by other schools, is open enrollment but can also be converted to traditional course credit. However there has to be a standard for these credentials or the holder of the certificate and their employer
14 Chief Learning Officer • January/February 2018 • www.CLOmedia.com
will be unclear about the value. A credential recognized by one company may be of no value to a job seeker knocking on another firm’s door. Microcredential seekers face a conundrum with colleges, too. If, for example, a student obtains a microcredential provided by one school, what assurance is there that another college will recognize the credit?
If you’re a CLO on the sideline in the microcredential debate, it’s time to speak up and engage. That’s something corporations, schools and credentialing bodies must figure out for the benefit of all. It’s a matter of agreeing to uniformly give a weight to each microcredential. Certain credentials such as the Series 6 license given by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority demonstrate a universally accepted, clear competency. The Project Management for Development Professionals certification is a globally recognized credential. Both of these are portable for the individual and the credentials are valued equally by employers. Some universities and companies have decided delivering microcredentials is an opportunity to recruit students and employees and maybe even make education more affordable and portable. Other corporations and some professional certification bodies don’t yet see microcredentials as a road to jobs or promotions; for them the microcredential is just another academic model. As with many things, millennials might tilt the balance. They want credentials that are portable, “postable” and prestigious. If you’re a CLO on the sideline in this debate, it’s time to speak up. Engage with the companies delivering and certifying these microcredentials. Tell them what it will take to make these credentials meet employer’s demands and your employees’ needs. By providing the leadership necessary to standardize microcredentials, you will potentially draw talented graduates to your organization. As an added bonus, the effort will also help you shape the credentials so they inculcate students with your business approach. CLO
16 Chief Learning Officer • January/February 2018 • www.CLOmedia.com
Investing for soft skills: BUILD, BUY OR BOTH What differentiates high performers from the rest is the soft skills that create alignment, connection and joint purpose. But when should you invest in building those skills versus hiring for them? BY TIM R AHSCHULTE
W
hen many people are asked to describe an “engineer,” it elicits an immediate reaction. But whether they think broadly about the work or more narrowly about a specific person, emotional intelligence, caring and soft skills are not often at the top of the list. Engineers are generally known for their technical skills and proficiency. I’ve worked with several great engineers. Some have been involved in physical product development while others work in software, construction, data analytics and cybersecurity. No matter their specific role or industry, what sets them apart isn’t their expertise. It’s not that simple. Recently, I was speaking with Roland Cloutier, the chief information security officer at ADP, one of the largest payroll service providers in the world. When asked how to maximize individual, team and organizational performance, he said: “It’s all about alignment, connection and joint purpose. Alignment drives connection and the way the you get things done is through human connection.” To maximize a return on investment and fully realize someone’s potential, you need to identify the reason for and define the outcome from human connection. To do that, leverage soft skills. Chief Learning Officer • January/February 2018 • www.CLOmedia.com
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What makes one team different than another? Why does one team perform at a high level while another is average and yet another is even worse? What makes one organization better than another? What makes one person more of an energizer as compared to a peer in the same role? It’s their ability to connect with others while focused on a shared purpose. Certainly, you need and expect each person to be proficient in specific job tasks but what differentiates one person or an entire team from another is the soft skills that create alignment, connection and joint purpose in the work being performed. But when should you invest in building those skills versus hiring for them?
The Argument for Building So what came to mind when you read the word “engineer”? I raise the question because of one engineer I know who worked for several years at a large defense contractor before making the move to a chipmaker. While still at the defense contractor, during one of his going away parties, there was a moment when many close colleagues and friends were reminiscing of times past and accomplishments they achieved together. One of the friends was visibly upset and when asked, “What’s wrong?” the friend said, “Nothing really. I am happy for him and his family. I’m just wondering, with him leaving, who’s going to take care of the people.” There’s a good chance “people person” or “high EQ” or “soft skills” or “people taking care of people” are
What differentiates one person from another are the soft skills that create alignment, connection and joint purpose. not on the list you had in mind when you were asked to think about the word “engineer.” But, as I mentioned, this is an amazing engineer. Proficient at what he does and importantly how he does it. He knows that what someone can do is shadowed by the way it is done. The long-lasting effect someone has on another is not based in their capability but rather in their care. You may have examples like this extraordinary engineer in your organization. But experience tells us that such an example is rare, not just among engineers but across all disciplines and roles. Those extraordinary ones stand out. Such people are difference makers and connectors of alignment and purpose. They’re the source of competitive advantage within organizations and can create high levels of team performance in easy and hard times, not simply based on their proficiency 18 Chief Learning Officer • January/February 2018 • www.CLOmedia.com
of tasks but largely because of their soft skills. As chief learning officers and professionals responsible for human resource development, this is the behavior we want to elicit from all employees: high levels of proficiency in tasks while also ensuring care in follow through with others while accomplishing said tasks. Is this possible? Yes, it’s certainly possible. In an April 2016 Chief Learning Officer article, “The Hard Science Behind Soft Skills,” authors Evan Sinar and Richard Wellins noted the possibility by stating, “Soft skills can be learned.” However, while it may be possible, is it probable? It’s not, at least not without intentional design and systematic influence.
Build or Buy? This harsh yet hopefully constructive reminder of reality is grounded in the fact that most spending on training is not a good investment. Such a statement is challenged by the research of Sinar and Wellins who claimed in their article, “organizations demonstrated an average return on investment of $4,000 for every $1,100 spent developing soft skills.” In contrast to such findings, however, Harvard Business School professor Michael Beer described most money spent on personnel development as a “robbery” because “most companies are unable to transfer employee learning into changes in individual and organization behavior.” That’s what makes it unlikely. Behavioral change is hard. Measuring it is also hard. While we all know the importance of measuring value and benefit relative to the bottom line, Marcel Robles noted in a Business Communication Quarterly article that, “Calculating the ROI and measuring effectiveness of communications training, ethics, teamwork skills, and other softer skills is extremely hard.” Think about the hundreds or thousands of dollars per year you are investing in each person at your organization. No doubt some of those dollars invested are yielding strong, measurable returns. Some of that yield may be in soft skills as noted by Sinar and Wellins. If your organization is like most, however, most of those total dollars spent are better described as an organizational liability or expense, rather than an investment in your No. 1 asset because they are not creating the behavioral change you desire; they are returning neither top-line nor bottom-line results that can be measured. As stewards of talent, we know two things to be absolute. First, a line item allocating budget for us to spend does not ensure prudence in that spending. Second, training or any form of workforce development should not be separated from hiring and performance review processing. Both truths correlate to the prior comment regard-
ing the need for intentional design and systematic influence. The best way to ensure that you have an engineer or anyone proficient in both hard skills and soft skills is to ensure you hire the “right” engineer. Recruiting, hiring, onboarding, feedback, coaching and training are all part of a performance management system. The results that Sinar and Wellins found were realized in organizations that were going beyond simple training exercises to the point of “including positive modeling, repeated skill practices and post-training applications.” In other words, they were integrating training with other multiple employee-manager touch points. Organizations realizing the highest of returns from investing in soft skills have incorporated soft skills application in most, if not all, touch points from talent attraction and acquisition all the way through attrition. Laszlo Bock, the former head of people at Google, wrote in his book “Work Rules” that hiring is the most important activity in any organization. Onboarding was noted as second most important. With that in mind, consider your employee life cycle and entire sequence of employee-employer touch points within it from attraction to attrition — those touch points will include interactions with managers, peers and others. Think about your responsibility for training and workforce development investments. Now, consider which touch points with the greatest leverage for ensuring both hard and soft skills are showing up to conduct the work of your organization — that which assures alignment, joint purpose and human connection. Consider the journey your employees take with managers, peers and others in the organization. Once the offer or contract for employment is accepted, what do you do to help prepare that employee to experience full engagement, success and fun? For some organizations, it’s nothing; just a letter of acceptance and a “welcome aboard!” salutation. For other organizations, the letter is also accompanied by a list of expectations and other materials to review. What about at the start of day one, the end of day one and everything in between? Is there a mentor or a buddy assigned to meet the new employee at the door? Is there time spent and expectations set to make sure that person gets walked around to meet people. I’ve heard of one company’s best practice to have pastries, croissants and bagels at the new employee’s work station and an e-mail to all staff or the division announcing the food, which creates a way for the new employee to meet the team. What about the touch point of the end of week one? By then, acculturation is taking place and either the new employee is integrating with the team or separating. Managers and HR leaders should know which. What about day 30, day 60, day 90, and the next 90 and the 90 after that? These are all natural touch points
To maximize a return on investment and fully realize someone’s potential, you need to identify the reason for and the outcome from human connection. To do that, you need to leverage soft skills. that the best organizations and best managers leverage to assure alignment, connection and joint purpose. As professionals focused on learning and development, we need to make sure the managers are equipped with tools and practices that enable development with each and every conversation, meeting and event. We know that learning is not reserved for a classroom training or HR workshop. We will continue to use such forums for employee development of soft skills but we also need to leverage natural points of connection to ensure engagement, success and fun. Behavioral change is hard. Compounding this truth is the fact that your workforce development investment dollars are constrained and finite, forcing each investment to be quantified, measured and reported relative to impact value. If not intentionally designed, integrated and managed across all employee-manager touch points, problems will arise with training and soft skills. You have the option to develop or build soft skills among your employees. You can also buy those skills by hiring the right people with those skills in the first place. Or you can do both. For most organizations, it’s not an either-or decision, rather it’s both-and. All organizations engage in acquiring soft skills via hiring and building those skills through ongoing training. As you buy and build your talent, make sure your time and money is being invested across all touch points of the integrated performance management system because your next best bet on training soft skills may very well be an investment in better recruiting practices. CLO Tim Rahschulte is the co-author of “My Best Advice: Proven Rules For Effective Leadership.” He is a professor of business at George Fox University in Oregon and the former chief learning officer at Evanta, a CEB company. He can be reached at editor@CLOmedia.com. Chief Learning Officer • January/February 2018 • www.CLOmedia.com
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Profile
A Dedication to the Craft At Gilead Sciences, Brian Miller takes the same thoughtful and dedicated approach to learning that he was taught at a young age. BY MIKE PROKOPEAK
W
hen Brian Miller was just 6, his mother, an accountant by training, would take out her ledgers and spreadsheets, lay them on the floor and invite her young son to play a game. “Literally she would spread them on the floor and say, ‘I’m off by two cents. Help me find it,’ ” Miller said. The hunt for the missing money was one of the ways Miller’s mother, who earned a master’s degree, became a CPA and eventually a chief financial officer while raising her two sons alone, taught him to develop perseverance and stamina. “Mom is an amazing woman. She taught me I need to get better every day and be the best at your craft,” he said. It’s a lesson Miller has carried with him throughout his career, whether as a middle school teacher or now as vice president of talent, development and inclusion at Gilead Sciences, one of the world’s leading biopharmaceutical companies.
on the edge of something different,” Miller said. Looking to move into an inside role at a company, Miller joined Amgen, a biopharmaceutical company in Southern California, as a manager of learning operations in 2005. That transition to corporate education came with a few realizations. Unlike in consulting, there’s no walking away from organizational challenges. “A consultant can say here’s what you should do, here’s what it looks like … and then move on,” he said. “When you’re internal, there’s no moving on. You live with that solution year over year over year.”
Early Career
That helped Miller realize the importance of character and competence. “Your words really land and stay,” he said. “You really have to be thoughtful about what you put into an organization because it has ripple effects and it typically will stay around.” As Miller moved his way up the organization and was promoted to director of learning and development, he learned the importance of communication and clear direction. “We don’t give enough time to the why,” Miller said. “We give a lot of time to the what we’re doing and how we’re going to get it done.” It was that thoughtful, deliberate mindset that would play a direct role in the next step of Miller’s career.
Born in St. Louis, Miller grew up in Pasadena, California. After graduating with an economics degree from the University of the Pacific, he was teaching math to middle school students when on a dare, he applied to the master’s program in education at Harvard University. “The acceptance came in on April 1 and I thought it was a joke,” he said. At Harvard, Miller also took courses through Harvard Business School and the Kennedy School for Government, sparking an interest that led him to create his own consulting company after graduation. He later went on to work for Ninth House, one of the first companies to create high-quality learning simulations, and the Forum Corp., a pioneer of “insourced” training. “The things I gravitate toward are things that are just 20 Chief Learning Officer • January/February 2018 • www.CLOmedia.com
“You really have to be thoughtful about what you put into an organization because it has ripple effects.” — Brian Miller, VP of talent, development and inclusion, Gilead Sciences
The Need to Lead When Katie Watson went looking for a leader to build a new corporate learning function at Gilead Sci-
PHOTOS BY BRIAN FLAHERTY
Chief Learning Officer • January/February 2018 • www.CLOmedia.com
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Profile ences, a biopharmaceutical company, she had a clear ‘Swiss Army Knife-Type Talents’ idea about the why. As he settled in to his new role, Miller asked for The biopharmaceutical company, founded in time to observe for a while before hiring a staff. “That 1987 in Foster City, California, outside of San Fran- gave me the opportunity to go in a totally different dicisco, was on an extended run of success because of its rection,” he said. “Year One the direction was to build pioneering antiviral drugs but many senior leaders the department closer to a consulting company.” had been there a long time, a source of tremendous Miller eschewed traditional L&D job roles like invalue but also potential risk. structional design and classroom trainer and opted “From a strategy standpoint, it was key for us to instead to focus on building analytics and project make sure we were getting that next level of leaders management capability. ready to take on those imHe went looking for what he called “Swiss arportant next roles,” said my-knife type talents,” experienced learning profesWatson, executive vice sionals who had the ability to consult and analyze president of human re- business problems. “Getting that sort of talent to sources and herself a 15- come, I knew we’d have the opportunity to play very year veteran. broad across the organization,” he said. At that point, the That measured, methodical approach matched L&D team consisted of Gilead’s science-based culture. “One of Gilead’s key one person mostly work- strengths historically has been its ability to focus on ing on strategy. Miller, one thing at a time — first HIV then hepatitis C — who had flown up for the and just completely dominate the market,” said Mi— Katie Watson, executive VP of day from Southern Cali- chael Douglass, health care industry analyst and depfornia to interview, pre- uty managing editor at The Motley Fool, a multimedia HR, Gilead Sciences sented his strategy to build company that provides investment advice. a department. As those treatments have matured, Gilead has di“I was willing to declare my point of view — right, versified outside of its core areas of expertise into new wrong or in between,” Miller said. “I think they saw me areas such as autoimmune disease and cancer. “I’d be as a guy who is … going to put it out there to be debat- more concerned about the risk of trying to do too ed and then he’s going to work his tail off to execute.” many things at once but Gilead has been thoughtful Watson, who had been interviewing for months, and careful in its approach,” Douglass said. saw in Miller something that pushed her to act faster That culture of deliberation has worked in Miller’s than Gilead normally likes to move. “Before he even favor. “That first year was a lot of hard work on my flew back down to Southern California we had made end but it set the right trajectory for the function,” he him an offer,” she said. said. “We are not a big team. We have to embrace the Miller’s experience at a peer company along with his scramble … but we enjoy that.” consulting expertise were strong selling points but it From Watson’s perspective, the time Miller and his was his preparation and approach that sold Watson. team spent to get to know the business and meet with “He had the vision for where we wanted to go but also the patience to say we don’t need to throw everything at it in Year One,” she said. Miller, offer now in hand for the short flight back home, knew he was at a potential turning point. “It’s one of those change-your-life moments,” he said. “There are moments in your life that will change the trajectory of your career as well as your life and your family.” At the time, Gilead employed about 4,200 people and was on the cusp of rapid growth. But it was the opportunity to build a learning and development function from the ground up that pushed Miller to join the company in April 2010 as director of learning and development. Brian Miller, at Gilead’s headquarters, on L&D’s role: “We have to embrace the scramble.”
“He had the vision for where we wanted to go but also the patience to say we don’t need to throw everything at it in Year One”
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Profile leaders was well spent. “If you were to go out and ask people at Gilead, he and his function have so much credibility and are so well regarded,” she said. “And it is because not only are the programs they create well done and well aligned with what the business needs but they took the time to engage the business.”
Learning Looks Like Gilead While Miller took a measured approach to get to know Gilead’s business and put the right team in place, that didn’t mean he wasn’t looking for quick wins. Senior leader development, the issue that concerned Watson when hiring an L&D leader, was first. Despite having just a small team in place, Miller decided to develop a custom three-day program that would match Gilead’s culture and leadership values. The business simulation and case study at the heart of the program came directly out of multiple meetings with the CEO and divisional presidents. “Every bit of that looks like Gilead,” Watson said. The process Miller went through to create the program was as important as the program itself because it underlined for senior leaders the importance of developing the next generation of Gilead leaders. “They committed that not only would their people be going to these programs but they would be there,” Watson said. “They would attend part of it and talk to that next stage of leader.” That ongoing engagement with the program, even several years later, is how Miller and Watson recognize they’re achieving results from their development efforts. While Gilead tracks formal measures for programs, it’s the ongoing commitment from veteran leaders, some of whom had not engaged in leadership development in the past, that stands out. “We are such a data-driven company … yet something in the experience made them pause and think about the type of leader they want to be or something in the business simulation made them pause and think about how they interact with their peers,” said Watson. “That’s compelling to me.” Miller and his 13-member team have jumped at other opportunities to contribute to Gilead’s business. During a time when the company was growing rapidly through acquisition, they partnered with a longtime executive in Gilead’s research and development group to build a half-day culture training session to help new hires understand how Gilead works and why it works that way. Watson said half of the company has made that training mandatory, an unusual step for Gilead. When Gilead considered adding a new core value — inclusion — for the first time in 12 years, Miller and his colleagues put together a 90-day sprint team to dive into the data and present the business case.
In addition to learning, Miller has taken on inclusion, talent management and succession.
Then they made the case for why L&D should lead the charge. “It’s a behavior change issue, a culture change issue,” Miller said. Miller credits his team’s ability to methodically approach business challenges and uncover business value as key to their success. “The things that are core — there’s where you really want to stare into that one, we want to wallow around in things that we know that the business really values,” he said. It’s an approach that has also advanced Miller’s own career. He recently took over all of Gilead’s talent management and succession planning in addition to learning. Succession is on the minds of investors. When Gilead veteran John Milligan took over as CEO from longtime leader John Martin in 2016, it was a signal that the company would approach growth much as it has in the past, Douglass said, but the recent retirement of COO Kevin Young has analysts watching carefully. “One of the things I most respect about Gilead is that its management team is deliberate in its growth plans,” Douglass said. “This isn’t a company that wastes a lot of money each quarter trying to make Wall Street and short-term shareholders happy. That care — some would call it slowness — has almost certainly depressed the stock price in the last couple of years … but it’s the right answer for long-term, sustainable growth.” Kind of like how finding the missing two cents in the ledger is the right way to teach a 6-year-old the value of perseverance and dedication to your craft. CLO Mike Prokopeak is vice president and editor in chief at Chief Learning Officer magazine. He can be reached at editor@CLOmedia.com. Chief Learning Officer • January/February 2018 • www.CLOmedia.com
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industryinsights The Strategic Mindset Applying strategic thinking skills for organizational success By Tim Harnett
Do leaders at your organization know what strategy is and how they can create it? Rich Horwath, CEO of the Strategic Thinking Institute, thinks the answer might surprise you. “Pass out notecards at your next meeting and ask everybody to write down their definition of strategy. You’ll typically find that most people don’t have the same definition. Before you can have sound strategic thinking in place, there needs to be an understanding of what strategy is, and how it differs from other business planning terms like mission, vision, goals, objectives and tactics.” How can leaders at your organization think and act more strategically? Horwath shares some tips.
intelligently allocated our resources and made tradeoffs, you can address the third A: action. What are the critical few priorities that will help us achieve our goals? We need to have the discipline to stay focused on what’s important to achieving our goals and not get distracted by the urgent things that pop up on email, voice mail and text messages that take us off task. A great leader is someone who’s able to filter a lot of the extraneous, non-important activities out of their people’s way so they can focus on those 2-3 things that will generate the most value. At the same time, great leaders understand that strategy is just as much about what we choose not to do as it is about what we choose to do.”
Lead with a strategic approach
Figure 1: Horwath’s Strategic Thinking Framework
Follow the foundational framework The foundational framework behind strategic thinking involves three A’s: acumen, allocation and action (Figure 1). “All great projects start with acumen,” Horwath says. “What’s the idea that will lead to new value, either for the company or the customer? Once you have that idea for new value, you can move on to the second A: allocation. How do you configure your resources (time, people, budget) to focus on that new value and deliver it to customers? Once we’ve
Leading at your level requires newly promoted leaders to take a more strategic approach. “One of the greatest sources of frustration I see in organizations is people feeling spread too thin,” Horwath says. “They’re trying to do too many things at one time. This is typically because they don’t have clear strategies, which act as filters to limit the team’s scope of focus. Without the trade-offs that come from strong strategies, everything becomes important, killing the team’s morale. We see people getting promoted from a manager to a director level, but they’re still leading at a tactical level. They lack the knowledge, skills and tools to see the big picture, and because they haven’t developed their strategic thinking capabilities, they fall back into their tactic-heavy, check-the-box planning routine. As Tesla CEO Elon Musk said, ‘The problem is that at a lot of big companies, process becomes a substitute for thinking.’”
Use strategy conversations to drive success Recently, the Strategic Thinking Institute partnered with Chief Learning Officer for the 2017 CLO Strategy Skills survey, asking organizations about the state of strategic thinking among their leaders. Survey respondents gave
the impression of organizations that were generally unified in their desire to teach strategic thinking and devote resources to strategic thinking initiatives. The big gap identified was the fact that only 32 percent of respondents said they teach their managers how to facilitate strategy conversations (Figure 2). This lack of effective strategy conversations manifests itself most prominently in silos, where different functional areas
How to facilitate strategy conversations
32%
How to recognize the difference between strategy and tactics
33%
How to build buy-in for the strategy within your …
45%
How to use strategy to prioritize tasks
53%
Figure 2: Elements included in strategy education at organizations Source: 2017 CLO Strategy Skills survey
aren’t aware of one another’s strategies. They don’t know how to lead effective strategy conversations and completely miss the opportunity for alignment. “Unlike other skill sets we try to nurture in the organization, the return on investment for strategic thinking is very tangible,” Horwath says. “Strategic thinking leads to effective strategy conversations that generate insights, creating new value for customers. When organizations value strategic thinking, typically you see greater profitability, increased sales, improved productivity and strategic direction which should lead to competitive advantage.” “Studies have shown that the No. 1 cause of business failure and bankruptcy is bad strategy,” Horwath says. “When you think about the pace of change in most industries and the increasing level of competition due to digital factors and changing business models, strategic thinking is no longer a nice to have, it’s a must have.” Visit www.strategyskills.com for more information and to read the full results of this research.
The Strategic Thinking Institute is dedicated to helping managers at all levels develop their strategic thinking and planning capabilities to grow profits and create competitive advantage. Founded by New York Times bestselling author on strategy Rich Horwath, STI has worked with world class companies in the U.S., Europe and Asia-Pacific to build enterprise-wide strategic capabilities, facilitate strategy conversations, and set strategic direction. Visit www.StrategySkills.com for free resources on strategic thinking and planning, including white papers, videos, podcasts and infographics.
industryinsights Beyond the Transactional How the financial services industry should embrace next-gen learning to get ahead of digital disruption
By Tim Harnett
When ATMs were first introduced, many predicted bank tellers would disappear, as transactional tasks could now be completed by machines. Yet between 1970 and 2010, the number of tellers increased — even as the number of ATMs grew.¹ Tellers’ marketing and interpersonal skills became vital to the job, as they completed tasks that ATMs couldn’t.²
re-evaluate and retrain their workforce. “The pace of technological change is driving a skills explosion, with the shelf-life of many skills shortening,” Auger says. “At the same time, AI and other technologies are disrupting traditional skills and even jobs. Staying ahead of the curve on this disruptive force is critical to every business and every employee.”
The need for critical skills continues to challenge the financial services sector. As blockchain technology threatens to further automate transactions and processes, employee responsibilities will shift. With the ubiquity of smartphone apps that handle financial transactions automatically, organizations will need to develop their employees differently to effectively serve a more knowledgeable customer base.
Sarah Nicholl, director of customer success for D2L Corp., agrees. “Next-gen learning platforms excel in their ability to generate and curate content. In the early days of online learning it took time to deploy a new initiative, and often learning priorities had shifted by the time the program was in place. But with next-gen learning platforms, you can develop and deploy content quickly. These agile learning platforms can adapt to how people learn and integrate feedback across the organization, which helps build employee engagement.”
“The effects of artificial intelligence augmenting what people do with technology, coupled with the speed of change are all challenges,” says Jeremy Auger, chief strategy officer for D2L Corp. “In five years there will be new skills sets people will need, so addressing that skills shortage and supporting your organization are top priorities.” Fintech can help remove inefficient business practices, but established organizations will need new learning methods to stay ahead of digital disruption and shifting customer loyalties. This is where next-gen learning platforms come in. They feature adaptive learning paths, with video, micro- and social-learning tools that augment how people naturally learn.
Understand the challenges Digital disruption from blockchain and other technologies permeates every industry, and financial services are no different. Yet these challenges give financial services organizations the opportunity to
Recognize the need for development More employees are concerned about their own development as they move through the job market. Organizations that respond to this need for development will have an edge in hiring top talent. “Some organizations are using preboarding, MOOCs or even philanthropy to attract this new generation of workers,” says Nicholl. “By using preboarding to train potential recruits, learning and development teams can impact recruiting and retention in ways they weren’t doing before.” With financial services unemployment hovering around 2.7 percent (far below the national average),³ organizations will need every tool at their disposal to attract and recruit top talent.
Embrace technology These days, all financial services employees need to be tech-savvy. As customer knowledge increases and new fintech models bring transactional processes
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direct to customers’ phones, organizations will need to upskill their current employees to prepare them for the digital disruption already happening in the industry. “Employees need to be better informed and able to answer deeper questions than before,” Nicholl says. “By reskilling employees, organizations can engage with customers at a very high level.” Leveraging technology and employees’ familiarity with it will help with reskilling. “Recognize that many of your incoming workers are digital natives,” Nicholl says. “They’re very comfortable searching for a video or tutorial whenever they need information. By curating your content on a next-gen learning platform, you can push technology to any device and ensure your employees always have the right information available when they need it.”
All organizations in the financial services sector — from banks to investment firms — face immense disruption. While today’s workforce may call for new learning and development delivery methods, the competencies themselves won’t change. “The knowledge people will need for their jobs will be different, but the approach will be the same,” Nicholl says. “What problems are you trying to solve? Basic skills we’ve always needed will be more important going forward: employees will need critical thinking skills and a host of core competencies to respond to changing markets. Next-gen learning platforms give employees just-in-time resources to keep them engaged and relevant, which in turn translates to better organizational outcomes.” Learn how D2L can help you execute a next-gen learning strategy at d2l.com.
Bessen, J. (2015). Learning by Doing: The Real Connection between Innovation, Wages and Wealth. Yale University Press. Pethokoukis, J. (2016). “What the story of ATMs and bank tellers reveals about the ‘rise of the robots’ and jobs. AEI. 3 BLS (2017). Industries at a Glance: Finance and Insurance: NAICS 52. 1 2
industryinsights For increased performance, make sure that leadership is everybody’s business in your organization. By Leslie Tedgui
Describing leadership is not an easy task, and definitions can vary depending on who we ask. Is leadership a quality, an attribute, an attitude, a job title? A lot of the trouble we face in finding the best definition for leadership comes from an important confusion we tend to make. It’s essential to distinguish between holding a leadership position and demonstrating leadership skills. Organizations assign leadership positions to selected individuals: this means that they receive a mandate from the company to lead others, and are recognized as such. Only a small percentage of employees can hold a leadership position, and they are usually the top executives of their organization. However, any employee can demonstrate leadership skills, regardless of seniority, job title, place in the hierarchy or even management experience. To understand this divide, we need to start looking at leadership as a daily practice, not a job title. In the words of Chris Worley, it’s essential to think of leadership “as an organization capability, rather than as an individual trait or position in the hierarchy”. Making this fundamental distinction can bring a lot of clarity to
“Learning professionals have to look for insight everywhere to stay relevant and to make sure that the training they provide aligns with the bottom line.“
organizations aiming to develop and train their leaders. It is both essential and beneficial to have as many employees as possible demonstrate leadership skills; it is a key driver for increased performance. Employees with leadership skills will be more engaged in their work, and will actively contribute to the organization’s bottom line. They will demonstrate more vision, more adaptability and increased innovation capabilities. They will also be more determined to complete their tasks and more considerate of others. Overall, employees with strong leadership capabilities are better performers, and organizations must strive to foster and develop this trait in as many employees as possible, from the bottom up and across every department. Additionally, they must keep on developing the ones that currently hold leadership positions, to make sure they continue to grow their skill set and that they keep making meaningful contributions to the organization.
Leadership development has to be a shared responsibility between L&D and the rest of the organization Organizations have everything to gain from having employees with strong leadership skills; there are countless studies, both empirical and statistical, that show the correlation between successful organizations and powerful leadership. The mission to develop more and more employees to become and stay great leaders will never be over – and this is why L&D departments have such a crucial role to play. They have to bring their expertise to make sure that leadership development remains a priority and that leadership training is accessible for everyone in the organization. However, they can’t do it alone. In order to stay relevant, L&D teams need to engage with all departments across the organization, including business leaders
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Organization with high leadership maturity typically achieve higher outcomes on financial, business and talent metrics. Bersin, 2016
and learners. Our business environment and the way people learn are both changing at an unprecedented pace. To stay relevant and to make sure that the training they provide aligns with the bottom line, learning professionals have to look for insight everywhere. Managers are a key piece of the puzzle: they can have a specific understanding of when and how their teams want to learn, which can prove valuable to L&D specialists designing learning programs. Most importantly, they face business challenges every day, and can provide a unique perspective on the skills that their teams most need to develop. There is still a lot of work to do to achieve this ideal of collaboration: L&D professionals are much more likely than their business counterparts to see the value in leadership development programs and to view them as a strategic priority for the organization (Harvard Business Review, 2016).
So how can we solve this perception gap? A crucial step for L&D professionals is to showcase the strategic value of their programs and their contribution to organizational results. To achieve this, the L&D function must strive to measure effectively the impact of learning on the bottom line, and communicate these results regularly, across the whole organization. Only then will they increase their credibility and get the buy-in of their business counterparts. These efforts will pay off: by co-constructing learning programs, organizations will be able to develop their leaders’ skills at the right moment and in ways that modern learners will relate to. This virtuous circle will enable every employee to think about the leadership practices they can adopt, and convince them that they don’t need a specific job title to lead.
industryinsights Learning Priorities Benchmark: Leveling Up the Workforce New research from American Public University (APU) shows where organizations plan to focus their attention in the coming year
By Tim Harnett
According to the World Economic Forum “The Future of Jobs” Report, by 2020, more than a third of the most sought-after core skills sets will consist of those that are not yet considered critical to the job today, such as persuasion and emotional intelligence.¹ These essential business skills — commonly referred to as soft skills, which include strong social and collaboration skills — will be necessary components of any future successful L&D initiative. Many organizations are unsatisfied with their current programs. As they look to implement new initiatives, they’ll want to ensure that any new program is measurable and can demonstrate a provable return on investment. What is the industry benchmark for learning leaders? What are CLOs’ successes and challenges? Earlier this year, American Public University School for Continuing Education and Professional Studies partnered with Chief Learning Officer for the “2017 Learning Priorities” survey to establish an industry benchmark of the challenges and needs for today’s CLOs and learning leaders. More than 400 survey participants shared their thoughts with us.
Critical Priorities
said it was critical for non-managerial employees, and a little more than 1 in 5 said it was critical for executives (Figure 1). High turnover could explain the difference. A quarter of respondents said non-managerial turnover was high at their organizations, while 1 in 10 say manager turnover is high. Compare this to only 7 percent of respondents experiencing high executive turnover. What then are the next steps leaders should take? Figure 1: Critical priority: who needs learning the most next year? 48%
35%
21%
Executives
Managers
What are current organizational challenges and what content is considered most critical for addressing those challenges? Successful learning programs require a clear vision, with established priorities and accountability systems to ensure success. Additionally, many survey respondents identified the following business objectives, which the learning and development strategy directly impacts: increasing workplace performance and innovation, improving organizational culture, attracting and retaining talent and being an employer of choice.
Budget Allocation
Mid-level managers need learning the most
Leadership development
Since leadership development is the most critical need for organizations, we went further and asked where the need was for learning. Should learning be focused on executives? Mid-level managers? Non-managerial employees? Nearly half of all respondents said that the need was critical at the manager level. More than a third
Non-managerial employees
When asked about content that is most critical for addressing these challenges, one area stood out: leadership development. By more than a two-to-one margin, respondents identified leadership development as not just a critical priority, but in many ways the critical
Figure 2: Areas that will see an increase in budget allocation this year 39.1% 31.7%
High potential development Core competencies
26.1%
Onboarding
25.5%
Technical skills
25.2%
Soft skills
23.7%
priority for their organizations. No other initiative comes close to being a priority for addressing issues and challenges (Figure 2).
Recommendations for action As we enter a rapidly transformative employment landscape, the capability to effectively prepare for future skill demands is increasingly essential for organizations to fully take advantage of the opportunities offered by this trend and to limit undesired outcomes. Given our objective to help empower CLOs and learning leaders to meet their organizational learning and outcome goals, this white paper finds three areas that are imperative for organizational resilience: L&D initiatives, Metrics, and Learning Programs. For further details, please download the White Paper: www.StudyAtAPU.com/Solutions. Given the rapid pace of change, skills demand is evolving, as is the changing skills requirement necessary to perform tasks. Because this is happening in nearly all industries, upskilling and reskilling needs to be equally
1
adaptable, measurable and agile, and the evolution of learning needs to change at the same pace. Moreover, because all levels of management are responsible for effectively driving organizational culture and performance, leadership development becomes even more critical. Figure 3: Leadership development's unmet needs Communication and feedback
45.4%
Employee engagement
43.9%
Organizational transformation
43.3%
Leading strategically
36.6%
Leading high-performance teams
36.0%
Leading innovation
32.6%
Interested in learning more? To read the full results of this research please visit www.StudyAtAPU.com/Solutions.
(January, 2016). World Economic Forum The Future of Jobs: Employment, Skills, and Workforce Strategy for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Report
Maximize your strategic workforce development and competitiveness while positively impacting your people and bottom line. APU offers more than 200 accredited online degree and certificate programs to choose from, classes that start monthly, and run 8 and 16 weeks. As the only five-time recipient of the Online Learning Consortium (OLC) Award for best practices, we’ve remained true to our mission of keeping college affordable and accessible. Learn more about the benefits of becoming an educational partner with American Public University. Visit us at: www.StudyAtAPU.com/ Solutions. American Public University. Respected. Affordable. Online.
ADAPTING to Adaptive Learning Even small and midsized organizations can harness the power of adaptive learning to achieve big results. BY A ARTI SHARMA AND BOB SZOSTAK
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orporations, especially large ones, increasingly recognize the potential of artificial intelligence, cloud computing, big data analysis, apps and robots, as well as augmented and virtual reality-based solutions to solve complex organizational challenges. Amid such technological revolution, higher bars for talent and leadership development are being set within corporations and across the learning and development industry. Pressure is mounting on learning and development professionals to continually innovate, design and develop personalized learning that caters to each individual’s learning aptitudes, preferences and performance; maximizes learning impact; and brings learners to peak performance in the shortest possible time. Corporate learning leaders are looking to the tech-
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nology to keep pace with these demands. They hope to enhance each individual’s learning experience and boost achievement of business objectives through high-tech, machine-driven approaches that enable learning and development departments to develop and implement smarter, customized learning and development. With these hopes in mind, the L&D industry is attempting to shift toward learning that is online, webbased and mobile as opposed to traditional face-to-face learning sessions. While it remains the largest delivery methodology, the amount of instructor-led and classroom training has indeed dropped from 47 percent to 41 percent in the past three years, according to Training magazine’s “State of the Industry” reports. But as learning organizations pursue technology-driven transformation they risk falling prey to the assumption that organizations can only change
through technology. The solution is not just technological or financial.
The Case of Adaptive Learning Adaptive learning is one online approach that is being looked at as part of the solution to the learning and development challenges confronting learners and corporate performance. Adaptive learning is the customization of the design and delivery of learning based on each learner’s individual learning needs and performance in real time. This approach is built on research that shows different people have different aptitudes, skills and orientations to learn when exposed to the same content and learning environments. By offering personalized learning, adaptive learning platforms recognize and embrace the diversity that is part of any learning ecosystem.
A learning ecosystem is made up of people, technologies, processes and physical resources. On the people side, there are learners, learning solution architects, instructors, subject matter experts, instructional designers, graphic developers, programmers and administrators who develop and manage the learning ecosystem. The technological component of a learning ecosystem includes the learning management systems, authoring tools, learning record systems, content management systems, internet, computers, telecommunication tools as well as mobile-based platforms and apps. The processes include training needs analysis, curriculum design and development, course delivery, training administration, evaluation and financial management. Physical resources refer to the quality, quantity and access to content, devices, locations, classrooms, paper-based learning tools as well as factors like travel and weather. Chief Learning Officer • January/February 2018 • www.CLOmedia.com
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Yet even within a single corporation, a learning ecosystem cannot be considered a homogenous entity. As different learners attend the same learning session, they come with different foundational knowledge and experience on a topic. They learn and engage with each other as well as with their instructor differently and with varying professional and emotional intelligence and competencies, as psychologist Daniel Goleman has noted. Their diverse educational, professional and personal experiences and learning preferences impact how they approach, understand, assimilate and apply the same learning content and at what pace.
The Technocentric View of Innovation The adaptive learning platforms that have proliferated over the past few years address the promise of adaptive learning through a technocentric viewpoint. These platforms draw upon and integrate cognitive psychology, instruction and learning, statistical modeling and software programming theories and techniques. Learner profiles are generated scientifically and performance baselines and assessment criteria are established. Multiple learning pathways and decision trees that are flexible and uniquely responsive to different learners’ knowledge, skills and competency levels are designed. Learner performances are captured and the corresponding data is analyzed in real time, triggering rapid customization of the content and creation of unique learning pathways. As such, adaptive learning platforms are an inclusive learning medium. Despite how advanced or preliminary their knowledge, skill sets or competencies, each learner can theoretically achieve the same learning objectives while taking different routes to get there. Learners receive customized content, personalized pathways and ongoing assessment and feedback, continually adapted in real-time based on what the learner already knows or does not know and on demonstrated mastery of the course material. Data analysis techniques, algorithm-based learning models and AI have made adaptive learning platforms a reality for organizations. However, adaptive learning platforms are not a new development nor has the application of such platforms been restricted to corporate learning ecosystems. For more than a decade, the education industry has incorporated adaptive learning approaches. Nonprofit organizations including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have played a critical role in encouraging adoption of adaptive learning within the public education system. K-12 schools, colleges and universities in the United States have been using and experimenting with adaptive learning platforms to personalize courses and lesson plans for their students. These approaches contribute to the widespread belief that technology is the prime enabler of adaptive 34 Chief Learning Officer • January/February 2018 • www.CLOmedia.com
learning. The discourse around adaptive learning within and outside the corporate learning community has therefore mainly centered on technological innovation. This technocentric recognition and popularization of adaptive learning can drive an implicit and incorrect assumption: That organizations can implement adaptive learning solutions only if they invest in innovative technological platforms. For many organizations with limited resources, that prospect can seem out of reach. According to the 2016 “Training Industry Report,” there is a tenfold difference in the average learning budget for large (10,000+ employees) and midsize (1,0009,999 employees) organizations. That’s not to mention that for organizations of any size, there is considerable pressure to improve results with existing infrastructure. The fourfold difference between the average budget size between midsize organizations and small companies (100-999 employees) exacerbates this pressure for those organizations that comprise the overwhelming majority of the learning landscape.
Limitations of the Technocentric View While there is legitimacy in adopting the technocentric view of adaptive learning, such an approach is limiting. It confines the opportunities of adopting adaptive learning solutions to only those corporations that have the financial power to afford those technological platforms. The hurdles to adopting adaptive learning platforms are not just financial, though.
The popularity of adaptive learning can drive an incorrect assumption: Organizations can implement it only if they invest in innovative technology platforms. A technocentric view downplays the challenges of human engagement that drive any successful learning and development mission. In this view, corporate learning leaders have to be willing to cede control of their learning to an outside organization who owns the proprietary adaptive learning technology. They depend on external vendors and consultants for specialties like machine learning, artificial intelligence, software programming and cognitive psychology to provide expertise in designing and implementing adaptive learning.
So unless the corporation has in-house expertise to independently understand, operate and manage adaptive learning platforms, the process of demystifying adaptive learning and making learners adapt to it can be a resource-intensive change-management process in itself. Moreover, companies may need to refine the technological platform based on their particular context and operating and instructional environment, if that is even possible within the platform. The technocentric view also downplays the importance of social innovation. Corporations can use existing resources within their traditional learning ecosystems to harness the true potential of adaptive learning, as noted by Thomas Arnett, a senior research fellow for education at Clayton Christensen Institute. New windows of learning and development innovation would open up as corporations started rethinking and reviewing adaptive learning as a philosophy rather than as a technology.
Adaptive Principle as a Philosophy Using the philosophical underpinnings of adaptive learning, learning leaders for small, midsize and large businesses can create personalized learning solutions that engage and empower employees to achieve business outcomes. Existing technologies, resources, processes and infrastructures can be creatively utilized to create adaptive learning opportunities. Indeed, traditional ecosystems should be considered adaptive learning systems. Take the example of instructor-led or classroom training. Given that many subjects and performance objectives are best conveyed through person-to-person interaction, it is unlikely that all companies will fully transition to online training in the near future. Adaptive learning principles can be applied to traditional instructor-led sessions without breaking the bank and without radically modernizing existing training delivery media. Progressive organizations can take advantage of the affordability and portability of content delivery and connectivity to transform classrooms from traditional didactic environments to more adaptive ones. Operating within the existing infrastructure, the artifacts of traditional classroom learning such as instructor-led lectures, PowerPoint slides and binders of materials can be transitioned to a flexible interactive system that makes the classroom experience more adaptive. The system includes a closed Wi-Fi system for the classroom, interactive e-books, leader-led learning, leaderboard gaming, electronic knowledge checkpoints and Level 1 evaluations. Such an environment enables real-time sampling of students and allows interactive questions to be inserted into the teaching materials. As the instructor asks a question, students respond on their tablets. The instructor then views the results instantly. This capability is being used to sample a learner’s knowledge before or after a discussion topic and has
New windows of innovation open up as corporations start rethinking and reviewing adaptive learning as a philosophy rather than as a technology. proven extremely valuable in gauging student comprehension during instruction. Regular knowledge checks can determine student comprehension and if more detailed instruction is appropriate. Electronic checkpoints and daily quizzes test comprehension of topics taught the previous day. Results are provided to the instructors immediately for remediation. Results are also reviewed after each class to identify where curriculum should be adjusted and modules changed to improve comprehension. Through proper design, organizations also can use their existing LMS to deliver students personalized learning experiences in areas beyond compliance-based offerings. Modular design, test-in/test-out, pre-assessments, structured branching and structured repetition are all less elegant but effective means to provide students with a customized or adaptive learning experience. Given what organizations have already spent on learning technology, proper investment in the utility of the current infrastructure could yield the greatest nearterm results. This requires organizations to devote time to analysis and design to balance the needs of the learner with the capabilities of existing infrastructure. While many types of learning can be adapted to machine learning, not all learning should be. This does not absolve learning professionals from still offering the most effective and efficient path for learners. Adaptive learning should not be considered a privilege of global corporations that have the financial wherewithal to purchase and implement it. With these principles, the existing learning ecosystem in any organization can be optimally utilized to design and deliver learning that maximizes performance and growth. Any company can be an adaptive learning company, not just those that have additional capital to buy and implement adaptive learning technology platforms. CLO Aarti Sharma is a corporate strategist with nearly 20 years of experience in advising global corporations. Bob Szostak is a program manager for Raytheon Professional Services. They can be reached at editor@CLOmedia.com. Chief Learning Officer • January/February 2018 • www.CLOmedia.com
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Delivering development that sparks innovation takes more than just the latest technology. It demands a reimagined user experience that gets inside the mind and daily working life of learners — how and when they learn, what they expect and want and why. Discover how relevant, elegant, effective learning gets done in the digital age at CLO Symposium18.
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Technology and globalization continue to transform corporate education, not only altering the content, context and mechanisms of learning but also the experience of learning itself — how people learn, when they learn, what they expect and want and why. Smart workforce development executives recognize the need to reimagine learning if they hope to deliver the results required. At the Spring CLO Symposium18, we’ll examine the forces driving corporate educators to reimagine the learning experience and the most effective ways to remain relevant in this rapidly changing environment.
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Developed and driven by the Chief Learning Officer editorial staff, the agenda is perfectly aligned with the pressing issues of the day and the imminent changes coming tomorrow, including the continuing evolution of the chief learning officer role. Features include content-rich and curated sessions, speakers unique to the marketplace and a deeper, more executive-focused professional development experience.
Keynotes — The latest thinking on leading strong and driving change from best-selling authors, innovators and thought leaders. Workshops — Industry executives share real-world insights into how they deployed learning to solve business challenges in their organizations. Voice of the CLO — Words of wisdom and practical advice from top industry veterans who understand the pressures of evolving leadership.
Power Hour Talks — Quick paced storytelling sessions presented by learning practitioners to showcase innovative learning initiatives in their organizations. Panel Discussions — Lively debates deliver knowledgeable dialogue and unique perspectives on topics of keen interest to L&D leaders.
Networking Receptions
— Plentiful opportunities to converse and collaborate facilitating important connections that can last a career.
“I gained great perspective about how learning challenges can be quite similar across a variety of businesses and was able to connect with other leaders in the space.” — Danielle O’Hare Talent Development, LucasFilm
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3030 Holiday Drive Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316 Hotel Reservations 954-525-4000 marriottharborbeach.com There’s no need to reimagine the perfect meeting location when you’re at this beautiful resort and spa. It’s already the ideal backdrop for a wonderful experience. Between meetings and networking, breathe in the crisp ocean air from the private beach or immerse yourself in tropical tranquility on a walk through the grounds. Take a refreshing dip in the lagoon pool or take to the Atlantic for adventurous jet skiing or snorkeling. Then enjoy the comfort and amenities of your graciously appointed room or pamper yourself at the full-service spa. Conveniently located with easy access to Fort Lauderdale Airport and other area attractions. Special CLO Symposium18 Hotel Rate A discounted hotel rate of $289 plus tax per night has been reserved for CLO Symposium18 attendees. Please identify yourself as part of the CLO Symposium group to ensure the special rate, based on availability. Hotel cut-off date: Thursday, March 1, 2018 Chief Learning Officer • January/February 2018 • www.CLOmedia.com
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CHANGING HOW PEOPLE FEEL ABOUT CHANGE
Resilience training techniques can improve engagement and help people overcome their fears about change.
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BY CASEY MULQUEEN
hange is everywhere and learning executives are right in the middle of it. The C-suite is calling for faster and more dramatic change to keep the organization competitive. But employees are experiencing change fatigue or worse, change revolt. A 2017 report from the American Psychological Association says that “Americans who reported recent or current change were almost three times more likely to say they don’t trust their employer and more than three times as likely to say they intend to seek employment outside the organization within the next year.” CEOs recognize a simple fact: Organizations need to change to grow and even just survive. Global consulting firm KPMG regularly surveys the CEOs of major companies around the world. Their 2017 report highlights disruption as a major focus and concern. According to the report, 74 percent of the nearly 1,300 respondents said “their company is striving to be the disruptor in its sector.” Half expect a major disruption in their segment within three years. That leaves us with a problem. Change is needed for survival. But people hate change. They question and resist it. Learning executives are stuck in the middle. They’re charged with supporting a corporate strategy that employees loathe. That’s probably why many learning professionals feel both embattled and ill-prepared for this change mandate. As a 2017 report by the Hackett Group titled “The CHRO Agenda” Chief Learning Officer • January/February 2018 • www.CLOmedia.com
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Corporate Yoga: A Vehicle for Emotional Health Lyndsey Morash was working long hours at a highstress job in Boston in 2012 and simultaneously taking classes to become a certified yoga instructor. “After I finished my yoga training, I knew that I wanted to marry the two worlds: the corporate world and the wellness world,” said Morash. She founded Chasing Nirvana Yoga, a mobile yoga studio that brings wellness to corporate offices. According to Aon’s 2016 “Consumer Health Mindset Study,” 83 percent of the 2,320 consumers surveyed said they needed support for emotional well-being in wellness programs. Bringing in things like yoga, mindfulness, meditation and resiliency training can help employees and organizations with emotional health, said Stephanie Pronk, a senior vice president who leads Aon’s U.S. National Health Transformation Team. “Some of that is demand,” Pronk said. “Some of it is recognition that the old tried-and-true approach to emotional health is not necessarily working. What can we do differently?” Morash’s niche, yoga, is appealing to employers for several reasons. First, she and her team work with interested companies in the limited space they have to host classes. Second, participants don’t need much equipment. Third, they can get creative with pricing options. A company can pay for the whole class, interested employees can split the cost or the employer and employee can share the cost. “Larger companies have the ability or the funds to put in a gym or use a management company to manage these things,” said Morash. One of Morash’s clients is the Pine Street Inn, an emergency shelter for homeless and displaced people. Last year the inn put together a formal wellness program and yoga was one of the top options employees sought, said Jayne Hamilton, manager of benefits and employment at the Boston shelter. The participants “look forward to it because it’s a way for them to reduce stress and find balance in their day,” said Hamilton.
— Andie Burjek This article has been adapted from an article originally published in the January 2017 issue of Workforce, Chief Learning Officer’s sister publication.
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reported, “most HR organizations remain behind the curve in addressing issues central to achieving … enterprise goals including implementing organizational change.”
Change the Way People Feel About Change It’s not actually change that people hate. It’s the way they respond to and feel about change. In fact, that negative change response is completely natural. People have been conditioned to fear change over thousands of years of evolution. For early humans, that fear response was a matter of survival in a dangerous world. While the threats of today’s workplace are different, people still have an automatic and negative response to anything that is out of the normal. Fortunately, because the fear of change is biological and based on evolution it can be addressed with education. Teaching employees about their response to change and providing practical strategies to overcome it works. We can actually rewire their brains to accept and embrace change. Organizations increasingly recognize that achieving the promised benefits of change requires developing the resilience skills of their employees. Resilience is a way of combating the stressors at work and in life. It’s a capacity that can be developed and can help employees deal with adversity and change in a way that not only allows them to bounce back but also to bounce forward. Resilience in the face of change can help them grow and improve from the challenges and stresses they face.
Resilience is a capacity that can be developed and can help employees deal with adversity and change in a way that allows them to bounce back but also bounce forward. Help People Recognize and Overcome Negative Biases Modern brain science helps explain why people naturally respond negatively to change. The human brain has both logical and emotional systems. In the face of change, the emotional part takes over and sends alerts that cause stress. Adrenaline and other stress hormones are released and negative emotions dominate thinking. This anxiety causes people to imagine the worst. They see threats where none exist and interpret events in negative and self-limiting ways. They are unable to optimize individual and organizational performance. In psychology terms, this is known as the negativity bias. While the emotional brain is powerful and can respond quickly to undermine thinking, the logical brain is actually more powerful when people have developed resilience skills. It’s what helps them be rational and solve problems. They can use it exert control over the emotional brain; to identify the triggers of stress and rein in the natural, emotional response. Resilience skills can help people beat negativity bias.
The Elements of Resilience Resilience is comprised of several characteristics built on three core elements: how we take in and filter information; how we act in response to challenges; and how we interact with others. Learning executives can improve organizational performance by developing the resilience skills of their employees and leaders. Some of these skills include: Personal Responsibility: The belief that successes or failures at work are determined by one’s talents and motivations rather than external forces such as luck or good timing. People who show personal responsibility are likely to engage in proactive behaviors and persist in the face of adversity. Realistic Optimism: The ability to see the world in a positive yet grounded way. Realistic optimists recognize that things don’t always go as planned but maintain focus and work toward the desired outcome. Self Composure: The ability to manage stress and remain calm under pressure. Simply recognizing stress triggers is a good start in maintaining productivity. Composure helps people move forward productively when faced with change. Problem Solving: The ability to solve problems is crucial in helping people identify solutions to situations others might find overwhelming or overly complex. Goal Orientation: The tendency to set appropriate goals, monitor progress and adjust accordingly. Courageous Communication: The ability to deal with others in a candid and appropriate way even in challenging circumstances. People who can effectively initiate and manage difficult conversations elevate their influence and are more productive.
Techniques for Increased Resilience There are specific techniques that can be learned and used to improve resilience. Use Active Thinking: The emotional brain has a tendency to take over in times of stress or change. That takeover can cause resistance or sabotage results. People often make false assumptions, focus on the worst aspects or ignore the positives. A more appropriate response is to slow down and actively challenge those automatic thoughts with active thinking. In the face of a challenge, pause to think about things in a rational way. What are the facts? How have things worked out previously? What can be learned from previous situations? By exercising active thinking, people flex their logical brain to counteract the emotional brain and are able to move forward in a positive way. Practice Mindfulness: Life is hectic and distractions are commonplace, especially at work. As a result, people spend an inordinate amount of time reliving the past and worrying about the future. Most of these thoughts are negative and unhelpful.
For early humans, that fear response was a matter of survival in a dangerous world. While the threats of today’s workplace are different, people still have an automatic and negative response to anything that is out of the normal. Mindfulness is the practice of focusing attention and awareness on the present moment, without judging actions as either good or bad. Mindfulness can be developed in a number of ways including through breathing techniques, adjusting schedules for better focus, meditation, exercise or periodically disconnecting from technology. Set Appropriate Goals: Another way to build resilience is through setting appropriate goals. Goal setting focuses attention and helps people persist through challenges. Research shows that ambitious but specific goals are powerful drivers of behavior. This again has to do with how the brain works. When people set a goal, the brain starts to feel like they’ve already achieved it. It becomes a part of their being and helps them work toward accomplishment. But keep in mind that goals should reflect specific actions or process steps, not just an outcome. For example, a manager shouldn’t just set a goal of improving her relationship with her team. Rather, she should set goals such as meeting weekly with each team member or providing regular feedback on a project. These process goals work to support the desired outcome goal. Change is inevitable. Resilience can change the way people and organizations deal with it. With learning executives caught in the middle, they can benefit personally from resilience skills and help their people become more resilient. The result is an organization that can change for the better. CLO Casey Mulqueen is senior director of learning and development for TRACOM Group and author of “The Social Style & Versatility Facilitator Handbook.” He can be reached at editor@CLOmedia.com. Chief Learning Officer • January/February 2018 • www.CLOmedia.com
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ZOOMING IN on Purpose-Driven Microlearning Emerging technology is only as good the purpose to which it is applied. Two L&D practitioners from Avanade explain how they take a purposeful approach to microlearning. BY AMY BL ADEN SHAT TO AND JONYCE RUIZ
It’s not surprising to see L&D professionals hanging their hats on microlearning to address the needs of the “overwhelmed, distracted, and impatient employee” that was introduced in the now infamous 2014 Meet the Modern Learner report by Bersin by Deloitte. In that report, analysts pointed out that today’s learner now has less time for development in an already overcrowded work week. That challenge is compounded by a diminished attention span. The result has been the rise of the mobile-friendly, just-in-time, searchable “training” index of lessons meant to be inhaled in less than 10 minutes. Microlearning is how these smaller chunks of learning have become known. Using the principles of brain science, well-crafted microlearning breaks down content into bite-sized, digestible pieces of information designed to engage, motivate and facilitate learner retention. These chunks of learning, generally five to eight minutes in length, are commonly presented as videos, GIFs or even gamified elements that transfer discrete, individual concepts. Compared to traditional training microlearning is 50 percent cheaper, 300 percent faster to develop and drives 20 percent better retention, according to a 2016 analysis conducted by Jobenomics, an independent job advocacy group. That said, despite its growing popularity, some warn we should limit how we apply it. “The core issues with the microlearning craze are much bigger than the tiny shadow it casts,” said Kris Girrell, executive coach from Innerworks and consultant for a mobile leadership app. Girrell noted microlearning is useful in transferring simple, concrete concepts but by its fragmented nature is less than ideal for teaching complex ideas or building performance over time. As most of the skills we cultivate in business are neither simple nor concrete, microlearning can only go so far as it is currently packaged. Connecting the Dots Through Curation Microlearning is not a panacea. But some psychologists like Girrell re-imagine these bite-size snacks within a deeper learning context. The key is not to focus on the microlearning tool but on how practitioners can curate content within the tool. A standard microlearning platform is typically released as a self-directed YouTube-like searchable database. Often the amount of content and the interface with that content can be overwhelming. The technology aids in filtering, aggregating and locating information but without an overarching structure the method is random and bottom-up rather than business-driven and top-down. In the case of microlearning, a change in the way L&D professionals curate content and guide users can dramatically alter the learning experience. Purpose-driven curation, touted by professionals such as Elliot Masie, means starting with the end in mind, aligning critical skills to company strategies and breaking them into component lessons which themselves are comprised of other smaller and more basic concepts. Traditional educators have always been challenged to streamline complex concepts into easier to digest parts as well as to create multiple learning modalities to suit different preferences. Curated differently, microlearning can be a great tool to provide easily interchangeable, customizable building blocks within this larger learning context. On the surface it may seem counterintuitive. If we connect the dots aren’t we stripping away the very nature of self-contained and self-directed microlearning? That’s not necessarily the case. As a case example, our company, Avanade, a global professional IT services company, is experimenting with purpose-driven microlearning in an industry changing so rapidly that traditionally developed training can become obsolete before it even hits the market. Within our just-in-time tool featuring bite-sized, expert-taught video lessons, a dedicated curator has designed multiple intersecting pathways, connections and entry points allowing users to navigate the content based on their own needs, availability and learning styles but ultimately still connected to corporate strategy. Content for Users About Business There are a number of tools on the market that can be used for purpose-driven microlearning, ranging from specialized microlearning products like Grovo to peer-to-peer video creation and assessment tools like Practice. Many learning platforms such as Axonify, Degreed and Pathgather are compatible with microlearning and most traditional learning management systems have plug-ins to make microlearning content available. Collaboration and communication tools like Yammer and even Twitter can be paired with free online resources like TED to create curated microlearning experience. After months of research and discussion about what tool to offer, Avanade chose Big Think Edge, a video-based web portal that features interviews, multimedia presentations and roundtable discussions with well-known speakers in a variety of fields including Virgin founder Richard Branson, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Harvard psychology professor Amy Cuddy and former Procter & Gamble CEO A.G. Lafley. The belief was that the choice of speakers ranging from professors to professional basketball players would engage Avanade’s diverse employees who include both millennials as well as long-tenured technologists. Upon entering the platform, users can choose specific mini-courses that currently include topics like design thinking, executive presence, and leading the self. Alternatively, Avanade users can choose a separate set of learning “pathways” titled Consulting Excellence, Managing for 2020, Career Adviser Growth Hacks (micro-coaching), or Avanade’s self-service Competency Library. Mini-courses are organized as progressive sets of modules and often attended by cohorts of individuals whereas pathways are a series of related content presented together in no specific order. Both mini-courses and pathways include applied learner guides with just-in-time activities, reflection prompts and an interactive board for posting comments and hosting discussions. There are many choices in how and what to learn but the aim is not to make those choices overwhelming by applying a business meta-framework that overlays the mini-courses and topical learning paths. At Avanade, we rolled out the content most closely aligned to key business initiatives first with a calendar of planned content based on the evolving needs of the company. Additionally, we try to release content that integrates with other L&D programs to create best practice, blended curricula on as many fronts as possible. In this way, Avanade users can access customized, just-in-time material while also ensuring they receive the right learning at the right time based on changing business needs. The first pilot of the Design Thinking mini-course typifies how curators identify and time the content release. The learning and development team worked with the Avanade growth and strategy team to introduce the content to all of Avanade, starting with a competency-based pre-work program for a high-potential leadership program for directors. Anecdotal feedback was positive, with some participants noting that the bite-sized content worked well and allowed the busy directors to take in pieces of content as time permits. “Knowing that there is a logical small chunk made it much easier to squeeze more in than I’ve originally planned,” one director said. While Avanade is still in early stages of rollout of purpose-driven microlearning, anecdotal evidence continues to be positive and hits on the internal site continue to increase as the learning team finds purposeful, targeted ways to link the platform to relevant business initiatives. According to “Digital Vortex: How Digital Disruption Is Redefining Industries,” a 2015 report from IMD and Cisco, four in 10 companies are subject to displacement through digital disruption within a matter of a few years. As a result, organizations may be rushing to technology solutions without capturing their full strategic value. “At the end of the day, microlearning or any emerging technology is only as good as the degree to which it intentionally links us to our organization’s strategy,” said Antoinette Handler, Avanade senior executive and HR veteran. It is ultimately the role of learning and development professionals, not the technical tools to connect the dots between well-designed content of any sort and the purpose for which it was created.
44 Chief Learning Officer • January/February 2018 • www.CLOmedia.com
ZOOMING IN on Purpose-Driven Microlearning Emerging technology is only as good the purpose to which it is applied. Two L&D practitioners from Avanade explain how they take a purposeful approach to microlearning. BY AMY BL ADEN SHAT TO AND JONYCE RUIZ
I
t’s not surprising to see L&D professionals hanging their hats on microlearning to address the needs of the “overwhelmed, distracted, and impatient employee” that was introduced in the now infamous 2014 “Meet the Modern Learner” report by Bersin by Deloitte. In that report, analysts pointed out that today’s learner now has less time for development in an already overcrowded work week. That challenge is compounded by a diminished attention span. The result has been the rise of the mobile-friendly, just-in-time, searchable “training” index of lessons meant to be inhaled in less than 10 minutes. Microlearning is how these smaller chunks of learning have become known. Using the principles of brain science, well-crafted microlearning breaks down content into bite-sized, digestible pieces of information designed to engage, motivate and facilitate learner retention. These chunks of learning, generally five to eight minutes in length, are commonly presented as videos, GIFs or even gamified elements that transfer discrete, individual concepts.
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Compared to traditional training, microlearning is 50 percent cheaper, 300 percent faster to develop and drives 20 percent better retention, according to a 2016 analysis conducted by Jobenomics, an independent job advocacy group. That said, despite its growing popularity, some warn we should limit how we apply it. “The core issues with the microlearning craze are much bigger than the tiny shadow it casts,” said Kris Girrell, executive coach from Innerworks and consultant for a mobile leadership app. Girrell noted microlearning is useful in transferring simple, concrete concepts but by its fragmented nature is less than ideal for teaching complex ideas or building performance over time. As most of the skills we cultivate in business are neither simple nor concrete, microlearning can only go so far as it is currently packaged.
Connect the Dots Through Curation Microlearning is not a panacea. But some psychologists like Girrell reimagine these bite-size snacks within a deeper learning context. The key is not to focus on the microlearning tool but on how practitioners can curate content within the tool. A standard microlearning platform is typically released as a self-directed YouTube-like searchable database. Often the amount of content and the interface with that content can be overwhelming. The technology aids in filtering, aggregating and locating information but without an overarching structure the method is random and bottom-up rather than business-driven and top-down.
The key is not to focus on the microlearning tool but on how practitioners can curate content within the tool. In the case of microlearning, a change in the way L&D professionals curate content and guide users can dramatically alter the learning experience. Purpose-driven curation, touted by professionals such as Elliott Masie, means starting with the end in mind, aligning critical skills to company strategies and breaking them into component lessons that themselves are comprised of other smaller and more basic concepts. Traditional educators have always been challenged to streamline complex concepts into easi46 Chief Learning Officer • January/February 2018 • www.CLOmedia.com
er-to-digest parts as well as to create multiple learning modalities to suit different preferences. Curated differently, microlearning can be a great tool to provide easily interchangeable, customizable building blocks within this larger learning context. On the surface it may seem counterintuitive. If we connect the dots aren’t we stripping away the very nature of self-contained and self-directed microlearning? That’s not necessarily the case. As a case example, our company, Avanade, a global professional IT services company, is experimenting with purpose-driven microlearning in an industry changing so rapidly that traditionally developed training can become obsolete before it even hits the market. Within our just-in-time tool featuring bitesized, expert-taught video lessons, a dedicated curator has designed multiple intersecting pathways, connections and entry points allowing users to navigate the content based on their own needs, availability and learning styles but ultimately still connected to corporate strategy.
Content for Users About Business There are a number of tools on the market that can be used for purpose-driven microlearning, ranging from specialized microlearning products like Grovo to peer-to-peer video creation and assessment tools like Practice. Many learning platforms such as Axonify, Degreed and Pathgather are compatible with microlearning and most traditional learning management systems have plugins to make microlearning content available. After months of research and discussion, Avanade chose Big Think Edge, a video-based web portal that features interviews, multimedia presentations and roundtable discussions with wellknown speakers in a variety of fields including Virgin founder Richard Branson, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Harvard professor Linda Hill and former Procter & Gamble CEO A.G. Lafley. The belief was that the choice of speakers ranging from professors to professional basketball players would engage Avanade’s diverse employees who include both millennials as well as long-tenured technologists. Upon entering the platform, users can choose specific minicourses that currently include topics like design thinking, executive presence and leading the self. Alternatively, Avanade users can choose a separate set of learning “pathways” titled “Consulting Excellence,” “Managing for 2020,” “Career Adviser Growth Hacks” (microcoaching), or Avanade’s self-service “Competency Library.” Minicourses are organized as progressive sets
of modules and often attended by cohorts of individuals whereas pathways are series of related content presented together in no specific order. Both minicourses and pathways include applied learner guides with just-in-time activities, reflection prompts and an interactive board for posting comments and hosting discussions.
Curated differently, microlearning can be a great tool to provide easily interchangeable, customizable building blocks within this larger learning context. There are many choices in how and what to learn but the aim is not to make those choices overwhelming by applying a business meta-framework that overlays the minicourses and topical learning paths. At Avanade, we rolled out the content most closely aligned to key business initiatives first with a calendar of planned content based on the evolving needs of the company. Additionally, we try to release content that integrates with other L&D programs to create best practice, blended curricula on as many fronts as possible. In this way, Avanade users can access customized, just-in-time material while also ensuring they receive the right learning at the right time based on changing business needs. The first pilot of the design thinking minicourse typifies how curators identify and time the content release. The learning and development team worked with the Avanade growth and strategy team to introduce the content to all of Avanade, starting with a competency-based prework program for a high-potential leadership program for directors. Anecdotal feedback was positive, with some participants noting that the bite-sized content worked well and allowed the busy directors to take in pieces of content as time permitted. “Knowing that there is a logical small chunk made it much easier to squeeze more in than I’ve originally planned,” one director said. MICROLEARNING continued on page 57
Education Tech Company Trademarks Microlearning The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has given education technology company Grovo a registered trademark on “microlearning.” In legal terms, a trademark is used to identify goods or services as having a single source, according to intellectual property attorney Patrick J. Arnold Jr. But Arnold noted that Grovo has registered microlearning on the less stringent Supplemental Register as opposed to the Principal Register. Companies that are approved for the Supplemental Register can use the “circle R” registration mark but do not have the greater legal protection afforded by the Principal Register. “The Supplemental Register is basically where you park your registration for a number of years and then you hope that a few years down the road your mark has built up what they call ‘secondary meaning,’ ” Arnold said. Secondary meaning occurs when consumers eventually identify a trademarked name with a specific product. If Grovo were eventually to get the mark to the Principal Register it would give the company the ability to stop others from using a mark similar to microlearning. Grovo CEO Steven Carpenter said going after other companies that use the term is not Grovo’s intent. He said the main point of the trademark was to make microlearning a core part of every organization’s learning strategy. “I want to grow the category by leaps and bounds,” he said. When Carpenter joined Grovo in 2017, he asked about 50 people for their definition of microlearning and realized that after “short bursts of content” and “in the moment of need,” the definitions were generic and ill-defined. Carpenter wants Grovo to establish a clear definition of microlearning boiled down to four requirements: It must be tied to the overall company strategy; there must be a compelling learning experience; it must be adaptable across multimedia platforms; and it must be available when workers need it and accessible within their workflow. Bob Mosher, a senior partner and chief learning evangelist for APPLY Synergies, a consulting firm, said he was initially taken aback by Grovo’s effort to trademark the term. “I wasn’t ever aware of someone trying to trademark mobile learning or e-learning, for example,” he said. “These have always been disciplines in our industry, not products.” Mosher hesitates to use new terms like microlearning because he said they tend to rebrand something that’s already prevalent in the industry, which causes confusion within the L&D world and, more important, among learners. “I’m more on the side of simplicity rather than throwing in another shiny penny,” he said. As for the trademark, Carpenter said Grovo has plans to build on what they have already done. “We do want to be the biggest player in microlearning, so we’re definitely going to continue to build around the intellectual property and the marks associated with it,” he said. But IP attorney Arnold isn’t confident they’ll be able to move on to the next stage of registration due to the descriptiveness of the term. “If I were a betting man, I doubt that they’ll get this,” he said. “And if they don’t, it’s free for everyone to use.”
— Ave Rio Chief Learning Officer • January/February 2018 • www.CLOmedia.com
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A NETWORK OF EXPERTS
From Content Curation to Insight Curation A group of industry analysts argue that the future of business requires a network of experts who share wisdom as a team fueled by a new type of learning technology.
BY JOS ARETS, BOB DANNA , CHARLES JENNINGS AND L ACI LOEW
I
n most organizations, performance measurement still focuses on celebrating the “lone wolf � individuals who they count on to find just the right data to inform great innovation and accomplishment. Yet, evidence suggests that teams containing or connected to experts always outperform even the best and brightest of individual experts, particularly when enabled with software or technology. This is especially true today as we continually search for the actionable 2 percent in the 24x7 flow of incoming information. Finding that valuable 2 percent relies on access to domain experts and their ability to filter information. In the past, the notion that knowledge is power
meant people were expected to learn and remember what they learned in order to act. In today’s world where knowledge generation is increasing and halflife is shortening at an alarming rate, access to knowledge is where the power truly lies. According to a 2014 McKinsey and Co. analysis, at least 80 percent of companies acknowledge a critical need to redesign their traditional structure to create a network of experts for better, faster business decisions. Yet only 21 percent of organizations say that current talent and other HR technology always meets their needs, according to Deloitte’s 2017 “The Future of Work” report, thus limiting the enablement of employees as experts. For companies to retain their competitive edge, giant leaps in workforce relevancy and productivity will not be a result of individual excellence but rather augmented brilliance in the collective. None of us achieve our objectives alone. In today’s ultraconnected world, we need to work FIGURE 1: FOUR DEFINING CHARACTERISTICS OF AN INSIGHT CURATION PLATFORM
? Addressed information Explicitly supports overload and recall failure higher-level thinking
Connects a workforce of experts
Empowers experts to share wisdom and insights
Source: Laci Loew & Co., 2017
in teams to do this. For most organizations, creating an effective network of experts who share wisdom and execute business actions as a team requires a shift in organizational structure and culture as well as the adoption of a new type of technology.
Time for a New Organizational Structure and Culture The best organizations of tomorrow will minimize traditional hierarchical structures where title and rank often marginalize or even hide experts. Instead, leadership will work to create a new work50 Chief Learning Officer • January/February 2018 • www.CLOmedia.com
For companies to retain their competitive edge, giant leaps in workforce relevancy and productivity will not be a result of individual excellence but rather augmented brilliance in the collective. force ecosystem. The Workforce 2020 ecosystem is best described as a network of interconnected employees made up of teams, teams of teams and an enterprise network of employees that depend and feed on each other’s expert insights to improve performance (Figure 1). This ecosystem rests on the “wirearchy” principle coined by Jon Husband in 1999. Wirearchy is about the power and effectiveness of people, particularly experts, connecting across functional and geographical boundaries to make better decisions faster versus relying on traditional hierarchical position and status. Wirearchy is an emerging organizing principle based at least in part on shared knowledge and insights. It presupposes technologies that allow employees to discover knowledge, acquire bits of wisdom and share meaningful insights across the broad employee network versus hoarding knowledge in an attempt to be the smartest individual in the room. This networked wirearchy structure promotes the 70 and 20 components of the 70-20-10 principle, which holds that 70 percent of learning comes from experience, 20 percent from others and 10 percent from formal coursework and training. This fundamental shift from structured course delivery to continuous performance improvement underpins a system where people learn from each other in learning campaigns that extend expertise and wisdom sharing among the entire employee network. Organizations that are serious about leveraging the power of human intelligence will quickly learn how to implement a network of experts. These organizations will need to: • Be proactive in enabling their formation. • Support connectedness among team members. • Change the traditional annual performance re-
view process which assumes objectives are met primarily at the individual level. • Focus on building dynamic team effectiveness versus building individual knowledge and skills. • Reward expert contributions for the team’s resolution of critical business issues. A shift in organization structure to a network of experts is only part of the equation. The learning management system and talent management system are not going to identify these experts or perpetuate their wisdom across the employee network by themselves. A culture that supports the 70 and 20 aspects of learning is crucial. While many organizations have been talking for years about the criticality of learning from others, they lack the enabling infrastructure to make it happen.
What’s Needed From the Next Generation of HR Technology HR technology is the enabling infrastructure to empower employees to share their wisdom across the network. While technology has always played a role in disrupting how work gets done and how organizations stay competitive, what is different now is the pace of transformation. Today, smart systems and artificial intelligence are automating whole jobs or at least parts of them, shifting any kind of routine work from human to machine. For workers to remain relevant contributors to the workforce, they must think at a higher level of cognition. It will be up to organizations to augment their ability to do so via next generation HR technology: the insight curation platform.
The vast majority of insights are stored between employees’ ears where they decay rapidly and rarely get shared. Insight curation addresses this problem head-on. In contrast to traditional HR technologies such as the LMS, talent management system, learning experience platforms and content curation and knowledge management tools, insight curation platforms address the core problems that bog down knowledge workers and prevent them from accessing and leveraging each other’s knowledge: • Information overload (too much to read) and recall capability (too much to remember). • Offline insight capture such as sticky notes, annotation tools, handwritten notes and highlighters that render insights as personal property instead of company intellectual capital. • Lack of support for analytical, critical or systems thinking. We have yet to find the CEO of a major corporation who believes their organization is capturing CURATION continued on page 56
FIGURE 2: THE IBM CORE MODEL OF LEARNING VALUE Maximum potential value can be realized as learning or acquired wisdom becomes closer to and more integrated with work and at the moment of need.
70% 20%
On demand Learning is embedded in work/tasks
Learning is enabling work/tasks
Access phase 10%
Learning is separate from work/tasks
Event-driven point solutions
cess /pro role to ed
Learnin g in teg rat
nt me gn ali
Integration phase
Em be dd ed
Realized value Source: IBM Consulting Services, 2005
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Case Study
Cox Drives Sales Training BY AVE RIO
F
or most organizations, sales is a high-stakes, makeor-break business initiative. At Cox Automotive, a business unit formed from the consolidation of Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises’ automotive businesses in 2014, it was complicated by the merger of what had previously been distinct sales teams spread across the country into one unified brand. Between 2010 and 2015, Cox Automotive acquired Autotrader Inc., Kelley Blue Book and Dealer.com. Integrating each brand’s sales force into one team posed a challenge. After the merger, some salespeople had extensive knowledge in some areas and products and little knowledge in others. “We wanted a solution that would help bridge the gaps so they could learn from one another after going through some regular product and sales-type training,” said Michael Whatley, Cox Automotive senior manager of learning design and operations in the media solutions group and sales operations. “We wanted to give them a platform that they could communicate and learn best practices from one another.” The company settled on an approach that used the interactive video platform from Practice, a Philadelphia-based learning technology company, to enable peer-to-peer coaching and assessment and give the separate teams the ability to learn from one another. Whatley said the biggest reason Cox Automotive chose to use Practice was the platform’s ability to allow salespeople to assess each other’s verbal and nonverbal cues using a consistent rubric. Another benefit is that if there is a superstar performance, Cox could use that video as a best practice for the rest of the team, he added.
Driving Peer-to-Peer Success Cox leaders upload a video prompt to the cloudbased platform and sales representatives record and upload a video of their response. Examples include asking sales representatives what products they would present in a sales scenario with an auto dealer or presenting a specific objection to a product. Some sales representatives were submitting responses after trying four or five times to get it just right. “It gives them a chance to practice, tweak and refine their response before they submit,” Whatley said. Emily Chonko, senior manager for business development at Cox Automotive, said the platform is effective at appealing to different learning styles. “It’s a well-rounded approach to learning,” said Chonko, 52 Chief Learning Officer • January/February 2018 • www.CLOmedia.com
SNAPSHOT After a merger, Cox Automotive used video to drive peer coaching and align sales teams on values and approaches.
who manages seven salespeople. Visual learners benefit from watching and learning from others, and those who like to learn through doing are able to practice by recording themselves, she added. As the Cox Automotive salespeople submit their response to the prompts, the videos are reviewed by peers who provide time-stamped feedback and comments with a score based on a set of pre-established criteria. “Their whole selling point is making sure that peerto-peer interaction is really important — and it’s definitely something we saw proved through the feedback we got from the team,” Whatley said. “Having that extra layer of peer interaction as opposed to straight manager or trainer coaching was really beneficial.” Whatley said peer feedback allowed people well versed in Autotrader.com and Kelley Blue Book to get feedback from others who knew the products of Dealer.com and vice versa. “It allowed them to play off each other’s strengths and weaknesses so they all are lifted up together,” he said. Diana Thomas, an independent executive coach and former vice president of training, learning and development for McDonald’s Corp., said the Cox approach is an innovative way to use employees to train other employees. “Companies will win and thrive in any economic environment if they can tap into that base of knowledge of their employees,” she said. Aside from saving the cost of having an expert coach employees across the country, Thomas said it also helps establish a culture of collaboration and nurturing others. The only downside is that a peer platform depends on people who may not be skilled in giving feedback. Sometimes they could come across as too harsh or condescending, she said. “How people give the feedback can sometimes be challenging because not everybody gives feedback the way an individual wants it. They tend to give feedback how they would want to get it,” Thomas said. She said it’s important to train people on how to give feedback to ensure that it comes across as intended and aligns with the company’s culture. Chonko said
she hasn’t seen negative effects in her team. In the Practice platform, managers can also submit their own videos and Whatley said manager submissions were viewed and graded by trainers and subject matter experts.
How It Works Cox Automotive has a desired proficiency rate of 80 percent. If sales representatives don’t hit that mark, they take feedback given by peers and instructors and are asked to retake it, but Whatley said most people pass on the first try. They can also view a model response developed by the training team to refine their presentation going forward. “The business development team are our Type A hunter salespeople,” Whatley said. “They are the ones that really want to learn, they want to go out and be successful — so they really took to learning from one another.” The platform was originally rolled out in January 2017 at the annual sales meeting where Cox expanded the business development team. Whatley said salespeople were asked to stay an extra couple of days so they could receive product training. From there, they were assigned the video role-based project and introduced to the platform. After giving the team three prompts with a three-week turnaround for completed videos, they received primarily positive responses. Whatley said sales representatives liked that they received quality comments from peers as opposed to thoughtless comments to simply get through the exercise. While most salespeople were on board from the beginning, Whatley said the main pushback was due to nervousness about being on camera. “Even though these are Type A people that stand up in front of people delivering presentations all day every day … once you turn that red light on the camera it’s a different ball game,” he said. But once they saw their peers do it and put themselves in a vulnerable place, salespeople were more willing to accept the reasoning behind it. “They understand the benefit of role-play [through video] far outweighs the cost of having to bring everyone together to do a traditional role-play,” Whatley said.
Speeding Up Sales Whatley said the video role-play gives the sales representatives the same kind of coaching and in-the-moment feedback that in-person role-play does but also allows them to get feedback from people around the country they might not normally hear from and with particular brand expertise.
Thomas, whose own coaching is done primarily virtually, said the pros of virtual training far outweigh the cons. It is significantly cheaper and can scale. “If you can use technology but make it personable, it really can fill the gaps and create this cohesiveness when people aren’t in the same location,” she said. Beyond cost savings and cultural integration, Whatley said Cox can’t point to an increase in dollar amount of product sold yet but said business development teams are more comfortable with the full suite of solutions than they were before the program rolled out. “The way we measure comfort with solutions is based on increased sales in those product areas … and using this team as sales subject matter experts for training other teams,” Whatley said. “During our initial pilot, we had 150 people in the platform and have expanded that to upward of 400.”
Video allows salespeople to play off each other’s strengths and weaknesses so they all are lifted up together. — Michael Whatley, Cox Automotive Dealer success consultants, another part of the Cox Automotive business development team who consult with auto dealers about their digital marketing strategy, are also running into a similar challenge with understanding the intricacies and nuances of the newly merged platforms: Autotrader.com, Kelley Blue Book and Dealer.com. In coming months, Cox will use the platform to assess their ability to have client business conversations including discussing metrics and recommended optimization strategies. The platform will also be incorporated into Cox’s new hire program to facilitate role-play and feedback. Chonko said Cox has been moving more toward a virtual learning environment over the past two years and has found it to be a more robust way of learning. “What was compelling about this experience was being tasked with a video as opposed to a simple Q&A or a simple multiple-choice quiz at the end to test knowledge,” she said. “Video tasked us with framing up the conversation and being able to articulate it.” CLO Ave Rio is an associate editor at Chief Learning Officer magazine. She can be reached at editor@CLOmedia.com. Chief Learning Officer • January/February 2018 • www.CLOmedia.com
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Business Intelligence
Stuck in the Middle Technology investment plans show learning executives caught between legacy systems and the promise of future technology.
T
here’s little argument that we live in a time of rapid technology disruption. A host of new consumer-like platforms and tools fueled by machine learning are putting learning into the hands of learners in the way they like it, wherever they are at whatever time they choose. An unprecedented variety of rich content is available at the moment of need with the swipe of a finger or the click of a mouse. At the same time, legacy systems continue to deliver important and useful — if sometimes unglamorous — services to the organization. This reality puts chief learning officers in a tough spot. Technology investments are increasingly central to learning strategy yet increasingly fragmented among an array of legacy platforms and emerging applications.
According to a survey of the Chief Learning Officer Business Intelligence Board, technology is a key part of L&D investment plans. Forty-four percent of learning executives see it as either an essential or high investment priority and 33 percent rate it as a medium priority (Figure 1). Technology ranked just slightly lower than their top priority, strategy. The Chief Learning Officer Business Intelligence Board is a group of 1,500 professionals in the learning and development industry who have agreed to be surveyed by the Human Capital Media Research and Advisory Group, the research and advisory arm of Chief Learning Officer magazine. This survey was conducted from June to July 2017. That high priority for technology is reflected
FIGURE 1: INVESTMENT PRIORITIES
Essential
40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0
High priority
Medium priority
Low priority 38%
37%
37% 31%
33%
33%
33%
31%
30% 27%
26%
25% 25%
22%
24%
18%
17%
16% 13% 10%
15%
54 Chief Learning Officer • January/February 2018 • www.CLOmedia.com
Technology
16%
11% 7%
Strategy
26%
Content delivery
Content library
7%
Performance consulting
6%
L&D personnel
6%
Learning administration
Figures’ Source: Chief Learning Officer Business Intelligence Board, N=419. All percentages rounded.
BY MIKE PROKOPEAK
in spending plans (Figure 2). Among potential spending categories, learning executives listed learning technology as most likely to see an increase in spending. More than half (52 percent) plan to increase spending, 42 percent plan to keep it the same and only 6 percent plan to decrease spending. The dollar amounts at stake are not insignificant. Learning management systems alone account for $4 billion of the $130 billion corporate training market, according to estimates from Bersin by Deloitte. But some of the systems resulting from those past investments are getting long in the tooth. According to the Sierra-Cedar 2017-18 “HR Systems” survey of 1,300 organizations, enterprise learning management systems have been installed on average five years, longer than any other HR application with the exception of payroll and core HR systems. As a result, organizations are considering replacing or adapting learning applications at a higher rate than other talent management applications. According to Sierra-Cedar, 14 percent plan to replace their system and a further 24 percent are evaluating their options in the next 24 months. CLO Business Intelligence Board data confirms that finding. Twenty-two percent of surveyed learning executives plan to make the LMS a spending priority in 2018. The top qualities they are looking for in a replacement are reasonable price (62 percent), ease of use (57 percent), product features (45 percent) and analytics capability (44 percent). Beyond the LMS, CLOs plan to invest in a variety of learning technologies (Figure 3), including e-learning delivery (46 percent), workforce analytics and dashboards (38 percent), instructor-led learning delivery (30 percent), competency management and capability development (26 percent) and social learning tools and platforms (23 percent). Despite its allure, mobile learning comes in comparatively low on the priority list (24 percent). On-the-job support is the type of content most commonly being developed or purchased for mobile (46 percent), followed by information resources (42 percent), learning apps (40 percent) and simulations and games (29 and 21 percent, respectively). Disruption may be upon us but CLOs’ investment plans show caution as they plot the future of their learning technology. CLO Mike Prokopeak is vice president and editor in chief at Chief Learning Officer magazine. He can be reached at editor@CLOmedia.com.
80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
FIGURE 2: EXPECTED CHANGE IN INVESTMENT
Increase
No change
Decrease
61%
66%
61% 53%
52%
47% 48% 42%
45% 44%
29%
27%
27%
23%
20% 11% 6%
Learning technology
11%
12%
12%
5%
Learning strategy
Content development
Learning personnel
Outsourced Performance Learning learning consulting administration services
FIGURE 3: TOP AREAS FOR ANTICIPATED TECHNOLOGY SPENDING
1) E-learning delivery 2) Analytics, workforce performance metrics, evaluation and dashboards 3) Instructor-led learning delivery 4) Competency management and capability development 5) Mobile learning delivery 6) Social learning tools and platforms 7) Learning management systems 8) Authoring tools and systems 9) Data integration 10) Facilities and classroom tools and systems 11) Cloud-based software 12) Learning content management systems 13) Enterprise portal with L&D information
FIGURE 4: PLAN TO DEVELOP OR BUY CONTENT FOR MOBILE PLATFORMS
Yes: 49% No: 51% Chief Learning Officer • January/February 2018 • www.CLOmedia.com
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CURATION continued from page 51 the insights of their employees in a meaningful way. When we ask to see an inventory of the insights an employee has formed during their tenure with an organization, the best we receive is a slew of documents — most of which would involve an intense reading and research project to harvest the meaningful observations. The vast majority of insights are stored between employees’ ears where they decay rapidly and rarely get shared. Insight curation addresses this problem head-on.
From Content Curation to Insight Curation In the knowledge economy, employees have no problem getting access to content. In fact, they are flooded with it all day every day. Web content is part of the information barrage they experience but so are all the document systems such as SharePoint and email attachments and bookmarks on laptops or mobile devices. Similarly, workers have no problem curating content. In fact they gather it, filter it, sort it, categorize it and hoard it all day. They bury themselves with it and then rightfully complain they are overloaded and overwhelmed. Each of us bookmarks hundreds of web pages and files away documents on our hard drive knowing we will forget the key nuggets but thinking we will return to them someday. When we need to call upon the relevant resource, we wind up digging all over the place trying to refind it, and if we succeed then have to reread it and the cycle starts all over again. Before we introduce any other content sources, content curation systems or places to store, sync and share, we need to address the fundamental issues associated with filtering, refinding, rereading, forgetting and tracking. This is where insight curation comes into play. Insight curation is about capturing those nuggets and adding expert interpretation and understanding of them as they relate to the work at hand or the business opportunity to be solved. These curated insights should be centralized in one location or one system for the organization. Curated insights are bits of shared wisdom available at the moment of need. The concept of curated insights emulates one of the tenets of 7020-10 — the closer to the point of application the more likely the learning will be of use. IBM built this idea into its model as early as 2005. The firm’s three-tiered model (Figure 2) shows that maximum potential value can be realized as learning or acquired wisdom becomes closer to and more integrated with work and at
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the moment of need. Similar to the embedded learning practices from the IBM model, insight curation technology allows employees to work directly with the needle instead of searching through haystacks. Put another way, employees easily find the signal among the noise and identify the actionable 2 percent of experts’ insights that are relevant versus the irrelevant 98 percent of information. When employees consume content, light bulbs go off as they learn and form new ideas. To date, organizations have not had an effective way to capture those insights or curate them. People currently try to curate insights using sticky notes, highlighters or perhaps memory techniques. None work very well. It is all offline and inaccessible and at the end of the day we are left with fading memories and way too much content to refind and reread. That is the overwhelming part. The focus of insight curation is on empowering the organization to facilitate employee insights in a systematic and controlled way that is embedded in workflow. It is also to tie together the systems, browsers, document storehouses and social networks and make it easy for employees to capture thoughts formed while they are consuming content and get them into an organizationwide cloud where everyone can access them quickly and easily on their smartphone or other mobile device so it can then act as their pocket brain. Historically, we have lacked the ability to work with discrete bits of knowledge as modular objects in a system. Everything operated at the whole document or file level. Curated insights change that, enabling us to explicitly support and measure higher-order thinking processes such as the critical thinking, problem solving and data analysis required of the future workforce. Teams and networks of employee experts accelerate innovation and business decisions and improve performance. The more explicitly we can support the performance of networked experts via new insight curation platforms, the more successful the organization will be. CLO Laci Loew is a human capital analyst and consultant and executive vice president of marketing at Pandexio, a software platform developed to curate insights. Bob Danna is executive chairman at Pandexio and former managing director at Deloitte Consulting LLP. Charles Jennings is a former chief learning officer at Thomson Reuters and co-founder of the 70:20:10 Institute. Jos Arets is co-founder of the 70:20:10 Institute. They can be reached at editor@CLOmedia.com.
MICROLEARNING continued from page 47 While Avanade is still in the early stages of rolling out purpose-driven microlearning, anecdotal evidence continues to be positive and hits on the internal site continue to increase as the learning team finds purposeful, targeted ways to link the platform to relevant business initiatives. According to “Digital Vortex: How Digital Disruption Is Redefining Industries,” a 2015 report from IMD and Cisco, four in 10 companies are subject to displacement through digital disruption within a matter of a few years. As a result, organizations may be rushing to technology solutions without capturing their full strategic value.
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“At the end of the day, microlearning or any emerging technology is only as good as the degree to which it intentionally links us to our organization’s strategy,” said Antoinette Handler, Avanade senior executive and HR veteran. It is ultimately the role of learning and development professionals, not the technical tools, to connect the dots between well-designed content of any sort and the purpose for which it was created. CLO
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AL, AR, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MD, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, ND, NE, OH, OK, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, WI, WV, District of Columbia, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan Newfoundland, Europe
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30, 31 36, 37, 38, 39 15 6 7 28, 29 26, 27
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IN CONCLUSION
Make Waffles, Not Spaghetti
Leaders focus employees on what is known and ignore the unknown • BY KAREN EBER
A Karen Eber is an Atlanta-based leadership development expert at General Electric, where her work is focused on helping individuals, teams and organizations perform their best. She can be reached at editor@ CLOmedia.com.
few weeks ago, I was coaching the members of an executive leadership team. We were discussing how to navigate through the complicated changes in the VUCA world. VUCA, an acronym that stands for volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous, describes the experience of their world daily. Many change management approaches present change as a one-time event that has a completion. That may have been true five years ago but it isn’t realistic in today’s environment, regardless of the industry. Change doesn’t end. It twists, turns, morphs and gets layered with other change. This creates a lot of confusion and uncertainty for employees. It makes leading through this time very difficult. Humans have a difficult time with change due to the way our brains work. Fear of change is real. Just like our ancestors scanned the environment to make sure they weren’t about to be attacked by lions, we continually scan the environment for threats. When our brain perceives threats, it releases cortisol and triggers our fight-or-flight response. While today’s world may not often present the threat of a lion attack, our brain reacts in the same way to many perceived threats throughout the workday. Leadership changes, job changes, layoffs, looming deadlines — they all can trigger the brain to perceive danger. Innocuous things sometimes trigger fear. I once coached a leader to brush his hair before leaving his office. He had a habit of running his fingers through his hair, causing it to stand up and look rumpled. When employees saw him they thought he was under stress and was withholding important information from them. In reality, he just needed to smooth down his hair. When employees perceive threats their thoughts tend to snowball. Employees who ruminate begin to lose their ability to focus. Their minds swirl, their cortisol rises and stress increases. Facing change and uncertainty, the brain struggles to think clearly and the ability to perform is reduced. Think of the stressed-out brain as a plate of spaghetti. The noodles are a tangled mess. One twists around another. You can’t easily identify where one begins and another ends. They are jumbled, disorderly and difficult to shape.
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As a leader, trying to guide employees who perceive threats is difficult. When they don’t have answers to their questions, they make up their own. Their thinking can become as jumbled as a plate of spaghetti noodles. It is difficult for a leader to cut through the noise and help them focus.
Facing change and uncertainty, the brain struggles to think clearly and the ability to perform is reduced. The goal as a leader is to focus employees on what is known and ignore the unknown. In other words, create waffles. A waffle has many squares. It is orderly. Each square is compartmentalized. You can focus on one square at a time. You know the other squares are there but you don’t have to pay attention to them. When a leader helps an employee make waffles, the leader is helping shape the employee’s thinking and focus on what is known or in control. As I coached these executives, I gave them those two visuals. Make waffles, not spaghetti. When employees stress about change, they resemble spaghetti. Leaders need to help them be waffles. Leaders should be transparent about what is known and what is still yet to be resolved. The leader can then guide the employee to focus on the known and what they can control and ignore the unknown and what is outside of their control. As change continues to happen, the leader keeps re-focusing employees and making waffles. For change to be accepted it needs to happen at an individual level. Leaders need to pay attention to the spaghetti moments. By noticing when and how these moments happen, they can focus on making waffles and shift employees’ focus to things within their control. What can you do to help your employees make waffles? CLO
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