November/December 2016 | CLOmedia.com
➤ 2016 Learning In Practice Awards ➤ 6 Best Practices We Can All Get Behind ➤ How to Conduct a Learning Audit ➤ 3 Myths About Workplace Learning ➤ Why the Kirkpatrick Model Works for MTA
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EDITOR’S LETTER
Beyond Best Practices P
ardon my French, but best practices are a bunch of B.S. Practices constantly evolve in response to the circumThat probably sounds strange coming from the edi- stances and the market. They respond to the makeup of the tor of a magazine dedicated to finding, analyzing and shar- workforce and move in sync with the supply and demand ing successful examples of corporate learning. Month after of the talent economy. month in this magazine and day in, day out on our website What’s more, practices are informed by history, not dewe share thought-provoking stories and practices from lead- fined by it. Don’t ignore the wisdom of the 70/20/10 ing learning executives. Their work exemplifies best practice. model because of me. Most learning still happens outside There’s a reason we do that. What we hear most fre- the traditional classroom. But realizing that reality — and quently in survey after survey and in conversations with continually repeating it for the last couple of decades — isn’t leaders across the country is your desire for research and case getting us anywhere. The history of the learning profession studies on how companies and individuals are tackling their is a starting point, not the end of it. organization’s thorniest problems. You’re looking for sophisConsider learning in practice — the focus of this issue of ticated tools and approaches that deliver results. You’re look- CLO — as a way to accelerate that movement. On one ing, in short, for best practices from the best learning leaders. level, Learning In Practice is the name of Chief Learning But there’s a problem lurking behind the focus on best Officer’s annual awards program. For 13 years, we’ve recogpractices. They’re simply not enough to thrive. nized excellence in learning and development as it’s applied in companies large and small across the world. But it’s more than just recognition. This issue is about learning in practice in its truest sense. It’s through the practice of what these individuals and companies do — developing programs, deploying technologies and experimenting with techniques and approaches to drive greater workforce When robots threaten to replace even highly skilled and performance — that we all learn. expensively educated workers, training and development These award winners certainly deploy best practices. But needs to adjust. Pronto. When skills change so rapidly that that’s a side effect of what they’re doing: continually experiemployers can’t predict what they’ll need next year, let alone menting, refining and tailoring learning to their organiza10 years from now, well then Houston, we have a problem. tion’s unique needs. Too often, best practices are effective in an idealized enPerhaps most importantly they’re willing to share their vironment. Apply them to real work with real humans and stories. Learning in practice happens within a community the holes and assumptions become clear pretty quickly. Peo- of practice — a group of like-minded, forward thinkers ple are a messy, unpredictable bunch. Economic conditions dedicated to advancing their companies and the industry. change. Bosses cut investments and shift priorities. Adri Maisonet-Morales, the 2016 CLO of the Year, is a That’s not to mention that best practices are highly con- prime example. A veteran of operations at Blue Cross and textual and focused on past results. What works for one Blue Shield of North Carolina, she took the reins of learncompany in its culture and circumstances is a disaster wait- ing and development leadership in 2008. To her and her ing to happen in another. By the time you’ve collected, ana- team, the company’s ever-changing regulatory landscape, lyzed and determined a best practice that might just possi- regional focus and comparatively small workforce of 5,000 bly work for you, business has moved on. are no limitations. In fact, they’re a spur to innovation. I heard an executive from GE, often pointed to as the An active leader in the learning community, her leaderpioneer of modern corporate leadership development, say at ship and willingness to share is a just one testament to learna recent conference that his company is completely rethink- ing in practice in its truest sense. CLO ing how they train workers and turning management development inside out. That tells me things are changing too fast for learning and development as usual. That’s not to say that best practices and its close cousin, benchmarking, are pointless. They’re a valuable way to get the pulse of the industry and spark ideas. But it’s simply not Mike Prokopeak enough. In today’s business environment, there are no best Editor in Chief practices. There are just practices. mikep@CLOmedia.com
Business won’t wait for you to determine best practices.
4 Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com
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A PUBLICATION OF
November/December 2016 | Volume 15, Issue 11 PRESIDENT John R. Taggart jrtag@CLOmedia.com
EDITORIAL ART DIRECTOR Anna Jo Beck abeck@CLOmedia.com
VICE PRESIDENT, CFO, COO Kevin A. Simpson ksimpson@CLOmedia.com
EDITORIAL INTERNS Alice Keefe akeefe@CLOmedia.com Nidhi Madhavan nmadhavan@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 GROUP EDITOR/ASSOCIATE EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Kellye Whitney kwhitney@CLOmedia.com CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Frank Kalman fkalman@CLOmedia.com ASSOCIATE EDITORS Lauren Dixon ldixon@CLOmedia.com Bravetta Hassell bhassell@CLOmedia.com Andie Burjek aburjek@CLOmedia.com COPY EDITOR Christopher Magnus cmagnus@CLOmedia.com
VICE PRESIDENT, RESEARCH & ADVISORY SERVICES Sarah Kimmel skimmel@CLOmedia.com RESEARCH MANAGER Tim Harnett tharnett@CLOmedia.com RESEARCH ANALYST Grey Litaker clitaker@CLOmedia.com RESEARCH ASSISTANT Kristen Britt kbritt@CLOmedia.com RESEARCH GRAPHIC DESIGNER Theresa Stoodley tstoodley@CLOmedia.com MEDIA MANAGER Ashley Flora aflora@CLOmedia.com PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Nina Howard nhoward@CLOmedia.com
EVENTS MARKETING MANAGER Anthony Zepeda azepeda@CLOmedia.com WEBCAST COORDINATOR Alec O’Dell aodell@CLOmedia.com EVENTS GRAPHIC DESIGNER Tonya Harris lharris@CLOmedia.com BUSINESS MANAGER Vince Czarnowski vince@CLOmedia.com REGIONAL SALES MANAGERS Derek Graham dgraham@CLOmedia.com Daniella Weinberg dweinberg@CLOmedia.com Nick Safir nsafir@CLOmedia.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Brian Lorenz blorenz@CLOmedia.com DIRECTOR, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND EVENTS Kevin Fields kfields@CLOmedia.com
VICE PRESIDENT, EVENTS Trey Smith tsmith@CLOmedia.com
AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Cindy Cardinal ccardinal@CLOmedia.com
EVENT CONTENT MANAGER Ashley Collins acollins@CLOmedia.com
DIGITAL SPECIALIST Lauren Lynch llynch@CLOmedia.com
DIGITAL COORDINATOR Mannat Mahtani mmahtani@CLOmedia.com LIST MANAGER Mike Rovello hcmlistrentals@infogroup.com BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION MANAGER Melanie Lee mlee@CLOmedia.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Ken Blanchard Andie Burjek Sheri Caldwell Charles Denault Lauren Dixon Ed Emde Nicholaus Garcia Linda Gravett Bravetta Hassell Frank Kalman Alice Keefe AnnMarie Kuzel Nidhi Madhavan Elliott Masie Bob Mosher Jack J. Phillips Patti P. Phillips Todd Tauber Kellye Whitney
CHIEF LEARNING OFFICER EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Cushing Anderson, Program Director, Learning Ser vices, IDC Frank J. Anderson Jr., ( Ret.) President, Defense Acquisition Universit y Cedric Coco, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Lowe’s Cos. Inc. Lisa Doyle, Vice President, Learning and Development, Lowe’s Cos. Inc. Tamar Elkeles, Chief People Of ficer, Quixey Thomas Evans, ( Ret.) Chief Learning Of ficer, PricewaterhouseCoopers Ted Henson, Senior Strategist, Oracle Gerry Hudson-Martin, Director, Corporate Learning Strategies, Business Architects Kimo Kippen, Chief Learning Of ficer, 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, Interim Chief Learning Of ficer, Baptist Health Alan Malinchak, Executive Advisor, Talent and Learning Practice, Deltek Universit y Lee Maxey, CEO, MindMax Jeanne C. Meister, Author and Independent Learning Consultant 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 Annette Thompson, Senior Vice President and Chief Learning Of ficer, Farmers Insurance David Vance, Former President, Caterpillar Universit y 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 $29.95 Chief Learning Officer and CLOmedia.com are the trademarks of MediaTec Publishing Inc. Copyright © 2016, MediaTec Publishing Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Reproduction of material published in Chief Learning Officer is forbidden without permission. Printed by: Quad/Graphics, Sussex, WI
FREE LIVE
ONLINE EVENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016
Learning In Practice
awards 2016
32 Features
18 22
32
6 Best Practices We Can All Get Behind Ed Emde Employees don’t exist in a performance vacuum, and their environment and organizational systems impact the results they produce.
ON THE WEB
How to Conduct a Learning Audit AnnMarie Kuzel Learning and development strategies are like trends — they come and go. Learn how to identify the strategies your workforce and business need to succeed.
Special Report: 2016 Learning In Practice Awards Chief Learning Officer Editorial Staff The 2016 Learning In Practice Awards recognize practitioners and providers for excellence in learning and development.
34
Award Dinner Recap Satisfaction is a job well done, but a trophy seals the deal.
36
CLO of the Year Profile Empower your workforce and get out of the way.
38
Practitioner Awards These leaders exhibited learning excellence in 2016.
52
Provider Awards These companies delivered highly impactful learning.
8 Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com
The Week That Was Each week, we compile a list of the top five stories on CLOmedia.com as well as the week’s top business and industry news so you can catch up on what your peers are reading. Look for this section in every Friday’s newsletter, or visit us on the web and tell us what you’re reading.
TABLE OF CONTENTS NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016
18
22
Departments
60
Experts 10 IMPERATIVES
60 Case Study MTA: Why the Kirkpatrick Model Works for Us Charles Denault The Maryland Transit Administration called on a tried and true learning evaluation method to reduce the number of accidents for new drivers.
64 Business Intelligence 3 Myths About Workplace Learning Todd Tauber Myths about learning usually have some basis in reality, but the right development options will bring the truth to light. And the truth is, smart CLOs are rebalancing their investments to empower more and manage less.
Elliott Masie Learning Professionals Must Be Learners
12 SELLING UP, SELLING DOWN
Bob Mosher Workflow Learning: Clarity in a Name
14 LEADERSHIP
Ken Blanchard Are You Yelling at an Empty Boat?
16 ACCOUNTABILITY
Jack J. Phillips and Patti P. Phillips Make a Credible Business Connection
70 IN CONCLUSION
Linda Gravett and Sheri Caldwell Teaching the Benefits of Change
Resources 4 Editor’s Letter
Beyond Best Practices
68 Advertisers’ Index
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Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com 9
IMPERATIVES
Learning Professionals Must Be Learners How often do you take a complete e-learning program? • BY ELLIOTT MASIE
I
Elliott Masie is the chairman and CLO of The Masie Center’s Learning Consortium and CEO of The Masie Center, an international think tank focused on learning and workplace productivity. To comment, email editor@ CLOmedia.com.
magine eating in a restaurant where the chef never Yet, as we take the programs ourselves, we can distastes the food. Risky, right? We all want our cooks cover more efficient ways to leverage what our to adjust, tweak and improve the cooking experience learners already know. by tasting periodically. Every cooking show has the • Timing matters: We often design around time cook take taste checks throughout. And, when I had durations that are rituals. Webinars should be 60 Bobby Flay as a keynote speaker at my conference, he or 90 minutes. Classes should be one, two or five shared that the recipe was just a guideline; he had to days. E-learning modules should be half an hour. taste the sauce to confirm the result was excellent. Sadly, we often choose the time duration before we Now, let’s apply this formula to learning developfully define the content or the learners’ realities. ment and delivery. How often do we, as learning pro- • Technology overhead: Is the technology easy to fessionals, take complete learning programs, including use and without worry, or does it create a time our own, to make sure the learning “taste” is excellent? and effort overhead that blocks the user from When I have asked groups of my learning colconcentrating on learning? leagues these questions, the results are quite revealing: Learning professionals must be innovative • How often do you, as a learning professional, take learners. As learning professionals in a field that actively a complete e-learning program? experiments with new technologies, formats and design • How often do you attend a complete classroom models, we have to be in a regular beta test for these new program? approaches. Some will stick with users, like TED Talks • Do you currently have a coach to help improve videos. Some will be cool and then recede in use, like your performance? MOOCs or Second Life. And some just popped on the Few of us say yes. In fact, when offered a typical 20- scene and should be explored. Here are a few innovahour classroom program, many of us ask if there is tions for you to check out: something quicker — yet we develop for that duration. • Augmented reality: Pokemon Go hit a viral nerve Learning professionals must be experiential and tens of millions of people played with a mobile learners. To be an experiential learner we must first game that combined real camera shots, map views consciously participate in and consume the learning and challenges. Try out many augmented and virand technology methodologies our organization is ustual reality programs, and ask how they might be ing. Every time I take a course or participate in an adapted for learning someday. • 360 video: Make a video that has a 360-degree field of view, using simple apps or inexpensive cameras. Create a video of a piece of the office environment, for instance, and play with designing it in a 360, user-steerable mode. • Daily peer coaching: Pick a single topic or bee-learning program, there are immediate ahas for me havior, and find a peer who will have a daily twoas a designer/producer. I understand the learner expeto five-minute check-in with you on a new skill rience better, and I align more deeply to the learner’s or altered business process. For example, shift needs and pressures. your email handling mode and have a peer ask As we consume our own learning experiences, we you about it every day at 4 p.m. discover these key findings: Learning professionals need to be continuous • Sequences: Learners often don’t flow with the learners. Our professionalism should include a comcontent sequence of a curriculum. The sequence mitment to try, consume and experiment with current, defined by the subject matter expert may make evolving and innovative learning models. Learning sense on a chart, but not to a learner. theories must be matched by our own conscious expe• Learner knowledge: Often, our design targets a rience as learners in every mode. Your learning “taste lower level of current learner knowledge, especially buds” will be a powerful tool for learning improvein compliance and regulatory training programs. ment and excellence. CLO
As we consume our own learning experiences, we discover valuable areas for improvement.
10 Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com
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SELLING UP, SELLING DOWN
Workflow Learning: Clarity in a Name True workflow learning needs support-oriented approaches. • BY BOB MOSHER
H
Bob Mosher is a senior partner and chief learning evangelist for APPLY Synergies, a strategic consulting firm. To comment, email editor@CLOmedia.com.
ow words are defined and interpreted is a big deal. “Fine” or “fine” — to drink a fine wine, or to pay a fine. “Band” or “band” — a marching band, or a piece of jewelry. Two words, spelled and pronounced the same, with two very different meanings. Our industry creates a lot of these because we tend to create a word or label first, and define it second, or over time. This tends to create a lot of confusion, especially for learners who often define our terms differently when viewing them in a work context. Think about “just in time,” or JIT learning, an acronym we often attach to e-learning. Early on we defined JIT by availability and accessibility; our learners defined it by relevance and immediacy. These conflicts can have long-term implications. For many learners, the early days of e-learning were a disappointment, not because it wasn’t an incredible alternative to the classroom, but because it didn’t live up to consumers’ expectations. Another was the virtual classroom. Again, great idea, poor marketing. They’re an amazing way to distribute learning over time and space, but early efforts were not like the classrooms learners knew and loved. Many were death by PowerPoint with gifted classroom instructors doing their best to be engaging in a completely foreign, two dimensional world. Now, I’m a huge fan of e-learning and virtual instruction; they’ve come a long way from their early days. The operative words here are “early days.” Again, we often label things ahead of them finding their rightful place with us as designers and, more importantly, with learners as consumers. This issue becomes especially important as new trends move into the workflow where the learner can choose to consume or not. Enter “workflow learning.” Thanks to many technologies available today, as well as a more impatient and demanding learner, our ability to push learning deliverables and strategies into the workflow is more feasible than ever. This is good, as long as we do it, and market it, correctly. I like the label. Many have come before it and caused all kinds of confusion. Our first effort was “informal learning,” which carried a host of problems. Like, how do you define that broad, inclusive world,
12 Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com
or even begin to design for it? Most important, learners have no idea what that means. Workflow learning, on the other hand, seems to resonate with both the buyer and the builder. It’s a good start. The next step is we need to be sure we’re actually providing what we’ve promised. Circle back around to the learner. Before we define yet another square
Workflow learning will challenge us by taking us into areas of analysis and design that are very new to many. peg and attempt to fit it into a round hole, let’s ask them what they think workflow learning is. I’ve done a bit of this, and the one thing that continues to come back is that it’s not just training out in the workflow. We’ve already provided a lot of that with the modalities I’ve already mentioned. To move to true workflow learning we need to add other support-oriented approaches. These need to be orchestrated with training deliverables so the learner finds what they want in a timely manner and in the most effective way possible, typically with support tools first and training tools if needed. In the workflow, context is king, and it drives more of a support mentality than a training one. It’s not to say that training can’t be consumed in the workflow, but it’s often not the type of solution the learner is looking for. It’s overly structured, takes too long to consume and is knowledge focused. Support assets are typically brief, solution oriented and performance focused. Workflow learning will challenge us by taking us into areas of analysis and design that are very new to many. It’s an approach that the ADDIE model alone can’t solve. It needs a broader and more performance-centered design. Let’s be sure we do the work needed to fulfill the promise so this powerful and highly effective learning approach can work the first time around. CLO
LEADERSHIP
Are You Yelling at an Empty Boat? Someone may offend you, but you don’t have to take it personally • BY KEN BLANCHARD
A
Ken Blanchard is chief spiritual officer of The Ken Blanchard Cos. and co-author of “Collaboration Begins with You: Be a Silo Buster.” To comment, email editor@ CLOmedia.com.
n ancient Chinese philosopher named Zhuang Zhou wrote about a man traveling across a river in his boat when he noticed another boat quickly coming straight for him. The man began waving his arms and calling out to the boat’s driver to change course. As the boat closed in on him, he cursed and shouted louder. As the two boats collided, he screamed out, threatening the driver and calling him horrible names. But then he made a discovery. The other boat was empty — it had no driver at all. The current of the river had caused the collision. The man immediately stopped yelling because why would anyone scream threats at an empty boat? In this fable, the man’s anger diminished when he realized no one was at fault. Why is it when there is no one to blame for a mishap, we can behave calmly. But when we perceive someone is at fault, we feel justified to act out in anger?
organizers of the 55th reunion of Cornell University’s Class of 1961 — my class — to conduct a couple of workshops on the topic of one of my books. After receiving an announcement about the reunion agenda, a former classmate of mine contacted the committee, objecting strongly to what he perceived as commercial promotion of not only the book, but also my company’s programs and me as a professional trainer and speaker. He seemed to envision my sessions taking over the reunion weekend. The organizers assured him there would be plenty of other workshops to choose from, and that no commercial promotion was allowed by any speaker. They passed his comments along to me and asked for my feedback. I remembered this gentleman as a great guy. So when I read his list of concerns, I admit my first reaction was surprise and defensiveness. But the last thing I wanted to do was respond with disdain, which would surely cause a personal rift between us. I assumed he just misunderstood the topic of the book as well as the organizers’ intent. I wrote to him and explained I would be donating the books to our classmates, and that our company didn’t even have a training program on that topic. I shared with him that I wasn’t looking for new business or financial gain; I only wanted to provide folks with an additional — and I hoped interesting — conversation topic above and beyond reminiscing. I closed by letting him know I looked forward to seeing him at the reunion and would appreciate his feedback on my session. He replied with a cordial note, thanking me for addressing his concerns and graciously allowing that he had misinterpreted the purpose of my presentations. He explained that a family vacation would preclude him from being at the reunion, but there My friend, Marshall Goldsmith, a fabulous coach were no hard feelings and he wished me well. and author, refers to this story in his latest book, “TrigSuppose as you leave your house one morning, gers: Creating Behavior That Lasts — Becoming the someone yells at you. You have a choice: you can yell Person You Want to Be.” He said the moral of the sto- back, or you can hug the person and wish them a good ry is, “There’s never anyone in the other boat. We are day. Say someone cuts you off on your way to work. always screaming at an empty vessel.” You have a choice: you can chase them down and Marshall’s point is that people usually don’t set a make an obscene gesture, or you can take a deep goal to ruin our day. We only punish ourselves when breath and go on your way. We have choices all the we allow our perceptions of others’ behavior to affect time as we go through this life. We can shout at an us negatively. So we can scream at an empty boat or we empty boat, or we can choose to be kind and make the can reach out, support and encourage others. world a better place as we interact with people at work, This past spring, I accepted an invitation from the at home and in the community. CLO
We all have choices. We can shout at an empty boat, or we can be kind as we interact with people at work, at home and in the community.
14 Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com
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ACCOUNTABILITY
Make a Credible Business Connection Without it, you will lose credibility with peers • BY JACK J. PHILLIPS AND PATTI P. PHILLIPS
F
Jack J. Phillips is the chairman, and Patti P. Phillips is president and CEO of the ROI Institute. To comment, email editor@CLOmedia.com.
ew would dispute how important learning proHow do you do this? There are many strategies, but grams are for business results. It’s the number one here are a few simple tactics to get you started: thing executives want to see from learning. That busi- 1. Compare an experimental group — who takes ness connection must be there. Fortunately, there is the program — with a control group — who credible business data available in any organization, does not take the program. If the groups are government or business to prove learning’s impact. matched, the difference can be attributed to the As the value of learning unfolds, five levels of evalulearning program. ation are possible: reaction, learning, application, im2. Trend the pre-program impact data to the post pact and ROI, driven by objectives at each level. At the period, and compare the actual data to the trend. impact level, specific impact data in the organization If nothing else has entered the process, and trend have actually changed; this is usually reported in the continues, this difference — the actual versus the records or in reports. The challenge is to show how trend — shows the amount attributed to the much of the improvement is connected to an actual learning program. program. This requires that learning leaders separate 3. Estimate the effects. The most credible individulearning’s effects from other potential influences. als, who understand the process best, indicate the This action does not mean that learning is a process percentage of the improvement that is connected implemented in isolation. On the contrary, all processes to the learning program. When these estimates must work together. For example, consider a sales sceare collected, the error of the estimate is removed nario where a sales learning program’s objective is to into make it credible. This step discounts the crease sales from existing customers by 10 percent in six amount of the allocation by the amount of error months. In the evaluation, you track the impact meathat is present. This technique can be used if sure, “sales from existing customers.” You know that advertising, special promotion, pricing strategies, market growth and competitor actions, among other things, could contribute to the sales increase. If you don’t take that extra step to indicate the amount of the sales increase connected directly to the learning program, you lose credibility with senior executives. After all, the marketing team — for instance — is already showing how many sales are connected to a particular promotion, market growth or pricing strategy. That particular business function has been doing this for years. Unfortunately, we learning leaders rarely tackle this issue. nothing else works, but it is actually very credible. The ROI methodology addresses the challenge of When estimates are compared to other methods, isolation very clearly. It’s a part of the definition, a resuch as an experimental versus a control group, quired step in the ROI process model, and it’s in our estimates are often more conservative because standards as a guiding principle. Some 95 percent of they are provided by people who know their work this methodology’s users voted to adopt this as a stanbest, who are actually driving that impact meadard, which means that it’s always done. sure. They can sort it out, and they do. Critics often ask, who really does this? Well, we Other techniques are available. To learn more about know that almost 5,000 people have taken this step how to isolate the effects of your programs please let us and become Certified ROI Professionals. For individ- know, and we will send you a briefing paper. uals to earn this designation, they must conduct a The long and the short of it is, to connect learning study in the workplace showing a program’s effects, to the business, you must sort out a program’s effects including the ROI. Similarly, to measure business im- from other influences. Otherwise, you’re wasting your pact, learning leaders must take an extra step to show time. It can be done. Thousands of people are doing it. the amount connected to the program — always. It’s up to you to make the effort. CLO
To connect learning to the business, you must sort out a program’s effects from other potential influences.
16 Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com
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6BEST PRACTICES WE CAN ALL GET BEHIND
18 Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com
Employees don’t exist in a performance vacuum, and their environment and organizational systems impact the results they produce. Here are six practices no learning leader will disagree with.
BY ED EMDE
E
xperienced and successful learning leaders know something their less successful peers don’t. Their secret isn’t about learning design or delivery or some new technology. Their secret isn’t even a secret. It is recognition, acceptance and ownership of the fact that learning alone isn’t enough to change behavior. Today’s top learning leaders recognize that how learning is implemented is every bit as critical as content, modality, learner engagement and evaluation. They know that to see long-term sustained behavioral change and performance improvements they need to attend to a number of practices that have proven to be highly effective over the past several decades.
Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com 19
Learning leaders across a wide range of industries are leading the charge to bridge the gap between what participants learn in the classroom and what happens on the job. While every leader is unique, there are six universal best practices that form a consistent core for any effective implementation: Link to business strategy. Clearly linking learning to the business strategy is best practice number one in both order and importance. This clear linkage to the business is what enables learning organizations to get support and active involvement from leaders at all levels of the organization. Successful learning leaders don’t roll out any initiatives without an identified business need. Kevin Carpenter, sales training manager for DuPont Pioneer, is responsible for generating performance results and ensuring that salespeople deliver a consistent customer experience. This is a big enough challenge for companies with their own dedicated sales force. In Carpenter’s case, the challenge is even greater because none of the salespeople work for Pioneer; each is a small-business owner who contracts to sell Pioneer brand seed. Yet, year after year, sales agents embrace the learning and use the skills and tools the training team provides. “Our training is always about meeting a business need,” he explained. “We never roll out learning without a clear link to our business objectives or data that shows a gap in existing knowledge, skills and abilities needed to drive performance.” Gain executive sponsorship. Key executive involvement in learning communicates the critical importance of the skills, knowledge and behaviors being taught. While some learning leaders try to gain executive sponsorship after they have designed a program or initiative, the most successful start with the strategy and actively partner with business leaders to identify learning needs. Michael Woodard, global learning leader for GE Power Services, embodies this point of view. With responsibility for developing thousands of employees in 120 countries, he partners closely with a global advisory board of executives to identify the human capabilities that will be essential for strategy execution. From the earliest planning stages, Woodard emphasizes that delivering bottom-line results will require the active involvement of executives and leaders at all levels, and he engages them on an ongoing basis.
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Implementation best practices are rooted in research and common sense, yet they are surprisingly not common practice.
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20 Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com
Reader Reaction Are Best Practices Always Best?
Brian O’Leary: Best practices should be approached with a healthy dose of scientific skepticism. They provide a baseline, a reference, an idea, not a ready-made solution. Best practices are dependent on context — they are not one size fits all. They must be molded to fit the needs and nature of your organization. Most importantly, best practices are intended as one of many tools for organizational improvement, not a panacea.
Wendi Walker-Schmidt: Best practices should serve as a roadmap. However … one of the largest variances I’ve experienced is organizational culture. We know the common saying that culture will eat strategy for lunch. Best practices can influence and lay the ground work, but should have flexibility based on culture.
Andrew Byers: A major shift for how I thought about best practices was working closely with a colleague in my last role (Lee Weyers). The idea is that best practices need to be living things that grow, change and adapt. As such, he coined the term “Leading Practices” to reflect that practice needs to be constantly evolving — taking into account shifts in the market, developments in technology and so on. One of the most important things I learned from him!
Caryn Whitney: What corporations may forget to ask when determining criteria for best practices: Does this best practice apply to the global mindset in each of our locations? Do we need separate versions, not just translations? Will this best practice be internally perceived as “best” by our non-Western employees? If those who determine and/or approve best practices cannot readily answer those questions, then a culture audit should be performed by a learning professional. Also, the vetting group should ensure that all cultural stakeholders are represented when determining a best practice. By doing so, all employees will clearly understand the quality standards upon which their work will be compared, and the corporation’s global business goals are more likely to be achieved.
Peggy Parskey: If you are going to leapfrog the competition, then perhaps you should consider creating your own best practices and not follow the herd. What do you think? Join the discussion at tinyurl.com/ gnmtcc9, follow us on Twitter @CLOmedia or join our Chief Learning Officer LinkedIn group.
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Plan ongoing communication. Marketing professionals accept that people need to see an ad seven times before they can recall it. Salespeople know it takes five to nine contacts to capture a prospect’s attention. Yet, many organizations expect employees to adopt new skills and behaviors the first time they are exposed to them. Failure to plan and execute ongoing communications turns a learning system into a forgettable “one and done” event. As a 28-year veteran of the learning industry, Steve Woods knows that when participants seem reluctant to attend a class or when managers resist supporting training, disillusionment is often the root cause. “I get it,” said Woods, manager of airport operations training design at United Airlines. “Many things end up being flavor of the month. It’s rather discouraging when something you liked seems to lose traction and disappear.” Woods said he counters initial skepticism by deliberately and repeatedly communicating a consistent message that each workshop is part of an ongoing journey that directly links to the business. His communication plan includes inviting an executive to kick off every session and asking them to address topics such as: • What is our strategy? • How does this program fit into our strategy? • What’s coming in the next five years? • What can I expect after this session? • How will we keep the learning alive on the job? These same messages are repeated many times before, during and after people attend a learning program using a variety of communication methods. Integrate skills and tools with work processes. Successful learning leaders know if new skills are treated as an “add-on” to current work processes, learning will not result in performance improvement. For learning to translate into real-world applications, the knowledge, skills, concepts and behaviors must be integrated into day-to-day work processes. Tools and processes are the scaffolding that supports employee learning and speeds time-to-proficiency on the job. Failure to integrate application tools will mean that learners will struggle to use the skills and may decide it is too hard. “We do more than integrating the skills into the work,” Woods said. “We integrate the skills and nomenclature into our culture. Terminology from our courses becomes part of how we communicate every day in emails, signage and meetings. Now, new hires pick it up because it’s become the language of how we work here.” Ensure manager preparation. Ensuring managers and other stakeholders support the learning is the single most significant thing learning leaders can do to ensure the transfer of
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new skills to work performance — but this does not happen automatically. Managers need to be prepared. Effective ways to prepare managers include communicating clear responsibilities, developing coaching plans and coaching skills training, and providing managers with coaching playbooks and other on-the-job tools. Failure to prepare managers will result in situations in which managers are not equipped to coach.
Clearly linking learning to the business strategy is best practice number one in both order and importance. Woods said he provides lessons from experience. “With past programs, we were probably overly optimistic. We thought leaders would do more coaching on their own. It didn’t happen as much as we expected. While people loved the courses, we didn’t hear much happening in the way of follow-up. With our more-recent programs, the first thing I did was make sure that leaders take the exact same course as their reps. Second, I added another day of coaching skills.” As a result, managers are equipped and enabled to support the application of learning each day on the job. Drive coaching and reinforcement. Most organizations now include reinforcement components and coaching tools in the same design as their learning. While providing these tools is a great start, learning leaders need to take steps to ensure these tools are actually used. These steps include developing concrete coaching plans and accountabilities, and ensuring managers follow through with coaching, conduct best practice sharing meetings and lead application sessions. Without these steps, new behaviors won’t be sustained, and leaders won’t see the business impact their organization is expecting. For example, GE Power Services’ Woodard said one recent initiative included weekly post-training engagement with managers and participants. The company developed a five-week cadence of meetings that held managers accountable for coaching. Woodard reported progress — or lack thereof — on a weekly basis to senior leaders. After the first week, people realized executives were involved, and engagement soared.
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BEST PRACTICES continued on page 66 Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com 21
BEST PRACTICES continued from page 21 Program development and follow-up best practices are one thing, but they’re not all there is. Implementation best practices are rooted in research and common sense, yet they are surprisingly not common practice. All too often, learning teams focus on what happens in the classroom rather than what happens in the workplace. They get caught up in the pressure to push out programs quickly, and they neglect the factors that dictate whether the learning will improve performance. Why do leaders so often fail to give adequate attention to implementation? Learning leaders often say things like: It’s too hard to get support from the line. I don’t have the budget. Or, I don’t have time. Unlike many of his peers in the learning industry, Woodard said he doesn’t have a problem getting buyin or budget dollars for learning. He understands that the business may require the learning organization to pivot on a dime. What remains constant is that he extends the same rigor applied to developing the best program content to all aspects of STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT & CIRCULATION (Required by 39 U.S.C.3685) the implementation. 1. Publication title: Chief Learning Officer 2. Publication number: 2398-1000 Woods shares a similar per3. Filing date: October 1, 2016 4. Issue frequency: Monthly except for Jan/Feb, Nov/Dec spective. He said when peers 5. Number of issues published annually: 10 6. Annual subscription price: $195 cite time as a barrier to execut7. Complete mailing address of known office of publication: 111 E. Wacker Dr., Suite 1200, Chicago, IL 60601 Contact: Cindy Cardinal at 847-438-4577 ing on the implementation 8. Complete mailing address of headquarters or general business office of publisher: Mediatec Publishing, 111 E. Wacker Dr., Suite 1200, Chicago, IL 60601 best practices, he asks, “Do you 9. Full names and complete mailing addresses of publisher, editor, and managing editor: Cliff Capone, Publisher, 111 E. Wacker Dr., Suite 1200, have the time to be successful? Chicago, IL 60601; Mike Prokopeak, Editor, 111 E. Wacker Dr., Suite 1200, Chicago, IL 60601; There is a difference in looking Kellye Whitney, Managing Editor, 111 E. Wacker Dr., Suite 1200, Chicago, IL 60601. at it as a burden or looking at it 10. Owner: John R. Taggart, 1401 Park Avenue, Ste 502, Emeryville, CA 94608. 11. Known bondholders, mortgagees and other security holders owning or as investment.” Investing in holding 1% or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages, or other securities: none 12. Tax status has not changed. the right implementation ap13. Publication title: Chief Learning Officer 14. Issue date for circulation data below: August 2016 proach has a multiplier effect 15. Extent & nature of circulation Avg. no. copies No. copies each issue of single issue on the results generated from during preceding published nearest 12 months to filing date a. Total no. of copies (net press run) 23,354 22,392 any learning initiative. b. Paid/requested distribution: b1. Outside county paid/requested mail To help decide where to insubscriptions stated on form PS 3541 (Including advertisers’ proof and exchange copies) 18,976 18,825 vest time, it can be helpful to b2. In-county paid/requested mail subscriptions stated on form PS 3541 do some quick analysis to de(Including advertisers’ proof and exchange copies) 0 0 b3. Sales through dealers and carriers, termine the relative imporstreet vendors, counter sales and other non-USPS paid/requested distribution 306 402 tance of each initiative. Rank b4. Other mail classes through the USPS 0 0 c. Total paid and/or requested circulation 19,282 19,227 each learning and developd. Nonrequested distribution: d1. Outside county nonrequested ment project based on the imcopies stated on form PS 3541 2,693 2,849 d2. In-county nonrequested copies pact each initiative will have stated on form PS 3541 0 0 d3. Nonrequested copies distributed through the USPS 0 0 on the organization’s ability to d4. Nonrequested copies distributed outside the mail 0 0 execute its business strategy. e. Total nonrequested distribution (sum of 15d 1, 2, 3, 4) 2,693 2,849 The higher the ranking, the f. Total distribution (sum of 15c & 15e) 21,975 22,076 g. Copies not distributed 1,379 316 h. Total (sum of 15f & 15g) 23,354 22,392 higher the stakes. The higher i. Percent paid and/or requested circulation (15c ÷ 15f × 100) 87.8% 87.1% the stakes, the more the orga16. Electronic Copy Circulation. 2,208 a. Requested and paid electronic copies 2,198 nization can’t afford to risk the b. Total requested and paid printed copies (line 15c)+requested/paid electronic copies (Line 16a) 21,480 21,435 consequences that come with c. Total requested copy distribution (line 15f)+requested paid neglecting best practices. CLO electronic copies line 16a) 24,173 24,284 d. Percent paid and/or requested circulation (both print & electronic copies) (16b divided by 16c X 100) 88.9% 88.3% ✔ I certify that 50% of all my distributed copies (electronic and print) are legitimate requests or paid copies). 17. This Statement of Ownership shall be printed in the November/December 2016 issue of this publication. 18. I certify that on October 1, 2016, all information furnished on this form is true and complete. Mike Prokopeak, Editor.
Ed Emde is president of Wilson Learning Corp. To comment, email editor@CLOmedia.com.
66 Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com
LEARNING AUDIT continued from page 25 ers were shifting in regards to education and gender. Further, learners were coming from younger generations, but the learning curriculum was not meeting their employees’ needs sufficiently. So, Thomas and her team created a curriculum comprised of more absorbable chunks. They shortened the curriculum to retain learners’ attention, using technology that made the curriculum more accessible, and they created more learning options within the curricu-
Choosing between a variety of audits allows the CLO to personalize how best to use their resources and budget to meet learning-driven business goals. lum. For instance, learners often read faster than the audio playback; it helped to have text available and to be able to turn the audio off. A learning audit can shed light on new information as well as reinforce previous assumptions. Either way, the information revealed provides learning leaders with crucial knowledge they need about their organization in order to create better learning and development options.
But Is It Worth It? Audits can be a lot of work, and some learning leaders may ask themselves, Is it worth it? The answer is, absolutely. The benefits of conducting a learning audit are often much greater than the cost. Further, the CLO can decide how often they want to conduct one. More exhaustive and comprehensive audits won’t need to be conducted as often, but smaller, less-expensive audits could be used once or twice a year. Sandritter said CLOs should periodically examine their learning strategies in order to adapt to the constantly changing demands of their respective markets. Thomas said she would prioritize a learning audit over other organizational investments. “At the end of the day, you want to do whatever is best to help improve and increase the results of your organization.” Conducting a learning audit is the best way to ensure that learning leaders and CLOs do just that. CLO AnnMarie Kuzel was an editorial intern for Chief Learning Officer. To comment, email editor@CLOmedia.com.
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22 Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com
How to Conduct a
Learning
Audit BY ANNMARIE KUZEL
Learning and development strategies are like trends — they come and they go. A learning audit can help identify which strategies will produce exactly what the workforce and business need to succeed.
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ust like most trends that once worked, an organization’s learning strategies are bound to go out of style at some point. It is a CLO’s job to recognize when current learning and development strategies no longer yield the same successful results. To do this, learning leaders need to look deep within their organizations. They need to review programs often, be aware of the strengths and weaknesses in their learning strategies, and implement changes accordingly. The best way to do that is to conduct a learning audit. Diana Thomas, former learning executive at McDonald’s Corp. and current CEO of learning consultancy Winning Results LLC, said a learning audit is “a way to really step back and do a 360 and look at your whole organization.” It’s a way to examine where an organization is currently, and what sort of progress it needs to make in the future. But to reap a learning audit’s full benefits, CLOs must be intimately
Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com 23
familiar with all learning objectives, delivery modalities and post-implementation processes.
Take Your Pick A learning audit can provide significant information to help CLOs understand their organization’s current levels of productivity, engagement, knowledge and success, as well as how to improve these for the future. Timo Sandritter, HR strategist and chief operation officer for digital media group Haufe Inc., said frequent audits will answer questions like: Are employees up to date on training needs/wants? Is the company emphasizing moving the entire ecosystem forward as a unit or only for select individuals? How does individual development progression reflect on the organization’s ability to attract and retain talent? Investigating these key factors allows learning leaders to understand how their development strategies are currently functioning and how they can be improved. Further, employee learning and development can become stagnant when the organization is not experiencing growth. Sandritter said a learning audit can help a CLO avoid this undesirable state. By conducting a learning audit, CLOs are not only investing in their employees, they’re investing in themselves. “It gives the learning leader so much credibility for being a strategic leader, anticipating where the company needs to go and ensuring that your learning organization aligns,” Thomas said. Learning audits can uncover useful information and increase a learning leader’s credibility, but many forgo them because the audits appear too intimidating. But there are a variety of audits available, so learning leaders can customize their audit experience and eliminate the fear associated with the process. According to William Thalheimer, president of Work-Learning Research Inc., choosing between a vaFIGURE 1: HOW TO CONDUCT A LEARNING AUDIT Weigh the pros and cons to make the right choice for your company.
Disadvantages
Advantages
In-house auditors
Outside auditors
• More available • More likely to see constraints • Develop in-house competencies • Motivate internal team • Less external costs • Able to do more audits
• Experienced • Unbiased • Knowledgeable of research • Have seen more learning exemplars • Bring credibility • Bring outside set of eyes
• Less time to build learning • Not as knowledgeable • Not as credible • Worry about bias
• More costly • Must hire well • Take time to learn organization • Fewer audits are possible
Source: Will Thalheimer, LearningAudit.net
24 Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com
riety of learning audits allows the CLO to personalize how best to use their resources and budget to meet learning-driven business goals. Audits can be full scale, or smaller and less-time consuming; focused on inputs or outputs; conducted by an internal or an external auditor. For example, an organization that relies on a short e-learning program might be able to perform a small-scale learning audit and still receive sufficient information to improve the program. On the other hand, investigating classroom learning tends to require a more extensive audit. After evaluating which type of learning audit best meets an organization’s needs, the CLO has to deter-
“Audits are only as good as the actions taken afterwards. Therefore, CLOs should have audit plans in place that include specific action items, time frames and stakeholders involved.” — Timo Sandritter, HR strategist and chief operation officer, Haufe Inc. mine what delivery modalities it needs. Sandritter said “one size does not fit all” when it comes to specific delivery modalities. Thomas, who conducted an intense learning audit while at McDonald’s, shared a similar piece of advice; there is no “secret formula” for conducting an audit. For McDonald’s, Thomas and her team began by examining employees’ education levels, gender, ethnicity in regards to language, age and generation. This data is important to thoroughly understand the learning audience — the people using the learning curriculum. In addition to examining demographics, Thomas conducted a thorough content analysis. Asking questions such as: What are people thinking? Are they thinking that the training’s accessible? That it’s easy to find? Do they like the content? Are they using the content? Finally, McDonald’s learning audit examined employee job profiles. This revealed the responsibilities, tasks and leadership skills associated with each job to ensure the core curriculum supported them.
Do a CostBenefit Analysis or CLOs trying to decide if F conducting a learning audit — or any organizational investment — is the right option for their organization, a cost benefit analysis can be useful. It is important to weigh the benefits and strengths of a decision with the drawbacks and costs to decide if an investment is truly worthwhile. Dani Johnson
Dani Johnson, vice president of learning and development for research leaders at Bersin by Deloitte, Deloitte Consulting LLP, describes costs as “actual or estimated expenditures, including the costs incurred by employees in taking time away from work for training.” A program’s strengths or benefits are “based on estimates or actual data on improved employee performance as a result of the training (such as a reduction in errors), as well as how well the program is aligned with business goals,” she explained. Cost-benefit analyses can be used for a variety of things, like deciding which type of learning technology best meets an organization’s needs, or if a learning audit is the best way to examine current and future learning strategies. Regardless of what is measured, Johnson said a cost-benefit analysis has four main steps. First, learning leaders should list options and their benefits. Next, determine who are the stakeholders. “Learners are going to be your stakeholders, managers are most likely going to be your stakeholders, and then executive business leaders are going to be your stakeholders,” she said. Third, determine how to measure success. Johnson said chosen metrics should relate to the organization as a whole rather than specifically to learning. Finally, a CLO should decide which option will create the best outcomes. A cost-benefit analysis can be used before a learning audit to decide if an audit is the best method to examine an organization’s learning strategies. It also can be used after a leaning audit to decide which learning technology and resources will be the best investment to create impact in the areas the audit specified are in need of improvement. Knowing how to conduct a cost-benefit analysis is a skill CLOs should practice often, as it will prove useful for their work over and over again. — AnnMarie Kuzel
The main objectives for the McDonald’s audit were to understand the audience, become aware of their perspectives and tailor learning content to meet the audience’s needs. But learning audits can examine other aspects of an organization, such as the amount of content provided in addition to the content type. Too many learning leaders teach too much content, said Thalheimer. “If you teach content and that’s your focus, you tend to lecture, you tend to put information out there, but you forget to do things like encouraging learners to reflect, to think about how it’s relevant, to give them decision-making practice, to give them repetitions in learning.” Thalheimer said learning leaders also may not support learner retention; teaching content is useless if it is quickly and easily forgotten. Simulations are one way to combat this issue, as are learning strategies that require learners to retrieve things from their memory in the same way they have to on the job, along with spacing out repetitions of key learning points over time.
Audit Complete. Now What? After identifying the strengths and weaknesses in an organization’s learning strategies, Sandritter said the company has to adapt and adjust. “Audits are only as good as the actions taken afterwards,” he said. “Therefore, CLOs should have audit plans in place that include specific action items, time frames and stakeholders involved.” Involving stakeholders in the audit process from the beginning is important so that all of the most important decision-makers are on the same page, and there are no surprise disagreements to delay the process. Thalheimer, who has conducted many learning audits for various organizations including the Navy SEALs, said to successfully turn a learning audit’s results into organizational change, the key is level-setting. Level-setting is a two- to threehour process that occurs before the audit results are revealed. During this process, learning leaders and stakeholders familiarize themselves with research-based best practices to understand how their findings compare to the research and then implement changes accordingly. Thomas examined the results of the McDonald’s audit and implemented changes to the learning curriculum that directly impacted the three main objectives she identified in the preliminary audit stages. The audit results revealed that learnLEARNING AUDIT continued on page 66 Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com 25
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BEST PRACTICES IN HR DEVELOPMENT
Transforming the Strategic Learning Function Employing a Customer-Centric Approach to Learning/ Performance Improvement Design BY TIM HARNETT
Today’s learning and development teams face unprecedented shifts in creating and delivering learning and performance improvement solutions. Businesses need responsive partners who can deliver solutions quickly. “Environments are changing rapidly — for us, our partners and their internal customers,” says Matt Donovan, vice president of learning solutions for GP Strategies. “Everybody wants things faster and shorter. At the same time, the challenges we’re trying to address to meet learning demands are becoming more complex, especially when delivering products to organizations in different spaces. What does an effective shorter and faster solution look like in the retail space versus the regulated health care space? While some spaces can’t have their learning processes truncated beyond a certain point, others demand smaller, bite-size training. How do learning and development teams meet those needs for a range of individual organizations?” “At GP Strategies, we needed to refine and evolve our processes to meet the customers’ needs, giving our teams the range of tools they need to get where we need to be,” Donovan says. “We’ve shifted our mindset from product/solution-centric to a more customercentric approach. As we’ve partnered with organizations that are themselves undergoing customer-centric shifts, we began to reflect on how we provide services to our partners and how that applies to the broader learning and performance improvement industry. Rather than focus on delivering an e-learning asset through a standardized process, we’re now thinking about how we can deliver solutions our partners need through processes better aligned to their organizations.” How can a learning team shift from a product-centric to a customer-centric mindset? Donovan describes the process, which involves understanding the company culture, gathering data, requesting feedback and making adjustments as needed. Understand the culture. As more organizations turn to customized solutions for their learning and development initiatives, L&D teams will need to spend more time
understanding the culture they’re developing for. “Understanding the culture of both the organization overall as well as the microculture of the business unit you’re dealing with is critical to producing an asset that will ultimately be used in the workplace,” Donovan says. “While we still have partners who ask us to build traditional training solutions, many want innovative solutions and they want them fast. At the same time, the most well-crafted, instructionally sound materials won’t improve performance one iota if the delivery method doesn’t match the work culture.” “To successfully interact with our customers, we need to incorporate design thinking principles and learn about them early in the relationship. Learn what their value points are, how they communicate best and how they consume information around making learning program design decisions. This way we can make adjustments to our workflow and deliver products that are appropriate to the organization.” “For example, in the retail space, we’ve had to re-examine our approach to design documentation from organization to organization. One company or business function within a highly regulated space might prefer a more text-based approach to design documentation, while others require more visual approaches. It depends on many factors, including quality and quantity of information, and time to digest learning deliverables. The key is to understand the nature of our partner and adjust processes and deliverables accordingly.” Gather data and continually ask for feedback. Data ensures that L&D teams have the information to make the right decisions. “Establish continuous evaluation points and collect feedback on both on the solutions developed and the processes in which you’re engaging with the customers,” Donovan suggests. ”Use that information to create better processes that are more responsive to customer needs.” “Not all approaches work for everybody; we have to understand who’s sitting across the table and how they consume information
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BEST PRACTICES IN HR DEVELOPMENT so they can better participate in our collaborative process. Feedback should be solicited naturally. At GP Strategies, we gather insights through observations and questions throughout the development process, rather than relying on singular, more cumbersome formal review events. By asking key questions and gathering data informally, we’re able to collect authentic feedback in a more sustainable manner.” “Don’t just focus on if the customer is happy with the end deliverables; ensure they’re comfortable with the process. Are your customers getting the information they need? Are they as informed as they can be to have buy-in on the solution? Did we as the service provider accurately reflect the intended outcome of the experience while doing it in a timely fashion? Did the process enable the client to extend the strategic vision to others regarding the final deliverables? If the answer to any of these questions is no, then there may be some adjustments to be made.” Make adjustments. “To ensure our success, we’re examining how we interact with our partners based on what we learn through gathering information, feedback and data, and then adjusting the ways we conduct business to achieve better outcomes quicker,” Donovan says. “We want to adjust our processes to be more nimble, which ultimately allows us to have a greater impact in the field.” “We’re creating processes that can be adapted and adjusted to meet our customers’ value points. Instead of having a rigid process that tightly defines the length and scope of an e-learning course, we adjust those processes based on the cultures we’re going in to. Some organizations prefer shorter pieces. Others need to convey more complex information, which requires more dedicated space and time. Some organizations have thin content, high-performance support needs, while others need more responsive solutions with dynamic capabilities. The design and development processes supporting these can vary by partner.” Donovan continues. “It’s both about what we’re delivering and how we interact differently with our customers. How do
we get informed buy-in through the development process? At GP Strategies, we’re shifting away from transactional singular learning events toward pervasive, sustainable experiences that meet learners beyond that first experience. As a result, we’re going deeper and mapping tighter to a systemic, motion-picture view of the organization — looking at the organization from a wider view than just a single course. It’s a challenge, because getting more pervasive and stretching across those moments of need means mapping against a constantly evolving performance environment. To get really good solutions we need to know how the organization works, what its culture is like and how it makes decisions. Then we map our processes to get more effective outputs quicker.” “We’re trying to push past good customer service and arrive at a more customer-centric experience,” Donovan says. ”A more customer-centric approach leverages what we know about our customers, how they organize what they’re trying to achieve and how we align our processes to better meet them where they are.” “Mapping to a performance environment is a more involved process than ever before. For example, we have seen an evolution in regulated industries, where internal and external compliance auditors no longer simply ask who has completed training and what was the content presented. Now they’re asking how do you (the organization) know employees can perform a specific job? This shift impacts both the solutions delivered and process employed to get there.” “Historically, the instructional design environment was much more controlled. Designers had a more direct design and development path than they do today. In today’s environment you’re designing for relevance to drive performance. It’s a different design mindset. In a customer-centric environment, you have to think creatively and differently based on what you know about your partner organization. Ultimately, you need to provide them with high-impact learning and development processes, tools and technology.” To learn more about GP Strategies, visit gpstrategies.com.
COMPANY PROFILE Discover customized performance improvement programs that strategically align with your unique business objectives and differentiate your global workforce, leaders and salespeople to ensure business excellence. Our managed learning strategies include repeatable processes to make knowledge transfer more efficient and cost-effective. Our sales solutions emphasize rich experiences to foster sales and loyalty. And our leadership development strategies stress employee engagement. Everything we do, from technical and compliance training to process improvement and human capital technology integration, is focused on helping your organization deliver meaningful results.
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BEST PRACTICES IN L&D
Time for your corporate learning strategy health-check? BY CROSSKNOWLEDGE
In our 21st Century’s business environment, it’s essential that L&D delivers to the pace & direction of the business. As the global environment and business are rapidly changing, it is important to shape a learning strategy that aligns with organizational goals and delivers learning that boosts employee performance while improving business results. This learning strategy is the blueprint for assessing the requirements of an organization’s learning framework and how this framework can drive organizational performance. Developing a comprehensive learning strategy requires a learning organization to evaluate its goals, governance, people, processes and systems that are currently in place. However only 44% of the companies state that they have an effective corporate learning strategy in place (Bersin: High impact learning organization series, 2013). Many current corporate learning leaders realize that L&D transformation is needed to deliver business results but don’t know what to change and where to start (Jane Hart, 2016). In this article, we will describe the key clusters of the corporate learning strategy (CLS) and provide you with a link to a healthcheck tool to review your CLS-state and define improvement areas.
“There’s a huge call for corporate learning to be more efficient, effective and consistent.”
Do you need a learning strategy? Both the business environment and learning environment are rapidly changing and expected to evolve at an even faster pace in the coming years (McKinsey: Learning at the speed of business, 2016). Corporate learning is moving from push to pull; from classroom to the workplace; from delivering programs to delivering business impact. In this way you facilitate continuous learning that’s needed to enable cultural transformation, fill the talent pipeline, boost innovation and equip the workforce to perform today and tomorrow. In parallel there’s a huge call for corporate learning to be more efficient, effective and consistent. This requires a structured approach to plan, design and deliver learning: an effective corporate learning strategy. This learning strategy can enable you to review, benchmark and plan-forward in terms of: ‘Why, What, How is L&D delivering?’, ‘Who is delivering learning in your organization?’ and ‘How are you performing versus the benchmark?’ Deloitte’s 2015 Global Human Capital Trends Report highlights that the learning strategy of more mature organizations helps them to deliver business goals and transforms the way work is done. Components of a corporate learning strategy In parallel we conducted desk research on corporate learning strategy and corporate universities to assemble solid views and directions for a corporate learning health-check tool. In recent weeks we have successfully piloted this tool with clients and have received positive feedback and support to progress. The result of this process is a Corporate Learning Strategy (CLS) health check tool with 6 clusters that are key component of a healthy learning organization. Each component contains 5 concrete guidelines to review, embrace and implement to further professionalize your corporate learning strategy in relation to your specific organizational context.
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BEST PRACTICES IN L&D
The 6 corporate learning strategy components are • Corporate learning Mission & Plan. A component that relates to the mission, strategy, learning plans & policies in your organization. • L&D Governance & Finance. A cluster with a focus on your learning governance and which funding models you have in place. • Learning Technology. A component to assess whether learning technologies are aligned, integrated and accessible • Learning offer; design & delivery. A component with a focus on design & delivery strategies and management of existing L&D portfolio. • L&D sourcing & vendor management. A cluster that relates to sourcing strategy, and how vendors are managed. • L&D measurement & processes. A component that relates to needs analysis and which processes are in place that turns business stakes into L&D KPIs.
How fit is your Corporate Learning Strategy? Run the CLS health-check and improve your corporate learning strategy. We assume that you would like to review the fitness of your corporate learning strategy and as a result align closer to your business and operate more efficiently and effectively! We recommend that you register for our webinar on October 27 for more in-depth insight into this CLS healthcheck. Following that webinar you can conduct a corporate learning strategy health-check which identifies areas to ‘cure. Can your L&D keep up with the speed and demands of the business? In the rapidly changing environment it is vital to have a ‘healthy’ corporate L&D strategy in order to align with business needs, deliver greater value for money and offer effective continuous learning. We will provide you with a CLS health-check opportunity without going into detail regarding the learning culture or learner engagement as these topics are covered in other CLI-articles and research.
REFERENCES Brandon Hall – L&D: a framework for excellence 2015 whitepaper McKinsey quarterly: Learning at the speed of business 2016 CEB (corporate executive board): Measuring L&D’s impact 2013 playbook Deloitte: Global Human Capital trends research 2015 Towards Maturity: Embracing Change – 2016 industry report McKinsey: Corporate Academy research report 2016 Towards Maturity: Embracing Change – 2016 industry report McKinsey: Corporate Academy research report 2016 Jane Hart: 2016 blogs and articles
COMPANY PROFILE CrossKnowledge is an engaging, forward-looking digital learning solution, driving business outcomes and the ability to transform individuals and entire organizations. We provide a customized, fully integrated learning solution and implement it at unmatched velocity. For more information, please visit www.crossknowledge.com.
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BEST PRACTICES IN TUITION ASSISTANCE
Tuition Assistance Programs: Current Perspectives New survey results show how 371 respondents feel about their organization’s tuition assistance approaches BY TIM HARNETT
By 2020, an estimated 65 percent of all jobs will require some form of postsecondary education.1 However, with tuition rates on the rise, many students need help mitigating the rising cost of study.2 Some employers have turned to tuition assistance programs as one way to assist the more than 80 percent of students who work while they’re enrolled in classes.3 For employees, tuition assistance puts education within financial reach, while organizations with successful tuition assistance programs can direct employee upskilling, foster loyalty and retain top performers. New research from Chief Learning Officer and Capella University explores how tuition assistance programs are viewed and refined. We surveyed 371 people whose organizations either have or plan to offer tuition assistance or tuition benefits programs for their thoughts on such initiatives. More than half (53.89 percent) of all respondents believe such programs are important to their organization’s talent management strategy, while 20.17 percent of respondents describe tuition assistance programs as critical to the organization’s strategy. For the majority of survey respondents (54.62 percent), tuition assistance is seen as an employee benefit, used to attract, engage and retain employees. Respondents shape their organization’s tuition assistance programs by defining the program and its eligibility requirements and making employees aware of program availability.
“We view tuition assistance as tantamount to offering a bonus when coming on board.” —Administration professional, survey open comments
Defining eligibility and requirements. Who gets to participate in tuition assistance programs? Should the program be open to all or only certain workforce segments? More than eight in 10 (82.35 percent) respondents say their organizations have defined tuition assistance program eligibility requirements. Example requirements include limiting participation to employees based on job role, performance rating or tenure with the organization. Leaders may also have a say in participation. Nearly nine in 10 (88.31 percent) respondents say their organization requires employees to secure management or department head approval.
“We would like to offer a debt forgiveness program to attract applicants with a college degree.” —Human resources and workforce development professional, survey open comments
When implementing a tuition assistance program, organizations typically set budget and identify what kind of courses the program will cover. Nearly 80 percent (78.09 percent) of respondents report having a yearly cap in place on how much individual employees can receive in tuition assistance. For nearly half (48.99 percent) of all respondents, this cap is less than $5,250 annually per employee, which is the tax-deductible amount the IRS allows per employee per year.4 Communicating about the program: To encourage participation, some organizations communicate about the
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availability of tuition assistance programs to those employees they’ve deemed eligible. While some organizations believe their employees have a good understanding of program benefits, nearly half (47.59 percent) of all organizations say their employees only somewhat have a good understanding of their available benefits. Many respondents report using a wide variety of channels to communicate with employees about tuition assistance programs. According to survey respondents, current top communications channels include company intranets, emails and direct manager communication and training. Making adjustments. Any program can be reviewed and adjusted periodically to ensure proper alignment to organizational goals. For survey respondents, the top adjustments they’re considering making to their organization’s tuition assistance programs include looking for more strategic ways to use tuition assistance dollars (27.56 percent) and considering adding student loan repayment options to their mix (14.10 percent). Respondents whose organizations offer tuition assistance programs report positive outcomes from their efforts, including increased employee satisfaction, employee engagement and retention. To determine the impact of their initiatives, many respondents say
FIGURE 1:
Top reported outcomes organizations have experienced from tuition assistance efforts Increased employee satisfaction 49 %
41%
Increased employee engagement 39%
Increased employee retention 37%
Increased recruiting power 29%
their organization sets and reviews key performance indicators, such as employee satisfaction levels, retention numbers or increase in product quality (Figure 1). By expanding channels and communicating the availability and value of their programs, HR leaders may see program participation rise over the coming years. To learn more about Capella’s Workforce Edge employer program, visit www.workforceedge.com.
RESEA RC H A ND METHODOL OGY All data taken from the 2016 CLO Tuition Assistance State of the Industry survey, unless otherwise noted. The survey was conducted online by the Human Capital Media Research and Advisory Group — the research arm of Chief Learning Officer. The survey was sent to CLO subscribers and results were collected from June to July 2016. 371 people participated in the survey. These survey respondents indicated that their organization either had tuition assistance or tuition benefits programs in place for employee use or had plans to implement such programs. Full results of the survey will be published in an upcoming white paper.
1
Georgetown Public Policy Institute Center of Education and the Workforce. (2013). Recovery: Job Growth and Requirements through 2020.13.
2
The College Board. (2016). Average Rates of Growth of Published Charges by Decade.
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Fottrell, Q. (2013). 80% of students work at least part-time. MarketWatch.
4
Internal Revenue Service (2015). Publication 970 (2015), Tax Benefits for Education.
COMPANY PROFILE Capella Education Company partners with organizations to provide workforce solutions for their learning and development needs. Capella focuses on advancing the critical skills that employers need and can tailor solutions to meet your business goals. Capella’s academic programs are delivered through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Capella University, an accredited* online academic institution. As a competency-based institution, Capella University is dedicated to providing an exceptional, professionally-aligned education. *Capella University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Capella University, Capella Tower, 225 South Sixth Street, Ninth Floor, Minneapolis, MN 55402, 1.888.CAPELLA (227.3552), www.capella.edu
• Learning In Practice Awards •
PRESENTS
Learning In Practice
awards 2016
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his year marks the 13th anniversary of the Chief Learning Officer Learning In Practice Awards, a recognition program to spotlight learning leaders, vendors and organizations that demonstrate excellence in workforce development programming design and delivery as well as use learning to enact measurable changes in their business, strategy or leadership. A panel of judges who are practitioners in the industry chose winners from almost 200 nominations. Senior leaders received awards in eight categories that had two divisions: Division 1 for companies with more than 10,000 employees and Division 2 for companies with fewer than 10,000 employees. Learning providers were also recognized for their service in seven categories, including content, technology and e-learning. Winners were recognized during an awards dinner held Sept. 27 at the Fall 2016 CLO Symposium Plus at the JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn in Arizona.
32 Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com
PRACTITIONER AWARDS CLO of the Year: For the learning executive who is without peer in developing and executing learning and development strategies, marshaling and managing resources and achieving measurable success. The CLO of the Year award recognizes executives for their body of work over the course of their career. Business Impact: For learning executives who have implemented a significant measurement or evaluation program that has demonstrated exceptional business impact from their workforce development programs. Potential results may include measures of employee retention, sales, revenue growth, customer satisfaction or cost reduction, among others. Business Partnership: For learning departments that have partnered in a progressive way with business partners or external organizational divisions and functions such as the sales and marketing department or external customer groups to develop and deliver a targeted employee development program that supports the partner’s goals. Innovation: For learning executives who have marshaled resources and applied innovative practices, processes and/or technologies in a new and groundbreaking way to address a significant business or organizational opportunity.
PROVIDER AWARDS
Strategy: For learning executives who have demonstrated exceptional business acumen combined with forward-looking vision to develop and execute a comprehensive learning strategy that clearly aligns employee development with broader organizational strategy.
Excellence in Academic Partnerships: Recognizes accredited academic learning institutions that have partnered with an organization in the past year to develop skills, competency or knowledge in a general employee population.
Talent Management: For learning executives who have developed a program that effectively integrates learning into broader talent management initiatives such as employee engagement, onboarding, succession planning, recruiting or performance management.
Excellence in Blended Learning Award: Recognizes vendors that have deployed a variety of tools in support of a client’s learning program that delivers engaging learning combining multiple modalities.
Technology: For learning executives who have delivered new and unique applications of emerging technology to employee learning and development.
Excellence in Content: Recognizes vendors that have created superior customized and/or off-theshelf learning content.
Trailblazer: For learning executives who have either launched a new enterprise learning function or completely overhauled existing workforce development initiatives in the past year.
Excellence in E-Learning: Recognizes vendors that have rolled out an innovative and effective e-learning program or suite for a client. Excellence in Executive Education: Recognizes executive education providers that have delivered a targeted executive education program for a client that has delivered measurable results. Excellence in Technology Innovation: Recognizes vendors that have rolled out an innovative learning technology for a client such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, apps, video, social collaboration tools or games and simulations. Excellence in Partnership: Recognizes vendors or consultants who have effectively supported a client’s learning and development function to set strategy or establish or implement a program via consulting or whole or partial outsources services.
Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com 33
• Learning In Practice Awards •
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And the Winner Is... The 13th annual Learning In Practice Awards dinner celebrated dozens of the top learning and development leaders. BY KELLYE WHITNEY
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oo often the learning leader’s good work goes unrecognized. A peer may say, “well done.” And program participants may generously share, “That really helped me, thank you,” or “This was time well spent.” And these compliments are not to be discounted. But nothing says you rock like a trophy, a ceremony and a gathering where all the learning leaders can get together, talk shop, and congratulate themselves for being fabulous. Held Sept. 27th at the JW Marriott Camelback Inn in Scottsdale, Arizona, the setting for the 2016 Learning In Practice Awards dinner was grand. A highlight from Chief Learning Officer’s two-day Fall Symposium Plus, the event was held in a
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purple hued room filled with crystal and black tie ensembles. Some of the top learning leaders and vendors from around the world gathered to receive accolades for their hard work and efforts, and nearly 70 winners took home trophies for one or more of 15 different practitioner and provider award categories. Whether they were a Division 1 or 2 winner, a vendor or a learning leader, winning for partnership, technology innovation or a host of other topical areas, the mood was light, happy and celebratory. The night even produced a tear or two as an emotional Kimo Kippen, chief learning officer for Hilton
34 Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com
Worldwide, passed the CLO of the Year torch to Adri Maisonet-Morales, vice president of enterprise learning and development for Blue Cross Blue Shield North Carolina. So, let this be a lesson to all learning leaders out there. You do reap what you sow. And there may even be a trophy in it for you. CLO . 1 Chief Learning Officer’s Associate
Editorial Director Kellye Whitney was the emcee for the evening. 2 The CLO of the Year trophy.
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3 Hilton’s Kimo Kippen, 2015’s CLO of
the Year, passed the crown to 2016 winner Adri Maisonet-Morales of Blue Cross Blue Shield North Carolina. 4 Editor-in-Chief Mike Prokopeak took
the floor to talk to the crowd. 5 Who knew you could fit all of those
learning and development accomplishments on one table?
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6 Guests enjoyed dinner, recognition of
this year’s award winners and a keynote address from Kimo Kippen. 7 Former CLOs of the Year Lisa Doyle,
left, and Tamar Elkeles.
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Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com 35
• Learning In Practice Awards •
CLO OF THE YE AR
Adri MaisonetMorales:
Team Leader, Business Objective Slayer BY BRAVETTA HASSELL
With one eye on the business prize, and a firm finger on the pulse of the continuously changing world of health care, CLO of the Year Adri Maisonet-Morales has Blue Cross Blue Shield North Carolina well positioned to win in the marketplace.
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dri Maisonet-Morales’ career with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina didn’t start in learning. She was an implant from operations, and it’s one of the factors that has made her so successful leading the company’s learning function. During her tenure in operations at the Durham-based company, she held a number of leadership positions before moving into learning and development in 2004. Four years later, she accepted her current role as vice president of enterprise learning and development, and each year she has added to a growing portfolio of honors she and her team have been awarded. Today, nearly unprecedented policy and regulatory changes have added considerable pressure to insurers like BCBSNC, forcing them to reexamine how they do business. With learning and development as a work enabler and a performance driver, Maisonet-Morales’ strategy to lead with a business lens just makes sense. “I always have an enterprise mindset as I look at the demand and make decisions about what we need to accomplish in order to 36 Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com
have the workforce ready to activate and achieve the strategic imperatives of the organization,” she said. For instance, she reconciles every project against three pillars: efficiency — assessing whether the cost accommodates the effort; alignment — looking critically at whether training is really the silver bullet to address a business problem; and effectiveness — ensuring all stakeholders are clear on desired outcomes and how they will improve performance in the subject area at hand. In addition to using learning to equip the BCBSNC workforce of more than 5,000 internal employees and contractors to perform in a continuously changing environment, Maisonet-Morales and her team systematically reduced business costs by improving existing processes and systems and enabling workers to develop new and
• Learning In Practice Awards •
CLO OF THE YE AR needed skills faster. She said learning opportunities are everywhere, and focus groups. And in the transformation of BCBSNC to a and she has made it a key strategy to use innovations in digital place where learning happens everywhere, the numbers show that technology to meet learners where they are, with what they need. development efforts are clearly making an impact. According to Today the demand for learning is incredibly high. As evidence, the company’s enterprise learning and development departconsider the 373,510 hours ment, a 2014 biannual Denof training Maisonet-Morales’ ison engagement survey indepartment delivered last dicated an increase in year. Her enterprise learning organizational learning and and development team made capability perceptions by a it a priority to figure out how factor of 16 percent. to meet that increased need It’s a team effort. Maisonwithout learning becoming et-Morales’ staff includes 46 cost prohibitive. And, she core team members ranging said she encourages her team from project managers, proto think about how it could gram managers and instruc—Adri Maisonet-Morales, vice president of use this dilemma as an opportional designers to master enterprise learning and development, Blue Cross tunity to strengthen internal trainers and facilitators. She Blue Shield North Carolina partnerships. also works with an extended With those objectives in team offshore through a partmind, the learning function created a facilitations program, for nership with digital content developer Aptara, to whom roughly which subject matter experts could apply to participate in a rigor- 40 percent of the organization’s learning content development ous apprenticeship experience. Following program completion, work is outsourced. Strategic use of external resources like Aptara the SMEs became adjunct faculty for the learning department, has produced an estimated annual savings of $844,800 for better equipping that team to deliver learning across the company. BCBSNC, and “Not only were we able to meet the demand with deep exper- the cost savings is tise, we were also able to avoid thousands and thousands of dollars expected to grow in cost,” Maisonet-Morales said. moving forward. It’s all about being part of efforts that bring strategic value to Leading the organization, she said. BCBSNC’s learning strategy adapts learning with an learning and development to new learner behaviors using tools eye on the bigger like video, social media and microlearning, a focus on decreased business picture, learner time in the classroom, improved content management and Maisonet-Moworkflow, researching and evaluating new technologies and best rales said she is practices in learning and development, and continuing to build very deliberate in partnerships and increase organizational alignment. decision-making, Maisonet-Morales and her team employ a multipronged ap- drilling down to proach designed around dedicated work teams for large-scale enter- where the work prise projects in enterprise system migration, health care reform and is being done, “so business transformation. Through the department’s Workforce Per- my team is very formance Consultants, the learning team works closely with busi- clear about what ness partners to create programs and initiatives that address changes is driving our “Let the talent do what the talent does best,” Maisonet-Morales says. in business processes that have come as a result of enterprise system work.” Team changes, organizational realignment and corporate projects. members are intimately involved in the overall learning strategy Maisonet-Morales said she sees coaching as critical in making because when people understand how they add value in the orgastrong leaders. Coaching is core to BCBSNC in developing lead- nization, it supercharges their motivation to do good work, Maiers, she said, and it is embedded in the company’s signature Lead- sonet-Morales said. ership Essentials program. The immersive three-week program is a And, of course, it pays to adapt to meet the needs of today’s requirement for all newly promoted or new-to-the organization workers, and to deliver impact against the business strategy. “It’s people leaders. an empowered workforce,” she explained. “I get out of the way, Learning and development initiative and product effectiveness and then let the talent do what the talent does best.” CLO . are measured in a number of ways. For instance, Maisonet-Morales has her team measure increases in learner perception of in- Bravetta Hassell is a Chief Learning Officer associate editor. To creased knowledge, productivity and capability through surveys comment, email editor@CLOmedia.com.
‘Not only were we able to meet the demand with deep expertise, we were also able to avoid thousands and thousands of dollars in cost.’
Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com 37
• Learning In Practice Awards •
B U S I N E S S I M PA C T — D I V I S I O N 1
LD O G
BOB POVEY Unit Manager, Gold Fields
As one of the world’s largest gold producers, Gold Fields operates eight mines across four countries. In an industry characterized by hazardous working conditions, injuries and fatigue, safety has always been a core value for the company.
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But about a year ago, the overwhelming majority of its workforce did not feel this commitment: 90 percent of employees said they believed management cared more about production than safety. So when Gold Fields acquired three new mines in Western Australia, the timing was just right to establish a stronger culture of safety in the region. Management brought in Bob Povey, a mining safety expert with 42 years of experience, to implement the trademarked Influencer Training program. The leadership course provided a model for behavior based on six sources of influence at the personal, social and structural levels. Povey led more than 300 workshops for 2,100 employees to empower
Bob Povey led more than 300 workshops for 2,100 employees, empowering them to take control of their own safety and encouraging senior employees to lead by example. them to take control of their own safety by raising awareness of destructive behaviors and encouraging senior employees to lead by example. Gold Fields saw a significant improvement in workplace safety and employee satisfaction. Total recordable injuries fell from 115 to 71 in 16 months, and some sites saw their injury rates reduced by as much as 60 percent. Perceptions of leadership also improved; 70 percent of employees now feel that management values safety over production. —Nidhi Madhavan
BLAIRE BHOJWANI ZE N Director, Learning O BR Technologies, Hilton
Craig Lutz accepting on her behalf.
PATRICIA WINCHESTER Director, Learning and Development, USA Today Network USA Today Network has expanded its sales portfolio quickly in recent years, but the employee onboarding process hadn’t kept up. The training content for sales representatives was outdated, lengthy and difficult to schedule across the workforce, which spans more than 10 U.S. markets. To modernize the program, the organization worked with InfoPro Learning to develop a new e-learning course that reduced onboarding time and costs. The new LMS was designed to be easily navigable by module and product line. It used a mix of digital content including videos, lectures and games, which were supplemented by case studies and situational experiences.
When Hilton Hotels introduced digital checkins at its 4,400 global locations, it meant preparing more than 80,000 employees for a radical shift in guest interactions — one marked by increased use of technology. Blaire Bhojwani, director of learning technologies, led a successful, companywide training effort to manage the transition.
The new learning program reduced onboarding time from three full workdays to just 9.5 hours spread across several weeks, allowing the company to train more sales representatives more efficiently. It reduced annual training costs by $306,000.
—Nidhi Madhavan
—Nidhi Madhavan
38 Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com
• Learning In Practice Awards •
B U S I N E S S I M PA C T — D I V I S I O N 2
Vice President, Enterprise Learning and Development, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina
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Director, Global Education Services, Interactive Intelligence
Companies today continue to float away from hosted services to the cloud. So when Interactive Intelligence Inc. introduced its new PureCloud offering, leaders knew it would become the future of their business. To speed service adoption, the software company wanted its partners to be autonomous when implementing and supporting PureCloud for customers. This meant making sure they all had comprehensive product expertise.
Maisonet-Morales (left), Jennifer Williams and Brian McGrath
Insurance companies face critical challenges as the industry becomes more regulated and complex. To adapt to the changes and stay competitive, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina needed to update its infrastructure and strengthen employee skills and knowledge.
The EL&D facilitation program helped BCBSNC adopt standard learning practices and instill its central business vision, with participants serving as ambassadors to their respective departments. It also developed a pipeline of individuals with leadership capabilities and enterprise expertise. In fact, two participants found career opportunities within the organization as full-time facilitators after completing the program. BCBSNC invested more than $50,000 in the program, but the estimated cost savings and avoidance after the first year totaled almost $445,000. —Nidhi Madhavan
The training model helped Interactive Intelligence exceed its yearly certification goal for 2016. —Nidhi Madhavan
Holly Sheldon accepting on her behalf.
JESSICA MELO Director of Sales Training, Paycom
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Vice President of Enterprise Learning and Development Adri Maisonet-Morales found an efficient solution that invited employees from all levels of BCBSNC to join the department as partners in that endeavor. The three-month Enterprise Learning and Development facilitation program builds skills in employees interested in teaching others in the organization. Through workshops, individual coaching, online courses and teach-backs, participants showcase their expertise and gain experience they can bring back to their teams. High-performing employees who complete the program can gain adjunct faculty certification within the department and be recertified each year.
Lori West-Worland, director of global education services, recognized that flexibility would go a long way to meet this demand. Interactive Intelligence developed the PureCloud Core Learning Plan training program, its first self-service learning model for partners. The 17-hour curriculum is entirely self-paced, allowing users to progress through a storyline supported by videos, games and quizzes. The ExpertusOne delivery platform also accommodates frequent content changes to match product updates.
Paycom’s sales representatives needed additional technical knowledge to keep up with frequent product updates. To efficiently provide this training to all 42 sales teams across the U.S., Director of Sales Training Jessica Melo designed a product certification program that offered employees multiple learning methods and led to history-making results. —Nidhi Madhavan
Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com 39
• Learning In Practice Awards •
B U S I N E S S PA R T N E R S H I P — D I V I S I O N 1
LD O G
Lucy Dinwiddie
BECHTEL UNIVERSITY, BECHTEL CORP. There will always be competition in the marketplace. But when playing on a global level, the stakes are higher. To secure a place at the table, excellence is a top priority. Bechtel, an engineering, procurement and construction company, knows this.
While Bechtel has always been proficient on the technical side of things, employees’ collaborative and interpersonal skills needed work. In the construction industry, building relationships is key to securing future contracts. When working on large-scale projects such as a power plant in Japan or a train station in India, collaborating with other companies is a given. To improve these soft skills, Bechtel University created an interactive, business-relevant program that works for all types of learners. During eight hours of experiential learning that includes real-world applications of these skills, participants can reflect Bechtel challenges and share their own experiences. The program learners to change challenges participants their mindsets when to change their mindsets when dealing with clidealing with clients, to ents, to automatically default to the question, automatically default What is best for the relato the question, “What tionship?
ERICSSON INC. R E V The telecommunications industry has been moving at SIL breakneck pace for the past decade thanks to technological advancements and high demand for mobile devices. With more than 37,000 patents in the telecommunications industry and 40 percent of global mobile traffic running through its networks, Ericsson Inc. is a key player. Despite its influence in the market, the company’s leaders felt they weren’t living up to their potential. To advance consulting skills, improve customer service and increase business savvy, the company created Accelerating Business Savvy for Project Engagements. The twoand-a-half-day experiential program received input from various departments in the organization and was created in part to enable participants to maximize the company’s margins. The program was designed to have an immediate impact but also to generate long-lasting results. After one year, the program had an ROI of 807 percent. — Alice Keefe
Tammy Wheat
DEFENSE ACQUISITION ZE N UNIVERSITY O BR With the potential loss of tens of thousands of employees due to retirement looming over the Department of Defense’s acquisition workforce, Vice Adm. James D. Syring turned to Defense Acquisition University President James P. Woolsey. Together, they were able to create a program to develop young leaders by using a mix of faculty advisers, and online and workplace learning. —Alice Keefe
YUM UNIVERSITY, E Z ON YUM BRANDS R B Realizing they had a shortage of mid-level managers in 2013,
This shift in attitude is the best for the works. The program has relationship?” received feedback from a variety of employees who have successfully used the new skills on a job site. Employees are more self-aware and able to solve problems, customer feedback has been positive, contracts have been extended and project delay times decreased.
Yum Brands wanted to fill the gap. Yum University created Leadership Accel, a 24-week program that includes one-on-one sessions and workshops to promote leadership alongside critical and strategic thinking. Participants have seen an average of two promotions during a three-year span.
—Alice Keefe
—Alice Keefe
40 Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com
• Learning In Practice Awards •
B U S I N E S S PA R T N E R S H I P — D I V I S I O N 2
The Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association’s mission is to further the advancement and impact of women in the health care industry. HBA does this by creating a netLiz Stueck work of businesses and individuals who participate in a variety of programs, including its chapter mentoring program, which some participants say has changed their professional career trajectory. Although the mentoring program was successful and impactful for members, the sessions were led by chapter volunteers across the country, which created inconsistency in content. This became an issue as it occasionally gave HBA’s oft-praised program a rocky reputation. In 2016, an intentionally consistent and comprehensive program revamp was launched to revitalize successful chapter-led mentoring
Using multimedia components and strategies targeting a variety of adult learners, the program effectively integrated engaging, consistent and diverse content. Because of Stueck’s all-encompassing approach to improve the program, productivity increased as did accessibility to resources. The number of mentees in the program is up 47 percent with almost 500 members. —Alice Keefe
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Ann Marie Sidman
Liz Stueck used customer input to create a consistent program, form stronger bonds and increase loyalty.
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ORGANIZATION AND PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT, GENERAL REINSURANCE
programs. To get the best feedback and create the most effective program, HBA Director of Education Liz Stueck interacted with her customer base as well as HBA volunteers to identify what program components were most beneficial. Targeting her customers and responding to their input allowed Stueck to not only create the best program, but form stronger bonds and increase loyalty.
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VALUE OFFERINGS, HEALTHCARE BUSINESSWOMEN’S ASSOCIATION
When General Reinsurance’s sales environment became increasingly complex and challenging, Vice President of Learning and Organizational Development Ann Marie Sidman decided the company needed to make a dramatic change.
In an industry that is typically based on relationships, Sidman wanted to try something different. The goal was to stay competitive in the marketplace while working smarter and driving profit. She came up with an assertive, Challenger-based foundation that required a behavioral shift in how employees dealt with customers.
Joshua Gilliam, left, and Mark Rossi
PEOPLE AND CULTURE, SUFFOLK CONSTRUCTION Suffolk Construction doubled in size from 2007 to 2015 and is still expanding. To deliver
The program teaches employees effective skills and behaviors to use when dealing with clients. An online learning community offers various resources such as microlearning, articles, job aids and opportunities for collaboration.
consistency to clients and employees, the
With the help of company leaders, General Reinsurance was able to implement the Challenger model into every element of the sales process, which has led to new clients and increased revenue.
day immersive learning experience held at
—Alice Keefe
company needed a way to implement its core values into the onboarding process. A threeSuffolk headquarters in Boston helped drop the new hire attrition rate after the first year. —Alice Keefe
Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com 41
• Learning In Practice Awards •
I N N O V AT I O N — D I V I S I O N 1
STEVE D L GARGUILO GO Senior Manager, Creative
Engagement, Johnson & Johnson
Sometimes all it takes to spark transformational innovation is a single person’s idea. The problem is most global companies’ size makes it difficult for these ideas to be heard, shared and implemented. Health care giant Johnson & Johnson was all too familiar with this problem, which is why its senior manager of creative engagement, Steve Garguilo, set out to create a grassroots platform for the company’s 128,000 employees to make their voices heard and have their ideas spread across the company.
TEDxJNJ has created a grassroots platform for employees to share their ideas with the entire company. TED is a nonprofit whose mission is to share great ideas with the world. Its popular TED Talks, in which influential figures give thought-provoking short presentations, have transformed the way people think of public speaking and spreading important ideas. Garguilo established a global program for J&J to share its employees’ ideas in the spirit and style of TED.
JAMES WOOLSEY R President, Defense E V SIL Acquisition University Defense Acquisition University, the government institution responsible for training more than 156,000 members of the defined and managed Department of Defense acquisition workforce, needed to develop a new learning program for its mission-critical contractual services. James Woolsey, president of DAU, created and implemented a series of experiential learning workshops called Service Acquisition Workshops. The workshops have vastly improved employees’ learning experience and saved taxpayer dollars by making learning more cost-efficient. In the past year, DAU conducted 66 workshops and trained more than 1,100 personnel at 30 different locations globally using a learning experience aligned with each learner’s on-the-job needs. The U.S. Army, impressed by the value of the workshops, has since made them mandatory for all service acquisitions of $250 million or more. —Frank Kalman
DEBORA BUBB E Z Vice President, Director of Global Leadership and ON Learning, R Intel B Debora Bubb, vice president, director of global leadership and learning at Intel Corp., was able to reignite the company’s leadership development strategy after a prolonged underinvestment in the practice. The firm’s LEAD program, a collaborative effort with the NeuroLeadership Institute, has bolstered its minority leadership and changed its development culture. —Frank Kalman
THOMAS E Z BRADY ON R B Director, U.S.
CHRIS E Z BARTLETT ON R B Director of Learning
Department of Defense Education Activity
Resources, FMC Technologies
Through TEDxJNJ, Garguilo spearheaded creation of a platform where J&J’s global employees can prepare and give TED-style talks that are heard live and then repurposed on an internal online network for the entire company to consume on demand. Since its implementation, TEDxJNJ programming has been hosted in more than 40 countries and has grown a robust library of learning content. Not only has the program found success in its consistently high net promoter scores, it has engaged employees to new and exciting levels by having them prepare talks of their own to share with the entire company.
Lead by Director Tom Brady, the Department of Defense Education Activity used a series of workshops and webinars to create a common vision, language and a set of tools to collaboratively implement organizational changes designed to improve educational outcomes for military dependents.
Faced with budget cuts, an industry downturn and changing norms around corporate learning, Chris Bartlett, director of learning resources at FMC Technologies, streamlined the way content is delivered at energy equipment company FMC Technologies through a just-in-time portal known internally as The WELL.
—Frank Kalman
—Frank Kalman
—Frank Kalman
42 Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com
• Learning In Practice Awards •
I N N O V AT I O N — D I V I S I O N 2
Director, Staff Development and Technology Training, Sidley Austin LLP
integrating visual, audio and interactive elements like knowledge checks that require the learner to reinforce key concepts.
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BETSEY FRANK
The program launched firmwide in January in its Like many law firms, Sidley Austin LLP needed to educate its U.S., Europe and Asia Pacific regions, and so far roughly incoming non-legal talent — from areas like HR, IT, finance 31 percent of the firm’s 4,000 employees have participated. and administration — That number is exon the nuances of pected to grow. But To date, roughly 31 percent of Sidley working in the industhe program has had try as well as educate so much success in Austin’s non-legal talent has gone through them on the firm’s spethe firm’s European cific operations. its “Learning About Law Firms” interactive offices it is now being In 2016, Betsey Frank, used to onboard new e-learning onboarding program. Sidley’s director of staff lawyers as well. development and tech“I have worked at other nology training, launched Learning About Law Firms, an interlaw firms, and I have not seen a program developed like this with active e-learning onboarding program that trains incoming such high-quality content and presentation,” said Shawn Derfer, non-legal talent on the legal industry as well as Sidley’s organizathe firm’s director of administration on the West Coast, in Sidtional structure, business model and culture. The format and ley’s LIP application. structure of the 40-minute program, which the firm said is unique in the industry, accommodates various learning styles by —Frank Kalman
Data protection and information management software firm Commvault wanted to integrate a modern performance management approach into its exiting talent management suite. But like many systems, the functionality on the performance management software was too “old school;” it didn’t mesh with the more informal, qualitative approach the Tinton Falls, New Jersey-based company was looking to implement.
Led by Commvault Chief Learning Officer Joe Ilvento, the company eventually rolled out its “Unlocking Potential Process” and “Talent Snap,” two performance management tools that have helped bolster the firm’s workforce development efforts and helped it to better plan for leadership succession. —Frank Kalman
Chief Human Resources Officer, Sanoma
To become a more digitally oriented media company, Sanoma Corp. needed learning to aid its transformation. Chief Human Resources Officer Gieta Veersma led development on a four-part program to help the Helsinki, Finland-based company fill capability gaps and offer critical knowledge to its 6,500 employees.
By using a blended approach of workshops, one-on-one sessions, themed lunches and presentations, and an online learning platform with curated and in-house content, Sanoma was able to kick-start a culture change and get through its digital transformation. The program helped change the way employees collaborate across departments and encouraged them to work in a more agile style. Employee engagement survey results have improved since the program implementation took place. —Frank Kalman
HARLINA SODHI Head Culture and Capability, IDFC Bank
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Complicating the effort, Commvault’s software vendor was unable to provide the company with the software functionality it was looking for. So, the company developed its own solution: a two-dimensional, six-question snapshot that takes managers no more than five minutes to complete, along with the required learning to make the transition.
GIETA VEERSMA
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Chief Learning Officer, Commvault
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JOE ILVENTO
When it opened in 2015, IDFC Bank positioned itself as an unconventional “un-bank” to serve households in rural India where few financial institutions exist. Leadership retreats, interventions, a newly created Culture & Capability team and discussions with industry experts allowed IDFC to identify learning competencies that would work for them. —Alice Keefe
Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com 43
• Learning In Practice Awards •
S T R AT E G Y — D I V I S I O N 1
MICHELE PARKS
LD Vice President, Talent Management, Cox O G Communications Cox Communications was facing a major transformation in 2014. To create a more unified company, it restructured its care, sales and collections operations, growing certain areas and phasing out others. For example, it scaled down from 19 call centers to five. Michele Parks, the company’s vice president of talent management, knew how important learning and development was to ease and
Michele Parks built passion and commitment for learning by encouraging employees to “bring your juice,” an attitude of fiery perseverance in the face of daunting tasks. accelerate this transition, which would ultimate impact 50 percent of the company’s 18,300 employees. A more unified workforce would benefit the company in the long run, but centralizing so many locations posed some challenges for the learning function. Each location had its own learning depart-
ment, mostly classroom-led training on technological advancements and innovation. Parks wanted to bring Cox learning into the 21st century through a flexible e-learning platform that would be the same at all locations. By doing this, she could align learning to the organization’s needs and facilitate myriad changes. Parks arose passion and commitment early by encouraging employees to “bring your juice” — that is, an attitude of fiery perseverance in the face of daunting tasks. As a result of a more modern learning platform and a more “juiced” employee base, costs decreased and employees enjoyed higher quality training across a more centralized operation. The e-learning courses also saved the company significant labor hours by cutting down training time. Finally, Parks helped create Cox’s Executive Learning Council to address and respond to the always-changing needs of the business and the workforce. —Andie Burjek
MICHELLE R E V BRADEN SIL Vice President, Global Learning Excellence, TELUS International Attrition in the business process outsourcing industry can get as high as 90 percent for some companies. And TELUS International, like many of its peers, was having problems with employee retention.
MELISSA HESS E Z ON Deputy Director, Crisis R Management Training, Foreign Service B Institute, U.S. Department of State
Lead by Melissa Hess, the organization’s acting division director, the U.S. Department of State, Foreign Service Institute organized and delivered the first countrywide crisis management exercise in Mexico.
The Learning@TI roadmap offered a path for global employees from new hire to senior leader to move from one level of leadership to the next. Since its implementation, attrition has decreased 9 percent, and the roadmap helped prepare the next generation of leaders at a time when the company’s headcount grew by 30 percent.
As a result of the exercise, 10,000 U.S. and Mexican employees of the U.S. Embassy are better trained and more prepared to deal with crises like hurricanes and other disasters, natural or man-made.
—Andie Burjek
—Andie Burjek
Lead by Michelle Braden, global director of learning excellence, the company built a culture of engagement in its workforce — made up of more than 80 percent millennials — by providing learning and development opportunities, like the Learning@TI roadmap.
44 Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com
• Learning In Practice Awards •
S T R AT E G Y — D I V I S I O N 2
Director of Learning and Organizational Effectiveness, Virgin America
Learning and Performance Consultant, Hitachi Data Systems
Big data, big problems — at least that’s the scenario if your company offers traditional storage solutions in modern times. Hitachi Data Systems, or HDS, saw how the digital revolution transformed its industry. It had to move beyond traditional methods to third-party platform systems, a modern solution for data capture, integration and analysis, in order to survive. To deal with disruptive industry changes, first HDS made strategic acquisitions and developed new technologies. Then, it pulled its sales team into the future. “If HDS is to successfully transition from a data storage company to a company providing modern IT infrastructure and analytic solutions, sales engineers (SEs) must be able to talk with customers about
Hitachi Data Systems saw how the digital revolution was transforming its industry and used learning to meet the challenge. third-party platform systems and modern analytic architectures,” wrote Terri Casady, senior manager at HDS Academy in the LIP application.
So far, 25 percent of SEs have graduated. They’re more skilled at selling the more-modern product. They can more effectively run sales calls, and deliver product overviews and complex analytics software demonstrations. One graduate already made a deal with a Spanish railway valued at 200,000 euros. Another closed a $400,000 deal with a U.S. bank. —Andie Burjek
Moving from a private to a public company in 2015, Virgin America faced a critical transformation. It gained more airplanes and a thousand more employees, and to meet this growth it had to invest in its people, find the right talent, and develop critical leadership skills within the organization. Key to Virgin America’s strategy was talent development and employee engagement. Lead by Deborah McCuiston, director of learning and organizational effectiveness, to address the lack of core leadership skills, every leader in the company, including the CEO, participated in a program to develop their ability to lead teams and inspire and motivate others. First, McCuiston led a core team of HR leaders who did a gap analysis of employee interviews and the current “employee journey” from recruitment on. Once the core team understood the employee experience, it defined Virgin’s “ideal culture,” and determined what leaders needed to do to support that culture. Leaders ultimately redesigned the employee journey and changed their approach to talent and leadership development. Efforts to improve employee engagement and the employee experience have gotten very positive feedback. —Andie Burjek
ANN MARIE SIDMAN Vice President, Learning and Organizational Development, General Reinsurance
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Under the leadership of John Kostek, the company’s learning and performance consultant, HDS developed its first MOOC, which included video lectures, lab assignments and writing and presentation assignments. Kostek also designed additional training for a select group of SEs that used the MOOC material along with mentoring, sales call shadowing and a boot camp. He led every step of the process, from deciding which topics to cover to reviewing lecture materials and hosting meetings with SE participants.
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DEBORAH McCUISTON
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JOHN KOSTEK
To retain diverse talent in the incredibly competitive insurance industry, General Reinsurance created the unconscious bias training program. The learning function partnered with a workplace bias expert to identify, define and address the biases in the company culture and developed a library of videos for on-demand learning content. Program participants are more prepared to address workplace bias, and Gen Re has seen significant growth in its female talent pipeline. Five women have been promoted to senior leadership positions, and the company appointed its first female CEO this year. —Andie Burjek
Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com 45
• Learning In Practice Awards •
TA L E N T M A N A G E M E N T — D I V I S I O N 1
LD O G
SUSAN BOWRAH Associate Vice President, Leadership Development and Talent Management, TD In a rapidly changing environment marked by digital transformation, regulations and new customer expectations, financial institutions need diverse talent to compete successfully in the industry. TD had plenty of talent, but individuals lacked the skill sets necessary for future internal
leadership succession. In response, three years ago a team led by Susan Bowrah, associate vice president of leadership development and talent management, established the pipeline talent mandate. The accelerated development program was created to equip senior managers and entry-level executives with important capabilities and establish a strong leadership pipeline. Using data from every leadership level in the company, Bowrah and the talent management team identified key capability gaps. After
developing a leadership capability profile on what the company sought in its executives, high-potential managers and executives were identified through self-assessment and other means to be sure program resources were invested in the right talent. With all of these factors in mind, they designed and implemented a series of learning interventions for pipeline talent employees. Offered selectively based on leadership levels, programs included business case work with local nonprofits, skill building classes and mentoring sessions with senior leaders. The talent management team also identified key deployment opportunities to help high-potential employees further hone their skills.
TD’s accelerated development program equips senior managers and entry-level executives with important capabilities and establishes a strong leadership pipeline. Currently 97 percent of pipeline talent program participants have taken part in at least one of the activities offered. The program also helped identify key internal successors and has built up a diverse pool of talent. —Nidhi Madhavan
DEBRA ROSS R E Assistant Vice President, V SIL Learning and Organizational Development, BNSF Railway Co. Operating one of the largest North American railways, BNSF had always set strict safety standards for its workers. But the railway wanted to shift from a culture of compliance to true employee engagement and commitment to safety.
DAVID E Z SYLVESTER ON R B Senior Director, Global
Learning and Development, Booz Allen Hamilton
These sessions taught effective communication strategies and encouraged workers to start conversations with peers, supervisors and other units to ensure that both negative and positive safety behaviors were addressed. To date, more than 35,000 employees have participated in the program, which has improved employee performance satisfaction as well as safety.
When consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton wanted “more leaders faster,” Director David Sylvester and the leadership development team built a leader excellence program for senior associates with an action-learning focus and an additional component for women. This created a diverse talent pipeline and helped 58 percent of participants move on to broader roles.
—Nidhi Madhavan
—Nidhi Madhavan
To achieve this goal, BNSF launched the Approaching Others About Safety initiative, a development program using peer-led training sessions to promote open dialogue. Led by Deborah Ross, assistant vice president of learning and organizational development, BNSF chose 450 union employees to be trained as program facilitators. After learning the program content, they led unit-specific sessions with their own teams.
46 Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com
• Learning In Practice Awards •
TA L E N T M A N A G E M E N T — D I V I S I O N 2
Former Associate Vice President, Human Resources, Hamline University
Business and higher education don’t always see eye-to-eye. Yet efforts at Hamline University in Minnesota to equip educational leaders with proven business practices revitalized the efficiency and spirit of the organization. Hamline faced a triple threat: enrollment had dropped, key leaders left, and the human resources department functioned inefficiently. All of this contributed to a culture of disengagement and a lack of accountability. The university acted decisively to turn these tides. They hired a new HR team comprised of leaders from corporate settings, including Julie Kline, Lynn Willmert, and Emilee Sames.
The Emerging Leaders program brought in 15 participants from various departments to attend four, two-day workshops on self-development, management and leadership. The workshops included external speakers they were able to book without straining the budget by reaching out to influential alums who were eager to help, and by offering cost-effective benefits such as free classes and housing. Post-program, several leaders who had begun searching for other positions decided to stay at Hamline. The workplace culture improved as well, as teams communicated more effectively, and employees felt a greater sense of trust in the administration. —Nidhi Madhavan
Talent Acquisition and Talent Development Leader, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, North America
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ADAM SHANDLER
General Manager, Kroff Inc.
In the insulated chemical industry, companies like to steal employees away from one another. This makes building and maintaining a skilled workforce difficult. But chemical company Kroff Inc. knew that by offering millennials the job clarity and growth opportunities they desired, it could engage current employees and attract new talent. Led by General Manager Tim Laube, the company launched the Kroff FastTrack Career Accelerator Program, which integrated recruitment, onboarding, training and development into one holistic system for employee attraction and development. In addition to positioning Kroff as an attractive employer to applicants, it also gave all 375 current employees access to FastTrack tools to help them understand their career opportunities, track their performance, and learn more about the company culture. Since the FastTrack program launched two years ago, the employee retention rate has improved by 75 percent, and 25 new employees have joined the company. —Nidhi Madhavan
DEBORAH McCUISTON Director of Learning and Organizational Effectiveness, Virgin America
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Employees wanted more professional development, but getting such a program approved by everyone at the university would have taken months. Instead, the team piloted a curriculum based on common business strategies they knew would be successful at Hamline.
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TIM LAUBE
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JULIE KLINE
In just seven years, Virgin America succeeded in creating not only an airline people loved but also a strong employee culture. But as it matured from a start-up to a publicly traded company in 2015, they knew it needed to evolve its workforce by finding the right talent, building leadership skills and deepening engagement. Led by Deborah McCuiston, director of learning and organizational effectiveness, a core team at Virgin America performed a comprehensive gap analysis to determine how the organization could meet these goals. Their findings helped them develop unique tactics, including a new employee value proposition that set expectations for employees and the organization and fostered mutual trust.
Midlevel employees at Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories in New Jersey had leadership potential, but many lacked the training needed to move up. Adam Shandler created the Management Development Program to give talented managers access to classroom sessions and individual coaching. The program led to four promotions within a year.
Despite uncertainty following the company’s acquisition by Alaska Airlines, newly hired employees and managers still reported positive experiences with the program, and McCuiston was invited to present the organization’s work at the Gallup Leadership Conference last fall.
—Nidhi Madhavan
—Nidhi Madhavan
Tavia Norheim accepting on her behalf.
Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com 47
• Learning In Practice Awards •
TECHNOLOGY — DIVISION 1
DAVID BIRNBAUM D Vice President of Learning, L GO Century 21 University The newest generation entering the workforce relies heavily on technology and accessibility to learn. To more effectively train new sales associates, Century 21 University — the learning arm for real estate company Century 21 — revamped its teaching style to best fit students’ needs. The university launched two programs in September 2015: Create 21, the university’s tuition-free course to train newly recruited sales associates, and Recruit-2U, a course aimed at franchise managers to assist them in recruiting new sales associates. To avoid the typical downfalls of self-paced, online interactive courses, such as limited engagement with peers and instructors, the company implemented live online video interactions between students and coaches and a “flipped classroom” approach.
To avoid the typical downfalls in self-paced, online interactive courses, such as limited engagement with peers and instructors, Century 21 University successfully “flipped the classroom” with its Recruit-2U program.
The online interaction enables role-playing and instant feedback from other students and the instructor. The flipped classroom, introduced in Recruit-2U, allows students to complete work at their own pace and schedule a follow-up coaching session on their own time. The programs also were accessible across laptops, smartphones and tablets to keep up with students’ demands.
PATRICIA R E V McNERNEY SIL Deputy Director for Political Training in the School of Professional and Area Studies, Foreign Service Institute, U.S. Department of State Thanks to new technologies, demographics and global paradigm shifts, the world is less predictable and often less familiar each day. This creates challenges for U.S. diplomats. That’s why the Foreign Service Institute of the U.S. Department of State introduced the Tomorrow Now: American Diplomacy in a World of Rapid Change course, led by Deputy Director Patricia McNerney. Tomorrow Now was created to help midlevel foreign affairs officials develop skills, attitudes and knowledge that will allow them to adapt and work more effectively in a changing environment. The course emphasizes topics such as crowd-sourcing, the dark net, big data, new technology and innovative policies. Using a flipped classroom model and a range of technology, students work through real-world problems in class and get feedback from foreign policy experts, preparing them to predict and adapt to our rapidly changing world. —Alice Keefe
PATRICIA E Z ON AQUARO R B Managing Director Global Risk and Professional Excellence, BNY Mellon
Program feedback has been positive. Managers in the Recruit-2U program increased their recruitment by 17 percent just four months after participation.
To replace a virtual instructor-led training course on risk culture, BNY Mellon University launched the EmpowerTheUser simulation. Cutting down on costs and average seat time, ETU provides role-play scenarios based on real-world situations, allowing participants to better understand their daily role in managing risks in the workplace.
—Alice Keefe
—Alice Keefe
48 Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com
• Learning In Practice Awards •
TECHNOLOGY — DIVISION 2
Manager, Organizational and Talent Development, WellCare
Vice President, Enterprise Learning and Development, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina
The health care landscape over the past decade has been a bit of a roller coaster ride. Policy, politics and socioeconomics have all changed. But with change comes the opportunity to adopt new skills and learn quickly. The 21st century workforce wants information to be accessible and immediate, making traditional classroom settings less desirable. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina developed a way to make learning better with BLOOM: Blue Learning Opportunities On-demand Media. BLOOM offers an original, effective and technologically-savvy way for employees to consume educational multimedia content. Primarily a video uploading website, it has the capacity for podcasts, presentations, images and documents.
BLOOM has the capacity for podcasts, presentations, images, documents and other tech-savvy ways for BCBSNC employees to learn.
WellCare, which works exclusively with government-sponsored health care, has taken this opportunity to focus on improving skill and internal development. Led by Heather Linn, manager, organizational and talent development, the company offers a 12-week-long course that not only teaches participants in a traditional way, it encourages peer networking and collaboration. Through participant feedback, WellCare has been able to custom fit the program so it is most beneficial to its specific work culture, featuring debriefings and a general increase in communication. Outcomes have been significant. Among those who have participated so far, 30 percent have received promotions, and there has been an overall decrease in manager turnover. —Alice Keefe
BETSEY FRANK Director, Staff Development and Technology Training, Sidley Austin LLP
Sidley Austin LLP knows if a company wants to stay competitive, everyone needs to be on the same page. The law firm’s new e-learning program, Learning About Law Firms, helps achieve this goal using interactive technology to educate staff on the firm’s structure and departments, as well as common legal jargon. —Alice Keefe
DOROTHY LAMARK Director of Learning, The Predictive Index
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joyable way. The site allows employees to build their skills and stay informed by viewing others’ content, and it gives them a chance to teach their peers by sharing their knowledge and uploading their own content.
Federal health care reform has created obstacles for the industry for nearly 10 years now. But the landscape has gotten brighter recently, despite the tight margins and frequent contract renewals companies face.
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Officially launched in 2013, BLOOM offers conveniently accessible, topic-driven material similar to TED Talks, delivering information in an immediate, flexible and en-
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HEATHER LINN
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ADRI MAISONETMORALES
Blue Cross and Blue Shield is determined to provide quality content on BLOOM, has invested in professional equipment to film and edit, and even hired skilled personnel. As of May, more than 900 videos have been uploaded and played more than 34,000 times.
After a decade of five-day-long, lackluster, lecture-oriented training seminars, Dorothy LaMark, director of learning at The Predictive Index, created a learning program that is flexible, personalized and has less lecture time. Her new, shorter workshop model increased participant satisfaction and participation by 25 percent.
— Alice Keefe
—Alice Keefe
Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com 49
• Learning In Practice Awards •
TR AILBL AZER — DIVISION 1
LIZ HUCKERBY
LD Chief, Integrated Talent Management, O G United Nations Development Programme A new strategic plan at the United Nations Development Programme made the organization’s mission clear: It would eradicate extreme poverty, reduce inequalities and ensure sustainable economic and social development globally. These lofty goals called for agile leadership, which meant a new leadership development program that would span countries, languages and management expertise was necessary. To start, the Talent Development Unit at UNDP sought insights from the people their program would serve. The team collected feedback from a focus group and an annual survey, and learned that managers felt they lacked the time and support to develop themselves as leaders. This insight led to the Leadership Development Pathway, which helps more than 500 mid to senior-level managers in 103 UNDP offices. The online program is offered in English, French and Spanish. It starts with a series of self-assessments, and uses a blended learning approach featuring structured content, virtual collaboration and on-the-job
ER V SIL
MICHELE PARKS Vice President, Talent Management, Cox Communications
When Cox Communications transformed from decentralized units to centralized Centers of Excellence, Michele Parks, vice president of talent management, knew her department would need to be ahead of the change. If not, the company’s service delivery model could be compromised. To create a more centralized learning model that meets 21st-century learner needs, Parks met with each functional business executive and team to share her proposal, get feedback and refine the strategic vision. Staffing models changed, as did job descriptions and an analysis of technology needed to support the new design.
projects for practice. Learners also receive professional coaching, mentorship pairings and attend regular webinars. The UNDP partnered with Acumen to customize a version of the nonprofit’s Human-Centered Design Kit course for LDP use. Challenges led 60 teams of UNDP learners to design solutions to business problems the organization faces, resulting in 120 prototypes that will be shared in an open, global archive. Since LDP began, managers have Paul Anderton accepting on her participated in more than 1,000 behalf. hours of professional coaching. The program’s yearlong commitment means learners have time to develop leadership habits that should continue after the program ends. —Lauren Dixon
JAMES WOOLSEY E Z ON President, Defense R Acquisition University B Jim Woolsey, president of the Defense Acquisition University, led the quick execution and implementation of a new College of Contract Management at the Defense Contract Management Agency. He secured funding for college course development, which now has 26 courses, including 11 nominated to the American Council on Education for college credit. —Lauren Dixon
MICHELLE BRADEN ZE Vice President, Global Learning Excellence, N O BR TELUS International
At the end of 2015 — the first year of changes — Parks reported reaching 19,115 learners, reducing instructor-led training by 14.4 percent and increasing virtual instructor-led training by 17.6 percent. A new mandatory online course decreased training time by 33 percent, saving 1,500 labor hours.
In 2015, TELUS International launched a new leadership development program called Learning@TI roadmap, which outlines learning opportunities for all of its 22,000 employees. The program uses formal, informal and social learning to develop leadership skills and provide consistent onboarding. Also in 2015, employee engagement scores rose 4 percentage points, and attrition fell 9 percent.
—Lauren Dixon
—Lauren Dixon
50 Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com
PROOF
POSITIVE
• Learning In Practice Awards •
TR AILBL AZER — DIV 2
KENNETH BLANK
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Director, Sales Learning and Development, Paycor Inc.
To improve education for sales staff and to decrease attrition, Paycor Inc. hired Ken Blank as its sales learning and development leader in October 2014. His expertise in adult learning and instructional design led him to an “it takes a village” mindset, with responsibilities shared between learners and their managers. He also developed a structured onboarding program that tightened the previous sixmonth program to five weeks. His focus on keeping things simple meant learning content had to be intuitive to find, simple to understand and easy to implement.
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The resulting mobile app, which delivers microlearning to sales staff, along with a social learning platform and a new LMS, helped to create a learning culture. A weekly message helps managers share key information with their staff. This leads to better-informed field sales managers and a more connected chain of information.
REAL Learning for REAL Life
Prior to Blank’s hire, Paycor lost 24 out of 72 new sales executives in less than six months. Post new initiative launch, they lost only two out of 64 new sales associates, and growth rates for the 2016 fiscal year are expected to reach nearly 30 percent.
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—Lauren Dixon
Former Learning and Development Manager, King’s Hawaiian Holding Co.
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JESSICA WILLIAMS
King’s Hawaiian grew 400 percent in the past four years, so a consistent, agile training program became necessary for continued success. Due to growing millennial workforce, the company decided to invest in an online learning management system, which would be attractive to that generation and allow all employees to receive the same learning messages. For soft skills, the company chose off-the-shelf content, while industry and company-specific information required custom content. Training focused on the company’s 13 Keys to Success, created to help maintain a consistent culture at all King’s Hawaiian locations and improve employee engagement.
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CorporateLearning.com/Proof
To help engage learners, the program’s launch featured a Star Wars theme, complete with internally circulated commercials and email communication. A competition challenged employees to complete training quickly, with a reward for the first person to finish. Learner logins rose from less than 30 percent to 68 percent. —Lauren Dixon
877-824-5516 A non-profit university, University 2016 is accredited by Chief Learning OfficerBellevue • November/December • www.CLOmedia.com The Higher Learning Commission • hlcommission.org • 800-621-7440
51
• Learning In Practice Awards •
E X C E L L E N C E I N A C A D E M I C PA R T N E R S H I P S
INSEAD
LD Technology has enO G abled higher education to become more accessible, and the need for customization spurred a close-knit partnership between Accenture and French graduate business school INSEAD to launch one of the first company-specific online learning programs for strategists: the Accenture-INSEAD Online Strategy Certificate Programme. The 24week course includes video lectures, online quizzes and simulated client engagements. The online program allows the company’s strategists to learn at their own pace without disrupting workflows. Virtual study groups
PENN STATE R E EXECUTIVE PROGRAMS, V SIL SMEAL COLLEGE OF BUSINESS,
and discussion forums also help to integrate Accenture’s increasingly diverse workforce and ensure consistent client experiences.
THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY
The content covers business strategy, financial acumen and decision-making, communication and C-suite dynamics.
Faced with changing federal regulations and decreased funding, Penn State Hershey partnered with Penn State Executive programs to design and pilot a learning initiative to improve organizational performance and collaboration.
Piloted in 2015, 1,100 employees have since enrolled and more than 90 percent have completed at least one module. Strategists interviewed said the content was directly relevant to their jobs, and that the program design was engaging and promoted collaboration. The program is currently on schedule to reach 4,000 participants by 2018.
The Penn State Hershey Leadership Academy teaches medical professionals key business skills, such as financial decision-making, strategy formulation, negotiation and partner outreach. Taught by Smeal Faculty and senior PSH leaders, the weeklong session also addresses industry forces shaping the health care system. Selected participants assess their own units and, applying the concepts they’ve learned, develop strategic plans to solve identified challenges.
—Nidhi Madhavan
—Nidhi Madhavan
DO YOU KNOW IF YOUR TRAINING WORKS? WE DO. With the Center for Applied Learning as your partner, strengthen your learning and development strategy with measurable results. You’ll experience customized training and accredited education solutions that are industry-focused and developed by expert practitioners from American Public University System. And with integrated metrics reporting, you’ll gain insights into performance and impact analysis, so you’ll always be able to answer the question, did it work?
To learn more about our offerings, visit: apus.edu/cal
52 Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com *Data graphs are simulated.
• Learning In Practice Awards •
E XCEL L ENCE IN BL ENDED L E A R NING
When Newell Brands built its Growth Game Plan — a business strategy aligned with the company’s structural changes — it sought help from Intrepid Learning, a vendor focused on learning-centric design, short content, applied learning and social features. Sanjay Advani The Growing Newell Hub, created by Intrepid, was an eight-week program for 800 senior managers. Another served 9,000 more employees around the world. The resulting programs are available on all devices at any time of day, so employees have many options where and when they can learn. Programs include orientation and capstone webinars, which include one live Harvard-moderated webinar for each program module. Newell leaders acted as coaches to moderate webinar discussion forums. Rather than multiple-choice quizzes at the end of each module, learners got questions to gauge how participants could apply what they learned to their group at work, making the learning immediately relevant.
R VE SIL
SCITENT
LD GO
INTREPID LEARNING, INC.
Scitent helped the American Heart Association create a blended learning program to boost the efficiency and effectiveness of CPR training led by AHA’s 400,000 instructors in 80 countries.
Before their intervention, AHA featured classroom-only instruction for CPR training. Now, training has three parts. For instance, part one is cognitive; students go through an adaptive learning model and scenario-based development online. The Scitent-built Online Key Manager tool shows instructors that students have completed this first portion before moving on to the one-on-one time in parts two and three of the training.
Results were notable. At the highest end of the spectrum, learners rated virtual delivery and user interaction 4.84 out of 5 points. They also rated satisfaction, program impact and ability to apply the program to their jobs an average of 4.5 out of 5.
Because students complete the cognitive portion of the training on- Vicky Mossman line, instructors have more time to focus on the physical movements and skills necessary to conduct CPR. This allows for more effective training and more instructor attention for each student. To help with the transition of how training was done, videos on the AHA Training Network site help to inform teachers and promote quality.
—Lauren Dixon
—Lauren Dixon
Modules concluded with missions: real-world assignments for learners to channel what they learned and apply it to their daily work. Friendly competition factored into program design as well. In each group of 25 learners, the top 10 appeared on a leaderboard, helping to drive participation and a competitive mindset.
The Regis Company partnered with Lockheed Martin to
ZE ON BR
THE REGIS COMPANY
build a Mid-Level Leader Program that served 350 learners in a
three-day program or learning library. Concern for learning fatigue prompted the organization to create the blended learning approach featuring both learner interaction and various learning modalities. Post initiative, more than half of participants improved their leadership effectiveness by at least 11 percent. Judy Tso, left, and Lee Krieger
—Lauren Dixon
Chief Learning Officer • December 2014 • www.CLOmedia.com
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• Learning In Practice Awards •
E XCEL L ENCE IN CON T EN T
LD O G
INVATI CONSULTING As the newest generation enters the workforce, the workplace is becoming increasingly exclusive. Generation Y doesn’t always understand Generation X, who can’t begin to comprehend baby boomers, let alone the Silent Generation.
University of the Pacific decided to combat this issue to minimize the multigenerational divide in the workplace. The company wasn’t looking to simply train its employees or give them material to read. Leaders wanted to start a cultural change. Crystal Kadakia
PARTNERS IN R E V LEADERSHIP SIL
Today’s rapidly changing health care environment has created greater competition in the industry. El Rio Community Health Center knows that to stay competitive and continue to be the preferred option for health care in Nancy Johnson the Tucson, Arizona, area, it had to focus on patient care, and strengthening its culture needed to be a priority. Partners In Leadership worked with El Rio to make that happen. Through PIL’s Culture of Accountability and Cultural Transition Process, El Rio was able to articulate its beliefs and develop a mission to guide employees’ efforts to relay them. Patient surveys and financial data identified areas in which employees could make patients’ experience better. Through workshops, meetings and observation sessions, PIL helped strengthen the culture at El Rio. Further, changes have been made to improve patient care, such as having 24/7 health care access and constant communication.
It’s difficult to break a habit. It’s even more difficult to change a person’s attitude. But University of the Pacific wanted to provide its staff with a foundation to grow on, so it partnered with Invati Consulting, which prides itself on being “Inspired by Millennials, built for generations to come.” After two years of analyses, defining clear objectives and fine-tuning implementation, Invati created a unique, customizable program geared to create cultural change. By providing in-person and virtual learning in an eight-week program called Generation University, Invati was able to meet multiple generations’ needs, and make employees more capable and inclusive, informed participants about their coworkers’ diverse needs. The program used discussion boards, self-reflection and offered opportunities for new skills application using case studies. Just eight weeks after implementing Generation University, 100 percent of participants said their workplace relationships, engagement and productivity had all improved. —Alice Keefe
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When Republic Services, the second largest non-hazardous solid waste management company in the country, realized its leadership was increasingly inconsistent, it turned to Entelechy Inc. to promote employee loyalty and engagement. Using a customized program that included workshops and activities, Republic was able to increase employee retention, morale and productivity.
54 Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com
Lenora Edwards
—Alice Keefe
ZE N O BR
PIL gave El Rio tools to help the organization remain a preferred choice for health care in its region. —Alice Keefe
ENTELECHY
Chengyi Lin
INSEAD INSEAD, a graduate business school with campuses in Europe, Asia and the United Arab Emirates, offered strategy in business and education as well as expertise in communication and finance for Accenture Strategy’s virtual learning platform. The resulting Accenture-INSEAD program fostered collaboration and improved participants’ strategic skills. —Alice Keefe
• Learning In Practice Awards •
E XCEL L ENCE IN E-L E A R NING
mischief from cyber thieves can be a pain to deal with too. Knowing the seriousness of such attacks, MasterCard set out to decrease the percentage of employees opening up phishing emails from the industry standard of 24 percent down to 15 percent. Phishing emails are meant to look real, but if opened they leave corporations open to hackers and compromise client information. MasterCard wanted to build employees’ cyber acumen, to increase their vigilance in identifying and reporting all Heidi Milberg, left, and Lisa Doyle malicious phishing attacks. So global talent development team members partnered with GP Strategies to design and develop a simulated phishing experience — an intentional, extremely realistic scare tactic. The simulation would help employees identify phishing emails, pinpoint cues that might lead to bad emails, learn the impact of clicking on phishing emails and learn the correct steps to deal with them.
It’s tough to navigate in the midst of continuous change, and it gets even tougher if the employees in a particular business don’t actually understand what’s changing.
At Lowe’s, change happens on a daily basis. Employees have to not only recognize technical changes, they have to stay abreast of changing processes and people as well. The popular home improvement retailer needed a set of tools to actively coach and guide its teams on changes impacting multiple departments. To help its 23,000 employees learn how to adapt, the company partnered with GP Strategies to develop a series of interactive, online experiences to coach employees and leaders through changes they experience daily. Finding the best method to meet the geographically dispersed employee base, GP Strategies created a suite of level 2 and 3 online experiences to provide employees and leaders with the flexibility needed to use the training tools. The resulting learning program had an impact on Lowe’s corporate office, call centers, distribution centers and store locations, helping to increase resilience, manage resistance and build commitment to changes impacting multiple teams in different parts of the business. —Nicholaus Garcia
APTARA
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The experience mimicked a hacker stealing data directly from the user’s machine and walked employees through proper protocols. With collaboration from all partners, MasterCard began with 25 percent of the company, chosen at random, and eventually was able to distribute the simulation to its entire business unit.
GP STRATEGIES
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GP STRATEGIES D L Identity theft is just bad. Having bank account GO information stolen by hackers or dealing with other
The results were greater than expected. Instead of decreasing the industry standard to 15 percent, the company only had one third of the expected program failure rate. Now, more MasterCard employees can clearly understand how to avoid dangerous phishing emails and can comply appropriately to the company’s reporting and email isolation procedures.
Philips Healthcare needed competent employees to do MRI installations. So the organization partnered with Aptara to design the IPM assessment game. The game not only assesses employees on different topics covered during training sessions, it helps to increase their confidence on the job. Mike Stacy Philips was able to assess and monitor 400 employees and increase the efficacy and efficiency of the training program.
—Nicholaus Garcia
—Nicholaus Garcia
Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com 55
• Learning In Practice Awards •
E X C E L L E N C E I N E X E C U T I V E E D U C AT I O N
THE REGIS CO.
LD Three years ago, Ernst & Young LLP had an ambiO G tious idea — to increase growth in all service lines. This strategy, known as Vision 2020, focused on winning the market by providing top-notch customer service, creating high-performing teams by hiring the best people, and supporting member firms’ success. EY’s vision was around “building a better working world.” For this vision to become a reality, EY needed to change its onboarding process. The company’s system at the time was ineffective because it wasn’t implemented consistently, it lacked universal relevance, and it failed to highlight successful areas in the company’s advisory services. EY partnered with The Regis Co., a talent development consulting firm from Colorado for help creating a three-day classroom experience for new leaders to role-play real-life situations and connect with seasoned leadership. Regis also created an immersive simulation for EY onboarding that reflected the company’s business practices and engagement life cycle.
56 Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com
The simulation adjusts situations based on engagement conditions, and user response allows each participant to have a unique experience. Using technology and original thinking, Regis created an effective way to prepare and con- Sowmya Sudhindranath nect with budding EY professionals. The new course received a rating of 4.67 out of 5, and participants called it a “valuable tool for learning.” Since implementation of EY’s new onboarding process and simulation activities, the company’s retention rate has increased from 89 to 99 percent. —Alice Keefe
• Learning In Practice Awards •
E X C E L L E N C E I N PA R T N E R S H I P
GP STRATEGIES
Merck & Co.’s partnership with GP Strategies sped up execution and delivery, saved between $5 million and $7 million, and reduced responsibilities while improving performance for internal staff. To meet its financial goals, Merck had to improve efficiency, visibility and alignment in the unit. The company created a new back-end Learning Shared Services team to fulfill internal learning and development functions, but it needed a flexible model to meet ever-changing demands. To do this, the company turned to GP Strategies, whom it had trusted for learning solutions since 2003, and who already knew its infrastructure intimately. GP Strategies proposed the Fix/Flex support model for the LSS
The partnership Heidi Milberg produced impressive results. The LSS team was able to speed up execution and delivery, saving between $5 million and $7 million over three years. Merck’s internal staff also benefited from reduced responsibilities, which allowed them to increase focus and improve performance. —Nidhi Madhavan
To deal with growth and expansion, clothing company Carhartt created a new leadership base comprised of new hires and established talent. Management needed to provide these individuals with common expectations and instill a strong sense of company vision, something many employees felt was missing.
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THE DROSTE GROUP
LD GO
Three years ago, health care company Merck & Co. was under pressure to adapt to industry changes and cut operating costs by the end of 2015. To do so, Merck looked to its learning unit. The company found redundancies, uncoordinated spending and operating costs at twice the level of comparable companies.
team, which leveraged Merck’s own internal development team, and it provided flexible, professional support via centers of excellence in Europe, the U.S. and India. This model allowed the company to adjust its focus to meet demand when needed in specific departments without compromising performance across the company.
Interdepartmental communication and conflict resolution improved significantly, and the model was so influential Carhartt now trains all employees with it.
In today’s world, accessibility is everything. When pizza delivery chain Papa John’s International realized its Flash-based training courses were inconvenient for new-age learners, the company partnered with digital developer Aptara to create more engaging and tech-friendly courses. The modern update resulted in improved global brand standards and performance.
—Nidhi Madhavan
—Nidhi Madhavan
Organizational development company Droste Group worked with Carhartt to implement the Work of Leaders model. The four-part class seSteve Dion ries, separated by job level, walked leaders through the process of creating a company vision, aligning around it and then championing execution of that vision. Droste Group also provided teams with its proprietary skills assessment, video testimonials and lunch-and-learns to promote personal development as well as organization change.
Mike Stacy
Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com 57
• Learning In Practice Awards •
E X C E L L E N C E I N T E C H N O L O G Y I N N O V AT I O N
LD O G
INTREPID LEARNING, INC.
Century-old consumer brand organization, Ne w e l l Brands, underwent a major transformation when Michael Polk became CEO in 2011. The company moved from multiple Sanjay Advani business segments that manage multiple brands to one singular Newell that managed them. This major structural change unified the company, which developed a single business strategy across all brands: the Growth Game Plan. An integral part of GGP was developing the team for maturation. The executive leadership team started by training a select group of 250 VPs and directors but wanted to cascade the same type of learning across all levels. Phase two of the “Leading Big Cascade” addressed 800 senior managers and was delivered via Intrepid Learning’s blended learning platform. Finally, phase three concentrated on the company’s remaining 9,000 employees. Intrepid Learning’s platform — called the Growing Newell Hub — used both Harvard Business Publishing content and Newell custom content to teach people how to better execute the GGP. The program takes eight weeks for each employee to complete. The goal was to equip leaders to lead change by serving as teachers and mentors and to equip employees with the skills to support the GGP in their unique roles. The learning material spanned included webinars, discussion forums, peer reviews and real-world assignments, and learners could register for courses that fit their schedule. Further, the Harvard Business learning material was presented in a way that connected specifically to Newell.
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From left: Lisa Travis, Bjorn Billhardt and Alex Whiteleather
ABILITIE & PEAK SEVEN CONSULTING Cochlear, a global company that produces hearing-implant technology, needed to strengthen its leadership team. First, it worked with Peak Seven Consulting and then with Abilitie, a leadership-development simulations company, to complete the three-pronged partnership that produced its LEAP program, Leadership Excellence in Agility & Performance. LEAP was designed to develop a more agile, collaborative and innovative skill set in leaders. For example, Abilitie’s Management Challenge was used to simulate complex management situations for leaders to respond to, and this allowed them to test out different leadership styles to determine which was most effective. Similarly, the Business Challenge simulation allowed leaders to develop business acumen and strategic thinking. Participants responded positively to LEAP, with comments like, “Allows you to make decisions you normally would not” and “Very insightful with combining business challenges and coaching role play.” Leaders have used their newly developed skills to create real business impact, and LEAP attendee retention rates have improved. —Andie Burjek
DEGREED ZE N INC. O BR Using learning platform De-
The Growing Newell Hub got a score of 4.84 out of 5 for delivery and user interaction, and 4.81 out of 5 employees found it an effective way to learn.
greed, MasterCard launched its Unified Communications Program. The financial services company was able to make learning quicker than ever before, and all 10,000 employees can now access learning material on a single platform, saving time and money for the learning and development function and promoting learning empowerment for employees.
—Andie Burjek
—Andie Burjek
58 Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com
Kelly Palmer
CASE STUDY
MTA: Why the Kirkpatrick Model Works for Us BY CHARLES DENAULT
T
he MTA, a division of the Maryland Department of Transportation, is one of the largest transit systems in the United States, and its buses, light rail, subway and paratransit serve riders in Baltimore and throughout the state of Maryland. In early 2012, the MTA had a problem — too many of its recently trained bus drivers were involved in accidents. That summer, Michael Wiedecker, a 25-year veteran of the MTA, was appointed director of operations training, which meant this became his problem to solve. He and the training team reviewed hiring procedures and new bus operator training and found no obvious flaws. Course materials, classroom and in-vehicle instruction, even the instructors were all largely unchanged from the previous years when accident rates were lower. Fortunately, as 2013 approached, hiring slowed, giving Wiedecker and his team time to find a solution. As he settled into his new job, Wiedecker read Jim and Wendy Kirkpatrick’s book, “Training on Trial,” which inspired him to implement the Kirkpatrick training evaluation model at the MTA. The book provided a blueprint to build a chain of evidence so he could link the training team’s efforts to business results. The four levels of training evaluation Don Kirkpatrick put forth first in the 1950s are well known to learning leaders. According to the 2016 ATD report, “Evaluating Learning: Getting to Measurements that Matter,”
The Maryland Transit Administration provides bus service to the residents of Baltimore and surrounding communities.
60 Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com
SNAPSHOT The Maryland Transit Administration called on a tried and true learning evaluation method to reduce the number of accidents for new drivers.
nearly 90 percent of organizations implement Level 1: reaction — participants’ feelings about the training; 83 percent also measure Level 2: learning — the gain in knowledge or skills due to training. Sixty percent evaluate Level 3: behavior — how participants apply training on the job. However, only 35 percent of surveyed organizations measure Level 4: results — the impact training has on the organization as a whole.
Implementing the Kirkpatrick Model “Evaluating at only Levels 1 and 2 is not associated with higher on-the-job performance or business effectiveness. To really improve major learning programs and their impact on the business, organizations need to implement all four levels, with a focus on Levels 3 and 4,” said Wendy Kirkpatrick, president of Kirkpatrick Partners, and a contributor to the report. In 2012, the MTA had only Level 1 and 2 evaluations in place. The methodology to implement the Kirkpatrick Model is straightforward. Essentially, start with the business goals, Level 4, then work down to Level 1. Along the way, determine which metrics are needed at each level to show training is effective and the procedures necessary to collect these metrics. For learning leaders who focus nearly entirely on classroom instruction, Levels 3 and 4 can be unfamiliar. One of the first things Wiedecker did was to get himself and his team certified on the Kirkpatrick Model. “We needed a common language so we could work together developing our evaluation methodology and redesigning our courses.” For new bus operator training, Level 4 was obvious; the organization needed to reduce the number of accidents. “What was not obvious was where the data was to track this,” Wiedecker said. However, it turned out much of the data was already in the MTA learning management system. After a driver has an accident, they have to attend post-accident training; this along with
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new hire training results are recorded in the LMS. The MTA had a contract with PTG International, a local consultancy that specializes in training performance evaluation. Under Wiedecker’s direction, PTG built an interactive dashboard to display new bus operator performance 3, 6 and 12 months after completing training. To evaluate Level 3, Wiedecker relied on instructors who had been drivers to identify behaviors critical to safe bus operation. Elmer Coppage started at the MTA in 1990 as a bus operator, became an instructor, and is
now the manager of training and development. For the Level 3 observational assessments, he and his colleagues identified more than 60 behaviors needed to ensure candidates drove the bus safely, such as “keep both hands on the wheel” and “look left, then right, then left at intersection.” After graduating from the 10-week course, new operators enter a 90-day probationary period. In those 90-days, an instructor may board their bus and evaluate their performance at any time.
Pay Close Attention One of the biggest changes in the new hire training was around focus. With a goal to reduce accidents, Level 2 evaluations, both written exams and observational assessments, became more rigorous. Prior to implementing the evaluation model, the goal for new-hire training was to fill bus operator vacancies, and graduation rates were close to 100 percent. Getting new drivers on the road meant less overtime and more reliable service, which was fine, until the number of accidents rose. Level 1 evaluations measure learner’s satisfaction with the instructor, course content and training environment. Inspired by Wiedecker’s leadership and the MTA investing in their skills with the Kirkpatrick certification and additional professional development, Coppage and his instructors started looking to improve all aspects of the course. To make the classroom more engaging, they replaced projectors with large-screen monitors and added polling devices to make presentations more interactive. Coppage installed GoPro cameras on training buses, and recorded videos let candidates evaluate their own driving. 62 Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com
The MTA is committed to providing service to customers with disabilities. To elevate this portion of the training, Coppage found and refurbished three electronic wheel chairs. During the program, each candidate spends a full day in one of the chairs, which includes catching a bus into town and a different one back to the training facility, so they truly understand these customers’ challenges. “Implementing the Kirkpatrick Model helped us align the training program to the MTA’s mission, prioritizing not only safety, but also customer service,” Coppage explained. “We train our new operators to be professionals and to think of their bus as their office.” So, what caused the rise in new bus operator accidents? Like most organizations, employee attrition is fairly constant, but hiring is limited to periods when budget allows. In 2012, the MTA was able to back fill a number of open bus operator positions, doubling class size. The new hires did not get adequate time with instructors in the classroom nor on the road to build the skills to recognize and avoid potential accident scenarios. With the dashboard in place, Wiedecker and Coppage deduced the student-instructor ratio was a key factor for success in training new bus operators. In 2015, the MTA ramped up hiring again, this time quadrupling class size. But with dashboard data, Wiedecker and Coppage were ready. With their chain of evidence, they successfully made the case that even though the new hire course had improved, time with instructors was still critical to success. To meet hiring goals, they decided to use union instructors. They identified 30 experienced bus drivers and spent sufficient time training them on course materials and how to instruct adults. This approach worked well. Even with the large number of new operators, accidents have continued to decline, and the cost per accident is declining even faster. Total claims for 2015 were $560,000, less than one-fifth of the $3 million paid out in 2012. The Kirkpatrick Model provided a framework for success at the MTA. The training team is now demonstrating real value to the organization, helping save millions by reducing accidents while improving customer satisfaction. Success with this project may soon be replicated with invoice processing, which will be accelerated courtesy of a training program now under development. While many learning teams struggle to evaluate Level 4 results, Wiedecker said “It’s easy; we really want to be business partners with each department. I ask them what their business goals are, and we find a way for training to help them reach those goals. What department head would not want our help in achieving their goals?” CLO Charles Denault is senior analyst, talent management for Wainhouse Research. To comment, email editor@ CLOmedia.com.
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BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE
3 Myths About Workplace Learning BY TODD TAUBER
Myths about learning usually have some basis in reality, but the right development options will bring the truth to light. And the truth is, smart CLOs are rebalancing their investments to empower more and manage less.
M
ost CLOs are working hard to connect with the workforce. Workers should engage with learning and development resources at bare minimum once per week. Yet, according to a webinar poll Degreed conducted with Chief Learning Officer earlier this year, only 20 percent of learning and development leaders said their employees actually do that. To help learning teams better engage employees, Degreed surveyed 512 people to understand how today’s workforce builds its skills and careers. The findings, released in March and summarized in “How the Workforce Learns in 2016,” cast a distinct shadow over three common myths about workplace learning.
Myth 1 Workers don’t have time for learning. That’s just not true. The truth is, people will make time to learn — if it fuels their careers or enriches their lives. In 2015, Bersin by Deloitte reported that 88 percent of learning professionals believe employees don’t have or make the time to engage with corporate learning. Lack of time is the most commonly cited obstacle to learning in the workplace. But that’s not quite the whole story. Degreed survey respondents spend, on average, just 37 minutes per week on employer-provided training, but they also put in 3.3 hours per week learning on their own. Nearly two-thirds said they would find even more time if they received some kind of credit or recognition they could leverage for professional growth. They want more than the typical LMS catalog, though. Nearly 75 percent said they had invested their own money in career development over the past year. That tells us that most people will readily invest in their own development — if they believe it will help them be better at their jobs or advance their careers. So, don’t just train workers to follow processes and comply with 64 Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com
policies. To really engage employees, help them grow, evolve and stay marketable. Further, savvy learning leaders won’t want to tell employees what they have to learn. Instead, they’ll want to show employees what they can learn. The CLO role has evolved past mere training. Now it’s about providing employees with the resources, tools and connections they need to do their jobs and build their careers.
Myth 2 Traditional learning methods like classroom and online courses are obsolete. Not at all, they’re just incomplete. It’s become fashionable to say that learning functions are wildly out of sync with how people learn, and that the only real remedy is a revolution. Many say self-service microlearning is the future. According to this study, it’s not that simple. It is clear that bite-sized content dominates learning habits now. In any given week, 85 percent of people surveyed said they learn something for work through online search. Nearly 70 percent said they develop themselves by reading articles or blogs, and more than half use videos. Formal learning programs, however, are still an essential part of how workers develop new skills and keep their old ones fresh. Some 70 percent of people surveyed said they take live, virtual or e-learning courses from employers at least once a year. Many do so every few months. Increasingly, though, learning is happening on their own, or via peers and managers (see Figure 1). Learning and development today is not the “either/ or” proposition some make it out to be, however. To build a culture of learning, learning leaders have to provide it all: business-led training and self-service learning, formal and informal, job-specific training and career development, courses and resources.
MYTHS continued on page 68
L&D LED
Daily
SELF-DIRECTED - Web search
Weekly
The learning function owns the responsibility for employees’ learning. Not anymore, CLOs. These days, learning responsibility is shared between learning leaders, employees’ managers and the employees themselves. According to research from best-practice insight and technology company CEB Inc., learning leaders believe 4 in 5 workers are “bad at learning” — that they don’t know when to ask for help or share what they know, how to seek out relevant knowledge, or how to extract value from information. We’re not so sure. Our research suggests that most employees now start their learning journeys with social or search, not in the learning department. According to the Degreed survey, just 21 percent of people rely directly on their learning department when they need to learn something new for work, and only 28 percent said they search their employers’ LMS first. Instead, they look to their boss or mentor (69 percent), their colleagues (55 percent) or search online (47 percent) more frequently (see Figure 2). That does not mean people don’t need learning leaders. In fact, those who said they have adequate guidance are significantly more satisfied with their employer’s learning opportunities than those who don’t have any direction. But it does mean that learning teams have two roles: The traditional role — creating, buying and delivering training — and a new, indirect role — giving self-serve learning meaning by building and curating a culture that empowers workers to discover the right people, experiences and resources on their own. Learning follows the path of least resistance, so speed, simplicity and easy access matter most now. Smarter CLOs are already rebalancing their investments to empower more and manage less. According to Bersin by Deloitte’s 2015 Corporate Learning Factbook, more “mature” L&D teams deliver 20 percent fewer hours of formal training, up to 30 percent more learning on the job, 13 percent more via coaching and collaboration, and nearly 100 percent more through on-demand resources like videos, articles and books. For many, of course, that’s easier said than done.
Workers are often left to their own devices where learning is concerned.
- Peer interactions - Articles and blogs - Videos - Books and e-books - Apps - Online networks - Webcasts and webinars - In-person networking - Online courses
- Coaching and mentoring
Monthly
Myth 3
FIGURE1: HOW EMPLOYEES LEARN
- Podcasts and audio books - Live classes (outside of work)
- Instructor-led classes - E-learning courses - Conferences and trade show
Quarterly
Today’s most successful learning leaders understand that employees’ learning experiences are spread out across a diverse mix of live events and online experiences. As such, they don’t want one LMS or one vendor for video. They don’t want one of anything. They want the best of whatever tools are available, and they want to be able to turn them up and down, on or off as employee needs demand.
Source: Degreed, “How the Workforce Learns in 2016”
FIGURE 2: WHERE LEARNING COMES FROM These are the go-to resources for workers looking to learn. Ask a boss or mentor for direction
55% Search online
21%
69% Go to their colleagues
47% Rely on their L&D department
Source: Degreed, “How the Workforce Learns in 2016”
Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com 65
MYTHS continued from page 65 However, CLOs are supposed to be agents of change. By embracing that new, indirect role rather than resisting it, learning leaders are already leading the way because they realize they’re not giving up control to the learners; they’re actually sharing it. Balancing organizational imperatives with individual ones is now an essential job requirement for CLOs. Employees need training now and development later, formal training sometimes and informal learning all the time, as well as control and autonomy. Either/or won’t work for today’s workers; most learning leaders seem to understand that. More than 60 percent of the people we polled during the aforementioned webinar with Chief Learning Officer said they are already rethinking their learning strategies to adapt to today’s work-
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ATD 63 www.td.org/ResourceCenters American Public University 52 apus.edu/cal Axonify 2nd Cover axonify.com/know-more Bellevue University 51 CorporateLearning.com/Proof Capella Education Company 30, 31 www.capella.edu CLO Symposium 59 closymposium.com CLO Symposium Plus Video Library 7 closymposiumplus.com/videos Coaching Right Now 17 CoachingRightNow.com CrossKnowledge 28, 29 www.crossknowledge.com Ericsson 6 www.ericsson.com GP Strategies Corporation 13, 26, 27 www.gpstrategies.com/resources
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IN CONCLUSION
Teaching the Benefits of Change Promote learning agility, healthy debate and inquiry • BY LINDA GRAVETT AND SHERI CALDWELL
I
Linda Gravett is an industrial psychologist, organizational development consultant and certified emotional intelligence coach. Sheri Caldwell is the HR director for Grain Division at The Andersons Inc. as well as adjunct professor of human resources at Lourdes University. They are coauthors of “Learning Agility: The Impact on Recruitment and Retention.” To comment, email editor@ CLOmedia.com.
f you’re a team leader at any level, you’ve probably observed that some of your team members aren’t excited about constant change. Of course not. The only humans we’ve seen get excited about change are babies with wet diapers. Yet, in order for our organizations to be innovative and competitive, employees must thrive during times of change. Employees must be agile learners, and learning leaders must promote learning agility in individuals across the organization. Asking the right questions at the right time — and listening intently to the answers — is an excellent way to foster learning agility. Learning leaders should set the expectation that leaders will continuously ask what we call quality dialogue questions, or QDQs. These questions help to build a culture that promotes healthy debate and inquiry. Remember, if leaders don’t ask these questions, it can impact their relationships with their employees, as well as employee performance, motivation and ability to learn. And, the employee may look for and potentially find out the oft-wrong answers on their own. Here are some examples of QDQs: 1. I’ve always wondered why we _____. 2. I don’t think we spend enough time _____. 3. I think we should focus on _____. 4. We are missing a business opportunity with ____. 5. Everyone knows that _____ but is afraid to say it. 6. I’d like to see more _____ around here. 7. Our customers would be happier if we _____. 8. I would like to be able to _____. 9. Our meetings would be more effective if _____. When employees surface concerns or problems by filling in the blanks for these questions, as a leader you allow creativity and new learning by allowing time to study problems deeply. According to data we gathered
Another method to foster learning agility is through what we call directed assignments. These are opportunities for employees to learn by doing, and observe others within and outside your company. Directed assignments also can be tied directly to core competencies required for organizational success. For example, if the competency was to set objectives and build a results orientation to achieve a strategic plan, the directed assignments could be to: • Benchmark and analyze strategic planning methods for 3-5 global organizations; present results to colleagues. • Facilitate the strategic planning session for another division within the organization. • Identify the processes and activities that provide competitors with a competitive advantage; present results to colleagues. Or, if the competency is to build communication skills, the directed assignments could be to: • Develop a communications plan to advise employees of a product, procedure or process change. • Develop and deliver a training session on the organization’s core values. • Write a column in the in-house newsletter or in an industry newsletter. • Develop and deliver industry presentations. • Shadow someone in the customer service and public relations department for a week. Learning leaders also could offer a supplementary reading list such as: “Getting to Yes,” by Roger Fisher and William Ury, or “Influence Without Authority,” by David Cohen and David Bradford. Going back to learning agility, if the competency is leading through change, the assignments could be to: • Develop and implement a communication plan to advise of a product, procedure or process change. • Assess incoming customer surveys to ascertain why people buy from A) the organization and B) from competitors — decide what changes the company must make to stay ahead. • Facilitate roundtables with each business unit and between 2012-15 from a survey of 300 U.S. compahelp identify their competitive differentiators to nies that intentionally promote a learning-agile work build and enhance. culture, you’re also more likely to retain customers, • Create a symbol or rallying cry for needed change. lead competitors in creativity and sales, and promote • Manage an ad hoc team in a rapidly expanding profitability and growth. unit. CLO
Ask the right questions at the right time — and listen intently to the answers — to foster learning agility.
70 Chief Learning Officer • November/December 2016 • www.CLOmedia.com
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