As we move toward a new year, you will probably begin thinking about what you need to accomplish next year. But this list should be more than a set of objectives or goals – your plans for the upcoming year should take the form of a vision and strategy that can help your organization meet its goals. In order to do this, there are a few steps you should take during your planning process. The first step is to look at the organization as a whole and determine what the strategy will be for 2011.

As the economy emerges from recession, organizations are still slow to spend money or expand out of fear of the dreaded “double-dip.” Because of this, it is even more important that you start your strategy plans with the overall strategy of your organization. This may seem like a great undertaking, but if you approach it systematically it is manageable. First, determine who the strategic layers are or are going to be for the upcoming year.For example, one firm may have discovered a technical problem with a major product, so key players are going to be IT, development, marketing, and potentially the sales force.  On the other hand, if your organization is one of the brave ones that is moving forward with market or product development for 2011, the key players will most likely be marketing and sales. Once you know who the key players are, you can take the time to speak with managers or directors in those areas to find out what’s going on.

The next step to take is to break the organizational strategy down into manageable areas, such as innovations, initiatives, technology, growth, and finance. For example, initiatives may cover product and market development or may even cover the correction of technical problems. On the other hand, innovations could be big changes in the way the firm does business, major product changes, or internal changes such as a move to a new HRM or ERP system. Technology will most probably touch most of the areas for organizational strategy, but technology can stand on its own, as well. Keep in mind that
changes to processes, such as sales, may also have a technological aspect. Growth and finance may also appear hand-in-hand. For example, the organization may be planning to take on additional market share, expand into new markets, or pursue a joint venture with another firm. Any of these moves will require the assistance of your training department.

In more general terms, consider how all of these aspects will work together to create the calendar and project plans for the organization over the next year. Plug in the key people from each area and you have a list of interviews to conduct. When we discuss meetings, remember that the idea is not to get the nuts and bolts for every initiative at this stage. What you will want to find out is the overall impact of the project, how the project or change will affect the overall goals of the organization, and of course you will want to
have an idea of the timeline for each piece.

When you have all of this information compiled, you are one step closer to determining what your strategy can be. But remember that whatever plans you have for the training department, which we will discuss shortly, should mesh and match with the overall plan for the organization. This is especially true in the current economic environment, where the training budget can still be an issue of contention in the financial plan. Every action you take in 2011 should be for the express purpose of supporting the organization and its overall goals for the year – and you should be able to show unquestionably how your department will be able to do this.

Next, let’s examine the overall industry to determine the trends and initiatives that will affect your organization and your training department.

We all instinctively know that learning and development within the corporate space is ‘supposed to’ make a difference.  Yet, far too often the programs (not necessary the people) fail due to the following reasons.  Some of these reasons are structural, but too many times it is just poor project management.

A primary reason many programs and courses fail is because there is no “Accountability”.  Learning and Development departments think that they provide accountability by counting the number of seats in the program, or talking about how and why this program is valuable. But they fail in the correlation of the program to the participant job or position.

If accountability exists, then the second most prevalent reason programs fail would be evident.  Most programs lack any type of “Monitoring”.  I see many programs that do not have any requirements on monitoring the participants.  Monitoring is not just watching the student sit in the program, and do some exercise.  Monitoring is an actively engaging effort that is time-consuming, yet highly valuable.  Monitoring is done by everyone involved: it involves the student, the direct supervisor and the HR department.  The work is hard in this arena and yet the payoff is highest.  It is a shame that far too many Learning & Development groups miss this. Monitoring is more than just happy sheets. It needs to include pre, mid or post program testing and a 30-60-90 day post program implementation of the concepts taught in a course and/or program.

“Implementation” is the third area in which many programs fail.  HR departments create comprehensive programs that no one seems to ever complete.  Learning paths are not just something to create, but HR departments need to insure that staff follow-up to completion.  What use is having staff take the introductory programs and then ‘get too busy’ to complete the balance of the curriculum?  The value to the program creation and completion is to shorten the time that it takes for an employee with limited knowledge to evolve into a fully functional member of the team.

The fourth reason many programs fail is that they allow the employee to ‘lose focus’ and effectiveness.  Courses, learning paths and programs need to be highly coordinated, delivered in a meaningful way, and continued in a reasonable time frame.  I have seen way too many courses cram too much information into a short period of time.  Even the best of us can only effectively absorb new information for only certain periods of time.  Seeing staff subjected to nine-hour programs for multiple days is catastrophic.  Learning levels drop off so quickly in the late period that they become useless.  Repeated days of long learning hours make many programs non-effective for both the participants as well as the energy level of the instructor.

The converses of a lengthy delivery are programs that are so short that no material can be delivered.   It takes time for participants to get into the groove of a program.  Unless the participant is fully prepared, offering an extremely short program is ineffective for anything but a procedural program.

The fifth reason many programs fail is the ‘short term feel good’ aspect of too many programs.  Since when does a company offer programs that do little for the effectiveness of an employee? Who approves these programs anyway?  Corporate learning and development is exactly that: ‘Learning and Development’.  The programs offered should meet those basic criteria at the development stage.  Why waste your development resources on programs that offer nothing towards the corporate goals? Feel good programs are for the summer picnic and winter party.  Aside from those events, all of the training programs should have a specific objective and criteria for delivery and value to the firm.

This brings us to the sixth reason why many programs fail.  I am cheekily going to refer to this as the ‘what then’ part of many programs.  Program manager, line managers, stake-holders too often have a ‘what then’ approach to corporate training. All these stakeholders know that they need programs, but have no foresight as to how to continue and elevate the programs that their staff attends.  Once the staff have taken the introduction programs, where do they go next to develop deeper and more meaningful skills in various areas.

Ideally, all training programs should be completely aligned with the corporate objective.  This alignment and high correlation provides the biggest return on corporate training, insuring that what is delivered has relevancy, value and effectiveness to both the employee as well as to the company.  By providing and developing programs that not only support the corporate objectives, but continuing these programs  by delving deeper skills with the company’s staff, most companies and their employees will see a greater return on both the personal and corporate investments.

This list of six constraints is often the reason many corporate training programs fail.  This is not an indictment of the programs, but more of a roadmap to the bumps, potholes and log jams that many programs encounter in their development and delivery.  Avoiding these issues can only make many programs better and more valuable.

With 2009 promising to be another economic trial, organizations are again looking for ways to streamline staffs and cut budgets while adjusting to new levels of productivity and progress. In addition, whether we like it or not, training is sometimes the first function to fall under scrutiny. We’ve talked about how to prove the training organization’s worth, but how can training function positively in a turbulent economy? Is there a way to use the economy to propel training and impact corporate success? In simple terms, yes, training can be a positive function in the turbulence and here are four ways to do it.

First, look at staffing and budgets across the organization. Most likely, there is less of both people and money everywhere you look. How can you propel training in that environment? Create training that creates cross-function. Many times training is geared toward one job or job group, with mobility only occurring within those groups. If you look at the overall picture of interconnectivity between organizational functions, you can determine which groups have the skills and knowledge to move into other areas, or at least take functions in those areas. When you revamp your training curricula, you can integrate these cross-functions and essentially create an “advertisement” for how associates can be utilized 100%. As associates are trained to take on multiple functions in multiple areas, they are creating a streamlined operation that will emerge from financial troubles in a better position – permanently. This new position can only create organizational success, especially when most organizations are trying to figure out how to move forward.

Second, a lower budget does not necessarily mean the end of the world as you know it. Budgets that are cut create the opportunity to explore the options and to determine how to build on what already exists. What development and delivery systems do you already have in place? How can those systems be made more efficient, and how can they be utilized to the full extent of their capability? If you have a Learning Management System (LMS) that is being used to track completion, find out how you can utilize it to deliver online training. If you are already delivering online training, look at your classroom offerings to determine what is ready to be moved into an online environment. On the other side, look at classroom courses and determine if any can be combined, streamlined, or delivered for less time. You may even find opportunities to manage on-the-job training from your area using an instructor to manage the associates out on the line. This type of analysis is another streamlining technique that will better position the organization once the economic conditions improve.

Third, training provides consistency amidst chaos. When people are uncertain about their futures, their jobs, their salaries, and the organization itself, continued training is a way to help them focus on the future. Why do we offer training? Typically training is used to prepare people for some future responsibility, change, or growth. Why not position training in a way that gives associates the feeling that everything will be okay? When the organization finds out that the training department is adapting to new economic conditions for their benefit, they’ll want to see how. There will be new course offerings, new ways to train for cross-functions, and new problems being solved. And of course don’t forget to continue those important regular programs, such as new hire training, compliance, operations, and sales. This change in branding will move training forward – and keep the organization’s eyes on its success.

Finally, the turbulent economy requires the training organization to solve problems. We all know that training sometimes falls into the rut of “order-taking”, but from now on that has changed. The training organization, through its front end and continued analysis of the overall organization, its functions, and its employees, will transform into a proactive solutions generator, a business partner, instead of an order taker. As the leader of a training organization, it’s your responsibility to position the group as such. Look at new goals, new results, and new processes with an analytical eye and step in with a solution when it’s appropriate.

In the past, poor economic conditions may have sounded “Taps” for the training organization. But if you concentrate on these four actions, you can use economic turmoil to propel training and create corporate success.

Copyright 2009 Bryant Nielson. All Rights Reserved.

Bryant Nielson – Director of Learning & Development – offers 20+ years of training and talent management for executives, business owners, and top performing sales executives in taking the leap from the ordinary to extraordinary. Bryant is a trainer, business & leadership coach, and strategic planner for many sales organizations. Bryant’s 27 year business career has been based on his results-oriented style of empowering. Subscribe to his blog at: http://www.BryantNielson.com

eLearning Image

During tough times, a learning organization may need to make a move into e learning – the cost is lower, the maintenance is less expensive, and the personnel requirement is lower, as well. If your organization is about to make this migration, consider vital elements in three areas before you move forward: preparedness, pre-migration, and migration.

Before you actually prepare to move your organization to e learning, the first thing you should do is analyze the current organizational culture when it comes to learning. Through this analysis, you’ll discover the organization’s level of preparedness for e learning. Is there even an “e” element in the organization? Are all levels of associates accustomed to email contact and basic computer usage, or do their jobs not require this kind of contact? If there is no “e” element, you may want to consider introducing e learning at a very slow pace to allow people to get used to the idea and the access. Of course, if your organization is tech-savvy already, this part of a migration is usually easier.

The second part of preparedness goes back to the organization’s managers. Are they currently held accountable for any training outcomes? Do the managers have to schedule their associates for training and ensure that the associates get it? In regulatory and “constant-change” environments, managers sometimes have this responsibility. If your organization’s managers do not currently have a training responsibility, remember that part of your migration will be an explanation of how and what each manager will be responsible for when it comes to training. Keep in mind that in an e learning environment, only the manager and the employee will know on a day-to-day basis if courses are being accessed and completed successfully.

Once you’ve looked at general preparedness, take a look at how you’ll migrate to an e learning culture. The first part of this is to examine the existing training courses and any future courses to determine what could move to an online format. This is a good time to point out that there should be no swing completely to e learning just to save money or advance technologically. Many organizations have made the mistake of putting all training online – only to have to go back and completely renovate the program. So what courses and types of information lend themselves to online formats? Informative courses, orientation courses, and even regulatory courses are great candidates for conversion. Even in longer classroom courses, some of the information portions can be moved to pre-classroom online formats.

Next, determine how you’re going to implement the online learning system. Will you take courses “off the shelf” to be deployed by the vendor? Do you need a Learning Management System that delivers courses and tracks completion? Or is your organization technologically advanced enough to create its own LMS? Whatever your choice, you must take the time to consider all aspects of this step before creating a migration plan. In addition, consider if the organization will offer certifications or rewards for completing various core e learning programs. This can be a great incentive for employees and will also increase the organization’s retention.

For the actual migration to an online learning environment, you’ll need to take steps that are in your organization’s “size”; if there is not much of an online environment, take small steps and avoid rolling everything out at once. There are great ways to increase “e culture” without scaring the masses and alienating those employees who are not quite confident in their own technical skills. For example, start by sending out informational emails that detail the migration and what courses might be accessible. In these emails, focus on the benefits for both the employees and the organization. If you have an “Intranet” site, consider appropriating a page for the e learning transformation to get people used to going online for information.

Probably the most important step during an e learning migration is to communicate. It’s as simple as letting the organization know what changes are being made, why, and how they can access their training easily and conveniently.

If you think through these aspects of an e learning transformation before any work is done, you’ll have a good idea of how ready your organization is – and how to proceed with a cost efficient migration.

Copyright 2009 Bryant Nielson. All Rights Reserved.

Bryant Nielson – Director of Learning & Development – offers 20+ years of training and talent management for executives, business owners, and top performing sales executives in taking the leap from the ordinary to extraordinary. Bryant is a trainer, business & leadership coach, and strategic planner for many sales organizations. Bryant’s 27 year business career has been based on his results-oriented style of empowering. Subscribe to his blog at: http://www.BryantNielson.com

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