2010 Learning Leaders: A Spotlight on Operational Training and Development |
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 The Learning Leader Program recognizes organizations with effective and efficient approaches to employee learning and development. This year’s winners demonstrate how business-driven approaches – in areas such as skills development, leadership initiatives, and collaboration – can lead to significant benefits.
The program covers six major areas of learning, one of which is excellence in operational training and development. This category recognizes training programs which drive high impact, incorporate performance consulting and blended learning, and demonstrate best practices in business alignment, measurement, and program management. This year we selected four winners for excellence in this critical area:
- AT&T was named a 2010 Learning Leader for its program to increase the use of its BusinessDirect portal. The company offered learning on-demand training and support – both for internal personnel and business customers – which led to a 20% increase in worldwide adoption of the self-service tools. (Michael Klem, director of eAdoption, is pictured with Josh Bersin, right.)
- CA was recognized for its highly effective, ongoing training workshop and coaching program designed to standardize the way sales teams work and the way CA goes to market and negotiates with its customers. This is the third consecutive Learning Leader award for CA.
- Cisco received the Learning Leader award for retooling 40 hours of instructor-led sales channel training into a 16-hour virtual training program. The new program resulted in high learning scores, reduced per-student costs by 85%, and reduced learners’ time off the job by 60%.
- Coldwell Banker Commercial was named a 2010 Learning Leader for its blended training program for sales/lease agents new to commercial real estate. The program resulted in a 30% increase in sales transaction volume from new hires and a 90% graduation rate from the program.
Other companies profiled in the report include: Accenture, Amway, Beers + Cutler (now Baker Tilly as the result of a merger), Booz Allen Hamilton, Kelly Services, The Nielsen Company, NetApp, Seagate Technology, Qualcomm, Redwood Trust, and learning and talent management solution providers Adobe Systems, Bellevue University’s Human Capital Lab, Cornerstone OnDemand, Executive Conversation, General Physics Corporation, Halogen Software, Kelley Executive Partners, Plateau Systems, RWD Technologies, and Vangent.
Download your complimentary copy of Learning Leaders 2010: Lessons from the Best today. The 144-page report provides a detailed look at all 25 of this year’s Learning Leaders.
In June, we’ll announce the call for applications for the 2011 Learning Leaders program. We hope you’ll consider participating!
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| Measuring Training Effectiveness |
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 In the research bulletin, Training Measures That Matter, Karen O’Leonard takes a look at the metrics training organizations use to assess their efficiency and effectiveness. The bulletin expands on two important points.
The first is that measurements really do matter. In this current economic climate, it is critically important to justify training expenditures. Metrics are clear indicators of how well a training organization is functioning, allow you to track your organization’s progress, and help you benchmark against industry norms.
The second point is that there is no one-size-fits-all approach. What is right for one organization may not right for another. The process of deciding which metrics you should track and which are most vital to your business is an important one.
The bulletin discusses the range of measurement methods – from simple to sophisticated.
For instance, the report relates how Britain’s National Centre for Social Research elevated the simple smile sheet to survey both learners and line managers. By obtaining direct feedback from managers, the training organization obtained input into one of the most important metrics of all: did training improve job performance?
At a much more sophisticated level, companies are identifying and selecting specific metrics to track. The report includes an example from a U.S. pharmaceutical company which established scorecard metrics based on business-specific criteria. The scorecard, which is included in the report, has helped stakeholders understand costs associated with specific initiatives and areas for potential cost reduction. One business impact cited by the company is the reduction of new hire training expenditures by 15%.
The 2010 Corporate Learning Factbook and 2009 Talent Management Factbook are invaluable resources for helping you determine metrics to assess the current state of your organization versus overall industry averages and vertical-specific data. These Factbooks are available to research members and are available for purchase by non-members. You can also find pragmatic measurement techniques on implementing an end-to-end measurement program in The Training Measurement Book by Josh Bersin.
Our advisory services team offers customized and confidential benchmarking services exclusively for Bersin & Associates research members. These engagements can span broad areas, such as enterprise learning, talent management, or leadership development, and can also be focused on specific areas of research, such as organization and governance, learning programs, and learning measurement. For more information, email donna.tomlinson@bersin.com or call (561) 455-0622.
Members: Download Training Measures That Matter today.
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| IMPACT 2010 Presentations Now Available to Members |
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 Research members can now access materials from this year’s IMPACT conference. You’ll find nearly 50 video recordings and PowerPoints full of practical and actionable advice and best practices.
One presentation that received high marks from IMPACT attendees was Linking Human Capital Management with Business Performance, a case study by the team from Credit Suisse: Andreas Melcher, head of assessments and human capital metrics, and Silvan Winkler, assistant vice president of human capital metrics. This session focused on Credit Suisse’s framework and approach to the measurement of human capital.
Another favorite was the practitioner panel, Successes in Sales Training, with Michael Klem, director of eAdoption, AT&T; Nick Howe, vice president of HDS Academy, Hitachi Data Systems Corporation; and David Rubenstein, director of learning, Coldwell Banker Commercial.
Also scoring top ratings was the research presentation, What Makes a High-Impact HR Organization?, presented by Stacey Harris, principal analyst and director of research operations. The session highlighted results from the upcoming research study, including our “Top 10 Mandates for Business Impact.”
Members: To view conference materials, go into the research library’s advanced search option and check the box for IMPACT 2010 (toward the bottom of page).
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| New Research Highlights |
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 Learning Leaders® 2010: Lessons from the Best
This report provides an in-depth look into the best practices of the 25 winners of the 2010 Bersin & Associates Learning Leaders award.
Available to members and non-members at no cost: Download today.
Action-Learning-Based Leadership Development: A Financial Services Organization Builds Organizational Leadership Capabilities That Impact Business
In this report, we explore the design and implementation of a financial services organization's action-learning program.
Members: Download today.
Experiential Learning for Leadership Development: Approaches, Best Practices and Case Studies
An overview of three specific approaches to experiential learning – simulations, job rotations, and action learning – including best practices, key challenges, and benefits.
Members: Download today.
Triple Creek: Making Mentoring Manageable
In this report, we share the business case for mentoring and how Triple Creek is enabling companies to implement mentoring across their workforces.
Members: Download today.
Connecting the Global Learning Organization: The Nielsen Company Builds Real-Time Global Community for Learning
This case study examines how The Nielsen Company created a global learning community aligned with corporate strategies and goals, identifying new ways of using current technology to conquer the geography and time differences between global learning teams.
Members: Download today.
Join our research community to access these reports
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| Talent Management
Newsletter |
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 Bersin & Associates' Talent Management newsletter highlights research on: leadership development, performance management,
competency management, recruiting, succession planning and the evolution of integrated talent management systems.
In each newsletter you will find actionable research you can immediately apply.
Subscribe today!
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| Analyst Corner |
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Corporate Learning Trends: Where Are We Now?
David Mallon
Principal Analyst
In the winter edition of Training Industry Quarterly, I discussed several trends for training technologies in 2010. In a recent blog, Checking in on Predictions, I offered updates as well as insights on impact of these and other trends. The bottom line is that the move to informal, collaborative learning is occurring at a rapid rate. This isn’t a bleeding-edge trend. The bullets below highlight some of my research findings:
- Shorter content is better. YouTube and other media sites are helping to drive this trend for self-paced e-learning.
- Use rich media. Anyone can now create video content with production values that are more than adequate for corporate training purposes.
- Consider incorporating 3-D simulations and games. Tools are becoming affordable and relatively easy to use. Learners love the results.
- Mobile learning is still something to consider. Apple, RIM, and the various Google partners just may make mobile learning finally a mainstream reality.
- Your learning culture is more important than your toolset. Recent research shows that a company’s learning culture has tremendous business impact. Your department’s role in building and maintaining a strong culture of learning is just as important as the tools you choose and the programs you implement.
Check out my blog for more details and examples. You can find more information on this important topic in my recent research bulletin Enabling Social Learning: Technology Strategies for Social and Collaborative Learning. For a limited time, this bulletin is available to non-members.
In June, Josh Bersin will be tackling the topic of informal and social learning in an interactive, hands-on workshop, held on June 25 in New York City. The workshop will focus on defining and implementing informal learning strategies and innovative technologies to support we-learning. Register now to attend this free event.
We welcome your comments and thoughts on this topic; please
email info@bersin.com to share.
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