High-Impact Learning Culture: The 40 Best Practices for Creating an Empowered Enterprise |
 |
 Companies can positively impact bottom-line results with five specific practices to encourage employee empowerment and knowledge sharing. This is just one of the many important findings that come from Bersin & Associates' latest research into the correlation between a corporate learning culture – the collective practices that facilitate information sharing and employee development – and business performance.
Based on responses from 426 organizations, the study identifies 40 specific practices that have greatest business impact, based on correlation to 10 business outcomes: customer input, customer responsiveness, customer satisfaction, innovation, employee productivity, workforce expertise, time to market, market share, cost structure, and learning agility.
Three noteworthy points: 1) Most of these practices involve operational processes and are outside the traditional domain of corporate HR and training departments; 2) Leadership and management play a pivotal role in learning culture; 3) Most practices focus on informal approaches to learning, further reinforcing the need to expand the concept of "learning" well beyond formal training.
In studying responses, analysts found that organizations with strong learning cultures are:
- 46% more likely to be strong innovators in their markets
- 34% more likely to get to market before competitors
- 18% more likely to be a market-share leader
- 33% more likely to report higher customer satisfaction than other organizations
- 39% more likely to report success implementing customer suggestions
The study contains case-in-point examples and detailed best practices in companies such as Aetna, Bank of New York Mellon, The Boeing Company, ING Direct, Infosys, Keller Williams Realty, Qualcomm, Telus, and Vestas. In addition, the report includes seven strategies for building and sustaining a strong learning culture, detailed recommendations for implementing specific practices, discussion on the role of informal learning, and nine appendices with a variety of charts and graphics.
This study is essential for any HR or talent executive. Download your complimentary copy of the 40 practices for empowering your enterprise today. You can also download an audio overview, table of contents, and executive summary.
Members: This study is included in your membership. Download today. Also be sure to ask us about our high-impact learning culture assessment services to benchmark and improve your own culture.
Non-members: This study is available for purchase for $795. Order today.
return to top
|
|
| Business Schools and Executive Education |
|
 The recently-published research report, Executive Education: The Role of Business Schools, is a comprehensive look at the business school market and its offerings for executive education. This report offers research-based insights and recommendations on executive education topics, the values companies receive from business school programs, and critical factors in selecting a program.
The results of this study clearly showed both the strengths and weaknesses of today's executive education offerings. Some key findings:
- Custom programs lack alignment with client companies' strategies. While 83% of respondents rated "partnering to understand business needs" as very important, only 27% rated business schools as being very effective at it.
- Business schools excel in delivering timely topics, but lack learning support. Business schools received high marks when it came to providing timely topics, but scored low for support outside of the classroom. Study participants were looking for more reinforcement and performance support, experiential learning, and blended learning.
- All but the largest organizations prefer open-enrollment programs. Despite potentially lower costs per executive, most organizations send their executives through open-enrollment business school programs instead of developing customized programs.
- Respondents are satisfied with course design and delivery, but disappointed by impact on business outcomes. While most respondents indicated satisfaction with course design and delivery, fewer respondents were satisfied with the impact on business results, and only 21% and 35%, respectively, indicated they would be repeat users of open-enrollment and custom programs.
Vendors covered in the report: Harvard, Wharton, University of Michigan, Impact Achievement Group, Bluepoint, AchieveGlobal, Center for Creative Leadership, Development Dimensions International, Hewitt, Accenture, McKinsey, Carnegie Mellon's Tepper School of Business, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Northeastern University, University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, and Kelley Executive Partners.
This report reviews critical topics for executive education, the comprehensiveness of programs and services offered by business schools, and strengths and challenges of open-enrollment and custom programs. Executive Education: The Role of Business Schools is available only to WhatWorks research members.
return to top
|
|
| In the News |
|
Human Resources Leader
May 18, 2010
Putting learning through the mixer
By David Mallon
David Mallon offers his perspective on how blended learning has evolved in modern organizations. Click here to read the article.
 Chief Learning Officer
June 2010
Environmental Awareness
By Josh Bersin
Josh writes about the significant impact of learning culture on business. Click here to read the article.
return to top
|
|
| New Research Highlights |
|
 High-Impact Learning Culture: The 40 Best Practices for Creating an Empowered Enterprise
The first comprehensive, grounded look at how an organization's collective set of values, conventions, processes, and practices that influence and encourage continuous learning are a substantial factor in both short-term business performance and long-term business growth.
Members: Download today.
Non-members: This study is available for purchase for $795. Download today.
Executive Education: The Role of Business Schools
This report offers research-based insights and recommendations on executive education topics, the values companies receive from business school programs, and critical factors in selecting a program.
Members: Download today.
Harvard Business Publishing: Collaborative Learning Drives the Next Evolution of a Trusted Name
This report describes Harvard Business Publishing's new Harvard ManageMentor program, and how it meets new needs of today's formal, informal and collaborative learning standards.
Members: Download today.
Microsoft SharePoint: Do You Already Have a Social Learning Platform in Your Organization?
This report provides an overview of uses for SharePoint and some of the issues buyers should be aware of before choosing to include it in their learning technology strategies.
Members: Download today.
Learning Organizational Alignment: Learning as a Core Business Strategy at Accenture
This case study examines Accenture's high-impact internal learning organization.
Members: Download today.
Join our research community to access these reports
return to top
|
|
| Talent Management
Newsletter |
|
 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!
return to top
|
|
|
| Analyst Corner |
|
The Future of Learning Management Systems
David Mallon
Principal Analyst
Lately I've noticed one topic holding court in the blogosphere: learning management systems. Bloggers such as Harold Jarche, Jane Hart, Clark Quinn, Dave Williams, and Dan Pontefract have all recently weighed in on this topic – with decidedly differing viewpoints.
Each blog raised interesting questions: What is the future of the LMS? How will LMS vendors respond as the market continues to mature? In today's world, where learning and work are one and the same, why is organizational learning controlled by a learning management system that isn't connected to the work being done in the enterprise?
My most recent blog post, Friday ReFlects #2 – LMS Edition, is a continuation of this cyberspace dialog. With all the activity around this topic, I thought I'd take the opportunity to give my own thoughts:
- Core functionalities of the LMS are critical for today's business processes. Companies need to deliver and track completion of formal learning programs such as compliance training and job-specific certifications. These programs remain the primary purchase drivers of LMSs.
- There's more than meets the eye with present day LMSs. Current versions manage compliance, certifications, and learning content; many have integrated talent management capabilities.
- Federation is key. We need to separate process support from the interface and user experience. LMS providers should prepare for the day when only administrators and super users use their interface; everyone else will use the functionality provided by the system via web-hosted portals or some other application programming interface.
Bersin & Associates is a main source of guidance on learning systems available in the industry today. Our LMS industry study has long been a valued resource for navigating the challenges of choosing a new LMS or adapting current systems to meet changing learning and HR initiatives. We've recently launched this year's research initiative, and are eager to review the results. Look for the report to debut this fall.
We welcome your comments and thoughts on this topic; please email info@bersin.com to share.
|
|
|
