Torey Quinn's List: Managing Learning Programs

Studies have shown that training your employees can increase your profit margin by as much as 24%. While training your employees comes at an initial cost, there’s no doubt that the benefits of a highly qualified group of staff more than pays for itself in the long run. These are just a few of the reasons employee training is so crucial to the success of your business.

"Did you know that eLearning is around 50 years old? Yes, you read that right. Teaching is one of the first uses that organizations found for computers: researchers at Stanford University experimented with using computers to teach children math and science back in the early 1960s. And yet, one of the situations I occasionally encounter is that, while one department may be starting an eLearning initiative, there is a strong resistance to this “new” model elsewhere within – or maybe throughout – the organization.

Overcoming objections is an important part of making any eLearning initiative successful, and luckily, eLearning’s long history gives us plenty of knowledge of how to make our case. Here are some of the tactics I’ve used in dealing with these objections."

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"Whirlpool Corporation, a global appliance manufacturer, has had a consistent record of developing employees with strategically relevant knowledge and skills, which has helped the company to excel in markets around the globe and develop future leaders. But Whirlpool University, the learning and development arm of the company, was challenged during the start of the 2008 recession to continue this tradition with an intense focus on knowledge and skills required to strategically succeed in the face of a volatile economy."

"When facing unpredictable economic conditions, business leaders attempt to fully maximize existing organizational resources in an effort to maintain market expectations and ensure sustainable competitive advantage. While this is true for any economic state, it becomes more laser-like where uncertainty exists.  
Of the resources available, the most relevant, expensive, and challenging for leaders to manage are people. So why is it that training and development are so often at the top of the list for expense reduction, when really it’s when training can shine and add value? 
Too often, those involved with supporting functions—which is how training is seen—fail to grasp management’s expectations."

"By holding Management Team Prep Sessions, you increase management engagement in the training process and the likelihood of successful training transfer.
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"Before Intel giant McAfee revamped its new-hire orientation, it was over 80 hours long and consisted of roughly 40 hours of pre-work, 5 days of on-site training, and a “robust” syllabus of post-work, meant to be completed at home. But as McAfee’s Senior Director of learning Lori Aberle says, “Once they leave the instructor-led class, that’s it, they’re done. Let’s face it, you will never get them back again!”   

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"Many business people think of training as something distracting or often a waste of time. And despite the fact that US business spends more than $60 billion a year in employee development (2013 Corporate Learning Factbook), many executives question its return on investment.

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"Jack Welch, famed international business leader and CEO of General Electric once said, “An organization’s ability to learn and translate that learning into action rapidly is the ultimate competitive advantage.” If learning is so important, why do most training professionals struggle to get the funding they need? That’s a good question, and one I will explore in this article."

"“Managing expectations, demonstrating value, and justifying costs may not seem very training or instructional-design focused, or as exciting as a new technology, but these three activities may be more important for the ultimate success of any training effort than the individual learning programs themselves, however well designed.”"

"“ROI for learning through technology can be an elusive number, but it does not have to be. By following some prescribed steps, designers and developers can make a huge difference in the success of eLearning, pushing it to impressive levels of success for application and impact."

"“How does L&D begin to contribute to performance improvements in the order of 10 – 20%? Beyond ROI: The Value of Learning provides valuable approaches needed by all CLOs for establishing the necessary partnerships and eliciting evidence of effective learning application, in context.”"

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"Self-Paced Online Training vs. Webinars
After reading this guide, you will understand the differences between self-paced and live webinar online training and determine which learning method will be the most effective for your company."

"“Agile is, after all, fairly reliant on people. It’s a great system, but even agile can’t actually produce the eLearning. People are needed to get the work done and people are known for making mistakes. Fortunately, agile can accommodate those mistakes as long as tasks are small enough to be meaningful, time estimates are as accurate as possible, and communication is clear and frequent among all team members.”"