Worldwide Training Industry News (Jun 12) Learning Modalities: Cost and Convenience Drive Mix Chief Learning Officer (06/21/12) Anderson, Cushing A survey administered by IDC on behalf of Chief Learning Officer (CLO) magazine indicates that classroom training remains the most significant form of training for organizations despite the availability of innovative options. CLOs adjusted their use of various modalities based on factors like cost, convenience, and effectiveness. Organizations that reduced their classroom-based information and learning technology were most often driven by cost, according to the research, yet when organizations expanded their use of classroom-based instruction, it was because of its availability and effectiveness. A growing number of organizations preferred a combination of synchronous and asynchronous e-learning for training a group of people with mixed skill levels, the survey suggests. The results reveal a significant decrease in the use of classroom-based training from 2010, however, as well as a small increase in synchronous and asynchronous e-learning, and a large increase in "other" delivery methods. This indicates that enterprises are exploring other experiences other than conventional e-learning, such as performance support and peer-based training. A large number of organizations were found to use formal on-the-job training; its use has not changed noticeably in the past couple of years. In the future, learning delivery is expected to include more social learning, increased use of mobile technologies, and further refinements in how and when to use e-learning. Web Link Change for the Better Human Resource Executive (06/18/12) Frasch, Kristen B. A new survey reveals that as routine organizational change becomes an emerging norm, the difference between those organizations that successfully navigate organizational change and those that founder in the face of it, is the existence and quality of change management within those organizations. The survey was put together by New York-based consulting firm Towers Watson and consulted 604 organizations from around the world on how "effectively" they had handled change; effective change in this context meaning change deemed necessary, achieved within desired parameters, and having a long-term positive impact on the organization. Those organizations with highly effective change outcomes were generally those organizations with change-management personnel on staff and those with formalized, systematic change processes. Even then, though, managing change can be a challenge, with frequent budget or timeline overruns not uncommon, according to Towers Watson's Kathryn Yates. Nancy DeViney, vice president of organizational change at IBM suggests four rules of thumb for organizations looking to implement or improve change-management: understand the change you face before you rise to meet it, structure your change responses, find the right people with the right skills to manage change, and know where to invest most effectively in change. Other advice is to involve all organization employees in the process so change will not take them by surprise, and work closely with vendors and clients to manage changes. Web Link Executive Education on Global B-Schools Radar Business Standard (India) (06/14/12) Umarji, Vinay; Pathak, Kalpana Executive educations programs appear to be gaining popularity at some of the United States' top business schools with programs popping up at Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, University of Chicago, Tuck School of Business, and Duke University. With these institutions leading the way, the trend is expected to also catch on at business schools worldwide. Already, Indian business schools, like the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM), say they're feeling pressure from the international executive education market. That pressure is expected to spread differently for different business schools, with added competition in open enrollment courses that invite executives to focus on a set topic as well as for programs tailored to the needs of specific companies. India continues to be an attractive market for executive management, with Harvard opening classrooms at Taj Lands End, Bandra, and Mumbai and the University of Pennsylvania looking to put down roots in Mumbai. Indian business schools say they are prepared to meet the international competition by continuing to draw corporate interest in cutting-edge, research-based open enrollment programs. Web Link The Role of Benchmarks: How Should They Be Used? Chief Learning Officer (06/06/12) Vance, David A benchmark is usually an average for a measure for a larger sample or for a subset like "best in class," and can be used by businesses and professional associations to show their clients or subscribers how they are performing compared to competitors. Some of the more common benchmark measures include level one and three results, L&D spending per employee, L&D staff per employee, percentage of learning by type, and cost of learning by type. In this Chief Learning Officer article, David Vance, former president of Caterpillar University, an education and training portal for the company's employees, explains how companies can use benchmarking to create initial goals for a new or reintroduced L&D function. If the organization already has a history on that measure within the organization, than that benchmark can be used, but Vance says an external comparison can give a company a better idea of what is possible. For instance, say the organization wants to set a goal for the application rate of learning, and finds from an internal poll that 50 percent of employees apply the learned behaviors on the job. The organization may look at outside data to see if it can improve this percentage and find that the average organization achieves 55 percent and best in class reach 75 percent. This would indicate that the organization's initial benchmark should at least be 55 percent, and that a longer-term benchmark could be 75 percent. In this case, the benchmark tells the organization that it can do better and gives it a goal to move toward. On the other hand, an organization might achieve level one scores above 90 percent, and benchmark data for best-in-class organizations show level one of 88 percent. This would indicate that a company may not be able to push level one much higher, and that the goal should be to maintain the above-90 percent rate. Benchmarking plays an important role, Vance says, but it should not "take the place of a goal either in the planning process or in monthly reports through the year. Don't blindly make the benchmark your goal for the year. Use it to help set a goal that makes sense for your organization for the coming year." Web Link More Companies Turning to Universities to Educate Workforce, Study Shows University of Illinois News Bureau (05/29/12) Forrest, Sharita The partnership of Wal-Mart Stores with American Public University to provide online college degrees to Walmart's workforce has raised skepticism among some in academia. But according to Jessica Li, a faculty member in the College of Education at the University of Illinois, the arrangement highlights growing trends in employee development. Li and Amy Lui Abel, a researcher with Silk Road Learning, recently conducted a study in which they assessed the operations, functions and structures of 2010 corporate universities across the continent. The study found that corporate universities have doubled in number in the U.S. over the past 20 years to more than 4,000. The researchers found that while partnering with a business unit or the human resource department within a company is more common, corporate universities increasingly are teaming up with academic institutions to design and deliver customized content, including noncredit courses and degree programs. But critics have raised concerns about the blurring of vocational training and baccalaureate education. "Cost-cutting has become a priority in the current economic environment," said Li. "But companies that focus on saving money at the expense of employee development will suffer in the long run." Web Link Change's Darkest Moment Huffington Post (05/24/12) Tolle, Brian With most organizational change efforts, management may come to a place where they feel they cannot achieve the desired goals. It can be a very dark moment for leaders who truly believe in the change. When this happens, leaders should reframe their expectations to something closer to reality when it comes to pace, speed and capacity. Brian Tolle said management should take one task at a time, and not look down the long, dark road. Tolle likens it to hiking through the vast Grand Canyon and not being able to see the trail ahead. He said leaders must take one step at a time, hoping that around the next bend, the path will become clearer. Web Link Shortage of Skilled Employees in Green Building Industry SustainableBusiness.com (05/17/12) There is high demand for skilled green workers in the construction industry, but not enough people with those skills, 86 percent of architects and engineers and 91 percent of contractors said in a McGraw-Hill Construction study. The economic downturn, an aging workforce, and fewer younger workers has left the construction industry with a shortage of skilled workers. Sixty-nine percent of architect, engineer, and contractor (AEC) professionals expect such workforce shortages in the next three years. A rise in green building training and professional certifications may attract younger professionals and craftspeople, as 62 percent of trade firms and 42 percent of architects worry that their professions do not appeal to the younger generation. Thirty-five percent of AEC jobs are green, and that share is expected to increase over the next three years, with 45 percent of all design and construction jobs being green by 2014. McGraw-Hill Construction defines "green jobs" as jobs that involve more than 50 percent of work on LEED projects or a comparable certification.