A Practical Approach for Measuring the Business Impact of Training
by Dr. Perry Alter and Dr. Shelley A. Kirkpatrick
Companies invest in training and development in order to improve their business results. However, many companies fail to measure business impact and/or the return on investment (ROI) of that training.  And when they do attempt to measure it, they often have difficulty calculating it and interpreting it. In an attempt to find a way to quantify ROI while at the same time doing it in a manner that is easily understandable and inexpensive to compute, we have developed a balanced alternative. 

e Learning Management Systems: Do “Learning Organizations” Really Outperform the Competition?
by Daniel R. MacDonald
The key to building a learning organization is to organically grow the program from within using best practices from inside and outside of the organization. Effective programs should combine an e learning management system with custom course development which allows for the creation of training material that is tailored to the needs of the organization’s members.

Leaders Can't Be Trained
by Michael Beck
Despite the hundreds of books, programs and websites devoted to leadership, the truth is that leaders can't be trained.  Leaders need to be developed.  Hopefully this doesn't seem like a simple matter of semantics, because it isn't.

Why Training Fails
by Ann Latham
If you “fix” the wrong things, you waste money and time. If you “fix” things randomly, the odds are against fixing the right thing. Determine specifically what is preventing the individual and group behaviors that would make a difference in your company. And then remove those obstacles to better performance.

The Challenges of Managing and Training a Generation That Knows What It Wants
by Bill Rosenthal
Let’s say a young job applicant’s first question at the interview is “When will I get my first promotion?”  Another expects lots of praise for taking the first step on a project and ongoing encouragement to complete it.  And a third is altogether inexperienced but is certain it can be done better another way and is vocal about it.  This is what should be expected of young employees – the Gen Y or Millennial generation, usually defined as those born after 1980.

Five Keys to Managed Learning Services
by Peg Albert
CEOs oversaw the spending of $104.3 billion for the training of employees, dealers, customers and other supply chain participants during 2009 -- and spending for 2010 will increase by an estimated 6-8 percent.  How can organizations get a bigger payoff from these expenditures?  The answer for an increasing number of them is the subject matter expertise found in a managed learning services provider.

Creating Real and Lasting Performance Improvement through Behavior Change - Part 1
by Stanton Heister, Principal, Peak Performance Business Consulting LLC
In most companies there exists a training or learning organization.  These organizations respond to perceived training needs by designing, developing, deploying and delivering training either by electronic means or through instructor-led training interventions.  Unfortunately in most circumstances, when the “training” session is over, the learning stops.

Creating Real and Lasting Performance Improvement through Behavior Change - Part 2
by Stanton Heister, Principal, Peak Performance Business Consulting LLC
In Part One of this Series, we discussed the fact that many companies today deliver training by electronic means or through instructor-led training interventions and that unfortunately, in most circumstances, contain no follow-up or reinforcement mechanism. In order for behavior change to take place in adult learners, a logical process that includes several steps must take place. In this second of two parts we examine this process in detail.

Middle Managers: Transition to Management
by Lucille Maddalena, Ed.D.
Middle management, comprised of first-line supervisors to associate-directors, is the largest and most powerful group of white-collar workers in the corporate sector. It is surprising to find that although middle-managers sustain the organization, many leaders appear to overlook or minimize the dynamic role of this integral group.

Training: Rounding up the Usual Suspects
by Abhay Padgaonkar
With literally billions of dollars spent on training, why is it not more effective in changing organizations' practices? Why are training departments becoming today's "usual suspects?"

The E-Learning Myth
by Bray J. Brockbank
With the global education and training budget estimated to be more than $2 trillion - e-learning stands to capture a significant piece of that pie. As complex and fragmented as the e-learning industry still is today, it will undoubtedly continue to grow at a relatively rapid pace.

Lessons Learned from a Problem-plagued Learning Initiative
by Richard Montanaro and Frank Troha
Designing, developing and deploying e-learning company-wide is like navigating a minefield. To get through in one piece, you'll need a provider who is experienced, dedicated and capable of effective leadership.

Research Reveals Five Imperatives for Effective Web-based Instruction
by Frank J. Troha
This article is a distillation of findings published from 1995 to the present. If weighed in the context of your particular circumstances, the conclusions presented here should help ensure that your investment of time, effort and money in Web-based instruction returns a healthy dividend.

Are Your Virtual Classes as Successful as They Could Be?
by Christina Morfeld
Why is learner engagement such a tough challenge for synchronous trainers? It’s not that the necessary tools and utilities aren’t available; in fact, they’re built right into the software we’re using! Instead, it seems that we’re simply not leveraging them to their fullest extent.

Ensuring E-learning Success: Six Simple Tips for Initiative Leaders
by Frank J. Troha, Ph.D.
Leading a major e-learning or blended learning initiative is a relatively new, complex and high-stakes challenge. To help ensure the success of your organization's learning initiatives, consider how you might apply these proven tips.

Boosting the Instructional Effectiveness of Conference Workshops
by Frank J. Troha
To help your facilitators do a better job - and better ensure the overall success of your conferences - consider passing along these basic, but vitally important, recommendations.

Next-Generation Management Systems - Part One
by Bray J. Brockbank
As organizations are transitioning from old economy to the new knowledge economy - they're recognizing the imminent need for an organizational Learning Management System that will provide an integrated, scalable learning technology platform - built for the future.

Next-Generation Management Systems - Part Two
by Bray J. Brockbank
The focus of eLearning is no longer to simply train but to channel knowledge into ideas and use those ideas to create business competencies and solutions.

Ten Hot Tips for Stretching a Tight Training Budget
by Frank J. Troha, Ph.D.
If you are a training and development professional on a tight budget, chances are you can stretch it further by applying one or more of these 10 tips.

A Simple, Unique and Proven Way to Design Any Type of Training
by Frank J. Troha
There are as many instructional design models as there are holiday package deals to the Caribbean. You may find the approach I use and recommend to be the happy medium you've been looking for.

Unleashing the High Performance Workforce
by Bray J. Brockbank
Employees are the only true agents and determinants in business; all assets and structures, whether tangible physical products or intangible relations, are the result of human action and depend ultimately on employees for their continued existence.

A Bulletproof Model for the Design of Blended Learning
by Frank J. Troha
Whether you and your staff have experienced designing e-learning or blended learning, it's critical that you at least attempt to define the major aspects of your project before consulting with any outside service providers.

Training Leaders at the Speed of Business
by Janet Oliver and Joe DiSabatino
Here are pointers for training professionals that we have compiled over the years by talking with countless managers and executives. They go a long way towards building credibility for training programs. In our experience, they work wonders.

eLearning: Going Portal
by Bray J. Brockbank
Learning and training processes are becoming increasingly integrated into strategic organizational processes and eLearning portals will drive the evolution from the information economy to the knowledge economy.

Do You Have a Performance Improvement or a Training Department?
by Freda Turner Ph.D.
Demand for performance improvement is increasing exponentially and many organizations are now renaming their training department and holding trainers responsible for performance improvement results.

The Most Overlooked Way for You to Improve Your Organization's Bottom Line
by Frank J. Troha
Irrational beliefs represent a major obstacle to an organization's investment in training paying off the way it could (and should).

e-Learning and the e-Workforce
by Bray J. Brockbank
If analysts and current trends prove correct, e-Learning will establish itself as the "juggernaut" of training and development.

Enhancing the Bottom Line : Manpower Training and the Return on Investment
by Oliver Tian
Organizations have to recognize the pivotal role of learning in competing effectively and quickly in the dynamic marketplace of the knowledge-based economy.

Why Most Training Fails
by Jim Clemmer
Most organizations use their training investments about as strategically as they deploy their office supplies spending.

A History of Interactive Education and Training
by Terrell L. Perry, Ed. D.
Interactive training will continue to be fueled by the advancements made in both software and hardware technology - the first of a four part series.

When Should Your Organization Use Technology-Based Training?
by Terrell L. Perry, Ed. D.
Traditional classroom vs instructional multimedia? CD-ROM vs Web-based training? They have different capabilities that may require trade-offs on your part.

Evaluating Multimedia
by Terrell L. Perry, Ed. D.
Do you know how to tell the difference between high quality multimedia and multimedia that is substandard? The third article in an excellent series.

Off-The-Shelf Interactive Training: Are We Settling For Mediocrity?
by Terrell L. Perry, Ed. D.
Don’t settle for large libraries of mediocrity. Demand – well-designed, innovative, and truly effective courseware. This is the fourth article of an excellent series.

Related Topics: The HR Refresher | Motivation & Retention

Return to top