TrainingIndustry.com-What Happens After Training is as Important as the Training

**EXCELLENT ARTICLE AND WHITEPAPER**

A great deal of Learning & Development effort goes into
providing the right training: good content targeting specific
needs; well designed; and delivered in the best possible
way. Quite right too. The problem is that we think it’s all
over once the training is delivered. There is much to do, so
as soon as the training finishes, our attention turns to
making the next programme happen.

The fact is that when training finishes, we have only just
begun the process of converting training into business
benefit (the reason why we do training in the first place).
Think of the process as having three stages:

Stage 1: Good training causes learning to happen.

Stage 2: Learners use what they have learned, their
skills increase and they become more productive.

Stage 3: Greater productivity leads to business benefit.

Stage 2 is pivotal – unless learners use what they learn,
how can any learning convert into business benefit? And
yet this is precisely the point where we usually stop paying
attention, and turn to the next programme.

As we’ll see later, our data shows that a quarter of all
training fails to yield significant performance improvement.
This paper will show you how we arrive at that figure, and
we’ll also show how you can go about reducing it.

Read the report at: http://www.trainingindustry.com/media/2624955/knowledgepool-they%20think%20it%27s%20all%20over.pdf

Or: http://www.trainingindustry.com/training-outsourcing/white-papers/they-think-it%27s-all-over.aspx

Training Journal: McDonalds Receives Award for Investing in People

McDonalds has become one of the first in a handful of companies to be honoured with a new look Investors in People (IIP) Gold award.The organisation was presented with the award at the Institute of Directors this week, in recognition of its continued investment in talent management and its use of people metrics to identify the impact of development strategies.

Investors in People said McDonald’s employees were able to identify inspirational leaders at all levels and there had been an improvement in people’s view of how they were managed and developed within the organisation.

Read the article at: http://www.trainingjournal.com/news/2441.html#

Return on Investment in Coaching Behaviors

Coaching programs delivered an average return on investment of 5.7 times the initial investment.
The average return on an executive coaching assignment was more than $100,000.
Productivity increased (reported by 53% of executives)
Quality improved (48%)
Organizational strength increased (48%)
Customer service improved (39%)
Reducing customer complaints (34%)
Retaining executives (32%)
Cost reductions (23%)
Bottom-line profitability (22%)
Working relationships with direct reports improved (reported by 77%of executives)
Working relationships with immediate supervisors improved (71%)
Teamwork enhanced (67%)
Working relationships with peers improved (63%)
Job satisfaction increased (61%)
Conflict reductions were more effective (52%)
Organizational commitment increased (44%)
Working relationships with clients improved (37%)

Forbes Executive Survey Data

WSJ: Despite Cutbacks, Firms Invest in Developing Leaders

By DANA MATTIOLI
Despite layoffs and recession-starved budgets, many employers are investing in leadership-development programs, hoping not to be caught short of strong managers when the economy recovers.

Identifying and grooming leaders is important in good times, says Bret Furio, senior vice president of consumer lifestyle for Philips Electronics North America. "In times of crisis when the economy is struggling," he adds, "it's imperative."

Like many companies,

Philips Electronics NV is trimming its training budget this year. A December survey of 117 large U.S. companies by Watson Wyatt Worldwide Inc. found 23% of respondents had recently cut training programs, and another 18% planned to do so this year.

But Philips will offer its annual Inspire program for 30 high-potential employees, stressing subjects such as business strategy and personal leadership. Participants are assigned to teams to work on a business project. Mr. Furio reasons that investing in leadership development will help Philips through the recession and the recovery.

In a nod to the tough times, Philips trimmed the budget for Inspire, eliminating one tutor and tapping more employees, rather than outsiders, as trainers. It's holding the program near Seattle and Boston, where Philips has many employees, saving the company transportation costs. Last year, one seminar was held in Huntington Beach, Calif.

Philips is typical of many companies, according to Bersin & Associates, a research firm that studies corporate training. Bersin estimates that companies cut overall training budgets 11% last year and projects another decline this year, based on a recent survey of human-resources executives. President Josh Bersin says the deepest cuts are in training for "soft skills" such as communicating with co-workers and conducting meetings. He says leadership development is taking a growing share of training budgets.

Yaarit Silverstone, global managing director for the organizational-effectiveness practice at consulting firm Accenture Ltd., says the emphasis on leadership development is a departure from the past. Ms. Silverstone says companies historically cut leadership-development programs during downturns, but the moves backfired, prompting midlevel managers and top performers to leave when the economy recovered. Now, she says, executives believe that without capable managers, "their ability to come through [the recession] in a healthy fashion is diminished."

Consider Estée Lauder Cos. The New York cosmetics maker Thursday reported lower sales and profit for the period ended Dec. 31, and said it would eliminate 2,000 jobs over the next two years. But Lauder is continuing its leadership-development programs, albeit more cheaply. Lauder typically sends 120 executives to a two- or three-week summer program at Vassar College. This year, it plans to send 60, for one week. In all its leadership programs, Lauder will emphasize innovation and managing change in volatile business conditions.

The budget cuts are hurting business schools, which say companies are sending fewer employees for executive-education courses and ordering fewer custom programs, which can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. David Newkirk, CEO of Executive Education for the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, says the school began to feel the downturn early last year, as financial companies deferred decisions. He says few companies have dropped programs completely, but many are delaying custom program enrollment by six months or so as they watch expenses.
But leadership coaches say they're still in demand.

Author and consultant Paul Hellman has been expecting a slowdown, but says December was his busiest December ever. Mr. Hellman, president of Express Potential, says employers know employees are less likely to jump ship during the recession, and are exhibiting a "let's make sure people are developed" mentality. He says he sees companies cutting costs by using more Web training than in past years; he hosted four "Webinars" in January, compared with six for all of last year.

That's the case at Canon USA Inc., which launched "Canon Academy" in 2008 to expand leadership development. This year, the camera and office-equipment maker is combining Web tools and instructor-led courses to offer training to more newly promoted managers than in the past. The program will touch on strategic decision-making and influencing employees. "Certainly times are tough, but we recognize that employee development needs to continue," says David Metzger, Canon USA's director of management development.

Some consultants see a renewed focus on leadership development, even at companies that are laying off employees. Patrick Sweeney, president of Caliper, a Princeton, N.J., management-consulting firm, says companies are trying to grab managers' attention and focus them on "keeping the ship afloat." Mr. Sweeney says much of Caliper's current work is geared toward identifying employees with high potential and developing their leadership skills.

The Case for Training and Development NOW!!

It is sure easy to delay, defer and cancel training programs in this economy. As a lot of training professionals will tell you, it is one of the first line items to be axed from any budget.

Unfortunately, reductions in training also carry a significant penalty. It will prolong the length of time needed to recover from a downturn. It will limit the ability to capitalize on the faltering of competitors (in fact, they may prey on you). It will reduce your ability your ability to perform at the high levels required when staffing is cut. It will harm your ability to attract and retain good talent when the economy recovers.

Below is a brief synopsis of some types of training that are most necessary in an economic downturn:

1. Leadership, Supervision and Management
More is asked from the leadership team and they must rally troops in time of difficulty. Innovation is needed. Fresh outlooks and a critical view is required. This takes skills and competencies obtained in training.

2. Customer Service
The one proven factor to retaining market share in a down economy is service quality. Doing it right requires a training commitment.

3. Sales and Marketing
To capitalize on competitors when they fail, your sales team must be poised with axes sharpened. This honing can only be accomplished through learning and growth.

4. Teamwork
Never has the ability to work together been more important. The synergies needed to produce more with less is critical in difficult times.

Talent Management in Difficult Times

Talent management is always an important functionality but it difficult or lean times it becomes even more critical. Good talent management and talent managers will make the following adjustments in difficult times:

1. Recruiting for Fit, Flexibility and Performance
It is imperative that hiring and recruiting efforts turn to a fit based model that emphasises flexibility, innovation and accountability for performance.

2. Synchronizing Organizational Objectives with Recruited Competencies
In hiring and recruiting, the competencies and skills that are most needed by the company must be sought and tested. If your organization values integrity, recruit for integrity. If your organization needs customer service skills, hire bona fide customer service stars. Move away from any dependence on years of experience or education level and focus on the skills that are dictated by organizational need.

3. Synchronizing Training Elements to Organizational Objectives and Performance
Skills and competencies learned in a training environment are not things that should be warehoused. There must be a direct connection between skills gained through training programs and the impact on organizational success.

4. Elimination of Fuzzy Performance Expectations
Clear up an misconceptions or lack of clarity in performance expectations. The clearer and more concise the better. Insure all team members understand what is expected and how that contributes to the success of the organization.

5. Promote Critical Thinking and Innovation
During difficult times, the most needed recovery skills are critical thinking and innovation. Critical thinking allows leaders and team members to look at processes, core products and delivery mechanisms to find waste and unneeded efforts. This lean approach much be encouraged, hired and promoted. Critical thinking will also find redundancies and overlaps needed to be lean and survive any downturn. Managers of the status quo are not valuable in difficult times.

6. Highlight Intrinsic Benefits and Value
Provide regular value updates about often overlooked benefits and value provided by your organization. Point out things like covered parking, free bottled water, training programs, job shadowing and other inexpensive benefits and the value they provide.

In-N-Out Burger: Stressing Team Member Retention

By Stacy Perman

If you live in California or Arizona, you know In-N-Out Burger. Otherwise, the 232-restaurant chain may ring a bell only because of Paris Hilton. She was famously on her way to satisfy an In-N-Out urge when she was charged with DUI in 2006. Foodies may be aware that star chefs Daniel Boulud and Thomas Keller are big fans. But even devotees may not know that the company, founded in 1948, has resisted both franchising and going public, and beats Burger King (BKC) and rivals McDonald's (MCD) on per-store sales. BusinessWeek writer Stacy Perman brings the secretive company to light with In-N-Out Burger: A Behind-the-Counter Look at the Fast-Food Chain That Breaks All the Rules. This excerpt tracks how Rich Snyder, son of founders Esther and Harry Snyder, expanded the chain, focusing closely on the quality of the food—and the staff—before he was killed in a plane crash in 1993.

Rich Snyder was 24 when he became president of In-N-Out Burger after his father, Harry, died in 1976. He shared Harry's belief that running a successful fast-food business wasn't about cutting corners or using the right equipment. What it boiled down to was the people on the front lines.

Where the two differed, however, was that Harry had hoped his "associates," as he and Esther insisted on calling employees, would work hard, save money, and leave. Rich had another idea: "Why let good people move on when you can use them to help your company grow?" Rich also wanted to establish a much bigger footprint for In-N-Out Burger.

Read the rest of the article at: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_16/b4127068288029.htm

Article from Business Week-How Proctor and Gamble Retains Great Team Members

By Roger O. Crockett

Few employers spend as much time cultivating their workforce as Procter & Gamble (PG). The consumer-products company expects to get 400,000 applications for entry-level management positions this year. It will hire less than one half of 1% of them, selecting only those most likely to fit the P&G culture. "We actually recruit for values," says Chief Operating Officer Robert McDonald. "If you are not inspired to improve lives, this isn't the company you want to work for."

The careful vetting, training, and career development pay off. P&G boasts 23 brands with at least $1 billion in annual sales and is the market leader in everything from detergent to diapers to razors. True, the company's renowned marketing skills and deep pockets help. But another important edge is personnel management—bringing in and promoting creative thinkers.

INTENSE INTERNAL TRAINING

The P&G strategy starts on college campuses. The Cincinnati company dispatches line managers rather than human resource staffers to do much of its recruiting. They home in on schools whose earlier graduates have moved up at P&G, such as Harvard and Stanford. Interviewers look for what they call a candidate's "power," including leadership ability and empathy. Innovation skills and values are measured in an online assessment. "Our managers are skilled at probing for the right fit," says William Reina, director for global talent. "The people they identify score well on the assessment."

For the few who get hired, their work life becomes a career-long development process. At every level, P&G has a different "college" to train individuals, and every department has its own "university." The general manager's college, which McDonald leads, holds a week-long school term once a year when there are a handful of newly promoted managers. Further training—there are nearly 50 courses—helps managers with technical writing or financial analysis.

Career education takes place outside the classroom, too. P&G pushes every general manager to log at least one foreign assignment of three to five years. Even high-ranking employees visit the homes of consumers to watch how they cook, clean, and generally live, in a practice dubbed "live it, work it." Managers also visit retail stores, occasionally even scanning and bagging items at checkout lanes, to learn more about customers. Rosabeth Moss Kanter, a professor of business administration at Harvard Business School, says this level of involvement by executives is rare. But that's what separates P&G from the pack.