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What
are training professionals talking about?
Figuring out what to do
| Gustavo: |
Look
at this email. It's my first contact from the new VP Sales,
Gerhard von Hoff, over in Frankfurt. He wants a 3-day
class on sales basics for just about everybody. Remember,
we did something similar to that in a 2-day class last
year? And then there's the fact that our sales force is
all over the world. I hope he's not thinking about investing
in a globe-trotting road show for sales training. |
| Emily: |
And
we get so much resistance from the territory sales managers
whenever we pull their folks out of the field for training!
Will they support a 3-day class? And why three days? Will
they attend themselves? Maybe they will, since Gerhard
is their new VP... |
| Gustavo: |
And
what do we put in the class? How do we make it relevant
and meaningful? I want to please Gerhard, but I also want
to make sure we don't produce a frivolous program. |
| Emily: |
Gus,
maybe you need to do a quick analysis to find out what
the sales force really needs. Of course, you'll need to
convince Gerhard to hold off on the classes for a bit,
but the data will be a great way for him to learn more
about the global sales force. |
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Our technology options
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| Jill: |
Why
is everyone talking to me about technology? I work in
Human Resources, not Information Technology. My training
classes are full and employees like them. Do you think
all this tech talk is a fad? |
| Jose: |
I don't think so. I'm not saying that classroom training
will disappear, but technology can do things you've always
wanted to do and for hundreds and even thousands of employees
at once, not dozens. Think about the problems we're always
having with travel budgets. Remember how impossible it
is to keep our materials up to date. And that doesn't
even include the ugly fights about classroom space. |
| Jill: |
With
classroom training, I have my arms around what is possible.
We touch people in real ways. We look 'em in the eyes.
With these technologies, I'm less certain about the impact,
what we can accomplish. |
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The
Web
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| Rudy: |
Myron
just told me that 50% of our compliance training needs
to be online by December. How are we going to do that? |
| Ella: |
But you know why he's pushing us there, don't you? There's
big executive pressure to move to it. What concerns me
is that all this hurry is keeping us away from making
judicious decisions about how and when. |
| Rudy: |
Yes.
I heard that one company is mandating a move of 80% of
what they do to e-learning. Which 20% won't go? Why? Why
80 not 75% or 90%? Whole classes or just parts? |
| Ella: |
I
can see why there's excitement, sure. The Web is not any
one medium. It delivers many media. And you can find what
you need when you want it. Just last week, we wanted to
find some options to help our people learn a new software
package. We looked at www.lguide.com. In 10 minutes, I
found several options and credible reviews. Oh, we'll
look at the programs ourselves, of course, but it's a
start. The Web helped us there, and fast. |
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Informal learning
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| Raj: |
Just
when our employees get accustomed to a software program,
a new version comes out. We can't train them fast enough.
Management wants the latest technology, but it's worthless
if our folks aren't using it. |
| Steve: |
Have you thought about having them learn it on their own? |
| Raj: |
Sure.
But most of our employees are already working long hours,
and don't have the time or energy to go back to school.
They're even reluctant to attend training here when we
offer it at the company during regular work hours. |
| Steve: |
I
wasn't talking about classroom training. People learn
by making mistakes, watching others, reading manuals,
chatting at the water cooler, and watching a supervisor
or colleague. |
| Raj:
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You
have a point--but my job is to develop and deliver training.
We mostly focus on what happens in the classroom. And
my group, as you know, is measured by the butts we put
in seats, otherwise known as our enrollments. I can see
the value in the informal and personally driven stuff,
but... |
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