With the public engaging in social media (like these blogs) not to mention Facebook and LinkedIn, statistics are showing that the average worker is spending nearly 22% of their time interacting in these environments to learn and exchange information.

Training Managers are now being challenged to figure out how best to use social media as a learning tool.  But rather than reading my interpretation of this webinar, I want to give you all the chance to watch the recorded version.

It takes awhile to download as it is a large file, but you can pause and watch the entire 60-minute event for yourself at CLICK HERE

You will note at the very end of the webinar, it offers you the chance to take a free test drive of a really cool social learning environment called NetSpeed Fast Tracks.  AND because I am a Consultant Partner with them, you need only email me at jhopkins@netspeedlearning.com for the registration link and code for your FREE 30-day Premium Membership.

Enjoy!

I asked a CEO yesterday how often she has evaluated the performance of the training department, which is different from individual performance evaluations.  She said they had never looked at the function and asked me what she would evaluate.

I emailed her a list of questions and suggested that if she found even two of the areas to come up as “No” answers we should talk further.  It then occurred to me that I had missed a few things and decided to post this list at the website.

http://www.thetrainingphysical.com/evaluation.html 

This morning I received a call from the training manager at this company.  We know each other, and she told me that her CEO had called her about a couple of things “that sounded like Jim had been talking to her about.”  I laughed, and acknowledged that we had talked.

The Training Manager was concerned that the CEO was learning too much about how her department was supposed to be functioning, and said she was unable to provide some of the information.  I told her that the whole idea of a Training Physical is to Diagnose, Treat and Cure a Training Department, not to shut it down.  The healthier the training department is, the healthier and more successful the company can be!

Time will tell how this particular situation works out, but I am finding this dynamic on a regular basis.  The Senior Manager rarely knows or has thought about if the training department is functioning at top speed.  The Training Manager is often in a panic when they are being held accountable because they either know what they are not doing or do not know how to do certain things.

In today’s economy no company can ill afford to pass over evaluating the performance of the training department.  If they are not performing well then they are hurting the company.  However, nothing that is under performing cannot be fixed.  No matter the health of the training department, we can improve the health, thus improve the bottom line of the company too.

In an advertisement I read recently in CLO magazine, DDI Inc quoted:

“Leaders have two roles to play.  Building relationships and getting work done through others.  Both demand strong essential interaction skills.  Leaders have to learn to listen, empathize, involve and support before they can learn to coach, influence others, build partnerships, and gain commitment.  And when they don’t develop these essential skills up front, they don’t develop into great leaders.”

If we are to solve the big problems that face our companies and fix our economy we need to learn how to communicate with each other face to face.  Although the tech world allows us to talk or type instantly our ideas and thoughts, we need to get back to the basics of one-on-one and group discussions.  We need to learn to motivate and help others succeed individually so we all can be successful.

For those of you involved in managing the training function, I want you to set a goal of implementing basic management training in the first quarter of this year.  If you need help finding a turn-key solution, let me know.  But first you need to develop a strategy for getting everyone on board so that the training you provide actually gets used.

Bottom line, neither of these training organizations and training directors were doing their jobs at the level necessary to demonstrate a return on the investment being made.  If a company wants “to improve it’s efficiency ratio,” it does not have to eliminate training first.  In fact, by eliminating training and not replacing or curing the health of the training function, they are declaring that the company and employees are unrepairable.

The interesting thing with both of these companies is the reaction from the training directors.  Both in similar fashion told me all the things they had been doing this past year.  The lists were long, and yet when I asked how management connected these tasks to company results, they both didn’t know the answer.  It was like it was the CEO’s fault and not theirs for doing a poor job of painting the pictures and connecting the dots.

So folks if your training survived into 2012, I suggest you obtain a copy of The Training Physical and perform a mini-audit on the health of your organization.  You’ll have about 6-9 months to make an impact to prevent being on the elimination list in 2012.

Good Luck!

For those of you following this blog, you know that the purpose of The Training Physical is to Diagnose, Treat and Cure Your Training Department so that you are able to meet the purpose your company depends on for their success.  When training is running at top efficiency, than they are able to prepare the employee population to perform their job skills.  When everything is in alignment, then success is possible.

I have three New Year’s Resolutions I would like the Training Manager to add to their list of resolutions.

First, if you do not already operate with a strategic training plan, make this an immediate action item to create one now!  Then implement it as soon as you are secure in the knowledge that it will support the company’s goals.  The key is to implement it, you know, actually get things done.

Second, I would like you to concentrate on increasing the professional development of each staff member in training.  Whether it is their facilitation skills (classroom and virtual), their design skills (classroom, online and virtual) or their performance consulting and needs analysis skills, target an aggressive development plan to bring everyone up to speed this year.

Third, start to realize that training is an investment in the personnel of the company.  You as the training manager need to focus on Exceeding the return on the annual investment your company is spending.  You are not a cost center, and if you operate that way then you may find training is the first to be cut this coming year to reduce expenses.  Your operation needs to save the company money, make the company money, increase sales and service levels, and exceed expectations.

I feel these resolutions will give you a more fulfilling New Year, and prepare you and your team to meet the challenges ahead.

Happy New Year!

I cannot reveal the company I speak of here or even tell you about the specifics because of my role as a judge.  All I can say is that this experience has filled me with such joy at the end of a year full of much different learning environments that I feel vindicated that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Too many training organizations are running on low batteries, and they are causing more issues than they are helping to fix.  I watched at least 6 training departments this year get closed, and of the 6 I am referencing, they all needed to be closed.  My hat is off to the senior leadership for closing those departments.  My hat will be tipped again to them if they reorganize and put a better learning staff into place next year.

“No company should be without the Learning Function, but many training department personnel need to find a new career.”

Yet when a training function is in alignment with the company’s goals and objectives, and is proactive with solutions, tracks results, and constantly looks for ways to improve their value to the company, I’m just in awe!

Leaders think farther out then the present day they are working.  This is why my client could easily have waited for a couple more weeks, but instead bucked the trend to party hardy these next two weeks and concentrate on next year’s training goals and spending her budget dollars wisely.

A training manager that acts like an administrator is waiting for others to make decisions and will miss opportunities to make their departments more cost-effective.  There is a simple reason that we pay managers more than we pay administrators – we expect more from their work day!

More than ever we are focused on ROI (Returning On Investment) and it boggles my mind when training managers don’t look for ways to REDUCE the investment!  Hello!  If you spend less on training, it makes it that much easier and faster to return on the investment.

So before you point a finger at someone else not allowing you to be successful, I want you to take a look at your own participation in the process.  Are you acting like a Training Leader or more like a Training Administrator?

Isn’t it odd that every department within a company is accountable for results, and yet too often the training department is not?  I find this appalling to say the least.  What makes the dollars allocated to training any less valuable.  I bet if you were not spending those dollars on training, another department would love to have them!

Although I have recommended that each of these 5 CEOs hire me to conduct a Training Physical, I asked them to test the need themselves by asking their training director to come to their office with the 2011 training plan.  Since the year is nearly over, I suggested they ask the training director to explain how they have returned on the investment made in training this year.

Since most training departments run without a formal, strategic training plan, the absence of one should be the first indication that the training department is not focused, but reactive in nature.  Reactive training is expensive and only meets specific training objectives.

The second thing I asked each of these CEOs to do was to request their training director present them with the 2012 training plan and explain how it is tied to the goals and objectives of the company and how they plan to return on next year’s training investment.

These are two very simple requests that any CEO should be able to expect answers from the person they are paying to lead the training function.  If any training director cannot stand up to this kind of query from the CEO, they are in over their heads!

Not only are they probably lacking the competencies necessary to create and manage to a training plan, but they have not been held accountable to doing their job correctly.  These are but symptoms of an unhealthy training function, and one that needs to undergo a complete Training Physical!

The training function is like the heart of the organization and if it is functioning correctly the whole company is too!  However, if the heart is ill, then the organization is fighting an uphill battle to be successful.

Yet, I am watching companies passing on these once a year savings like they are made out of money.  These “sales” are being used to drive year-end revenue for the vendor, and they all disappear come January.  Oh, they will tell you they will prompt a discount next year, but they don’t need to and usually do not.

I watch CEOs pounding the message about expense control and yet they allow their departments to pass on saving money.  Hello?  If you spend more later, you are not watching expenses!  Even if you are unable to pay the invoice until next year when your budget has money again, now is the time to negotiate!

I work with one management/leadership training company that is giving a full 20% off everything if the sale is paid for by 12/20/11 and even 15% if the sale is paid for by 1/20/12.  (For details, email me at jim@jkhopkinsconsulting.com )

So while some training managers are gearing up for 2012 by already having a training plan in place, and budget dollars approved, too many are sitting back enjoying all the snacks of the holiday and then will pay the full price for things next year.

While we all try to stretch the training dollar, let’s be observant of the fact that if things cost more you can’t do as much.  If you pay the full price for everything, then you can’t train as many skills.  Oh, wait!  Maybe this is the game plan.  I hadn’t stop to realize that the procrastinator and under-achiever maybe using this technique to prevent over working themselves next year. 

This is sales season for that new TV, outfit, or training program.  Now is the time to save money, so shop until you drop or run out of money!

Instead of copying last year’s numbers and hoping it all gets approved again this year, I want you to begin by preparing a list of 2011 completed and in process objectives.  What did you do this year that made a difference on the performance of the company?  How did it impact the company?  And yes, take a little time to be proud and brag on your team a little!

Now, polish the 2012 training plan and make any necessary adjustments, while highlighting the key objectives you are planning to achieve next year.  Do not forget to describe the expected benefits of your efforts, and sell your heart out over the value you will bring once again to the organization.

Numbers in a training budget are impersonal, and need to be supported by the emotional triggers that come with each initiative.  Be prepared to link each objective to corporate goals, and if you cannot link your work to the company’s work, then maybe it should not be on the list.

I use the word “Reality” because you need to paint a picture of what could be done with the resources and budget you are proposing, versus the reality of what will not get done if the budget is not approved.  Be real clear that more money can get more done, and less money will get less done.

In my book The Training Physical, I talk about setting realistic expectations.  When management wants to do something later in the year, either they pony up more money or they trade-off another activity and give up on it being accomplished.

These steps create a win-win for you and the clients you serve.  It also sets expectations, and it demonstrates you are a partner in the business.  Learning is a part of every successful organization, and training needs to live up to the expectation.