Chief Learning Officer - June 2008 - (Page 51) n 1871, Sir Henry Morton Stanley, then a reporter for the New York Herald, embarked on an expedition into central Africa to find famed Scottish explorer and missionary David Livingstone, who had ceased communication with the outside world for some time. After several months of searching, Stanley found Livingstone in what today is Tanzania, greeting him with the famous — and perhaps apocryphal — line, “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” This quickly became a catchphrase in the Englishspeaking world, which was engrossed by Stanley’s stories of exploration in mysterious geographic regions and encounters with people of very different cultures. Even today, when technology and globalization have demystified so much of the world, the idea of interacting with civilizations quite distinct from one’s own holds a certain fascination. And whether for business or pleasure, more people are experiencing this phenomenon than ever before. In companies with global reach, learning professionals can expect to either develop or deliver learning for a foreign audience. Thanks to technology, and the Web in particular, many if not most of these development programs are distributed virtually. When time, distance and cost are factored in, this method is generally preferable to face-to-face training. However, in some instances, there is no substitute for going to a foreign locale and demonstrating or explaining a concept in person. If you find yourself in this situation, pack your bag, grab your passport and read on. I When Is Live Learning Necessary? There are certain situations in which face-to-face learning events are always called for, regardless of the company in question. One example is the opening of a new office overseas. Instructors should be there in person to help orient new employees on the fundamentals of the company: mission, values, structure and so forth. This not only gives them the skills and knowledge they need, but it also demonstrates a real commitment to the venture on the part of the organizational leadership. Yet, beyond a few circumstances, the drivers of most live learning experiences are subjective. For instance, for insurance provider Allstate — which counts programmers in Belfast, a call center in Pune, India, and a service center in Manila among its overseas operations — people skills necessitate face-to-face training. “Clearly, in situations where they need a fair amount of context, they need [live learning],” said Karen Scott, senior manager of the human resources education department. “In the work that’s being done for us in Manila right now, talent acquisition is one arena in which people DID YOU KNOW? need a lot of conversation time with The average number instructors to understand the rules of the of text messages sent road for recruiting in this country. Those every day in the Philipkinds of things don’t translate well unless pines is 20 per telecom you have situations to go through and subscriber, making it some Q&A.” the world leader. On the other hand, at energy soluSource: Reuters tions firm Dresser-Rand, which has plants and offices in France, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands and other European nations, highly technical subjects such as making parts for a compressor require live learning. “Anything to do with that needs to be face-to-face,” said Jeff Grenzer, Dresser-Rand’s global training and development director. “I think some of those soft skills things should be done online. Gone are the days when you stick someone in a classroom for two or three days, unless it’s really technical. A program like that is just not going to work. It’s a very busy time, and companies are very lean.” Thus, there isn’t necessarily a right or wrong answer about what learning should be face-to-face. Decisions about the kinds of learning experiences that will be live or virtual will come down to business priorities. Generally, the more a company wants to make sure its overseas employees really “get” a particular skill or concept, the more likely it is to spend the money to send trainers. The Journey Begins When traveling thousands of miles away to teach Chief Learning Officer • June 2008 • www.clomedia.com 51 http://www.clomedia.com
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