Chief Learning Officer - June 2008 - (Page 53) societal attributes of these and other overseas locations will impact when, where and how they like to learn. By better understanding the people, learning leaders can grasp how to best deliver development programs to them. Face-to-Face Training Experiences For people in European countries, this means training should be conducted face-to-face as much as possible, as they’re very sociable. “Face-to-face training is very big in Europe,” Grenzer explained. “They look at that as being personable, and they have a very personable culture. If you look at the Europeans compared to people in the Asia-Pacific region, it’s complete night and day. In Asia-Pacific, they’d rather have everything online if they could. The Europeans are coming along, but they still have that personable mindset. They like the classroom environment and the interaction. They do some of the online learning because sometimes they just want the training as quick as possible. But they like that human touch.” Because people in the APAC region are more receptive to technology, they’ll be less likely to demand live learning. Still, that doesn’t mean they can’t benefit from these experiences, if structured correctly. “We honestly did a lot of the same things we would have done back here,” Scott said of the learning she developed and delivered to the Manila audience. “We employed blended learning, so they had a combination of workshop and online experiences. Actual scenarios and situations that they would experience on the job resonated with them. Bringing them as close to the real experience via scenarios really registered the most with them.” Incorporating interactivity into face-to-face training programs is critical for engaging the audience and ensuring knowledge retention, regardless of the region the learning is taking place in, Grenzer said. “Giving people 25 PowerPoint slides and saying, ‘God love you and God help you,’ just isn’t going to work anymore. Basically, you’re setting up employees for failure that way. I don’t even use PowerPoint slides in the presentations I do. I like the interaction. I like to see what’s going on. We’re going to talk, I’m going to write some things down on the board, I’m going to use handouts, and then you’re going to tell me how you’ll take this information and apply it today. That’s one of the things I make sure they tell me before they leave the class: what they’re going to do and what result they think they’re going to get, and then we follow up on that.” He added that at Dresser-Rand, live training events are followed by learning team activities to make sure the content sticks with participants. “Once you’ve got them face-to-face, don’t just let the training die after you let them go. There’s Q&A time, but one of the things you have to have — and we’ve been doing more of this over the past 18 months — is learning teams. We’ve presented this information, you’ve had some Q&A and now here are some current issues and problems and even a case we’re working right now. What we want these teams to do now is interact and work across functions and even across geographies to come up with what they think are solutions to real business problems.” We’re Not So Different After All Despite real cultural distinctions, learning audiences overseas generally are very receptive to face-to-face training experiences. Moreover, most people find that citizens of other countries aren’t really that different once the surface is scratched a little. “When you get to know them and get over the cultural differences, it’s OK,” Grenzer said. “You have to understand that if you want them to stay late, you need to let them know. Most of the time, they’re fine with it. They just want to know.” Additionally, cultural gaps are narrowing due to technology and globalization, the very same forces that are making learning programs more expansive than ever. For example, Scott found the Filipinos shared traits with her own children. In some instances, there is no substitute for going to a foreign locale and demonstrating or explaining a concept in person. “I actually have a daughter who’s 23 and a son who’s 27,” she said. “The employees we have manning the service center in Manila are primarily in the age range of early to late 20s. I did get to spend a lot of time with them during breaks and going out when we finished working. I got to know them quite well, and I really felt like a lot of their frames of reference were not unlike those of my own children. Technology has a lot to do with it. I think between text messaging, cell phones, IM and the Internet, there’s a lot of connectivity between kids in that generation among various countries.” Grenzer agreed. “One of the things I found interesting is the people who really like that human touch are 35 years old or older. The people under that age are more likely to explore learning themselves and teach themselves, and we’re seeing that in the United States, too. The kids coming out of school today aren’t afraid to go online, buy a plane ticket and just fly somewhere. It’s just not a big deal for them.” CLO Chief Learning Officer • June 2008 • www.clomedia.com 53 http://www.clomedia.com
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