Chief Learning Officer - June 2008 - (Page 59) nization, GSK leaders knew they would need help from experts in the delivery of large-scale performance improvement training in project management. Strategy Initial meetings showed that tailoring, cooperation and internal support would be keys to GSK’s strategy. In order to ensure relevance of content for its employees, GSK asked training provider ESI International to not only customize its courses to cover specific GSK topics, but also to allow company experts to work alongside the instructors and co-teach the courses. Along with relevance, GSK leaders also understood that internal support was vital to the success of the iPlan program. The company already had executive backing. However, to ensure support among its employees throughout the organization, GSK took to recruiting internal-line champions from various business units. These champions were tasked with assuring the course material was relevant and, equally important, that it generated awareness and enthusiasm for the overall training initiative. To date, the company has 40 active line champions. Tactics GSK crafted a number of courses for its employees, including an introductory program that defines the roles within a project team and how to be an effective team member, as well as a more advanced class that focuses on project planning for team members. Other course topics included accountability and practical risk management that helped participants understand the risks and opportunities inherent in drug-development projects. For the delivery of courses, GSK used on-site training and sent instructors to locations around the world to teach classes. Results With more than 1,000 GSK employees trained to date — and many more currently queuing up for courses — the company has managed to change individual behavior, particularly regarding risk management. Project team members now use a common language to identify the risks on their projects and approach risk management in a more consistent way, which is having an effect throughout the entire organization. There is a clear mandate from To ensure support among its employees throughout the organization, GSK took to recruiting internal-line champions from various business units. These champions were tasked with assuring the course material was relevant and that it generated awareness and enthusiasm. senior management that all new projects come with a detailed risk plan to be reviewed before a project is given the green light for large-scale development. Next Steps GSK’s commitment to performance improvement through training will continue. The company now has begun working on the development of a center for project management resources for the entire R&D organization. In addition, GSK leaders plan to continue reviewing employee feedback regarding individual training courses, measure progress against its many performance benchmarks and build a training program that will take project management to the next level of maturity within the R&D enterprise. CLO Jacqui Alexander is director of project management learning and change management at GlaxoSmithKline. She also is a member of the International Coach Federation and an associate member of the Association for Coaching. She can be reached at editor@ CLOmedia.com. Chief Learning Officer • June 2008 • www.clomedia.com 59 http://www.clomedia.com
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.