Chief Learning Officer - June 2008 - (Page 64) CENTRALIZATION continued from page 48 you can share resources, learning management systems [and] content management systems, [but] you can also still satisfy the particular local requirement.” With globalization on the rise, today’s corporate learning strategy has to be a hybrid: The most centralized strategy has to embrace decentralization and vice versa. “If there are small deviations here and there, you’ve got to have that. You can’t run your business and dictate everything about it,” Gordon said. Successful Change Management As with any learning overhaul, success partially depends on how well change is managed. When transitioning from a centralized to a decentralized system, learning leaders should consider communication as key to a smooth transition, as employees may be reassigned, resent the new structure and stall success. “Let people know as things evolve what’s going on; keep them informed and ask for their opinions,” White said. “It’s also important to honor the past. Change comes about because it’s time to change in order to meet the evolving needs of the business, not because what happened before was bad. No matter what the previous structure, people worked hard and cared about what they did, and that needs to be respected while looking to improve things in the future.” When Scotiabank shifted from a centralized to a federated model in 2001, White, who was head of training for the bank’s brokerage subsidiary, felt like her voice mattered and that she was a team player. “I was treated like a client,” she explained. “One of the things that works well with our model [is] that it’s based on goodwill and influence rather than a reporting structure, and I never felt like I was being forced to do anything. I was being invited to participate in something that would have benefits for me. That’s very attractive.” When Scotiabank moved to a federated strategy, there was change, but it wasn’t drastic, which helped ease the transition. “It was a change, larger for some groups than others,” White said. “The central group was affected the most, whereas for some of the smaller units, they had a place to go for help that they didn’t have before. One of the positive things was that we introduced our learning management system at that time so we had a concrete project that benefited everyone and that all training units across the bank could get involved in.” Maintaining a Hybrid White believes Scotiabank has found the right blend of centralization and decentralization in its model, and they are sticking with it. “Everybody’s quite happy with the way it is,” she said. “We are going to review our model this year to ensure that it’s working as well as it can be, but we don’t foresee any big changes. There are some aspects of the training function that we might consider centralizing in the future. But overall, we are happy with our federated model, and we believe it’s the right one for Scotiabank.” CLO 64 Chief Learning Officer • June 2008 • www.clomedia.com CASE STUDY continued from page 56 come up with a moniker that aptly describes the extended learning experience. We all know that formal classroom training isn’t the way people learn the most. But if you use a term like ‘social networking,’ right or wrong, some people may think you’re only talking about teenagers on MySpace.” Gale agreed that combining social learning with formal learning has the potential to have a much greater impact on employee development than formal classroom training alone. “Social networking is getting employees to be open to learning all the time, and their managers to be open to it, too. This helps with succession planning internally and for client relationships. All of it fits together.” So what is the Global Talent Management COE’s major initiative for 2008 and beyond? “Building talent,” Wheelock said. “McKinsey’s famous report several years ago called it a ‘war’ for talent. But we think that isn’t the best word to use: Wars end, and this challenge of putting the right people in the right job at the right time is never going to end. Talent is our most important asset, and if we don’t continually invest in our talent efforts, we won’t be able to meet our clients’ needs.” For now, with a defined talent management strategy and the infrastructure in place to deliver, manage and track all of Mercer’s learning and performance initiatives, Wheelock is optimistic about the future. “We reorganized separate HR departments about 18 months ago and expanded our learning and development group into a broader Talent Management Center of Expertise,” she explained. “In doing so, we started down the path to really knit together the connections between performance, development and, for the first time, a systematic review of talent to do succession planning in a meaningful way. We feel we’re on the right track, and it’s very exciting for us.” CLO With social media, the team hopes to attract new talent, as well as welcome alumni back to the fold. The focus ultimately is on engaging people. Drew Darnbrough has more than 12 years of experience as an editor and writer, with nine years of experience in the e-learning industry. He can be reached at editor@clomedia.com. http://www.clomedia.com
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