Chief Learning Officer - September 2007 - (Page 45)

actually benefit from the program. One of your main goals when launching a learning program should be to ensure that ignorance of the program’s existence simply won’t be an excuse for poor attendance. Further, you must abandon the “If we build it, they will come” approach to learning and engage in the active marketing of the program. This can be particularly challenging in larger and multinational companies, but regardless of your organization’s size, you can create awareness of and interest in your learning program through print materials, electronic communications and special companywide promotions. For example, something as simple as using a letter from a C-level executive (particularly the CLO, if there is one) as the introduction to a course catalog will create awareness, help demonstrate executive support for the program and address its benefits on an individual and organizational level. If you encounter challenges getting your employees to enroll or creating awareness, your performance improvement partner should be able to provide ideas and help you create and execute a viable marketing and communication plan. more effective approach is to offer your employees flexible learning delivery options, allowing them to customize a suitable program. Regardless of the specific delivery option you or your employees choose, one thing should remain constant: The courses should be designed with the adult learner in mind. This is an often-forgotten principle in professional development programs all around the world. For example, imagine if, after eating lunch this afternoon, you were asked to attend and take notes on a two-hour lecture on microeconomics. You might find it difficult to stay engaged. As children, even as college students, we processed information much differently from how we do now. To successfully transfer information, adult learners must be presented with practical, applicable information, and the courses must be as fast-moving and as interactive as possible. All too often, organizations simply register a handful of employees for a single course and then send them off to learn on their own, regardless of their individual learning styles or workloads. Measuring Program Success If you view your learning program as an investment, you’ll certainly be interested in measuring its return. The reason is simple: At some point, your COO or CEO will ask, “What did we get from our learning investment?” This inevitable question can be answered successfully through many information-gathering techniques, including comparing pre- and postcourse assessment results, tracking the completion of certification goals, taking continual productivity measurements, analyzing course evaluations and tracking future projects’ success rate. Also, detailed organizational assessments, made up of quantitative and qualitative measures, can serve as a baseline or starting point when completed in the planning stages. A significant step in ensuring program success is developing and implementing a plan to determine what measures will be valuable to your organization before the program launch and, more specifically, how you want that information to be presented. Your performance improvement partner should be as concerned with this information as you are. It’s one thing to be able to deliver a comprehensive training program — it’s another to help clients maximize their return on investment from that program. Any partner you select must have one strategic perspective in mind: Its success is tied to yours. That’s why it is important early in the development process to ensure it will be able to provide you with the same level of attention and support after learning as it does before and during. Operational Excellence As with any business initiative, a learning program requires many behind-the-scenes details that must be ironed out to ensure a smooth, successful experience for your employees. Many critical business processes (specific to your organization’s needs and culture) should be discussed with your performance improvement partner before an engagement. These include: • Ensuring contracts are reviewed and that all involved parties understand them. • Discussing the process for scheduling and delivering courses. • Solidifying a plan for post-course administration such as exams, tracking of course completions and evaluations. • Confirming the types of reports that can be generated such as student-level, group-level or program-level information. • Discussing a process for regular and timely communication to prevent surprises. Once your behind-the-scenes work is completed, you must consider whether your learning provider has the delivery options required to meet your organizational needs. All too often, organizations simply register a handful of employees for a single course and then send them off to learn on their own, regardless of their individual learning styles or workloads. A 45 September 2007 J. LeRoy Ward, PMP, is the executive vice president of ESI International. He can be reached at editor@clomedia.com. I www.clomedia.com I Chief Learning Officer http://www.clomedia.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Chief Learning Officer - September 2007

Editor's Letter Contents Letters to the Editor Strategies Selling up, Selling Down Take Five Imperatives Guest Editorial Learning Solutions Embarking on a Learning Journey Clo Profile Environment CIGNA Service Operations: Making Strategic Change Happen, and Making It Stick Tactics Black & Decker: On-Demand Learning Creation and Consumption Productivity The Army You Have Human Capital Holiday Inn Express: Delivering Critical Training Globally Case Study: Tegan Jones Business Intelligence Case Study: Lisa Rummler Advertisers' Index Editorial Resources In Conclusion

Chief Learning Officer - September 2007

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