Chief Learning Officer - November 2007 - (Page 32)

environment in practice: A Strategic Foundation For CLOs who seek to achieve workforce engagement, one of the first things they ought to do might sound counterintuitive. “Don’t think about workforce engagement — that phrase suggests you’re going to try and get the entire workforce engaged, and even in a small to midsize company, that can be a nearly impossible task,” said Leo Flanagan, Ph.D., president of Flanagan Consultants. “The first thing is to change your view and say, ‘Which part of this workforce is pivotal to our success?’ in terms of getting it engaged. It’s about strategic engagement, not about ‘Let’s get everyone engaged.’” In addition to this change in mindset, Flanagan said organizations must have a solid definition of engagement and, accordingly, a concrete plan as to how learning can make strategic engagement a reality. “Engagement is about dialogue, it’s about action, it’s about creativity and it’s about reality. Having said that, this means traditional classrooms aren’t your solution of choice,” he said. “That means e-learning, if it’s going to be part of your solution, really has to be high-quality — it has to be engaging, it needs to tell a story, it needs to immerse people in that story.” More important than e-learning, however, is fostering a culture in which learning thrives and has support from the organization’s upper echelons. “You’re looking more toward leader-led or manager-led and true learning, not just rote scripts,” Flanagan said. “I would challenge chief learning officers to not to think about programs but the culture. And you don’t build culture only through programs — you build cultures by coaching and taking advantage of opportunities.” Flanagan stressed business acumen as a means by which CLOs can accomplish this. “The CLO should be like any other good businessperson,” he said. “If I’m in charge of manufacturing capacity, then in some cases, I’m going to say, ‘You know what? We need to build one new plant.’ In other cases, I’m going to say, ‘We need to rebuild our manufacturing capacity.’ The CLO has to come to the table with that same kind of thought process. “Sometimes it’s, ‘You know what? If there is one executive vice president who can get that person to change their behavior, we’re going to get terrific results.’ In other cases, it’s going to be some group of front-line workers who really get engaged with senior leaders.” Once a strategic segment of the workforce has been engaged, however, neither the enterprise nor the CLO should sit back and relax. Rather, the engagement must be sustained, and certain phenomena must be monitored. One element is turnover, both high and low. “If I’m an employee who’s trying to figure out where we’re going, what the rules are and getting engaged in that, and the division president’s changed twice in a year — and not for good reasons like getting a promotion — that can be really troubling,” Flanagan said. “On the other hand, if you have a very, very stable management team with a ‘We built this business, and we know how it runs’ kind of mindset, that can really stifle creativity.” Another thing CLOs must consider is how achieving strategic engagement will affect learning delivery. Essentially, it’s a matter of anticipating if or when an organization will “outgrow” certain methods. “If we’re a growing company, and if we’ve already started being more strategic about engagement, what are going to be the limits to growth?” Flanagan said. “When are we going to get so big that this way of learning isn’t going to work? When are we going to get so big that we’re going to have to change systems?” — Lisa Rummler, lrummler@clomedia.com Clearly Articulate Your Company’s Values Once the purpose is established, a company must clearly articulate (internally and externally) the standards and values by which it will operate. Companies want to be known as highly ethical and professional in the way they do business. Further, if a company is to be successful, employees must feel connected and committed to the company’s values and purpose. Every company needs to say what it does and why, and then the employees will know what they are working toward each day. Establish a Culture of Trust Leaders within an organization are responsible for building a culture based on trust and respect. This means straightforwardness, openness, acceptance and reliability. • Straightforwardness: Expectations are clear, disagreements are discussed and resolved and individual performance is discussed and agreed on. • Openness: Employees feel they can exchange information and discuss their feelings and opinions, and they do not keep secrets. • Acceptance: Employees are respected for the contribution they make, differences are valued and leadership is shared. • Reliability: Employees can count on one another for support, keep commitments and strive for excellence in everything they do. When these elements of trust exist in an organization, you will see increased engagement, empowerment and loyalty. Align and Communicate Without consistent communication, people become concerned about the future. This is when they update their resumes and leave. Good communication starts with making sure everyone in the organization is aligned with the strategic direction, especially senior leaders. They have to be totally aligned, trusting and supportive of one another and communicate their alignment in everything they do and say. Managers interact with employees either by keeping them informed or by not communicating, and both ways send a message. When managers keep communication open, employees are aligned and all work is transparent, the message to employees is that they matter. When managers do not share information with employees and do not include them in decision making, the message they are sending is employees are unimportant. Employees who November 2007 I www.clomedia.com I Chief Learning Officer 32 http://www.clomedia.com

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Chief Learning Officer - November 2007 Editor's Letter Table of Contents Imperatives Selling Up, Selling Down Strategies Take Five Rediscovering the Essence of Learning Cornell University Maintains Productivity While Pursuing Higher Education CLO Profile How Loyalty and Employee Engagement Add Up to Corporate Profits A Strategic Foundation The Evolution of the LMS Ariba: Growing Sales Skills in Conjunction with LMS Technology Leveraging Change to Build Productivity Equinox Fitness: Leveraging Change to Build Productivity Tangibles or Intangibles: Where’s Your Value? Raising the Stakes: The Strategic Role of the CLO Case Study Business Intelligence Case Study Advertisers' Index Editorial Resources In Conclusion

Chief Learning Officer - November 2007

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