Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - (Page 30)

Table 2 shows the actual percentages of the total comments for Most Critical and Most Need to Improve for the top seven Most Critical Areas of Improvement. Table 2 Percentage of Comments for “Most Critical” vs. “Most Need to Improve” Strategic Alignment (1) Customer Commitment(2) Delivery (3) Content Development (4) Diagnostics (5) Reporting & Analysis (6) 5% 4% 4% 10% 8% 7% 29% 9% 15% 26% 19% 23% Strategic Alignment: Getting Training Right from the Start As Table 2 shows, Strategic Alignment is most critical area to training professionals. It also received the second-highest number of improvement comments – making it the only area to receive over 15% or about 50 or more of all comments in both question areas. This finding generates two questions: What exactly is Strategic Alignment, and why it is so important to so many training professionals? As Table 4 shows, study participants characterize Strategic Alignment in three ways. Table 4: Three Characteristics of Strategic Alignment Partnership More than any other word, “partnership” appeared throughout participants’ comments about the role that a strategically aligned training organization would play with its clients, whether they be internal clients from other departments or external businesses. This may or may not involve a board-level “seat at the table” or formal role for the training organization in strategic planning, but it does require the training organization to do significant levels of outreach and ongoing communication with their clients. Such a partnership is also likely to make the client relationship last well beyond the time the first training program is delivered. “Most Critical” "Most Need to Improve" Marketing/ 2% Communications (7) 5% 0 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% The seven Most Critical Areas of Improvement shown in tables 1 and 2 were selected from 15 listed areas which can be found in Table 3 under Process Capabilities and Business Attributes. The seven Most Critical Areas of Improvement are highlighted in bold. Listening Once at “the table,” training leaders need to clearly understand the business needs. This involves consulting skills, asking the right questions, gathering requirements and may lead to formal diagnostics of the problem along with recommendations. Table 3 Process Capabilities: • Strategic Alignment • Delivery • Content Development • Diagnostics • Reporting and Analysis • Portfolio Management • Administrative Services • Technology Integration 30 Business Attributes • Customer Commitment • Marketing/ Communications • Talent/Leadership • Financial Stability • Geographic Reach • Sourcing • Cultural Compatibility Aligning Training to the Business Need The final step in this top-down approach often translates into a need for customized content development to ensure direct relevance to the specific business needs. This sequence of events for training organizations that are strategically aligned with their clients sets them apart from other training organizations that operate under a “vending machine” or “academic” model. In that model, clients select training offer- Training Industry Quarterly, Summer 2008 / A Training Industry, Inc. ezine / www.trainingindustry.com/TIQ http://www.trainingindustry.com/TIQ

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008

Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 At the Editor’s Desk Contents Ezine Email Winning Organizations Through People Before You Buy… Learning Technologies Games & Simulations: Playing to Learn Designing Learning Simulations: Strategies for Leveraging Failure Business Impact 101: The Value of Learning Strategic Alignment: Transforming the Business of Training Meet David DeFilippo Meet Krys Moskal Meet Vince Eugenio Dealing with Death: Learning’s Most Sensitive Lessons Closing Arguments

Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008

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