Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - (Page 40) [CASEBOOK] Service Corp. International: Life or Death Learning BY TIM SOSBE “In the midst of life, we are in death” – THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER W hen it comes to mission-critical learning, few industries deal with matters as crucial as the “death-care industry,” those devoted companies and professionals whose goal is to facilitate the final goodbyes for grieving families. In an industry with absolutely no acceptable margin of error, learning becomes much more than a corporate luxury and recruiting tool. It is, you’ll forgive the phrasing, a fact of life. The learning leaders at Service Corporation International (SCI) know that well. As North America’s largest providers of endof-life arrangements and services, SCI operates a network of funeral homes, crematories and cemeteries in 43 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Canada and Puerto Rico. The company employs about 22,000 dedicated professionals, including groundskeepers, drivers, funeral directors, counselors and managers. “Our at-need customers are going through a really rough time,” said Donna Hastings, managing director for organizational development for Service Corporation International. “For the processes to break down, for things to not go well, they’d never forget it. It’s not like selling a computer. If you mess up Mom’s funeral, it’s something they never forget. There’s no room for error in what we do. We want our associates to be the best.” That’s a common target in any industry, and never an easy mark to hit. For Hastings, with her 11 years leading training at SCI, it’s a mission that became that much easier four years ago, when the company created and launched Dignity University to drive and deliver education to associates. Hastings and her teammates first proposed Dignity University to SCI’s board as a means to reach more of the workforce faster. With the widely dispersed employee population, in the old days 40 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 Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 (Page 1) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 (Page 2) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - At the Editor’s Desk (Page 3) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - At the Editor’s Desk (Page 4) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Contents (Page 5) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Contents (Page 6) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Contents (Page 7) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Ezine Email (Page 8) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Ezine Email (Page 9) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Ezine Email (Page 10) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Winning Organizations Through People (Page 11) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Winning Organizations Through People (Page 12) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Before You Buy… (Page 13) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Before You Buy… (Page 14) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Learning Technologies (Page 15) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Games & Simulations: Playing to Learn (Page 16) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Games & Simulations: Playing to Learn (Page 17) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Games & Simulations: Playing to Learn (Page 18) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Games & Simulations: Playing to Learn (Page 19) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Designing Learning Simulations: Strategies for Leveraging Failure (Page 20) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Designing Learning Simulations: Strategies for Leveraging Failure (Page 21) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Designing Learning Simulations: Strategies for Leveraging Failure (Page 22) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Designing Learning Simulations: Strategies for Leveraging Failure (Page 23) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Business Impact 101: The Value of Learning (Page 24) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Business Impact 101: The Value of Learning (Page 25) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Business Impact 101: The Value of Learning (Page 26) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Business Impact 101: The Value of Learning (Page 27) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Business Impact 101: The Value of Learning (Page 28) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Strategic Alignment: Transforming the Business of Training (Page 29) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Strategic Alignment: Transforming the Business of Training (Page 30) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Strategic Alignment: Transforming the Business of Training (Page 31) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Strategic Alignment: Transforming the Business of Training (Page 32) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Meet David DeFilippo (Page 33) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Meet David DeFilippo (Page 34) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Meet David DeFilippo (Page 35) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Meet Krys Moskal (Page 36) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Meet Krys Moskal (Page 37) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Meet Vince Eugenio (Page 38) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Meet Vince Eugenio (Page 39) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Dealing with Death: Learning’s Most Sensitive Lessons (Page 40) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Dealing with Death: Learning’s Most Sensitive Lessons (Page 41) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Closing Arguments (Page 42) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Closing Arguments (Page 43) Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - Closing Arguments (Page 44)
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.