Chief Learning Officer - May 2006 - (Page 26)
CO0506.qxd 4/18/06 1:05 PM Page 26 learning solutions in practice: periods
will provide a concentrated focus on exe- R o b b i n s - G i o i a
University: cuting the new organizational objectives at the beginning of
the year. By creating a focused align- C e r t i f i e d for Success ment
period at the beginning of the year, organi- zations can shorten the time
required to opera- Jennifer Stanford tionalize business objectives,
optimize cross- Robbins-Gioia has always had a strong commitment to the
professional development of employ- departmental resource planning for
projects and ees. For years it was a privately held business with steady
growth and a close family type of initiatives, and increase the time and
effort the environment. Benefits such as continued education, conferences
and workshops were readily workforce spends working on those objectives.
available to employees. However, other than a cost allotment per employee,
there were not many metrics visible at the corporate level to demonstrate
the impact of the professional development. M a n a g e m e n t Insight &
Control This approach had to change after the company was acquired by a
large firm. All overhead costs Too often, alignment benefits are described
as had to be justified, and ROI had to be shown for every dollar spent. for
employees only. Although improving Luckily the professional development
department, like the rest of the company, was project- employee engagement
has its benefits, the busi- management-focused. For years, it kept its own
metrics in anticipation of a day like this. Even ness value is often not
apparent to executives apart from the ROI study, the professional
development team wanted to show the positive impact and business leaders.
Therefore, the alignment that investing in the workforce has on the top
and bottom lines. The team had a strong belief process should provide
business leaders with that the management of learning is a C-level
function and should have a seat at the table right clear benefits.
Executive benefits often focus on next to finance, sales and operations.
insights and reports to understand how the The team wrote a business case
and project plan to implement a corporate university workforce is
operationalizing business strategies Robbins-Gioia University RGU . At the
rate the company was growing, a learning management and objectives.
Additionally, managers should system was also in order. The big goal had
two parts: not only did Robbins-Gioia have to pre- have the ability to
distribute performance and pare the culture for a new corporate university
concept, but it also had to get people to accept development goals quickly,
as well as correct e-lear ning. misaligned work activities. For large
organiza- While the LMS was being planned and implemented, two important
parallel activities were tions, this usually requires automated learning
occurring with the HR department and leadership team: revising career
paths and establishing and performance management systems. a practice area
management environment. Although career paths were in place, they needed to
be overhauled to include this new notion of practice-area management. The
company uses As an example of executive insight, one major practice-area
management as a way to identify and support key solution service
offerings. auto manufacturer recently implemented an Through this
alignment of practice areas with career path planning and workforce
professional automated objectives alignment process. Shortly development,
Robbins-Gioia can create a very clear picture for employees on the
company's after the initial employee goal-setting period, the direction
for growth as a whole and for them personally and professionally. CIO
found that one organizational objective had RGU was established with major
colleges to support the practice areas. One of the significant few employee
goals aligned to it, while all other actions the corporate university
manager completed was to have each practice-area manager organizational
objectives had high numbers of fill the role of dean for a specific
college. This important role ensures the synergy needed employee goals
aligned to them. The CIO quick- between the operations side of the company
and the professional development and HR sides. ly realized that without
correction, his organiza- Together this team works to create certification
programs that enable employees to move up the tion was unlikely to
accomplish the organiza- career path as well as poise the company for
further growth in key strategic areas. tional objective. A major factor in
determining project success is whether or not goals were achieved. The best
way to do this is to establish performance goals for the project up front
and measure results E m p l o y e e Insights against them. Separate from
the project goals of implementing the LMS technology project, three
Imagine being given the goal of driving a large goals were determined to
best demonstrate the impact of the corporate university concept:
commercial truck from Austin, Texas, to Portland, Maine, within three
days. However,
http://www.clomedia.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chief Learning Officer - May 2006
Editor's Note
Table of Contents
Letters to the Editor
Take Five
Selling Up, Selling Down
Imperatives
Strategies
Guest Editorial
Learning Solutions
Robbins-Gioia University
Environment
Deloitte & Touche USA
CLO Profile
Productivity
Washington Gas
Case Study
Human Capital
Health Care Service Corp.
Tactics
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida
Business Intelligence
In Conclusion
Advertiser's Index
Editorial Resources
Chief Learning Officer - May 2006
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com