Training Industry Quarterly - Fall 2011 - (Page 21)

[TACTICS] Essential Components for Effectively Training a Global Workforce TRAINING IS A PRODUCTIVITY BOOSTER AND A WORTHWHILE INVESTMENT FOR ANY COMPANY B Y D O N B E R B A R Y A N D R I C H A R D C H A P P E L L G lobal organizations are continuously looking for ways to provide employees with flexible and valuable training. But they’re often faced with many obstacles, including managing training across multiple time zones and accommodating tighter travel and/or training budgets. However, sound planning strategies—as well as the optimal deployment of modern technologies—can help international organizations overcome these obstacles to assemble the best and most targeted training programs for employees, regardless of where these workers are located. Keep in mind, a solid global training program includes more than planning, technologies and teaching, organizations need to implement key measurement techniques to ensure that desired benefits are reinforced and leveraged across all projects and pro- grams. This means that training participants are demonstrating the required transfer and retention of knowledge and skills. If this sounds like a tall order, that’s because it can be. That said, there is a simple guideline to keep in mind to accomplish these objectives while training globally dispersed teams: “Act globally. Think locally.” To elaborate, organizations must act “globally,” in terms of the reach of their message. In addition, they need to think “locally,” in making sure that message is applicable to the individual audiences served. This places emphasis on actionable takeaways that are clearly conveyed, no matter where training takes place. When executed flawlessly, training is a productivity booster and a worthwhile investment for any company, anywhere in the world. But to gain measureable ROI, the curriculum has to be aligned with broad, organizational goals while still maintaining a sense of relevance within individual workplaces/project teams. This is made all the more difficult because launching and overseeing training internationally obviously poses logistical challenges. Frankly, it’s an incredibly complex undertaking. Schedules, locations, language barriers and sensitivities to cultural differences must all be taken into account. It’s also essential to combine both in-class and online training to produce a seamless, integrated experience. And, we can’t turn a blind eye to the realities of the economy, which has accelerated initiatives for companies to get leaner. This trend greatly influences the capacity to invest time and money into training. Many 21 Training Industry Quarterly, Fall 2011 / A Training Industry, Inc. ezine / www.trainingindustry.com/TIQ http://www.trainingindustry.com/TIQ

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Quarterly - Fall 2011

Training Industry Quarterly - Fall 2011
From Where I Sit: Back to the Basics
Table of Contents
Ad Index
The Learning GPS
Work that Stretches: The Best Teacher
The Promise and Peril of Social Enterprise
Technical Training: How is it Different?
Companies Press 'Play' on Training Games
Redefining the 'e' in e-Learning
Essential Components for Effectively Training a Global Workforce
Five m-Learning Considerations for Your Talent Management Strategy
Instructional Design: Learning Meets Technology
Improving Training: Thinking Like a Game Developer
Casebook: Pfizer: Moving Product Sales Training Online
Why is Mobile Learning Not More Popular?
Tweet Suite
Company News
Closing Arguments: The Three T's

Training Industry Quarterly - Fall 2011