1.
Why e-learning
is the proverbial next big thing
E-learning
methodologies help organizations ensure that their staff possesses the adequate
amount of skills for a specific responsibility while being acutely aware of the
global developments and market trends regarding the same in a cost and time
effective manner.
Employee-training is undoubtedly an area of concern
for every CXO Executive, especially in times of rampant outsourcing where there
is little to no initial estimation of the employee’s skill set. Fundamentally,
it also becomes difficult to maintain the thirst for knowledge and
inquisitiveness as most of us tend to become complacent after acquiring a job.
No wonder then that corporate powerhouses such as Amazon and SAS have exemplary
training programs and activities for their employees that provide a great
impetus to enhancing job-related skills and continuously update their knowledge
base.
According to a recent report by Training Magazine,
companies in the US spend $4.5 billion on an average on training and
development programs for its employees. Massive expenditure is incurred by
successful corporate houses to constantly assist and motivate their staff in
keeping abreast with the latest developments in their particular domain of
work, most significantly due to the non-efficient nature of conventional
training methods.
This is where comprehensive e-learning methodologies
come in. They help organizations ensure that their staff possesses the adequate
amount of skills for a specific responsibility while being acutely aware of the
global developments and market trends regarding the same in a cost and time
effective manner. In fact, so rapid has been the evolution of e-learning that
corporates are quickly adopting technical and custom made e-learning facilities
that allow for simultaneous absorption as well as the implementation of
knowledge to improve overall learning effectiveness..
2.
HR needs to refine its data and critical evaluation
skills
In an exclusive conversation with People Matters,
Alexander Alonso, Senior Vice President Knowledge Development, SHRM talks about
his career trajectory, SHRM Competency Model, automation of HR processes, data
skills for HR professionals, and scenario-based learning approach
Alexander
Alonso is the Senior Vice President of Knowledge Development, SHRM. Prior to
this, he was the Vice President of Research at SHRM. Dr. Alonso has been instrumental in the
development of SHRM Competency Model, and has also served as the head of
examination development and operations for the SHRM Certified Professional and
Senior Certified Professional certifications. Dr. Alonso has also been honored
by the American Psychological Association and the Society for Industrial
Organizational Psychology (SIOP) for his contributions to applied psychology
and workforce research. At the SHRM’s Tech’17 conference, he talks about
the skills that HR professionals need and the importance of finance and
technology for the HR function.
3.
Put
'team' on the agenda of your next meeting
Here are 5 great ideas that will take only fifteen
minutes to make your meetings better.
Those weekly/fortnightly meetings are crucial for any manager and a
good manager is always well prepared for them as he/she would expect the team
to be. It ensures good productivity and ensures the team stays on track to
achieve their goals.
Ultimately how the team connects with the leaders’ vision, connect and
work with each other are as much a determinant of success as the planning and
execution right?
Here are 5 ideas that will not take more than 15-20 mins and
can be plugged into your team meetings to create engagement within the team.
Admittedly, it’s a lot to put into one blog. Since it’s the age of
sequels and movies in parts, I am going to publish them as a 5-part series.
This also allows you to focus on one idea at a time that you would like to
implement.
PART 1: The unfair advantage
·
Give
each team member a sheet of paper and ask them to think for 5 mins and put down
what they think is their unfair advantage they have in their functional skill,
business knowledge or people skills. ( you have to explain what an unfair
advantage means).
PART 2: The idea box
·
For
this, you will need to communicate to the team on the evening prior to the
meeting and not before. The idea is to give the team some time to think but not
too much time.
·
Ask
each team member to think of new ideas around what your team’s core function is
or about or a pain area that exists. Identifying new customer groups, new
product ideas, new channel partners, solving a collection problem are some
regular situations that come to my mind.
PART 3: Behind the back
·
This is
an exercise that is designed to get the team to give and receive feedback in a
healthy and constructive manner without getting personal and maintaining
anonymity. For the leader, it also allows for conversation to be developmental
and not evaluative and he/she should keep reinforcing this message throughout
the exercise.
PART 4: The team culture passbook
·
Every
team has a subculture. It’s a function of what 80% of the team does 80% of the
time with a heavy influence of what the leader does and demands of the team.
This exercise is meant to get the team to express, discuss and agree on what are
the good and not so good behaviors that make up the team’s culture.
PART 5: Worst case scenario
A manager’s main role
is to guide his/her team through difficult situations, crises and coach them to
be able to anticipate and manage those issues on their own. More often the than
not though, the manager ends up guiding the team. At the time of crises
when there is little time to coach and the manager ends up doing most of the
thinking and planning him/herself. This exercise will help the team visualize
problem areas, potentially bad customer experiences, crises situations in
“peace time” and the manager will be able to guide the team to analyze reasons
and solutions and build their preparedness for future situations.
