Episode 3 of Business Intelligence hosted by John Eckmire focuses on a conversation that takes place between John and Jim Kirkpatrick concerning how to create effective and sustainable corporate training programs. Using the 4 levels of the Kirkpatrick model of workplace training evaluation while focusing on level three ‘behaviour’ to create meaningful corporate education.

Download here: BI #03 - Effective Workplace Training: 10/30/2007

Running Time: 27 min 18 sec

Detailed Episode Summary:

• The 4 levels of the Kirkpatrick Model are:
1. Reaction
2. Learning
3. Behaviour
4. Results

• Jim Kirkpatrick believes that level 3 is often neglected but should be focused on by organizations wishing to improve the performance of their employees and company. Changing the familiar and comfortable behaviour of employees is often very difficult but is the missing link between training and successful business contributions.

• Training should be designed for people to learn, Improve themselves professionally, implement new behaviours and finally to impact and contribute to the business.

• Individuals must believe that the training they are receiving is important, this feeling of importance or the overall effectiveness of the training is drawn in a small amount from the actual training event itself (25%).

• 75% of the overall effectiveness of the training is drawn from:
1. pre-positioning learners
2. prior discussions about expectations with managers on how to utilize training
3. Support from direct managers after the training has occurred
4. Accountability for learning that has occurred and the implementation of new skills
Without proper training plans which include those mentioned above the training of employees will not be successful at reaching organizational goals.

• In most cases 85% of the budget for training is being misappropriated to the actual training event which accounts for only a quarter of the overall effectiveness of training programs.

• It is important for employees to execute what they have learned and then level 4 (Results) will come. The job with training is done in the trenches, numbers 1-3 are the most important, each individual must be evaluated individually on each aspect of their job, and success will come when each person plays their role.

• One common element through all organizations with top performers is that they receive training constantly. Athletes for example are constantly coached, provided feedback on behaviours to ensure their success. In business people need to be open to the same type of coaching.

• People require constant reinforcement for job critical behaviours, their knowledge, skills and attitude has the ability to bring success to their organization.

• When training is done effectively, given to the right people at the right time it creates motivation, enthusiasm, engagement and company loyalty within the workplace.

• Jim Kirkpatrick contact info 317 – 947- 0297 jim.kirkpatrick@smr-usa.com

Southwest Airlines, often held up as a model of success for low-cost airlines, operates under the premise that employees – not customers – come first. The rationale is that you should “treat your employees the way you want them to treat your customers,” says a 2007 article in Human Resource Management International Digest, which draws from a 2006 article in Managing Service Quality by Dawna L. Rhoads. Right from the start, Southwest takes pains to ensure that new hires are assessed and chosen for their winning attitudes. Jobs are designed so that anyone from baggage handlers to pilots can help to get flights off the ground in a timely manner. Teamwork and flexibility are valued and documented so they can be recognized and rewarded at performance evaluation time and through “LUV Lines,” the company newsletter. Career-spanning learning is also part of what employees can expect at Southwest. While Southwest Airlines is heavily unionized, an environment of trust defines the relationships with unions and vendors. (Human Resource Management International Digest, 2007, pp. 5-7) (as reported by i4cp)

“More than a quarter million HR positions will be created during the next 4 years,” says a 2007 article in Compensation & Benefits Review. Quoting figures supplied by John Meeks, president of executive search firm Vedior Professional Services, the article notes that the same four-year period is expected to see a shortage of as many as 10 million workers needed to fill new jobs. Retiring Baby Boomers will fuel the shortage, according to the publication. At the same time, it reports that “employable 35- to 55-year-olds will decline 3.8 million by the end of this decade.” To address the projected shortage, Meeks advocates that recruiting firms partner “with clients in strategic processes that balance fulltime employees with contingency staffing and outsourcing to meet immediate and long-term needs.” (Compensation & Benefits Review, May/June 2007) (as reported by i4cp)

Welcome to the second episode of Business Intelligence hosted by John Eckmire. This week John discusses with self described futurist and Senior Vice President of Research for the Institute for Corporate Productivity (I4CP) Jay Jamrog, the phenomenon that has become known as the “Perfect Storm”. The perfect storm is a term used to describe the culmination of three major events in Canadian business.

Download here: BI #02 - The Perfect Storm: 10/23/2007

Running Time: 20 min 22 sec

Detailed Episode Summary

• Audio comment line - to join in the conversation please send in a comment: 1 206 309 0768

The three major expected events:
1. Decreased population growth and a declining workforce
2. A skills shortage
3. A knowledge shortage

• Jay Jamrog identifies the skill and knowledge shortage as the two more problematic shortages facing Canadian business.
• The “skills shortage” is more problematic because there will always be people to fill spaces within the workforce, but if they do not possess the skills needed to work in booming fields we will have real problems.

The skill shortage is brought on by three factors:
1. Technology: Makes the “shelf life” of skills expire at a quicker and quicker pace
2. Electronics: Technology is advancing at a rapid rate, what is considered cutting edge one year is obsolete the next
3. Education: The gap between the best and the rest is increasing within public education. Children are not being trained for the “new” economy

• The final ingredient in the “storm” is what has become known as the knowledge shortage. Jay Jamrog and John Eckmire identify the knowledge shortage as the most fatal of the three.
• Within any organization there are decision makers people normally between the ages of 35- 54 (baby boomers) who have experience within a company, they understand their company processes and know how to get things done.
• As Baby Boomers age they are migrating into new careers and retire from the companies that would greatly benefit from their knowledge and know how
• Companies need to become proactive in order to preserve the human capital that exists within their organization, through devising effective means of knowledge transfer
• Destination planning can be an effective method of keeping those people in mid career engaged
• Companies should be tapping into the knowledge of those members of their company that are aging, before they leave, so that the entire company can become the benefactors of their wealth of knowledge and experience
• Jay Jamrog contact info: jay.jamrog@i4cp.com or 727-345-2226
• The Perfect Storm: The Future of Retention and Engagement White Paper
• Creating a Sustainable Future White Paper

Telecommuting home workers are more productive than the office-bound, are more likely to be loyal to their employer and save millions in real estate expenses, reports BusinessWeek, but the downside (loneliness, isolation, advancement fears and missing a busy environment) seems to hold most workers back from moving from the office to home. A 2005/2006 survey of just over 1,000 U.S. workers by Rockbridge Associates for the Center for Excellence in Service at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business reported that although 25% of surveyed workers say their firms permit working from home, only 11% of the employees choose to do so. As an alternative, Sun Microsystems claims a five-year savings of $300 to $500 million in real estate costs thanks to their “Sun Ray” workstations – laptops for their home-based employees that contain no software or operating system and send all files automatically to company servers. (BusinessWeek [King], February 12, 2007) (as reported by i4cp)

Decisions to offshore customer call centres aren’t delivering anticipated benefits: Rising wages, longer call durations and escalating contracts chip away at savings, creating a “false economy,” according to an article on the Management-Issues Web site that reviews a report by Compass Management Consulting. The Compass study analyzed 50 call centres for financial services firms, both onshore and offshore, and found that after three years, cost benefits evaporated. First, wages in offshoring locations such as India have been increasing as much as 15% annually. In addition, call durations were lengthened between 39% and 105% due to language barriers. Difficulties with comprehension were an issue at 18% of offshore call centres, while just 4% of onshore centres reported such problems. These issues affect customer relationships and company reputations, too. What’s more, Compass found that initial contract pricing from outsourcing providers lured firms with first-year savings of as much as 18%, but those savings dwindled after three years. Compass’s head of business development and marketing, Simon Scarrott, said, “It is not enough to simply offload problem operations and inefficient processes to other countries in the hope they will improve.” Whether an offshoring decision delivers on its promise depends on the “extent savings are real, sustainable and continue to enhance the consumer experience,” said Scarrott. Some firms, such as Lloyds TSB of the UK, have brought call centre operations back in-house. (Management-Issues [Amble], June 27, 2007) (as reported by i4cp)

“Approximately 32 percent of a worker’s desire to stay or go is the result of feeling or not feeling trust towards [one's] boss,” declares Mark Murphy, CEO of consulting firm Leadership IQ. The firm polled 7,000 U.S. workers in 2007, reporting that fewer than 20% of respondents said they trusted their bosses. Two in 10 employees told Leadership IQ that they had strong trust in their companies’ senior leaders, and 36% characterized themselves as mildly trusting of senior leaders. Forty-four percent of workers said that their feelings toward top leaders ran the gamut from mild to strong distrust. While Leadership IQ acknowledged challenges inherent in accurately defining trust, they included five elements they say workers sought in order to remain with an employer: “constructive listening, perception that the boss is making good decisions, perception that the boss is honest with them, perception that the boss is helping with professional growth and the receipt of constant direction from superiors.” (Human Resources Management Ideas & Trends, May 9, 2007, pp. 65-66) (as reported by i4cp)

Welcome to Canadian Management Centre’s first episode of Business Intelligence with John Eckmire. This exciting and informative weekly podcast series will focus on conversations between John and notable subject matter experts on a range of topics from Human Resources to Leadership, Project Management to Professional Development all designed to impact, inform and cultivate best practices within the business community.

Today host John Eckmire sits down with Leigh Branham author of The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave to discuss methods used to alleviate the “push” factors which cause valued employees to leave organizations.

Detailed Episode Summary
• Audio comment line - to join in the conversation please send in a comment: 1 206 309 0768
• Leigh Branham begins the discussion by revealing that solving these 7 push factors doesn’t cost managers money, but time.
• One of the largest “push” factors employees face is the feeling of being undervalued for the contributions they make to a company.
• Given the constraints on time which exist within every organization managers believe that they are too busy doing work to manage people.
• However, as Leigh points out employers are responsible for their own engagement with those who work for them.
• The types of feed back and encouragement needed by employees tends to follow generational trends and Leigh breaks these groups down into 4 categories:

1. Traditionalists: People born before 1945
2. Boomers: People born between 1946- 1964
3. Generation X: People born since 1965
4. Generation Y: People born after 1982

• Leigh points out that in any circumstance it is best to provide what he terms “positive neutral feedback”, defined as being factually based rather then critical feedback.
• Leigh believes that great managers are those who act more like athletic coaches offering “positive neutral feedback” on a continual basis, when employees perform well and when they need encouragement.
• All employee feedback should be done for developmental purposes rather than for the purpose of evaluation.
• Also addressed is the issue of career growth, which is defined as learning and facing challenges in order to develop new skills that add to their own value as an employee.
• Research shows that the more training each person receives at a job the more likely they are to stay.
• In conclusion The 7 “Hidden” Reasons Employees Leave:

1. It’s not what they expected
2. Bad person-job fit
3. No feedback and coaching
4. No career growth or learning
5. Feel devalued/unrecognized
6. Feel overworked/stressed out
7. Don’t trust senior leaders

• Other valuable resources
1. Project Managers’ Tool-kit
2. Training and Development Professionals’ Tool-kit
3. Complimentary Whitepapers
4. Complimentary Articles
5. Self Assessment Quizzes

Canadian Management Centre will be launching an informative podcast series today entitled Business Intelligence with John Eckmire, Canadian Management Centre’s esteemed Vice President of Public Programs and Education. The first episode of this series is a comprehensive discussion between Leigh Branham, famed Human Resources author, on the topic of his new book The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave. Leigh Branham is also the Founder and Principal of Keeping the People Inc., an organization dedicated to helping employers invest in people and become an employer of choice. Together, John and Leigh discuss the most commonly cited reasons for employee dissatisfaction and eventual resignation.

This exciting and informative new series will be featured every Tuesday on Canadian Management Centre’s blog, http://www.cmctraining.org/blog/?cat=13 . John Eckmire will host a series of guests from all areas of business, including respected Canadian Management Centre facilitators. John will cover a range of topics from Leadership, Management, Human Resources, Training and Development and much more with a strong focus on Human Capital Management. Visit the CMC blog each week to hear for yourself why 99% of Canadian Management Centre attendees would recommend the course they attended to a colleague. Join John Eckmire next week when he sits down with Jay Jamrog to discuss the future of employee retention and engagement.

“Creating emotional connections to employees is what truly matters because this is where organizations can dramatically boost employee productivity and business outcomes,” said Kate Feather, executive vice president of the Philadelphia consulting firm PeopleMetrics. The company surveyed more than 5,000 U.S. employees in 2007 and reported that levels of engagement among high-performing workers were double those found among low performers. In forming that conclusion, PeopleMetrics looked at Fortune 500 firms, noting that the most-profitable companies had two times the engaged workers the least-profitable firms had. “The concept of feeling love or passion for one’s company is gaining ground,” Feather said, “because a passionately engaged workforce is becoming an important differentiator in the marketplace.” She urged employers to focus on building their relationships with employees and recommended that firms communicate compelling visions of the business, along with a “sense of meaning and purpose” that workers could understand. (Management-Issues [Amble], May 25, 2007) (as reported by i4cp)