Bradley H. Smith >

Truth makes B2B transparency the opposite of invisible

Driven by my investor relations evangelism, I have written a lot about transparency, especially digitally speaking.

One of the foremost modern business thinkers on the topic (other than me, of course) is Donald Tapscott, who first wrote about it the digital economy in 1997 in his book simply entitled The Digital Economy. He has advised many global organizations on the economic and social impact of truth and openness on today’s innovations in digital technologies.

Take a coffee break and listen to Tapscott’s momentous TED Global talk in 2012 on the concept of Radical Openness.

He offers a compelling perspective on why the world and businesses must embrace — as oppose to resist — radical openness and transparency.

There are several elements B2B leaders can begin to implement to foster openness and transparency with their customers and potential buyers:

• Drop the old push versus pull mindset. The conventional mindset regarding push versus pull in marketing is prevalent. However, most of this mindset takes place outside of the wall representing openness and transparency.

• Develop a porous collaboration mindset. Develop organizational thinking around how to engage customers and buyers in open collaboration. Open collaboration means the wall comes down and there is a sharing of challenges as well as multiple networks to arrive at solutions.  Collaboration is not a fanciful idea.  An IBM Global C-Suite Study showed that 72% of CEO’s in outperforming organizations have built organizations, which collaborate closely with customers.

• Practice true transparency. As Tapscott points out, there is a difference between collaboration and transparency. Which involves the open sharing and communications of relevant information to customers and buyers.

• Conduct immersive research with buyers. To truly help as well as empower customers and buyers, via collaboration and transparency, B2B organizations should be involved in in-depth, immersive understanding of their customers and buyers.

• Rethink how to communicate with customers. Shifting from a push versus pull mindset means shaking loose from conventional means of communicating with customers and buyers. Embracing the creation of open as well as immersive experiences – allowing customers and buyers true paths of honest and open dialogue.

As we look ahead towards more radical changes in the digital economy, B2B organizations can look ahead to more openness and transparency demands by their customers. One thing we can be sure of, as the mentioned McKinsey survey points out, is buyers will be placing more emphasis on trust and openness in their evaluations and purchase decisions.

Now is a good time to start the process of openness and transparency. Otherwise B2B businesses may inadvertently create an immovable wall between themselves and buyers.

 

Mis-matching training modalities and your learners

In a recent research project, we analyzed 283 individual responses from a pool of employee learners in a variety of industries (randomly polled by Training Industry, Inc.(TI)) to understand these learners’ views regarding the consistency and effectiveness of the training provided by their employers. We explored consistency related to many areas of L&D, including training content, training delivery, learning technology, and training administration. TI also asked the learners’ opinions regarding how they prefer to be trained, how consistent their learning experiences are across training programs, and their perceptions of effectiveness.

There is a distinct connection between training consistency and effectiveness. As a next comparative point, let’s examine a modality’s impact on effectiveness, contrasted to a learner’s preference.

Training Modalities Used by Learners in Past 12 Months - CHART ONE

TI asked learners to indicate ALL the training modalities they used in the past year. As you can see  in Chart One, eLearning, with 52%, and Instructor-Led Training (ILT), with 49%, are neck-and-neck for the modality most delivered by an organization. Both these percentages can be bumped up equally by adding in the shared results from Blended.

When comparing the combined the digital/online training modalities of eLearning and webinars against the combined in-person learning experiences of ILT and mentoring, they are almost equal. This appears to be a cost-effective balance of traditional training and training technology.

Learner Modality Preferences - CHART TWO

Next, TI reviewed “Learner Modality Preferences,” asking learners to indicate the training delivery method they felt was the single most effective and impactful modality.

Not surprising, ILT dramatically led the pack for effectiveness

Overlaying Method with Preference -CHART THREE

Although slightly misquoted in the movie, Apollo 13, “Houston, we have a problem,” is now a universal business quote for understating the importance of a situation. The 43% delta between eLearning delivery method and learner preferences certainly can either be considered a problem or an opportunity.

Does this mean eLearning is a bad choice? Absolutely not. eLearning has incredible strengths as a highly scalable technology-based modality, including portability, lower costs, zero travel, as well as time and content chunking. However, it doesn’t appeal to all learning styles. Some learners will not enjoy the experience – especially strong activists and pragmatists. It also eliminates real time Q&A which can demotivate employees if they feel they don’t have the learning support and reassurance that the physical presence of a trainer delivers. Additionally, carelessly executed eLearning programs can be dull and pedantic.

When designing your training program, modality matters. It must take into consideration content, learner personas, budget and, of course, objectives. Don’t allow the lure of eLearning’s cost-effectiveness and scalability be a siren’s song

It is important to understand your training objectives and align the modality that best fits the learners’ preferences to help achieve training effectiveness.

What type of L&D investor are you (and your C-Suite)?

 HR executives, learning officers, and the C-suite affect the efficacy of Learning & Development within their organizations and can positively impact their company’s investment on training to produce desired results. The decisions these senior leaders make, as well as the signals they send about training, can either enable or hamper training effectiveness.

By now, there is abundant evidence that mindfully designed training works, so leaders should embrace that their organization invests adequately in training. Leaders can be informed, evangelistic “L&D investors.” Training is best regarded as an investment in an organization’s future, rather than as a burdensome cost of doing business. In fact, underinvesting can leave an organization at a competitive disadvantage.

What type of investor are you and your C-Suite?

Exactly like investing in the stock market, the adjectives informed, active, and passive apply in L&D investing. Compare L&D training to investing in a mutual fund – you would not invest without conducting research on the fund’s past performance or subsequently tracking returns over time.

Informed: Being knowledgeable enough about training methodologies and goals to make sophisticated decisions.Without being informed, it is easy to fall prey to what looks and sounds cool—the latest training fad or technology. Informed investments in training are based on a recognized foundation and help companies avoid costs that are unlikely to produce desired results or measurable ROI.

Active: Asking challenging questions, informed by what is known about what advances training effectiveness. Active L&D investing includes asking questions to help safeguard that your company will address the appropriate training needs, endorse the appropriate training method, and empower the appropriate actions to be taken both before and after training. Active L&D investing also means contiguous involvement and, of course, demonstrating leadership behaviors to communicate that training is highly valued within the organization. The C-suite can absolutely set the tone-from-the-top by participating in training as presenters and as attendees, by inspiring employees to attend training, and by asking their learners about how they will apply what they learned on the job.

Passive: Approving or disapproving the training budget. Certainly, the scale of your organization impacts the level of responsibility and delegation for L&D, however, unlike investing a mutual fund, investing in L&D in inherently investing is people. Being passive toward employees and their job motivation is counterproductive. L&D is one example where “trickle-down” economics clearly works.

No matter what their L&D investment style, informed, active, or passive, all L&D stakeholders should follow up on training to assess that their investment is meeting expectations and to make evidence-based, agile L&D improvements.

20 Key Questions Business Leaders Should Ask About Training

General training questions:

1. Have we previously invested appropriately and intelligently in training and L&D activities in our organization?
2. How have we measured training success in the past?
3. How have we prioritized the most important training needs and determined training goals?
4. How clear are we about where the gaps exist?
5. How clear are we about the competencies we will need in order to compete successfully?
6. Have we diagnosed our organization’s learning environment?
7. What are we doing to make our organization more conducive to learning?
8. What specifically do you need me to do to send the right signals to our employees about the importance of L&D in our organization?
9. What results, measurable and anecdotal, do we expect to see?

Specific training program questions:

1. What type of training needs analysis have we conducted to ensure we will be training the right things in the optimal way?
2. What training strategy will be implemented?
3. How are we incorporating effective instructional design elements of information, demonstration, practice, and feedback?
4. How clear are the learning objectives to our employees?
5. What are we doing to ensure we satisfactorily engage, motivate, and challenge our learners?
6. What are we doing to prepare employees, remove obstacles on the job, and reinforce and sustain learning?
7. What are we going to do before and after this training to ensure employees can and will use what they have learned?
8. How is any training technology that we plan to use going to enhance learning and help trainees perform their jobs better, and not just look cool or is fun to use?
9. Should we be evaluating this training program for broad roll out?
10. Can the training program be localized for global implementation?
11. How do we make adjustments to a trial training program, as well as decide whether to continue it?

 

Blending Business and Employee Goals for Career Planning

As everyone in Human Capital Management knows, career planning has seen a swing in the way it is approached. Conventionally, it was up to an employer to guarantee that its employees had the skills to meet the organization’s long-term goals. However, today, employees themselves advocate that they are responsible for their own “next steps” in the professional growth. Companies need to view employees as consumers, and a #1 element on their shopping list is Learning & Development (L&D) opportunities.

This swing has changed the way that organizations manage L&D and career planning. In 2018, career development is regarded as partnership with employees and a key component of a company’s attraction and retention strategy. Many candidates will not consider employment with an organization unless it offers a documented L&D career development as a basic component of its corporate culture.

Career planning should be viewed from the eyes of both the employer and the employee:

• Employer: What technical and business skills do we require to achieve our business goals?
• Employee: What are the skills that are critical to my current and future career plans?

Two factors that drive career planning and subsequent L&D programs:

• The company business plan
• Employee career track

Without a doubt, an organization must consider its highest-level direction and goals in order to calculate the workforce competencies demand for success. However, it is vital that the company weigh an employee’s personal motivation for their own success.

A proven method to meet these needs of the company and the employee involves:

• Developing career and training tracks that enable employees to understand their options to grow within the company
• Collecting the information to determine what skills they need to achieve that growth

Identifying and updating an employee’s career plan

Each employee should have a career plan that has been discussed with their manager. Generally, this would take place during the performance review process.

The career plan includes an assessment of the “gaps” or training requirements. The career plan should be reviewed on an ongoing basis. This ensures that both the employee’s and the organization’s needs and objectives are adjusted over time.

Discussions of career planning can include:

• Role: Does the employee have the skillset to meet the responsibilities of their current position?
• Gaps: Assess the employee’s current levels of competency and possible future requirements.
• Growth: Where does the employee see themselves in the future?  What business results do they hope to achieve?
• Track: Develop a roadmap that enables the employee to acquire the skill set needed for their current job and for the future. Use a career plan template as part of the performance review process. The template should include detailed development goals (action steps, expected completion date, obstacles and solutions, and evaluation criteria). Remember, career tracks can involve promotions or lateral transfers. A solid career track program requires detailed job descriptions and support through dedicated and cohesive L&D training.

Mindfully designed, a L&D career plan is a win-win for employers and employees. Viewed as a strategy, it maps out the employees’ aspiration for growth and development, as well as the support the organization can provide, guiding the opportunity for the employee to grow his or her career.

There is a serious rose-colored glasses point to address. Regardless of the hiring manager’s good intentions, promising or creating a contract with an employee that guarantees that the company will provide training is not a recommended practice. Certainly, state that the company will offer appropriate learning and development opportunities, but that the company growth, economic circumstances, priorities, and goals will have an impact on the employee’s anticipated developmental path, promotions, and career goals.

10 Tips to Track Corporate Training Effectiveness

Calculating L&D effectiveness is especially challenging when the targeted outcomes involve soft skills and the standard training objectives found in many leadership development programs (i.e., improved collaboration, decision making, pioneering, and the ability to think strategically).

Assigning a hard-dollar value to these skills is difficult. Equally challenging is presenting a correlation between the learning initiative and the acquisition of the targeted skills. Fortunately, these challenges can be overcome and the acquisition of skills, even soft skills, can be assessed.

However, if the post-training evaluation process and ROI targets were not carefully planned at the program development stage (steps that are imperative in determining long-term impact and transfer of learning) future L&D programs may lose corporate support and ultimately, budget.

10 Tips to Track L&D ROI

1. Don’t over-engineer the metrics. Generally, ROI just needs to demonstrate value beyond a reasonable doubt. Find out what the department or executive sponsor determines as success and measure towards that goal.

2. Adapt a results mindset. When designing your L&D program, it’s all about delivering a quality employee experience that encourages learning. However, when evaluating your L&D program, it’s about results. When determining ROI, focus less on the quality of the experience and more on the actual effect of the training.

3. Measure ROI continuously. As learning has evolved to a 24/7 on-demand experience, so should your ROI calculation. Always know how the L&D program is performing so adjustments can be made. This not only helps improve the program, but can justify how dollars are being spent at any time.

4. Create a step-by-step case for ROI. Analyze company-wide goals and divisional needs to develop strategic learning plans that proactively attack those stated requirements. Based on anticipated ROI, prioritize the L&D events and present them with smart justification about why senior leaders should support them.

5. Measure outside of just the program delivery. Evaluation and feedback should come from as many sources as feasibly possible: learners, their supervisors, peers and senior leaders. Consider all that ROI data you need and uncover if a baseline already exists.

6. ROI is more than money. When calculating ROI results, consider the non-fiscal learning measurements of quality, effectiveness, job impact, and business results. Perhaps you cannot assign a cost to an intangible, but you can document its positive transformation.

7. Calculate learner-reported ROI conservatively. Post training, subsequent follow-up evaluations should have more ROI weight than evaluations reported immediately after the program. This compensates for the “fresh-trained glow” and enthusiastic bias learners’ usually feel.

8. Equate the investment on a per learner basis. To present the investment in a more personalized and palatable scenario, spotlight the per learner cost rather than the total lump sum. Investing $100,000 for CRM training can create sticker shock compared to illustrating that investing $8,000 on “Kevin” and his $2,000,000 book of business.

9. Give the numbers a storyline. Highlight data with meaningful examples and anecdotal information to help confirm the ROI numbers.

10. Don’t give up if you miss the number. ROI is intended to assess what is successful, what can be improved, as well as what failed. Learning is a learning experience.

Due to the harsh reality that L&D programs generally provide more long-term value rather than short-term hits, senior executives frequently consider eliminating them as an easy cost saving solution. Even if the executive sponsor of a specific training program is satisfied today, they may not be tomorrow if they are forced to “hit a departmental budget number.” For CLOs, it makes prudent fiscal sense to establish tactile, repeatable ROI calculations so that even the most critical opponents will understand the value of L&D programs within an organization.

Consistency creates training efficacy

In a most recent research project, Training Industry, Inc. (TI) analyzed 283 individual responses from a pool of employee learners in a variety of industries to understand these learners’ view regarding the consistency of the training provided by their employers. TI explored many areas of the importance of Learning & Development (L&D) consistency including the learners’ opinions regarding how they prefer to be trained, how consistent their learning experience is across training programs, and their perception of effectiveness.

Training consistency is a concept that touches nearly everything in L&D, especially for multi-national corporations. From a L&D and business ROI objective, an IT Network Operations specialist in Poland must have knowledge consistent with a US peer.

Without a consistent training experience, the corporate-wide effectiveness of the training may be lost, uneven, and off-brand for L&D. And to be clear, any “brand,” whether public-facing corporate or an internal department, demands consistency to be accountable and measurable.

Learner Ratings of Overall Training Consistency - CHART ONE

First, TI reviewed “Overall Training Consistency.” As you see in the chart it is a basic bell curve, with learners’ positive impressions (always/almost always) combined equal 38%, only beating the negative impressions (sometimes/not) by 6%. This data in itself may be interesting from a general L&D viewpoint perhaps, but offers little actionable meaning.

Learner Ratings of Overall Training Effectiveness - CHART TWO

Next, TI reviewed “Overall Training Effectiveness” which generated another bell curve. At this point we can clearly read that 32% of the employees felt their learning experience fell into the combined ineffective (sometimes/not) spectrum. This is only 1% more than the combined always/almost always columns. Let’s all agree there is room for improvement.

Overlaying Consistency with Effectiveness - CHART THREE

Is there causality between consistency and effectiveness? Marketing and sales departments absolutely understand that consistency is essential for managing the customer journey and ROI, so there is no leap-of-faith needed regarding managing a learner’s journey.

As you see, the two charts align. Certainly, there are many other factors, both strategic and tactical, to discuss regarding effectiveness in training, however the correlation between effectiveness and consistency cannot be a mere coincidence, particularly in the 32% ineffective side of the charts.

Consistency has been repeatedly identified in training industry research as a challenge for learning leaders. It’s not a surprise that maintaining consistency comes up time and time again as one of the biggest challenges to delivering an effective training portfolio to a population of learners. Employees on opposite sides of the country or the world need to gain proficiencies in a consistent manner.

Companies with effective and consistent training have learners who are more motivated and satisfied with their work and have a positive regard for professional development, compared to learners at companies struggling with effectiveness and consistency in their training programs.