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Developing Employee Talent with Programs from Globally Recognized Universities

As corporations continue to maintain leaner workforces—choosing to carry larger cash balances over expanding employment—there’s a renewed focus on selecting, retaining and developing talent internally. More attention is being paid to competencies that drive innovation, revenue growth and strategic agility so that companies can sustain growth with smaller payrolls. Despite this attention, many organizations are faced with diminished training resources.

Many globally recognized, highly selective universities are now turning to executive and online education as viable revenue growth channels. The focus is now on creating revenue streams that won’t require costly bricks-and-mortar expansion on campus. Many schools and universities are re-examining their relationships with corporate training and learning departments.

There are several reasons why a corporation might turn to a brand-name university as an educational partner.

Program Visibility

Many companies offer, maintain, and manage more training and education programs than some universities. Companies may offer thousands of courses to their employees—some developed in-house, others purchased from commercial training providers, and still more from nearby colleges.

A company may choose to raise the visibility of one or more programs, depending on specific company objectives . By co-branding with a nationally or globally recognized university, the program immediately draws more attention and gets more buy-in from participants and their sponsors.

Employee Retention and Engagement

While national unemployment rates remain high, there is increasing demand for results-driven leaders, innovators, creative professionals and technical experts. Now companies are re-doubling their efforts to engage and retain talent.

By investing in skill building and career development through a well known university program, the company sends a clear message to the employee: “You are a highly valued team member, and critical to our future success as a company”. In fact, many companies reserve these co-branded programs specifically for high-potential employees who hold the most promise for future performance.

By working with their university partner to offer a certificate or other valued credential, companies are finding new ways to recognize and reward people who invest in their career and contribute to company growth. Some companies are concerned about offering a portable credential that makes the employee more attractive to competitors, but most recognize that the benefits from an engaged and capable talent pool far outweigh any risk of attrition.

Specialized Skills and Research

Finally, employers can clarify the strategic direction of the company and the skills needed to get there through these types of educational partnerships. Working with globally recognized university faculty is important to employees and increases buy-in. When participants know that their training is based on research at top schools in their field or industry, they are more likely to be engaged with the program. Making that connection by aligning theory with everyday practice is when that transfer—that practical application of concepts—can really take place.

Creating Win-Win Partnerships

But such partnerships are not always win-win. Universities need to be flexible in how they deliver programs that meet the needs of these high-profile corporate training programs. There are several areas where universities need to meet emerging demand:

  • Competency-based learning: Organizations align training programs to targeted competency needs of employees, not necessarily traditional academic disciplines. This requires universities to tailor the curriculum, content, assessment tools, and even the program credential so that they align with a company’s specific need.
  • Flexible schedule: Forget semester-length schedules, or even summer-timed course when the faculty members are available. A company-sponsored program will most likely have requirements around start and end dates and different pacing requirements for the curriculum.
  • Customer-centric services: From program management to student support, companies will be looking for their university partner to treat them better than commercial training providers do. The promise of the university’s brand is expected to shine through services as well as content.
  • Volume-based pricing: Universities will be expected to demonstrate how a program can scale if/when demand grows.

The upshot for universities is that these requirements inform research and can create an applied learning loop where faculty members can package and deliver training that’s especially valuable to on-the-ground practitioners.

At the same time, universities who embrace these requirements can find new opportunities to strengthen their own brand while helping companies invest in their talent to position themselves as the most attractive employer in their industry.

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8 Core Beliefs of Extraordinary Bosses

All my working life, I have found that I railed against the office “Stalin”, the dictator-micromanager boss. General misery aside, my belief that this management style leads to more problems than solutions has only been a theory… until now. In this Inc. article, several top CEOs were interviewed, and their opinions on management style were both insightful and revealing.

Highlights:

Management is a service, not control.
The difference between average bosses and extraordinary bosses is empowerment versus control. The average boss wants employees to do as they are told.  The extraordinary boss pushes decision-making down to the members of her team, allowing some autonomy in the “getting it done” part of a project.

Motivation comes from vision, not fear.
This directly links back to the last topic. When the team is clear on the goal, they can make decisions that may be risky without fear of reprisal. Nothing can paralyze a business unit quite like fear or intimidation. Taking measured risks helps a team to grow and problem solve with greater agility, and gain valuable experience toward facing the next problem.

Change equals growth, not pain.
Let’s be clear, change for the sake of change is a waste of time. We all know the person who, every time a problem arises, wants to turn the company upside-down. However, ordinary bosses will argue against change as complicated and a problem whenever it is suggested.  Extraordinary bosses look at change as an opportunity, not as a threat. Growth doesn’t happen without change.

The old style of management through control doesn’t square with most business environments today. Trust, flexibility, autonomy, and creativity are where it’s at. Thank goodness that things can change for the better.

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“He scares me to death. That’s why I’ve asked him to be my mentor”

Think of the classic mentor/protege relationship. Your mind may conjure up images of the benevolent, caring tutor and the eager, receptive student in a perfect give and take. A friendly, healthy exchange of ideas and wisdom. Sounds idyllic…

But if you’re looking for a mentor who can provide cold, hard advice and sharpen and diversify your skillset, you might be best served by going outside your comfort zone.
Consider seeking out someone at work who challenges your sensibilities, upends your idea of how things are supposed to be done—maybe even someone who flat-out frightens you.

Look for someone who’ll make you step up your game, who sets you back on your heels—someone who exhibits behaviors that you find professionally admirable, but difficult to imagine in yourself: Shrewdness, unflappability, assertiveness. Does anyone in particular come to mind? Float the idea by them and see how they respond. People who scare others away often make the best mentors.

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Awesome 32-page HR report condensed to 8 bullet points

Here’s a time-saving hack for HR pros: read this 8-point synopsis before you fully commit to reading the entire Deloitte survey: Transformative Technologies Driving Human Resource Organizations to ‘Leap Ahead’ in 2012.

This report focuses on 8 human capital trends you need to understand in order to deliver top-notch HR  in 2012.

  1. In 2012, growth is job#1: As the economy sloooowly recovers, growth is the word on everyone’s lips. Innovation, emerging markets and mergers and acquisitions all play a major role in the growth strategy. Capitalize on opportunities by informing and shaping the growth agenda from the HR seat, identifying places where HR will have to “step-up” to make a growth strategy happen smoothly.
  2. Operation globalization: Global integration models of doing business are on the rise. Your company’s home market becomes one in a pool of markets you serve, as opposed to the “top-dog” position it traditionally held. HR operations will have to be prepared for global people management and change management, designing global operating models for the HR side of business.
  3. Fast track to the top: AKA the development of high-potential employees to meet the demands of emerging markets and growth opportunities.
  4. People risk is risky business: In the world of “black swans” (Not the crazy ballet dancer from the movie of the same name but the low-probability event that has far-reaching ramifications), HR’s role in managing risk becomes stronger and more expansive. Risk-management becomes a day-to-day responsibility.
  5. Seeing around corners: Using workforce reporting and analytics to manage uncertainty and look for patterns in an increasingly complex workforce-management world. Are you using the data you gather, or is it siloed somewhere far away from the heart of the business?
  6. #social #mobile@work: Social Media and mobile devices create opportunities for HR to reach out to recruits and help internal customers, not just spy on people’s FB pages. Communities of practice and other great tools for your workforce spring from these exciting platforms.
  7. Clouds in the forecast: Cloud services are changing the way business operates, and HR has a key role in helping organizations adapt. HR’s role as an early adopter of many cloud-based services makes it a “no-brainer” as the de facto leader in organizational change around the cloud.
  8. Stay in front with an effective sales force: Multichannel sales require different skill sets and tools for the sales team. HR’s talent management, learning and development all must review current practices and make changes to benefit from this new model.

Warning: trying to implement all 8 at the same time may cause your head to explode. Select the relevant items that support the c-suite strategic agenda and crank them up. Then sit back and revel in the accolades. Good job!

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Learn How to Build a Global Talent Management Strategy

In today’s marketplace, going global is more necessity than luxury, as businesses regularly find customers, suppliers and partners from all over the map. That broader focus for business requires a global talent management strategy to properly support a global initiative.

We’ll show you what a global talent management strategy consists of, how to build one that delivers measurable business outcomes and how to deploy to a diverse global workforce. During this interactive webinar, Heidi Spirgi, co-founder and president of Knowledge Infusion, will walk you through the process and steps organizations need to go through to build and deploy a global talent management strategy:

  • How to tie your talent management strategy to business initiatives.
  • The importance of developing a long-term talent management strategy to have better business results.
  • How a successful talent management strategy is one designed for the workforce, not the HR department.
  • Why HR departments cannot focus on “go live” when deploying talent management solutions, but rather must focus on user adoption and outputs, ensuring the new system is driving outcomes aligned with the business, not HR goals.

Webinar presented by Heidi Spirgi, Co-Founder & President of Knowledge Infusion
March 14, 2012 – 1:00pm Eastern
Register Online

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Make sure your skill set can withstand the harshest critic

Raymond McGuire, head of Global Banking at Citi, recently offered sage career advice to students at Cornell’s Johnson School of Business. Several juicy takeaways:

  • “Make sure the standards you have for yourself are higher than anyone else’s standards for you.”
  • “You must invest in technical skills—they must be unassailable. If you don’t, and you get assignments wrong early in your career, you’ll pay a great penalty. In fact, you may never get out of the penalty box.”
  • “Make sure your skill set can withstand the harshest critic.”
  • “Don’t think because you have a certain fluidity in your field that you are always prepared. Your weaknesses will be exposed. You have to have the strength in your constitution to withstand that.”
  • “In order to develop mentors, you have to perform, number one. Two: you need people who recognize that. You have to go to them with your successes. Their commitment will come when you show how committed you are through your performance.”
  • “Make the most of opportunities to form solid relationships with your peers”

Expand and fine-tune your strengths, eliminate weaknesses and network.

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The Upsurge in Human Resources

Human resources as a profession is currently enjoying a bit of a renaissance. Traditional roles and job functions of HR managers and directors are being upended, as HR people are now increasingly playing leadership and strategic roles within their companies. Gone are the days where interpreting dry employment laws, covering benefits and managing workplace conflict was nearly all that was expected.

The modern HR director plays a clear leadership role, influences company strategy, and effectively structures the organization for optimal performance. With an expanded role, of course, comes greater responsibility, more recognition and higher salaries and benefits.

Jobs, Jobs and More Jobs
Human Resources professionals are enjoying a period of job growth within their industry. That’s partially due to the expanded role that HR is playing in the workplace. Job listings are increasing, and HR job availability is projected to grow at an impressive rate over the next several years, despite discouraging economic trends. And salaries continue to rise steadily.

It’s an ideal time to get your human resources certificate or human resources certification, or both. You’ll certainly be more marketable, and you can set yourself apart as a candidate who is serious about their career and dedicated to their profession. Those fancy letters after your name are as attractive to hiring managers as they are to you!

This infographic points to a few notable trends in HR. Industry numbers are unquestionably encouraging. The HR job market is healthy, but as competitive as ever. For HR professionals, it’s an ideal time to get an HR certificate or HR certification, or both. The name of the game is personal marketability, and naturally, education and credentials.

It looks like it’s going to be another great year for HR in 2012.

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Transforming Your Workforce

eCornell invites you to participate in a complimentary webinar presented in partnership with Training Industry:

Learning Technologies: Transforming Your Workforce
presented Connie Malamed, publisher of “The E-Learning Coach” blog
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
1:00pm Eastern/10:00am Pacific

Can’t make it? You can still register and receive a post-event email with instructions on how to access the session recording and presentation slides. Or download the whitepaper Best Practices in Employee
Development.

In this 1-hour webinar, Connie Malamed, publisher of the popular blogazine “The E-Learning Coach,” will highlight current and upcoming technology trends in workplace learning , such as personal learning environments, social media learning and augmented reality. She will spotlight trends that have the potential to provide more meaningful and relevant learning experiences to your workforce. This webinar will help your organization–from executives and managers to IT departments and training professionals–prepare for future generations of independent and active learners.

In this interactive web session we’ll show you how:

  • Organizations are using new technologies.
  • The role of training departments is changing.
  • Changes in culture and technology are transforming workplace learning.
  • Employees can benefit from new learning technologies.
  • Emerging learning technologies fit into your organization’s business strategy.

We hope you can join us for this educational event.

The Team @ eCornell

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The Skills Gap Quandary Cont’d

U.S. unemployment is at 8.2%, yet 52% of U.S. companies report difficulty filling jobs.* I know, it’s hard to reconcile those numbers.

Given that, it’s even harder to account for this: Only 28% of U.S. companies are increasing training and development this year. Why are companies not conducting training in-house? Why the apparent aversion to promote from within? Too costly, too few available resources? It seems those 52% of companies are hoping that the dream job candidate is the next one to walk through that door. That’s unlikely, so what to do?

The WSJ says bring back apprenticeship, educate and promote from within.

CLO Magazine seconds that and explains the U.S.’s problem:

European countries aren’t having skill-shortage complaints at the same level as in the U.S., and the nations that have the most established apprenticeship programs—the Scandinavian nations, Germany and Switzerland—have low unemployment.

Fast Company says “stop whining”:

With technology and industries shifting so quickly, our economy’s open positions aren’t necessarily a perfect fit for our unemployed workers. Rather than simply wishing that mismatch away, businesses need to embrace training to reduce it.

And by leveraging new training technologies, employers have new opportunities to make training more effective and cost-efficient than ever before.

It’s time organizations stop dreaming of perfect employees and start growing them.

*source: Manpower Group