DO NOT RUN

To ensure its clinicians work effectively and empathetically with Medicare beneficiaries, Nashville, Tenn.-based Healthways, a provider of health support services, delivered a training seminar on age sensitivity. In addition to presenting learners with the images and voices, as well as medical and psychosocial needs of elderly people, the company solicited volunteers throughout its own ranks who themselves were older, or who could bring an elderly relative in to record audio resources.



Philadelphia-based nonprofit human service organization Horizon House needed to more effectively communicate its mission to employees. In 2005, the Training Steering Committee (TSC) was founded, and it was recognized as a paradigm of the training department's mission. Today, the TSC is aligned with the vision of the agency in designing a curriculum to identify career growth for all levels, and developing information systems designed for strategic advantage.



As a "24/7" business, Affinity Health System, a Menasha, Wis.-based regional health care system, found providing information and education to employees an increasingly challenging process. That's why it created the Affinity Learning Center, which includes an electronic learning portal. Cost-effective technology the portal makes use of includes pod- and videocasting for $5 a month, free discussion groups, a free wiki library, social networking groups and free instant messaging and blogging.



Westlake Village, Calif.-based real estate services provider Move needed to deliver its three-day classroom new-hire sales training online. Since the company knew it would need to cut out content learners did not need to immediately know, it created a FLOW (FLOW Criteria Workflow) pyramid chart to stay focused on learners' specific needs. Courses were pared down to the "need-to-know-now-only" points. Omitted training was addressed by posting full course presentations online. The company saved more than $26,000 over six months by doing so.