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June 18, 2013
How to Handle Customer Complaints

Fewer than half of unhappy customers will bring a complaint to your attention. Those who never say anything will tell an average of 11 other people about their bad experience. It is important to recognize complaints as opportunities, so you can sway these averages, one resolved complaint at a time.

By Amanda Herder, Account Manager, Signature Worldwide

Complaints happen every day. When a customer complains, it is usually for a good reason or genuine concern. They usually have made a purchase that did not meet their expectation—a product, service, or maybe a combination of the two. In the customer service industry, we cannot avoid complaints. We must take care of the customer by listening to the complaint, and resolving it, to ensure a happy customer.

June 17, 2013
MassMutual Fosters Open Communication

Through employee engagement survey feedback, MassMutual Financial Group saw an opportunity to improve its ability to foster open and direct communication. The company enlisted the support of VitalSmarts and its Crucial Conversations program. MassMutual identified 17 mid-level managers to become certified instructors and developed a yearlong plan to train managers and employees.

Edited by Margery Weinstein

Through employee engagement survey feedback, MassMutual Financial Group saw an opportunity to improve its ability to foster open and direct communication. This includes peer-to-peer and employee-to-manager communications.

June 14, 2013
Wired for Learning

The plethora of advanced but easy-to-use technological devices available to us has had a direct impact on the way we use information. Learning theory and conceptual frameworks are being challenged. You need to ask yourself if your organization is equipped to deal with this.

By Gary White, CEO, White Springs

The increasing use of technology in business is forcing trainers not only to use it, but to manage it. The next logical step for trainers, to maintain a competitive edge, is to take advantage of the benefits technology has to offer. Yes, it is disruptive, but how can the training industry use this to its advantage? What can you do to ensure that the impact technology has on your organization’s bottom line is a positive one?

June 13, 2013
Supercompetent Speaking: Tailoring Your Presentation to Your Audience

Discover as much as you can about your audience, the leadership’s key objectives, and your role prior to your presentation. What do you want to get across? What do does the audience want to know? How can you focus your message around their needs? How do they want to receive those benefits?

By Laura Stack, MBA, CSP

One of the most important tenants in speaking is know thy audience. Failure to do your homework can mean failure. At a minimum, your message will be diluted and won’t have the impact it could have. You always will do a much better job when you conduct better research.

June 12, 2013
Virtual Tech Alters 21st Century Corporate Learning

Technology has, without question, altered the reality of today’s students and changed the reality of the 21st century corporate classroom. Webcasting and virtual environments can help organizations make necessary adjustments, improving speed to comprehension while delivering greater ROI. Most importantly, they help engage students in a way that fits their daily lives—which helps further the corporate training mission.

By Eric Vidal, Director, Product Marketing, Event Services Business Segment, InterCall

Technology has altered the reality of today’s learners. The evidence is all around us. Employees (students), both young and old, constantly have their noses buried in large and small screens, often at the same time.

June 11, 2013
The Will to Win

According to the late James Michener’s “Sports in America,” the late football coach Vince Lombardi claimed to have been misquoted on his famous line about winning being the only thing. What he intended to say was this: “Winning isn’t everything. The will to win is the only thing.” So what he actually was saying is that “effort is what ultimately defines success.”

By Rob Jolles

While I was growing up, I was a fan of the late Vince Lombardi. Not only was he one of the greatest coaches ever, but he also finished his career with my Washington Redskins. He is the man who is forever linked to the following words:“Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing.”

June 10, 2013
Attitude Will Affect Your Career Altitude

A positive attitude will enhance your achievement level, as well as favorably affect your personal life and health. But is it a genetic behavioral pattern we inherit or is this state of mind achievable by daily conscious reinforcement?

By Richard B. Secord

June 6, 2013
Leveraging 3 Primary Management Styles

Management style greatly affects employees’ motivation and capacity to learn. Here, a look at the three primary management styles—directing, discussing, and delegating—that should be in the tool chest of every manager, along with practical suggestions about when and how to use them.

By Paul B. Thornton, Professor, Business Administration, Springfield Technical Community College

Management style greatly affects employees’ motivation and capacity to learn. The most effective managers vary their styles depending on the employee’s knowledge and skills, the nature of the task, time constraints, and other factors. By so doing, they encourage and inspire employees to do their best at all times.

June 5, 2013
Practice, Creativity, Emotion, and the Brain

Companies train employees on new skills or behaviors. Employees intellectually grasp the new concepts presented during training. They make initial efforts to incorporate the new ideas into their work, but the new practices seem awkward. It takes extra effort to use them. Eventually, they fall back into their old, comfortable habits. One element is missing from this pattern: ongoing practice.

By Matt Norman, President, Dale Carnegie Training in the North Central U.S.

As a professional trainer, I am all too familiar with a common pattern that creates an obstacle to learning and change: Companies train employees on new skills or behaviors. Employees intellectually grasp the new concepts presented during training. They make initial efforts to incorporate the new ideas into their work, but the new practices seem awkward. It takes extra effort to use them. Eventually, they fall back into their old, comfortable habits.

June 4, 2013
Empower the Front Line to Lead

Transitioning leadership of theday-to-day aspects of the business to the front line should not mean dumping responsibility in the lap of the front line and then dashing to an office to start thinking of improvement opportunities. Effective leaders want to transition responsibilities so the front line is always capable of undertaking them. Here are three practical ways to shape the leadership culture.

By Ray Attiyah

Transitioning leadership of theday-to-day aspects of the business to the front line is rarely as easy as simply saying it needs to occur. The goal is not to dump responsibility in the lap of the front line and then dash to an office to start thinking of improvement opportunities. Effective leaders want to transition responsibilities so the front line is always capable of undertaking them. Then leaders can start planning proactive improvements for the front line’s systems and processes.

June 3, 2013
How Baptist Health Care Improves Performance

The Performance Improvement Fundamentals (PIF) course is a comprehensive curriculum based on LEAN and Six Sigma principles, developed specifically for individuals who have expressed interest in, and have demonstrated the potential for, improving things within their department.

Edited by Margery Weinstein

June 3, 2013
Media Screening: Avoid Brand Damage From a Bad Hire

Many executive screening packages only look at qualifications, work history, education, and public records. To help develop the “big picture,” many companies are looking to add media screening when hiring at the executive level. Media screening is a comprehensive search through various databases to access thousands of news sources, including newspapers, trade publications, professional journals, articles, and transcripts.

By Bill Tate, President, HR Plus

In today’s economy, where jobs are still scarce and the competition for open positions is fierce, how does a company know it has selected the perfect candidate for an executive position? Sure, you have completed numerous face-to-face interviews; the candidate has passed the background check, fingerprinting, and drug testing; and references have been called. But what else should you know?

May 31, 2013
Millennials’ Effect on Recruiting and Job Searching

To attract Millennials, companies should focus on building a persona that frames the company not just as a corporate monolith, but as a place where exciting innovation is occurring. Many Millennials also want to see the company’s green, charity, and volunteer practices detailed. Bring-your-own-device (BYOD) and other progressive technology policies likewise are attractive.

BySusan Vitale, CMO, iCIMS

May 30, 2013
DiSC in the Work Environment

People spend a significant percentage of their waking lives at work, so matching work environment with style can lead to greater job satisfaction and a more rewarding career. Here is a look at optimal work environments and general job characteristics that match each DiSC personality style.

By Merrick Rosenberg and Daniel Silvert  

The degree to which people like their jobs is largely a function of the corporate culture in which they work. People spend a significant percentage of their waking lives at work, so matching work environment with style can lead to greater job satisfaction and a more rewarding career. Although no setting likely will satisfy every want or need, there’s a lot to be said for understanding the types of environments that bring out our best.

May 30, 2013
Is It Time for New Leadership Models?

We are beginning to see the first steps toward understanding that strong leadership isn’t as much about building better development programs as it is about changing the definition of leadership roles. Here is a look at what’s driving the push for new leadership models and where that push is leading organizations.

By Stacey Harris, Vice President, Research and Advisory Services, Brandon Hall Group

The global workforce is changing substantially. Millennials in the workforce have almost tripled in the last six years, according to several surveys, and are on course to comprise 75 percent of the workforce by 2030.

May 29, 2013
Closing the Skills Gap

If America is to have the economy it needs to support the lifestyle we want, it is time to have all hands on deck. We need traditional institutions to expand their adult and evening division programs. We need to embrace the role online education can provide. We need responsible for-profit institutions to be recognized and accepted for the contributions they can offer, and we need employers to support degree completion for their workers.

By Dr. John Ebersole, President, Excelsior College

President Obama frequently reminds us that the U.S. is losing the competitive edge provided by our highly educated, post-World War II workforce. In fact, he notes that if present trends continue, the next generation of American workers will be the first in the history of our country to be less educated than the one before it.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, we currently have some 90 million adults in our workforce with no degree. Of these, 36 million have “some college” but no degree.

May 28, 2013
HR: Follow the Data, Not the Process

Organizations and their HR departments need to consider a data-first approach when implementing case management systems. Starting with the data instead of the process offers a means of reducing clutter and redundancies while managing employee data quickly, economically, and effectively.

By Mike Cerniglia, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, MicroPact

May 24, 2013
A Classroom in the Cloud

Ultimately, the cloud will be the greatest force in altering not only the way we experience education but life itself. It will set the standard for what our personal and professional interactions should feel like.

By Thomas M. Koulopolous

One of my favorite YouTube videos is of a toddler with a magazine on her lap, looking perplexed as she tries to operate it by touch—to her a magazine is a defective iPad.

May 23, 2013
More Than a Generation: How to Connect in the Classroom

Factors to consider when attempting to make a meaningful connection with a diverse, ever-changing, technology-obsessed workforce.

By Tim Toterhi

For the first time in history, four generations are represented in the workforce. This sociological anomaly has led management gurus to hyper-focus on intergenerational relationships and communication dynamics. In pursuit of the ever-elusive increase in organizational performance, we’ve seen a proliferation of group profiles, value summaries, and various assessments to help identify motivation triggers for each demographic. But does the generation factor warrant so much attention?

May 21, 2013
Civility at Work

Organizational success depends on a climate of fairness and compassion; supportive working environments are consistently identified as an important attribute of an effective learning organization.In order to learn, employees must feel safe to disagree, ask questions. and make mistakes. They must recognize the value of competing ideas andfeel encouraged to take risks.

By Catherine Mattice, President, Civility Partners, LLC

May 20, 2013
Nationwide Fosters Continuous Improvement

Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company’s On Your Side Continuous Improvement (OYS CI) program aims to teach associates to incorporate voice of the customer (VOC) into all Nationwide business processes and align them to customer expectations, help them facilitate data-driven decision-making, and empower them with tools and techniques to improve the work they do every day.

Edited by Margery Weinstein

In February 2010, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company launched On Your Side Continuous Improvement (OYS CI) to create a unified capability of continuous improvement at all levels of the organization while enabling its mutual strategy.

May 20, 2013
Taking the Family Out of Business

Business leaders and executives will slow and potentially destroy the growth and development of their companies if they have lower standards or different rules for family members than they have for their other employees. Here are some “rules for relatives.”

By Bruce Hodes, Founder, CMI

Consider this question: If you were chartering a private plane, would you rather it was flown by a competent pilot or by a member of the business owner’s family? In this scenario, who cares about family affiliations? You most likely want the best person for the job of getting you in one piece from Point A to Point B.

May 17, 2013
Showtime! Improv Tips for Training

If you have ever seen an improvisation performance, you have witnessed a team of performers spontaneously creating comedic scenes from audience suggestions. While you can’t make up your training on the spot the way professional improvisers do, you can borrow some of their methods and philosophies to inspire your creative process.

By Tom Yorton, CEO, Second City Communications

Regardless of the role you play in developing and delivering training to your staff—from CLO to instructional designer to field trainer—the landscape is changing quickly, and your challenges are multiplying, including:

May 16, 2013
2013 Emerging Training Leaders

These 25 training professionals soar with exceptional leadership skills and business savvy.

By Lorri Freifeld

Like butterflies bursting from their cocoons and flying to new heights, the 25 winners of Training magazine’s 2013 Emerging Training Leaders awards are on an upward trajectory of leadership and organizational success. These 25 training professionals have been in the industry for two to 10 years and have demonstrated exceptional leadership skills, business savvy, and training instincts.

May 16, 2013
A Tale of 2 Cultures

Creating a corporate culture that encourages employees to do the right thing and also primes them to grow and lead is no easy task. Find out how several 2013 Training Top 125 winners lead by example and utilize constant communication to underscore the importance of a values-driven culture that emphasizes employee engagement and development.

I would not be a happy camper if my publisher pulled a “Marissa Mayer” and called me to say I could no longer work from home after three blissful years of doing so and would have to resume my four-hour-a-day commute to an office in New York City. And I shudder at the very thought of coming home to two lonely, enraged dachshunds with too much time on their…um…paws. I certainly would think about looking for another job. In the meantime, I would drag my sorry self to the office and be unhappy, unengaged, and resentful (and probably pretty unproductive).