I am usually not one for making New Year’s resolutions. But after nearly two years of gloom and doom, I am making a determined effort to look at the bright side and focus on the positive. After all, as positive psychology researcher and Training 2022 Conference & Expo keynoter Shawn Achor notes, “As the brain becomes more positive, our problem-solving abilities and creativity triple, while intelligence and memory improve dramatically.” (Check out Shawn’s video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbdVrSLSMNo; more on the conference in just a bit.)
On the good news front, I’m glad to introduce you to two new columnists for Training magazine’s What the Tech? column—Yulia Barnakova and Elisabeth Sanders-Park. They take the torch from Phylise Banner, who originated the column and has been a phenomenal contributor over the last few years. Phylise is a tough act to follow, but I know Yulia and Elisabeth are up to the task.
Yulia is the Digital Innovation lead for the consulting practice of Heidrick & Struggles, a global executive search and leadership advisory firm. In her role, she works with Fortune 500 leaders to stay ahead of disruptive technology trends and develop their digital skills for the future. Elisabeth is an instructional designer, consultant on career development, president of Worknet Solutions, and co-author of “No One is Unemployable” and “The 6 Reasons You’ll Get the Job.”
Click here to read Yulia’s first What the Tech? column in this online-only issue. Elisabeth’s first column will appear in the April online-only issue.
Another exciting development this year is our rebranding of the Training Top 100 Awards to the Training APEX Awards. As COVID-19 continues to spark change in our professional (and personal) worlds, we decided on this rebranding to reflect the winners’ journey to attain peak performance in employee training and development and organizational success. This rebranding also gives us more flexibility in terms of the number of winners we can name and allows us to maintain the credibility of the program so we are not putting organizations on the list that did not meet the minimum scoring threshold for training excellence.
We will recognize the 2022 winners and reveal their rankings during a black-tie Gala to be held February 28 during the 2022 Training Conference & Expo (Feb. 28-Mar. 2) at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, FL. Fitting in perfectly with this Editor’s Note, the theme for the Gala is “Here Comes the Sun.” Hopefully, it will portend good things for 2022!
With reports pointing to the Omicron surge potentially sharply declining in the next few weeks, vaccination and boosting numbers continuing to increase, and the protocols Disney has in place (including indoor masking, social distancing when possible, and ventilation), we are going full steam ahead with these in-person events.
We hope you can join us at the conference as “A New Day Dawns for Training” with practical breakout sessions, three powerful keynotes (Pixar Animation Studios’ Deanna Marsigliese and singer, rapper, writer, and artistic risk-taker Dessa join Shawn Achor), co-located events Innovations in Training and the Learning Leaders Summit, hands-on clinics, and Dine Around mixer events.
To register for the conference with the special Early-Bird rate of $150 off (and to learn more about Disney’s COVID-19 precautions), please visit: https://www.trainingconference.com/2022/discounts.cfm
As we get this new year started, Learning and Development (L&D) and HR professionals need to remain hyper-focused on implementing strategies that promote employee motivation, learning, and innovation. Indeed, in a recent LinkedIn survey, 94 percent of employees said they would stay at a company longer with investment in their learning and development. Complementing the content covered in our Training 2022 Conference, this online-only issue features a variety of articles that identify trends to keep an eye on and tips to help connect with and retain employees amidst today’s “Great Resignation” and remote/hybrid work models.
Data from Glint reveals that employees who feel cared about at work are 3.2 times more likely to report being happy to work for their current company. Likewise, respondents to Shawn Achor’s recent survey of the Training community reported that among the factors positively influencing their happiness level was their connection to others (we’ll share more of those survey results and takeaways in the March 2022 issue).
Here’s to tapping into the power of happiness and connection at Training 2022. As the saying goes, “Hope springs eternal!”