T+D Blog

Creature of Habit, Fear of Change

Do you fear change? Do you like the status quo?

If you do, you are not alone. Most people don't adjust well to new things or big changes. That's where workplace learning and performance professionals can don their expertise. Successful change management initiatives start with communication. Being upfront and honest with employees about the impending changes will help the process go smoothly.

In this month's issue of T+D magazine, John Ely and Merry Lee Olson write about gaining buy-in from employees. Change happens, it's how you deal with it that matters.

Before you implement any change, you must have a plan in place to minimize risk, and make sure that plan includes communication with your employees.

Engaging Culture

Why is employee engagement a hot topic in today's business world? Why does engaging employees in the world place matter so much to companies?

It may be because there is mounting evidence that it correlates directly to individual, group, and organizational performance in the areas of productivity, retention, turnover, customer service, and loyalty. Or, it may be because a skills shortage is making it harder to find key talent to replace unhappy and unengaged workers.

What ever the reason, employee engagement is not going away. Companies must clearly define what engagement means to their workforce and then must begin to create a culture that breeds passion and commitment among their employees.

The January 2008 issue of T+D magazine is full of articles about this issue, examining not only why this topic is important but also why learning plays such a vital role in creating that engaged culture.

Don't just treat employee engagement as a buzz world; it's a very real topic that is keeping executives up at night with worry!

T+D November issue posted to website

The November issue of T+D is now available for your perusing. As usual, some articles are free for everyone with registration and others are free for ASTD members only/for sale for non-members.

This is an issue not to be missed, as it examines emergency training in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Other feature articles:

• If Coaching is Good, Then E-Coaching Is...
• Strong Medicine Required (best practices from Mayo Clinic Arizona)
• Harnassing the Virtual Classroom
• Reshaping the Way We View the World (on "meaningful learners")
• Beyond a Seat at the Table

Plus plenty of great columns and departments.

September T+D issue posted to website

The September issue of T+D has been posted to the website. A quick rundown this month as I'm a bit pressed for time:

• an article about podcasting used in training at Capital One
• an interview with Danny Wegman, CEO of Wegman's Food Markets and a Q+A with the company's director of training and development
• a survey report on online higher education
• success strategies for expatriates
• case studies on training to learning
• plus, much more.

Go to the issue.

August issue now online

The August issue of T+D magazine is now posted to the website.

Our feature stories:

• Beyond Reactive, by T+D editor Rex Davenport, examines the training organization that helps Nextel Communications keep ahead of fast-moving competitors.
• What HPLOs Know, by Dan Sussman, takes a look at what makes High Performance Learning Organizations tick.
• Rapid Integration, by Mike Pollard and Tracey Malcolm, is a case study on a merger learning program at Regions Financial Corporation.
• Training's New Wave, by Paul Harris, provides an overview of the Navy's Revolution in Training, a program that could be the envy of the corporate training community.
• Zero Tolerance, by Terry Winkelmann, is a case study of sexual harassment training at Icon Properties.
• Take the Pain Out of Course Creation Tools, by Dan Sussman, offers a general overview of the market.

In the columns:

• My Intelligence column leads with a look at virtual work (it's not just for members of the Jedi Council.)
• The Re:search column finds that e-learning and classroom instruction are equally effective.
• The Human Side looks at training's role in tsunami cleanup and relief efforts.
• and more!

Check it out!

Call for submissions

As we search for a new managing editor, I've taken over T+D magazine's Development column.

I'm in the market for articles for upcoming months. The column is, unlike others in the magazine, focused on a workplace learning professional's own development and career. Ideally it is strategically focused.

Previous columns have covered, for example:

• getting an MBA
• engaging a coach for oneself
• intelligent career navigation

Have an article you'd like to write? Email me a brief query--a couple of paragraphs describing the overall topic and some bullet points you'd like to include. Thanks!

T+D June issue is posted; final touches being put on new homepage

We've posted the June issue of T+D on the magazine's homepage. (If you're reading this after June, go to the archive page.)

The theme this month is business acumen (get it, use it, show it).

Feature articles:

• "Build Your Business Acumen," by Barry Stern and Bob Walters
• "Aligning Training to Business Results," by Ruth Clark and Ann Kwinn
• "Making the Exemplary Normal," by Paul Elliott, Elena Galbraith, and Al Folsom
• "Leadership Learning," by Howard Prager and Pete Rawlings
• "A Tale of Two Goals," by Ethan Sanders
• "Online Assessment Tools Fill Learning's Gaps," by Paul Harris

Departments:

• In my Intelligence column, I review new software that can help strengthen mental muscles (plus a lot more).
• The Research column focuses on best practices in learning tied to financial performance.
• The Trends column discusses Lost Knowledge: Confronting the Threat of an Aging Workforce (see this blog post as well).
• In the Development column, Jonathon Levy says we're in the middle of a revolution.
• and more

As always, some content (like the lead feature, Intelligence, Research, and so forth) is free with registration, some is free for members only and for purchase by others.

In addition, we're putting the finishing touches on the new T+D homepage, which will be a portal rather than the simple table of contents we have now. Our goal is to get it up before ASTD 2005, but if not, it will be launched soon after. (A lot of the finishing touches depend on our overworked technology department.)

Can't wait to show it off when it's ready! Stay tuned.

85 percent?!

Today I'm working on my July Intelligence column for T+D. (We work 2-3 months in advance of publication.) For the monthly Infograph, an illustrated statistic, I'm using a number that comes from The Herman Group's weekly trend alert.

They say, "Recent surveys suggest that as many as 85 percent of today's workers are dissatisfied enough to move to different jobs in the next 12 months."

Wow. That number seems awfully high, but for months and years people (including myself) have been warning about the coming labor crisis. (See my Intelligence column in the April issue for my most recent coverage.) As the economy is recovering and people are realizing they have options, they're going to be changing jobs in droves.

The Herman Group says in the weak economy, companies have been pressuring employees to work harder and longer. But workers are getting burned out and stressed out. If they see a better option, they'll jump. Is your company ready?

See my April column for some suggestions of new labor sources. I add one more source in the July column I'm writing: members of the military transitioning to civilian jobs.

The Herman Group suggests that when employers get stuck, they'll rely on temporary workers to fill the gaps.

What do you think? Is 85 percent too high, or does that sound about right?

T+D May issue is posted

The May issue of T+D is up on the website. It's our conference issue and a whopping 96 pages this month. While some of the content is ASTD members-only, as always there is one feature and a number of columns that are free to registered users.

Feature articles:

• "IBM Reinvents the Workforce" by T+D editor Rex Davenport (free feature)
• "Boomer vs. Echo Boomer: The Work War?" by Paul Harris
• "Measurement Gets Strategic" by Paul Bernthal
• "Savvy Training" by Martin Seldman and Jovita Thomas-Williams
• "Clients: What to Do With Them" by Darin Hartley
• "E-Portfolios" by Saul Carliner

Departments:

• My Intelligence column leads off with a very interesting (if I do say so myself) piece about how the Army is using online communities to speed learning in wartime. (free column) The web version also includes an online-only extended Q+A.
  
• The Re:search column offers hard numbers on the increase of technology-enabled training. (free column)
• In The Enterprise, SumTotal Systems president Kevin Oakes discusses centralizing the training and development function. (free column)
• The Books column reviews the Beyond Telling Ain't Training Fieldbook
• and more!