August 21, 2002

At the core of training is learning. This month's issue focuses our attention on this, the trainers' reason to be. How can you cost-effectively teach employees, design training and make your information available to meet the needs of employees and management?

The articles we selected this month address these fundamental needs of workplace experts like yourselves. The roles HR and training professionals play in organizations are mission critical to delivering customer satisfaction and the success of any organization.

What are your thoughts, needs and focus for the coming year? As summer comes to a close, many companies are focusing on new directions and expectations of their training department. Please take our survey and let us know what you are interested in learning, as well as how we are doing so far. Click here to take the brief survey on Training Initiatives.

In addition to these articles, WorkplaceXpert invites you to learn more about the The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). If you would like more information on the FMLA, you can download Personnel Policy Service's FREE reference guide: "FMLA Decision-Making Checklist" and "The FMLA -- 10 Frequently Asked Questions" (covering serious health conditions and medical certification) Use these tools for quick answers to FMLA questions.

We are delighted to continue to offer training and HR professionals this newsletter free of charge. (WorkplaceXpert is not a Website - although it acts like one.) You have to subscribe to continue to receive WorkplaceXpert! If you have not yet signed up, please  click here and submit the registration form. If you have subscribed, please forward this to an associate who would value the content.

As always, thank you for your involvement and continued dedication to training!

- John Quincy, Editor

How Teaching Employees to Be Trainers Pays Off
By Mary Anne Donovan-Wright

Your training budget has been slashed, yet managers are screaming for supervisory training, software training, product training, and every type of training in between. No matter that there's no money -- you're still accountable for seeing that customers and employees are trained, and trained effectively.  Using your subject-matter experts can be a cost-effective way to teach the rest of the organization, provided you're aware of the challenges they'll face in becoming trainers.LEARN MORE

A Simple, Proven Way to Design Any Type of Training
A versatile eight-step approach to helping employees learn.
By Frank J Troha

There are as many instructional-design models as there are package deals to Europe. For my taste, many are too basic (e.g., the three-step models), while others are much too elaborate (e.g., the 20-step models with arrows going every which way). If you happen to agree, you may find the recommended approach to be the happy medium you've been looking for. LEARN MORE

Why Customer Satisfaction Starts with HR
By Patrick J Kiger

There's convincing evidence that HR drives customer satisfaction -- and corporate revenues - by careful attention to who is hired, how they are trained, how they are coached, and how they are treated on the job.

Throughout the business world, HR departments are focusing their efforts on improving customer satisfaction. They're using HR activities -- hiring, training, coaching, and evaluation programs -- to give employees the tools and support they need to develop and nurture positive, lasting relationships with clients.  LEARN MORE

What’s New? 

Companies Increasingly Seeking to Outsource Human Resources
A new study by the Conference Board identifies Cost-Reduction, Improved Service and Resource Management as Key Drivers of Outsourcing Trend. LEARN MORE

ASTD Releases its 2002 Learning Outcomes Report
The 2002 ASTD Learning Outcomes Report combines the data collected from 1998 through 2001 on benchmarkable measures in workplace training and provides an overview of what has been learned when measuring and valuing these training investments. Investments in education and training are rapidly increasing, and the returns on these investments can be linked to overall business strategy and success. For several years, ASTD's Benchmarking Service has served as a vehicle for organizations to evaluate the effectiveness of their education and training investments. LEARN MORE
 

NEXT MONTH - The September issue will focus on the very timely topic of ethics. Ethics training may be the softest skill of all. Several articles will help solidify the topic and provide solid ideas that will help trainers instill ethics in the organization. We are constantly searching our industry resources for other practical ideas to help you be an effective workplace expert! If you have topics you wish explored, or resources to share, for future editions, please forward them to me. JQ