Dear readers,

Based on results of our recent Readership Study, subscribers to WPX have significant interest in Leadership Training and Coaching/Mentoring.  As trainers try to "do more - with less," these kinds of training initiatives are being implemented as low cost - high-return projects.

This month's issue, in addition to the useful article on "How Technology Can Enhance the Learning Experience," provides actionable ideas on how to effect change in your enterprise, by deploying some proven training fundamentals, in all levels of the organization.

It is rare to pick up a training industry magazine without seeing multiple references to e-learning or other types of technology. It can be challenging to decipher exactly what each tool has to offer and how you can match the right technology with a given learning objective. Without a good match, technology can cause confusion for a learner and can impede learning, essentially causing more problems than solutions. However, when technology is aligned well with specific learning outcomes in mind, it can be a great enabler of learning. And that is ideally what occurs when technology is incorporated into an organization's learning initiatives. Information can assist with prioritizing various choices and weighing options to find the best learning technologies for a particular organization. This is often easier said than done. (LEARN MORE)

Training employees on the nuances of compliance law won't prevent a business disaster, instilling the right behavior will. The current spate of business scandals--Arthur Andersen, Enron, WorldCom, HealthSouth and others--brings up an interesting question: How can companies enforce certain business protocols so effectively that they become an integral part of the operations and yet fail to rein in blatant legal and ethical lapses that might be the stepping stones to corporate ruin?  (LEARN MORE)



Start Your New Employees Off Right With Effective Orientations
By David Lee

What message do new employees get when they go through your company's New Hire orientation program? Do they get the message that you are a well run, world class company that they can be proud of, and a company that cares about its people, or do they get a very different message?

To make sure you're laying the foundation for success, rather than high turnover and other employee problems, ask yourself these questions: (LEARN MORE)



Coaching - A Nine-Step Model
By Jim Scalise

Coaching does not have to be as complex as could be inferred from the wealth of coaching books out there. This Nine-Step Model  tries to simplify the mystique of coaching, getting first-time coaches up and running quickly and effectively.  (LEARN MORE)



Coaching Managers For Success In Today's Diverse Workplace
By Joe Santana

The ability to manage within the framework of a diverse workplace today is rapidly becoming as much of a key success requirement as knowing how to manage projects. Even if your company is not listed among the top forerunners in Diversity Inc. Magazine, the results of an increasingly diverse workplace and marketplace is without question impacting you and your organization.

While some companies have well-articulated plans designed to ensure greater representation in their workforce, the demographic makeup of all companies is changing. Here are just a few of the factors that are creating change even in the most diversity-passive companies: (LEARN MORE)



What's New?

ASTD TECHKNOWLEDGE® 2004 CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS! ASTD invites you to submit a proposal to speak at the ASTD TECHKNOWLEDGE® 2004 CONFERENCE & EXPOSITION, February 7-11, 2004, Anaheim, California, USA. Deadline for Submission: July 31, 2003 Please Note: This is an earlier deadline than last year!

TOP 100: CALL FOR ENTRIES
Is your company known for its training and development initiatives? Does it excel at  harnessing human capital? If so, you should apply for Training magazine's 2004 Training Top 100. To apply, visit  Training magazine and click the Top 100 logo in the right column or click here for the link to the application form. Deadline is October 31, 2003

Crain Communications Inc. announced it will rename Workforce Magazine as Workforce Management. The magazine will also feature a new design and new content. Crain said the name change reflects a shift in the magazine's target audience, which includes high-level executives with a more strategic approach of "workforce management."