Losing your grip on staff engagement?
Stephen Walker reviews 10 key ways to identify which of your staff feel less engaged and therefore less willing to work for your success. Every organisation has a mix of people ranging from a few star performers to fewer (hopefully!) marginally useful people with the majority of us in the middle. Equally the general environment […]
DHL opens learning centre
The DHL supply chain has opened a learning centre in Leicestershire to provide its 200 staff with training ranging from basic skills to NVQs. The centre located at Magna Park in Lutterworth was developed in conjunction with the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers, North Warwickshire and Hinckley College and training provider EQV. Chris Sharp, […]
Learning and development at the crossroads pt1
How has Learning and Development changed since its inception ? Donald Taylor believes its not just a focus shift from simple knowledge delivery, and the whole industry has to evolve just to keep up. As I wrote in Training needs to change or risk irrelevance, I believe this is a crucial time for Learning and […]
How to engage learners through your social media presence
Matt Pierce discusses how trainers can use social media to disseminate training content and engage with learners. Social media has become the buzz term for businesses. From the largest enterprises to SMEs; everyone is tweeting, posting Facebook updates, writing blogs and streaming videos. With this increasing uptake of social media and engagement, trainers have the […]
L&D under fire reveals report
Despite the direct link between investment in L&D and financial performance, nearly half of all UK employers made cost-cutting rather than innovation a priority during the recession. According to a survey among 200 learning and development (L&D) professionals in organisations with more than 1,000 staff undertaken by Loudhouse Research on behalf of Thales Training and […]
Top Tips for Learning at Work Day
Learning at Work Day is a great opportunity to re-energise the way your promote learning and development in your workplace. The Campaign for Learning’s Juila Wright gives us her top tips– they also apply for special learning and development promotions all year round. 1. Create a theme A strong theme for your Learning at Work Day can capture […]
Free resources: The Buzz Factor
Does your company have the Buzz Factor? This free questionnaire courtesy of Maureen Bowes from People Intelligence offers motivational tips and advice for those looking to give their staff a boost. Does your company have the Buzz Factor? This free questionnaire courtesy of Maureen Bowes from People Intelligence offers motivational tips and advice for those looking […]
Less is more: A different approach to L&D in a world awash with information
Charles Jennings argues that the adage ‘access to knowledge is power’ is more fitting in today’s information-swamped world. "In 2009, more data will be generated by individuals than in the entire history of mankind through 2008. Information overload is more serious than ever." Andreas Weigend, former chief scientist at Amazon.com writing in the Harvard Business […]
How should independent trainers demonstrate their expertise?
Competition has never been fiercer in the training industry, so how can you stand apart from your rivals? Judith Germain advises. Experts are usually people that have demonstrated consistent practice in their field for 10 years or more and other people have conferred the status upon them. They are expected to know the solution whereas […]
Treading the boards: What leaders can learn from the theatre
Theatre and performance has much to teach us, so how can our leaders of today take a page from their script and transform themselves and their organisations? Richard Tyler reports. The news in recent weeks has been awash with press coverage from the BAFTAs, the Oscars, Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera sequel…the […]
Training for advantage (Part 1)
In this two-part series, Garry Platt looks at how to ensure training and development remains a priority in your organisation. Achieving organisational advantage or simply enhanced company performance has in past twenty five years often been driven by technological improvement and capital investment. The challenge that many organisations face at the moment is that despite […]
TED Talks: Kiran Bir Sethi teaches kids to take charge
This week's TED Talks features Kiran Bir Sethi, the founder of the Riverside School in Ahmedabad in India. She shows how her groundbreaking approach teaches kids life's most valuable lesson: "I can." Watch her students take local issues into their own hands, lead other young people, even educate their parents. Watch the other TZ picks […]
TED Talks: Tim Ferriss – smash fear, learn anything
After a couple of week's break, TED Talks is back. Here Tim Ferriss, author of bestseller 'The 4-Hour Workweek' talks about how to seize the fear, and do it anyway. Watch the other TZ picks of the fantastic TED Talks series: Gerver Tulley and his tinkering school, Dan Pink on the science of motivation and […]
What does your ideal L&D team look like in 2010?
With fresh challenges to contend with in the working world this year, ‘what skills should the ideal L&D team possess?’ asks Charles Jennings. If we’re to believe the experts, the second decade of the 21st Century doesn’t start until January 2011. However a multitude of calendar systems are still in use across the world today and we shouldn’t be […]
Planning and Strategy
Hi all, This is my first question on TZ. I am a Trainer for a New Media Agency and am looking for a Planning and Strategy course for a colleague and hoped that you might be able to help point me in the right direction? My colleague has very strong industry knowledge, a wealth of […]
TED Talks: Dan Pink on the science of motivation
This week's TED talks is by the 'right-brain revolutionist' Dan Pink who looks at the topic of motivation, starting with a fact that social scientists know but most managers don't: Traditional rewards aren't always as effective as we think. Listen for illuminating stories – and maybe, a way forward. This week's TED talks is by […]
Informal learning: The implementation challenge
In his next article, Francis Marshall looks in-depth at the emerging L&D trends and ask the vital question: "How can informal training be effectively implemented in the workplace?" Management consultancy, Accenture estimates that formal training only accounts for 20% of what employees need to know to do their jobs, with the remaining 80% coming from […]
Where were the coaches when the banks went down? Part 2
John Blakey explores the FACTS coaching model in a series of monthly articles – this month ‘A’ for ‘Accountability’ In March, I wrote an article for the Training Zone titled ‘Coaching in Challenging Times’. The essence of the message was that, in the boom times, coaches had colluded with their clients to build cosy, personal […]
Can Facebook make you a better learner?
Can Twitter help employees retain focus, can Facebook ever be part of the informal learning mix or is the social networking route too much of a reputational risk for some? Bob Little reports on the effect social media is having on L&D. A study published in December 2008 by global think tank, the Human Capital […]
Leadership Lessons from Supernanny
What can a reality TV personality tell us about leadership? Owen Smith argues that Supernanny could teach L&D a thing or two. Jo Frost, aka TV’s Supernanny, could easily make the leap into business turnaround/performance management coaching if she wanted. OK, so I’m not suggesting that she starts putting the finance director on the ‘Naughty […]
