Getting S'More from Your Leaders

S'mores, Mallomars, Moon Pies ... all have the tasty combination of marshmallow, chocolate and graham cracker that millions have grown to love. It's the perfect balance of flavors.

The name s'mores supposedly comes from a melding of the two words --- "some more" --and the idea that people will want more than just one.

When Leaders Are Like S'mores

Good leadership leaves team members craving s'more. And, if they move to another team, they want their new boss to be just as good as the last one.

Effective leadership is the result of well-trained supervisors, team leaders and managers who understand the essentials of management and communication. BLR's National Employee Attitude Survey uses an online survey to measure the feelings of employees in four key areas, which research shows are critical to morale, productivity and retention:

• Communication
• Teamwork
• Supervision
• Career opportunity

Other research shows that the potential for supervisors, team leaders and managers to become more successful (when measured by a more productive workforce) can be determined by the extent to which they accomplish the following:

• Provide a free flow of communication to employees, with well-crafted messages
• Provide development opportunities for team members
• Keep employees motivated and engaged in their work and in the company's mission

Other components of good leadership include the ability to lead with a positive rapport and the ability to make quick and effective decisions. Nothing is worse than a team leader who is weak, indecisive and lacking in confidence. These leaders create uncertainty throughout the entire team, and team members become frustrated. They certainly don't want s'more of this leadership style.

Although a team consists of a number of team members and a single team leader, it's true that the team's success or failure rests with the entire team. Nevertheless, the team leader bears the bulk of the accountability.

Winning a Second Helping of Productivity

Effective teams are those that have the talent and skills to foster self-motivation and self-improvement. The key differentiator is the leader, whose support determines whether the team is inspired or lackluster. Leaders who can design and support balanced teams will have productive teams with members who are ready for s'more.

Beyond the essentials of leadership, the best leaders:

• Build trust between team members
• Inspire and motivate teamwork to achieve goals
• Influence valuable changes
• Are open to new ideas from team members
• Establish an open system of discussion for decision-making on projects and consult key members frequently
• Encourage independent thinking
• Recognize exceptional talent, and then hire those employees and work to retain them
• Recognize and value each member's strengths and continue to coach them
• Define objectives and expectations for projects and ensure that each member understands
• Work quickly to resolve workplace problems
• Evaluate results in a timely fashion
• Celebrate both individual and team successes

Getting S'more: Leadership Development and Talent Management

A global custom research company recently released findings of a national survey that indicated that 20 percent of currently employed Americans would change jobs if the opportunity arose. Obviously, this affects employee retention. However, the study points out, 53 percent of respondents would still prefer to stay with their current organizations --- even if they were offered a better job with another company.

The reason is clear: Those who would choose to stay are working for well-trained leaders who have "leadership plus" --- added skills that keep employees engaged and wanting s'more.

Vital Learning's Leadership Development and Talent Management Curriculum offers a combination of courses to take leaders beyond the essentials:

• Leading Successful Projects
• Hiring Winning Talent
• Motivating Team Members
• Solving Workplace Problems
• Retaining Winning Talent
• Developing and Coaching Others (Leadership or Senior Management versions)

Vital Learning will work with you to develop a customized curriculum for your organization, helping you to make your leaders' skills the best they can possibly be.

Thought for the Day

"Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value."

---Albert Einstein

Sources:
Leadership Series (2010). Vital Learning Corporation.
Bruce, S. (Aug. 2010). Which of Your Employees is About to Pull a "Steven Slater?" BLR HR Daily Advisor.
Hill, S. What Makes a Good Team Leader? http://ww.zineArticles.com
More Employees Consider Changing Jobs as Economic Optimism Grows, http://www.gfkameria.com

Employees Want to Be the Boss' Apprentice

In last season's TV show "The Apprentice," they took a different twist. It was centered around professionals who have been affected by the economy. Each contestant had lost his or her job and was searching for a new one. When contestants won a project on the show, they received the opportunity to learn from the best in leadership with a leader from one of the show's corporate sponsors.

Apprenticeship is a system of training the next generation of workers. Traditionally, "prentices," also called protégés, enhance their careers from apprenticeships with training conducted on the job by working for an employer who helps them learn a trade or skill.

To put the idea of apprenticeship into perspective for today, consider that the 78 million Millennials, also known as the Net Gen and Generation Y, are nearly as large a group as the baby boomers. This new generation includes those born between 1980 and 1991.

What Do Millennials Want 

The book The Millennials by Dr. Thom Rainer and his son Jess Rainer, details certain factors based on a massive research project led by LifeWay Research, involving 12,000 Millennials. The study concluded four major leadership focuses for "What Millennials want in leaders":

• Mentoring. Millennials want to be led and taught in the workplace. They want to learn from their "heroes."
• Gentle spirit. They are turned off by loud and divisive leaders.
• Transparency. Millennials want to follow "real" or authentic leaders.
• Integrity. They want leaders with standards and who aren't concerned more about their own personal gain than serving others. 

Applying the Idea of Apprenticeship 

Given these findings, organizations need to examine how their own leaders are leading and training managers, supervisors and team leaders to become relevant in the new workplace. Because Millennials want to learn from others, it makes sense to think in terms of apprenticeship in the workplace. 

Today's leaders must be able to operate in an informal learning environment that positions them as mentors and coaches. They need exceptional communication skills, and they should be trained by good leaders in order for others to follow.

Millennials have a "can-do" attitude about tasks and work habits. They look for feedback about how they are doing, and they expect it frequently. They look for structure from older supervisors and team leaders, and they want these leaders to elicit and respect their ideas, as well.

Leaders can help Millennials become more engaged by providing development opportunities; members of this generation want to know where their careers are going and how to move up. They expect to be challenged, and they look for continual challenges on projects and opportunities for networking.

In the absence of the above, Millennials --- who are adept on instant messaging, e-mail, text and social media --- will network themselves into new opportunities outside their current organizations.

Helping All Employees Learn From the Boss

Research reveals that most employees, Millennial or not, look for common things fromwork. First, respect is a fundamental right for all employees. An important element of respect is recognition and feedback so workers know how they are doing. They want to be members engaged in the organization. They also want to learn new skills, develop their potential and grow in their careers. They want to be empowered and have influence on decisions.

And, they want good leadership. They want to learn from the boss.

The following tips can help employees learn from your organization's leaders:

• Listen to their ideas and opinions.
• Delegate challenging tasks that help them become a part of change.
• Encourage networking on projects and teams.
• Discover what really motivates them and elicit their ideas.
• Coach them on-the-job and give them exposure across the organization.
• Provide frequent and meaningful feedback. 

As an example, the Conference Board, a global, independent business membership and research association working in the public interest, requires leaders to provide two written evaluations per year and strongly encourages managers to deliver informal feedback at least monthly. Researchers indicate that this type of frequent feedback helps Millennials become engaged in their jobs and improves employee retention. 

Training Leaders to Adapt 

Most organizations' supervisors, managers and team leaders will likely need more training to adapt to an apprentice-style workplace. Look for programs such as Vital Learning's Leadership Series™, which offers targeted, flexible programs that enable organizations to put leaders in action quickly. Vital Learning's flexible programs are available in online and traditional seminar formats to allow organizations to blend learning quickly with their existing approaches. Recommended titles include the following: 

• Essential Skills of Communicating™
• Essential Skills of Leadership™
• Delegating™
• Developing Performance Goals and Standards™
• Providing Performance Feedback™
• Coaching Job Skills™
• Motivating Employees™

Thought for the Day

"By providing Millennials with meaningful and growing experiences, respecting their contribution, utilizing mentoring, giving feedback and staying flexible, leaders can retain Millennials as followers who will develop into future leaders."  --- David Burkus, Millennial and adjunct professor of business at several universities, executive coach, and a student in the doctor of strategic leadership program at Regent University

Sources:

Leadership Series (2010). Vital Learning. 
Burkus, D. (2010). Developing the Next Generation of Leaders: How to Engage Millennials in the Workplace, Leadership Advance Online-Issue XIX, School of Global Leadership & Entrepreneurship, Regent University. 
Heathfield, S. Managing Millennials: Eleven Tips for Managing Millennials. [Accessed Sept. 2010-About.com] 
Rainer, T. What Millennials Want in Leaders [Accessed Sept. 2010-About.com]

The Wired Generation and Their Effect on Training

These are wild times, and the new generations are wired for Learning 2.0, also known as social learning. The rise of social media based on innovative Web 2.0 technologies, such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, has created a new paradigm for how we approach learning. Consider the following:

• Total Internet users (PC and phones): 1.8 billion (25.89 percent) of the 6.8 billion people in the world.
• According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the size of the U.S. workforce in 2014 will be 162 million. Estimates are that Millennials will make up an impressive 47 percent of the workforce in 2014.
• Seventy-five percent of adults aged 18 to 24 who are online have a profile on a social network, according to a Pew Internet American Life Project survey.
• CEOs and industry leaders of all ages are beginning to use Twitter to open dialogues with employees and customers.   
• According to Forrester, interactions online or through other technology and their effect on e-learning indicates that more than 80 percent of adult learning occurs outside the classroom.

Informal Learning Power

 

Social media and learning consultant Jane Hart said, "Once individuals and groups do realize they have the power, ability and tools to learn for themselves, then they will begin to address their own problems informally and quite spontaneously --- without the supervision or intervention of a teacher." It's called informal learning, and, according to an ASTD study, it takes place "without a conventional instructor and is employee-controlled in terms of breadth, depth and timing. It tends to be individualized, limited in scope and utilized in small chucks." 

The Role of the Training Professional

Research indicates that learning professionals still play an important part in facilitating informal learning through social networking tools. It's something that organizations need to get smart about now.

Jay Cross, an informal learning expert, has indicated that formal training and workshops account for only 10 to 20 percent of what people learn at work. Interestingly, he likened formal learning to passively taking a bus and informal learning to riding a bike. The learner chooses the destination or detour.


Author and researcher Donald Tapscott says that Millennials want the following:

• Customization
• To be managed as individuals
• Integrity and transparency
• Value collaboration through social networking tools
• Entertainment through games and simulation 

In the workplace, performance management and training must reflect these needs.

Karie Willyerd, vice president and chief learning officer for Sun Microsystems, said "That social media presents a huge opportunity for the training profession to create strategies for informal learning." According to Willyerd, if the learning organization doesn't use social media, it will become "irrelevant and left behind." This heralds a call to action to become involved, and Willyerd said that it's an exciting place to be.

Getting On Board

In the April 2009 report, "Get Serious about Informal Learning," Claire Schooley of Forrester Research discusses steps to getting on board with Learning 2.0: 

• Examine how you conduct employee training.
• Collaborate with business units to develop effective strategies.
• Use employee performance results to measure successful learning experiences.
• Keep track of how people rate informal and formal content.
   

The many benefits of social learning include the use of online training capabilities that you may already have through providers with comprehensive online training platforms, such as Vital Learning's, which includes online coaching and the ability to link to other content and giving participants the opportunity to share their stories and keep learners engaged. Other benefits include the following: 

• Find and reach new students through Facebook, Twitter, etc.
• Promote your own training.
• Create enhanced and timely presentations.
• Stay on top of trends, competitors, market changes through social mining.
• Increase opportunities for participant feedback and create solutions for a deeper experience.

Lessons from Leaders

Consider the following ways these top companies engage their employees:

 

IBM links participants before and after a formal training event. The company uses its intranet-based "Blue Pages" to help employees connect around business issues.

Sun Microsystems adds to formalized learning and harvests knowledge. The company's open learning exchange called Sun Learning eXchange (SLX) takes advantage of the expertise within the community to gather knowledge.

 
Southwest Airlines uses social media to foster professional networks. The company uses Twitter to foster communication among employees and customers.

John Deere use communities of practice (CoPs) to drive innovation, efficiency and lifelong learning. Since 2002, the company has facilitated connections among knowledge workers with a network of 300 communities that cover topics from Six Sigma to mergers.

Get Going. Get Wired. Get Social.

Researchers agree that integrating social learning into formal learning strategies represents a major change, but it will not replace all formal learning. Learning professions will still need to create, deliver and manage the learning function. The change means that organizations will be adding to what they already have and moving the infrastructure to support exchanges.

Formalizing informal communication can make employees more efficient and productive, reduce costs, improve sales and increase retention. The best part is that implementing social media is relatively inexpensive.

Social media and its uses are growing and show no signs of stopping. Joining those who are already wired in social media is an essential part of the job of learning professionals today.   

Thought for the Day
"A social trend in which people use technologies to get the things they need from each other, rather than from traditional institutions like corporations ... the groundswell trend is not a flash in the pan. This is an important, irreversible, completely different way for people to relate to companies and to each other."

--- Charlen Li and Josh Bernoff, Groundswell

Sources:

Vital Learning (2010). Online training seminars

Fyfe, K. (June 2010). Groundbreaking Book Explains the Power of Social Learning for Organizations, ASTD.

Jarche, H. (April 2008). Skills 2.0, T+D.

Lorens, J. (2010). Learning 2.0, The Best of Social & Informal Learning 2007-2009, T+D.

Meister, J. and Willyerd, K. (2010). The 2020 Workplace, HaperCollins Publishers, NY.

Millenials, Portrait of Generation Next: Confident, Connected and Open to Change, Pew Research Center

Nancherla, A. (May 2009). Knowledge Delivered in Any Other Form Is Perhaps Sweeter, T+D.

Paridise, A. (July 2009). Informal Learning: Overlooked or Overhyped? T+D.

Sauve, E. (March 2007). Informal Knowledge Transfer, T+D.

Schramm, J. (June 2010). At Work in a Virtual World, HR Magazine.

Wilkins, D. (April 2009). Learning 2.0 and Workplace Communities, T+D,

Woodill, G. (April 2010). Worldwide Mobile Learning Trends 2010, Brandon Hall Research. 

Improve Customer Care in 2011

As you start to make plans for 2011, consider making customer care a priority in your organization. Rid your workplace of old employees' poor customer care habits and train new employees the right way.

With the current economy and workforce demographic shift, learning programs must be aligned with business goals and challenges. Customer care should be one of those goals.

The 2010 Major Issues Survey from the Institute for Corporate Productivity illustrates the priority. Nearly 37 percent of respondents indicated that focus on the customer service is an issue to a high extent, and more than 55 percent indicated so to a very high extent. However, high-extent respondents indicated that their companies are only 38.80 percent effective in addressing it, while very-high-extent respondents indicated only 21.71 percent effectiveness.

In a Harris Interactive Study of 2,049 U.S. adults, 80 percent of respondents indicated that they have decided never to return to a company after a bad customer service experience. Customer care is a defining issue for businesses, and to grow, organizations must attract new customers and retain their current customers.

Frustrations with customer care have come into focus during the past 10 years, according to researchers at the University of Iowa. Dozens of studies confirm that today's organizations have less committed workers, have made cuts to customer service operations and have reduced hiring and training. To remain competitive, organizations cannot survive on pricing; they must offer outstanding customer service.

The technology revolution has brought new tools and software for customer relationship management, profiles, trends and customer history. But technology can't solve the fundamental need for trained employees to deliver the following:
· Increased consistency in creating positive memorable customer service experiences
· Increased customer retention
· Expanded business relationships
· Increased customer referrals

How They Do It

American Family Insurance recently turned to its education division to revamp internal training to provide a better customer experience. Agents are now required to attend a thorough training program that prepares them to help customers achieve financial security. The new training focused on performance-based learning, multiple learning styles, interactive hands-on learning and measurement. This has brought positive outcomes, including increased efficiencies and cross-divisional work.

The Walt Disney Company is well known for its superb customer advocacy and service recovery principles. "Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends," said Walt Disney. One of Disney's methods is to solicit knowledge of mistakes and rectify them so the situation becomes better than if no mistake occurred.

Aside from a focus on good merchandise at a reasonable profit, L.L.Bean, Inc., focuses on customer expectations, treating customers like neighbors and, thereby, changing the dynamic of the interaction. L.L. Bean said, "Self practical, tested merchandise at a reasonable profit, treat your customers like human beings and they will always come back."

Put Strategy Into Motion With Training

Giving customers what they want isn't enough; you must anticipate their needs, resolve their complaints and provide service that electrifies them. Preference for products and services goes beyond selection of the product. You want to rid your organization of poor service and become a company of preference by winning customer loyalty. Permanence in the personal relationships that your service employees create brings long-term commitment from your customers. At this point, customers recognize your value proposition.

Creating this sustainable differentiation involves training employees and communicating with them. Your employees must understand that customers are the center of your business.

Vital Learning provides training tools to assist organizations with their resolution to eliminate poor customer service. Winning Through Customer Service is a program designed to help employees to understand their role as a professional within the organization and promotes a problem-solving culture. Employees will learn essential communication skills and behavioral styles that will help them adapt their personal style. In addition, they will identify and utilize a structured process/model for conducting customer service transactions while at the same time mastering strategies for dealing with difficult customers.

Vital Learning's STAR Service is another program designed to improve customer care. It presents four key areas of learning:
S: Sync-up with the customer
T: Target to determine customer needs
A: Assist to meet the customer's needs
R: Reaffirm assistance and the relationship

Vital Learning and its team of affiliate training professionals offer classroom, online and blended learning options that are easily customizable to fit your training strategies. When your employees understand their role in the customer value proposition, your customers will come back.

Thought for the Day

" A sale is not something you pursue, it is something that happens to you while you are immersed in serving the customer."
---Author Unknown

Sources:

McCauley, L. (Dec. 2007). How May I Help You? Fast Company.com
Hartley, D. (Feb. 2009). Customer Satisfaction Through Training. Chief Learning Officer Media.com.
University of Iowa News Release. UI Business Professor Studies Lousy Customer Service (Nov. 2006).
Winning Through Customer Service (2010). Vital Learning Corporation
STAR Service (2010). Vital Learning Corporation
Preliminary Survey Results 2010 Major Issues. Institute for Corporate Productivity.

Go Green With E-Learning

As organizations continue to tighten their belts with the overwhelming concerns of the economic crisis, it is time to consider "green" training strategies with e-learning.

Now more than ever is the time for organizations to take advantage of the opportunities associated with training programs delivered through easy-to-use learning management systems (LMS). Integrating e-learning into a training curriculum has never been more optimal for your strategies. Whether you are a part of a small, medium or large company, these resources are realistic and promising.

We've talked about the power of going green and the cost savings associated with it. Today, going green is also a way to attract and retain the best and brightest employees to maintain competitive edge. An example is the members of Generation Y, also called Millennials, who place a high value on the environmental ethics of prospective employers. According to Experience Inc., an Internet-based career services provider, a recent nationwide survey of 2,774 college students found that 81 percent believe it is important to work for a green company.

Furthermore, research also indicates that corporations with increased social responsibility tend to have longevity. E-learning makes environmental and financial sense because it reduces time away from the job, classroom energy use, costly travel and other resource use.

The need for communicating about and training employees on new business objectives in order to help them succeed in a more complicated business environment is imperative. It is also much easier to achieve these days because of the ease and immediacy of using technology. A Watson Wyatt Communication ROI Study 2007/08 of companies worldwide found that "firms that communicate effectively are four times more likely to report high levels of employee engagement than firms that communicate less effectively."

The tools used for communication and training enhance the business environment and are particularly important to younger employees, who have grown up with the use of computers and the Internet. I see this becoming a green engagement with employees --- a new partnership between the employee and the organization.

Leveraging Green in Your Organization

The world of electronic capabilities and portable computing and communication connected through wireless networks has facilitated mobility in learning. Mobility enables instruction and learning to extend far beyond the traditional classroom, thereby eliminating traditional inhibitors and boundaries. It offers increased flexibility and opportunity for interaction for those who might otherwise not receive the training they need.

E-learning supports experiences that are accessible to, collaborative with and integrated with the business environment. What can green learning bring to your organization?
• Increased training for busy employees
• Anytime, anywhere access to new content
• Enhanced interaction between and among learners and trainers
• Just-in-time training or a review of content
• Enhancement of student-centered training
• Greater engagement of tech-savvy participants in a media-rich environment
• Support of personalized learning
• Collaboration through asynchronous and synchronous communication
Researchers also indicate the benefits of training occurring in the individual's environment rather than in the classroom. It enables reinforcement of learner recall and reflection with others in the same technology space online. Some organizations can also use e-learning to increase learning within team environments.

A Green Strategy

Greener strategies may not have reached your organization yet, but chances are they will. If they haven't, then you may have an opportunity to take a leadership position. Obviously, global warming, high energy prices and other issues have many people wondering how they can make an impact. Organizations are beginning to incorporate green initiatives into their strategic planning initiatives. This is a great time to suggest e-learning as a greener approach to delivery.

The following are some reasons to consider e-learning in your organization's green strategy:
• Eliminate paper-based marketing materials and tools for inviting participants by replacing them with electronic components and the use of learning management system (LMS) tools.
• LMS tools offer self-service registration and confirmation components that save time, staff and paper.
• Offer training materials and resources through the online program.

Because training in classrooms requires time and gas commuting and time spent off the job, organizations can save energy in a variety of ways. Consider shifting to more e-learning components through blended learning, online coaching, performance support and stand-alone courses. While helping the environment, this also helps make training more transparent and efficient as well as increase skills development.
Consider moving course evaluations and assessments online.

Researchers indicate that greener training must start at the top by promoting a clear commitment to it as an overall organizational strategy to social and ethical responsibility. Nick Van Dam, Ph.D., suggested in his article, "Time for Green Learning!" suggested that this strategy involves early communication and planning for a green learning environment, and it requires the support of the organization's learning community. Again, transparency is important addressing trainee concerns in the shift from paper use and traditional classroom settings. Finally, specific goals and objectives for green learning must be matched with measurement of progress.

Go Green With Vital Learning

Vital Learning is doing its part to enable organizations to commit to green learning practices by offering online learning programs through a comprehensive LMS. With programs that incorporate e-learning and blended learning methods, your organization can save time and money while ensuring that your employees receive the training they need. Your local Vital Lerning training consultant can show you the best way to go for the green with e-learning for your organization.