Business Management - Teamwork

Life Cycles of High Performing Teams
Lets first start by defining the term from a corporate perspective:A group of people with a high degree of interdependence geared toward the achievement of a goal or the completion of a task. Or in other words, members of a team agree on a goal and agree that the only way to achieve that goal is to work together. Some groups have a common goal but they don’t work together to achieve it. For example, many teams such as yours are really groups because they can work independently to achieve the goal. Some groups work together but they don’t have a common goal.

So we have the term defined, let’s take a look at different types of teams:

The Traditional Team
A group of people who have a traditional boss but who also share some of his/her responsibility and authority. How much is shared is usually dependent on the topic under discussion. A person is in charge, but on various issues, that person may allow other team members to take the leadership role.

The IT Team
In this team model, members see one another infrequently or not at all. They are also called “cyber” or “virtual” teams. What makes these teams different is that they have to work together to accomplish goals, but they may meet only at the beginning of their project and thereafter interact through e-mail and telephone. They can also fit any of the four models listed above.

The Comrade Team
This is a group of people who are happy working for one boss, and everything seems to be going well. These people have team spirit, but in reality they aren’t a team because one person calls all the shots, with no sharing of authority or responsibility.

Team Committee
There is a group that comes together for a specific time to work on a special project or task. This group has traditionally been called a “task force” or “committee” and may include “quality circles” used in break out groups to lead parts of projects.

Self Managed Team
This is a group of people who manage themselves. No one person in the group has the authority to make all the decisions about the events that impact the group. This is referred to as a self-directed work team because everyone has authority and responsibility for all the decisions they have to make.

Why do these teams sometimes fail? Well some reasons are: members do not participate in setting goals, the goals are unclear, the goals are not communicated, and everyone is doing his or her own thing without attention to team goals.

Overcoming team failures or avoiding them all together takes a commitment and understanding of the life cycle of teams. Think about for a minute, you usually don’t get to pick a top notch team or choose who will be in your team in a business environment. Sometimes you get what you get as a leader, and as a team member, you may have accepted the offer for employment before you met anyone in the team so this is where the life cycle of teams comes in. I’ll explain in the following outlilne:

Cycle 1: Formation
Characteristics of this cycle:
— Group members may be anxious, adopt wait-and-see attitude, be formal, etc.
— No clear idea of goals or expectations.
— Not sure why they are there.
What you can do to help:
— Team writes its own charter or mission statement and clarifies goals. Remember goals must have personal buy-in.
— Help team establish boundaries and determine what is expected.
— Team members get to know each other doing non-conflict laden task. This builds commitment towards one larger goal.
— Help them know what to expect; communicate and reassure.

Cycle 2: Formation
Characteristics of this cycle:
— Team members eager to get going.
— Conflict can arise as people bring different ideas of how to accomplish goals and notice differences rather than similarities.
— Some members may drop out mentally or physically.
What you can do to help:
— Continue with no surprises and communicate.
— Tensions will increase; this is normal, so recognize and publicly acknowledge accomplishments.
— Lead/participate in meetings.
— Value diversity.
— Gather information and be supportive.

Cycle 3: Growing
Characteristics of this cycle:
— People begin to recognize ways they are alike.
— They realize its sink or swim, we’re in this together.
— People get more social.
— May forget their focus in favour of having a good time.
What you can do to help:
— Recognize how they are alike
— Help with training if applicable.
— Encourage them to feel comfortable with each other and with systems.
— Help group stay focused on goal.

Cycle 4: Executing
Characteristics of this cycle:
— Team members are trained and competent, and able to do their own problem-solving. Now the leader will ask for critical self-assessment and look at ways to challenge them and develop them.
— Mature, understand their roles and responsibilities
— Want more input in processes
— Self-motivated and self-trained
What you can do to help:
— Recognizing efforts
— Encouraging growth
— Giving new challenges

No matter what you do, where you work or live, the quality of your attitude determines the quality of your relationships—not to mention just about everything else in your life. The good news is that attitudes are yours to select. And if you are free to choose any one you please, why not Choose a Really Positive Attitude. In face to face situations, your attitude precedes you. It is the central force in your life; it controls the quality and appearance of everything you do.

Traditional vs Service Leadership ?

Traditional Leadership Model

As you know this model has each employee working for the leader above them. It is in the shape of a pyramid and everyone works for the person above them in the chain of command. In the pyramid model we can see a strong looking and stable organizational chart right? Sure it looks stable, it is how a reporting structure should look like and what is taught in business 101, but that is inside the box thinking. It's really hard to truly provide outstanding service if the only person YOU serve is your BOSS! So lets explore an alternative (the service leadership model) model.

Service Leadership Model

This is simply taking your traditional model and turning it upside down! Sound less than stable? Sure but remember the old sayings "looks can be deceiving" and "don't judge a book by it's cover"? Although it looks like a mess and some leaders (usually leaders whom aren't HUMBLE) think that they should lead by their title and that the only person that matters is their boss. Yes even a CEO has a boss(s)!

Let me put my spin on why I feel that this model is truly effective in any high pace, energetic and passionate organization. The way service leadership works is by providing service to your STAFF not your BOSS. If you are providing a high level of service and support to your team, unit, department, or company your results will show. The goals are not going to be achieved by you alone and they will never be exceeded with you worrying about pleasing your boss at every corner. Let me make a quick disclaimer before people start thinking that I am advising you to disregard your boss.... the boss will be evaluating and writing your reviews so take caution. You report to your boss and assignments come from him/her but you work for and serve your people. It's a pretty simple concept and humble leaders usually always get it. Those that hold dear to their title and feel threatened by high performing individuals on their team just don't understand this.

In the service leadership model: THE CUSTOMER is the most important individual. Why? Well think about it for a second.... if your staff works to please YOU, how are they going to provide exceptional customer service? They should be working hard for their real boss - the Customer!

Now where does this service leadership come from? Well there are many books, articles and pieces out there about it and I read a book with this subject in mind but I really witnessed this model in action for many years. The Military! Yes there is a hard-core chain of command that you must follow in the military, however everything you do is a service for someone else (other than your supervisor). As a leader in the military you are held to a standard of well being, performance, and morale for the folks in your command.

The only way to be effective is to support and serve their needs so they can accomplish the mission - because it's a life/death situation and not about profit or loss. Can you imagine a soldier without the proper equipment or not being trained on how to set up a cigar shape security perimeter? Military leaders serve right along side their troops and lead by example!

I hope this makes some sense and can help at least one leader out there. If you start serving your staff - they will increase the level of service to their customer.... I promise.

Thanks and try to get out their and serve your staff!!

Business Partnerships

PARTNERSHIPS If properly conducted, there is much to commend the management ofa business through partners. Never go into a partnership with a man who puts in his experienceagainst your capital, unless you know him like a brother. "It lasted about a year," said a man who had done this. "Now thefellow, who has cleared out, has the capital and I have theexperience." A partnership is an agreement between two or more persons toassociate for the purpose of carrying on a certain form ofbusiness. Each member of a copartnership must contribute a statedcontribution to the establishment of the enterprise, but each neednot give the same amount. Neither is it necessary that the contributions of each to the firmshall be of the same character. One may contribute a building, another machinery, or material, andstill another money. The shares in the profits are based on the cash values of thedifferent contributions. The work of the different parties may be estimated ascontributions, but in such cases it is better to pay the worker afixed compensation, and charge this to the expense account.
PREPARE AND SIGN Never go into a partnership based on a verbal agreement, unless itbe for the distribution of fish, game or nuts, when out with afriend for a holiday. Have the copartnership articles carefully drawn up and signedbefore you put a cent into the undertaking. A document like thiscan be appealed to should disputes arise; and should a partnerdie, his heirs may find it of the greatest value. The articles should contain: 1. The amount to be contributed by each.2. The nature of the business.3. The time which the partnership is to last. If the time is not specified, a partner may withdraw whenever hepleases. If the profits are to be equally divided, this should be statedand provided for.
SILENT PARTNERS When a man invests money in a business in the management of whichhe takes no active part, he is said to be a "silent partner." Such a partner has a share in the gains and he is responsible asthe others for the firm's liabilities. Again, a man may not give money or time to a firm, but is willing,for business reasons, that his name shall appear as if he were inthe association. In this case the man is known as a "nominalpartner." Although this man is not entitled to a share in the profits andhas no money invested, yet he can be held liable for the debts andother obligations. The reason for this is very plain. LIABILITY In all matters rightly belonging to the business of a firm, anymember has the right to act, and his acts will be held binding inlaw. It is usual for partners active in a business to have each hisseparate duties, but even if these duties be designated in thearticles of agreement, the outside business world is not supposedto know anything about the relative duties of the members of afirm as decided among themselves, so it is decided that each isempowered to act for his partners. Under the usual articles, it is stipulated that while a dualpartnership lasts, neither of the members shall make a note, signa bond, or enter on any outside obligation as an individualwithout having secured the written consent of his businessassociates. Each partner in a firm is liable with the others for all thebusiness indebtedness. If a firm fails, and the assets are found not sufficient tosatisfy the creditors, they can levy for satisfaction on theprivate property of one or all of the partners. If a member of a firm should become so far indebted, as anindividual, that he cannot comply with his obligations, theinterest he holds in the firm may be disposed of and applied tothe payment of his debts. This does not mean that the creditors may take or seize on anyparticular thing which the firm holds jointly, but that thedebtor's interest in the concern may be so disposed of. All thisthe law has provided for. A new partner admitted into a firm cannot be held responsible forthe debts of the old concern. HOW TO DISSOLVE Every partnership agreement must provide for and distinctly statethe period for which it is to continue. At the end of the period named, the partnership is dissolved bylimitation. If the partnership is to continue, a new agreement must be madeand signed. On proper application, a partnership may be dissolved by an orderof the court. If a member who has become objectionable to his partners shouldnot agree to a dissolution of the firm, the partners may apply toa court of competent jurisdiction for a decree of dissolution. No member of a firm can withdraw at his own option. The consent ofthe other partners is necessary, and before he is released he mustprovide for his share of the obligations. Notice of dissolution should be published, and notices sent toagents and others interested.
SPECIAL PARTNERSHIPS Limited or special partners are not recognized in some states. This is a method of association whereby a person joins apartnership, putting in a sum agreed on, and which he may stand tolose as an investment. He is entitled to a _pro rata_ in theprofits, but he cannot be held for the debts. In some countries marriage is regarded as a civil contract or formof partnership, subject to dissolution by the courts.

Busy Professionals Need Career Training Too

Have you ever thought to yourself "if only I had time to spend on learning something new to increase my business"? Maybe you feel overwhelmed with the duties and responsibilities of running your business or business unit. We all have to overcome time management obstacles and focus on "US" in order to grow and evolve responsibly as a business leader. A few ways that busy entrepreneurs and professionals can enhance their own development while still spending the necessary attention to their business and others within their organization are outlined below:

Key Habit #1 - Read and Repeat:
Whatever your business or industry - take time to read about something related to your skill, business niche, industry, or whatever profession you are involved in once a day. After reading an article whether it be on the internet (like this one), a magazine in print or the latest business operation success book - repeat what you learned about it to someone you communicate with that day. Maybe it's your spouse you are talking too, a co-worker and or your boss. An added bonus about repeating what you read or learned to your boss could be that he or she is impressed that you are taking extra time to spend on staying current with your business and seeking knowledge continually. Don not try to impress the boss, just share what you learned and repeating helps you retain the information (adult learning theory). Have you ever heard to old saying "Leaders are Readers!"? Ask any successful business person and they will tell you they spend a great deal of time reading. Repeating only enhances your reading habit! You only have to schedule a short time frame each day to learn something new. I recommend spending at least the first 15 minutes of the day (morning) to start out with. This allows you to learn something first thing in the morning and then you have all day to repeat or talk about it!

Key Habit #2 - Online Career / Business Training:
I recommend you take a career-training course. If your company will pay for it then all the better! Check with your human resource representative or training coordinator to find out more. Now this habit is tough to schedule if you can only take a classroom-training event or seminar in person. However, in today’s fast paced business and entrepreneurial world e-learning is taking shape and allowing folks to train at their own pace. There are plenty of quality e-learning courses in the areas of career training, business training and industry specific courses like insurance or finance. How does this add value to me as a professional? Well, a self-paced e-learning course can really be effective as you can take it at your leisure. Most career training courses can be started, left and returned to without any interruptions. You can always go back and view the information again. Most online training is broken into small chunks of modules like a 15-30 minute section on report writing or prospecting leads. It is a take anywhere kind of learning product - ever sat in an airport terminal on a seemingly never ending flight delay, walking back and forth looking at the same Starbucks station? Online career training courses are "different" so why not try something new? Some companies have very affordable and content rich business training available over the internet because of the low cost to run those systems and the global audience size who can have access to it. Some online career courses are read only like scanned books, however for those you can refer or classify in Key Habit #1 above. Some courses however, have professionally produced voice, animation and interaction built in which makes the training more tolerable when you are sitting in that terminal for an unknown amount of time (even though the intercom keeps telling you it should be only another 20 minutes - seems like that you hear that every 20 minutes in the airport right?)... anyway.. to summarize what the end goal of online training is: professional and personal development without having to read only!

The Instructor Group now has an unlimited access program to it's career training virtual university. Visit www.theinstructorgroup.com today to learn more!

Business Training and the Adult Learner

Business training whether it be, for process improvement or technical applications, comes brought to you by adult learners right? Sure, so understanding how the adult learns will improve your current business training programs makes sense. First let’s take a look at the senses that are used or what I refer to as "the basics of adult learning theories":

• Human senses: adult learners receive input that is interesting (key here is interesting - use of war stories as example. or fun - study games & group activities as example). Most information during the sensory phase does not reach short-term memory but the information is there and can be acted upon if necessary.
• Short - term Memory: information that can be retained for up to 20 seconds or more if rehearsed repeatedly. It can hold up to seven items of information effectively but the capacity can increase if material is gathered into meaningful parts. As an example, most training manuals or materials should be broken up in sections and thoroughly engaged before moving onto the next item. Also using visual aids to maximize the capacity of information items.
• Long - term Memory: this is the information stored for long-term use. It has an unlimited capacity for information items. Some information can get there by being forced (rigorous repetition). However, the most productive way is by linking old and new information for successful retention. Example in this case would be: each training course should build upon the prior course and the information overlays from one course to another. To this end we affect long-term memory in a positive way by repetition and processing old/new information.
• Audio + Visual + Interactive (combination senses): this is implemented at every stage in the classroom model. Learning can be facilitated by either memory sense on its own merit. However when combined these memory senses with multi-media you can get a more stimulating and engaging program.

Key Training Tools you might want to consider in addition to your classroom and OJT:

• WBT - E-learning can be a very valuable tool that can save you expense in the long run. It gives your business the ability to reach learners across multi states or globally, at a fraction of the cost in lost productivity, expense with travel, equipment, and entertainment. It can be an exceptional tool to aid in new process training, new program rollouts, and a general reference guide. You can intertwine clasroom training and online training as well as hosted video seminars to develop a blended learning approach. With today's simple to use authoring tools, any old classroom instructor/trainer can turn into a flash programmer without having to learn complicated coding. So what are some key areas to implement web-based training? Here are just a few examples of where e-learning can be implemented with less expense than traditional classroom training:
• Process change
• New Product launch
• Safety Training
• Soft Skills Training
• Anything and everything that can be put onto a slide presentation

Other Business Training functions that pack a powerful punch:

• Leader team building ventures - could be done in local areas and budgeted per quarter, annually, etc... (Good for any internal departments). This is leadership development at its finest (author’s opinion).
• Hosted Learning Management System - to evaluate progress and work in conjunction with HR records. This system facilitates and identifies talent for succession planning and strengthening A-player employees. Training management solutions are very functional and easy to implement quickly.

Web 2.0 And E-Learning - What Do They Mean To Me Or My Business?

Does e-learning and web 2.0 sound complicated or hard to really picture if you are not familiar with the terms? Sure they sound complicated if you are new to the lingo, but get used to them because they are going to be around for a while! The reason the business world needs to get use to these two terms is because of the popularity and ranking of each. I challenge you to “google” both and see how many results come back.
Today’s high school and college graduates as well as the pace of technology are moving extremely fast. Most twenty something's are entering the workforce expecting to have online training and hosted software at their fingertips. Why? Well, because they use these tools to study with, to research with, to socialize with and they are a part of their everyday lives. So what do they really mean to business?
Lets look at what “wikipedia” has to say:E-learning: is a general term used to refer to computer-enhanced learning. It is used interchangeable in so many contexts that it’s critical to be clear what one means when one speaks of “eLearning”. In many respects, it’s commonly associated with the field of advanced learning technology, which deals with both the technologies and associated methodologies in learning using networked and/or multimedia technologies.
Web 2.0: Is a phrase coined by O’Reilly Media in 2003 (and later popularized by the first Web 2.0 conference in 2004) in reference to a perceived second generation of web-based communities and hosted services – such as social networking sites, wikis, and folksonomies – which facilitate collaboration and sharing between users. O’Reilly Media titled a series of conferences around the phrase, and it has since become widely adopted.
Although web 2.0 is a newer “coined” phrase hosted software is not all that new but both e-learning and web 2.0 are growing at an incredibly rapid pace. Research suggests that the growth rate of hosted online learning trends, are on average 25% a year. This indicates that businesses (small to large) need to really do their due diligence with respect to how popular integrating a web 2.0 training strategy is and how their newer ranks “expect” it as part of an organizations training program. Not only do your younger employees expect it, so do your younger consumers!
The twenty something generation “expect” web 2.0 training at their jobs because they use social media tools that are hosted everyday and so do those customers. The new and future customers “expect” to see a product demonstration online before they buy. The new and future customers “expect” to go online and see and hear a step-by-step guide on how to build their 2 year old's new play kitchen (believe me I could have used that last Christmas!). So you see how web 2.0 (fancy catch phrase for hosted online solutions) and e-learning (web-based training) are the way of our future employee training and customer service? If this makes no sense to business owners and executives out there please let me know how you intend to retain an aging staff and customer while still bringing in a return for those aging salaries, benefits and old customer service programs.

Coaching to Lead in Corporate America

So what is the definition of a coach? Well some leadership books or guru's define something like; "To train or tutor or to act as a trainer or tutor". That seems like a reasonable definition and certainly works to make some people's point. I like to define it a little more in detail though; "A leader who influences and trains others by providing interaction and sharing experience, knowledge and skills of their own".
Why is it so important to enhance our coaching skills in the leadership ranks of business? The easiest way to answer that is to ask a question: “How often do we counsel, conduct performance reviews and measure results of our staff members”? You most probably answered “often” or “on a regular basis” or something along those lines I’m sure. There is a difference between these activities and coaching. Although coaching is related, it differs in that it is the day-to-day hands-on process of helping employees recognize their opportunities to improve their performance and their capabilities.
This is a topic we could go all day discussing and use a tremendous amount of examples like in the sports industry. For the purposes of getting right to the point we’ll just discuss a few key skills of an effective coach. Interpersonal communication skills and Teaching are two of the most effective skills and are effective ways of interacting and coaching others. Interpersonal communication is plain old interaction with folks (and I’m not talking about cursing and screaming at your employee because they did it wrong like a high school football coach – although some teenagers might need that from time to time as it builds character) and effectively communicating verbally, with your body language and with your tone of voice. Research shows that body language is approximately 55% of all human communication, tone or voice inflection reflects 38%, and the words you actually use represent 7% of communication.
Have you ever asked someone “how are you today” and they answered “great, thanks for asking”, but you knew right away that they were one “how are you today” away from flying off the handle because their face was so clenched that they answered you through their teeth? Or maybe you were on the phone with someone and you asked the same question and they replied with the same words, but you could tell that they were so tired that they would probably fall asleep during your call because they said it so lazily and softly then the big “YAWN”? What about the email you read from your employee and immediately jumped up and walked over to ask “what the heck’s wrong with you?” only to see that they were in a great mood but very busy and didn’t have time for smiley faces or eloquent words?
Observing body language, paying attention to tone of voice and reading or actively listening to the words can effectively enhance your interpersonal communication skills between you and your employees, co-workers, superiors and most importantly your customers. Don’t read into things and react before you realize!
Teaching is an art that can be learned. Why is teaching an everyday must? Well think about an elementary school teacher for a second. If they didn’t teach everyday how the heck would you be where you are today? Teachers help by challenging, so give your employees some problem solving tools, such as determining pros -vs- cons of various options. Teachers also ask their students to identify options and make a recommendation as to which option they like, and then analyze the consequences of each option. Teachers ask good probing questions and stay open minded if the student’s answers aren’t exactly their answers. Teaching boils down to being there daily, sharing your experience as a leader while communicating with all your employees, and being able to influence them to become successful.
Now in the capture line near the heading I wrote “It’s not a soft skill, it’s a leader skill”. The reason I state that is because most of us think of coaching in a business environment and all this leadership stuff is all about soft skills and that we all have to be lovey-dovey to be effective coaches. That is absolutely not the case. Sometimes hard knocks come into play with effective coaching whether it’s in a sports environment or a business environment. Coaches MUST know when to make a “cut” and have the intestinal fortitude to execute the “cut” for the greater good of the TEAM!
Good luck with enhancing your coaching skills – just don’t out coached by the competition!

Blended Learning

It doesn’t have to be so technical, or expensive!

Classroom Instruction. It is the cornerstone of all business training and development – it is very effective and conducive to almost any topic. By allowing learners, or “human capital” (the newest buzz word for people) to interact with the instructor, students are enabled to ask questions and receive immediate answers from the instructor. Likewise, the instructor can facilitate group activities or discussions to get creative juices flowing. Learners have the advantage of being in an environment that allows peer-to-peer counsel, providing the opportunity for people to draw on each other’s experience. Overall, classroom instruction is clearly an effective way to train and educate your management, staff, investors and even your customers.

However, there are drawbacks. Classroom training is typically expensive, thereby impacting your operating expense dramatically. Even more difficult is trying to quantify the costs of the classroom training in relation to the benefits gained. In fact, it is so difficult to track, that many companies do not even attempt to monitor the expense or control the costs. It is important to remember that there is a lot more associated with in- person training than just the salary of your training staff. There are costs involved in procuring/producing training materials, costs of developing and maintaining a training facility, as well as travel and hotel expenses of employees who come from out of town for training. But perhaps the biggest and hardest to measure cost is that of reduction in productivity while your employees are seated in the classroom.

Internet or On-line Training. Internet training is gaining momentum. It is running a close second behind classroom training. As the business world continues to evolve and integrate more technology and fast pace business applications, the value of the online training solution becomes more and more apparent. On-line products can deliver training without the traditional associated expenses of classroom instruction. It can allow associates to complete training on their own time and you lose less in productivity. On-line training is a more effective distribution method for certain types of training and it opens up a global marketplace and outlet for training materials, which your company has already produced. On-line training is certainly the future and will continue to become more interactive and allow for more self-paced learning applications. It is a great option, allowing you to reach a larger audience for less!

Manuals & Reference Guides This is good old self-study, a tried and true method that will likely be around forever. We will never lose the need to document all the various processes and methods utilized in our businesses and we will always need a clearing- house for these materials. Examples of this genre of training range from “New Hire” pamphlets to “Employee Handbooks” and desk reference manuals. These guides are an important part of initial and continuing training and should be maintained in a readily accessible, well organized form such as a physical library or an online catalog/database.

Some company libraries will include training aids contained in non-traditional media such as video and web-casts. While these are very effective ways to train on
certain systems or processes, they are also typically the more expensive ways of distributing information to learners. Most companies do not have a media engineer or video production expert on staff, but don’t worry and don’t rush out such persons, as there are alternatives. Today, authoring tools are making it easy for company management or trainers to produce high quality multimedia training aids. Anyone who is competent with PowerPoint can produce a visually impressive presentation without having to be a media professional and without having to learn to write complicated programming code. These authoring tools also allow your business unit leaders to manage and produce their own internal training without having to get IT involved in the entire training project.


Training management. This can be a large and daunting task depending upon the size of your organization. How do you track the progress of learners? How many different ways is ongoing education being managed in your organization within different business units? Is one type of training being produced, provided, tracked and maintained one way, and other training in a completely different manner?

My advice to you is: Invest in a Learning Management System (LMS)!
These systems allow you to track and manage all of the blended training mentioned above with the click of a mouse. It is a must have for any company using numerous delivery methods to facilitate training.

An LMS can be installed on your own servers or hosted remotely. Installed systems on your servers allow your IT department to manage problems, but hosted systems allow you to basically rent space on the vendor’s server without the IT hassles. Both installed and hosted systems allow you to manage the content, users, and information. The major difference between the two systems is who is responsible for performing the maintenance. The costs vary between the two methods and you must decide which solution works best for your business.

I bet you’re thinking an LMS sounds wonderful, but very expensive? Well quite the opposite is true depending on how you look at your ROI for training management. Remember, to compare the LMS to traditional methods. Remember we have already established that classroom training is expensive and it is difficult to place figures on the costs. To really determine how much your training program is costing and benefiting you, an extensive audit would be needed (and this involves even more expense). For the sake of blending it all together, we will review and analyze two expense scenarios - one demonstrating a non-effective training program and the other exhibiting an effective blended training program:







Training Program with Opportunity Areas:

Company ABC: Insurance Company

Training needs: Sales training, Claims training, Leadership training, Customer Service training.

Current training program deliver methods:
Ø Classroom training
Ø Training Emails
Current training management system:
Ø Paper
Ø Claims has a database
Current training staff:
Ø Sales has 1 trainer per 60 remote offices (avg 2 agents)
Ø Claims has 1 trainer per 189 adjusters
Ø Customer Service has 1 trainer per 550 reps
Ø Leadership training is facilitated by 2 trainers for 300 employees
Manuals and libraries:
Ø Each department has their own method
Ø Some departments have 4 or 5 different places to access manuals
Ø Each sales location has 1 manual
Ø HR department has an online information site to access some employee benefits information as well as some sales agent information


Effective Blended Training Program:

Company DEF: Security Company:

Training needs: Safety training, Policies training, Leadership training, Investigations training.

Current training program deliver methods:
Ø Classroom training (initial 4 week program)
Ø On the job training (shadowing 1 week)
Ø Online internal training to facilitate enhanced company procedures
Ø Step by step guides and manuals (centrally posted and accessible from anywhere on secure network)
Ø Online training program through vendors for investigation techniques, continuing education and enhanced corporate training (including HR).
Ø Testing path and progression program (online interactive testing)
Ø Online and classroom leadership training along with succession plan evaluations.
Ø Classroom Leadership training (quarterly – by vendor service)
Ø Training Emails
Current training management system:
Ø Hosted through a secure network. Each district training manager monitors, updates and manages the employees in their region. Track pass/fail rates and quality of the training they develop through an interactive easy to use authoring tool.
Ø Back up everything on paper quarterly to submit to HR department on compliance.
Current training staff:
Ø Corporate Security has 1 trainer per 50 employees
Ø Community Security has 1 trainer per 50 employees
Ø Industrial Security has 1 trainer per site
Ø Home office has 2 instructional designers for course development
o One trainer travels and does worksite / job duty analysis
o One trainer develops courses through an authoring tool and posts to a hosted LMS. Both of these trainers manage access to all online training and assist the training manager with other duties
Manuals and libraries:
Ø Each department has their own access to all digital manuals posted online and all manuals are posted on this one site.
Ø Home office has a physical library room with all training, reference and legal information organized in a catalog system.
Ø Each location has an emergency manual as well as company contacts and procedures

As you can see, a well-developed, blended training program makes a great deal of sense and can have a very large impact on your company’s productivity and success in today’s business environment. A key factor in a successful training program is an LMS, which gives you greater flexibility and real-time management of your training needs.
Information about the author:
Richard Hull is founder and CEO of The Instructor Group, LLC, which provides hosted Learning Management Systems, online training courseware, classroom training on demand, training consulting services, and custom developed training solutions. The company is a leader in corporate and continuing education training, with an unprecedented commitment to customer service. TIG’s philosophy on training and employee development is based on determining the needs of its customers and developing custom-tailored solutions that grow with your business. The LMS and training solutions environment is undergoing significant change based on the available software on the market. The Instructor Group believes that an on-demand hosted training solution to compliment traditional training delivery methods is the best practice for effectively delivering and managing your corporate training needs. Mr. Hull and his company believe, “A total enterprise learning program can reduce your operating expense and improve your learning curve for the successful growth and development of your company”.
Richard Hull
www.theinstructorgroup.com

Corporate Training Made Easy?

Training made easy? Well yes it can be as easy or as hard as you want it to be. There sure is no shortage of "Expert" guidance and input on corporate training related topics and advice. There are so many topics that an easy forum can be made complicated just by discussing with so many different experts and opinions on the various forms of instructional design, blended training programs, classroom vs online, outsourced vs staffed, etc...Here is the forum where we believe that Corporate Training Programs should be made easy. Easy in the sense of new hire training, career path programs, advanced custom training, and management of the entire training process. Building future leaders can be a relatively simple process if your training solutions are made easy. Oh, and it doesn't have to be so expensive either!Stay tuned for more training topics made easy as we kick off this blog and add fun simple and inexpensive solutions to make training not only effective, but make it more enjoyable! Also please feel free to share your easy training solutions and don't forget that "Training that is fun Gets Done"!

Richard Hull

CEO / FounderThe Instructor Group, LLC

www.theinstructorgroup.com