Corporate Training Magazine

Adapt or perish. It's the new credo for Canadian businesses.

The face of business is changing at an alarming rate. Technology advances, globalization, workplace diversity and the list goes on. Every industry sector and each departmental division within a company is confronting the same reality. Which outcome a company and its people will experience is squarely focused on their commitment to training and development.

"The new paradigm for human resource development requires us to view training as an inseparable part of performance improvement and management," stated Lynn Johnston, executive director of the Canadian Society for Training and Development.

Once viewed in the eyes of management as a peripheral support tool, training and development has become an integral part of business strategy and aligned with business results. Johnston explained, "In this view, training is a process that involves dynamic interrelationships with the other functions of the organization, especially supervisors, managers and performance management systems. These functions must work in harmony to produce successful performance."

A number of trends in training and development are occurring as the marketplace changes and companies strive to achieve these levels of performance.

Learning as a Competitive Advantage
Every business is looking for an edge something that will keep them one step ahead of the competition. In the industrial-based economy of years past, the edge came from tools and technology, the latest machine or gadget.

In today's information-based economy, knowledge has become the new edge. Ideas and processes are the new currency of business. An organization that cultivates the ability to grow and retain a superior level of knowledge has a significant advantage over its competitors.

And while knowledge and information are important, the true competitive advantage lies in the ability to learn. Lifelong learning has elevated the concept of learning as a competency to a stature where some companies have established a learning culture within their organization, a culture which bucks the status quo. They ensure that employees are ready for change and new processes, and encourage innovative thinking at all levels.

Learning as a Process
Simply put, learning never stops. And any individual or company who thinks they know it all has a lot to learn.

The ongoing increase in the adoption of lifelong learning as a means of keeping up with a changing marketplace has led to a shift in perception from training as an event to training as a process. Because change is always occurring and now faster than ever, companies and employees need to be continually updating their knowledge and skills.

Another primary reason for this shift is knowledge retention. Whereas intense multi-day workshops can leave participants feeling overwhelmed by the amount of information they're inundated with, lifelong learning allows the training to occur over a longer period of time and can greatly increase knowledge transfer by eliminating "training hangovers".

Just-In-Time Training
This has become a hot topic in training circles, particularly because of its effectiveness in knowledge transfer. Similar to the JIT Inventory movement initiated by Japanese manufacturers, which resulted in significant cost savings and productivity gains, JIT Training operates on the premise that employees shouldn't take any training course until this knowledge is required for them to perform their duties. The rationale is that there is greater probability of knowledge retention when the lag time between taking a training course and applying the knowledge at work is reduced.

Taking a Bottom Line Approach
"Return on Investment (ROI) has always been a driving force of the decision-making process on company projects and ventures. This same approach has now become a key part of training initiative analysis," stated Lynn Johnston.

The challenge in the past has always been quantitatively evaluating the impact that organizational learning initiatives have on the bottom line. The visible results of training and development are often more qualitative, making it harder to build the business case for senior management and justify the cost.

The approach many companies are now taking is to identify organizational goals and examine the financial impact of achieving these goals. Key questions to consider include:

What is the expected increase in efficiency?
What additional projects will the company have the capability to undertake as a result of the new skills learned?

Making the business case for employee training programs now becomes a process of evaluating the resulting revenue and productivity gains against the cost of the learning initiative.

Johnston reported, "Some companies report that business units are now interested in working with the learning and development departments to develop learning interventions that will make a difference. Business unit managers are now approaching learning departments prior to embarking on a training program. It has given the learning and performance department much greater credibility and has assisted them to be part of the management team."

As for what lies in store for the training and development arena, no one really know. But one thing's for sure: whatever it is, it will be a learning experience.

The Changing World of Training
Part II: Delivering the Results
Part III: Legislating Change