Elearning blog: Learning re-imagined

Skillsoft Selected as Best of Elearning! 2012 Award Winner

Skillsoft announced today that Elearning! readers have selected the company as the Best Leadership Development winner and Best IT Content winner in the 2012 Best of Elearning! Awards, the exclusive readers’ choice awards program for e-learning products and services. Elearning! Media Group, the industry voice of the enterprise learning and workforce technology market, conducts a search for the Best of Elearning! companies annually through reader nominations and selections. This recognition further exemplifies Skillsoft’s role as a pioneer in the field of learning with a long history of innovation. Skillsoft provides cloud based learning solutions for its customers worldwide, ranging from global enterprises, government, and education to mid-sized and small businesses. Skillsoft was honored at the Enterprise Learning! Conference & Expo September 26 at the Hyatt Regency in Irvine, CA.

In its eighth year, 72 products across 21 categories have been named best-in-class by learning professionals and executives. Each honoree will be featured in the 2012 Best of Elearning! Awards issues of Elearning! and Government Elearning! magazines.

 

Drop anchors carefully

By Shawn Hunter

A few years ago at a Sioux Falls, ID supermarket, the owners experimented with marketing labels next to cans of soup. Some days the label said “10% off regular price, limit 10 per customer,” and on other days it said “10% off regular price, no limit per customer.” Shoppers purchased twice as many on the days with limitations. The sense of scarcity set an anchoring effect, and the number 10 set a mental anchor of the amount of cans they should buy. So, those presented with the limited availability felt a mental urge to buy more.

Similarly, if I ask you, “Is the oldest dog in the world older or younger than 60 years?” and then I ask you, “How old is the oldest dog?” Your answer will be higher than if I just ask you “How old is the oldest dog in the world?” You know instinctively that a 60-year old dog is completely nuts, but it will still have a psychological priming effect and sway your guess upwards. Significantly upwards it turns out. Your dog-age guess will be over a decade above your guess without the suggestion of a 60-year old dog.

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Throw Back Thursday: fundamentals of a learning organization

We receive so much valuable content from our customers, partners and internal subject-matter experts. On Thursdays, we thought it would be fun to do a “throw back” and bring back an older post that was valuable to our audience. Today’s throw back is on the fundamentals of a learning organization.

Fundamentals of a Learning Organization

By Russ Howard

There are three distinct levels of learning in organizations, and to be successful and sustainable, learning needs to occur on all three levels.

1. Individual level –When a person acquires a skill, gains knowledge, or achieves a change in attitude or behavior.
2. Group level – The acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies within a group.
3. Organizational level – The collective intellect and productive capability of all employees.

A key characteristic of a learning organization is a general positive attitude about learning that permeates throughout the organization, where leaders at all levels encourage and provide ongoing opportunities for continuous learning. When leaders consistently emphasize the importance of professional growth through learning, this positive attitude filters down throughout the organization, and over time, becomes integrated into its culture.

IEDP survey reveals senior executives are receptive to online learning but lack understanding of options

Skillsoft today announced the results of a survey that reveals the vast majority of senior executives are open to using technology in a development context, but they lack an understanding of the current online learning options that are available to them. The survey was conducted by IEDP, an organization that publishes information for leaders and leadership development professionals, focusing on the latest developments, ideas and best practices being delivered by the world's premier business schools and consultancies, with assistance from Skillsoft, Deloitte, Cranfield University and Wharton Executive Education. The survey, which assesses the value of online learning for executive leadership development, also pointed to a need for relevant content from online learning providers.

According to the survey, more than 60 percent of executives spent more than 50 percent of their day using a computer or mobile device and the vast majority found engaging and familiarizing with new technologies to be “interesting and worthwhile.” However, only 14 percent of respondents felt they had a good understanding of what online learning products were currently available to executives, with 76 percent indicating they had moderate or limited knowledge and 10 percent having no current knowledge.

The 7 deadly skills of the perfect leader

By Kevin Young

Kevin Young, Managing Director of Skillsoft EMEA, outlines the seven deadly skills that every manager should strive to have and what organisations should be looking for in their future leaders.

Employing and retaining strong and capable managers is becoming increasingly difficult as there just aren’t enough candidates with the right skills or levels of experience. Figures released by the 2012 National Management Survey, carried out by the Chartered Management Institute, showed that 59 per cent of employers were struggling to recruit the right calibre of manager in 2011.

1.   Be an effective communicator – lead by example

The success of a manager largely depends on their ability to communicate effectively with all those around them; organisations want managers that are able to both understand and be understood. Written communication needs to have clear direction, accurate facts and the appropriate language - nothing should be left to the guess work of the recipient. On top of this, oral communication is a must-have skill for any manager. The ability to speak with confidence, credibility and poise, and also with enthusiasm, will motivate others and boost productivity.

2.   Motivator, innovator

Organisations and managers alike shouldn’t forget that leaders are the catalyst for achieving success. Leaders are not often born, they are made. Through training, experience and personal development good managers can be created and nurtured so they become invaluable business assets. They will seek out more challenging assignments, always meet deadlines and line staff will respect their direction. A team that is lead by a good motivator and an inspiring innovator will ultimately achieve.

3.   Be a strategic thinker

Strategic thinking is a term that affects managers at all levels and can impact on an entire organisation. For middle-managers this is difficult as they feel they are shouldering a lot of responsibility without really having any power. Although being caught between senior managers and line staff can be challenging, there is an opportunity to play an important role. The reality is that senior managers rely on the middle-manager to translate their priorities and directives so that goals can be achieved. Senior managers need to use strategic thinking to identify goals to drive a business forward and lead to future growth.

Needless to say, no matter at what level they sit, all managers rely on each other to convey important messages.

4.   Spotting and harnessing exceptional talent 

A good leader will cultivate the right team that will meet objectives and give your company that competitive edge. It is vital that talent spotting and development are treated as a top priority, especially in this economic climate. Managers also need to remember that talent may come from within your organisation, so shouldn’t rush to look for external options as their next leaders could be right next to them.

5.   Discovering and nurturing your business acumen

Bridging the gap between management skills and business expertise can be a challenge for the most successful leader. By developing the business acumen of company managers, organisations will see new and compelling business strategies becoming defined, but the right skills must be in place. To possess business acumen, managers must understand their company’s market place, its position within it and where improvements can be made. A thorough understanding of the business landscape will also help managers recognise and learn how external change can affect a company’s success. 

6.   A beautiful mind – solving problems and decision making

Decision making and problem solving are important skills in both life and business. One tends to incorporate the other, but techniques can be learnt to make the process quicker and ensure better results. Analysing a situation and identifying problems is a key business process, but as with being a leader, it does not come naturally to most of us. Decision making training can help leaders focus on each problem and deal with it in the appropriate manner. It will improve managers’ skills and help them make more of an impact in their organisation.

7.   Adapting to an ever-changing business landscape

Business is an area where change is one of the only constants. Managers must learn to embrace these changes and seek out creative ways of dealing with the accelerating speed of modern business life. Whatever the change, good communication is crucial; listening to fears, questions or concerns from your line staff is key to helping them cope with any changes. Responding well to change will inspire your team and will show that you can adapt to any situation.

The importance of management training: helping your leaders grow

Good management skills do not always come easily but even if they do, training is vital. Skilled leaders can provide both immediate and long term benefit. By helping your managers to develop, your business will prosper, maximise its potential and enjoy a competitive environment. The right training will expose talents that may have previously been hidden and will offer managers the opportunity to be at the cutting edge of new business innovations.

To learn more, download the full 7 Deadly Skills of The Perfect Leader White Paper.

 

 

Thank you Spiceheads for making SpiceWorld a success!

We’re pleased to bring you a guest post from Ben Holland, an Account Manager, Skillsoft.

By Ben Holland

The Skillsoft team had the pleasure of exhibiting at the SpiceWorld conference in the fun and eclectic city of Austin, Texas, October 9-10. SpiceWorld attendees were very relaxed and eager to share ideas. Most of them are friends and already know one another from interacting on a regular basis within the Spiceworks online community.

Skillsoft was honored to attend this event as a sponsor, and due to the easygoing atmosphere, attendees were very excited to talk to us. Not only did they want to find out who we were and we did, but also, to tell us how and why IT training was important to them. Genuine conversations were sparked about the need for certifications with vendors such as Cisco® and Microsoft®. Most people came from the small-to-medium business space so leveraging training resources from Skillsoft was important to them because they could cost-effectively train people without having to leave the office.

This type of openness was even present during the panels, when the company founders took the stage and opened the floor for questions. The audience could tell these people were very proud of the community they created. Each founder made several remarks on how their company culture is of utmost importance to them and how it’s their top goal to make sure nothing ever harms it.

Throw Back Thursday: leadership development

We receive so much valuable content from our customers, partners and internal subject-matter experts. On Thursdays, we thought it would be fun to do a “throw back” and bring back an older post that was valuable to our audience. Today’s throw back is about leadership development.

Are you a cross-pollinating sequential learner?

By Shawn Hunter

“Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, recognized the role of conceptual output as early as 1997 in a speech at the University of Connecticut when he said “The growth of the conceptual component of output has brought with it accelerating demands for workers who are equipped not simply with technical know-how, but with the ability to create, analyze, and transform information and to interact effectively with others.” By 2004, he had developed his views on the topic, referring to reductions in manufacturing in the United States, outsourcing to India and China, excess of supply and the global marketplace, all leading to the increasing conceptualization of economic output.”

Taking a page straight from Dan Pink and Gary Hamel, knowledge and even expertise are common, expected, cheap (sometimes free) to source, and no longer represent lasting competitive advantage. We have moved from the knowledge age to the conceptual age where creative, symphonic thinking - the ability to harness sometimes seemingly disparate pieces of information and ideas and mash them into wholly new iterations that can be applied effectively to solutions and results - are in fact the individual and organization’s competitive advantage.

Whatever field you work in, your expertise is expected, but your initiative and creativity to bring unique and signature solutions to solve unexpected problems is your brand, and increasingly also your company’s brand and identity. If this is true (and you better believe it), the future of learning is to provide more conceptual and powerful learning opportunities in which the expected learning outcomes are by nature, unexpected. Sometimes called chaotic or unstable by design, this construct suggests building learning opportunities which offer insight, ideas and parables intended for inference and application by the learner.

Skillsoft study reveals CEOs want more training in less time and are willing to pay for it

Skillsoft today announced the results of a study which reveals that in the current global economic climate, CEOs increasingly believe in the value of learning, with 93 percent of business leaders in the UK stating that they will either maintain or increase their training budget over the next 12 months. Only 13 percent listed cost as their most important consideration. The study, conducted by  OpinionMatters, the UK’s leading research company, on behalf of Skillsoft, surveyed 503 CEOs of businesses with more than 250 employees, across 13 business sectors, on topics that included recruitment, leadership, learning, succession-planning and staff turnover.

Reflecting the time constraints in today’s competitive business marketplace, 42 percent of the CEOs interviewed for the study said the length of a course was a more important deciding factor than its content. They prefer shorter courses that require less time and allow for employees to remain productive while receiving necessary training.

Establishing program metrics & aligning communications

We’re pleased to bring you a guest post by Tera Gillen, Manager of Inside Sales, Skillsoft.

By Tera Gillen

Successful programs come in all shapes and sizes but no matter what the contract value, audience size or product(s) sold, all programs have one thing in common — they’re evaluated by the company’s stake holders to determine its success.

Success can be measured by metrics such as total course completions, number of training hours fulfilled, knowledge transferred to job role or learner feedback.

One of the challenges in implementing a training and development initiative for the first time, is to determine what metrics to measure and why.

Probing questions can help to ignite discussions around what is important to the organization. This may require the client to have some internal conversations or bring other people on board the project. Once the organization identifies desired outcomes, Skillsoft can create a framework that allows us to quantify the results.