TRACOM's director of research and product development, Dr. Casey Mulqueen is the author of a new article published by Chief Learning Officer on 9/26/11.  It looks at how behavioral style can influence learning outcomes.  Here are the first few paragraphs and a link to CLO for the full article.

Copyright Chief Learning Officer

People’s behaviors are more easily observed than their learning styles. Armed with this understanding, learning leaders can tailor their programs to build an effective learning environment.

As learning and development professionals have long recognized, different people learn in different ways. For instance, some people learn more effectively by watching videos or visual presentations, while others respond to a more hands-on tactical approach. But what about differences in behavioral style? Just as people process information in different ways, they also behave and respond to the behavior of others in unique but predictable ways.

Unlike learning style — how people cognitively process information — behavioral style is more easily understood and visible to others because it is a function of people’s common behavioral patterns and preferences. Behavioral style can be seen and described, whereas it is more difficult to assess people’s learning styles — many people themselves are unaware of their own learning preferences. One of the visible indicators of behavioral style is outgoingness. Some people are naturally friendly and outspoken. Others are quiet and reserved. Another indicator is pace. Some act quickly, while others prefer to carefully consider all options.

The most effective learning efforts address both learning style and behavioral style. Doing so leads to better reinforcement of learning and more productive teams and organizations. While learning style and behavioral style affect how people learn, behavioral style affects how they display what they’ve learned, as well as the effectiveness of reinforcement initiatives like social learning. For example, a sociable and outgoing person will be excited about what he or she has learned and will want to share the information with others. This person is more likely to actively display newly learned skills and to seek out social learning sites for reinforcement of learning as well as to share his or her experiences with others. No matter what the specific content of learning, people use what they’ve learned back on the job, and they do this in style-specific ways that impact team and organizational effectiveness.

Visit Chief Learning Officer for the full article.

What is your experience with different learning styles?  Comment below.

The news of the Japanese earthquake and related damage, leads all of us to consider the fragility of human life in the face of natural disasters.  And the availability of photos, news reports and footage reinforce the growing connectedness of people around the world.    TRACOM’s SOCIAL STYLE Profiles have been distributed in Japan since the early 1990s.  To help our Japanese “neighbors”, TRACOM has donated to MercyCorps which is helping victims of the earthquake and tsunami.  You can learn more or donate by visiting them online.  Over the last few years, TRACOM’s international business has grown significantly.   It was this growing globalization that led TRACOM to author a new article in Training Magazine on “Best Practices in Global Training”.  This article by TRACOM vice president David Collins was just published.  It looks at the challenges and benefits of implementing training programs with a global perspective.  You can read the full article now.

Click here for more information on supporting relief efforts in Japan.
 

It seems like the frequency of natural and man-made disasters has increased in recent years. We’ve seen hurricanes and oil well explosions in the U.S., a volcano that disrupted all of Europe, warfare in the Middle East, and tsunamis in Asia.  Each had an impact on travel and business performance both in and beyond its immediate geography. These and other examples, demonstrate the importance of business continuity planning. More than just disaster preparedness, business continuity planning entails a careful analysis of an organization’s entire business. It documents existing business processes, identifies potential interruptions, quantifies the impact of such interruptions and determines appropriate ways to maintain business continuity.  The creation of a comprehensive continuity plan is hard work and represents a significant investment of financial and human capital. In recent years, several of TRACOM’s larger customers have undertaken business continuity planning initiatives and asked TRACOM to document our own continuity plans to ensure we could continue to support our client programs.

Creation of our continuity plan and adding support for 18+ languages are part of TRACOM’s investment in enabling truly global training programs.   This work is featured in the cover story Computer Discount Warehouse Solutions magazine recent issue. Download the article now. 

Business continuity was one of several key challenges discussed in a recent TRACOM and Chief Learning Officer Magazine webinar: Best Practices in Global Training. An on-demand version of this webinar and its accompanying whitepaper can be accessed here. In them, you will learn about five challenges to effective global training and how to overcome them. 

TRACOM and Chief Learning Officer Magazine recently held a popular webinar looking at Best Practices in Global Training.  Watch the webinar now. 

This webinar looks at:
• Five Major Challenges to Global Training and How To Overcome Them
• Language and Cultural Considerations
• Data Security and Legal Compliance Issues
• What to Expect from Vendors
• Global Training Case Studies and Benefits

Watch it now.

We are reminded daily in business that times have changed. Nowhere is that more evident than in the financial world.  Consider that nearly half of the companies included in Fortune Magazine’s” Global 500 List” from 2000 were not represented on the magazine’s 2009 list.   Almost as surprising is the declining representation of companies based in G-7* countries.  At one time only 16 percent of Fortune Global 500 companies resided outside of these seven powerhouse countries, but by 2009 that figure had ballooned to 32 percent.

Here at home, the number of U.S.-based companies on the Fortune Global 500 has declined from 176 in 2005 to 139 in 2010—a stat that comprises a mere 28 percent of the prestigious list.

This ongoing paradigm shift in business has resulted in considerable impact across a range of functional areas, and is creating new opportunities and challenges in the international training field. 

On Thursday October 7 at 11:00 a.m. eastern, TRACOM and HR.com will host a free webinar discussing Best Practices in Global Training.  Click here to register. 

* G-7 Countries:  Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, and United States
 

Free Webinar on Best Practices in Global Training

HR.com and TRACOM Event at 11:00 a.m. Eastern on October 7

Many organizations are quickly moving to a global focus for their training initiatives, evolving from function-specific or country-centric training. But effective global training is much more than translating existing content and curriculum.

This free webinar will discuss Best Practices in Global Training.  It will include:
• Five Major Challenges to Global Training and How To Overcome Them
• Language and Cultural Considerations
• Data Security and Legal Compliance Issues
• What to Expect from Vendors
• Global Training Case Studies and Benefits

This webinar has been approved for 1.0 International credits through HRCI.  It is presented in conjunction with HR.com.  Click here to register for this event through HR.com.

By Jim Hopkins

 

I asked a training manager at a small bank why they were postponing for the second year now the skill development of supervisors and managers.  She said that although it is still a priority, it is not something we can do this year.  By the way, that was back in February, which means two months into the year and they threw in the towel.  I’ve know this training manager for a long time, so I asked her why the bank did not have a future?  There was silence on the line, and then she asked me what I meant by that comment.   If we remember that the basic function of any training department within a company is to prepare employees for the job they perform, then what we train each year spells out what employees need to be able to do.  If the skills being developed are all new hire oriented then the focus is on growth and/or turnover.  If the skills being developed are in addition to basic job functions then the company is focused on career development and employee retention.

When I answered my friend’s concern over the future of her company, I had to ask why managers that did not have basic supervisory and management communication skills would not need them in the coming months.  She had no valid response, but I did.  If the company was not going to need people with management skills in the future, it begs to ask the question of if the company planned to be around.  Could they be planning to close doors, merge with another company, or downsize their employee population?  It turns out it was none of the above, and the company is now training their managers today.

You see my friend went back to her training plan, and noticed that the reason supervisory skills and management development was on the plan, was to build a missing skill set in their managers.  The goal was to prevent having to hire external talent and develop existing people to assume promotional opportunities.  So, when she went back to the management team that had postponed this skill development, she asked them a simple question.  If these skills are needed to prepare us for the future, are we no longer planning to have a future?  Oh, I would have given anything to have been a fly on the wall that day!  With a little further explanation from her on that question, the decision was reversed, and last month they began training supervisory and management development!

Yet how different is this scenario if training you are trying to implement is not on a training plan?  What if you find a need to increase better communications between all employees and it would then allow for improved productivity and a decrease in employee relations issues?  These are of course valid reasons even in the short run, but well worth the expense in the long run. 

So I encourage any size organization to exam the list of skills they are training employees to perform as well as the list of skills being postponed.  Ask yourself how long our company is planning to exist, and does our training plan match that goal.  You no doubt could save a ton of cash if you stopped training because you plan to go out of business, but what a shame it would be if your plan was to stay in business and your lack of readiness closed the doors for you.

Jim Hopkins is a trainer and performance consultant.  He is the author of The Training Physical, an interesting book designed to assess the health of your training programs.  Visit www.thetrainingphysical.com for more information.

English may be the international language of business, but TRACOM has found that allowing participants to learn in their native language makes training more effective.  As a result TRACOM currently offers up to 19 different language options for the SOCIAL STYLE Profile. 

International language support is available for both the initial Profile Questionnaire and the completed SOCIAL STYLE Profile Report.   Available languages include common languages such as German, French and Spanish as well as less-frequently occurring ones such as Bulgarian, Korean and Turkish.

Participants and their raters can choose any available language.  And each person can choose whichever language they prefer, independent of the language chosen by others.  So a training participant might conduct their own profile in Spanish and have others rate her in Japanese, Greek and Chinese.  The SOCIAL STYLE Profile she receives in this case would be in Spanish as that is her language choice.

In addition to offering so many language options, TRACOM offers more than 20 country and regional norms.  So a person working in Italy can be profiled against others in that country, while an Italian working in New York, can be profiled against a North American norm.   Country-specific and regional norms provide the most accurate look at a person’s SOCIAL STYLE and behavioral preferences. 

The availability of so many languages makes it easier on everyone involved and increases the reliability of the data because the questions are better understood and thus the responses more accurate.  This approach best addresses both the cultural variances of international business and the individual behavioral preferences that are the foundation of the SOCIAL STYLE Model.

Click here to learn more about international languages and norms.

And let us know about your experiences in conducting business internationally.  Have language and culture affected your work?  Comment below.   

What is Diversity?

Most large organizations have made strides to increase diversity in their workforces, and many implement “diversity training” to help their leaders and employees be more aware of the issues faced by a diverse workforce. But too often this training fails to achieve its desired results, and can leave people feeling confused about what concrete steps they can take to benefit from an understanding of diversity.

Part of the problem is that some organizations don’t provide their people with a clear definition of diversity or how it can benefit their bottom lines. According to an article in Training Magazine, the most effective training programs treat diversity as an inclusive process, rather than excluding people who don’t meet the traditional definitions of a diverse person. Essentially, diversity encompasses any dimension that differentiates a person or group from others. This definition includes everyone. Since we are all different from one another, we all contribute our own unique perspectives and abilities.

The key is to educate people about how to leverage these differences for business success.

How is SOCIAL STYLE Related to Diversity?

SOCIAL STYLE describes differences and similarities in people’s natural behaviors and work preferences, with the ultimate goal of teaching people how to manage those preferences for increased productivity and effectiveness. Over many years of practice and research, we’ve found that each Style has specific strengths that help them succeed in their work lives. However, one person’s strengths can be another person’s stress. Success at the team and organizational levels requires people of all Styles to work together, and in order for this to happen they need to understand basic Style differences and how to manage these differences. Regardless of a person’s ethnicity, age, or nationality, he or she will have behavioral preferences that result in a particular SOCIAL STYLE.

 This post is an excerpt from a new TRACOM whitepaper on Diversity.  Download the full whitepaper. 

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has released a report projecting which occupations are expected to experience the greatest number of new jobs over the next 10 years. Given the current economic and jobs situation, one might assume things can only improve.  

But according to the new BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, most of the job growth projected through 2018 will occur in what are traditionally low-skill, low-pay jobs.   Seven of the top 10 – and six of the top seven – occupations projected to grow have median annual wages of less than $30,000. These include occupations such as home health aides, customer service representatives, food preparation and retail sales. Only registered nurses (#1), accountants (#8) and postsecondary teachers (#10) are top-growing occupations with median wages above $30K.  All three achieve around $60K annually. 

Harvard University economist Lawrence Katz discussed the implications of this during an interview on NPR’s Morning Edition radio program on Monday. Katz described a “polarization of the labor market”, with growth at the low-end and high-end of the market but less growth in the middle. 

Professsor Katz went on to say that education and “professionalizing” the skills of the low-wage workers is an opportunity for those workers to earn more. He said that changing the focus of education is necessary and that workers should be focus on skills like problem solving, interpersonal relations and teamwork. 

While interpersonal skills may be a way for those in traditionally low-wage jobs to move up the earnings ladder, other research has shown that even at managerial levels, good interpersonal skills correlate to higher earnings. TRACOM’s Managerial Success Study found that managers with higher Versatility performed better in dozens of job criteria and earned more than their lower interpersonal skills peers. 

What do you think? Do interpersonal skills lead to higher wages? Can interpersonal skills help workers provide more value?

Here are several links to references cited in this article:

• Read or listen to NPR story 
• Read BLS Overview of the 2008-18 Labor Projections 
• Download TRACOM’s Managerial Success Study Research Whitepaper