Teach employees to fish... for training

You know how it goes, “Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime.”

Well, the same holds true when it comes to employee training. When you teach employees how to fish, or find training on their own, they’ll continue on the same path for a lifetime, or at least for the time they spend at your company.

Teaching employees to fish for training begins with a course in company culture. Only by fostering a culture that promotes education and skills training will employees feel that learning is not only encouraged, but a necessary part of their career.

Getting started doesn’t have to use up a ton of resources either. Encourage employees to fish, for training, that is, by implementing a few of these ideas:

• Improve education from the inside out. Instead of having employees look outside to seminars and courses, give them opportunities to learn within the walls of your workplace. Something as simple as an in-house learning library can give employees the tools they need to make a difference.


• Create your own trainers. Some of the best training resources are right there under your nose – you hired them. Create a peer-to-peer training program where employees share their expertise with others. Without ever stepping foot outside, you’ll be fostering teamwork, improving engagement and encouraging employees to seek out training on their own.


• Embrace technology. These days, finding new learning outlets can be as simple as turning on your computer. From Twitter to online learning courses, technology has made learning more accessible, and affordable, than ever before.


• Try something new. Start a new in-house learning program, like “lunch-and-learn” training sessions. Typically more relaxed and less structured than traditional training courses, lunch-and-learns are a great way to fit training into everyone’s busy day.

Sign up an employee for a training course, he’ll have training for today. Encourage an employee to seek out training on their own, and he’ll have training for a lifetime.

Any more ideas on encouraging employees to discover training on their own? Please leave a comment and let us know.

Free online learning webinars

The kids are finally back to school and you, too, can “hit the books” starting with this great list of free online learning webinars compiled by Jon Udell and Tony Karrer of eLearning Learning (via Workplace Learning Today).

From increasing your webinar effectiveness to coaching and even growing your business, their list is a great place to get back into the learning groove after a long, hot summer.

Upcoming eLearning Events from eLearning Learning.

Study: Online, blended learning better than face-to-face

Incorporating technology in classroom instruction can enhance learning, according to a U.S. Department of Education analysis of controlled studies comparing online and face-to-face instruction.

The Department of Education analyzed 46 studies comparing online learning to face-to-face education and concluded that “blended learning,” or program that utilize both online and face-to-face learning, is more effective than using one method alone.

From the Department of Education press release:

The meta analysis showed that “blended” instruction – combining elements of online and face-to-face instruction – had a larger advantage relative to purely face to face instruction or instruction conducted wholly online. The analysis also showed that the instruction conducted wholly on line was more effective in improving student achievement than the purely face to face instruction. In addition, the report noted that the blended conditions often included additional learning time and instructional elements not received by students in control conditions.

From the authors’ discussion section of the study:

That caution [not to assume that an effect is due to a given medium] applies well to the findings of this meta-analysis, which should not be construed as demonstrating that online learning is superior as a medium. Rather, it is the combination of elements in the treatment conditions, which are likely to include additional learning time and materials as well as additional opportunities for collaboration, that has proven effective. The meta-analysis findings do not support simply putting an existing course online, but they do support redesigning instruction to incorporate additional learning opportunities online.

Read Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies (2009).

The department noted that this new meta-analysis goes against previous studies, which generally found that online and face-to-face education methods were comparable in their learning effectiveness.

Top 10 learning tools for training pros

For the past few years, Jane Hart of the Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies has been asking learning professionals, from education and training, to chime in on what productivity tools would make their personal top 10 list.

Right now, Jane is in the process of compiling the Top 100 Tools for Learning in 2009 and it’s looking like a tough race. As the rankings stand today, here are the Top 10 Tools for Learning:

1. Twitter - Microblogging tool
2. Delicious - Social bookmarking tool
3. Google Reader - RSS/Feed reader
4. Wordpress - Blogging tool
5. Google Docs - Web-based documents
6. Skype - Instant messaging/VoIP
   
7. Slideshare - Hosting presentations
8. Google Search - Web search tool
9. PowerPoint - Presentation software
10. Firefox - Web browser and extensions

It’s interesting to see what other professionals out there are using, but even more interesting to see how the trends have changed over the past few years. Last year it was Delicious, Firefox and Google Reader at the top and Twitter ranked down at number 11.

Almost 100 learning professionals have shared their top 10 learning tools so far this year. Visit Jane's site and suggest what tools you think should be at the top.

Take a peek at Ivy League learning for free

Developing an in-house learning library is one of the most cost-effective and easiest ways to promote ongoing employee education. If you don’t have the room or resources for a physical library, there are countless resources on the Web that promote learning and usually for free.

“Whether you'd like to learn algebra from a mathematician at MIT, watch how to make crawfish étouffée from an instructor at the Culinary Institute of America or study blues guitar with a professor at Berklee College of Music, you can do it all in front of your computer, courtesy of other people's money.” (TIME)

Making these lectures available to the public is part of a widespread movement among universities and learning institutions to open their once exclusive classrooms to the general public. New sites have been cropping up all across the web to deliver world-class learning to anyone who want’s a peek inside.

Take a look at these free online learning sources with information from some of the top colleges in the world:

YouTube Edu - YouTube’s central education hub dedicated to videos from more than 100 schools that have official channels on the site. Viewers can find videos from schools like the Grand Rapids Community College to Harvard.

Apple’s iTunes U - In a win-win situation for educators and Apple, users can find more than 170 schools offering free content through iTunes U.

Academic Earth - Smaller and more edited than YouTube’s videos, Academic Earth assembles playlists of related lectures on topics ranging from “Wars Throughout History” to algebra.

TED.com - A central broadcasting site for online lectures from some of the top innovators in the fields of technology, entertainment and design.


Whether you’re wanting to learn more about ancient Egypt, or looking to develop your own presentation skills by watching some of the best in the business, there’s a world of free online tools just waiting for you to get started.

Improve training with guerrilla tactics

From art to gardening, and even marketing, people have been using guerrilla-style tactics over the past years to side step the usual outlets and get their work noticed.

Take guerrilla gardening for example. It’s a practice where environmental activists target a piece of seemingly neglected or misused land and give it a new, more beautiful purpose. Some guerrilla gardeners practice their trade overnight and in secrecy to reveal a flowering garden or lush vegetable patch in the morning.

Through the inconspicuous act of gardening, these activists are able to get their message across to a much wider audience than what they could reach in their own backyard.

So, what does gardening have to do with training?

Not much, until I read a recent post on guerrilla learning by Michele Martin at The Bamboo Project blog. After reading Keri Smith’s Guerrilla Art Kit, Michele started thinking about how the same tactics artists use could be put to work in the learning world.

Her ideas can be used as pre- and post-training activities, or even ongoing tactics to reinforce training points. Here are just a couple of Michele’s ideas for Guerrilla learning:

• Public Chalkboard--Install a chalkboard and chalk in a public space and invite comments or ideas. For learning, I'd post a provocative question related to the learning and then invite responses. You could also do this with a notebook that was passed from person to person or with a poster in a public place that has a pen attached.


• Installations--Use Post-It notes in a central location to create a trail of words, quotes or drawings. This could be a semi-permanent, ongoing project for a lunchroom, hallway, etc.

All of her ideas would undoubtedly make workplace learning more enjoyable and imaginative. Guerrilla tactics like these could get employees excited about the learning process again and improve learning retention over the long run.

Have you ever used guerrilla-style tactics to reinforce your employee training points? Do you think they would work in your organization?

Improve employee education from the inside out

“Give the proper tools to a group of people that want to make a difference, and they will.”

The above quote is a header on the Benefits page at Google Jobs, a company that was built on the premise that work should be challenging, but fun at the same time. For the hardworking employees who accept the challenge, Google offers some outstanding benefits.

From dining facilities, to gyms and even laundry rooms, Google tries to help out their employees in every way. That practice also holds true when it comes to continuing employee education.

The company offers up to $12,000 per calendar year for employees pursuing outside education that is relevant to their career. As long as employees show they’re serious about furthering their education and keep grades of “B” or better, Google will continue paying for it.

Though your company may not have the funds available to support a $12,000 education reimbursement program like Google, there are creative ways to promote employee education without spending a fraction of that kind of money.


From office to classroom

One of the easiest and most affordable ways to promote ongoing employee education is to create an in-house learning library.

Find a spot in the office, it can be anywhere from an empty cubicle to a hallway cabinet, to turn into a library. If possible, find a location that is central for everyone in the office to ensure accessibility.

Start building your library by asking everyone in the office to contribute and bring in books related on industry topics or career advice. Visit local used book stores and stock up on interesting titles that employees would find value in.

Don’t have the space for a physical library? Take it online. Set up a company Wiki using sites like PBWiki or Wikispaces and create an online learning library. Encourage employees to share information and post valuable resources that others in the office can learn from.

Give employees time, whether daily or weekly, to explore new topics with resources from your learning library. There’s no reason for creating a library if employees don’t have the time to use it.

For employees with the desire to further their education or learn more about their industry, an office library is an indispensable resource that they don’t even have to leave the office to take advantage of.

Providing employees with the tools they need to make a difference doesn’t have to cost a fortune. All you need is a great idea and anything is possible.

Mix it up with peer-to-peer training

Do you regularly force your sales teams to sit through days of training only to be left with employees who are zoned-out and overwhelmed by the overflow of information? Are your instructor-led training courses completely boring your teams so much that they’re ready for nap time?

Lauren Kinke, Marketing and Sales Operations Manager at ReachForce, recently shared on the company's B2B Lead Blog how they have created an employee training program that keeps employees actively engaged in the learning process.

Here’s a piece of the story:

Our typical training regime used to be comprised solely of a full-day quarterly kickoff. During that time we would run through a few “sales” skills specific sessions, some background on our industry, and a piece on what we do and how we do it (for newbies). Part team-building, part skills training, it was an exhausting day and by the end of it some of our more ADD inclined employees had mentally checked out. Recently we decided to make some changes.

First, instead of only hosting training sessions on a once a quarter basis, each of our weekly sales meetings would be host to a mini-session led by a sales rep. Second, our quarterly sales training meeting would be shortened to a little over half a day.

Through this new training program, members of the company’s sales team have presented topics including how to prepare for a first call, overcoming customer objections, closing techniques and time management.

There are no strict rules as to how a team member can present their topic. Some employees have found success with PowerPoint, while others simply stood in front of the class and spoke.

I can’t say that we’ve measured our results, but I can say that our reps have been able to put these things into practice as quickly as they are being taught.

The benefits of using a peer-to-peer training program are seemingly endless. It allows employees to connect and fosters teamwork, improves engagement and, above all, keeps trainees awake.

Have you ever put peer-to-peer training to work in your organization? What benefits/drawbacks have you found in the process?

Now kick your “learners” out of the office

Yesterday we told you to kick your trainers out of the office (not for good, but at least to the park down the street) and today we’ve decided to throw a few more people out. This time, it’s your “learners” that will be finding an eviction notice in their inbox.

I came across the idea in a recent post at the Informal Learning Blog, by Jay Cross. When it comes to learning, he suggests that we stop calling those on the receiving side of instruction “learners.”

By calling people “learners,” it suggests that they’re deficient in some way. Instead, we should all become partners in learning and turn the process it a collective group effort.

In his own words, here’s Jay’s “three-and-a-half minute rant about leveling the preacher-and-congregation model of learning in favor of recognizing we’re brothers and sisters here, not parents and children.”

Training the trainer: From employee to instructor

Informal training occurs everyday in the workplace, from one employee showing another how to put together a report to a coworker sharing advice on how to handle an angry customer. Training is usually delivered from coworker to coworker or from manager to employee.

But what happens when the tables are turned and managers find themselves being trained by a subordinate?

It may not happen often, but when your employee becomes your instructor, some managers may find themselves in an unfamiliar and sometimes uncomfortable position.

In a recent post at Jobacle, Lauren Kleinman explains that when employees train managers, it can be a “tough pill to swallow” for the manager involved and shares some great tips on how managers can successfully “maintain the balance of powers” throughout the process.

While it may not be said in the same exact language, employees training managers is a common practice in most workplaces. It often takes place when a new manager joins the team or even when an existing manager wants to learn about the latest online tools employees are using.

Learning from your employees can be a rewarding experience for any manager. We liked Lauren’s tips for getting through it, but would like to explore the added benefits for both parties when the tides change and the trainee becomes the trainer.

Top 5 benefits of learning from your employees:

1. No training costs. Learning something new from a peer or employee requires no subscription fees and no shipping costs. Better yet, you don’t even have to leave the office.


2. Team building. One of the easiest ways to strengthen a team of coworkers by having them teach each other new skills. When subordinates train managers, it fosters teamwork and shows that the manager is an active part of the group.


3. Fun. Some days you can spend an entire workday stuck inside your cube or office, barely coming up for air long enough to grab your sandwich out of the lunch room. Training a coworker will help you get out of your bubble and maybe you’ll have a little fun in the process.


4. Confidence. When employees train managers, there’s an added sense of accomplishment employees feel when it’s all over. Boost their confidence by asking an employee to explain something you’re unfamiliar with.


5. Building connections. Sometimes it’s easy for managers to lose touch with what is going on with employees’ everyday projects. When employees become trainers to their managers, it helps build connections and keep managers in the loop.

As a manager, have you ever been in a situation where an employee has become your instructor? How did you benefit from it?

Productivity tips: How to become a ‘task ninja’

Throughout the day many of us get stuck in periods of inaction. Whether you’re procrastinating, completing small tasks to avoid the important ones or too distracted to get started on anything, the fact is, we’ve all been there.

So, what's the best way to get yourself out of a state of inaction?

Well, you can start by training yourself to become a “task ninja.”

I recently came across the idea in a post by Leo Babauta at his blog, Zen Habits. He’s also the author of The Power of Less, an insightful new book on personal productivity.

Instead of focusing on our inaction, Leo suggests that you “get all Ninja on your actions” and start forming an “Action Habit” instead.

Here are Leo's five quick steps to help you get started:

1. Figure out your key actions. Focusing on the right actions is just as important as the doing. Don’t spend a lot of time in this step — just quickly decide your Top 3 actions for today.

2. Pick one key action, and visualize the outcome. How will it look when you’re done? Again, don’t spend a lot of time here — just form a quick picture in your mind.

3. Just start. Tell yourself, “Do it now!” Make it a mantra. Don’t mess around with tools, with distractions, with anything that will get in the way of doing this task. Strip away everything but the task, and get going!

4. Focus on the moment. Just be in this task, don’t worry about the future or what mistakes you might make or might have made before. Just focus on doing this task, as best you can. Immerse yourself in it.

5. Get to done. Complete the task. Feel good about it! Pat yourself on the back!

After you’ve gone through all of the steps, repeat the process with your next habit. Like any habit, it will get easier with practice.

Improve your success rate by eliminating some common barriers to the Action Habit:

• Perfection isn’t necessary. Just focus on completing the task now. You can go back and improve it later.
• Don’t worry about the unnecessary. If you’re writing for example, don’t worry about the font or format of your document, just write.
• Eliminate distractions. Turn off instant messaging, Twitter, and let your phone calls go to voice mail. If you can’t concentrate in the office, get up and move to another location such as a quite conference room or cafe down the street.
• Break it up. If you’re intimidated by the size of the task, break it up into manageable pieces.

Training yourself to get more done is possible, but only if you know where to start. Zen Habits is a great blog to read if you’re looking for ways to new ways to improve your personal productivity on a daily basis.

You can also check out a few of our past posts on training yourself to be more productive:

How to be productive when business is slow

Productivity: Rules for effective meetings

Productivity: How to get started and avoid pitfalls

Personal productivity training, six simple tips

How to deliver employee training like a ninja

Employee motivation tip: Keep it simple

In a recent experiment at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, two psychologists decided to investigate the idea that the simplicity of how a task is described and processed affects our attitude toward the task and our willingness to try it.

The two psychologists wanted to see if they could motivate a group of 20-year-old college students to exercise regularly. All of the students were given a set of instructions for a regular exercise routine.

Some students in the group received a set of instructions printed in Arial typeface, an easy-to read plain font. Other students received instructions printed in Brush typeface, a font that resembles hand-written script with a Japanese paintbrush, something that was unfamiliar and harder to read.

After the students had a chance to read over the instructions, the psychologists asked them a series of questions regarding the exercise routine: how long would it take, would it be boring or exciting, how likely would they be to make the exercise plan a part of their daily routine, and so on.


The findings

The psychologists found that the students who received the easy-to-read instructions were much more open to the idea of fitting the exercise routine into their daily schedule. They thought the regimen wouldn’t take up much of their time and would feel easy.

Those who had to read through the unfamiliar Japanese brushstrokes wanted nothing to do with the gym. Trying to decipher what was said in the instructions was enough exercise for one day.

To double-check their findings, the psychologists set up another experiment where a group of people were asked to prepare food. Again, some were given the easy-to-read instructions and others were given the difficult set.

The second experiment backed-up their findings from the first study. People who read the “more digestible” instructions were more likely to attempt preparing Japanese sushi. Those who read the harder to read instructions did not want to try it themselves.


Keep it simple

Whether you’re training employees on the correct way to wear personal protective equipment or how to put together a sales report, explaining the process in a simple format will increase the likelihood that they’ll want to try it.

Employee motivation tip of the day: Don’t make something sound or look harder than it is. Keep it short, sweet and simple.

Top 8 ways trainers can use Twitter

Social media and networking sites expand daily, connecting users of every age group from across the globe and in every professional industry. Corporate trainers are also harnessing the power of social media to connect with those they instruct, and aid in their own personal learning and development.

Twitter is one social network connecting millions of people by asking one simple question: “What are you doing?”

In 2008, Twitter recorded over two million unique visitors, marking a 422% increase from the year before. There are Twitter users from every age group, nationality and profession using the tool to answer one simple question: “What are you doing?”

If you’re still unfamiliar - Twitter is the free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows its users to send and read other users’ updates (or tweets), which are text messages of a maximum of 140 characters.

When you first sign up for a Twitter account, you may be asking yourself some questions - Why did I sign up for this? What am I doing here? How is this thing supposed to be useful?

Before you get frustrated and quit, just stop and take a deep breath. Not everyone uses Twitter for the same purpose and it may take some experimenting to find what works for you. Try it out for about a month and then ask yourself again if you still think it is useful.

If you’re still struggling to find meaning in the social networking site, read over these 8 ways trainers can use Twitter:

1. Connect with experts. Twitter gives you the ability to connect in a conversational way with top experts in your industry from around the world. Through those conversations you can learn new processes, training tips and advice on how to improve your courses and seminars.


2. Discover new information. As you start following more people on Twitter, you’ll find that it’s a great place to find new studies, data and interesting articles to expand your knowledge.


3. Research new ideas. Having trouble finding information on a certain topic? Ask your Twitter followers to help. Whatever your question may be, Twitter users are generally happy to help. It’s a great platform for brainstorming that leaves a trail of every shared idea.


4. Connect with trainees. In the past, trainers would finish their course and send trainees on their way, rarely hearing from them again. Today, trainers can give trainees their Twitter username to follow to stay in contact after the course is complete. Trainers can share extra information, upcoming events and helpful tips on how to utilize information from the course.


5. Keep the discussion going. After you have connected with attendees, you can keep the conversations from the classroom going on Twitter. Attendees who may have felt uncomfortable speaking up in the classroom can get their point across online.


6. Get feedback. Students from your training course or seminar can give you helpful and almost immediate feedback on what they thought of the course. You can use their comments and critiques to improve your next course.


7. Facilitate collaborative learning. By connecting with you, trainees will also be able to connect with each other on Twitter and learn together. Attendees can send direct messages to find out if other classmates are experiencing the same hardships and share advice with one another on how to work through it.


8. Monitor the learning process. As trainees put what they learned in the classroom into action, they’ll probably have some questions for you along the way. Students can tweet and retweet about new things they learned, difficulties implementing new techniques, personal tips and new resources they found that help facilitation.

How do you use Twitter to add value to your training? Have any more ideas to add to our list on how trainers can use Twitter? Please leave a comment and let us know.

On hugs, stimulus packages and shoes: This week’s must-reads

There’s a ton of great information out there this week, so much that breaking it up and discussing it all separately would take months. Instead, we’ll just direct you strait to the sources of all it. Here’s some of the best HR and training related information posted on the Web this week:


Try to give hugs to more people at work. After just four sips of wine, read how Brazen Careerist Penelope Trunk made an amazing discovery - hugging in the workplace can make you happier. If President Barack Obama can bring hugging into the White House, you can find a way to bring it into your workplace.


While we’re talking about Obama, he just signed the $787 billion stimulus package that included some important HR action items. The team at G.Neil’s HR Forum put together a quick overview of how the stimulus plan will impact HR and U.S. businesses.


Obama signed the billion dollar stimulus package yesterday and now is the time for the Leadership Development Economic Stimulus Package, according to Dan McCarthy at Great Leadership. The total cost of Dan’s plan is only a fraction of that Obama signed, but the impact on business leadership would be huge.


Put yourself in their shoes. Knowing your audience will put you on the road to success when designing your next training program. Take some advice from Chris Morgan at Learn2Develop, put yourself in the shoes of your trainees and look at your training from a new perspective.


Is the traditional training course dead? If so, technology is the killer. Technology gives us the power to learn what we need to know, when we need to know it and most of what we learn is through informal methods. Learn more about the potential death of the instructor-led training course by reading this Training Zone article by Vaughan Waller.

Spice up compliance training with poetry

When you think of compliance training, it’s pretty rare that words like “entertaining” and “fun” would come to mind.

Even though it may still be one of the “least glamorous” topics in corporate training, someone has found a poetic way to make it a little more interesting.

Yehuda Berlinger, an internet professional and game designer from Israel, has rewritten US and Canadian copyright laws as poetry. By putting them in verse form, Yehuda has made intellectual laws memorable and fun to learn.

From Multimedia Learning:

Yehuda links each verse to the actual copyright law. It’s a brilliant exercise in creative summation and would make great learning activities.

For example, here’s a line from US law § 114. Scope of exclusive rights in sound recordings:

(a) The exclusive rights of the owner of copyright in a sound recording are limited to the rights specified by clauses (1), (2), (3) and (6) of section 106, and do not include any right of performance under section 106(4).

And Yehuda’s verse:

Sound recordings, but not music
Can be re-performed
As long as it’s attributed
And not grossly malformed

Yehuda has rewritten US Copyright Law, US Patent Code, US Trademark Code, Canadian Copyright Code and UK Copyright Law. All of it is posted on his blog.

Whether you’re looking for a new employee learning activity or wanting to improve training retention, try mixing a little rhyme or two into your lesson.

As the instructor, you could turn an otherwise dry piece of information into a memorable moment by rewriting it in verse form. Or, turn the poetry into an activity where trainees take the information they learn and write a poem to summarize the main ideas.

What do you think? Have you ever used poetry or rhyme to make a learning activity more enjoyable? Could you think of any other ways poetry could be used in the learning process?

Training losing ground in the battle of the budgets

Financial hardships caused by the economic recession have led even more organizations to cut spending on employee training, according to two recent studies.

The average amount companies spend on training per employee fell 11% in the past year, according to a recently released research report by Bersin & Associates. Training expenditures per employee declined from $1,202 per trainee in 2007 to $1,075 per trainee in 2008.

Bersin’s data also showed that the U.S. corporate training market shrank by more than $2 billion, from $58.5 billion in 2007 to $56.2 billion in 2008, marking the greatest decline in more than a decade.

This latest report mirrors another study released in November, revealing that more than twice as many corporate and government training professionals expect training budget decreases rather than increases in 2009.

According to the study by training services firm Expertus, almost half (48%) of survey respondents expect smaller training budgets in 2009, up from 41% in 2008.

“When budgets became tight, organizations with a traditional training focus suffered most,” Bersin said in a statement. “Today’s business world demands a combination of formal and informal learning with an emphasis on collaboration, knowledge sharing, social networking, coaching, and mentoring.”

A well-trained employee is one of your company’s best assets and worthy of the financial investment. Resist the urge to take the “easy” way out by cutting development opportunities and find creative ways to stretch your training budget.

For more information on how to (and how not to) handle employee training in a recession, take a look at some of these related posts:

Cutting training, cutting safety: Is our economy causing more workplace injuries

Employee training and the budget battle

Training budgets, just another victim of the recession

‘Recession-proof’ employee training tips

5 tips for employee training on a tight budget

New program pays for job training in Michigan

In December, Michigan legislators passed a bill that will allow community colleges to create training programs for companies adding new jobs or for new businesses coming to the state.

Cost to businesses = $0

Cost to community colleges = $0

So how does it work?

Under the New Jobs Training Program, community colleges sell bonds to develop training programs for new companies moving to Michigan or existing companies creating new positions.

Employers can approach a community college with a number of jobs they need training for. The employer then signs a written contract with the community college to provide training at no cost to the trainees. The tuition for the training is primarily paid back through state income tax revenues created by the new jobs.

From the Lansing State Journal:

"This is not a hit to the state, because these are new jobs," said Michael Hansen, president of the Michigan Community College Association. "The state was never going to realize that income tax anyway. The jobs wouldn't exist except for this program."

Modeled on a successful program in Iowa, the initiative "is a win for the community college, because they develop training capacity," he said, adding that several of the state's community colleges, Lansing Community College among them, have already expressed interest.

"It's a win for the company, because they get their workers trained for free," he said.

The only catch is that the jobs must be new, part of an effort to expand business. Trainees can’t be replacement workers for existing positions.

Michigan’s law was modeled after a similar program Iowa began in 1983 where community colleges use bonds to purchase equipment and facilities, develop contracts with special trainers and private vendors and hire instructors for new training programs.

Since its inception, the Iowa program generated $600 million to finance 2,100 projects that created more than 140,000 jobs for the state.

When signing the legislation, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm pointed out that the state “must do everything we can to help our citizens get the training they need for good-paying jobs in this challenging global economy. These bills are another part of our plan to ensure that we have a strong workforce that can compete and win in the 21st century.”

Hopefully, Michigan will find the same success Iowa did in creating the New Jobs Training Program, but only time will tell.

What are your thoughts on Michigan’s New Jobs Training Program? With our current economic situation, do you think more states should develop similar programs?

Achieve your 2009 goals: Start with the right list

January is an optimistic month, full of goals and New Year’s resolutions set in hopes of making the next 12 months better than the last. Unfortunately, that optimism may quickly turn to frustration when it’s time to start attacking those goals.

Making a New Year’s resolution is simple. It’s following through with your resolutions that is usually the difficult part. By the time March rolls around, much of what we planned for in January has fallen by the wayside and we’re left with disappointment.

Whether it involves improving your safety training program or creating more learning and development opportunities in your organization, sticking to your New Year’s goals doesn't have to seem impossible.

Increase the probability that you’ll actually follow through with the resolutions you set in January by focusing on how you determine your goal list.

In a recent article from our Workplace Training & Development Learning Library, the author suggests using a new approach to goal setting that may work out better for you this year.

Follow these five steps to goal-reaching success:

1. Outline your priorities. What is most important in your life right now? List your top five priorities. You’re not thinking about goals yet, just the things that matter most to you.


2. Identify one goal. Determine one major goal for each priority you outlined in the first step. Make sure your goal is achievable, measurable, directly related to your priority and within your control.


3. List the steps. Look at each goal and list the steps you need to take in order to achieve it.


4. Set deadlines. Once you’ve identified the steps, create deadlines for each step. Be realistic with your timelines and consider other responsibilities as you assign each date.


5. Keep goals close by. Put all of your goals, steps and due dates into your daily planner and carry it with you every day. Check it frequently to make sure you’re staying on task.

How to be productive when business is slow

So, you're stuck working this week. For many, the week between Christmas and New Year's is one of the slowest of the year and one where not very much gets done. Whether it's because nobody is in the office or nobody is buying, now is not the time to sit around and waste the week away.

Instead, be productive when business is slow and get a head start on 2009. Use a few of these tips to get things done and not waste any time:

• Plan ahead. What would you like to accomplish in 2009? Sit down this week and write out your goals for 2009. Take it a step further and schedule a meeting to share those goals with your boss.


• Catch up. Make it a point this week to catch up on all of the industry news and trends you haven't had time to read during the year. Buy a book or two on a topic that would help you improve the way you work.


• Get organized. Attack that stack of papers on your desk and clean out your email inbox. If you don't do it before 2009, it probably won't get done. Use this slow time to get organized and put it all away.


• Connect. Have lunch or plan a meeting with that one business contact you didn't have time to meet with during the year. Get to know that person a little better and strengthen a valuable business relationship over lunch this week.


• Learn. Have you ever wondered how another department in your organization got things done? Make it a point this week to learn something new about how other departments function in your business.

How to use Twitter for training

Earlier this month, Jeanne Meister at the New Learning Playbook brought up some questions about the popular social networking tool Twitter asking: what is Twitter, who uses it, and can it be harnessed as a learning tool?

If you're unfamiliar, Twitter is a free social networking tool used to make connections and share small bits of information. It is entirely based on the question: What are you doing? Twitter users send "tweets" of 140 characters or less to share with their followers what they're up to.

Meister suggested using Twitter for learning and development in the following ways:

• Deliver learning to employees. Most Twitter users are young, usually between the ages of 18 and 34. Young employees will be more likely to use and enjoy using social networking tools like Twitter to learn new information.
• Webcast follow-up. You can use Twitter for asking questions on conference calls and webcasts. Using Twitter creates a record of questions and comments that you can refer to later and share with attendees.
• Learning reinforcement. Twitter gives you the opportunity to share quick bites of information, quickly. With all of your learners on Twitter, it is easy to reinforce learning content with links to follow-up information.

From first hand experience, I would like to add keeping trainees connected after a training session to the list of Twitter for learning. After a training seminar or class, have students and the instructor exchange Twitter user names to stay connected. The group can continue to stay connected through Twitter and share new information as time goes on.

We would like to know - Do you see a future for Twitter as a valuable learning tool? How are you currently using Twitter as it relates to training and learning?