Notes and News

Citation

Pollitt, D. (2015), "Notes and News", Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 47 No. 7. https://doi.org/10.1108/ICT-07-2015-0046

Notes and News

Article Type: Notes and news From: Industrial and Commercial Training, Volume 47, Issue 7

ATD conference attracts almost 10,000 by Paul Loftus

The Association for Talent Development (ATD) international conference and exposition was held at the Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida, USA. There were 92 countries represented with 2,300 people attending from outside the USA.

The conference theme was content, community and global perspectives. There were ten content tracks: career development, global human-resource development, human capital, instructional design, leadership development, learning technologies, learning measurement and analytics, management, science of learning and training delivery. There were four industry tracks: government, health care, higher education and sales enablement.

The people who attended were promised access to a wide range of industry resources, to learn from the game changers, to obtain fresh ideas on how to apply current and future trends to their jobs and to leave with an invigorated passion for talent development.

Speakers were selected for their ability to provide tools that can be used by learning and development specialists to improve performance and increase productivity in their workplaces. There were more than 300 sessions to fulfil these promises.

The large exposition, an integral part of the conference, had an impressive array of books, magazines, DVDs, training instruments, tests, learning games, simulations and self-assessment tools. It also included presentations by many leaders in the field. They included Ken Blanchard, who released his new book at the conference. The book’s title is The New One-Minute Manager. It was co-written with Spencer Johnson, author of Who Moved My Cheese. There were 400 exhibitors spread over 17 aisles in the huge exhibition hall.

The ten countries, excluding the USA, with the highest representation at this year’s event were Korea (291), Canada (211), Japan (172), China (163), Brazil (146), Kuwait (108), Saudi Arabia (88), The Netherlands (75), UK (74) and Mexico (65).

ATD was founded in 1943 as the American Society of Training Directors. Its name was changed to the American Society for Training and Development and, later, to simply ATD. By changing its name the association recognized its global impact and membership. Its purpose has always been to support the education and development of those responsible for training others.

The opening address, "Leading a Global Business", was delivered by Andrea Jung. Throughout her career, Jung ranked consistently among the top leaders in the world on lists including Fortune magazine’s Most Powerful Women in Business, Forbes magazine’s Most Powerful Women in the World and the Financial Times Top Women in World Business.

A role model and trailblazer for women, she became Avon’s first female chief executive in the company’s 126-year history in 1999 and the first female chief executive at a cosmetics company who was not also its founder. At that time, she was also the longest-tenured female Fortune 500 chief executive in history, with more than ten years at the helm when the average tenure was just under three-and-a-half years.

Jung is currently the president and chief executive of Grameen America, where she is working to solve economic issues for women and their families through microloans, training and support. She is also on the boards of directors at General Electric and Apple.

During her time at Avon, Jung was responsible for developing the company’s strategies, brand initiatives and economic-opportunities model for women, expanding around the world into more than 100 countries. She is credited with defining Avon as more than just a cosmetics company, leading it to become the company for women and enabling economic independence and self-sufficiency for millions of women worldwide.

Jung is lauded globally for her dedication to empowering women through economic-earnings opportunities and through her pursuit of public-private partnerships to end violence against women and to stem the rise in breast-cancer cases.

Avon has long stood for female empowerment. Its current vision is "to be the company that best understands and satisfies the product, service and self-fulfilment needs of women." The motto says it all: "The company for women." Jung spoke of Avon’s five values – trust, respect, belief, humility and integrity.

While the Canadian head office was in Montreal, I conducted its management-development seminars. While doing so I got to know the chief executive for Canada, Christina Gold. She arrived from the Netherlands with her parents as a child. She started as an Avon representative and rose through the ranks to become chief executive. She could frequently be seen in the cafeteria with the factory workers.

She was subsequently promoted to the world headquarters in New York and was tipped to become chief executive. When the job went to a man, she left and became chief executive at a larger company.

Jung said: "Vision and values must be a global language." This is particularly relevant in today’s globalized marketplace. Her audience, many of whom work for multinational corporations, could clearly identify with this sentiment.

Jung emphasized that "leadership is all about influence" and that "success is based on the ability to motivate and inspire." Learning professionals realize the part influence plays in today’s workplace. This is the reason there are so many seminars on influencing skills. There are also numerous instruments for managers to find out about their ability to influence. A leader needs to be able to motivate and inspire people. Today’s leaders realize that a title on an organization chart is not sufficient for success. The days of being ensconced in an ivory tower with a golden key to the executive washroom are long gone. Today’s leader has to be a member of the team and avoid aloofness.

When Avon had to undertake a major downsizing during Jung’s tenure, she traveled the world to tell the employees herself. It was a difficult job which she referred to as "high-touch engagement." It was her management style.

She informed her audience that "reinvention is the key." She added: "You cannot reinvent your organization without reinventing yourself first. Reinvention comes with a huge dose of humility."

Most organizations now realize that if you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got. She underlined the importance of innovation when she encouraged her audience never to stop innovating.

Jung spoke about women’s rise up the corporate ladder. She said that there were big cracks in the glass ceiling and the fact that KPMG and Deloitte are now run by women was evidence of this. However, there is still a way to go for women to gain equal representation at senior-executive and boardroom levels. Jung said that women are the fastest emerging market but continued: "A boardroom of all women is as bad as one of all men." Gender diversity in the boardroom is the key.

Jung said: "Do good. It is as important as doing well." She was proud of the Avon cancer campaign for women and underlined the importance of contributing to greater social good.

She said it was not easy being a single mother raising two children, and continued: "There were days when the job lost and days when the children lost." However, she was inspired by her mother who came to America from China without speaking English and who subsequently opened a hair salon.

Jung offered the following life advice:

• It is about purpose, not power.

• Follow your compass, not your clock.

• Never give up.

• Fail forward. Make a mistake and learn from it.

• Life is not always fair.

• The concept of being a victim is a non-starter.

• Balance is possible but not on the same day.

• Feedback and self-awareness are critical.

• It is all about the who, not the what.

Paul Loftus is an industrial/organizational psychologist, an inter-cultural consultant and a freelance journalist. He has been conducting public and in-company management-development seminars globally for more than 25 years. He can be reached at [1] (514) 282-9111; mailto:ploftus@colba.net; www.paulloftus.ca

European Automation launches sales training program

European Automation, a supplier of obsolete, used and refurbished engineering components, has launched an inbound-sales training scheme that reflects the change in buyer behavior in the automation sector.

Sales of automation components used to take place entirely in an outbound environment, often managed by on-road sales representatives. However, European Automation believes that the shift toward inbound enquiries for equipment such as obsolete inverters reflects the changing environment, including social media, mobile-phone use and the increased availability of information online.

Each new cohort of staff that joins European Automation will sit the course, learning skills in both sales and customer service. It provides a tailored approach to developing the expertise needed to be a successful salesperson of industrial components. Developed entirely in-house, the scheme is moderated by Leroy Spence, European Automation’s sales-development manager.

The course provides the opportunity for the learners to share their knowledge, while also giving them the confidence to advise customers correctly. This enables the customer to make informed choices when purchasing obsolete parts.

European Automation creates an individual development plan for each trainee. The plan covers working in a sales environment, learning the basics of the job and, for some, running their own sales team.

The induction runs for three days and covers company culture, the automation industry and how the business would like to be perceived. Trainees are encouraged to contribute to the informal training sessions. After the induction, the trainees join European Automation’s sales team, where they complete a series of modular sessions.

European Automation intends to use the scheme to change the industry’s view of salespeople. Many customers believe that salespeople are there to convince them to buy a product that they do not want. We want our sales team to be informed enough to give technical advice to our customers, allowing them to purchase parts that they need.

"We want our customers to be sure that choosing European Automation was the right decision," explained Leroy Spence. "The training scheme has exceeded all expectations and we have had consistent, positive feedback from both those involved and current employees who have seen the trainees’ progress."

"They are bound to make mistakes along the way so, during the scheme, we are not interested in the amount of sales that each trainee makes," continued Leroy Spence. "The point of the training program is to give each individual the information and experience needed to progress. We want the trainees to be passionate about both sales and our products; the feedback that the training scheme has enabled them to achieve this is all the incentive we need."

In the long term, European Automation aims to retrain all existing members of staff, including customer service, as well as 25 new joiners this year. Implementing the scheme will help the company to maintain its record of promoting from within.

Growth in Accor’s Scotland hotels supports local apprentices

Hotel operator Accor has reaffirmed its pledge to double its number of its UK apprentices, bringing the total to 300 by the end of 2016.

The announcement supports Accor’s continued investment in Scotland, where it currently employs almost 1,000 people. In November 2014, Accor signed to open two new hotels later this year – Ibis Styles in Glasgow and Mercure Edinburgh – bringing its total in the country to 20.

In the past ten years in the UK, Accor has provided more than 500 people with apprenticeship programs. Research released last year from Accor revealed that an increasing number of young people are joining apprenticeship schemes as an alternative to higher education. In a survey carried out by the group, most people could clearly see the benefits that joining an apprenticeship scheme would bring. Of those questioned, 94 percent agreed that they were better suited to learning on the job, while seven out of ten agreed that relevant work experience is more valuable than unrelated study.

Thomas Dubaere, managing director, Accor UK and Ireland, said: "Scotland is a very important region for us and our pledge is testament to our ongoing commitment to the area. At Accor we believe that apprenticeships provide young people with invaluable skills to help them to build a career in exciting and evolving industries such as ours. I would urge young people to consider apprenticeships as a great route to achieving their long-term career goals."

Tidal Transit sweeps up award

Norfolk-based Tidal Transit has received a highly commended Work Force New Anglia Award, having taken advantage of a grant from the £2 million European Social Fund project to update workforce skills.

The project was led by the College of West Anglia, which came together with five further colleges across Norfolk and Suffolk and three private providers to form an organization known as the New Anglia Colleges. The aim of the project is to help small companies and their employees to gain access to a range of qualifications and training.

Eligibility criteria for the scheme are that the company has fewer than 250 employees and is based in Norfolk or Suffolk; employees must be aged 19 or over, have lived in the European Union for past three years, and have qualifications at Level 2 or below.

Tidal Transit was a good fit for the scheme, being a young, rapidly developing company based in the right area and with eligible staff. The company owns a growing fleet of personnel-transfer vessels that are contracted to offshore wind-farm developers and operators to carry employees and equipment to the various sites around the coast of Great Britain.

Leo Hambro, commercial director at Tidal Transit, commented: "Five of our employees took part in an information-technology training course over a period of three months. It covered topics such as word processing, spread-sheets, databases and presentations. We were also able to purchase additional training units that helped them to achieve a Level 2 qualification. I am extremely proud of their achievements and was delighted that Tidal Transit was presented with the highly-commended award."

Santander staff bank life-saving skills

Santander has teamed up with the British Heart Foundation (BHF) to train staff in cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) as part of the heart charity’s ambition to create a nation of life-savers.

With more than 900 branches across the UK, Santander is the first high-street bank to commit to training its workforce and the charity is calling for all businesses to help create a network of life-savers by teaching staff CPR.

Every year more than 30,000 cardiac arrests happen outside of hospital but currently less than one in ten people survive. This is often because people do not have the skills or confidence to perform CPR. In countries where CPR is more widely taught, survival rates are up to three times higher. The BHF launched its strategy to improve out-of-hospital cardiac-arrest survival rates in the UK in 2014, along with the new call-push-rescue CPR learning model.

This uses a "watch and learn" DVD and an inflatable manikin on which to practise the techniques. The training will eventually reach more than 20,000 Santander staff.

Vicky Wallis, HR director, Santander, said: "We are proud to be the first high-street bank to offer our colleagues the BHF’s call-push-rescue training. Knowing how to carry out CPR is a vital life skill and it will give our people the confidence to help if an emergency happens at home or at work. We would encourage all UK businesses to join us and help to create a nation of life-savers."

Simon Gillespie, chief executive at the BHF, said: "Knowing how to react when you are faced with a cardiac arrest can mean the difference between life and death. Through the BHF, more than 3.5 million people have been taught CPR skills already, many of whom have gone on to use them in an emergency. We are delighted that Santander has committed to training its employees in CPR to help to protect people from the devastating consequences that a cardiac arrest can bring."

"But we are a long way from turning the UK into a nation of life-savers where everyone has the skills and confidence to perform CPR. More businesses and workplaces now need to follow Santander’s example by committing 30 minutes of every employee’s day to learning CPR."

Big contract signed to train gas-project workers

A multi-year, multi-million-dollar agreement has been signed to train production workers involved in the Ichthys liquefied natural gas project, off the coast of Western Australia.

The deal will see the Atlas Knowledge develop and deliver custom-made training modules and online 3D models of the project’s onshore and offshore production facilities, as well as in-depth process training for the specific systems and equipment used at each asset.

The e-learning will provide all personnel in the integrated-operations team with an understanding of the plant, equipment, materials and their associated hazards. Facility-specific modules will take production technicians on an interactive journey to the process area they are assigned to.

The Inpex-operated project includes some of the world’s largest offshore facilities, massive onshore facilities in Darwin, Northern Territory and an 889 km pipeline uniting them.

It marks a further Australian LNG project win for the technology provider that was previously involved in delivering training for Shell’s Prelude development off the coast of Western Australia.

Robert Morgan, chairman of Atlas Knowledge, said: "This is a major project which has seen us work closely with Inpex over a significant period of time to design facility-specific training modules to meet the demands expected of its workforce ahead of production starting on the Ichthys LNG project."

"The training programs we are designing will provide the learning and preparation needed for staff to work efficiently and safely from the start of production through the lifecycle of the field."

Alongside customized e-learning programs, Atlas will license modules from its technical library to Inpex to support staff understanding of oil and gas industry fundamentals and processes.

"Our learning technology will provide ongoing training throughout the life of the field as it can be easily updated and adapted to suit the needs of the Ichthys LNG project as it progresses," said Robert Morgan.

The competency-based training will be assessed to Inpex, industry and national standards and accessible to staff working across multiple locations simultaneously, enabling efficient learning and development progression across various job disciplines.

Librarians learn to become digital champions

The Society of Chief Librarians (SCL) used of a range of tools to deliver a training program that covered five areas around digital-information skills to 14,000 librarians.

Funded partially by Arts Council England, SCL wanted to help library staff to recognize the barriers people face when getting online, equip staff to support people with various disability needs and strengthen their role as digital champions.

For many people in the UK, the local public library is the only place for access to free computers. According to Office of National Statistics data more than four million households do not have internet access. A large part of this group state that barriers, including lack of skills and equipment and access costs, prevent them from connecting to the internet.

SCL delivered online training in the following categories:

1. the digital divide and your role as a public-library digital champion;

2. understanding your customers’ needs;

3. supporting access to online services;

4. signposting and referral; and

5. delivering digital skills.

In less than four months, 14,000 public-library staff (80 percent of the workforce) undertook the SCL five-module e-learning program.

Ciara Eastell, SCL president, said: "Working with Learning Pool on this project has made it possible to deliver an extensive online training program at low cost and to a tight timeframe."

Paul McElvaney, Learning Pool chief executive, said: "Speed, scale and savings are three words that can be used to describe the Society of Chief Librarians’ e-learning program. SCL has been able to up-skill more than14,000 librarians within an impressive timescale of less than four months. Our team looks forward to continually supporting them on their digital journey."