Without a doubt, we live in a time where technology reaches all aspects of business. We communicate primarily through emails, do reseach online, convert our systems & data to online applications, use video conferencing equipment to hold meetings so that additional travel expenses are eliminated, and a majority of our marketing is now done online as well.
Recently, we've begun to see a trend in online training as well. The opportunities for online training are almost endless. Not only are there blogs touching on just about any topic imaginable, but there are webinars, capability for webex/SameTime meetings, and even more CBTs than ever before.
At my company, we have a goal of 40 hours of training for each & every employee. Quite honestly, this was one of the primary reasons I chose to work with LeasePlan. I was instantly impressed that there was a company out there that valued its employees so much that it included TRAINING as one of their top Key Performance Indicators for their annual plan - right up there with net income, return on equity & client satisfaction ratings.
Obviously, it can become difficult for each & every employee to get away from their desk to attend 40 hours of training while making sure that their actual job requirements are completed as well. Not to mention, that we have two locations (one here in Atlanta, & a second in Chicago). I'm ONE person, and primarily housed in Atlanta. So how do I cater to the additional 150 employees that over 700 miles away from me without racking up on extra delta skymiles at my companies expense when everyone's budget is being scrutinized anyway OR leaving the Chicago folks feeling jipped? Enter technology to save the day!
We had to get a bit creative with the availability and type of training that would be offered. We now provide a vast offering of CBT courses that are available for any employee that they are able to access at any time of the day and even from home. As well, we know both Atlanta & Chicago are known for horrible commutes, so LeasePlan employees can check out one of the many books on cd from our library. They get their training credit once they have completed the book & filled out a Q/A summary on the book they selected. Let's not forget that I'm only able to travel to Chicago four, maybe five, times out of the year... Is it really fair to the other office that the people here have me at their disposal practically year round? Solution!!! WebEx/SameTime Meetings!!! Basically, I'm able to give access to our remote employees to view my computer screen through an online application. They log in, access the meeting I've set up, and voila! they can see everything that the people in Atlanta can see! As well, they dial into a conference bridge so that they can actually hear the presentation as well. It's almost as if they were right there with me. At times, we even hold training classes in one of our boardrooms to utilize the video conferencing equipment. It really does add such a personal touch to be able to see the face of the person you're talking to.
It doesn't take much to think outside the box; but it definitely makes a difference. At the end of October, almost 50 % of our employee base had already exceeded our 40 hour goal with an average of 61 hours. The total average of training hours per employee is 39.9 hours!!! That's amazing & we're not even finished with the year!
Friday, December 5, 2008
and the winner is...
Hello all!!! I'm sorry I've been away for the past couple of weeks, but I'm back!
Just a quick update on our Women's Professional Development Series which I mentioned in the last entry. The third program just started up so we've got a fresh new set of women ready to development their careers! It's very exciting! I love working for company that continually finds new & interesting ways to develop their employees.
On another extremely exciting note - this program helped LeasePlan win a Client Advisor Award!!! The Client Advisor Awards are designed to set the standards for best practice behavior and results in the relationships between professional services firms (in this case, the company we partnered with to design the program was PathBuilders) and their clients (us). Both the professional services firms & the clients can be nominated for the award, and in this case, LeasePlan was nominated for our group and we won the award as well!!!
Just a quick update on our Women's Professional Development Series which I mentioned in the last entry. The third program just started up so we've got a fresh new set of women ready to development their careers! It's very exciting! I love working for company that continually finds new & interesting ways to develop their employees.
On another extremely exciting note - this program helped LeasePlan win a Client Advisor Award!!! The Client Advisor Awards are designed to set the standards for best practice behavior and results in the relationships between professional services firms (in this case, the company we partnered with to design the program was PathBuilders) and their clients (us). Both the professional services firms & the clients can be nominated for the award, and in this case, LeasePlan was nominated for our group and we won the award as well!!!
Sunday, November 9, 2008
what are your strengths?
Last year, I participated in a 4 day series (that lasted over the course of 8 months) that my company offers to the women of the organization. We use an outside vendor that specializes in career development for women. The course is designed to talk about many issues women face in the workplace & how to set yourself up to succeed. Over the course of this blog, I'll be sure to touch on several of the topics we covered.
Before we even started the series, we each read "Now, Discover Your Strengths" by Marcus Buckingham. This was such an eye-opening book to read. It discusses the idea that in order to succeed & be happy, you must first discover what your strengths are & focus on those rather than focusing on trying to strengthen your weaknesses. You also take the StrengthsFinder test which helps determine what your top 5 strengths are. Let me tell you, this test could not have hit the nail more squarely on the head. It was me to a tee (no pun intended). My #1 strength is that I'm a Learner. Let me tell you - This really put my whole life into perspective for me. My entire life, I've been the wierd kid that loves going to school. If there is one thing that I've learned from reading this book is that I thrive in situations where I'm learning new things. Finally explains why I always enjoyed going to school, reading books, watching educational movies/shows, and why I always wanted to be a teacher. Some may ask why I didn't become a teacher; well, let's say that I learned very early on in college that I did not want to spend 8 hours a day with the little ones. I realized after reading this book & taking the course that I need to be in a job that allows me to learn new things on a daily basis. That's when I realized I should (and wanted to) become a trainer.
I guess the point that I'm trying to make is find out what you're good at... You can figure it out pretty easily by paying attention to what makes you happy during the day. When we succeed, something triggers inside our heads & we immediately feel happy. So find out what your strength is & figure out how to make it work for you. Find the job or the aspects of your job that truly make you happy. Take the work out of your job!!!!
On another note, the Wall Stret Journal recently picked up the story of the program. Take a look and stay tuned for more. Also, we're (along with the 3rd party firm that created the program for us) are finalist for a 2008 Client Advisor Award, an award to honor clients & advisors who consistantly and cooperatively foster and grow successful client advisor relationships. This program has just started its third round & I believe there will be several more.
Before we even started the series, we each read "Now, Discover Your Strengths" by Marcus Buckingham. This was such an eye-opening book to read. It discusses the idea that in order to succeed & be happy, you must first discover what your strengths are & focus on those rather than focusing on trying to strengthen your weaknesses. You also take the StrengthsFinder test which helps determine what your top 5 strengths are. Let me tell you, this test could not have hit the nail more squarely on the head. It was me to a tee (no pun intended). My #1 strength is that I'm a Learner. Let me tell you - This really put my whole life into perspective for me. My entire life, I've been the wierd kid that loves going to school. If there is one thing that I've learned from reading this book is that I thrive in situations where I'm learning new things. Finally explains why I always enjoyed going to school, reading books, watching educational movies/shows, and why I always wanted to be a teacher. Some may ask why I didn't become a teacher; well, let's say that I learned very early on in college that I did not want to spend 8 hours a day with the little ones. I realized after reading this book & taking the course that I need to be in a job that allows me to learn new things on a daily basis. That's when I realized I should (and wanted to) become a trainer.
I guess the point that I'm trying to make is find out what you're good at... You can figure it out pretty easily by paying attention to what makes you happy during the day. When we succeed, something triggers inside our heads & we immediately feel happy. So find out what your strength is & figure out how to make it work for you. Find the job or the aspects of your job that truly make you happy. Take the work out of your job!!!!
On another note, the Wall Stret Journal recently picked up the story of the program. Take a look and stay tuned for more. Also, we're (along with the 3rd party firm that created the program for us) are finalist for a 2008 Client Advisor Award, an award to honor clients & advisors who consistantly and cooperatively foster and grow successful client advisor relationships. This program has just started its third round & I believe there will be several more.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
dress for success
I'm sure that most of you have seen Julia Roberts and her portrayal of Erin Brockovich. There's no doubt that the work of the real Erin Brockovich is nothing short of absolutely astonishing and she continues to inspire others as a dedicated environmental activist. Even with all of this hard work & natural talent she obviously carries, my mind cannot help but wonder how many obstacles she has encountered in her lifetime simply because of the way she dressed while on the job? When I hear her name, my first thought is of tight mini-skirts and enough cleavage to make some people blush.... then, my mind goes to the excellent work she has done. Let's face it... we live in a visual society and it's almost impossible to escape the ramifications that come along with that.
Recently, careerbuilder.com surveyed employers to discover that 41% say that people who dress better or more professionally tend to be promoted more often than others in their organization. The survey dug in a little bit deeper to find that employers give more weight in an interview to candidates who show up wearing a business suit than those who do not. In an effort to encourage employees to continually look professional, some employers have made the decision to ban certain items of clothing such as flip-flops, mini-skirts, & even jeans.
Just like many other companies, mine faces these same issues. In an effort to find an out of the box way to address these issues, we came up with our own Dress for Success Panel. For the first panel we held, we brought in one of our departments that is 100% female-based & put together a panel of 5 women from our organization that were director level or above. The moderator posed a few questions to get the session going and to keep it moving if need be, but for the most part the ladies kept the conversation lively and upbeat. You could see the enthusiasm in the group to find out what tips and tricks that they could each use to help further their own careers. It was so interesting to hear the questions from the women of our organization and the concerns they already have about being able to dress to impress. It was even more impressive and ultimately humbling to hear one of our vice presidents (one of our best-dressed vice presidents at that) talk about sharing suits with her roommate when she was fresh out of college to appear like she had more clothes than she did.
Since the inception of the first panel, we now hold the panel monthly with a different set of panelists each time. We've also encorporated men in the panel to ensure that each and every employee can get the most out of the experience. I think that with out a doubt this program has been a success. It's provided a fresh perspective on how being aware of your personal style can only positively enfluence your career.
Recently, careerbuilder.com surveyed employers to discover that 41% say that people who dress better or more professionally tend to be promoted more often than others in their organization. The survey dug in a little bit deeper to find that employers give more weight in an interview to candidates who show up wearing a business suit than those who do not. In an effort to encourage employees to continually look professional, some employers have made the decision to ban certain items of clothing such as flip-flops, mini-skirts, & even jeans.
Just like many other companies, mine faces these same issues. In an effort to find an out of the box way to address these issues, we came up with our own Dress for Success Panel. For the first panel we held, we brought in one of our departments that is 100% female-based & put together a panel of 5 women from our organization that were director level or above. The moderator posed a few questions to get the session going and to keep it moving if need be, but for the most part the ladies kept the conversation lively and upbeat. You could see the enthusiasm in the group to find out what tips and tricks that they could each use to help further their own careers. It was so interesting to hear the questions from the women of our organization and the concerns they already have about being able to dress to impress. It was even more impressive and ultimately humbling to hear one of our vice presidents (one of our best-dressed vice presidents at that) talk about sharing suits with her roommate when she was fresh out of college to appear like she had more clothes than she did.
Since the inception of the first panel, we now hold the panel monthly with a different set of panelists each time. We've also encorporated men in the panel to ensure that each and every employee can get the most out of the experience. I think that with out a doubt this program has been a success. It's provided a fresh perspective on how being aware of your personal style can only positively enfluence your career.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
welcome!!!
Hello all & welcome to my blog! I've been juggling the idea of starting a blog designed to specifically talk about recruiting, training, & career development. I've always enjoyed blogging, and helping people find their place in the world is my passion - so why not bring the two of them together.
So, let me tell you a little bit about myself. I have a B.S. in Speech Communication from Georgia Southern University. My professional background includes roles in Sales & Account Management Support, Account Management, Recruiting, & Training. My current role is Recruitment & Development Specialist. I'm responsible for developing & maintaining our recruitment program, as well as responsible for the on-boarding of our new hires. I conduct several training classes designed to assist in the development of our current emloyee base, including New Hire Orientation, online training, & career development courses.
So, let me tell you a little bit about myself. I have a B.S. in Speech Communication from Georgia Southern University. My professional background includes roles in Sales & Account Management Support, Account Management, Recruiting, & Training. My current role is Recruitment & Development Specialist. I'm responsible for developing & maintaining our recruitment program, as well as responsible for the on-boarding of our new hires. I conduct several training classes designed to assist in the development of our current emloyee base, including New Hire Orientation, online training, & career development courses.
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