Trends in learning and talent development

• On-the-job training, in-house development programmes and coaching by line managers were ranked among the most effective L&D strategies for the last five years. They were almost the most common along with e-Learning methods.
• On-the-job training has increased over the past few years as the most effective training where there has been a decline in coaching by line managers being ranked highly. Meanwhile e-Learning is slowly getting more popular.
• The most common anticipated organisational change over the next two years is greater integration between coaching, organisational development and performance management.

E-learning, collaborative and social learning

• E-Learning usage has not changed significantly since 2011. It is, however, being offered to an increasing proportion of employees within those organisations.
• E-learning currently accounts for a relatively small proportion of total training time. It has increased in manufacturing and production since 2011, but has changed little in the public and private services sector.
• The majority of respondents believe that e-learning is more effective when combined with other types of learning, it is not a substitute for face-to-face or classroom learning however it is essential in today’s collaborative and networked learning.
• Smaller organisations regard social learning most importantly.
• Three-fifths of organisations of all sizes believe that social learning will is important whereas one in seven remain unsure.

Talent management

• Nearly three-fifths of organisations undertake talent management initiatives.
• These initiatives cover all or most employees in two-fifths of organisations with many focussing on high-potential employees and senior managers.
• 71% now say their talent management initiatives are at least ‘fairly effective’; although just 8% say they are ‘very effective’.
• Coaching and in-house development are still the most effective talent management initiatives.
• Moreover, the proportion ranking in-house development among their top three activities has increased 10% from 2011. More organisations also rank mentoring and buddying among their top methods.

Apprenticeships

• Nearly half of respondents report they employ apprentices.
• Manufacturing, production, and organisations with over 250 employees are more likely to as well as the public sector.
• Most agree apprenticeships are an investment in the future of young people and they help organisations build a talent pipeline.
• However less agree whether apprenticeships lead to a more engaged or productive workforce.

Union learning representatives (ULRs)

• Over a third of public sector organisations work with ULRs – more than the private and non-profit sectors.
• Over three-fifths of organisations with ULRs say they are good for supporting basic skills and engaging employees in their own learning as well as helpful and a good addition to their organisation’s learning and talent development.
• ULRs are viewed as less useful at developing higher- level learning.

Employee orientation for new starters (Onboarding)

• The vast majority of respondents report their organisations have employee orientation for new starters, although one in five report they are not committed to onboarding.
• Onboarding typically includes an introduction of the company and its background, a tour of the office and job-specific and health and safety training.
• Around two-fifths provide office buddies and a quarter offer team lunches.

Assessing the impact of learning and talent development activity

• The majority measure their learning and talent development activity however, the frequency they do so and how varies.
• HR metrics followed by business metrics are the most commonly used.
• Nearly three-quarters said they have found the measurement difficult.
• The most common problems were lack of priority given to measuring L&TD effectiveness by managers and leaders and consistent access to required data.

Economic situation and training spend

• Only 8% believed their economic situation had improved over 12 months.
• Half of the public and a quarter of the private sector had seen reduction in funds and resources.
• The public sector has been more hit by cost cutting than the other sectors – over twice as common to see redundancies and rationalisation.
• Most organisations still have a training budget.
• The median annual training budget per employee is £303 which is up from 2012 but still down from 2011 although this varies dramatically within and across sectors – again, the public sector recorded the lowest.
• The median training hours per employee were 25 – similar to last year.
• Only 1 in 9 organisations anticipate more funding and bigger budgets for L&D over the next year.

Choosing a Managed Learning Service Provider isn’t always a straight forward task. You are entrusting another company and need to be confident that they will be the best for you and your company.

At Optimus Sourcing, we are working with companies who have chosen us as their Managed Learning Service provider and are aware of the challenges they have encountered. Therefore, we decided to create this guide to help you choose a Managed Learning Service provider for yourselves so that you don’t have similar problems.

Our experience as a Managed Learning Service provider for some of the leading UK companies has taught us that these following 5 five things must be considered by any company before choosing a Managed Learning Service.   

Objectives

What is it that you want from the relationship? A very common problem in all aspects of business is that managers don’t really know what they want from a strategy before they implement it. Therefore whatever results come out from it are hard to measure as a success or failure or are just completely ignored. Therefore solid numbers need to be formed alongside the Managed Learning Service.  Are you looking to cut down on administration more as you have a small L&D department or has the budget been cut and you are looking to save every penny possible? Are you looking for smaller, more niche courses or large scale rollouts for more common courses? Each provider will be better at different aspects.

Research

Is a Managed Learning Service actually what your company needs? Don’t just do it because you heard others have done it and have saved money – your company is likely to be completely different. If the amount of time you spend dealing with training is minor and in general your training needs are low – then it might be best to deal with it in-house. However, if you have a large supplier base which takes a lot of your time communicating to, you are spending time dealing with training administration such as rearranging courses and sorting out cancellation fees and you aren’t getting very good deals on the prices then a Managed Learning Service could be perfect for you.

Scale

How much assistance do you require in order to become effective and focus on implementing a learning strategy? Is it just one form of training in one department or a companywide deal forming a long-term relationship? There is no wrong answer here – sometimes a small scale quick transaction is best for your business whereas sometimes the benefits of a longer term relationship are required. Managed Learning Services tend to offer different degrees of   help ranging from the simple training sourcing (booking and handling courses) to larger scale integrations that can lead to a Training Needs Analysis – so decide which is best for you.

The Supplier

Is the company reputable? Do they have a list of clients, case studies and testimonials available to you on demand?  Have they worked with similar companies?   How do they develop their own staff?   Who will be the main contacts?   How are the service level agreements they provide? All of this should be looked at as you are handing over a large piece of responsibility to someone else so you need to be sure they aren’t going to let you down. Speak to their clients to get an idea of what their service is really like, what problems they overcame and how they have helped other companies.

Relationship

Possibly the most important thing is can you see yourself building a strong relationship with this Managed Learning Service provider? A lot of the time these deals will be longer term and you are handing over a lot of trust to the provider so do you trust your account manager to pull through for you every time? If you have a good relationship with your provider everything will move along a lot smoother. Remember you are a client and not just another number on a screen so make sure you are treated as such. This goes both ways however – although looking after you is their job, your provider will always appreciate information in advance and recognition for going the extra mile. Make sure you keep each other happy.

This offer is only available until July 31^st 2013 so make sure you take advantage of it now.

In addition to the free voucher, if you fail the exam – you will get a free re-sit.

The courses included in the offer are:

VMware vSphere 5.1: Fast Track – You will receive a free vSphere VCP-DCV exam voucher worth £145.

VMware vSphere 5.1: Optimize and Scale – You will receive a free vSphere VCAP-DCA exam voucher worth £250.

VMware vCloud 5.1: Install, Configure, Manage - You will receive a free VCP-Cloud exam voucher (for existing vSphere 5.0 VCPs) or IaaS exam (for delegates without prior VCP) both worth £145.

So if you wish to book any VMware training course dates or you would like further VMware training information then please contact us by calling 0845 519 7408 or email training@optimussourcing.com.

Download the PDF

VMware can be learnt using a number of methods for whatever suits you best and depending whether you are an individual or an organisation.   A choice of e-Learning, Instructor Led and blended courses are usually available meaning you can choose the VMware training method which suits your preferred learning style and your budget requirements.

If you are interested in VMware training for yourself or your organisation then we are happy to organise this for you.   We work with authorised VMware training organisations and only choose those who have higher than average satisfaction scores and continue to offer high quality training.

Overview

VMware Inc. is a software company that specialise in cloud and virtualisation systems. VM stands for Virtual Machine and the company own and supply several different products including cloud computing operating systems (vSphere) and desktop virtualisation products (View).

The company run a significant amount of training solutions based on their software. Other companies provide training for the software themselves but quality can only be guaranteed by VMware Authorised Training Centres. Therefore before purchasing any training – look to see the provider has been accepted by VMware themselves as delivering the right quality.

‘VMware Training provides industry-leading technical training and certification that build and recognize the virtualization knowledge and expertise needed to transform IT’ [i]

VMware is a global company with coverage in countries such as the UK, US, Spain, Brazil, Australia and Russia.   In addition to the software they provide training globally using different methods such as training courses, e-learning, blended learning and can provide in-house training.

Studies have shown that by 2015, the need for being knowledgeable about cloud technology will have grown 5 times larger. There is an urgent need to retrain staff on new technology and encourage certification to make sure neither you as an individual or your business is left behind.

A Managed Learning Service (or Managed Training Service) is when an outside specialist buys and administers training on behalf of a client organisation. So a company will outsource part of, or their entire training department to a specialist provider. There are several different functions that a Managed Learning Service provider can offer, these include:

This is the most basic level of service to be offered as part of a Managed Learning Service provider. You tell the Managed Learning Service provider exactly what the learning requirement is, what solution you want and the provider will use their experience and buying power to source the solution that is the best value for money for you. A good Managed Learning Service provider will provide several options and you can choose the one that is right for your company. A great Managed Learning Service Provider will be more proactive and undertake a quick learning needs analysis to get to the heart of the issue.

This is the biggest reason most companies will look to a Managed Learning Service provider. By outsourcing all of the time consuming administrative duties such as booking forms, supplier contact, entering into databases and organising dates an L&D team will be able to spend a lot more time concentrating on more value adding tasks such as strategy, engaging with the senior management and working with employees.

Often the most daunting aspect of sourcing training is choosing and maintaining the best suppliers for the job. There are over 12,000 training providers in the UK market today therefore the thought of finding the one perfect for you without any prior experience is a scary thought. The Managed Learning Service provider will have extensive experience with the top trainers and the providers in the market. They will know those who provide the best quality, with the best satisfaction and pass rates. Clients can work with their Managed Learning Service provider to reduce the time spent on managing relationships as well as undertake a supplier review if necessary.

Put simply, the Managed Learning Service provider will be able to negotiate discounts from providers as a result of bulk buying power and should pass savings on to their clients. Training providers tend to have reseller agreements (normally equivalent to internal sales commission) that allow for large discounts to be given to Managed Learning Services companies. These savings are unique and hard to obtain as an independent company unless you have significant budgets yourself.

This is a more advanced service offering and not offered by all Managed Learning Service providers. This is where the Managed Learning Service integrates to a higher level with your company by carrying out an in-depth analysis of the client’s company and operations and determines what training solutions are needed to improve business performance the most. Individual needs are can be reviewed to ensure that they are related to company objectives. This process is crucial to formulating a Learning Strategy.

When choosing your Managed Learning Service, as with most markets there is a degree of choice. There are several main providers of Managed Learning Services in the market place and each will offer different things meaning each will operate with varying degrees of effectiveness for different situations.

Although we provide an excellent service at Optimus Sourcing, we are aware that we may not always be the perfect choice for your organisation. Different Managed Learning Service providers have differing levels of skills and knowledge for different situations.  We want everyone to get the best possible service so we have decided to compare our services against our competitors, and this piece compares us against one of our competitors, Knowledge Pool (recently acquired by Capita), so that you can decide which of our offerings are more suitable to your company and its training needs.

There are key differences between our Managed Learning Service and Knowledge Pool’s as well as the way we operate, so it is important for you to choose the offering that will most suit you and your company.

Below we have done our best to spell out simply the strengths and weaknesses of each of our Managed Learning Services so that you can make the most well informed decision.

Knowledge Pool

Knowledge Pool is the UK’s leading Managed Learning Service provider and work with large multinational corporations such as Virgin Media, Orange and Ford. Knowledge Pool are often responsible for over 8000 delegate’s training needs every year in each of these companies. They have a very large employee base and are well equipped and used to working in such high volumes.

Our view of the market is that there are very large differences in needs between the sizes of businesses when it comes to their training needs. Knowledge Pool are a very big company and are fully capable of implementing very widespread and efficient automated LMS and LCMS that can provide large amounts of data on thousands of employees.

Optimus Sourcing

However at Optimus we know these extensive offerings aren’t often needed. There are very few companies in the UK that will have training needs as extensive as these and therefore the design and implementation of such detailed and intricate systems can even be an obstacle to development.

To a lot of companies operating, what they want from a Managed Learning Service is a trustworthy two way relationship where they are guaranteed to speak to the same person each time they want to source something. Therefore strong relationships can be built and each party knows exactly what the other expects and synergies are formed. With the strong relationships we form, we can really get to know your business including the culture and the challenges you face. Therefore, you know when we recommend a training option, not only will it fulfil your training need – it will fit in seamlessly with the strategy of your entire organisation.

At Optimus we understand this and strive to always improve the relationships with our clients as we know the stress that can be associated with sourcing training – and we aim to all but eradicate it.

Conclusion

In summary we feel that if you want a large scale, companywide roll out for thousands of employees every year that utilises significant learning technologies – then Knowledge Pool is the option that will better suit you as they are well equipped to deal with such scales.

However, if you value excellent personal service and enjoy building long term relationships or are looking for any smaller scale Learning and Development strategy to be implemented with help in training sourcing, administration, evaluation and supplier management then the Managed Learning Services we offer will be perfect for you.

Give us a try!

If you are currently using a Managed Learning Service provider and are unsatisfied with the customer service you are receiving or if you are just looking at your options having decided you need a Managed Learning Service, then we challenge you to try us out just once to experience the personal and professional service we provide.  We are 100% sure you will be more than impressed with our service offerings and will be coming back for more!

Speak to one of our expert advisors now by calling 0845 519 4708 or email us at training@optimussourcing.com and find out how Optimus Sourcing can help improve your business.

Capita acquires managed learning services provider, Knowledge Pool

Capita plc announces that it has acquired Knowledge Pool Group Ltd, a managed learning services provider, for an undisclosed sum.

Speaking to Blake Henegan, Director of Optimus Sourcing earlier today, he had this to say on the subject:

“This announcement will send shockwaves through the Managed Learning Service provider marketplace as well as through the wider Learning and Development industry.   I’ll be keen to see what plans Capita have and what impact this will have on Knowledge Pool’s existing Managed Learning Services client base.

For Optimus Sourcing this could be a great opportunity as this development may well leave Optimus Sourcing as the only true vendor independent Managed Learning Services provider in the market place.”

This acquisition is significant news in the Learning and Development industry as Capita and Knowledge Pool were widely regarded as 2 of the largest competitors in the Managed Learning Services market with Knowledge Pool in particular being known as the largest vendor neutral provider. However this is no longer the case with Capita providing their own courses.

Are you currently using Knowledge Pool’s Managed Learning Services? With 2 such large businesses conglomerating as with every business deal of this size it may affect you and the service you receive.

Will this deal improve the service provided by both companies? Only time will tell. However if you are thinking of reviewing your current Managed Learning Services partnership in light of these changes then we would love to speak to you about how we can help. You can call us on 0845 519 7408 or email us at training@optimussourcing.com to discuss further options for you and your business. You can also read our competitive analysis between the Managed Learning Services offered by Knowledge Pool and ourselves here.

Too often, when we leave school we view our learning days as over. Learning is something that we must do for our entire life. Henry L. Doherty, an entrepreneur and a winner of the Franklin Institute’s Walton Clark Medal once summed it up perfectly:

“Get over the idea that only children should spend their time in study. Be a student so long as you still have something to learn, and this will mean all your life.”

Adult Learners’ Week is a celebration of this concept. Naturally, being a company that sources training, we are firm believers of it.

So in order to mark Adult Learners’ Week we are encouraging you to phone us up at 0845 519 7408 or email us at training@optimussourcing.com and ask us about the different courses we offer. Whether you are looking to improve on something as simple as Microsoft Office or are looking for a larger scale course that will improve your CV such as PRINCE2 or ITIL – contact us and we will be able to source you a typically low price to get you learning!

All over the country people and companies are holding events to promote and encourage Adult Learners’ Week. Everything from languages, to cooking and even flower arranging classes are happening with many of them either discounted or even free to encourage you to come.

For more information on everything that is going on during Adult Learners’ Week, visit http://www.alw.org.uk/. The website is a fantastic way of looking at events near you and you can register to stay up to date with all relevant news for the week. The site also allows you to set up an event yourself, so if you want to be a part of the week then make sure you register!

Also, make sure you keep up to date with everyone involved with Adult Learners’ Week using #ALW13 on Twitter – we will certainly be tweeting!

In the meantime, we have written several blogs on the subject. We have a 15 minutes of learning blog or video which is all about encouraging you to spend 15 minutes everyday learning – and giving you ideas of how to. We also have another blog called Building your Strengths which is all about looking to improve yourself and your ‘core competencies’. Finally, we have also summarised plenty of Learning and Development based reports – so why not learn something new about the industry!

A book that is recommended for many Marketing and Business Management based degrees as well as anyone interested in or involved in either.

This book is now in its 7^th edition and this goes a long way towards showing you that it is still heavily in demand and useful to many. The book takes you through a step by step guide of creating a marketing plan, raising many important questions along the way. By putting the stages of the marketing plan in this formulaic approach, it ensures that anyone new to marketing or even those more experienced in it will consider everything needed to cover every angle.

The book is heavily recommended by a substantial amount of university courses and is often considered to be essential reading but that doesn’t mean it is only useful for those studying a degree. Anyone who is starting a business or looking to expand the marketing capabilities of their current business will find it an excellent resource as it explains many marketing concepts clearly.

The structure of the book is very simple – each chapter represents each stage of a marketing plan. The book then gives you detailed help for each section in order. The book has plenty of definitions down the side which makes picking up keywords easy. The book is therefore very easy to follow and if you were creating your marketing plan as you went along the chapters you would have a very thorough plan by the end of the book.

The thing I most like about the book was its use of case studies and real life examples. Too often do books explain the academic theory without giving it any context – leaving you to think the theory is all well and good but does it work in practice? McDonald always ensures he anchors the theories with real life application. The book’s title is a good indicator of this – it doesn’t just teach you how to prepare a marketing plan but also how to actually use them. It is this which separates it apart from the rest.

There are a few drawbacks to the book as well. Firstly the book is extremely large and can sometimes seem a bit daunting to read. It is probably unrealistic to expect to read the entire book as it is 592 pages and the pages are large. Therefore it is important to identify the parts that will be of most value to you. Also, the pages can often be text heavy. Again this can make reading it quite over aweing as there are few images and diagrams to break up the text for large portions of the book. More of these could have made the book more appealing to visual learners.

To summarise, the book is an excellent resource to anybody looking to either create a brand new marketing plan from scratch or looking to fill in the gaps of their current one. The language and structure is very easy to follow meaning you don’t have to have a huge amount of marketing experience to follow the terminology. The slight drawback of the book however is its size and amount of text. Although this shows there is a lot of information it can give you – it can also be daunting and difficult to fit into your schedule. However, I would still highly recommend it as a useful resource to pick up whenever you have the time.

Scott Drayton. 

Malcolm McDonald and Hugh Wilson

Marketing Plans: How to Prepare Them, How to Use Them

London

2011

592pages

978-0470669976

This year’s HRD exhibition at Olympia was run over the 24-25^th April and we sent along Paul and Hannah to experience all that it had to offer.  A key theme at the exhibition was that Leadership and Development was high on the agenda and the variety of suppliers that were exhibiting did reflect this. Both Paul and Hannah took in some of the seminars and we have featured some of the stand out ones below. They also met a number of suppliers to see what new offerings were out there and to say hello to some suppliers that we are already working with.

Speed Networking

Paul also got involved with the Speed Networking  that was happening which was very interesting as you only had 3 minutes to talk before moving on. Paul met a number of people from different backgrounds including L&D managers, Executive coaches, HR students, trainers and software providers. The process was an excellent way to find out exactly what you wanted to know as there was no time for any real pleasantries!

Learning Technologies

A noticeable area of discussion in the seminars on the second day of the exhibition was how employers need to engage with employees’ evolving expectations in learning technology.  With the rise of apps and mobile devices, employees are more at ease than ever with using technology in almost all areas of life (as one of the reports we have summarised found).  The ability to utilise apps to support learning and the development of an interactive learning experience was a key point in many discussions.  Whether it be through classroom training, virtual instruction or eLearning, employees are becoming increasingly open to and even expectant of an engaging learning experience that takes full advantage of the latest innovations.

Stand out seminars

‘Self-awareness – the secret ingredient to cultural change’ – Jo Cowlin & Lou Banks, Bolt from the You

Jo and Lou from Bolt from the You (try and say that out loud!) delivered a seminar exploring the concept of raising individual self-awareness levels to support successful culture change within organisations. Self-awareness is about exposure, repetition and application to create permanent change but what is ‘real’ self-awareness? They looked at how being really self-aware involved self-management and having an awareness of others which created the management of the relationship.

All of us have internal dialogue or internal ‘chatter’ and this destructive self-talk can lead to fear and resistance and can stop us doing the things we need to. If we can bring about more positivity in ourselves and we understand this internal chatter then we can go towards switching it to positive chatter and we can tell ourselves we can do this. This management of our internal dialogue is the key to shifting mind-set.

The seminar was very well attended with many people having to stand at the back. Jo and Lou were very enthusiastic and the topic was very well delivered and very engaging for the audience and not a hint of a sales pitch which was refreshing to see.

‘Developing next generation social leaders: bridging the skills gap’ – Mike Collins, DPG plc

Mike’s seminar focused on how being a successful leader has changed and how important it is for leaders now to utilise the social tools available to them to be an effective leader in the 21^st century. It was all about bridging the gap for leaders and using the social tools to help drive this.

Since 2000 there have been massive changes in the technology available to us and it is important for leaders to develop their skill set so they know how to use these tools to their advantage and so that they can communicate effectively with the people they need to. Mike asked the question – Are our leaders responding to the changing way in which we all communicate now?

Leadership is about being more open, about belief and being more transparent and visible. Do our leaders have the ability, behaviour and competency – are leaders changing?

Mike shared the details of the DPG online community which is a social platform which encourages others to share information and engage with other learning professionals and links in with other external social tools such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube and the use of blogs as a great example of how companies can embrace technology and the social tools available to them to get people connecting and engaging and communicating with each other.

‘Developing an L&D Business Case’ – Kieran King, Skillsoft

Kieran’s seminar examined the way in which HR professionals can build persuasive business cases for L&D to address new budgetary constraints and exploit the best training options available.  The seminar drew attention to the fact that companies of all sizes were changing the amount of money and time they were able to allocate to training employees, and the key differences in how these challenges have been addressed in the UK and the US.  Using recent research by Bersin by Deloitte, Kieran showed the degree to which employers in the UK are ultimately spending significantly more per training hour than their US counterparts.  In the current economic climate, the ability of HR professionals to present a clear and persuasive case for the L&D programmes they use is essential.

Kieran provided an informative and useful guide as to how to research, plan and execute an effective presentation to finance and other key areas of the business.  A key point in this is the need to provide concrete evidence to support the case for particular L&D strategies. ROI and payback periods are crucial in this, and Kieran’s explanation of how these could be calculated simply and easy made this seem usable to even the most maths-phobic amongst the audience.

The seminar was well attended and did not fall into the trap of presenting an overt sales pitch, instead providing helpful hints and a clear methodology that could be applied across industries and in a variety of L&D environments.  Kieran’s explanations of the way that Skillsoft’s clients had used business cases to bring greater efficiency into their training programmes were clear and well delivered.  She made a good case for how a well prepared business case can help UK companies maintain their commitment to support employee development in a post-Credit Crunch world.

Stand out suppliers

DPG plc.

DPG plc. is one of the UK’s leading providers of CIPD qualifications to HR and L&D professionals. In 2012, DPG won two Training Journal awards for their unique approach to development programmes for aspiring and existing managers and leaders. Blake studied and passed the CIPD Certificate in Learning & Development Practice with DPG last year and Paul is also coming to the end of the same qualification and will be complete in June and both have been very impressed with the support from DPG and the format of the course so would highly recommend.

www.dpgplc.co.uk

Grow the People

Grow the People deliver workshops that play with potential. They grow people by developing them through storytelling and creative practice, sometimes in the workplace, or on open events that they run.

Their workshops are focused on the experience and on how the learner can apply what they learn to their life and work. They work with stories and creativity to help bring about a positive change.

They focus on behaviours and actions and love creating really memorable, useful and effective events, designed with one thing in mind: to help the learner and their people grow.

www.growthepeople.co.uk

Bolt from the You

Bolt from the You is a People Development business focused on transforming organisations.

They believe that your people are the most powerful asset you have and run bespoke development programmes that nurture talent and help them to grow both personally and professionally. Their coaching approach enables the people they work with to tap in to their personal strengths and utilise them in the workplace. It provides firm foundations on which an organisation can grow.

Bolt from the You work with blue chip organisations to empower, inspire and engage their people by being brave, being authentic and eliminating frustration.

www.boltfromtheyou.com

Overall we thoroughly enjoyed the exhibition and found it to be well organised and informative. We learnt a lot, especially about learning technologies and also used the opportunity to liaise with plenty of potential new suppliers so we would highly recommend it to anyone for next year.