CorpU Weekly Digest: Social Learning (2012-August-06)

Topics: Social Learning

Here are this past week's headlines in social learning: 

• Social learning, ongoing skill development, and filling open job requisitions ; 
• Books: Talent Leadership: A Proven Method for Identifying and Developing High-Potential Employees ;  
• Webinars ; 
• Conferences

 Social learning, ongoing skill development, and filling open job requisitions
According to a January 2012 survey by ManpowerGroup, almost half of the 1,361 US companies polled reported that they were unable to find workers with the right skills to fill open positions. But with the uncertainty our economy faces, companies are also less willing to invest in training new employees. It has long been the dilemma of corporations: investing in training is expensive, but maintaining employee skill growth is necessary. The solution to this dilemma, however, may already be here. The appeal of social learning is obvious; it is far cheaper than traditional training methods. A decade ago it was in the form of online virtual classrooms where students watched lectures, posted assignments, and "chatted" directly with instructors. Over the past decade, advances in technology have made a lot more on-the-fly learning experiences possible. When a new mode of performing a task proves to deliver superior results, it quickly becomes the standard. This is the point that social learning is approaching now. Through the use of social intranets, job-specific wikis, best practice databases, and other internal tools, employees can take an active role in updating their skills. In order for companies to meet the needs of employees and potential employees to become skilled on ever-increasingly complex job tasks, they must consider a new paradigm in their approach to training. Read the blog posting, "Can Social Learning Solve the Problem of High Unemployment?"

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 The Business of Learning: New Major Products, Mergers, Acquisitions, and Partnerships

No major news in mergers, acquisitions, or product releases.

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 Books To Read

Great leaders drive efficiency and productivity across teams and units, which is why organizations pour money into leadership development and why leadership development is a US$60BB global industry. But most companies have no real way to gauge whether their endeavors are paying off — much less where they are falling short. A forthcoming book by John Mattone titled Talent Leadership: A Proven Method for Identifying and Developing High-Potential Employees (to be released October 17, 2012) shows how to set up a world-class leadership-development program — and have the metrics to demonstrate impact. Packed with research findings, best practices, case studies, proprietary assessments and more, this innovative book explains how to:

1. Use assessments to benchmark current and future executive talent; 
2. Apply the resulting data to identify leaders with potential based on their capabilities, commitment, and alignment with organizational goals; and 
3. Leverage analysis to target training and coaching where they will have the greatest impact on individual performance and overall operating success by measuring, calibrating, and recalibrating the leading indicators that directly predict organizational health and the ability of leaders to meet those needs. 

This book is for leaders of HR, Talent Management, OD/MD professionals, and the vast population of operating managers who are charged with identifying, managing, and developing high-potential and emerging leaders. Buy Now 

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 Webinars 

Sales Force Training: A Paradigm Shift - Learn from Fortune 500 Market Leaders
Date: August 09, 2012, 12noon ET
Presenter: CommLab Register now

Gen Y Sales Force Training: What Works and What Doesn't
Date: August 23, 2012, 12noon ET
Presenter: CommLab Register now

Overcoming the Three Biggest Challenges in ROI of Leadership Coaching
Date: October 24, 2012, 1pm ET / 10am PT
Presenter: Lisa Ann Edwards, M.S., ACC, partner of Bloom Coaching Institute Register now

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 Conferences

Attracting, Developing and Retaining World-Class Talent
Date August 6-7, 2012
Location: San Francisco, CA, US Register now

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