27 Ways to Integrate Training and Development with the Needs of Your Organization

You need this manual if you want to change the way your training and development is perceived in your organization and the impact it has on individuals, teams and the business. In Part One, the 27 activities are split into five sections, each concentrating on a key element in the process: ¢ Creating an identity - five activities to help you determine the context in which you are working; what values are placed on training and development and how to see yourself contributing in this setting; ¢ Getting closer to your customers - nine activities to get you out in the business environment with your stakeholders and customers at all levels within the organization. The activities help you determine the sort of training service you need to offer to meet perceived needs and how you compare with external providers, with whom you are competing; ¢ Researching and developing new products - four activities to help keep your training ideas fresh, find new products and improve your design. Preparing and presenting business cases for new ideas also features, so that you can show how your products will benefit the business; ¢ Managing your resources - Four activities to encourage you to look at your own development as well as concentrating your relationships with others and your financial resources to respond to the needs of those people. Here is help on continually improving your training service, managing your relationships with stakeholders and customers, working with external providers and managing your finance; and ¢ Making a difference - Five activities that help you make the case for training and development in the most effective way you can - through the results you achieve. Finding out about your evaluation strategy, the effectiveness of your evaluation methods and what customers are saying is happening as a result of training, will ensure that you are providing training that makes a tangible impression on the business. Part Two of the manual is your opportunity to draw together all that you learn from each section of activities. You are guided through identifying changes you want to make as a result of what you have found out, and the actions you and others will need to take to make the changes a reality.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: What is your motivation for doing things differently?; Finding your way around the manual; Finding your way around the activities; Preparations. Part One The Activities: Section 1 Creating an Identity: Introduction; What is the culture of your organization?; How do you rate as a learning organization?; How much is training and learning valued?; What are your underpinning values and beliefs?; How do you see yourselves? Section 2 Getting Close to Your Customers: Introduction; Who are your customers?; Customer expectations about training and learning; What training services do your customers want?; What are your customers' training preferences?; What is the training offer?; What does the business plan mean for training and learning?; Future needs; Who is your competition?; How good are you at promoting your services? Section 3 Researching and Developing Products: Introduction; Are you up to date with new training and learning ideas?; How effective is your product design?; Involving managers in training design; Is technology-based learning the way forward? Section 4 Managing Your Resources: Introduction; Selecting external training providers; How are you managing your own development?; How good are you at managing your relationships with your customers?; How good are you at controlling your budgets? Section 5 Making a Difference: Introduction; Is your training working?; What is your strategy for evaluating training?; How well do your evaluation methods work?; What difference has training made to your customers?; What do your customers say? Part Two Creating Your Business Edge: Introduction; The materials; What to do next.

About the Author :
Sharon Bartram has been active in the HRD field for more than 20 years. Her trademark is her pragmatic approach to learning design and training delivery. She is currently studying for her Masters Degree in Management Learning at Lancaster University and is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Brenda Gibson has worked in training and development since 1988. Her previous experience included teaching in London and management in the charity sector. She holds a Master’s degree in Management Learning from Lancaster University. The authors are joint principals of the development consultancy SBG Associates specializing in Training for Trainers, Management and Organizational Development. They are the co-authors of the best selling Training Needs Analysis, also published by Gower and their title Evaluating Training, again with Gower, is another global seller. A related new Gower title by the same authors is 75 Ways of Working with Groups to Develop Their Training Skills. A forthcoming Gower product by the same authors will be a manual of self-development activities for trainers.