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In this issue:
1. Baby Boomer "Brain Drain"
2. SkillSoft Awarded Best Soft Skills Content in 2005
3. Course Review: Leading Yourself Through Change
4. LifePath LLC Releases Leading Yourself Through Change
5. Blended Learning Toolkits: The Perfect Blend of Ingredients
6. Online Payment Coming Soon for BTL Clients!
1. Baby Boomer "Brain Drain"
By Candace Fisher
It’s 2006 and the eldest of the baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) are turning 60. While this transition has been heralded by statisticians and management consultants for several years, has your organization done anything to prepare for a mass exodus of knowledgeable, experienced employees? Will this “brain drain” or loss of knowledge, skills, abilities and experience be a reality or a dismal prediction that never comes to fruition?
According to a survey conducted in 2004 by AARP, a nonprofit membership organization of persons age 50 and over, over 70% of baby boomers plan to work, in some capacity, into their retirement years. This could be due to several factors. Among them:
- The age requirement to receive full Social Security benefits eventually rises to age 67 for those born in 1960 or later. In addition, there has been a growing concern about the solvency of Social Security and its ability to pay benefits as boomers retire.
- The trend away from defined benefit pension plans toward defined contribution and 401(k) plans is providing incentives to work longer in order to contribute more. Also, many boomers’ investments, including their retirement plans, were hit hard during hard economic times and market downturns.
- Americans are living longer than ever before and have more retirement years to potentially look forward to. Again, this provides incentives to work longer to build up their retirement portfolio.
- Work provides a type of fulfillment that many workers are not willing to give up at age 65 – or 67 – when they’re still productive and able to contribute. The satisfaction of a job well done as well as the social interaction which the workplace provides may be more attractive than retirement.
Although this generation may be willing to work longer, thus postponing the potential massive “brain drain” which has been predicted, there are several factors that any organization that employs baby boomers should consider:
- Revise policies to provide more flexibility to those closer to retirement in order to lengthen their tenure. Flexible hours, part-time work or seasonal work may encourage older, ready-to-retire workers to remain with their employers.
- Implement in-house mentoring or coaching programs so that those employees with the knowledge and experience can share what they’ve learned with younger employees.
- Consider employing some experienced employees (or bringing retirees back in a consulting capacity) as trainers. Their experience with the organization will add credibility and interest to those participating in the training. At Rolls Royce, employees who were responsible for maintaining supersonic engines were “falling over themselves” to teach younger employees about the technology.
- Look at your demographics to determine the potential effect on your organization and begin to plan NOW. Six months before someone retires (or whenever they give notice of their intent to retire) is not generally enough time to plan for succession, especially if there are several employees planning to leave within a short timeframe.
Many of the articles written on this topic have alluded to the possibility of a mass exodus of baby boomers or a “brain drain.” While only time will tell what effect the retirement of the baby boomer generation will have on organizations and our economy as a whole, steps can, should, and will be taken so that we will be able to adapt, as we have throughout other major demographic changes.
Candace Fisher is the Manager of Education for The Management Association of Illinois. Her background includes work in training and development, employee relations, labor relations, benefits negotiation and administration, recruiting, workers' compensation and overall strategic management of the Human Resource function.
2. SkillSoft Awarded Best Soft Skills Content in 2005 by Elearning! Magazine
Business Training Library would like to recognize SkillSoft, the producer of our Business and Professional Skills and Legal Compliance catalogs, on their recent success in Elearning! Magazine’s 2005 Best of e-Learning Awards. Each year, Elearning! Magazine, the exclusive industry trade magazine, invites their readers and professionals from hundreds of organizations to nominate and cast ballots for the best e-learning solutions providers across nine product categories.
And the results are in…SkillSoft won Best Soft Skills Content! SkillSoft’s Soft Skills Content received praise for its multi-modal resources, role play simulations, case studies, audio-enabled learning, follow-on activities, simulated dialogs, animations, pre- and post-tests and job aides.
Catherine Upton, Publisher of Elearning! Magazine, explains that the e-learning awards given should help their readers to get to know the product leaders in the e-learning industry. Upton says, “More than 50 percent of e-learning professionals rely on word of mouth and referrals as a source of product information. This awards program provides a venue for adopters to share what brands and solutions really work for them.”
Click here to view Elearning! Magazine’s Best of e-Learning 2005.
3. Course Review: Leading Yourself Through Change One-Hour Workshop
Course Group
Managing Change
Media
Video
Course Overview
A company merger presents Anna with a host of unwelcome changes, including a new job assignment, a tough new boss, and a longer commute to the office. Anna reacts with sarcasm at work and anger at home. Her handling of this change takes its toll—at work her new colleagues are wary and keep their distance from her, and at home her family life is disrupted. Fortunately, in her heart of hearts, Anna knows there’s a better way to handle change. Led by her better self, viewers see Anna take five simple but powerful Action Steps to become Change-Resilient.
Target Audience
Since any type of business or organization must learn to change and adapt, this program is designed for a wide variety of audiences, companies, and organizations. Change also impacts all levels of an organization; therefore this program would be an excellent choice for both managers and non-managers.
Debbie's Rating
4 Stars (Out of 5)
Debbie's Review
Change is inevitable. This is especially true in today’s world where changes seem to take place at an even faster rate. Leading Yourself Through Change is a wonderful program that discusses both employee and departmental changes within an organization. The Five Action Steps help teach employees and managers how to deal with necessary changes in the workplace as well as how to move forward once the changes take place.
The ongoing story line and the examples of the character Anna allows viewers to see from start to finish how she reacts to changes in her company. She deals with her feelings about the change, and develops new behavior as a result of the changes. Viewers can relate to her character and learn how to productively deal with any current or upcoming changes in a positive manner. These are also wonderful examples for managers to view to get a sense of how employees might feel during times of change.
Since this program is designed to be a one-hour workshop it is a perfect fit for training groups that are pressed for time. The leader’s guide gives a step-by-step outline on how to conduct the session within the allotted timeframe. This is a great tool for trainers who need to prepare a session on this topic but seem to be short on time. The PowerPoint presentation on the CD-Rom is also helpful and ties directly in with the leader’s guide.
This program has recently been re-edited and reformatted from the popular "It" Happens! course, to include a more realistic workplace example of change. The scenarios are a good starting point for any organization to discuss and positively deal with changes that might occur over time within the organization.
Debbie Ricks is an Account Manager for Business Training Library. She has been with the organization since August 2001. She enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with her dog and family at the lake in the summer.
4. LifePath LLC Releases Leading Yourself Through Change
LifePath LLC, the producers of “It” Happens!, a popular lending library title, has replaced their “It” Happens! How to Become Change-Resilient workshop with a new workshop titled Leading Yourself Through Change.
The creator of the program, Dr. Julie Smith, states that “Although it was extremely well received during the past two years out in the field, we heard you when you asked for changes to the program. You wanted a video that could go out to a broader audience, independent of any workshop. We designed a new video that could be shown in 20 minutes non-stop, in “Lunch-and-Learn” sessions. It is a heart-touching piece that shows a woman named Anna working through an unwelcome merger in her company. Unlike Ebb, the character from "It" Happens, who talked us through how he worked through a change, you will get to see and feel what it’s like as Anna actually works all the puzzle pieces.”
The 20-minute video is incorporated into a 1-hour awareness session where people get hands-on familiarity with the resilience tools. You’ll also have the flexibility to conduct a 3-hour action planning session where participants can work through their change.
Dr. Smith has also written a new book titled When It Happens! @Work: 5 Action Steps for Leading Yourself Through Change. Gus Makina goes into a tailspin when his company Traditional Airlines is bought by Upstart Air. Then one night the veteran mechanic wanders into a junk shop and meets Tosky the Pack Rat, who teaches Gus how to become change-resilient and changes his life forever.
This book goes hand in hand with the workshop video. Some organizations give the book as a gift to their employees so that they can continue to use the tips in the book after the video session to help themselves work through the change. To purchase this book, contact your Account Manager.
5. Blended Learning Toolkits: The Perfect Blend of Ingredients for e-Learning Clients
The latest trend in training is blended learning. The idea behind blended learning is that many different methods and resources can be used to convey a message or a topic. Today, there are so many training resources available, the challenge is finding the right blend to fit your organization's culture.
The US Department of Labor has found that 70% of all workplace learning is now occurring in an informal setting, and that many companies are successfully integrating classroom training with e-learning.
Luckily for e-learning clients accessing the Business & Professional Skills catalog, a solution to assist you in the blending of your training has arrived - Blended Learning Toolkits. The toolkits are a mix of leader materials, PowerPoint presentations, Skill Brief handouts, and printable guides.
The overall goal of the Blended Learning Toolkit is to offer organizations a variety of tools to help transfer knowledge and skills from e-learning courses to the realities of the workplace. It also can be used to support and reinforce classroom or instructor-led training. The Blended Learning Toolkit serves as a way to prepare for, support and/or reinforce knowledge and skills, using selected Business & Professional Skills e-learning programs.
After using the Blended Learning Toolkit and its components, learners will be able to further their professional competencies and effectively reinforce/apply learning content from the Business and Professional Skills courses.
The Blended Learning Toolkit is aligned with specific Business & Professional Skills courses, and can be used by facilitators, session leaders and anyone who meets the target audience requirements for the course.
Blended Learning Toolkits are available to any e-learning clients accessing the Business & Professional Skills catalog. See below for a list of the available topics:
- Interpersonal Communication Skills for Business Professionals
- Business Writing Essentials
- E-mail Essentials using Microsoft Outlook
- Presentation Skills
- Effective Business Meetings
- Delivering Successful Presentations with PowerPoint
- Dealing with Conflict in the Workplace
- Business Writing Essentials Using Microsoft Word
- Managing and Working with Difficult People
- How to Excel at Customer Service
- Management to Leadership
- Business Execution
- Moving into a Management Role
- Essential Skills For Tomorrow’s Managers
- Supporting Employees Through the Change Process
- Managing Diversity
- Effective Hiring and Interviewing Skills
- Coach with Confidence
- Performance Appraisal
- Creativity and Innovation
- Time Management
- Taking Control of Your Time Using Microsoft Outlook
- Participating in Teams
- Field Sales Skills
- Inside Sales Skills
- Selling at the Executive Level
- Living a Balanced Life
If you are interested in having access to the Blended Learning Toolkits to complement your e-learning experience please contact your Account Manager.
6. Online Payment Coming Soon for Business Training Library Clients!
Business Training Library is always looking for ways to improve customer services! As a result, we’re pleased to announce that, effective May 1, 2006, we will switch from paper to electronic invoice delivery. This means that all your future invoices from Business Training Library will come to you via email.
We will send your billing forms as e-mail attachments in PDF format. When you receive invoices from us by e-mail, you will have the added option to pay them electronically from your Web browser.
By moving to this format, customers will enjoy these added advantages:
- Paying online is easy, fast, accurate, and secure.
- You can pay by credit card.
- You can view previous invoices and payment history.
- You can store forms electronically and easily review them on your computer.
Here's how it works. You will receive an e-mail with a reference line of “Invoice from Business Training Library.” Open the message and view your invoice by clicking on the yellow “View Invoice” button. From there, you’ll be directed to the “Secure Online Invoice,” where you may:
- Pay your account balance via credit card. To pay, just enter your amount and click the yellow “Pay Online” button.
- Click on the PDF file to view and print your invoice. Click here to download Acrobat Reader.
- Set up an account that will allow you to view previous payments. All information regarding your account is password protected, and all transactions occur over a secure Internet connection.
- You can even send an e-mail message to us if you have questions about your account.
If you have any questions about this new service, please contact our Accounting Department at: 888.432.3077 ext. 122.
Business Training Library - 285 Chesterfield Business Parkway - Chesterfield, MO 63005
888.432.3077 - Fax: 636.534.1001 - http://www.bizlibrary.com