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In this issue:

1. Back to School for Your Employees
2. Management Training: 6 Ways to Bring New Managers Up to Speed
3. Introducing ... The Streaming Video Library
4. Course Review: Johnny the Bagger



1. Back to School for Your Employees
By Candace Fisher

All of the retailers are advertising their back-to-school specials, and students are preparing to get back into the thick of things. As we head toward the school year, and as many organizations are beginning their budget preparations for 2008, have you thought about your employees' education? Training and development are crucial to an individual's success in the organization.

Training isn't a "magic bullet" to solve problems; nor should it be a punishment for an employee who has performance issues. Rather, training can be one means to provide employees with information that will allow them to improve and build on their skills.

How can you determine what training is necessary for your employees in order to effectively plan and budget? You need to conduct an assessment to find out where the gaps are. "Where are our employees now, and where do we want them to be?" Look at your organization's goals and strategic plan. What will your employees need in the future in order to help accomplish the plan? What competencies are needed for the organization to be successful? Is technology changing such that new skills must be learned? You can also narrow your focus and review the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) requirements of specific job categories or of specific employees' positions.

Once you determine what is necessary, review your existing workforce to determine where there is a gap. What skills or competencies are needed going forward that our employees don't currently have? What job requirements are not currently being met? You can obtain this information by reviewing performance appraisals, administering skills tests, conducting focus groups or consulting with supervisors and managers or even consulting the employees themselves.

Once the organization's training needs have been identified, priorities need to be established. This is an organizational decision which, again, should be tied to the overall goals and strategies of the organization. What is most needed in order to enhance improvement and achieve our goals and performance? You can then begin your search for appropriate training programs or for organizations that can provide standard or customized training at your location. Or, you may decide to develop and offer training internally utilizing your own staff.

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.

Take advantage of our "Back to School" and "Fall Into Learning" themes with action plans, e-mail campaigns, program flyers and posters, and certificates of achievement to energize and engage your staff! Contact your Account Manager today at 888.432.3077.



2. Management Training: 6 Ways to Bring New Managers Up to Speed
By Michele Eby

Each month, ASTD’s The Learning Circuits Blog posts its “Big Question” for learning professionals, educators, and trainers to weigh in on. The question for March — What would you do to support new managers? — got me thinking about a new manager’s first day.

All new managers I’ve known walk in their first day feeling good about themselves. They feel good about their new promotion or new job. They are excited and determined to succeed. There is usually an underlying anxiety as well. They need to prove that they are worthy of the promotion or their new manager title.

New Day Excitement
Without support, new managers quickly lose that first day zing. I remember a friend who was newly promoted into her first supervisory position. Within the first month she was overwhelmed and was pining for her former job. She had excelled in her former position; in her new job she was floundering. Her anxiety took root and planted doubts. By the second month, she told me she was constantly questioning herself and her abilities. And, most importantly, she hated her new job.

Those of us in the training and development field know that proper support is critical. Without it, new managers face a difficult road and a journey that impacts their entire team. While there’s no question in my mind that ongoing management and leadership skill training are an integral part of any manager’s development, new managers need more.

They need to be coached, inspired, and challenged. Like all employees, they need to know that what they do matters - especially in the context of managing their teams. When dealing with management, there’s a lot on the line. Ironically, our most inexperienced managers impact the most people in an organization. Usually they have the most direct reports, and in customer-driven organizations, they’re also the manager who is closest to the customer.

An Organized Training Plan
One of the easiest ways to show a new manager you want them to be successful is to present an organized and well thought-out training plan on their first day. Organized is the key word here. A structured plan for learning is reassuring and announces to new managers that you know they have things to learn and that it’s okay. It tells them that you are giving them what they need to be successful. It takes the pressure off.

How detailed and elaborate your training plan is, depends on you, the new manager, the manager’s boss, and the job requirements. Will it be a checklist of training points to discuss? Or will it be an outline including operational skills that need to be practiced and mastered? Will it focus on soft skills like how to delegate or how to supervise former peers? Or will it include new managerial tasks, such as submitting payroll?

To support new managers, I would:

1. Meet with the new manager’s boss.
   Before the new manager’s first day, meet with his or her boss to determine training needs. Ask questions about anticipated rough spots (for example, the new manager will be supervising former peers). Listen to the boss’ ideas and expectations and discuss both soft skills and operational needs. Determine a realistic schedule for training and who should manage the training. If the organization already has a training plan in place, use it as your framework.
   
   
2. Create the training plan. The training plan should include:
   
   • Each day’s learning objectives.
   • Time set aside for instructor-led, soft skills training classes or online self-study opportunities.
   • Time for the new manager to meet with his or her boss (or you) to discuss progress.
   • A target date to begin a mentoring relationship.
     
     
3. Identify a peer partner.
   I like the idea of a peer partner - another manager that can field questions and provide encouragement and feedback. Sometimes it’s less threatening to call a peer with a question about how to do something than call the boss.When considering possible managers, it’s important to think about the manager’s personality, style and example. Select a manager who transitioned well as a new supervisor and is positive and upbeat about the job and company.
   
   
4. Identify a mentor.
   A mentoring relationship can be highly motivational, inspiring, and challenging. But, a mentor shouldn’t be chosen lightly. Get to know the new manager. Talk to the new manager’s boss about personality matches.Consider several mentor candidates based on their leadership example, position in the company, and willingness to mentor. Then, consider personality and learning styles. For a mentoring relationship to work, it needs to be a suitable match. There needs to be a connection. There’s too much at stake to arbitrarily select someone and hope it works.
   
   
5. Ask candid questions.
   Meet with the new manager and his or her boss to talk about the training plan. To establish credibility, encourage the boss to detail the learning plan and offer your support as necessary. Encourage and reassure the new manager, as needed. Express confidence. But, the new manager’s boss (or you) should also ask open-ended, candid questions about the new job responsibilities and any concerns.
   
   Consider:
   • What concerns do you have about supervising your former peers?
   • How are you feeling about managing friends?
   • What areas in particular do you think you need to learn or think you’d like to improve to excel in your new role?
   • Which new job responsibilities are you most excited about?
   • Which new job responsibilities do you think you need the most support on until you get up to speed?
     
     
     
6. Follow up.
   Regular follow-up during the transition is important and should be built into the training plan. Most follow-up should be between the new manager and his or her boss. But, you should check in as well. Check in with the boss (think of it as another opportunity to build a training partnership with one of your customers).
   
   Consider asking the boss’ perspective on:

• How the new manager is doing
• Strengths and development areas
• How to build on the new manager’s strengths
• How the development areas are affecting the team
• How the team is transitioning to the new manager
• Whether the training plan needs to be revised

Check in with the new manager. Ask:

• How things are going
• How the training is progressing
• How the team is transitioning
• Challenge

Doing these things will help set up your new manager for success. I also agree with the idea of storytelling and asking new managers to share the characteristics of their favorite manager / leader. All managers should probably go through that activity from time to time to help validate the most important part of their jobs.

Michele Eby works for Media Partners, one of our Lending Library Producer Partners, as a writer and training advisor. She has worked in the training and development field for more than 15 years.



3. Introducing ... The Streaming Video Library
Business Training Library, the nation’s leading provider of affordable training solutions for small and mid-sized organizations, is unveiling its latest solution with this month’s release of the Streaming Video Library. “Employees today are accustomed to getting the information they need via the Internet. Google™, YouTube™, MapQuest™ and other websites have changed the way we get things done. Our Streaming Video Library service will do the same for employee training – making high quality, video-based training programs available to employees anytime, anywhere,” said Dean Pichee, President and Founder of Business Training Library.

This on-demand training service contains more than 300 high quality online video programs covering all areas of business – communication, customer service, desktop computer skills, diversity, human resources, leadership, management, sales, sexual harassment, workplace safety, and much, much more. Employees can log in, view these user-friendly programs anywhere, anytime … and their progress is automatically tracked in real-time online. Streaming Video Library programs average less than 30 minutes in length to accommodate today’s multi-tasking workforce.

“Video training programs are often inconvenient and expensive, and many e-learning programs today are the equivalent of page turners,” said Pichee. “Our Streaming Video Library programs offer employees of smaller companies the best of both worlds… the convenience and cost-effectiveness of e-learning combined with an easy-to-use, rich media experience.”

The Streaming Video Library provides organizations with consistency in their training and development efforts. Employees receive the same message every time, regardless of where or when they view the programs. All programs include a quiz to measure what your employees are learning. In addition to testing, each program is accompanied with supplemental materials such as participant and facilitator guides, to create a blended learning experience for your employees, with tangible materials that reinforce the program’s goals after the learning.

Interested in more information about the Streaming Video Library? Contact our Streaming Video Library team today!



4. Course Review: Johnny the Bagger

Course Group
Customer Service

Course Code
039121 (Video) / 039122 (DVD)

Media
Video or DVD

Course Overview
Johnny the Bagger celebrates the incomparable power of customer service delivered from the heart. Based on the work of noted author and speaker, Barbara Glanz, this inspiring new program features the true story of "Johnny," a young man with Down syndrome who made a positive choice about his personal responsibility to provide from-the-heart service and changed the culture of an entire organization.

Johnny the Bagger will help motivate your employees to take personal responsibility for creating a positive, memorable experience for internal or external customers; the kind of experience needed to generate customer loyalty, improve employee retention and strengthen team morale.

Expected Duration
17 Minutes

Andrew's Rating

5 Stars (Out of 5)

Andrew's Review
Johnny the Bagger is a truly heart-warming experience that promotes how having a positive attitude, “make a difference everyday” outlook, and giving the customer more than they expect through relationship building can ultimately lead to exceptional outcomes. Johnny, a fine young man with Down syndrome is a bagger at a local grocery story who believes in being a “customer service superstar.” After attending an all-company training session, Johnny reflects on what the speaker talked about which outlined the importance of making the customer feel special, no matter what it takes. Johnny’s dedication to providing personal customer service from the heart definitely makes this a training resource for any industry to learn and follow example. Throughout Johnny the Bagger, Johnny demonstrates how important the concept of caring about customers can lead to customer loyalty and bigger profits for organizations. Johnny is a true courtesy clerk for his grocery store with a universal approach that not only tugs on the heart strings but also personifies the importance of the “customer does matter” model.

VisionPoint’s Johnny the Bagger is 5 stars out of 5 stars because not only does this resource provide a fresh and engaging presentation but it also provides valuable customer service necessities that organizations should utilize in order to best meet the needs, and exceed the expectations of their customers. Johnny demonstrates that one single person can honestly make a difference ... everyday.

Andrew Goldfeder is a Training Consultant for the Lending Library team at Business Training Library.

Interested in previewing this Customer Service course? Start a free demo of this customer service training program today!

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