Business Intelligence

Published January 2010

A Look at the Industry in 2010

Cushing Anderson

Every other month, IDC surveys Chief Learning Officer- magazine’s Business Intelligence Board (BIB) on a variety of topics to gauge the issues, opportunities and attitudes that are important to senior training executives. This month we look at the CLO outlook toward the coming year.

Training executives are increasingly optimistic about the outlook for employee development in 2010, with 60 percent of companies feeling more optimistic about 2010 compared with 2009. Last year at this time, companies were experiencing a significant financial meltdown and the U.S. Congress was considering implementing a series of stimulus plans. Companies and their training executives seem to have passed through the difficult period and are more optimistic. For example, only about 11 percent of training executives are less optimistic about next year, compared with 25 percent who were less optimistic last year.

The reasons for optimism are not surprising. CLOs report feeling that the economy may have turned a corner but that business conditions will never be the same even if the economy picks up. Nevertheless, training organizations and the wider enterprise report having a better understanding of what training topics have an impact on the bottom line and sharpen their focus. They also report they have learned less fat equals greater added value for the learning function, positioning training organizations to increase their relevance to organizational success. And, consistently, training organizations found themselves in a better position because their learning and development departments are now more aligned to their companies’ overall direction and they now have targeted goals directly related to and in support of business strategy.

Companies continue to believe the economic crisis will impact the availability of capital for training investments and that cuts to budget and time to attend training will cause many to have to do more with less. Regardless of signs that the economy is recovering, many believe that training and development tends to lag behind the economic growth curve. But even those learning leaders who were less optimistic had something positive to say, reporting that while the amount of training done is likely to be less, they anticipate being more creative and learner-centric.

Nevertheless, companies are expecting positive developments in the role the training function plays within their companies. Ninety percent of companies expect that training will be more aligned with company business objectives in 2010, and 75 percent believe that the perception of training within their company will be higher. Finally, 74 percent report that the quality of their training offerings will improve in the next year. All reasons to be optimistic about 2010.

Increased Training Impact Expected
CLOs’ ranking of activities’ impact in 2010 shows movement and shifts in rankings, though leadership training and competencies remain among the top. Instructor-led training — including both classroom and virtual classroom instruction — has moved up and is the most impactful training activity. Informal learning remains near the top, and self-paced e-learning has moved up. Three items new to the top 10 are mentoring, live e-learning and performance dashboards.

When asked what they consider the most important activity their organizations tackle, CLOs listed leadership training; informal learning; self-paced e-learning; live e-learning; and instructor-led training. CLOs also continue to value learning management systems (LMSs).

Key activities of significant impact continue to be:

1 2 3 Next Page »

blog comments powered by Disqus

Executive Search

Senior Manager, Global Learning & Talent Development
11/19/2009
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (DTT) is an organization of member firms devoted to excellence in providing professional services and advice. We are focused on client service through a global strategy executed locally in nearly 150 countries.

Director, Leadership & Organizational Development Parkland Health & Hospital System
10/26/2009
Parkland Health & Hospital System (www.parklandhospital.com) located in Dallas, Texas has been voted one of "America's Best Hospitals" by U.S. News & World Report for 16 consecutive years and recently named one of the "Top 100 Hospitals to Work For" by Nursing Professionals Magazine.

The World Bank Knowledge and Learning Coordinator Washington, DC
12/22/2008
The Latin America & Caribbean Region (LCR) of the World Bank serves over 30 countries, mostly middle-income which, despite having middle-income economies, still struggle with pockets of poverty and high level of inequalities.