Profile

Published September 2007

Producing a Global Learning Environment: Ingersoll Rand University�s Rita Smith

Ben Warden

Beginning her career as a high school teacher, Rita Smith learned about corporate education in the same place many people do their best learning: in a library. Smith happened upon a learning and development magazine while browsing at a public library, and she began to realize her passion for teaching could bring opportunities she didn’t even know existed.

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After a short time in the field, Smith was ready to set career goals. She felt she could be more helpful and effective if she could help link learning and business closer together, so she went back to school to receive an MBA and eventually a doctorate.

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“I felt I would love to be able to speak the language and know more about the minds of the people I’m serving in the business,” Smith said. “That was a jump in my career, as well, in terms of being a differential — I found it really helped accelerate leadership roles and scope because I really did come to the table with business acumen.”

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Now the vice president of enterprise learning at Ingersoll Rand University (IRU), Smith is responsible for the learning and development of 18,000 employees.

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Founded in 1871, Ingersoll Rand is a global provider of integrated solutions, services and products to a diverse range of industries, including construction, transportation, agriculture and manufacturing. Some of the company’s best-known products include Club Car golf carts and Thermo King portable refrigeration units.

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IRU is spread out over four campuses around the world: India, China, the Czech Republic and the United States. Its mission is simple: Produce world-class learning to meet the changing needs of the company.

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The university focuses on developing sales, manufacturing and overall leadership with an eye on future needs. Smith was instrumental in developing and showing the need for effective upper-leadership education, said Bill Gauld, senior vice president of enterprise services.

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“I saw the university as key to a change management approach,” Gauld said. “Rita began creating this new direction of the university under the direction of our chairman to focus on really delivering leadership training and education, and it’s blossomed since then.”

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More than just focus areas, Smith has kept an emphasis on curriculum and delivery — she is responsible for global delivery, as well as managing an annual multimillion-dollar budget.

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She also oversees senior management meetings in regard to the agenda, as well as how to best facilitate them, which is another way Ingersoll Rand uses Smith’s talent and skill to streamline large endeavors. Gauld attributes this to Smith’s vigilant execution of delivery.

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“Rita’s got a very strong track record getting the courses delivered, so it has more to do with what’s in the courses and how we are going about doing it, whether we’re going to be continuously counted as a learning company or move more to a teaching company and get more of our executives involved, and actually delivering some of that training,” Gauld said.

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