The convergence of learning and performance management creates an opportunity to diagnose and prescribe ways to better develop critical talent. By integrating learning and performance, organizations can more easily identify workforce trends in a more predictive manner, target organizational capability gaps, and enhance connections to build alignment with the business needs.Whether the integration of learning and performance is driven by the organization’s learning group or HR, both groups need to know how to take advantage of this convergence. This paper describes five ways that performance management can improve training initiatives:
Producing development plans that work
Improving leadership development programs
Making learning opportunities more visible
Aligning the training department to organizational needs
Making learning and human resources more strategic
Introduction: Integrating learning and performanceWhen it comes to retaining critical talent, managing succession plans, and giving employees the skills they need to succeed, learning management and performance management processes need to converge.Taking the paper out of the paperwork may be reason enough to automate performance management, but Human Resources (HR) can use performance management to maintain a strong workforce and manage talent to drive top-line performance and competitive advantage. With career and succession planning tools organizations can reduce employee turnover and maintain a strong, productive workforce.However, an organization also needs to complement performance management with learning management that enables workers to build competitive skills and helps align employee training and career goals with business goals. The convergence of learning and performance management can significantly help an organization get the most out its workforce by helping to:
Develop employees beyond assessments with immediate, actionable development
Retain critical talent, develop leaders, and reduce turnover
Control succession risk and reduce the cost of turnover
Align employee goals with the organization’s goals to optimize workforce productivity
Link merit-based compensation to employee performance
Automate performance and development activities and reduce administrative hassles
Whether the integration of learning and performance is driven by the organization’s training group or HR, both groups need to know how to take advantage of this convergence, and in particular, how the training group can improve training initiatives with performance management.The following are five ways that training can use performance management to help create a true talent development framework.1. Producing development plans that workMost organizations struggle to adopt development plans managed independently through the Learning Management System (LMS). When performance management is automated and tied into the learning process, organizations and employees alike are more likely to buy into the integrated development plan. The development plans align directly with the organization’s goals and are therefore linked to the company’s overall strategy. Employee engagement in prescribed learning is certain to improve when employees see how this development ties directly to their performance evaluation and merit considerations.2. Improving leadership development programsLeadership development is one of the most popular learning initiatives – and for good reason. Demographic shifts, increasing employee turnover, and increased specialization in the workplace all contribute to significant talent shortages. Performance management, equipped with career and succession planning tools, provide the diagnostics to zero in on the job functions and targeted individuals that need leadership development the most.Performance management tools help the learning group systematically develop an organization’s critical talent. They can complement generic leadership development programs by helping to account for roles, flight risk, and potential.3. Making learning opportunities more visibleIn most organizations, the LMS is just one of countless other applications employees need to use. Engaging employees to log in and look around can be a challenge.However, an unanticipated benefit realized by Learning customers who have integrated performance and learning is a significant increase in the number of individuals who sign up for optional courses.Once mandatory processes are tied directly to salary increases, LMS usage numbers start to increase. As aspiring employees focus on competency gaps and individual development plans, they spend more time developing career plans with unsolicited development opportunities.4. Aligning training more to organizational needsIn many organizations, budgets allocated for learning and development are among the first to be cut during a recession. An effective way for a training group to change this fact is to prove how training programs directly relate to organizational strategy.With integrated performance management, talent development professionals can see precisely which development is needed most. Aggregated review data, showing competency gaps and aligned strategic initiatives, highlight the areas where learning and development groups should focus. It thus becomes easier for the training group to justify the significance of talent development within the organizational strategy. Many companies that have integrated learning and performance have been able to drastically improve their ability to forecast for and anticipate formal development needs.5. Linking training and HR for strategic valueWhen learning and performance functions converge to create a true talent development framework, both functions benefit by becoming more relevant to supporting the organization’s critical strategy.Traditional organizational development activities important to the business, such as managing mandatory compliance and certifications, are improved by automated tracking and reporting. But there are other strategic areas of the business that need strong formal and informal learning. These include many pressing talent management issues: retaining critical talent, managing succession plans, and giving employees the skills they need to succeed.Truly actionable talent development is only feasible when performance management and learning management converge.Conclusion: Applying the benefits of integrated learning and performanceThe convergence of learning and performance management creates an opportunity to diagnose and prescribe ways to better develop critical talent. Strategic integration enables organizations to more easily identify workforce trends in a more predictive manner, target organizational capability gaps, and enhance connections to build alignment with the business needs. The integration enables organizations to put together actionable leadership development programs for key employees, so they’ll be better prepared for promotion.Learning management system (LMS) solutions are part of our industry-leading unified talent development software suite, which helps organizations build a complete platform for developing more competitive employee skills. Training organizations can take advantage of our complete, best-of-breed talent development solution to make their businesses better – by making the employees better.
Five Ways to Improve Learning With Performance Management
Useful Paraguay Travel Tips
Paraguay is the second poorest country after Bolivia in South America. The people are friendly and the pace is slow. The country has about 6.7 million people and 2.3 million of them live in the capital city, Asuncion.Here are 18 tips on traveling to Paraguay:1. Spanish and Guarani are widely spoken in Paraguay.2. Summer is extremely hot and can be up to 40 degrees Celsius according to the locals. Our visit was in winter. You do need a light jacket at night and early morning. Trinidad was extremely cold at night and early morning. You need winter clothes in this part of Paraguay, bordering Argentina in the northwest.3. Time zone in Paraguay is the same as US Eastern Time.4. Electricity is 220 volts.5. Official currency is Guaraní. During our visit it was US$1 to 4400 Guaranis.6. You can withdraw US dollars or local guaranis in major bank ATMs in Paraguay. We withdrew ours at HSBC bank along Calle Palma.7. Money exchange can be made at the border town of Cuidad del Este if you are traveling by a local or tour bus from Foz do Iguacu, Brazil.8. Most shops prefer cash in Paraguay and do not accept credit cards.9. If you need to consult with a bank official, banking hours are between the hours of 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. from Monday to Friday.10. Tipping is 10% in restaurants and bars.11. You can travel cheaply by bus from Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and Brazil to Paraguay. I do not have the experience but I’ve seen bus ticket counters in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay that sells tickets to Asuncion, Paraguay. You will have to be aware of the need to go through immigration and customs on your own.12. Americans need Paraguayan visas. It costs US$160 per person and lasts until the passport expires.13. There are American fast food restaurants in Asuncion like McDonald’s and Burger King.14. We were careful with fruit juices and salads while eating in Paraguay. On our first night in Asuncion we asked for stir-fried vegetables instead of salad. BAD choice… we were given fried salad (tomatoes, shredded carrots and lettuce).15. Services at restaurants are slower than expected. So be patient.16. Get a hair cut in Asuncion. It is cheap. My son got one at Ayala, across the Grand Palace Hotel for USD4.50 by a barber who has 40 years of experience. He paid US$25 in Florida, US$10 in Mendoza, US$15 in Montevideo and US$13 in Sao Paulo.17. Tap water is drinkable in Paraguay according to the Paraguay Tourism Board. We bought bottled water.18. Airport tax is US$31.Do you have any travel tips to Paraguay?
Video Marketing: 7 Reasons You Should Post Videos to Market Your Business
The number of small businesses using video email marketing is trending upwards. Are you on the bandwagon?? If not, you should jump on it – now.
With the technology and various tools that we have at our disposal, there is no reason for any business owner to not think of posting videos online. Quality videos can do wonders for your business and bottom line.
Here are seven reasons to start adding videos to your marketing toolbox.
1. People Love Videos
It’s only natural that people love watching videos. Humans are visual creatures. Being able to deliver a message through a captivating video is a marketing homerun.
Many people would prefer to watch a well-produced video than to read a bunch of text. You’ve probably noticed many business owners using videos instead of (or in combination with) long form sales letters. The reason is because in many cases, split testing has shown higher conversion rates with video sales letters.
2. They’re Inexpensive to Make
You don’t need a big budget to produce videos; an inexpensive camera works just fine. Of course, you can also pay for a top notch expensive camera and professionally produced video, but that’s your choice. It’s not necessary.
A well done cheaply made video will beat out an expensive but mediocre video every time.
3. It’s Easy To Distribute Online Videos
Your videos can easily be posted to sites like YouTube, Vimeo, DailyMotion and others. They can also easily be shared via social media sites once they’re uploaded.
4. Videos Decrease Bounce Rates
One of the metrics that Google uses to rank webpages is bounce rate – the percentage of users who land on a webpage without viewing other pages. You want to do everything you can to reduce your website’s bounce rate.
You should add your videos to your website as well as the video sharing sites. They can help lower your bounce rate which can result in higher search engine rankings and more sales.
5. Mobile Device Users Prefer Videos
More and more people are using mobile devices to surf the web. Due to the smaller screens on handheld devices, many people prefer to watch videos rather than read a bunch of text.
6. Videos Can Boost Your Brand Credibility
Producing videos is one of the best ways to boost your brand credibility. To take things further, one of the most effective ways to popularize your brand is by producing good videos that generate buzz.
Your credibility can get a huge boost if viewers see that your videos have lots of views and shares on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites.
One more point: YouTube videos now occupy many top spots at the search engines. Even if your website doesn’t rank well, your videos just might. If your videos and website can both rank well, your business will gain an incredible amount of visibility and all the good stuff that can come with it.
7. Videos Allow You to Give Product or Service Demonstrations
Videos allow you to visually explain and demonstrate your products or services. This way, people can more easily see themselves using whatever it is that you have to offer.
If you’re not sold yet, consider this: viewers are many times more likely to buy whatever it is you’re selling after watching a video.
Video Is Here To Stay
The signs are clear: video marketing is not going anywhere. It will only continue to grow in popularity. The question is will you grow with it or will you be left behind?