Learn from leaders at Lumofy how a strong learning culture and a feeling of inclusion through personalized learning paths can drive employee retention. 

Getting Clear on DEI

In order to build an organization based on diversity, equity and inclusion, organizations need to be clear on what it means. 

Diversity is the collective of different experiences that people bring to workplace culture. This includes not only race, gender, age, etc., but also personality characteristics such as introvert vs. extrovert, working styles, and more.

Inclusion means how we value people with their diversity – making sure they feel welcome and creating a culture of belonging where everyone can thrive.

Equity tends to be confused with equality. Equality means giving people the same tools and same rights – treating everyone the same, regardless of differences. Equity, on the other hand,  means considering each person’s unique characteristics and needs, and giving them personalized tools and resources based on these differences.

Once organizations are clear on the definition of DEI, they can begin incorporating it into their learning strategies.

How to Incorporate DEI into the Workplace Learning Culture

A common strategy regarding DEI is for organizations to start creating programs and strategies based on what they think they know about diversity, equity and inclusion. But unfortunately, this doesn’t always work out as intended. In fact, billions of dollars are spent on ineffective DEI-based programs. 

3 Common DEI Derailers 

Here are three common reasons why organizations fail to see results from their DEI efforts. 

DEI derailer #1: Creating initiatives based on assumptions

As previously mentioned, if organizations create DEI initiatives based on common assumptions of what DEI means, or what they think they understand about DEI, their efforts will fall short. 

DEI derailer #2: Focusing on standalone programs

It’s great to create programs based on diversity, but they shouldn’t be created just for the sake of checking a box – they need to be tied to corporate initiatives. 

Let’s take ERGs (employee resource groups) as an example. Many companies have various ERGs – popular ones include resource groups for the LGBTQ community, Black employees, and women. These groups provide a safe space where like folks can discuss issues specific to their identities and feel that sense of belonging needed to thrive at work. 

However, leadership should also work with these groups to move the needle forward with business goals: What recruitment practices can we put in place to attract members of the LGBTQ community? How can the organization be more inclusive of Black employees? What percentage of women in leadership do we currently have, and where does it need to be? These are the types of questions organizations should consider.

To be effective, DEI initiatives need to align with business objectives. 

DEI Derailer #3: Focusing on Behaviors

Focusing on changing behaviors isn’t enough for a strong DEI culture. Companies must incorporate a structural component to DEI initiatives that’s embedded across the organization.

The Impact of Solid DEI Initiatives and the Importance of Learning Cultures

On the positive side, organizations who effectively implement DEI into their cultures see strong benefits. Well-devised DEI initiatives maximize performance of individuals, teams, and the entire company. 

The organization is more likely to: 

• Capture new markets 

• See products become ideas

• Outperform on profitability

• Receive higher innovation revenue

In addition, diverse and inclusive teams make better decisions 87% of the time, and see the same percentage of effectiveness on the company’s business performance.

We see the same benefits from companies with strong learning cultures. Employees who work where there’s a strong workplace learning culture report being:

• More productive

• More likely to innovate

• More likely to stay at the company

• Part of a culture of belonging

Providing learning opportunities is part of an organization’s core DNA – and these opportunities should be essential, meaningful, and accessible…which is where DEI comes in.

Incorporate DEI Using the Four Core Methodology: Map, Assess, Learn, Measure

To incorporate DEI into learning culture and align both to strategic business objectives, Lumofy developed the Four Core Methodology outlined below. 

MAP

• Strategy: Map job competencies to the organization’s objectives and job requirements. 

• DEI element: Help organizations determine which DEI initiatives to prioritize and how to implement them. 

ASSESS

• Strategy: Assess the talent within your organization to determine strengths and gaps, and who fits best in which roles. Use psychometric analysis to determine learners’ aptitudes.

• DEI element: Determine where to focus your efforts to make the biggest impact on DEI initiatives. 

LEARN

• Strategy: Create customized, targeted learning paths based on assessments.

• DEI element: Develop inclusive people with an inclusive mindset. Be a role model and inspire others.

MEASURE

• Strategy: Measure progress and build an organization with potential to innovate. Provide targeted feedback in the form of coaching, webinars, and live sessions.

• DEI element: Leverage diversity within teams to achieve performance outcomes.

Using this methodology can help your employees to be more effective, help you attract the best talent, and build an inclusive and engaging culture where DEI is part of your core DNA. 

For a deeper dive into leveraging DEI for workplace learning, download the Lumofy webinar.

To learn more about incorporating diversity, equity and inclusion into your workplace, check out our DEI-based courses, or book a demo. 

Source

https://www.kornferry.com/insights/featured-topics/diversity-equity-inclusion/guide-to-dei-in-the-workplace/download-pdf

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Though the methodology of how people learn best remains the same over time, trends in learning techniques change based on the current cultural, social, and economic environment. 

So, just what are the current hottest trends in workplace learning?

We asked L&D expert Donald Taylor – Chairman of the Learning Technologies Conference and researcher and writer in workplace learning and performance technologies – to break it down for us. So, just what are the current hottest trends in workplace learning?

In the Global Sentiment Survey, we asked the global HR and L&D community – “What will be hot in workplace learning in 2022?” from the list of 15 options above, and they delivered! Here are the results.

Digital Learning Trends of 2022

For 2022, the top three workplace learning trends include reskilling/upskilling, collaborative or social learning, and personalization/adaptive delivery. Let’s examine each of these more closely. 

Learning Trend #1: Reskilling/Upskilling

The #1 learning trend for 2022 is reskilling and upskilling – in the same position as 2021, but not as “hot” – in other words, not as many people voted for this as they did the year before (down by 0.5%).  

Reskilling involves learning new skills to do a different job, or training employees to do a different job, while upskilling means learning additional skills to advance one’s skill set, close talent gaps, or move further along an employee’s career path. 

Learning Trend #2: Collaborative or Social Learning

Collaborative or social learning comes in at the #2 learning trend for this year (up by 0.2%). Just like it sounds, collaborative learning involves people working together to solve problems, learn new ideas and concepts, or complete specific tasks. Learning collaboratively means people can draw on each other’s skills and resources to reach outcomes. 

Learning Trend #3: Personalization/Adaptive Delivery 

The #3 learning trend for the year – personalized learning/adaptive delivery – involves customizing the training and delivery methods to the needs of the learner. It means tailoring the content and platforms to each person’s unique skills, abilities, and interests. 

Pushing content via adaptive delivery means moving away from the traditional, one-size-fits-all approach and instead creating pathways and feedback specific to each individual.

 The L&D Global Sentiment Survey takes the pulse of the L&D community worldwide, annually. The one-minute online poll asks L&D professionals internationally what they think will be hot in the following year. Each person votes for 3 of 15 options, presented in random order. These answers provide a fascinating look at trends in what people in L&D are thinking. Published each year in February and in its ninth year, the survey attracts responses from thousands of respondents in over 100 countries.

The One Pitfall to Avoid

For the first time this year, respondents could reply in free text to an optional question ‘What is your biggest L&D challenge in 2022?’  

Three categories accounted for almost half of the comments: learner engagement (17%), going hybrid (15%) and proving value to stakeholders (15%). These results show the impact of the last two years of pandemic. COVID-19 forced many to work online, and it reduced budgets and resources for L&D. 

Those in workplace L&D will turn to reskilling, upskilling, personalization and particularly on coaching and mentoring to avoid these challenges. Focusing on helping individuals build their skills for the future will certainly help with the issue of engagement. 

Regional Differences in Learning Trends

As you can see in the graph below, there are some key regional differences in how L&D professionals from around the world responded to what’s hot in learning. Although the results are subjective, we can do our best to interpret the data based on cultural and geographic information from each region. 

Key Observations

• In regions that favor individualism or have a strong culture of the self (such as North America and, to an extent, Europe) personalization and adaptive delivery is more valued. 

• In regions that favor a collective cultural mentality, such as South America and Africa, collaborative learning is valued over personalization.

• All regions value both social learning and personalization – perhaps indicating the intersection of technology with the need for human connection via learning. 

The Pandemic’s Affect on Learning Trends

COVID-19 has definitely had an impact on learning trends. 

A Google trends search for rescaling and upskilling shows that it became more popular in the latter part of 2019. The initial conversation around these topics was all about automation and AI – people needed new jobs for a new future of work. 

Then COVID hit, and companies were forced to adapt to virtual environments with new skills required to perform – or to new jobs altogether. Then, they were called back into the office and asked to learn new skills or perform different roles. Now, the current workplace environment is a mixture of the past and present – automation/AI and learning new skills – thus the need for both reskilling and upskilling.

In addition, the promotion of collaborative learning to the #2 spot could indicate that people are craving social interaction and human connection more than ever before. 

It should also be noted that collaborative learning (up 0.2%) and coaching and mentoring (up 0.6%) were the only options to rise last year. In fact, Donald predicts coaching and mentoring to rally for the next year at least (70% confidence). Backed by technology, it’s time has come. 

Finally, COVID required us to adapt to new solutions and environments, but now we have to decide whether to adopt these solutions moving forward. 

All of these factors likely played a role in determining the positions of learning trends on the survey.

As we move further into the second decade of the 21st century post-pandemic, it will be interesting to see if these learning trends remain the same or if others take their place.

For a deeper dive into the content within this article, access the webinar or download the 2022 Global Sentiment Survey Report

Do you have a need to reskill or upskill employees in your organization? Check out our catalog of curated courses or book a demo to learn how you can customize courses for your needs. 

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Senior Learning & Development Advisor

Las Vegas, NV

Pronouns: he/him

The expertise and coaching offered by Matt Bradley, Senior Learning and Development Advisor, is an invaluable resource for all OpenSesame customers. Matt identifies the most in-demand skills and training programs, leading global teams to sustainable L&D outcomes. He increases the value of existing learning programs and strengthens individuals while viewing every customer interaction as a learning opportunity. ”I’ve never been in that exact conversation before,” Matt said. “Understanding their situation helps me understand and help another company down the line.” What future trends does Matt see coming for L&D? “Employees don’t want to be treated like robots …. we will need more learning that addresses the human condition and what’s going on in the world,” Matt said. “The difference between telling your employee you care and showing them you care is huge. L&D plays a role in it by backing up what leadership is saying.”

Describe your role. 

Technology and entire industries are rapidly changing, and I help organizations adapt by reimagining a growth learning culture. I help OpenSesame customers identify the ideal training program or the next steps in their existing training program. I clarify what knowledge they’ll need to get there. Wherever they are in the process, I advise where there’s room for improvement or how to start from scratch. While I’m always available to talk to customers about their immediate needs, my real goal is to take the time to understand what they are trying to accomplish.

How does your expertise in Learning & Development help your customers? 

I’m always looking at everything from your users’ point of view. I encourage customers to ask questions, get feedback, make changes and flow with the data you’re getting from your learners to make sure it aligns with what they want. Also, when you build an L&D program, the people using it should have a hand in its design. One of the keys to making an employee feel welcome and valued is to ensure they can use their voice without repercussions. Every company should strive to empower employees without the need to hide behind confidentiality. Also, being able to help learners understand the “why” of what we’re going to accomplish, not just “what” we’re going to accomplish. Sometimes I hear people say, “we have to accomplish XYZ” but they’re not looking at the learner. 

How did you get into the field you’re in? 

My degree is in Behavioral Psychology, and I’ve always been passionate about adult learning. I started training as an Applied Behavior Analyst working with children and teens on the autism spectrum. Before working at OpenSesame, I worked for three years in customer support, onboarding and training. Now, with over seven years of employee training experience, my track record includes successful outcomes using revolutionary training and materials. I have consulted, advised, and coached in OpenSesame’s field service and sales through a new economic era, work-from-home onboarding, COVID-19, and social injustice. 

What has been the best part of working in your role? 

Having conversations where learning goes both ways is the best. I love knowledge and understanding exactly what any given L&D professional is going through. I’ve never been in that exact conversation before. Understanding their situation helps me understand and help another company down the line. If we’re not doing some kind of learning on both ends of the conversations we’re having, we’re doing something wrong. Everyone has something to learn from someone else. Also, OpenSesame’s leadership understands that we’re human beings and not just revenue generators behind a screen. Our senior team makes sure we know we’re all here for the same goal, and they tie it directly into what people do each day. 

How do you balance the needs of a customer’s organization and goals with the needs of an individual? 

You have to have a good level of empathy if you’re going to build something someone else will use. Part of the reason we’re currently seeing an issue with retention is that organizations aren’t providing clear avenues for growth. Transferable skills are key. The growth aspect is crucial in retaining employees. Most companies will say there are plenty of opportunities for you to grow – “here and here” – but we need to say, “here’s exactly what that looks like and a roadmap for how you’re going to get there. These are the skills you need to grow. Talk about the destination and the journey. 

What trends do you see in L&D over the next five years? 

I predict a transition away from the traditional focus of learning. A good example is a shift away from soft skills. A lot of customer feedback tells us we need to focus and address what’s going on in the real world. L&D has been a little hesitant to get into that. Mental well-being and psychological safety need to be priorities now; helping employees adjust to the new working world. We’re looking more at ergonomics, mental breaks, and meditation. Employees don’t want to be treated like robots. We will need more learning that addresses the human condition and what’s going on in the world. The difference between telling your employee you care and showing them you care is huge. L&D plays a role in it by backing up what leadership is saying.

How do you identify the in-demand skills? 

A lot of what I tend to focus on are the skills that transcend across industries. I look at everything from a design thinking approach and the learner population. I also help customers use data, but the best data we get is feedback from the learners and stakeholders. Asking for and being open to constructive feedback is essential to an L&D role. Make sure you’re asking the right questions. Instead of saying, “tell us what we’re doing well.”— you should be saying, “tell us where we can improve and make our program better.”

How do you shift a learning culture? 

First, make sure the employees/learners feel they have a voice. When they feel empowered, employees feel their ability to make changes is strong—demonstration of buy-in from the top-down needs to permeate all aspects of the business. Second, you need to actively demonstrate buy-in from leadership, marketing, and management. I always apply design thinking; a concept made popular by Tim Brown, the CEO of IDEO. Design thinking to look at things from your users’ perspectives. Ask yourself: “what is this going to look like from a learner’s point of view?” Let’s ask them what they think will be most effective for them, then ask them for feedback, analyze the data and adjust accordingly.  

How has your role and OpenSesame changed since you’ve joined?

I’ve transitioned from an in-person training/presenter to having a fundamental understanding of what successful training looks like when done right. I now share how practical training can improve employee retention. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we were trying to make sure the training we were doing was applicable and relevant to the world at that moment. If L&D isn’t paying attention to the things going on in the news or society, it’s easy to disconnect with learners fast. Once you have two or three courses that have no relevance to the person taking them, you lose a lot of power as an L&D professional. 

What enneagram type are you?

3w2. The ability to connect with others is a natural strength of the 3w2. That’s one of the aspects I identify with the most. 

What advice would you give to new OS hires?

Seek wise counsel and always be willing to share and accept feedback.

What is your favorite course in the OS catalog?

 The Happy Secret to Happy Work by Shawn Anchor

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When I was asked to share my story in celebration of women’s history month, my initial feelings of honor gave way to a sense of hesitancy. Will others find it compelling? Do people care about my lived experience? I tend to undervalue my capabilities and minimize my accomplishments. This is not unique, as studies show women tend to consistently underestimate their capabilities and contributions. In my past, I’ve struggled with confidence and self-compassion as I strived to be the best version of myself. 

Then, I began to think about what Women’s History Month meant to me. It’s a time to celebrate incredible, hardworking, changemaker women and those who’ve advocated for women in our history. It gives me the space to celebrate the strong women in my life who have helped shape who I am and where I am today—family, friends, mentors, colleagues, customers, and my personal mentor and hero, my mother. Many of whom, like my mother, tend to be the glue of their family, organization, or team, who have sacrificed personal wants for others and worked hard at everything they put their mind to. After this consideration, I felt compelled to share my story. 

I’m honored to represent many other women who share my story. As I write this, I am 37 weeks pregnant, expecting our first little one to join our family in just a few short weeks. Two months ago, I was promoted to a Customer Success Manager and joined a new team. In this role, I have the privilege of working with customers daily to enhance the elearning opportunities at their organization to ensure their employees have access to the training they need to advance their purpose. 

When I started my journey at OpenSesame almost two years ago, I had these goals in mind. I had a desire to build relationships with our customers and have always dreamed of becoming a mother. Back then, I was hesitant to share my personal goals of starting a family in fear that others would think it would get in the way of my work or derail my career advancement potential. This fear is unfortunately something that many still experience today in the workplace. The hesitation to bring their full selves to work in fear of judgment. 

What I soon came to realize was that OpenSesame had a different culture, one that is open and accepting. A company that encourages authenticity, openness and bringing your whole self to work. Even a few months back when I was getting ready to share the news I was pregnant, that fear crept back in. Upon sharing the news, I received nothing but words of support and encouragement. I realized that the individuals that make up OpenSesame cared as much about my personal aspirations as they did about my professional ones. The fact that I would eventually be taking maternity leave didn’t interrupt my professional advancement either. I was transparent with all involved and was offered a promotion to a new team while 7 months pregnant. 

This experience taught me that in order to be your best self, it’s important to show up and be transparent about what makes you uniquely you. Find a company culture where that is celebrated and supported. Where you’re not afraid to have a voice, in fact you are encouraged to use it. This is true for all individuals; women, men, pregnant, not-pregnant. Every human should feel valued when they show up to work, be encouraged to share their voice and bring their whole selves to work. 

I can’t think of a better way to celebrate women’s history month and the unique position of working mothers than to welcome a new life into the world this month. I look forward to the opportunity to guide and teach them what it means to be a caring, confident and curious individual. To share the morals and values I’ve developed and the confidence to share their voice to add value to this world. Thank you to all of the women in my life, who have taught me so much about what it means to be a strong woman, in my personal and professional life. 

The post Celebrating women in the workplace: The balance of pregnancy and promotions | by Brenna Behnke appeared first on OpenSesame.

Hallie Janssen | Vice President of Marketing 

Deborah Dang | Vice President of Finance 

Ria Delamere | Vice President of Engineering 

Melanie Goldstein | Vice President of Product Development 

Marta Altree | Senior Director of Customer Success 

Abby Miles | Senior Director of People 

Kolene Hammer | Director of Sales, North America 

Katerina Maerefat | Director of Digital Marketing and Operations 

What does International Women’s Day mean to you?

Hallie: International Women’s Day means two things to me. First, the day is to celebrate and acknowledge the sacrifices that women across the world have made to further women’s rights and equality. It also serves as a reminder that not all women are treated the same across the world. I think Americans can easily forget how hard it is for other women in other countries. 

Kolene:  It means thanking those that yesterday paved the path, supporting those that are continuing to do so, and encouraging those that are yet to find their path. The day to me is a reminder that I have had to prove myself in business at times, twice as hard as a male has had to.  But it also is a day to reflect on all the men that have supported women in our request for equality.   It is also a day to remember that I want to pave the path for others….with a chair at the table that was earned. 

Deborah: International Women’s Day is a day to celebrate and recognize all the advances made by women to achieve gender equality in this world and the amazing achievements of women.  But at the same time, there is still work to be done both in America and the rest of the world.

Katerina: I believe International Women’s Day is a day to celebrate the path that has been forged throughout history for the advancement of women. While we have made great strides to close the gender gap, there is still work to be done in other countries to ensure the same equality. 

Ria:  This day symbolizes the progress many women have made to allow us to have role models to look up to.  Even though we haven’t gotten to the end of the road it is important to recognize the struggles and triumphs many have gone through to make progress in gender equality, women’s empowerment.  This day reminds us that we still have hills and mountains to climb to gain a greater momentum towards gender equality worldwide.

What advice would you give to women who want to be future leaders?

Marta: practice self-confidence – know and trust your strengths, knowledge and experience. Tell imposter syndrome to beat it. 

Abby: That your work product, life experience and past challenges make you uniquely qualified to be a leader. Women at every level should know that there is always someone with less experience, confidence or ability than you. Seek them out and offer them support on their journey – coach a team, mentor an intern, take a new hire to coffee – there are little opportunities that allow you to strengthen your leadership muscles around every corner. 

Deborah: Don’t let imposter syndrome stop you from seizing opportunities or trying something new.  Stretch yourself – so you can grow and learn. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Celebrate the achievements of others and help others grow too. 

Katerina: You are more than capable of anything you set your mind to. Learn from others, learn from your own mistakes, and never stop growing and striving to be better for yourself and others. 

Ria:  You will get a lot of advice and some contradictory advice to help further your career.  Remember that being your authentic self is the most important.  You are like a magnet. The same traits that attract people to you and want to work with you are also the same traits that can repel others.  Do not lessen those traits just to attract more likes, because you are also weakening those traits that initially attracted people to you.

Melanie: You can succeed as a leader without changing your beliefs or your approach to working with others. Leadership can be more diverse, inclusive and collaborative than the models we have all seen on the world stage. You can contribute to that trend and bring others along with you. 

What characteristics do you feel make women great leaders?

Hallie: When I think of great women leaders that I’ve had the privilege to work for and with, they were humble, self-aware, empathetic, and focused on elevating others. They acknowledged their mistakes and were willing to change and had a learning mindset. They knew their limitations and weren’t overconfident or narcissistic. I saw them be kind and caring and effective at leading without carrots and sticks. And they were great mentors, quick to find motivations and goals in order to create career paths. 

Kolene:  I believe that what makes up the best women leaders is an ability to bring out the best in others. That can be done through empathy, through challenging others, for being the voice for those who aren’t confident in their own, and for being able to see the importance of work/life balance.  Great women leaders make others realize their strengths they may not know they have, and they take what others may see as a weakness and turn that into an asset.  I also believe that the absolute best women leaders are those that show vulnerability.  Vulnerability takes a great deal of strength and it also allows other women the space to realize that we are still in fact women! 

Ria:  When I think of great women leaders a common theme I see is she knows she is enough.  She doesn’t allow anyone to make her feel insufficient or insignificant.  She knows what she has to offer and what she is able to give.  She creates an environment of inclusion, encourages participation and shares information so others feel empowered to also take the lead.  She is a multiplier leading with empathy and encouragement.

Melanie: The great women leaders that I have seen are listeners, empathetic, driven, and highly collaborative. They are not trying to go it alone. They work hard alongside others and encourage their teams to challenge them with new ideas and approaches. The right answer doesn’t have to come from them for the team to succeed. 

What are the benefits to having women leaders in an organization?

Marta: Empowered women empower women – women in leadership roles serve not only as role models but also as advocates and sponsors who can champion other women wanting to pursue a leadership path. 

Abby: Women leaders add great value to organizations – the benefits that I see and appreciate in the women around me are that they lead with empathy and kindness while being some of the most intelligent and effective performers on the team. This is a powerful combination that leads to highly engaged teams to be led by smart people that also are aware of the more human feelings & elements of work. 

Ria:  The obvious answer would be for diversity in lived experience and thought, but I think it goes deeper than that.  History has shown that societies who valued a matriarchal society based their values and decisions on care-tracking, nurturing and creating a community with excellent support structures.  We know the value of team dynamics as a result this type of mindset that women leaders bring to the table 

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The truth is, to understand why almost half of employees are currently seeking new opportunities, we need to understand who’s leaving and why. 

Recent analysis has shown that the following groups of people are the most likely to leave their current roles: 

• Mid-career employees (ages 30-45)

• Women in general

• Those who work in the health care and technology industries 

The reasons cited for leaving include burnout, lifestyle reevaluation, and to seek remote opportunities and better work-life balance.

To combat this, it’s important to determine who’s most likely to leave. By identifying the root causes for these trends within your organization, you can build your recruitment and retention strategies around them.

How to retain employees during the Great Resignation

Conduct an initial data analysis

In order to effectively retain your workforce, you need to know where the issues lie and determine if your attrition trends follow the national patterns outlined above. The best way to understand this information is through conducting data analysis. Anonymous surveys, questionnaires, and focus groups can help you capture how employees are feeling about their jobs and unearth how likely they are to stay with you. From there, you can analyze these trends and develop strategies around it. 

As an example, let’s say you conduct a survey and the results show that a significant percentage of parents with children feel that their work schedules are too rigid and don’t allow flexibility for childcare needs. And when you dig deeper into the data, you discover that a large percentage of these parents are women who are strongly considering leaving the organization within the next six months. From these results, you could consider implementing a flex work arrangement option. 

Listen to your employees

After you’ve done your initial research, take it a step further and talk to your people one-on-one. Ask your top performers what they enjoy, what they think could be improved, or even what they would consider leaving the organization for. Ask your lower-level employees what they appreciate about their roles, how they’re feeling day to day, and what they’d like to see changed.

Develop a people-first approach

People need to know they matter, and sometimes it’s the little things that make all the difference. 

Anything your organization can do to show daily appreciation can cause a huge boost in morale. This can range from thank-you cards to company-wide rewards or recognition programs. (After all, everyone is motivated by rewards!)

Call centers (or anyone working with the public) can reward points for excellent customer service – for example – which then go towards a charity donation of their choice or a small prize from the company store.

Boost your employee development opportunities

This strategy may be the most effective yet simplest one to implement. 

Regardless of the type of industry they work in, employees desire to improve their skills and follow a clear career roadmap.  

Self-paced, online training is a great way to provide various types of skill-building and career development opportunities that employees can complete at their own pace, on their own schedules. 

At OpenSesame, we help with this by offering curated elearning courses for all ages and demographics. Losing women to other opportunities? Or just lacking a diverse workforce in general? Try our DEI courses. Mostly Gen Z employees? Have fun while learning with some gamification courses.

Conduct exit interviews

Despite your best efforts, some employees will still leave. Capture their perceptions on their way out the door by conducting exit interviews. 

We know – it’s not always fun to do these. But think of it as a learning experience. You have a valuable opportunity to gain insight on what your people think of your organization that you can use to improve. After conducting enough of these interviews, you’ll start to notice trends and patterns emerge that you can use to improve your organization’s culture and offerings.

Learn how OpenSesame can help your specific organization achieve its training goals.

–

Sources:

Cook, Ian. “Who Is Driving the Great Resignation?” Harvard Business Review, 15 Sept. 2021, https://hbr.org/2021/09/who-is-driving-the-great-resignation. 

Derler, Andrea. “These Are the People Still Most Likely to Quit during the next Wave of the Great Resignation.” Fast Company, Fast Company, 2 Nov. 2021, https://www.fastcompany.com/90692090/these-are-the-people-still-most-likely-to-quit-during-the-next-wave-of-the-great-resignation. 

O’Connell, Brian. “How to Retain Employees during the Great Resignation.” SHRM, SHRM, 9 Feb. 2022, https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/people-managers/pages/great-resignation-and-retention-.aspx. 

Panel®, Expert. “13 Ways Managers Can Keep Valuable Employees during (and beyond) the ‘Great Resignation’.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 10 Dec. 2021, https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeshumanresourcescouncil/2021/12/06/13-ways-managers-can-keep-valuable-employees-during-and-beyond-the-great-resignation/?sh=42ab16067eeb. 

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Now that 68 percent of companies expect remote work to be part of their new reality, that means your learners might live on opposite sides of the country or oceans apart. And the coming of age of Generation Z means for the first time ever, there are now five generations in the workforce, each of which relate to the Digital Age differently. This leads to people arriving to elearning from countless avenues with wide-ranging expectations and varying capabilities. How do we make learning and development accessible for everyone?

1. Our workforce is forever in flux, so the ways we learn must be also.

It can be a challenge to know the best approach to learning and development for the world we inhabit now. No two brains are exactly the same. So why should learning ever be one size fits all? We process new information differently  and have different experiences and skills. How we learn should be adaptable to those differences.

There’s no right way to learn. It’s however you learn. By having a diversity of materials that embrace all types of learning styles, you can make sure you’re engaging everyone. That means more opportunities to upskill, reskill and cross-skill—no matter where your employees happen to be in their career development journey.

2. Different learning styles mean we need more ways to capture attention.

The advantages of a wide catalog is you never have to choose between quality and quantity. You can have both. A marketplace like OpenSesame with tens of thousands of courses from many publishers allows you to match the type of content to the type of learner. Instead of elearning content that’s made in identical styles and treatments, you have modalities that are as diverse as your workforce.

It’s commonly understood that there are at least four learning styles: visual, auditory, reading/writing and kinesthetic. This is known as the VARK Model and was popularized by education researcher Neil Flemming in 1987. 

Read six tips and strategies for cementing engagement in your training initiatives.

Visual learners best process information by seeing it graphically represented. So think of charts, diagrams, animations and sketches. Visual aids for these types of learners can be useful in helping them remember what they’ve learned. 

Auditory learners need to listen to someone explain a concept before they can fully digest it. Hearing information out loud or having key takeaways repeated during a course can improve retention. These folks might enjoy podcasts and audiobooks.

Reading/writing learners love the power of the written text. Reading ebooks and pamphlets allows them to really sit with new information or just quickly skim it for what they need. 

Kinesthetic learners might enjoy interaction and gamification. So courses where they take quizzes and collect points throughout would better motivate them to complete each module. 

3. Individualized learning paths help to democratize career development.  

The various learning styles go beyond just what’s above. Someone who has a short attention span might enjoy bite-sized micro-learning that they can do in 10-minute bursts. Someone who is a tactile learner likely would appreciate workbooks and handouts to accompany lessons. Learners don’t always neatly fall into just one column but may be a combination of several modes. 

So it’s important to find a course vendor that can deliver courses in every format you can think of. With a variety of options, you can personalize a learning path for each individual. And with a feature like SmartPath, elearning experts at OpenSesame can curate the perfect blend of courses and styles relevant to each learner at your company. These customized curriculums are based on your specific goals and tailored to your specific learners.

Every mode of learning has a part to play when it comes to unlocking human potential, and utilizing different types of elearning content is what keeps learning interesting. Flexible learning that varies in style, format and even language has the power to bridge the gap between diverse learning needs. By catering to our learning differences, we ensure that elearning can truly be for everyone. 

Book a demo to see how SmartPath can match the needs of every learner!

Spencer Thornton is the Senior Vice President of Curation at OpenSesame. He has more than 20 years of learning and development expertise. Before joining OpenSesame, Spencer served in leadership positions with several global HCM organizations, including SumTotal Systems (SkillSoft), GeoLearning and Dice.

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A Senior Curation Specialist specializing in Safety and Compliance, Amanda Sessions assists publishers and customers in complying with regulations and mandates and taking new courses to the next level for learners. Amanda relies on OpenSesame’s exhaustive data and her deep knowledge of the 25,000 courses available. Her curated course lists are custom-created for the exact moment in an organization’s Safety and Compliance initiatives. She’s a futurist in many ways — always staying one step ahead of her customers’ needs and regulatory changes. 

Describe your role.

As a Senior Curation Specialist, I work with publishers to help them succeed and ensure we have the latest and greatest safety and compliance content. When I’m not working with publishers, I’m helping recommend the course lists for customers to meet their very specific requirements and preferences.

What makes your role unique at OpenSesame?

Custom curation feels like power when there are 25,000 opportunities to help improve and inspire learning in a workforce

How did the move to a work-from-home economy affect your work? 

As workforces have been transitioning from live training to online training, the first thing they needed was Safety and Compliance training. In the peak of 2020, customers were turning to us as the experts of what they should be ready for next. The essential topics needed to be deployed right away, and that included COVID safety and workplace guidelines. It felt good to be a trusted guide and have a solid roadmap for our customers and our publishers in such a historic time. The publishers wanted to know what they ought to create, and the customers wanted to know what they needed to be trained on. It was all easily prescribed by OpenSesame. And, while being compliant with COVID safety became a priority, something that has not gone away has been sexual harassment training. The #MeToo movement began right before I started, and the demand for this important content has not slowed down. 

How do you curate the best possible course lists for your customers? 

By leveraging all our data—and we have so much. I use our CAP and our comprehensive data to compare it to the personal data and the customer’s requirements. Then I add in language and accessibility requirements and make sure we’re hitting all those. I put all of it together and make the perfect cake. I’m very comfortable as a Safety and Compliance expert. I came from a background of Safety and Compliance in healthcare, and my time at OpenSesame has only helped me establish myself as a specialist in that role. 

What does a typical day look like for you?  

Our team receives such a wide range of questions, and each one is a challenge and an opportunity to learn. I’ll have a call or two a day with publishers. The other half of the day is spent building customized curated course lists for customers. Much of my work involves supporting customers internally. I love supporting my team in helping our customers. Turning in a curated list to a customer success manager and hearing how I could help the customer is great. Getting to review new publisher content is a delight, and I use my attention to detail to spot opportunities for improvement. I give very specific feedback on details, including terminology and audio/video quality.  Previewing a wide range of topics enriches my understanding of professional development. 

What is your favorite TED course?

10 Ways to Have a Better Conversation by Celeste Headlee.

How has your role grown since starting at OpenSesame?

I have experienced relationship building and account management on a whole new level in daily work with our publishers and customers. The autonomy we have in our roles allows us to customize our customers’ experience.  Not only have I become exposed to a broader range of training content, I feel I have a greater understanding of how a highly successful customer and employee-focused company operates.

Want to know more about how Amanda can curate for you? Check out Amanda’s pre-curated list of courses on Promoting a Culture of Ethics.

To get a better idea of how OpenSesame’s curation team can work with you to help you get the most out of your budget and accelerate engagement, connect with one of our experts for a personalized, guided demo.

Get a Personalized Demo →

Access The Pre-Curated List →

Avoid Overpaying on Employee Training – webinar →

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In her role as Business Development Manager Team Lead on OpenSesame’s Curation team, Abbie Paul follows a demanding 39-point quality checklist to assess every single new publisher that crosses her desk.

Stringent content standards at OpenSesame maximize learner engagement and drive the best possible customer results. With these standards in mind, Abbie seeks out the globe’s top publishers in each of OpenSesame’s core categories. And, finding the exact content her customers need – as it is needed – has become a priority over the past few unprecedented years.

New workplace topics such as “wellness” and “fully remote workforces” peaked in demand during the pandemic. If a course doesn’t exist, Abbie works directly with trusted publishers to build new content and vet it against OpenSesame’s unrelenting standards.

Describe your role.

My role is to find ideal new publishing partners and bring them into the OpenSesame marketplace. I evaluate training courses, determine if they will be a good fit, and consult with our existing publishing partners to help them improve and expand their offerings to our customers. Every week, we have several publishing organizations reach out to work with us. They range from small independent shops to well-known publishers like TED. All are vetted against the same strict standards and demanding OpenSesame quality checklist. My job is to oversee the quality control of every course we make available to our customers.

What makes your role unique at OpenSesame?

I have to keep pushing the envelope to find unique and engaging courses for our customers. Sometimes it feels like mining for a diamond in the rough.  We’ve built a stringent checklist of Course Quality Standards in the form of an assessment for evaluating each new publisher, and we’re constantly taking in feedback. This allows us to review content in a nonsubjective manner. The OpenSesame checklist tells us what works and what doesn’t work for our customers. Every publisher must meet the same guiding principles: be reputable, innovative, flexible, diverse and inclusive, global, and provide unparalleled support. Our goal is to ensure every learner has a smooth and engaging learning experience.

If a customer needs training on a topic we don’t have courses for; I first reach out to our existing publishing partners. We’ve built a network of strong relationships, and if we don’t have a publisher with expertise in a particular subject, we look to either expand that network, or partner with subject matter experts to create the content in-house. We are fortunate to work with high-quality publishing partners ready to work with us and ultimately help our customers see engagement and results. 

How did hybrid work-from-home workforce models change your offerings and your role?

We strengthened our relationships with our publishers and asked for timely courses — like “virtual onboarding,” “remote employees,” and “mask conflict de-escalation.” Those courses simply didn’t exist before. Believe it or not, a course called “Proper Handwashing” became one of the most popular COVID mitigation courses we offer. As we saw demand change, we reached out to all our publishers, and they were able to jump right in. Wellness continues to be a valuable and critical topic and is produced by many publishers — but finding the most effective wellness content is what we strive for. Within other topics, business skills are forever popular, compliance is critical, and sexual harassment courses are in constant demand. We have all of those courses, and now we also have specialists focused on securing the best courses in DEI, Business Skills, Technology, Wellness, Safety, Compliance. 

What is your favorite TED course?

The Power of Believing You Can Improve by Carol Dweck and The Power of Vulnerability by Brene Brown.

What is your favorite course in the OS catalog?

Choosing one course would be like picking a favorite child. It’s impossible. I prefer scenario-based courses where videos show the right and wrong way to address a situation. I enjoy humor, so when a course plays like a television show, I stay engaged. 

How has your role grown since starting at the company?

My first role at OpenSesame was as a Senior Curation Specialist. At the time, our team was small, and we wore a lot of hats. Since then, the hats have become roles and teams. In 2019, I started the Business Development team, where the focus was to build-out a process for evaluating prospective publishers in a nonsubjective manner; to ensure a strong partnership with successful onboarding. Since then, we have put several processes into place and expanded the team. Our ratings have improved, and our relationships are stronger than ever. 

To get a better idea of how OpenSesame’s curation team can work with you to help you get the most out of your budget and accelerate engagement, connect with one of our experts for a personalized, guided demo. 

Get a Personalized Demo →

Access The 39 point Quality checklist →

Avoid Overpaying on Employee Training – webinar →

The post Employee Spotlight: Curation appeared first on OpenSesame.

Portland, OR – 21 September 2021 – OpenSesame, a market-leading SaaS global elearning innovator, today announced the addition of Eleventure to its popular OpenSesame Plus subscription. With this announcement, OpenSesame is adding significant expertise to its robust catalog that will boost on-the-job skills in a variety of subject areas. 

Eleventure provides high-quality, microlearning courses designed to help learners enhance the skills they use on a daily basis from communicating with others, setting goals, or managing their time effectively. 

The learner-centered microlearning approach that Eleventure takes enables the learner to retain knowledge, while addressing critical topics like Resocialization after Covid-19 and Creating Racial Equity in the Workplace (CREW). These courses dive beyond the surface to provide true value for learners and their organizations. Some of Eleventure’s most popular courses center around reducing workplace anxiety and conflict management, critical topics that can shape an organization’s environment and culture.

“We are excited to welcome Eleventure and their 50+ courses to the OpenSesame Plus catalog. Their fast, action-focused courses fill critical gaps in our ever evolving workplaces,” said Spencer Thornton, Senior Vice President of Curation at OpenSesame. “In addition the need for learner-centered microlearning courses has grown even more critical.” 

“Eleventure helps people learn and apply new skills quickly, offering high quality content in a casual, refreshing micro format that learners love,” said Megan Torrance, CEO of TorranceLearning. “We’re thrilled to make these courses available to OpenSesame’s customers.” 

About OpenSesame

OpenSesame helps develop the world’s most productive and admired workforces through powerful online learning in every industry. With the most comprehensive catalog of elearning courses from the world’s top publishers, OpenSesame helps global companies every step of the way. In a moment of an increasingly virtual workforce, OpenSesame has added even more Global 2000 companies to its customer base. With over 20,000+ courses, the platform touches all industries in all markets. For more information, visit opensesame.com

About Eleventure

Eleventure® takes a learner-centered microlearning approach, addressing critical topics that learners need now. From courses on Covid-19, Resocialization after Covid-19, and Virtual Selling to Creating Racial Equity in the Workplace (CREW), Eleventure courses dive beyond the surface level to provide true value for learners and their organizations. In addition, the courses on reducing workplace anxiety, workplace communication and conflict management, and coaching are time-tested popular offerings. Eleventure teaches critical, on-the-job skills people need. It’s fast. It’s fresh. It’s action based. And it’s designed and developed by the award-winning team at TorranceLearning.

To learn more about Eleventure’s training, visit www.opensesame.com/s/eleventure

Media contact:

Hallie Janssen

hallie.janssen@opensesame.com

(917) 253-7355

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Voices of OpenSesame Juntos Employee Resource Group (ERG): 

I spent most of my childhood summers visiting my abuela who lived in the foothills of a mountain in the southwestern part of the United States. I loved to run through the arroyos, eat from her apricot trees, and catch lizards who became my summer companions. Whenever I went inside her house, I was met with love from her big, warm hugs, her large plates of food with her homemade tortillas, and her affectionate “mijita.” Outside of her affectionate address, I was rarely met with one thing: Spanish. 

Even though my abuela was bilingual in Spanish and English, she never spoke Spanish with me. This was the same at home; my mom never spoke Spanish with me either. There are many contributing factors, with one being that I lived in a multicultural home, and my dad didn’t speak the language, nor was he Hispanic. Thus, our language at home was only English with a sprinkle of Spanish words and phrases. However, the main reason I never grew up speaking Spanish was because of the generation I was born into. 

My mom’s family is part of the Hispanic community in the U.S. who predates the United States itself. They lived on the land in the southwest that eventually became a state. My family never immigrated to the U.S., but were instead living in areas where “the border crossed us.” For my mom, she faced discrimination for speaking Spanish, especially in school, and was faced with all aspects of assimilation. My mom’s perspectives on Spanish grew from this experience and impacted how my sister and I would grow up without it. 

I went through my childhood never questioning my lack of Spanish and thought of it as something fun to listen to when overhearing my mom on the phone, for example. I even took high school Spanish because I thought, “Mom speaks it. It should be an easy class.” It wasn’t until I was older and when my abuela passed away that I began to truly contemplate the important relationship between language and cultural identity. Whenever I asked my mom why my sister and I never learned Spanish, she would always respond by saying, “I felt English was more important because I wanted you to have opportunities.”

Into my adulthood, I began to feel like something was missing, like I wasn’t a “real” Hispanic because I couldn’t speak the language. And from interactions with some Spanish-speaking Hispanics, that became more obvious as they would usually shame my mom for not teaching me our cultural language. But they didn’t understand what contributed to my mom’s decision. My generation didn’t grow up speaking Spanish. My sister didn’t. My first cousins didn’t. We were the result of the effects of discrimination and assimilation that our parents grew up with, where English trumped Spanish at every turn. 

Now, as an adult, I’ve been trying to learn my cultural language with the disheartening fact that I’ll never be a fluent Spanish speaker like my abuela’s generation or even my mom’s — as she jokingly calls it — “Spanglish” generation. I still question if I’m Hispanic enough. But with that comes an additional question: How do I self-identify now?

Latinx is one option.

The term Latinx is something I see and hear all the time. It’s in the news, in textbooks, on social media, and even in our company’s courses. However, I don’t use the term. Honestly, I don’t even like it. If there is one way I would not self-identify, it’s as Latinx. 

According to Pew Research, most Latinos don’t use the term. And for someone like my mom, along with 76% of the adult Latino population, they haven’t even heard of it. The term is more commonly known among young adults and college graduates. 

I can understand how adding an “x” is trying to make the term gender-inclusive. However, the “x” represents another form of erasure to me. My cultural language was taken from me because of the assimilation that tried to erase the language from my mom and her generation, and that assimilation met its goal with many in my generation. The addition of the “x” is just another reminder of that. 

The “x” doesn’t follow the grammatical conventions of the Spanish language, and that is the very reason for its use. The “x” attempts to erase the gendered conventions of a language spoken by over 550 million people — in the name of inclusion. However, there are other inclusive equivalents that I believe are more respectful to the Spanish language. There is a term that already exists in English: Latin, as in Latin music and Latin America. There’s even a Spanish version that fits its grammatical conventions, Latine. It uses –e instead of –o or –a. These are more favorable options that don’t try to erase the Spanish language. The “x” seems like a way to fix something that isn’t even broken. 

What’s truly broken is the continued prejudice and discrimination against Spanish speakers and the idea that if they don’t speak English in the U.S., they should go back “home.” But that ignores the reality of the U.S. having “the second largest population of Spanish speakers in the world,” and for people like my family, we are home. We’ve been home for generations. We’ve never left.

For various reasons — with some being very personal ones — not all of us may agree with or even like the term Latinx, while some do. This is because the Hispanic and Latino population is not monolithic. We all don’t identify in the same way, and that includes the terms we choose for ourselves and for being more inclusive.

So, how do I choose to self-identify? For me, it’s complicated, but I’ll always be my abuela’s mijita.

By a Member of Juntos ERG

To learn more about how you can propel your DEI initiatives, use the resources below:

Essential DEI Resources →

DEI Progress Survey →

ERG Curated Course List →

The post Why Some of Us Don’t Use the Term “Latinx” appeared first on OpenSesame.

What it’s like to work in hospitality right now

“This is an industry where you help people. You please people. It gives great satisfaction to fill that need — and to feel needed,” said Greater Boston Concierge Association founder Amy Finsilver (Bostonglobe.com). Many have reported that working in hospitality right now looks like low pay, long hours, and lots of pressure. Whether you’re a store owner or employee, there’s a lot of strain on mental health and financial stability. Fear of permanent closure plagues all restaurant owners as there is no immunity during this uncertain time, along with the persisting fear of catching the coronavirus while hospitality workers are actually working. 

What does the future of hospitality look like?

All restaurants have health inspections, but the future of restaurants has a much greater focus on cleanliness, and customers are seeking full transparency on just how clean they really are. Aside from certified health inspectors, some customers are posing a similar role as they are skeptical of contracting the coronavirus at one of these establishments. Hotels alike, customers are weary. The future of hospitality workers looks like extra initiatives for a clean workplace, as well as full transparency to customers and residents (Forbes.com). Things like QR code menus, single-use menus, and take out will continue into the future, as they limit the risk of passing the coronavirus. Hospitality workers may be required to attend classes on health practices and cope with increased stress in the workplace. 

How can I support the hospitality industry while still being safe?

There are people that support local restaurants by doing take out dining during lockdowns. Ordering from your favorite local restaurant(s) is a great and safe way to support their business and ensure they can put their own food on the table for their families. If you can’t afford take out dining, spreading the word about different restaurants and establishments is another way to show your support. The world of hospitality has changed and will continue to, so it is important to stand with small business owners and help out one another. 

Resources

Check out these courses OpenSesame offers for hospitality workers during the pandemic:

• Covid-19 Retail and Hospitality: Why Safety Rules Matter

• Coronavirus and Working in the Restaurant Sector 

• Food Safety for Food Handlers 

With courses offered in multiple languages, and available on multiple devices, OpenSesame helps companies like yours develop the world’s most developed and admired global workforces. Check out our free course of the week, and if you have any questions contact us at info@opensesame.com today.

Sources used:

https://www.bostonglobe.com./2020/12/30/lifestyle/i-feel-like-im-always-edge-hospitality-workers-covid-19-hasnt-just-ravaged-their-industry-also-their-mental-health/

https://www.forbes.com./sites/blakemorgan/2021/01/07/what-will-restaurants-look-like-after-covid/?sh=7043dcce2a97

The post The great change for hospitality and its workers appeared first on OpenSesame.

OpenSesame offers a wide variety of online sexual harassment prevention courses applicable in any business context. For states without specific requirements, many OpenSesame sexual harassment prevention courses will help you meet your training needs. Learn more about the requirements in the states you operate to ensure your organization is in compliance, and your employees stay safe, happy, and productive. 

To learn more about how OpenSesame can help your organization meet your sexual harassment prevention training needs, contact us at (503) 808-1268 or visit www.opensesame.com.

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Portland, OR – 8 October 2020 – With the majority of U.S. colleges moving to online offerings or imposing strict restrictions on campus life in response to the coronavirus pandemic, many students chose to put their higher education plans on hold this semester. Coursica, a new program powered by online learning innovator OpenSesame, aims to bridge the gap for these students with a new type of virtual internship, or “virtualship.” 

“Pausing or delaying formal education, especially for financial reasons, shouldn’t prevent students from learning,” said Don Spear, CEO of OpenSesame. “We founded OpenSesame on the idea that education and training can advance everyone, and Coursica allows us to leverage our comprehensive catalog to develop the next generation of learners and leaders.”

The first half of the Coursica program is a training virtualship consisting of 100 hours of curated courses from the OpenSesame catalog, virtual mentoring sessions with the Coursica advisor team, and professional development reading. Students who complete the first part of the program are eligible to apply for paid on-the-job virtualships at OpenSesame or its partner companies in 2021.

Other business leaders joining Spear on Coursica’s advisor team include fellow OpenSesame co-founder Josh Blank, XCOM Chief Human Resources Officer/Head of HR Tamar Elkeles, New York Times bestselling author Yogi Roth, diversity and inclusion consultant Tara Cooper, and digital marketing specialist Jalyssa T. Woodall.

“Coursica equips participants with the abilities and experience students need to launch their careers,” said Alex Hernandez, Senior People Experience Manager at OpenSesame, who is overseeing the Coursica program. “The core courses in the curriculum teach essential work-ready skills and the additional learning paths allow students to widen their skillsets in disciplines like project management, programming languages, sales, and information technology.”

Applications for Coursica are now open. To qualify, applicants must be currently enrolled in college courses, taking a gap year/semester, or have recently graduated college. For more information, visit www.coursica.com.  

About OpenSesame

OpenSesame helps develop the world’s most productive and admired workforces. With the most comprehensive catalog of elearning courses from the world’s top publishers, we are here to help you every step of the way, from finding courses, mapping them to your core competencies, syncing them with your LMS to increasing utilization and improving your L&D programs. Not only will you have the flexibility of multiple purchasing options from OpenSesame, you’ll find it simple to use and administer your elearning courses. To learn more, visit www.opensesame.com.

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So, what exactly is Six Sigma certification? 

Six Sigma originated with Bill Smith at Motorola in 1986. Applicable in a variety of industries, the overarching goal of Six Sigma is to reduce deficiencies in companies so there are only 3.4 defects per million opportunities. Meaning that 99.9% of processes are defect-free, allowing your company to run smoother, save time, and save resources. This may seem like a daunting task, but Six Sigma uses a method of process improvement called DMAIC which guides users to systematically define and address the root causes of issues and maintain the gains. DMAIC stands for:

• • Define: define the problem 
  • Measure: quantify the problem 
  • Analyze: identify the root cause of the problem 
  • Improve: solve the root cause and verify improvement 
  • Control: maintain the gains and pursue perfection 

Who is involved in Six Sigma?

Anyone in the company can get involved with Six Sigma. When deciding to launch a process improvement project using Six Sigma, there are roles to assign. The roles are broken down into different “belts” ranging from White Belt to Master Black Belt. All of the “belts” are associated with different responsibilities and process knowledge levels. It’s not necessary to be certified in all the belt levels as you can choose which level corresponds best with your job’s duties. Functional roles can translate to Six Sigma roles. The belts work like this: 

Six Sigma White Belt: This is the first level of certification that deals with the basic Six Sigma concepts. White belts support change management in an organization and engage with local problem-solving teams that assist projects.

Six Sigma Yellow Belt: At this level, you know the specifics of Six Sigma, how and where to apply it. You will support project teams on problem-solving tasks.

Six Sigma Green Belt: At this level, you understand advanced analysis and can resolve problems that affect quality. Green belts lead projects and assist black belts with data collection and analysis.

Six Sigma Black Belt: Black belts are experts and agents of change. They provide training in addition to leading projects.

Six Sigma Master Black Belt: This is the highest level of Six Sigma achievement. At this level, you will shape strategy, develop key metrics, act as a consultant, and coach black and green belts.

What are the benefits? 

Six Sigma certification doesn’t just benefit the organization, but the employee as well. Some benefits for your organization include:

• • Improved bottom line 
  • Improved customer satisfaction 
  • Standardization and legal compliance of processes 

Along with the company as a whole, Six Sigma can benefit individuals too: 

• • Become valuable in every industry 
  • Hands-on experience in quality management 
  • Studies have shown that Six Sigma certified Black Belts in European countries made more than their non-certified peers. Salary.com reports that Six Sigma certified Black Belts earn between $103,300 and $129,700 on average. 

Have other companies implemented Six Sigma?

Using Six Sigma’s collaborative approach to improve operations,  SRHC subsidiary Salina Regional Health Enterprises, saved $20 million after training 1,500 people. Another success story? General Electric saved $12 billion 5 years after implementing Six Sigma. Improving your organization’s processes and putting results in the hands of employees has limitless potential. 

Okay, all this sounds great! How can I get my employees Six Sigma certified? 

With a variety of publishers offering Six Sigma courses within OpenSesame, you’re sure to be able to find the perfect fit for your company. Click here to learn more about our dedicated Six Sigma course list. 

The post How and why to get Six Sigma certification appeared first on OpenSesame.

Here are a few of our must-haves for your employee onboarding checklist that will help your new hires make a smooth transition to full-time employees:

1. Compliance Courses 

Not only is compliance training important for workplace safety, but meeting your state’s standard for training is a legal requirement. It can cost your company big time to cut corners. The OSHA penalty for non-compliance is $13,260 but can get up to $132,398 after repeated offenses. Our OpenSesame publishers are contractually obligated to ensure their courses are compliant with legal regulations and are updated regularly, so you never have to worry about them going out of date.

Recommended compliance courses: 

• • Fire Extinguisher Safety
  • Common Ground: Sexual Harassment and Abusive Conduct Prevention

2. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Training

Now more than ever, diversity and inclusion training initiatives are at the forefront of learning and development, but how can you successfully implement these programs and retain your diverse workforce? A 2019 Glassdoor study found that 49% of employed adults across four countries (United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany) have witnessed or experienced racism, ageism, gender, or LGBTQ discrimination in the workplace. Make sure your company is part of the change and that new employees know the expectations and that guidelines are in place to protect them. An equitable and inclusive workplace is a safer, more innovative workplace. 

Recommended Diversity, Equity and Inclusion courses: 

• • Diversity and Inclusion: Creating an Inclusive Culture
  • Unconscious Bias

3. Professional Development 

A Gallup poll found that 70% of employees are not reaching their full potential in the workplace. An efficient professional development program for your employees can help mitigate that disparity and set them up for success. Set the expectation during onboarding that professional development isn’t just an afterthought, but ingrained in your company values. A study done by the Association of Training and Development found that companies that spent more money on training and development saw a total shareholder return that was 86% higher than companies that spent less. The benefits of a professional development program are clear — the value of your company goes up when you invest in your employees from day one. 

Recommended professional development courses: 

• • Emerging Leaders: The Importance of Vision
  • Management Skills: Coaching – The Power of Questions

OpenSesame boasts a catalog of over 20,000 courses so we can help with all of your company’s learning and development goals throughout the employee lifecycle.  For our full employee onboarding checklist of courses click here. 

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“I can’t draw. Therefore, I am not creative.” 

This is a major misconception about creativity – and absolutely false. You were born into this world with everything you needed to create. You are wired to be creative. You can’t help it. Creative thinking is what makes us human. And we all do it! 

Creativity is complex and there are many definitions of it. One of the definitions of creativity I use is based on one by Dr. Morris I. Stein: Creativity, the production of something that is novel and useful. That’s it. It’s that simple.

If that definition doesn’t do it for you, then try these on for size. Creativity is…

• • a student connecting what matters in his life to a career he can pursue with passion.
  • making an already-tight budget go even further.
  • finding a better way to feed the homeless people in your city.
  • preparing a delicious meal from leftovers in the refrigerator.
  • making bedtime fun to get kiddos to sleep.
  • finding a new way to tell someone that you love them.

Have you done any of those things? Of course, you have. Well, that’s what creativity really is.

Is everyone creative?

Yes. Enter the 4-C model of creativity.

Creativity researchers James Kaufman and Ron Beghetto have identified four types of creativity. Big-C, little-c, mini-c and Pro-c.

• • Big-C creators are people like Albert Einstein, Frida Kahlo, and Mozart. These are the clear-cut, eminent creative contributors.
  • Little-c is the kind of creativity that we do every day. Little-c creativity is finding a way to fix machinery on the farm with just wire and duct tape, improvising a socially distant graduation ceremony during COVID-19, or making a quilt using old clothing scraps.
  • Mini-c is creativity that is part of the learning process – often seen in young children. Mini-c focuses on the creative process. It is the new idea generated in a brainstorming session that might eventually develop into a breakthrough.
  • Pro-c is the creativity of individuals who are professional creators but have not reached eminent status. Pro-c is the chef who makes a living developing entrees, the musician who composes musical arrangements, the interior designer that makes your house beautiful.

If you look at the 4-C model, there is not a single person on this planet who doesn’t exhibit some form of creativity. In fact, creativity is crucial to our survival. Imperative to create a dynamic, thriving human experience. Creativity is in all of us. 

Dr. Roger Firestien has taught more people to lead the creative process than anyone else in the world. Roger is senior faculty at the Center for Applied Imagination at SUNY Buffalo State and president of Innovation Resources, Inc. He has written six books on innovation. His latest book, Create in A Flash:  A leader’s recipe for breakthrough innovation is available through Amazon or at createinaflashbook.com. Visit RogerFirestien.com for more details.

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Here are three ways to incorporate TED’s courses into your workplace learning initiatives in order to drive organizational change:

TED@Work

A growing library of TED@Work courses covers critical topics such as leadership, collaboration, emotional intelligence, embracing change, and digital transformation. Each interactive course includes an Ideas into Action framework to inspire new ways of working at the individual and team level.

TED Masterclass

Bring TED’s approach to sharing ideas to your workforce. With this course, learners can master the art of public speaking and improve communication skills by learning to identify, refine, and deliver ideas so they make an impact. This action-oriented course guides learners through TED’s process as they develop their own TED-style talks. But don’t just take it from us, hear from the experts at TED Masterclass directly by checking out this webinar on it. 

OpenSesame Plus 

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the amount of TED courses available, look to our OpenSesame Plus product. It includes a subset of courses that have been curated into ready-to-play lists by our in-house experts. From TED@Work to TED Talks to short, animated TED-Ed lessons, you’ll have many areas for your workforce covered.

Visit our dedicated TED page to learn more about how you can incorporate the expertise and inspiration TED offers into your learning experience, as well as to catch any upcoming events or exclusive offerings.

To get a better idea of how you can incorporate TED and all of OpenSesame’s innovative tools and features into your L&D experience, connect with one of our experts for a personalized, guided demo.

The post Spark Change and Inspire Action with TED appeared first on OpenSesame.

What’s new with the Course Details Page:

Simplified purchasing options

• • Clicking the new Buy Now button starts an easy-to-navigate purchasing process.

Improved course preview.

• • Click the large thumbnail image to watch a demo of the course. 

Easy access to Publisher information

• • Check out the information about the course publisher now directly on the Course Detail page, such as publisher description, core competencies and quick access to all of the publisher’s courses available on OpenSesame.

Additional course details

• • Access more course details, if relevant, such as available subtitle languages and applicable regions. Seat time, accreditation information and a link to the System Requirements document can be found here as well.

Course ratings

• • Quickly see user ratings of the course on the right side of the page.

Curated Lists

• • Quickly access the Curated List that features this course to find other courses related to the topic curated by our Curation team.
    

Course recommendations

• • View and access related courses recommended by OpenSesame.

For more information about how you can evaluate which courses are best for your training program, contact your Customer Success Manager or our Support team.

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Portland, OR – 23 June 2020 – OpenSesame, the elearning innovator, announced the addition of Skill Boosters to its popular OpenSesame Plus subscription to expand its curated library of diversity and inclusion, leadership and business skills training courses.

Enterprise companies leverage the OpenSesame Plus subscription with over 7,500 curated courses—now including Skill Boosters’ contemporary and drama scenario-based courses—to increase inclusivity in the workplace and develop learners’ professional skills.

For over 20 years, industry leaders and public organizations around the world have relied on Skill Boosters for training featuring real-life experiences coupled with best practice analysis and advice from leading management thinkers and subject matter experts.

“Skill Boosters offers courses that are relevant to today’s workplace reality,” said Spencer Thornton, Senior Vice President of Curation at OpenSesame. “Organizations must train employees to adapt to unprecedented social and economic change, as well as technological advances.”

“As the premier elearning provider, OpenSesame ties together a broad and diverse content offering with the highest quality standards for their customers. We are delighted to expand our partnership with OpenSesame to reach a wider global business audience than we’ve served before,” said Bryan De’Ath, Founder & CEO of Skill Boosters.

About OpenSesame

OpenSesame helps develop the world’s most productive and admired workforces. With the most comprehensive catalog of elearning courses from the world’s top publishers, we are here to help you every step of the way, from finding courses, mapping them to your core competencies, syncing them with your LMS to increasing utilization and improving your L&D programs. Not only will you have the flexibility of multiple purchasing options from OpenSesame, you’ll find it simple to use and administer your elearning courses. To learn more, visit www.opensesame.com

About Skill Boosters

Skill Boosters upskills learners with effective and engaging elearning courses featuring leading experts, thought-provoking drama scenarios, compelling interviews and best-practice case studies. To learn more, visit www.skillboosters.com

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Will these changes affect you? 

Chart Learning has been mapping the trends that impact private and public life for the last several decades. Together with industry experts across the globe, we review and compile valuable insights that are employed in the creation of our learning programs. Our goal is to ensure that our programs support students and learners in meeting the evolving market needs.

Technology has affected how work and life are viewed

We used to be restricted by a traditional concept of work and physical workplace objects. Desks, filing cabinets and desktop PCs forced us to be in the office to complete our work, and productivity was demonstrated first and foremost by one’s physical presence. Now, we can work from anywhere using our laptops, tablets and smartphones to connect with our colleagues and access and edit files. But this connectivity has removed the distinction between being at work and not being at work; we need never “switch off,” we’re accessible 24/7.

“The office environment of yesteryear is no longer allowing employees to interact with a global market, and even take work out on the road. The influx of new technologies that has been making the general convenience of our personal lives has grown exponentially and has taken over our professional lives as well.” writes Elizabeth Dukes, Author at iOffice in “5 Ways Technology in the Workplace Has Improved Our Lives.”

 There are two competing trends at play here, with work and personal time having become merged. Some folks attempt to draw a clear line between the two, whereas others embrace the merge and accept that their work is their life.

The latter trend has created a movement of self-employment, with people setting up businesses that support their passions and being able to work from anywhere. For those who remain employed, the office may become like a satellite. Tools for remote work and adapted organizational structures allow employees to take control of their schedules and to find a balance that suits them.

Reflecting on what this means for employers 

Employers may seek to engage employees in new ways, helping them to develop new skills and shifting how work is perceived and approached. Incorporating elearning into existing training and development programs is an effective way to do this. eLearning tools are delivered through “blended learning,” a mix of digital and in person education.

To make the introduction of elearning smooth, Chart Learning uses the best practice learning methodology available for blended learning, called the Performance Assurance System. This is particularly helpful to workplace trainers because it means the role of trainer is adapting and growing. Within the Performance Assurance System, trainers can become Certified Coaches to elevate their role and responsibilities.

Trainers and coaches are valuable resources 

Supportive elearning content is not created in a vacuum. Subject matter experts seek assistance in producing learning material, no matter the format.

So how does “pre-packed” content fit into a trainer’s suite of materials? Off-the-shelf content acts as a template for customization. Subject matter experts can lend their expertise to foundational courses by:

• • Providing additional context and materials to complement the content
  • Interpret and apply real-world scenarios to difficult pieces of information
  • Facilitating discussion around the material
  • Providing organization-specific examples and application

Many trainers who embrace elearning content will see their role evolve from that of presenter or facilitator to that of a guide or resource. Employees can learn the basics from a video, but they may not understand what those basics mean to the company, or how they should be applied.

Most importantly, in an age of dedicated content consumption, digital tools represent greater opportunities to put materials in learners’ hands.

The recipe for success

Blended learning gives employers the tools to remove the burden of traditional workplace training. While it’s not a replacement for corporate learning specialists, or anyone in a training capacity, it makes the job of trainer far more efficient and effective.

The use of blended learning also allows for better analysis of training and how successful it is. Digitized training data allows employers to analyze results and demonstrate program effectiveness. eLearning tools and content make it easy to keep control over the aspects of training that are helpful and remove those that are burdensome.

Peter Horwing is the CEO of Chart Learning Solutions, headquartered in Sweden. Chart Learning Solutions is a performance improvement company in professional development, focusing on leadership, sales, customer service and team performance. This is accomplished using Chart’s Performance Assurance System, which has produced industry proven, award-winning courses with coaching.

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Portland, OR – 29 May 2020- OpenSesame, the elearning innovator, announced the addition of Seven Dimensions to its popular OpenSesame Plus subscription to expand its curated library of business and wellbeing courses with engaging TV series-like elearning.

Enterprise companies leverage the OpenSesame Plus subscription with over 7,500 curated courses—now including Seven Dimensions’ comedic and interview-style courses—to develop learners’ personal and professional skills.

Seven Dimensions combines top quality film-making with a psychology-based approach to learning. For over 40 years, Seven Dimensions has produced innovative business, documentary, investigative and comedy programs in Australia and the United States. 

“Online training is always more effective when learners are having fun,” said Spencer Thornton, Senior Vice President of Curation at OpenSesame. “Adding Seven Dimensions to our OpenSesame Plus subscription brings their unique approach to microlearning and high entertainment value to better engage learners.” 

“OpenSesame shares our commitment to online learning with a difference, offering a wide range of topics, blending humor, expert insights and advice that comes from the heart,” said Eve Ash, Founder and CEO of Seven Dimensions. “Their quality standards are exceptionally high and are sensational curators.”

About OpenSesame

OpenSesame helps develop the world’s most productive and admired workforces. With the most comprehensive catalog of elearning courses from the world’s top publishers, we are here to help you every step of the way, from finding courses, mapping them to your core competencies, syncing them with your LMS to increasing utilization and improving your L&D programs. Not only will you have the flexibility of multiple purchasing options from OpenSesame, you’ll find it simple to use and administer your elearning courses. To learn more, visit www.opensesame.com

About Seven Dimensions

Seven Dimensions (7D), founded by Australian psychologist Eve Ash, has 40+ years of creation of hundreds of videos and courses that entertain and deliver powerful, practical strategies for improving business and wellbeing. A focus on keeping courses short, memorable and engaging has made 7D a popular and sought-after brand worldwide. For more information, visit https://www.opensesame.com/s/7-dimensions

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“Organizations around the world are planning and preparing to return to the workplace on different timelines,” said Don Spear, OpenSesame CEO. “At OpenSesame, we believe elearning can provide a critical and efficient path to prepare employees for the changes they will face when they return to the new normal in their workplace.”

Through 15 June 2020, any organization can join the more than 11 million learners already signed up for free access to over 100 curated elearning courses from OpenSesame to support their employees during this crisis. Other topics in this free offer include professional development for furloughed workers and employees working from home as well as coronavirus prevention and remote working best practices.

For more information and free access to the courses, visit go.opensesame.com/return-offer.

About OpenSesame

OpenSesame helps develop the world’s most productive and admired workforces. With the most comprehensive catalog of elearning courses from the world’s top publishers, we are here to help you every step of the way, from finding courses, mapping them to your core competencies, syncing them with your LMS to increasing utilization, and improving your L&D programs. Not only will you have the flexibility of multiple purchasing options from OpenSesame, you’ll find it simple to use and administer your elearning courses. To learn more, visit www.opensesame.com.

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Turn furlough into opportunity

For organizations furloughing employees, ensuring their workforce stays engaged and productive during this time presents a challenge. This could be a good opportunity to train your workforces so they return after the furlough stronger and smarter. For example, a major retailer recently furloughed its retail store personnel but continues to pay them. In addition, they are offering online training courses for their furloughed employees to facilitate professional development.  It can be difficult for employees to find the time for developmental training on top of their usual responsibilities, but being on a paid furlough creates a unique opportunity for professional development. 

Furthermore, when businesses transition back to more normal operations, it will be a busy time gearing up. As a result, there will be even less time to do either professional development or required training. With that forward-looking perspective, your organization may want to leverage this work from home time to squeeze in employee training so your training plans don’t get off-track.  Get ahead now on your training programs so your organization can hit the ground running when we emerge from the coronavirus pandemic.  

How OpenSesame can help

eLearning can provide a critical and efficient path to train, prepare and engage employees who have been impacted.  While on furlough, your workforce can hone their skills and complete training to return to work more prepared and skilled. 

OpenSesame has curated lists of courses specifically for furloughed workers, free of charge through 15 June, with lists designed for: 

• • Customer facing employees: Designed to improve customer service skills, deal with difficult customers, and how to be resilient in the face of stressful situations.
  • Office employees: Develop valuable skills like effective communication, workplace ethics and conflict resolution.
  • Operations personnel: Courses on safety, problem solving and emergency preparedness.

Sign up for these courses at go.opensesame.com/wfh-offer. 

Please use these courses to help your employees work and manage remotely, stay productive while on furlough and return to the workforce with new and improved skills. Professional development is always of utmost importance and these courses can help your workforce polish their skills and be ready to return to work sharper than ever.

Returning to the new normal

With travel bans widening and instructor-led training no longer an option, we are ready to support your organization to curate the best courses to meet your other training needs and quickly deploy them to your employees.

For more information on how we can help you save time, money, and curate the right courses for your training program, contact us today at info@opensesame.com.

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If your company has sent employees to to work remotely, you already know this is an adjustment. If you manage a team, you’ll see that the usual day-to-day interactions in the break room, at the coffee machine, or passing in the hallway are gone, and that you and your coworkers may be feeling a bit disconnected. Fortunately, there are many strategies to keep morale high and reinforce team cohesiveness with a distributed workforce. It just takes a bit of planning. Here are a few tips to help managers strengthen their remote teams.

Use video chat

While you can check-in via email, send an instant message or attend a meeting on the phone, nothing beats the ability to see your co-workers face-to-face in a video chat. Seeing facial expressions, hand gestures and, even your co-workers’ home office and cats or family members helps humanize conversations and avoid misunderstandings that can occur in a text message or over the phone.

Create a routine

In the office, social interactions happen without planning. You can stop at a co-worker’s desk as you get coffee or join a group in the lunchroom for a meal. Working remotely requires more intentionality about creating daily touchpoints for you and your team. Here’s a simple schedule of daily check-ins to make sure you stay connected:

• Monday: Schedule a half-hour weekly kick-off meeting where each person shares something from their weekend, presents their goal for the week, and notes any “roadblocks” they may need help with. 
• Team meeting: If you’ve already been running weekly team meetings, keep them up. With less spontaneous moments to share information, the team meeting is important to make sure everyone’s on the same page. 
• Friday: Wrap up with a half-hour review session. Team members share their week. Did they meet their goal for the week? Sharing successes and failures within your team builds trust and promotes growth and continual improvement. 
• Daily standups: For the 2 other days of the week, keep the communication going with a 10 minute standup. In this quick check-in, go around the virtual room and ask each person what they accomplished the day before and what they’re working on today.
• One-on-ones: If you don’t yet do weekly one-on-one meetings with each of your direct reports, now is the time to start. These meetings provide support for your direct and build trust. 

Make space for spontaneous team conversations

Team messaging apps like Slack, Microsoft Teams, or Google Hangouts Chat are part of many company cultures, even for teams that work in the same office. But for remote teams, providing a way to quickly share information, make a joke, show pictures of your dog or just say hi is crucial to keeping a team excited and connected. Just keep it professional and appropriate. 

Respect time 

Lots of communication is important for a distributed team to stay connected. But, it is also necessary  for team members to go into “heads-down” mode to get work done. The key is to communicate this clearly. For example, a note to teammates “Hey team, I’ve got to wrap up this report by noon, so I’m turning off Slack and email until then. If it’s urgent, text my phone.”

Without the natural interactions that happen throughout the day in an office, managing a remote team can be challenging. However, by putting together a schedule, providing lots of opportunities for interaction, and making sure you and your team get to see each other daily, you can keep your team strong, connected and productive. 

We’ve curated a list of courses for organizations to help employees excel working from home and also staying safe and productive. These courses are made available as a public service, free of charge through 15 May 2020. Please use them to help your employees, customers, partners, and families reduce their exposure and spread of the virus. Immediate education and containment are key to saving lives.

Sign up for these free courses at go.opensesame.com/free-offer.

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London, UK – 11 March 2020 – OpenSesame, the elearning innovator, today announced its inclusion as a Potential Performer on the 2020 Fosway 9-Grid for Digital Learning, an annual analysis of HR, talent and learning vendors with a focus on customers in Europe, Middle East and Africa. 

The Potential Performer recognition by Fosway, generally awarded to new and emergent solutions, highlights OpenSesame’s growing market presence in the European digital learning market since its incorporation in 2011. OpenSesame opened its London office in September 2019 to strengthen its regional partnerships and support for its growing global customer base. 

David Wilson, CEO of Fosway, said, “One of the key benefits of the 9-Grids is the ability it gives us to recognise the value of providers in every zone. Potential Performers usually indicate innovative and newer market entrants, which perfectly describes OpenSesame’s expansion into Europe. It’s positive to see some disruption in the digital learning market and greater choice for buyers than ever before.” 

“It is an honor to appear for the first time in the Fosway Digital Learning 9-Grid,” said Don Spear, CEO of OpenSesame. “This recognition acknowledges the increasing market awareness of OpenSesame in Europe and our role in innovating the European elearning industry.”

About OpenSesame

OpenSesame helps develop the world’s most productive and admired workforces. With the most comprehensive catalog of elearning courses from the world’s top publishers, we are here to help you every step of the way, from finding courses, mapping them to your core competencies, syncing them with your LMS to increasing utilization and improving your L&D programs. Not only will you have the flexibility of multiple purchasing options from OpenSesame, you’ll find it simple to use and administer your elearning courses. To learn more, visit www.opensesame.com. 

About the Fosway 9-Grid

Fosway Group is Europe’s #1 HR Industry Analyst. The Fosway 9-Grid provides a unique assessment of the principal learning and talent supply options available to organizations in EMEA. Now in its sixth year, the analysis is based on extensive independent research and insights from Fosway’s Corporate Research Network of over 150 customer organizations, including BP, HSBC, PwC, RBS, Sanofi, Shell and Vodafone.

Visit the Fosway website at www.fosway.com for more information on Fosway Group’s research and services.

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Now is the time to review best practices and provide training to prevent illness from spreading in the workplace and ensure employees are staying healthy at work. Simple preventive measures can have a huge impact on the physical and mental health of your workforce, especially if working in close office quarters. 

Timely reminder about infection control

News about coronavirus and other illnesses dominates today’s news headlines, so review these best practices to train your organization and prevent the spread of illness. We recommend reviewing this free course, Coronavirus Preparedness for Employers and Employees to get your entire organization up to speed. 

Hand washing

While hand washing  seems like a basic skill everyone knows, many people aren’t washing their hands correctly to prevent the spread of illness. Did you know in order to be effective you need to wash your hands for 20 seconds? If you have trouble keeping count, it takes you approximately 20 seconds to sing “happy birthday” to yourself twice. 

Use this elearning course by OpenSesame course publisher UL, Infection Control – Handwashing to provide a quick refresher about hand washing and the role it plays in illness prevention at work. 

Cover your cough

In addition to avoiding touching your face, you can also prevent the spread of germs by properly covering your cough. Cover your mouth and nose with your bent elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze, then dispose of the used tissue immediately.

Avoid handshakes

While handshakes are common in the office, you may want to be cautious and avoid them to prevent the spread of germs. Fist-bumping is up to five times less likely to give you germs than a handshake according to Former CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden. 

Review sick time and work from home policies

One sick employee can spread an illness throughout an office, but members of your organization may be worried about missing work and end up coming to work unhealthy. By reviewing sick and work from home policies, you can help your employees make the right decision to stay home and get healthy while preventing the spread of illness. 

Eat healthy to boost immune system

The American Dietetic Association says eating healthy boosts immunity and prevents the flu. Diets that are rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and other whole foods can help boost your immune system and fight off illness. Check out this 5-minute course by OpenSesame course publisher Litmos Heroes, Healthy Eating at Work, to learn how to eat healthy, drink more water and have increased energy at the office, as well as prevent illness. 

How OpenSesame can help you

OpenSesame helps companies like yours develop the world’s most productive and admired workforces. For more information on how we can help you curate the right courses for your training program and keep your workplace safe, contact us today at info@opensesame.com.

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Microsoft knows that it is not going to be easy for people to switch out the software that they count on
for their instant messages and video conferences, so why do it? In a nutshell, they want one central hub
for teamwork and collaboration. Skype can’t do this, but Teams can.

Teams will provide all the communication capabilities of Skype, but with the added bonus of file storage,
threaded conversations, app integration, and more thanks to its Cloud infrastructure. You can add a
OneNote notebook to your Team to organize your information, or integrate a plan from Planner to help
divvy up the work. You might start your day off by sending some instant messages to your manager,
then run up a video conference call that you record and save in your Team, and finally start a
conversation thread congratulating your coworker on her new promotion. Microsoft has been putting all
their eggs in the Teams basket, rolling out new features like the Blur my Background or adding the
option for external contacts to participate in meetings. It seems like every week there is something new
in Teams.

The shift to Teams is not just learning a new piece of software. People will need to learn a new
workflow: where to store files, how to manage meetings, how to chat and meet with people. That is why
it is critical to ensure that organizations have a solid plan to migrate from Skype to Teams and sure
employees are properly supported in this transition.

Through our partnership with OpenSesame, Intellezy can provide continuous support before, during,
and after your Microsoft Teams integration. Not only does Intellezy provide up-to-date elearning
content through the OpenSesame platform, but Intellezy can help mitigate risk with this transition and
drive adoption towards new workflows by offering change management and training services. Intellezy,
your results-driven partner for the people side of change.

Heather Walsh has over 20 years experience of delivering high-quality training and management solutions, including experience a trainer, content writer, project manager, business analyst, and client success manager. She has excellent communication skills, even when explaining complex or technical concepts. Walsh develops customer relationships that promote retention and loyalty and works closely with customers to ensure they are satisfied with the services they are receiving and to locate and improve upon areas of dissatisfaction. She partners with clients to ensure superior and consistent services with the goal of assisting the client towards meeting their metrics and growth goals.

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What is Reskilling?

Reskilling refers to the process of learning new skills so someone can do a different job, or training people to do a different job.  Upskilling, reskilling, retraining, and even new-skilling are used interchangeably for the process. Training these workers requires teaching technical skills along with creativity, interpersonal skills, adaptability and the capacity to continue learning.

Organizations leading the way

• Amazon: Fulfillment-center employees can go through a 16-week certification program in classrooms located inside Amazon warehouses and, if the retailer hires them as data technicians, their wages will rise from an average $15 an hour to $30.
• AT&T: 180,000 employees so far have participated in its Future Ready program. Workers can assess their skills, then pursue short-term badges, nanodegrees taking up to a year to complete, or master’s degrees in fields like computer science and data science offered in partnership with institutions such as the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Notre Dame. 

These companies are only the tip of the iceberg. 87% of executives are noticing significant gaps in the skills of their workers due to COVID-19 and the advancement of automation and digitization. The Harvard Business Review even posits that this shift will require adding a new role to the c-suite: a chief skills and learning officer (CSLO) in the same way that the role of chief technology officer became commonplace over the past two decades. 

Want to learn more about how you can reskill your workforce? View our resources, or connect with one of our experts for a personalized, guided demo that will show you how easy it is to incorporate all of OpenSesame’s innovative tools and features into your training experience. With courses offered in multiple languages, and available on multiple devices OpenSesame helps companies like yours develop the world’s most developed and admired global workforces.

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For the last 14 years, Whitby has worked with L&D professionals to build training programs by recommending elearning courses to meet and exceed their training goals.  These have included smaller 100-person start-up companies to Global 2000 enterprises. 

“It’s amazing seeing companies of all sizes and industries facing the same obstacles in deploying training, measuring impact and defining value,” noted Whitby.

By joining the board, Whitby hopes to help build chapter membership and enhance the member experience.  “The pace of change in business is only getting faster and belonging to a group that supports your professional goals has never been more important.  By bringing more folks into the conversation, we all benefit from each other’s expertise and experience,” remarked Whitby.

Whitby studied eLearning and Instructional Design at Rio Solado Community College and Entrepreneurship at Mt. Hood Community College. He is passionate about measuring the impact of training and proving results and excited about the prospects of taking ATD Valley of the Sun membership to new levels.  

For more information on how you can get involved in your local ATD chapter, visit www.td.org/members/chapters, or email member@atdvos.org.

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It’s titled “Illinois Training Compliance Update: A guideline for implementation of Illinois’ new sexual harassment prevention training requirement.” It’s free, and you don’t have to sign up for anything or provide any contact information.

You can download it HERE

This quick read will provide you with information on timeline, content requirements, expert assumptions and suggestions, and selecting the best training solution solely based on what would be best for your organization.

I hope you find this information helpful as you navigate brand new HR, training and compliance requirements!

Established in 1994, WILL Interactive is the most highly awarded eLearning developer in the United States. WILL’s unique training methodology encourages active participation by putting learners in control of their own educational adventure. Users make decisions for the lead characters in an interactive movie and experience the consequences of their choices. Multiple independent studies have been completed on the effectiveness of WILL’s training methodology. The combination of learner engagement, artful storytelling, rigorously vetted content, and a user-driven training methodology grounded in the principles of advanced adult learning theory creates highly memorable educational experiences that are proven-effective
to positively influence attitudes, behaviors, and workplace culture.

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You naturally want to choose the training software that offers maximum advantages to your workers participating in the training and to the organization as a whole.

Regardless of which eLearning software you choose, each of them offers a plethora of benefits, especially for mid-sized businesses that have a limited budget for employee L&D initiatives. 

We’ve compiled the top 7 benefits that an online training software can offer to your employees and the organization. Knowing these benefits will help you determine whether or not you should invest in training software.

1. Reduced Costs

Online training software considerably reduces the cost of conventional training methodologies, such as class-based training. You no longer need a physical space for training, either in your office or having to rent a space externally. This saves you from the cost of setting up the necessary infrastructure. 

Since employees can attend training sessions in the comfort of their home or workplace, it also cuts down the expenses of commuting, hotel reservations, food, and other traveling costs.

Here’s another cost-saving aspect: All your training content is already uploaded in the online training software. This means you (or your employees) don’t have to buy learning materials, books, and other resources that conventional training methods often need.

2. Flexible and on-demand learning 

When your employees travel to attend any training program or you hire an instructor to come onsite, you strongly depend on other people’s schedules. 

But, by using an online training software, you offer a more flexible and on-demand training. It allows you to schedule training in groups so that it’s more convenient for your company as a whole. Plus, your employees also enjoy the flexibility to individually choose their training times as per their convenience and work schedules.

This is especially effective if you have a remote and physically dispersed workforce. Each employee can attend training according to his/her availability and learning pace, without worrying about different time zones.

3. Better engagement and retention

Online training software is more effective as compared to the class-based training program. This is because your employees have to retain the information they learn in a classroom setting. But, with online training software, the information is always at their fingertips. 

They can easily retain the information as they go through the learning material. And, they also have the option to access the content later on, whenever needed. Plus, as an online training software offers self-paced learning, they can consume as much content as they want and take a break whenever they feel burnt out.

4. Suitable for full-time employees

One of the main reasons full-time employees find it challenging to focus on learning is the lack of time. Often, training sessions are scheduled during work hours and are very rigid, making it difficult for all employees to actively participate. 

An online training software helps learners access content whenever they have the time to do so. It could be during normal work hours, during the downtimes in the day, or in the evenings.

Also, as your employees aren’t compelled to complete training in one sitting, they can opt to take the sessions in time increments that work well with the rest of their schedule and workload.

5. Removes nervousness among learners

Traditional training methods put workers together in a face-to-face setting. An online training software removes this face-to-face interaction. This is advantageous to learners who are generally shy or feel awkward around others. 

Online learning creates an environment where trainees are almost anonymous. So, they can freely ask questions or share comments online without the fear of being judged by a class full of people.

6. Reporting and analytics

When implementing an employee training program, the biggest concern many medium-sized organizations have is regarding the measurement of their ROI.

How do you ensure that your employee training initiatives are successful? And, how do you justify your investment in online training software? 

This is where the analytics and reporting feature of eLearning software steps in. It helps you monitor the progress of your employees in real-time so that you know how effective your training program is. Also, you can identify any knowledge gaps that may exist in your business. 

Depending on which industry you work in, your company may be required to fulfill certain compliance requirements. Online training software offers robust reporting in the industry-compliant format so that you are inspection-ready 24/7.

7. Improved onboarding process 

Having a successful onboarding process is key to employee satisfaction and retention. An online training software helps you simplify your employee onboarding process by leveraging technology. 

You only have to create and upload training content once into your training tool. And, your new hires can access them at any time. Plus, you can recycle some of your old content to upgrade your training. There’s no need to create a course from scratch or dedicate a mentor to train every new employee. 

Key Takeaway

When it comes to elevating your employee training program, medium-sized businesses will find several different online training software available commercially. This is how you can determine if it’s the right tool for what you’re trying to accomplish with the training and development of your workers.

Ehsan Memari is a blogger for SkyPrep, a provider of leading online training software for organizations to train employees’ partners and customers. Ehsan is a regular contributor to blog posts related to knowledge sharing, L&D, and eLearning.

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Investing your time and energy in a mentorship program at work not only helps employees to be their best at their current position, but it also helps develop your organization’s future leaders. Mentors help to:

• • Provide sounding boards for ideas
  • provide professional feedback
  • can help you grow your network

75% of executives say mentoring has been critical to their career development according to a survey by the American Society for Training and Development. 

Traits of a good mentor: how to be one and how to find one

Having a great mentor can have an immense positive impact on your career but how do you not just find one, but find the one that’s right for you? A tricky thing about mentoring is that it’s often informal which can make it difficult to find an entry point. 

Check out these OpenSesame courses to make the most of being a mentee and paying it forward as a great mentor: 

• • What is a Mentoring Program?
  • Creating a Successful Mentoring Relationship
  • How to Match Mentors and Mentees

OpenSesame helps companies like yours develop the world’s most developed and admired workforces. For more information on how we can help you save time, money, and curate the right courses for your training program, contact us today at info@opensesame.com. 

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When it comes to professional development, traditional in-person training can be costly. 85% of dollars spent on classroom training is on delivery (instructor time, travel, rental space, etc), while switching to elearning can eliminate these costs entirely. 

eLearning also saves time by increasing the productivity of your workforce. Due to its flexibility and ability to customize, elearning demonstrates a 60% faster learning curve than instructor-led training. Allowing each learner to complete the training at their own pace means that employees can complete courses in their downtime rather than having to fit a training into their already busy schedules. eLearning also supports a geographically widespread workforce since employees can access courses wherever they are. 

OpenSesame helps companies like yours develop the world’s most developed and admired workforces. For more information on how using elearning can help you save time and money, contact us today at info@opensesame.com. 

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The eLearning Coach

Connie Malamed is something of a superstar of instructional design in the US, and her relaxed style makes The eLearning Coach one of the most enjoyable learning podcasts out there. Episodes are released on an ad hoc basis but are always a treat, with informal conversation and a deep dive into topics like gamification, agile development and storyboarding. If you develop e-learning, this is the podcast for you.

The Learning and Development Podcast

This new addition to 2019 offers studio-quality production with host David James’s expert insights into all things Learning and Development. Guests this season have included Sukh Pabial, Kate Graham, Nick Shackleton-Jones and Barbara Thompson, each sharing their views on topics shaping – or damaging – the learning and development industry.

Emotion at Work

The Emotion at Work podcast hasn’t been active for a while, but we think that its back catalogue is such a rich resource that we’re recommending it anyway. Host Phil Willcox explores the role that emotion plays in our relationships, our reactions to conflict, and how we perform at work, providing a safe space to explore these topics in conversations that are thoughtful and revealing, backed up by research and evidence.

Freakonomics

Although not strictly an L&D podcast, behaviour economics plays such an important role in the design of learning and the workplace that we think Freakonomics is a crucial entry on this list. Launched as an extension to the global bestseller of the same name, Freakonomics has since dropped nearly 400 episodes. Don’t be fooled if it sounds dry: host Stephen Dubner recently tackled topics like sports gambling, the future of meat and an interview with Dr Marijuana Pepsi (her real name). If you’re looking to assess how incentives and systems support or hinder your learning interventions, this is a great place to start.

The GoodPractice podcast

Obviously, we have to mention our own podcast. Now into its third year, our weekly podcast has been downloaded over 160,000 times and occasionally takes to the road for live shows with real, honest-to-goodness human audiences. Each week, hosts Ross Garner, Ross Dickie and Nicola Boyle chat with regular contributor Owen Ferguson and a special guest about topics such as evidence-based practice, performance support, challenges to face-to-face learning and (wherever possible) libertarian paternalism. And, of course, we always finish with our regular feature ‘What I Learned This Week’, a fan favourite that we hear has become a fixture at team meetings across the world.

Since 2000, GoodPractice has been creating inspiring learning and performance resources for blue-chip organizations across the globe. They inspire managers to overcome their challenges and improve their performance. The Management 101 Suite of elearning helps build key management skills through the insight and practice in the fun format. Learners can apply new skills immediately. The Management 101 Suite is ideal for new and emerging managers, as well as seasoned managers who want to refresh their skillset.

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Common Challenges

According to Deloitte, only 1 in 9 companies rate their learning culture as excellent, which means that there is plenty of room for growth. 

When training a global workforce, challenges range from: 

• • workers being decentralized
  • located in different timezones
  • speaking different languages

Solving Common Challenges of Global Workforces

• • Transitioning to communicating and training in local languages or providing alternatives: Even if your business has an official language, language comprehension levels may vary among your employees. So while they may have conversational skills in one language, following a complex training might be difficult so it is crucial that courses are offered in local languages. 
  • Soft launch your new learning program with champions in each area: A soft launch allows for your program to build momentum. Tounsi highlighted one case study where an organization had a very competitive company culture, so slowly giving everyone access to the new learning program worked in their favor because it increased interest. Working with local champions also ensures that the program has advocates at multiple levels of business and in multiple locations which further contributes to a collaborative learning atmosphere. 
  • Pair learning initiatives with incentives: Using tools like leaderboards, publicising who has completed the most trainings, and other incentives are a great way to boost participation. In one case study, Tounsi shared that learners completed on average 2.4 courses over what was mandatory when an incentive program was being used. 
  • Involve leadership but also ask your learners what they need and want: Only 24% of learning leaders listen to their learners according to the Towards Maturity Annual Report, which can lead to an “us vs. them” mentality rather than a collaborative environment that fosters a culture of learning. 

You can watch the full webinar “Deploying a Global Workforce” here. 

With courses offered in multiple languages, and available on multiple devices we help companies like yours develop the world’s most developed and admired global workforces. For more information on how OpenSesame can save you time and money by curating the right courses for your organization, contact us at info@opensesame.com today.

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OEB brings together 2,500+ participants from multinational companies to SMEs, from higher education and research institutions to schools. Together, the attendees explore the opportunities and challenges that are changing the world of learning and how to choose and use various technologies. Registrants attend over 120 breakout sessions to discover proven practices, approaches and strategies from leading institutions and organisations. 

“With the opening of our office in London earlier this year, we can help European organisations meet their compliance, safety, and leadership development goals and objectives with our machine learning and expert curation,” said Tom Turnbull, Vice President of Partnerships at OpenSesame. “We look forward to attending more regional events in Europe such as OEB to connect with our European customers, publishers and partners.”   

To register and for more information on OEB Berlin, please visit: https://oeb.global/

About OpenSesame

OpenSesame helps develop the world’s most productive and admired workforces. With the most comprehensive catalog of elearning courses from the world’s top publishers, we are here to help you every step of the way, from finding courses, mapping them to your core competencies, syncing them with your LMS to increasing utilization and improving your L&D programs. Not only will you have the flexibility of multiple purchasing options from OpenSesame, you’ll find it simple to use and administer your elearning courses. To learn more, visit www.opensesame.com.

Diane Haines

OpenSesame

+1 (503) 808-1268

diane.haines@opensesame.com

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Common areas of vulnerability

While technology has helped automate many  business processes, the opportunities for breaches has multiplied as a result. It is essential that your employees are not only cautious with their computers, but also with their cell phones and USB connections. Something as simple as using a USB plug to charge your phone in a public place can leave your information vulnerable if you don’t take necessary precautions.   

52% of businesses admit that their employees’ biggest weakness is in IT security. Furthermore 46% of cyber security incidents are from careless or under trained staff. 

Check out these courses offered through OpenSesame to get your workforce up to speed: 

• • Data Privacy and Information Security
  • Data Protection: General Data Protection Regulation
  • Privacy and Data Protection Essentials

In addition, be sure to check out this recent OpenSesame webinar with expert Dr. Robert K. Minitti from OpenSesame course publisher Wolters Kluwer where he outlines how to incorporate fraud and IT security as part of your learning and development strategy. 

OpenSesame helps companies like yours develop the world’s most developed and admired workforces. For more information on how we can help you save time, money, and curate the right courses for your training program, contact us today at info@opensesame.com. 

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There’s no doubt that the further a person crawls up the corporate ladder, they should be spending more time thinking and less time doing. It’s a very important mindset to understand that thinking is not doing nothing. It might not seem like you’re busy but it’s an essential part of a leader’s role.

We don’t need to be ‘busy’ in order to think we are progressing or accomplishing something. Have you noticed how many people’s response to “How are things going?” is simply, “Busy!”. Why isn’t it something like, “Very well, thank you”?

If you are running an organization, there will always be another meeting to attend or place to be. However, a major role of a CEO or senior manager is to think and reflect, consider and adapt. If you’re too busy to think, you probably haven’t organized your team very well. You might not be able to control everything that happens but you can choose what you give your attention to. A manager I knew took a regular one hour lunch break where they thought about their afternoon and that’s where all the planning took place.

The Strategic Thinking Institute found through their research that 44% of managers spent most of their time firefighting in cultures that rewarded reactivity and discouraged thoughtfulness. 96% of leaders said they lacked time for strategic thinking because they were too busy putting out fires.

5 Tips

So, here are five things you can do to create thinking time:

1. 1. Schedule it in your calendar – just as you would schedule a meeting. Block regular time out to be alone and think things through, reflect and consider what’s most important
   2. Start your scheduling with something manageable like 10-20 minutes. That’s surely doable. Smokers can do that regularly!
   3. Make notes of ideas that come when you are doing something else. Inspiration comes often at times when your mind is relaxed like in the shower or while driving. As soon as you can, when it’s safe and convenient, make a note to capture those thoughts and return to them during a scheduled thinking slot.
   4. You can’t force inspiration but you can reflect on what is already on your mind. You might need to stimulate thinking by reading an article, reviewing the organisational business plan or strategy or even think about your team. Who’s doing what? Who needs help? Who haven’t you spoken to lately?
   5. Think out loud. If you’re the kind of person that likes to think by sharing, then ask someone to join you. Spout ideas and brainstorm with them. Just bounce some ideas around and see what happens.

For more details check out leadership courses from LearningPlanet in the OpenSesame course catalog.

About the Author:

Derek Good has been in leadership roles for over 25 years and since 2002 has been involved in corporate training and consulting. He has won Awards for Customer Service Excellence and innovation for general education and is the author of seven books.

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In this era of digital disruption, businesses need to make plans to match their mission and vision. Leadership plays a vital role in making significant impact on the strategic management process. Competent leadership is of utmost importance to guide the organization through prodigious changes. To make leaders future-ready, new skills to improve behaviors and competencies are needed to be incorporated in leadership development programs. For aspiring leaders, it is paramount to learn and adapt to new conducts to deal with unforeseen business challenges.

Only 56% of organizations take steps to ensure overall goals of leaders are closely aligned with business goals of the organizations

– Leadership Development Research, Brandon Hall Group, 2019

As L&D departments are looking for new methodologies to modernize their leadership programs, let’s dig deep into the characteristics that make up for an ensemble to take up leadership role and bring agility from strategizing to executing:

Leadership and Management

Willingness to learn and self-awareness activities enable leaders to effectively reach across teams and move strategically into the layers of business to unlock success. With hierarchical structure being dissolved rapidly, it becomes necessary for leaders to go beyond dedicated role and undertake tasks cross-functionally. This leads to more employees take up responsibilities and learn various leadership qualities in order to supersede their job functions.

Critical Thinking

Unquestionably the most critical function of a leader’s role is thinking. A leader needs to plan and foresee circumstances before anyone else to ensure that the steps taken derive results which are best suited for the business. Definitive methodology helps in breaking down the problem, implement strategy and generate alternative solutions through critical thinking. Our Ultimate CLO Toolkit for Leaders lists the resources that support them navigate through this process.

Communication

Effectively transferring information is the cornerstone for any business accomplishment. The productivity, results, morale, relationships and expectations are directly affected basis how the communication has taken place. To ensure worthwhile communication, writing also plays a very important role because a lot of messaging happen over emails, collaterals and other documents. Sharing information regarding the project within the team is also a major part of a leader’s role, where effective communication becomes crucial.

Diversity and Inclusion

Leaders that display company’s culture in their work ethics tend to influence more workforce than those who don’t. Portraying organizational values by leaders build trust in employees and shows their improved ability to recruit and retain talent with better leadership effectiveness. Good corporate leaders identify the importance of diversity and inclusion to fuel enthusiasm and encourage the teams involved to outperform their tasks. 

Project Management

Leadership development must have a direct influence in grasping the issues behind the problem. In addition to that, scenario planning is also one of the most efficient tools for project planning. As part of this process, leaders need to focus upon preparing various scenarios of what the business might look like in the coming years. Once these scenarios are outlined, teams can work backwards to achieve the objectives of the best-suited scenarios.

Sales and Customer Support

Customer needs are constantly growing and changing even rapidly, and companies are bound to meet those expectations. Effective leaders empower teams by not only improving team’s potential but also increasing their current performance in existing roles. One of the prime area of concerns of leaders in sales and customer support is to focus and enhance communication skills. For being a strong communicator, it becomes essential for the workforce to stay focused on delivering the right message. 

Team Building

Working across cross-functional teams is a very common ask for leaders. This is beneficial from a business standpoint as it brings diverse minds to pool in for solutions on a specific need. Leaders work in such scenarios that push the workforce outside of their functional roles to develop strategies and achieve productive results. At times when challenges surface, the right leadership style outweighs obstacles to focus on better ideas and outcomes.

Based on the requirements and business demands, organizations need to understand the value of leadership styles, and proliferate communication more effectively. For better understanding, download our free eBook: High-potential Leadership Programs that talks about developing the right kind of leadership skills for a rock-solid talent bench.

Infopro Learning, a leading provider in corporate training outsourcing and human capital transformation, helps organizations create an exceptional employee and customer experience through bespoke eLearning solutions. For more than 25 years, the company has designed and implemented engaging learning experiences that attract, develop and retain talent across the entire employee lifecycle. To learn more, visit www.infoprolearning.com.

About the author: Divesh Srivastava is currently working as the Marketing Manager at Infopro Learning, a leading provider in corporate training outsourcing and human capital transformation. He has over 5 years of experience in marketing strategy development and is a certified Content Marketing professional. His interest lies in conducting market researches to understand learning business needs and develop best practices to benefit organizations and amplify their return on investment.

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This year’s conference centered on themes surrounding future skilling and developing leaders for a 21st century workforce, leveraging learning technology advancements in machine learning and artificial intelligence, maximizing elearning utilization, finding training budgets and saving time managing and administering training programs. Customers spent two days networking with peers, meeting the OpenSesame team, sharing insights during roundtables and other sessions, learning from other OpenSesame customers, meeting new publishers at the Publisher Expo and more. 

Keynote speaker Donald H Taylor kicks off conference 

This year’s conference featured a keynote by Donald Taylor, Chairman of the Learning and Performance Institute, on the past, current and future state of learning technologies and our industry. Donald shared the results of his annual Learning & Development (L&D) Global Sentiment Survey which asks L&D professionals across the globe: “What do you think will be hot in L&D next year?” For a full recap of the results of the 2019 survey, check this blog post. 

Customer sessions and panel connect attendees

Four OpenSesame customers presented this year, sharing the intricate workings of their training program challenges, budget, how OpenSesame helps them and future goals. Speakers this year included EnerSys Inc., InComm, Carrington Mortgage, and Toshiba America Business Solutions. 

A customer panel, hosted by Donald Taylor, was a highlight for attendees this year! Attendees heard from L&D peers from WCA Waste Corporation, Pacific Seafood, and EnerSys. The discussion was interactive, thoughtful and covered topics such as leadership development, growing training programs, how to find elearning, their favorite professional development books, and more. 

Publisher expo

OpenSesame curates courses from our comprehensive library of 20,000+ courses from the world’s top course publishers. Eighteen of OpenSesame’s publishers joined us at the user conference in our first ever Publisher Expo. During the Expo,  customers met with publishers to learn and demo new courses offered through OpenSesame. In addition, two course publishers were featured speakers this year, Shawn Hunter from Mindscaling and Jeff Havens from The Jeff Havens Company. 

Networking at the OpenSesame office followed by world-class women’s soccer

After a busy first day of sessions and meetings, conference attendees visited the OpenSesame’s office in the heart of downtown Portland. After light snacks and office tours (as well as a greeting by an office dog!) attendees headed to Portland’s Providence Park to watch the Portland Thorns take on the North Carolina Courage, two defending NWLS champions! It was a beautiful night for soccer and networking with speakers, peers, the OpenSesame team and more.

Honoring the first ever OpenSesame Learning Excellence Award winners

The Learning Excellence Awards program recognizes OpenSesame customers that leverage learning technology, creativity, innovation and blended learning in developing successful training programs. OpenSesame CEO Don Spear and SVP Marketing Diane Haines hosted the award ceremony, which highlighted unique training programs and showcased the relationship OpenSesame customers have with their OpenSesame customer success team. It was a celebratory event to remember!

Winners this year included:

• • Most Creative Launch of a Training Program or Initiative – Incomm
  • Most Innovative Training Program – EnerSys Inc.
  • Most Successful Training Program or Initiative – GenesisCare
  • Successful Use of Blended Learning – Aimbridge Hospitality
  • Most Innovative Learning Culture – Choctaw Nation

Closing remarks and farewell until next year

After a busy two days it came time to say goodbye. After closing with the 2019 OpenSesame Learning Excellence Awards, OpenSesame CEO Don Spear closed the event by thanking attendees, our publishers and partners for joining. we hope you join us in Portland next year for the 2020 OpenSesame User Conference!

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• • Have annual gross revenues over $25 million.
  • Annually buy, receive, sell, or share personal information of over 50,000 California consumers, households, or devices.
  • Derive at least 50% of annual revenue from selling California consumers’ personal information.

How does the law work?

Californians will be able to request information from your company about what data is collected about them, why it was collected, how you received their information and who it was shared with or sold to. California residents will also have the right to bring a direct lawsuit if their unencrypted or unredacted personal information is subject to a data breach as the result of a business’s failure to implement reasonable security. If a company is found to be in violation of the CCPA, they have 30 days to comply with the law once regulators notify them of a violation. If the issue isn’t resolved, there’s a fine of up to $7,500 per record which can add up quickly when the volume of consumer records at a company is considered.

Start preparing now for the law to limit penalty 

The new law goes into effect 1 January 2020, with an enforcement date of 1 July 2020. Don’t scramble at the last minute to keep your company compliant and customer data legally safe. Now is the time to guarantee your employees are well-versed in consumer privacy and data security best practices.  Check out these courses offered through OpenSesame to get your workforce up to speed: 

• • California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)
  • Cyber Security Overview
  • Privacy and Data Protection Essentials
  • Information Security Essentials

OpenSesame helps companies like yours develop the world’s most developed and admired workforces. For more information on how we can help you save time, money, and curate the right courses for your training program, contact us today at info@opensesame.com.

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Picking Up the Phone – If you text me, I can answer you when I feel like it and while I’m doing 6 other things at once.  If you email me, I can ignore you. But if you call me and I’m foolish enough to answer, you will have the closest thing to my undivided attention as it’s possible to get.  

Sending a Thank You Note in the Mail – I know it hurts your hand to write more than two sentences longhand.  I also know your handwriting is barely legible even to you. But even a typed thank-you note that arrives in the mail is 17 times better than a thank-you email – which most people don’t bother with either, by the way.  The last person I hired got the job for several reasons, but one of those reasons was because he sent us thank-you notes in the mail. Am I easily bought? Absolutely. And so are a lot of other people.

Paying Attention While Someone Else is Talking – That’s my super polite way of saying TURN OFF YOUR PHONE DURING YOUR MEETINGS!!!!  Don’t turn it to vibrate, because that buzzing in your pocket (or on your wrist) will make you start to salivate the second it happens.  “Who’s calling, it must be important, someone loves me I have to answer it now!!!!” If you want others to take you seriously, you might need to give them some indication that the stuff they say isn’t boring the crap out of you.  

Meeting Face-to-Face – Here’s one where technology is currently failing us, since exactly every time I’ve seen someone on a conference call they’ve put it to mute and are either scrolling through Facebook or catching up on emails until they feel the need to unmute themselves, say “Totally agree,” and then hit mute and go back to not paying attention.  I know that conference calls and virtual meetings are occasionally necessary, but they will never be more effective than face-to-face interaction.

Basically, if you can force yourself to put 5% more effort in than everyone around you, you’ll win respect or customers or a promotion or whatever it is you’re looking for.  That will always be true. At least, until we turn ourselves into cyborgs – at which point, just so you know, I’m done with all this. I’ll find an island somewhere and farm coconuts instead.  And be happy, too, until the cyborgs come for me.  

For more information on business practices check out available courses from The Jeff Havens Company in the OpenSesame course catalog.

About the Author: Jeff Havens is a speaker, author, and business growth expert who has spoken to over 1,000 companies and associations across the Americas and Asia. The mission of his training company, The Jeff Havens Company, is to provide serious solutions in a seriously funny way through their video-based courses that tackle everything from industrial safety to corporate ethics to customer service, and all of them are as entertaining as they are educational. Jeff is a contributing writer to Fast Company, Entrepreneur, BusinessWeek, The Wall Street Journal; and has been featured on CNBC and Fox Business. For more information, email info@jeffhavens.com, or visit JeffHavens.com.

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I can’t tell you what your new strategy is going to be.  But I do know how you’ll get there.  

Solicit Everyone’s Input – You can’t change your strategy if you don’t have any ideas about how to do it, and you can’t know which ideas are best unless you have some options to choose from.  So get everyone to think about what they’d like to see as you move forward. Not only will it get everyone thinking in the right direction, but it will also begin the process of getting your team to buy in to the idea that things are about to change.

See Which Ideas Overlap – Odds are you’ll have several different people come up with very similar ideas, and that might help you set your direction right from the beginning.

Have Some Messy Conversations – This is probably the most important step, and also (naturally) the one people tend to like the least.  Setting a new direction is not an easy thing to do, and the process is not simple and straightforward.  So prepare yourself for a few meetings that don’t result in concrete solutions, and accept the fact that big decisions generally take more than an hour of thought before the right answer presents itself.

See Which Ideas Survive – If you began this process with ten ideas, it’s likely that a few of them only have the support of one or two people.  It’s also likely that a few of them will turn out to be impractical, too expensive, or otherwise inappropriate. The ones left over are the ones that have proven themselves to be interesting and viable, and slowly you’ll start to see where you should be concentrating your time and attention.

Have Some More Messy Conversations – I think you see where this is going.

Continue Until You’ve Settled On A Strategy – Eventually, inevitably, you’ll figure out what you want to do.  That doesn’t mean everyone is going to be in perfect agreement – very few strategies have unanimous and unqualified approval – but it does mean you’ve analyzed all the possibilities, given everyone an opportunity to voice their support and concerns, and settled on something that the majority of your organization is excited to implement.  

Charting a new course is a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be a painful one.  As long as you’re willing to listen to others and open yourself up to the minor chaos of a few wide-ranging conversations, you’ll find what you’re looking for.

For more information on how to choose a new business strategy check out available courses from The Jeff Havens Company in the OpenSesame course catalog.

About the Author: Jeff Havens is a speaker, author, and business growth expert who has spoken to over 1,000 companies and associations across the Americas and Asia. The mission of his training company, The Jeff Havens Company, is to provide serious solutions in a seriously funny way through their video-based courses that tackle everything from industrial safety to corporate ethics to customer service, and all of them are as entertaining as they are educational. Jeff is a contributing writer to Fast Company, Entrepreneur, BusinessWeek, The Wall Street Journal; and has been featured on CNBC and Fox Business. For more information, email info@jeffhavens.com, or visit JeffHavens.com.

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How is AI and Machine Learning Affecting Business?

It’s all about data. AI is making it easier to better utilize human capabilities by automating the nitty-gritty and monotonous tasks of data collection and data pooling, therefore allowing humans to take on larger roles. For this reason, people shouldn’t buy into the idea of AI taking jobs away from humans

Success Seen With AI in Business

One example is Caterpillar and their use of Natural Language Processing (NLP). By using NLP, Caterpillar technicians are able to see maintenance records on machines from all over the world that give insights as to what processes work best in repairs and what processes don’t work or can be skipped. Just-in-time training (JIT) is also a great example of success with AI in business. IBM uses JIT with new hires to train them on first-time tasks they will run into on the job such as how to conduct a meeting at IBM. 

Best Practices for AI/Machine Learning Implementation 

Companies often throw their hands up after the first attempt at implementing an AI program. These are the keys to getting started:

• • Know your data, know your data, know your data
  • Start with a smaller, decisive problem that focuses on one of your organizations main business objectives
  • Don’t try to tackle all the problems at once; this is what will lead organizations to get analysis-paralysis and give up on AI use
  • Make sure you are using the right data, and don’t put a time constraint on how long you think it should take to solve the first time  
  • Don’t expect anything the first time running AI because your expectations will never meet the results
  • Don’t be discouraged by 50%-60% accuracy results 

What are challenges companies and people should be aware of?

Even in an era where everyone is trying to be a data scientist or engineer, it’s still not easy to find the talent you are looking for. Not all data scientists are created equal. People know more about different aspects of data than others, or sometimes it’s not even a data scientist you need, but a mathematician. In addition, making sure you have the data in the right format is key to avoiding frustration. 

What do you see coming in the future that young professionals and students should be aware of?

• • Right now in the workforce, there are two groups. An older generation who is working longer and harder hours with skills that need to be re-skilled or up-skilled. The other is a younger group who thinks they shouldn’t have to do “grunt work”. This means that going forward, training is going to have to be and is already more of a menu style, with options about how you want to learn, what you want to learn, and how much you want to learn. In other words, “optimizing learning how to learn” is something to be aware of. 
  • Embrace AI and machine learning now before you get left behind. As AI advances, it will become increasingly difficult to play catch-up when you finally decide to go with it.

Check out the full podcast below to learn more about AI and how it can help your organization. 

Also, make sure to check out our summary blog about our webinar with Brandon Hall Group, Machines as Curators to find out more about AI and machine learning and how it can become your greatest asset in content curation.

The post How AI can assist in curation appeared first on OpenSesame.

There are many resources out there on how to prepare for a disaster like this. Here is what the US Dept of Homeland Security says you should do in the event of an earthquake, starting with if you are inside:

• • “Drop, Cover, then Hold On”: Drop to your hands and knees. Cover your head and neck with your arms to block any falling debris. Hold on to sturdy furniture or any other sturdy objects nearby until the shaking stops.
  • If you are in bed, stay there and cover your head and neck with a pillow
  • If you are inside, STAY inside 
  • If you are in a vehicle, get to a clear area away from trees, bridges, and any poles etc.
  • If you are in a highrise building, do NOT use elevators 

If you are outside during an earthquake, here is what you should do:

• • Stay outside when an earthquake hits 
  • If you are by any ledges, slopes, or mountains, be on the lookout for landslides and falling rocks
  • Stay away from trees and power-lines 

Most importantly, be prepared before an earthquake even hits by having supplies and a plan ready. 

• • Create a family communications plan that has an out-of-state contact. Plan to meet somewhere if separated
  • Practice “drop, cover and hold on” with family or coworkers 
  • Secure objects such as TVs and objects that hang on walls 
  • Prepare an emergency kit that has enough food and water for three days. The kit should include a flashlight, fire extinguisher, and whistle. Do not forget about the needs of pets. Consider specific needs such as meds. Always have extra batteries on hand.

Hopefully by knowing these tips you can stay safe during an earthquake. To learn more, you can read the complete Homeland Security earthquake page. If you’d like to learn more about training for your employees, check out the earthquake safety courses available in the OpenSesame catalog.

About the author: Parker Abena, a summer marketing intern at OpenSesame, is a senior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He looks forward to moving out to PNW after school.

The post Are you prepared for an earthquake? appeared first on OpenSesame.

Extended Reality has proven its effectiveness as a learning tool because it increases learner engagement and information retention. In fact, these technologies can now be used to create different levels of immersion.

While xR can help immerse learners more deeply into the learning environment, the opposite is also achievable, wherein the learning object is immersed into the human experience. Here are examples of both:

Immersing the learner into the environment

Technologies leveraging augmented reality can be applied to high-risk jobs, such as fire-fighting, as in the video below. Here the firefighter is able to learn about his surroundings in a little-to-no visibility scenario through augmented reality.

Immersing the learning object into the human experience

When computer-generated 3D images are brought to life in a seemingly physical way, interactivity enables enhanced learning. In this example, augmented reality technology is being used to interact with the human body, and brain.

At TalentQuest, we use 3D simulation, augmented reality, virtual reality, and gamification to create immersive learning solutions that are tailored to your workplace and processes. The learning experiences we create deliver proven results through improving engagement, better information retention for the end-users and a higher training return-on-investment for our client companies.

About the Author

TalentQuest has a 45-year history of helping our clients unleash the power of their people. Fueled by behavioral science and our proprietary TQ Talent Insights, our innovative Talent Management and Development solutions enable organizations to shift from a one-size-fits-all to an individualized approach to talent management and development.

The post Understanding the bi-modal application of immersive learning appeared first on OpenSesame.

1. Past Experiences:

An organizational culture that supports reasonable risk-taking has been identified as a key feature of innovation-led companies. But when teams are focused on achieving results quickly, individuals find it difficult to take the necessary risks to innovate and learn. Moreover, if employees are penalized for outcomes beyond their control, they are more likely to become discouraged and less likely to make suggestions or run experiments.

2. Problem Solving:

Most business leaders are adept at identifying problems, and then pressuring their teams to solve them quickly. When people rush into problem-solving mode, an interesting thing happens: they think less clearly and, as a result, are less likely to find solutions. Good leaders understand this, and instead of generating discomfort by focusing on the problem, they generate creative dissonance by focusing on possible solutions.

3. Desire to Learn:

A desire to learn, without having any rigid expectations of the outcome, is the most authentic type of learning. This is an example of what psychologists call Intrinsic Motivation. The action or behavior itself, not the outcome, is the reward. Outstanding leaders find ways to tap into employees’ natural learning abilities, connect their unique interests and talents to their roles, and instill in them a sense that their work contributes to something important. We all need a sense of purpose—to know that our lives have meaning. When we enjoy learning for the sake of learning, and believe that our work has purpose, we experience intrinsic motivation.

Are You/Is Yours a Learning Organization?

In recent times, companies are increasingly investing in training and future proofing their workforce. But unless employees are able to adjust, adapt and respond in dynamic situations, organizations will not thrive.

The phrase, “Learning Organization,” was coined by Peter Senge in his book, The Fifth Discipline. He defines it as:

“Organizations where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning to see the whole together.”

Intense? Yes. But also, appealingly aspirational.

What are your thoughts?

About the Author

TalentQuest has a 45-year history of helping our clients unleash the power of their people. Fueled by behavioral science and our proprietary TQ Talent Insights, our innovative Talent Management and Development solutions enable organizations to shift from a one-size-fits-all to an individualized approach to talent management and development.

Check out our TQ Leadership Series courses now available on OpenSesame.

The post How can we learn to learn? appeared first on OpenSesame.

Common challenges  

Wentworth shares some interesting statistics to further the point on how content curation is impacting L&D:

• • 35% of companies from Brandon Hall Group say they have effectively defined the learning content required to satisfy each of their critical competencies (able to map the content they need in their organization for specific training).
  • 52% of companies say their catalog of elearning courses need significant or total improvements to become easy to navigate and work on multiple devices.
  • In a recent survey conducted by Brandon Hall Group, they had these findings: 50% say not enough content, 36.9% say too much old content, 35.1% say too difficult to integrate/incorporate, 31.3% say low-quality content, 29.1% say no curation, 27.6% say difficult to search, 20.1% say not enough content overall.

Remedying the situation

Haines discusses several suggestions on how to get started using data about your learners to curate. Start by organizing content libraries and look at them from different perspectives; provider, user and department. By doing this, it helps break down the process and naturally organizes the curation process. Along with that, it is critical to survey your user population to see what they think about the courses, what platform they prefer to take them on (i.e laptop, mobile, desktop) and encourage an ongoing dialogue with your learners. Open discussion allows your employees to give feedback you may not hear in surveys or other more formal channels.

AI in elearning

First off, we should probably give a brief definition of what AI is. Simply put, it’s computers taking on human behavior. Uber is a great example of this, where they use historical data to compute ETA’s, optimal pickup spots and fares. With this example it’s easy to see how AI can be leveraged for elearning. Here are a few more examples:

• Air Methods, a medivac helicopter company, uses AI to adapt employee training in real time based on employees pace and answering accuracy.
• IBM uses AI internally for new employees and Just-in-Time (JIT) training. Say a new employee at IBM is hosting their first meeting with a team after being there just a few weeks. Their JIT training will send the employee an email asking if they would like a quick course on how to run a meeting at IBM a day before the set meeting.

How OpenSesame Uses AI

OpenSesame Smart Lists leverage machine learning for content curation. It’s built specifically to help you create lists of courses on one or multiple training topics specific to your organization. Smart Lists use a powerful algorithm that takes into account your prior course selections, course completions, and learner ratings, combined with an intuitive list builder to recommend courses that fit your training needs. For more information on how OpenSesame can save you time and money by curating the right courses for your organization, contact us at info@opensesame.com today.

You can watch the full webinar “Machines as Curators” on-demand here

We hope you find this information useful and valuable to your organization.

About the author: Parker Abena, a summer marketing intern at OpenSesame, is a senior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He looks forward to moving out to PNW after school.

The post Machines as Curators appeared first on OpenSesame.

An engaging and long-lasting learning experience is critical to the success of your organization.

Today’s businesses demand rapid development and even faster deployment. Competition is fierce in nearly every sector and the low-unemployment economy has created a war for talent. The demand for training programs across organizations is on the rise to increase speed to market, product knowledge and ultimately a competitive advantage – all while expecting the L&D department to deliver more with less.

How can learning leaders cut through volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity of these challenges and deliver a learning experience that will both meet employee expectations and business goals?

Adopting to better ways of learning will always boil down to one basic element – The Learning Experience

Factors such as budget, available resources, learner’s schedule and the learning environment are responsible in devising a development program. Different methodologies like on-demand, self-paced and mobile learning has shown noteworthy impact in reducing these costs. However, learner disengagement and non-completion of courses continue to rise. Learning in a corporate environment is irrespective of the role of the learner, be it for leadership development, product training or customer service. They want it to be dynamic – flexible as well as adaptable to their changing needs and schedules – and should also be available on-the-go – support different platforms like desktops, laptops, smartphones etc. Their approach towards a training program is for a holistic learning experience. It could be in the form of cross-platform content (audio/video, simulation), assessment during sessions, multilingual or fragmented into small modules.

To cater to such wide-spread expectations of learners, there are some trends that organizations must look into to avoid interruptions. Though today’s learning is more about creating experiences, it must be understood that its implementation to satisfy business requirements is equally important.

Here are 7 trends to inspire a next-gen learning experience at your organization:

Create Micro Modules 

Today’s learners will have everything but time. For trainers, it is important to create programs in small chunks/portions, making those lean, light and easily consumable as per learners’ availability.

Social Learning

Learning programs must emphasize on social learning. This allows learners to absorb from a range of content – be it audio-video, news feed or even in the form of live streaming. Also, the setup of the program should be in multi-consumable format for various social media forums.

Diverse Integration

The focus of next-gen learning should be to make it highly integrated to different communication media – audio, video, and other multimedia. As learners are becoming more agile, it is necessary to ensure seamless integration across channels.

Interactive Content

It is vital to accommodate collective ideas to make the experience worthwhile for learners in a knowledge program. Approaches like polling options, online assessments, use of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) must be encouraged for better engagement.

Peer-to-peer Learning

Learning is no more a one-way communication. It has hugely transformed into an open communication channel. So, it is crucial for content creators to make courses in a way that encourages collaboration and empowers learners to learn from each other.

Supplemental Learning

Curiosity is one of the prime characteristics of next-gen learners. While they are engaged in developing a specific skill set, they always look for possibilities to inflate their learning horizon. It is necessary for trainers to offer supplemental opportunities by adding resources in content to help expand their knowledge.

Learning Management System (LMS)

A Learning Management System is a one-stop solution that can help trainers accommodate all the above requirements. Not only it provides flexible learning options, but also keeps a track of the progress for a learner. It helps them to fast track productivity, decrease admin burden, enhance performance and remain focus on their career development paths.

Ready to put these ideas into action? Learn how to transform outdated programs and improve your learning experience with the free eBook – Modernize for Engagement.

Infopro Learning, a leading provider in corporate training outsourcing and human capital transformation, helps organizations create an exceptional employee and customer experience through bespoke eLearning solutions. For more than 25 years, the company has designed and implemented engaging learning experiences that attract, develop and retain talent across the entire employee lifecycle. To learn more, visit www.infoprolearning.com.

About the author: Divesh Srivastava is currently working as the Marketing Manager at Infopro Learning, a leading provider in corporate training outsourcing and human capital transformation. He has over 5 years of experience in marketing strategy development and is a certified Content Marketing professional. His interest lies in conducting market researches to understand learning business needs and develop best practices to benefit organizations and amplify their return on investment.

The post The Learning Experience: How to Level Up Your Employee Training appeared first on OpenSesame.

To say that L&D runs lean is an understatement. With limited time, budget, and resources, L&D teams like yours are relying more on their trusted content partner for curation to save time, learn about hot training topics, and prepare the organization for the future.

This is where OpenSesame and our team of curation experts can help. We’ve worked with hundreds of organizations like yours helping them find, curate, and deploy courses to learners. Harnessing this experience we’ve created OpenSesame Curated Lists—a quick and easy way for you find expertly curated courses to help your learners hone critical business skills, prepare for a new role, achieve organizational competencies, and more.

Check out the new OpenSesame Curated Lists

With Curated Lists, you’ll save time searching for courses and get a head start with pre-curated learning paths for the most common training challenges. To see the first available Curated Lists, go to www.opensesame.com, click Courses in the page header, and then click View Lists in the new Curated Lists section. Curated Lists are organized into intuitive groupings to help you quickly find the training topics you need, including:

• • Frequently requested learning paths,

  • Introduction to new topics and skills,

  • Advancement in critical business and interpersonal skills, and

  • Preparation for new positions and responsibilities.

At a glance, you can see how many courses are in each Curated List and whether the courses in each List are included in our most popular subscription offering, OpenSesame Plus. Within each Curated List, you’ll be able to see additional information including course ratings, length, publishers, and (when logged in) you can view a course demo if one is available. Our curation experts regularly update Curated Lists to ensure you always have access to the most current and relevant content. You can easily stay up to date with changes to Curated Lists by following your favorite ones. Just click the List and then click the Follow button.Log into your OpenSesame account or, if you’re new to OpenSesame, register to create one. You’ll see the Curated Lists you’re following within My Lists in the All tab as well as the new Following tab.Need to make changes to a Curated List? No problem. Within the List, select Duplicate from the List settings menu (gear icon) to create a copy, enter a list title and description, and click Duplicate. Your new duplicated List can be found in the All and Created tabs. You can now add, remove, and organize courses as needed. Note that duplicated Lists will not reflect any course updates from OpenSesame.From here, Lists you’ve duplicated and modified work like all your other Lists. You can collaborate with stakeholders, collect feedback, view course demos, and easily add courses to your LMS for quick deployment to learners.

We’re here to make your job easier, including curating so you don’t have to. Share with us what other Curated Lists you would like to see in the future by visiting the OpenSesame Community, click the Looking for elearning recommendations topic, and then select the Request new Curated List topics post. Our curation team will review your requests for future Curated Lists.

For more information contact your Customer Success Manager or our Customer Support team.

The post Get a head start on designing your training program with OpenSesame Curated Lists appeared first on OpenSesame.

The same is true in L&D when curating elearning courses for your learners. We often hear from organizations like yours that the time it takes to find, curate, and deploy courses in your LMS can be enormous.

This is why we’re so excited about OpenSesame Smart Lists—leveraging machine learning for content curation, it’s built specifically to help you create lists of courses on one or multiple training topics specific to your organization. Smart Lists use a powerful algorithm including your prior course selections, course completions, and learner ratings, combined with an intuitive list builder to recommend courses that fit your training needs.

How to use Smart Lists

Using Smart Lists is easy—and fast. Log into your OpenSesame account and select My Lists from your account menu in the top right corner. If you’ve used OpenSesame Lists, you’ll see your existing Lists. To quickly find new course recommendations, simply click New Smart List.Next, provide your preferences for training topics, language, seat time, and if you prefer courses in the OpenSesame Plus subscription.

You can create your course list from here by clicking Create your list, or choose advanced options to select specific publishers, course features, and if you prefer new courses.

Your course recommendations will be presented in a new List with each training topic organized in a separate group with the top five courses each. For easy organization and tracking, the List title defaults to the date it was created, which you can edit, along with the description.As with other Lists you’ve created yourself, you can share them with your stakeholders to collaborate, give and receive feedback, preview course demos, and add all or selected courses to your LMS.

How to use Smart Groups

To further save you time curating courses for your learners, we’ve also added Smart Groups—a quick way to add courses to Smart Lists or lists you create yourself. To search for and add additional courses to an existing List, simply click Add Courses located next to the course group.With the Smart Groups panel, you can browse additional course recommendations for the selected group. The courses displayed are based upon the keyword (group name) and the recommendation algorithm tailored to your organization’s preferences.You can change the keyword or set a variety of filters to further refine your results, including seat time, languages, course features, publishers, new or mobile-ready courses, and those available in the OpenSesame Plus subscription. See a course you like? Add it to the List by clicking on the Add to list icon. Once you’ve created and refined your course list, you can easily add it to your LMS and deploy it to your learners.

For more information contact your Customer Success Manager or our Customer Support team.

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Lists are a great way to organize and share elearning courses. Whether you’re exploring new training topics, previewing new courses, or collaborating on new learning paths, Lists help you manage your elearning program more easily and effectively.

With new enhancements released this month, you can now enable list recipients to see changes you’ve made to lists and collect feedback on courses within a list. Log into your OpenSesame account or LMS to see My Lists and the following new enhancements:

• Share updates to previously sent lists—when sending lists, the “Share as Read Only” option will enable recipients to see changes you’ve made to the list since sending. Recipients will be able to see if you’ve added courses, removed courses, provided feedback, and more.

• Provide and collect feedback on courses within Lists—you can now record and collect feedback on courses within a list. Simply click the thumbs up/down button in the feedback column and add your rating as well as any notes.

Later in the year, we will be adding more great Lists enhancements—refined feedback collection, purchasing courses directly from Lists, and easily syncing Lists with your LMS. Stay tuned for more information on these and more in the coming months.

For questions regarding the new enhancements, contact your Customer Success Manager or our Support team at (503) 808-1268.

The post Optimize your elearning program with improved Lists – part 2 appeared first on OpenSesame.

Lists are a great way to organize and share training courses. Whether you’re exploring new training topics, previewing new courses, or collaborating on new learning paths, Lists help you manage your training program more easily and effectively.

This month, we will release enhancements to Lists, making them easier to use and simpler to see demo courses. Log into your OpenSesame account or LMS to see My Lists and the following new enhancements:

• • Keep your lists organized—The updated My Lists menu now shows additional information including the list author and last updated date. You can sort the lists by any column header or, quickly find the list you need by searching for specific terms using the search box.

  • Track important list details—Helpful list details such as the list description, total seat time, and list creation date are now easily visible in the header of each list.

  • Demo courses instantly without leaving the list—Simply click on the demo icon for the course (if available).

  • Access course details more easily—Refine your lists with ease with the new quick course preview pane. When you click on a course within your list, the new slide-out panel gives you important course details without leaving the list.

Later in the year, we will be adding more great enhancements—collecting feedback from stakeholders, purchasing courses directly from Lists, and easily syncing Lists with your LMS. Stay tuned for more information on these and more in the coming months.

For questions regarding the new enhancements, contact your Account Manager or our Support team at (503) 808-1268

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In July 2017, Adobe announced that by the end of 2020 they’ll no longer update or distribute Flash. In addition, the most recent updates for many leading browsers, such as Chrome and Firefox, have been disabling Flash by default.

What does the end of Flash mean for OpenSesame courses?

As of January 2018, we no longer accept new courses that use Flash, and by the end of 2018 we will be phasing out any remaining Flash courses from our catalog. Many of the OpenSesame elearning course publishers have already replaced the Flash content in their titles with HTML5, which has been gaining momentum as a steady Flash alternative. In addition to HTML5’s mobile and security advantages, it doesn’t require users to download and install a plugin, which Flash does. (If you’re curious about the differences, there’s a general rundown available here.)

If you would prefer to avoid courses using Flash entirely and focus on HTML5-only courses, you can narrow your search in the online OpenSesame course catalog by using the “Mobile Ready” filter in the left-hand column of the results page.

What if I encounter problems with an OpenSesame course using Flash?

If you are experiencing any problems with Flash, it would be worth visiting this Adobe webpage to troubleshoot as a first step and check to see if you have the most up-to-date version of Flash installed.

What if I have more questions about OpenSesame courses using Flash?

Throughout this transition away from Flash, we are eager to help you every step of the way with questions, concerns, or problems. Contact us via live chat on opensesame.com, via email at support@opensesame.com, or by phone at (503) 808-1268.

The post Phasing out Flash appeared first on OpenSesame.

What is the GDPR and why is it important?

GDPR is designed to harmonize data privacy laws across Europe, protect and empower all EU citizens data privacy, and reshape the way organizations approach data privacy. The key articles of the GDPR and its business impact can be found throughout the GDRP website.

Will the GDPR affect me?

Yes, if two conditions are met:

1. you have a presence in the EU, operate in the EU, or use/process the data of EU customers, and

2. you employ more than 250 people.

What do I have to do?

GDPR demands that businesses provide a “reasonable” level of protection for Europeans’ data, but what “reasonable” means is left open to question.

That said, you should understand some of the basics:

Roles and responsibilities

GDPR is big on identifying responsible parties, so you should work out who is who, even if they are the same person:

• • The Data Controller: The natural or legal person, public authority, agency or any other body responsible for the architecture and operations of the business who decides what data is used in an organization, how it is processed and who does the processing, even if it is an outside body.

  • The Data Processor: The natural or legal person, public authority, agency or any other body who actually processes data on a day-to-day basis. This includes outside bodies (for whose activities you may still be liable).

  • The Data Protection Officer (DPO): Required for any significant holder or processor of personal data, a new role designed to make compliance proactive and a strategic contributor to the business.

Audit your data

You should also examine what data; names, addresses, health data, social security numbers, and even information on ethnic background, for example, will demand GDPR-compliant treatment.

Get planning

When you know what you need to achieve, you can start to plan effectively and realistically:

• Recruit/hire your DPO if you’re going to need one.

• Put together a team that includes a board-level sponsor and an IT and legal expert. Involve a representative of every team involved in processing data. If you have a Chief Data Officer and/or Chief Information Officer, get them (both) involved.

• Conduct a gap analysis which will identify what you need to achieve to maintain compliance and where the gaps are.

• Test the priorities! test what will be regulated, in particular:

  • Documentation: Make sure you can document your data lifecycle

  • Impact assessments: GDPR also requires you to mitigate the effect of data breaches by understanding what their effect (both on customers and your business) might be, with Data Privacy Impact Assessments (DPIAs).

  • First response: Data breaches are going to happen, and the regulators know it. What matters is how well you respond; and the GDPR demands that breaches are reported within 72 hours.

To learn more about GDPR, the demands it will place on your business, and how best to cope with them, take a look at the OpenSesame courses from Me Learning. They have been designed to take the pressure out of your GDPR preparations and minimise the load on your staff.

The post The GDPR is coming — are you ready? appeared first on OpenSesame.

With a troubling overall lack of engagement and its negative impact on workforce productivity, it’s important to ask “Who in the organization is responsible for creating an engaging culture?” In a recent webcast sponsored by OpenSesame, The Conference Board analyst Amanda Popiela discusses how engagement is no longer the responsibility of the management level anymore, but a combination of leadership, managerial and employees together to create a culture of engagement.

What are employees looking for from their leaders?

Leaders at all levels have a critical role to play in creating an engaging environment at the organizational level. Employee focus groups by The Conference Board identified that employees are looking for the following from company leadership:

• • A strong sense of meaning and direction from leaders

  • Seeking out employees opinions

  • Listening to new perspectives

  • Allowing employees to make mistakes

  • Coaching teams through execution of new ideas.

Corporate engagement programs should also be created and communicated at the leadership level to engage employees through continuing education, onboarding, and training opportunities.

The manager’s role

Managers acknowledge they have a role to play in helping employees take personal responsibility for engagement. According to The DNA of Engagement report by The Conference Board, managers believe their most important thing they can do are as follows:

• • 65% of managers believe building trust is the most important thing they can do to retain employees’ engagement level

  • 48% report their role is empowering their team

  • 39% say that fostering collaboration within their team is top priority.

Managers can take specific actions to help better engage employees, such as sharing the big picture to connect employee’s work to organization’s purpose, recognize employees for their value, and communicate regularly about career goals.

The missing piece: the employees themselves

While leaders and managers have are significant in creating and maintaining a culture of engagement, we cannot underestimate the power of the employee taking personal responsibility for their own engagement. 95% of employees are aware when they begin to feel disengaged, and when disengaged, one in four employees do not actively take steps to re-engage themselves at work.

To stay engaged with their workforce, employees should regularly communicate career needs and challenges to management and leadership. Engaged employees have a positive outlook, take on new opportunities and seek new challenges, and believe it is their role and responsibility to shape the culture and workplace environment.

The bigger picture

Everyone has a role to play in building an engaged workforce. Leaders engage the workforce through corporate programs, communication of expectations, and serving as role models. Managers support employees in taking responsibility for their own engagement, create engaging teams, and serve as a trusted mentor. And employees can provide feedback through managers, and take steps to re-engage when feeling disengaged.

To learn more about the responsibility of employee engagement, watch the webinar recording from The Conference Board here.

The post Tackling the employee engagement crisis appeared first on OpenSesame.

IBM’s Data Breach Study reports that on average, the cost per record stolen in the United States is $221, and that the average time to just identify a malicious attack is 229 days. How will that affect your company? If you run a business that processes only 10 unique records per day and your company is breached, and it takes you the 229 days to detect the attack, your total exposure is over $500,000. The potential damage can be catastrophic for you.

Cybersecurity is a one-way war; hackers attack relentlessly while businesses can only attempt to defend their assets. Thus, the only way to reduce risk is to make hackers jump through as many hoops as possible before reaching the valuable information. This is what is known as reducing the hacker’s ROI, so that the hacker moves on to a more lucrative target than you.

Now is more critical than ever to view your cybersecurity investment similar to how you would justify insurance. The premiums paid – cybersecurity investments –  reduce the expenses to a fraction of what they would be without coverage. Businesses that invest in cybersecurity to protect their business end up profitable, while those that don’t are left vulnerable to exorbitant costs. Which side of that equation do you want to be on?

How can you prevent an attack when you don’t know what you are looking for?

Hackers prey on human error by stimulating strong emotions to create gaps in security. Per the same IBM report, human error comprised 23 percent of all data breaches. To establish a baseline for cybersecurity awareness, the Department of Homeland Security offers free posters and other promotional material that should be placed around the office. We also recommend quality and regular cybersecurity awareness training for your employees.

Cybersecurity and elearning

A meaningful security culture requires consistent reinforcement of cybersecurity awareness and best practices. Hackers use cutting-edge technology and their methods are volatile. If employees are only trained once a year at your company, they may be unaware of new threats and may not be up to speed on new defense practices. Employees should be regularly trained on the basics of security, especially Password Security and Email Security,

Check out courses available from Enterprise Risk Management through OpenSesame on cybersecurity topics to maximize the protection of your business today. Enterprise Risk Management is a leading Information Security and IT Risk Management firm, whose elearning courses are available through OpenSesame.

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There are probably a hundred thousand e-Learning courses produced this way that are available for your employees to enjoy. The problem is, and I am sure you already know this, they don’t. They hate them. They are painful to use. Learners glaze over when forced to take them and speed through them as quickly as they can, just to mark completion.

I am going to let you in on a little secret. This is a realization that came to me decades ago when I was part of the team that built the first video-based learning simulation ever delivered (we had to wheel the desktop computers in on carts back then). Content does not change behavior. Sometimes it doesn’t even matter.  Ok, your content has to be accurate; that is a given. But accurate content is easy to find everywhere.  Just because you have factually correct content doesn’t mean your course will transform your workforce.

What does matter?  How you present content to your audience. Engagement moves the needle. Most talent development professionals care about two things.  First, they keep the legal office happy and check the compliance box. Second, and much more important, is that employee attitudes, behaviors and on-the-job performance improve. Learning professionals do not deserve a seat at the c-suite table unless they deliver meaningful results to the bottom line and health of the business. The litmus test for evaluating the quality of one learning module, or thousands, should be the same.

Fortunately, rapidly advancing technologies have opened the doors to reimagining three powerful techniques. So let’s look at the big three; story, video and interactivity. Each of these tools can make an impact, but when all three are properly integrated, they deliver learning experiences that are engaging, unforgettable and transformative.

Story

Since the beginning of time, people in all societies have used stories to share knowledge and experiences and to influence the actions of others. Storytelling is universal, and some say it is one of the unifying elements of humankind. Good stories become personal to the receiver as well as the sharer, because each person sees a little bit of himself or herself in every story.

Hearing a story triggers physical changes in the brain. Unlike slides that activate only the small part of the brain that decodes words into meaning, engaging stories are known to “light up” the entire brain. The same areas that are activated by actually living an experience are activated when watching, reading, or hearing a story.

Video

Video brings stories to life by showing events rather than just describing them in a narrative. No other medium simultaneously engages the cognitive and affective learning domains as well as video. As Richard Dreyfus once said, “No one dreams in avatars.”

For evidence of how people enjoy video, we need look no further than the millions of YouTube views or social media posts online. When people want to learn how to do something on their own, they flock to YouTube videos.

In addition to its unique ability to engage on multiple levels, video is the perfect medium for modeling behaviors and consequences. It allows learners not just to hear and visualize events but also to vicariously experience them. You can see this phenomenon in action in this video.

Interactivity

Training professionals agree there is power in learning programs that allow users to control their experiences and explore variations on “what if?” Visionary leaders now also recognize that the real interactivity of a program is not “clicks per minute.” Instead, the best interactive programs are those that “grab” learners and keep them engaged.

It should go without saying – and has been repeatedly demonstrated – that when learners are emotionally engaged, they retain more information. There is strong evidence that interactive learning experiences have as much positive impact on performance as real-life experiences – and in some cases, possibly even more.

Good storytelling increases learning, and great video brings a story to life. Interactive video puts learners in control of their experiences and enables exploration of “what ifs.” When these elements are properly woven together, learning becomes magic.  As the icon Marshall McLuhan said 30 years before the invention of the World Wide Web, “the medium is the message.”

About the Author:  Sharon Sloane

Sharon Sloane, a pioneer in the field of advanced instructional design, is the President and CEO of WILL Interactive.  She has 30 years of experience developing leading edge instructional systems for behavior modification and performance improvement.

Training programs designed by Sharon have been featured in “Simulations and the Future of Learning,” “Digital Game-Based Learning,” “Training and Simulation Journal,” “Time Magazine,” “New York Times,” “Washington Post,” and “Washington Times” and on NBC TV and CNN. They have won over 70 awards, and she is the first instructional designer to be chosen as a Women in Film and Video “Woman of Vision.”

Sloane holds a master’s degree in counseling from the University of Connecticut and a BS in education from Boston University.

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1. Consolidate learning strategy

Chertok emphasized the importance of using your LMS to connect with the wider organization. Over 76% of industry leaders use LMS, but less than half are using them for development. To maximize your LMS, it is imperative to create real-time performance management that measures employee contribution to overall organization goals. 35% of industry leaders are consolidating departmental learning strategies to fit the core competencies of the organization.

2. Assess employee goals with the company’s goals

Consider what tasks appeal to specific employees and what their long-term development goals are. Connect personality assessments with performance data and employee goals in order to understand what will motivate employees and help them contribute to organizational goals. Link these goals to your organization’s learning strategy by creating individualized employee development goals and learning programs. For example, McLeod software needed high levels of training for certain positions. How could they create positive ROI when these positions were high turnover? To create a culture of learning and promote retention, they trained employees for their current position and future goals. Additionally, everyone took management skills courses leading to long-term growth for the company.

3. Pass data forward

Chertok urges organizations to look at labor is an investment, not a cost. Employee development can result in a number of long-term benefits for performance. For example, the 18% of industry leaders who focus on employee goals were 2.6 times more likely to have seen retention improve in the last 12 months. Chertok also states that industry leaders are 3.5 times more likely to try to make internal talent as competitive as external talent, making them more likely to see long-term career growth, increased motivation and improved tenure.

By integrating performance with rewards, wellness and workforce management data, organizations can create an adaptive learning program that matches individual career goals with that of the organization. By creating a holistic model, 76% of industry leaders feel that they will be able to successfully motivate employees. 64% felt equipped to resolve having low revenue per work week (FTE). For example, HMS had difficulty linking training with goals and experienced employee dissatisfaction with their programs. They created training tracks to nurture employees from customer service to sales to managers, resulting in a successful learning strategy with positive ROI.

To learn more about strategies and Aberdeen’s research on connecting training to long-term performance, watch the webinar recording here.

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If you’re one of the 9.6 million currently furthering your education, then non-working hours are likely dedicated to schoolwork, studying and exams. This is why more working professionals prefer mobile elearning as their learning method of choice. Mobile elearning allows you to learn in the few moments of downtime you have wherever you are, whether that happens between meetings, on your commute to work, or during an afternoon break. The added productivity to your day along with the ease of accessing mobile courses are some of the reasons why mobile elearning is rising drastically in demand from businesses like yours.

To find the mobile course offerings from OpenSesame, go to the Courses tab from the OpenSesame homepage and select Browse All Courses (see below).

On the left side of the next screen, select Mobile Ready as one of your search filters. This will narrow the courses to show only the mobile-ready courses that are available. You can continue filtering by subject, price, author and more from there.

We know it’s important totest the compatibility of a mobile course on your device before purchasing. Contact our support team to set up a demo account so you can test any courses you are interested in.

Here are our recommendations to guarantee a successful mobile elearning experience:

• View courses in landscape mode (instead of portrait) is easier on the eyes.

• If using an Apple product such as an iPhone, use an up-to-date version of your Safari or Chrome browser.

• If using an Android mobile device, view courses in on the most up-to-date version of Chrome.

Have any questions or comments about accessing and using mobile elearning courses through OpenSesame, or want to learn more? Contact support@opensesame.com or call (503)808-1268.

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Back to the Basics

No matter how proficient you may be in Excel, it is likely that you are still using only a sliver of Excel’s built-in tools. In the Introduction to Excel course offered by Atomic Learning, users are exposed to some of the softer but necessary components of Excel such as organization, formatting, and shortcuts to make formatting more efficient. Whether you are looking to explore how you can make your data beautiful or something as simple as locking documents with a password, this course will bring the basics to you in a full-circle.

Formulas

One of the components of Excel that made it revolutionary, formulas! The hundreds of formulas that excel offers range from basic organization tools like the COUNTIF and SUMIF functions to formulas designed to derive key metrics in statistical analysis. For more complicated formulas, there are courses that will provide users a step-by-step walk through troubleshooting and customization techniques. There are many options for Excel courses focused on formulas, so now it’s up to you to decide what parts of your spreadsheet you would like to automate.

Data Visualization

Now that you have learned how to organize and compute in Excel, let’s tell a story with your data. Charts, graphs, and models can all be used to add a visual component to your data. With specialized courses in Excel Charts, users will be able to find the best ways to display their data could drive more effective decision making. Not only can you optimize the way which your company’s data is presented through courses in Excel Charts, but you can also learn customization techniques so you can coordinate your Excel figures with associated documents in Microsoft Office.

These are only a few of the useful tools that users can learn from Excel Online courses. With 80% of Middle Skill-level jobs requiring Excel literacy, becoming familiar with Excel and the rest of the Microsoft Office suite is a must. Not only will becoming an Excel wiz make you a company asset, but it can also help you earn up to 18% more on average. Whether you are looking to learn the basics, or more advanced, specialized tools, there is a course for you. The OpenSesame course library contains a number of different individual courses and bundles for learning Microsoft Excel.

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