First, let’s define our terms. Training and development includes different but interconnected activities that organizations sponsor in order to improve the productivity, skills and abilities of their teams. The organization or business benefits from increased effectiveness and each employee benefits from an expanded skill set. Let’s look a little more closely at some of the… Read more »
I remember leaving DevLearn 2009 and thinking, “This was THE BEST conference experience I’ve ever had.” At that moment, I knew a return trip was in order in 2010. Coming into this year’s edition of DevLearn, I had different expectations that last year. In 2009, it was all about bringing home those two or three… Read more »
I recently joined a discussion in the ELearning Guild’s LinkedIn group with this subject line: “How important is SCORM compliance today? Has anyone decided not to use SCORM when developing content?” Briefly, the party line in the group appears to be that the advantages of SCORM compliance are: Portability: When your course is SCORM compatible,… Read more »
In the world of business communication training, one thing is certain: communication skills should not be limited to just writing, presentation, or public speaking, and other forms of conventional communications. These are just the most commonly known aspects of communication training that the average person on the street may think of immediately after hearing the… Read more »
If you work with sensitive information, you know that such records in the wrong hands could prove disastrous for the company. The security of customer financial records, trade secrets, payroll data and other sensitive information is paramount. That is why information security awareness is important for everyone who works with such data. Even if… Read more »
Arc flash training is serious business—deadly serious. People die from a lack of knowledge on this topic. In fact, every single day at work in the United States, one person dies a painful death from shock, electrocution or arc flash. Nearly 700 people a month get a quick trip to the emergency room for… Read more »
If you’re like most people, you weren’t aware that Microsoft OneNote even existed, much less what it could do. This application is probably the most ignored and most underestimated of all of those found within the Microsoft 2010 suite. However, it is definitely worthy of your attention and more than that – take the right… Read more »
Recently I was tasked with re-engineering our customer service effort. We had suffered several public relations black eyes from customer service fiascos. The suspicion had been that the norm for customer service had veered too much in the direction of quantity and not enough quality. Customer service reps (CSRs) had long been challenged by ever-increasing… Read more »
Before you acquire a business communication training or teamwork training program, consider the following points. 1. Coordinate with other training efforts Any team depends upon effective communication in order to meet its goals. That’s why teamwork training and business communications training go hand-in-hand. Be certain to find courses for each which complement each other.… Read more »
If you want to become an IT security guru, you need a unique approach that sets you apart from the others. You need each of the following skills so you know every dimension of this vital topic. 1. Programming. Yes, you read that right. A little bit of programming can go a long way… Read more »
Unsurprisingly, email is the form of communication that most professionals choose. It’s fast and relatively unobtrusive. However, failing to follow the recommended email etiquette rules may get you into trouble. If you are too quick to hit the “send” button and don’t put a lot of thought into each email, you could be sending the… Read more »
You’re an elearning author. You’re ready to leverage your expertise by selling your elearning courses in the OpenSesame marketplace. You want to know where to begin. We’re here to advise you. 1. What, this old thing? Yes, that old thing. Did you create a basic sales skills course five years ago? Aren’t sales skills still… Read more »
A company without customer service is a company without customers. Cut too many corners on this and you follow the old “penny wise and dollar foolish” strategy. Where there is customer service without adequate training there is no customer service. If you want to keep your customers, your customer service representatives need to be fully… Read more »
In the headlong hurry to meet deadlines and quotas, we frequently forget that only part of our responsibility is to operate the machine we call business. The other part is to ensure that the machine stays operational. If safety hazards arise, then the machine is broken and lives are threatened. 1. It could happen to… Read more »
You are a Chief Learning Officer or a Training & Development Director, and you are creating a training program for a complex community of employees. You need everything from courses on customer service skills to advanced database management. You are tired of commissioning and updating the same courses year after year, listening to sales pitches… Read more »
A certain amount of tension helps us grow. A physical, emotional or intellectual challenge can push us to excel. But how much challenge is too much? When does a challenge become deadly stress? Each of us has our limits. Unavoidably, stress happens. What’s the best way to deal with it? And how does one reduce… Read more »
Teamwork is perhaps the greatest invention of humanity. With teamwork, humans have unraveled the secrets of the atom, sent men to the Moon, and created an information network which spans the globe. Imagine what could happen if your employees caught the teamwork bug and created something which changed the world. Save Money on the… Read more »
1. Stress can adversely affect health. Prolonged levels of high stress change the body’s chemistry and cause permanent damage. Stress can directly cause or greatly magnify a host of bodily problems including all kinds of pain, digestive difficulties, autoimmune ailments, sleep abnormalities, skin problems (such as eczema), depression and even thoughts of suicide, and obesity.… Read more »
We open doors. When content creators encounter obstacles like standards compliance and learning management system compatibility, we look at that closed door and think, “Open, sesame.” When elearning consumers despair at the thought of meeting with company after company to find just the right course, we think “Open, sesame”. We are OpenSesame, and we are… Read more »
Looking to learn a new language but can’t find the time to leave your home, get in the car and drive to class? Perhaps the e-learning route is what you need. More people today are turning to the Internet with the goal of learning a new language. While it’s certainly true that learning a new… Read more »
