Established 1996
Training and Consulting
Training and Consulting Services
We are a business school in our 15th year of operation, and have been consistently been acknowledged for our learning environment and accomplished faculty – well reputed in their domain. For your information I would like to share our most recent B School Rankings which were possible to a very large extent with your patronage
• CRISIL for the first time has graded educational institutes and chosen Skyline Business School as one of them with an All India grade A and state level A**
• Outlook magazine has placed Skyline at 70 position among the top B Schools
• Business World Best B School Survey 2010 just released has placed Skyline Business School at the 11th position in Industry Interaction,29th position by Pedagogy, 27th position from Students’Ranking while overall ranking is 71 (All India)
We are a business school in our 15th year of operation, and have been consistently been acknowledged for our learning environment and accomplished faculty – well reputed in their domain. For your information I would like to share our most recent B School Rankings which were possible to a very large extent with your patronage.
We have restructured our training and consultancy activities with focus on developing industry engagement in areas where our team of faculty and consultants have acknowledged strength.
The nature of engagements could typically be in the form of training workshop, consulting assignment or a consulting assignment starting with a training workshop.
We look forward to explore training and consulting opportunities in areas where the engagement will be a mutually rewarding experience.
Encl-.
A. Training workshops
B. Consulting areas
C. Profile of key trainers / consultants
Using Design Thinking to embed Learning in our Jobs
Deloitte recently concluded a study where it was understood that maximum employees are likely to refer their organization to others if they feel that learning and growth opportunities are maximum. This is especially true for people under the age of 40. However, deploying corporate training has also become a challenge. The traditional model of classroom sessions is getting outmoded and in place mobile or based functions are proving to be more relevant. A telecom company innovated a new process by which they mapped the journey of a typical sales representative over the first nine months at the job. This design thinking method provided the company some pointers which must be inculcated in the employee on joining but also others which the person must know over the first one year. This includes people to meet, products to appreciate and systems to understand. Design learning can embed video sessions and gamification to deliver best learning and development results.
Source: https://hbr.org/2016/07/using-design-thinking-to-embed-learning-in-our-jobs
Online Learning will save the Millennial Workforce
Millennials have now become the majority in both the overall population as well as the workforce. Much has been made about the demands this generation makes especially with regards to HR policies, workplace flexibility and advancement opportunities. However, this generation also happens to be at the forefront of enormous turmoil in the industry, pas a joint result of societal changes and technological disruption. Automation will take away or transform several jobs especially those at the lower intellectual levels. Management training via online learning methods is one way for millennials to stay ahead of the curve. Due to technological changes, redundancy at workplace is a constant threat and thus in order to remain relevant, skill upgrade and continuous learning are required. That is where online tools come in handy as trainees do not need to leave jobs but can continue learning while at it. Source:https://elearningindustry.com/online-learning-millennial-workforce
Four Training and Development initiatives to explore at your Company
Certain innovative methods of corporate training have been explored at various organizations. Four of them have been earmarked to be particularly successful which others must considering giving a shot. The first of them is titled ‘lunch and learns’ where trainees who return after conferences or seminars must share their key learning during the lunch hour. As this is done during lunch, the tone is very informal. Then there is ‘shadowing and cross-training’ which involves an employee of some department imparting training on his / her work to some representative from another wing. In this way there is mutual appreciation of the other’s work. A third such type is ‘public content’ where public meetings are held where innovative ideas are presented. This could be through book clubs, Ted Talks or relevant articles’ discussions. The final module is ‘mental health talks’. This is the sort of meet-up where some expert speaker will discuss about the group regarding the importance of sound mental health in an organization. The speaker will elaborate about ways in which the company can help individual employees to deal with such issues and how there must be no stigma attached to the same. Confidentiality will have to be assured.
Figuring out how IT, Analytics, and Operations should work Together
IT, analytics and operations are departments within organizations which need to work together. The models of collaboration may be different but the end objective has to be efficient delivery of services. Four models have been revealed. In the first one, operational data and business analytics functions are integrated to one team. Here no corporate IT is needed, instead processes are inbuilt. Then there is the model where analytics and IT are independent of each other. Here it is corporate IT that is used as the engine to power analytics. In the third model, data analytics is embedded within IT. This model avoids digital disruptions but business demands exceed the capacity very often. On the other hand, the last model has the same analytics embedded within operations department. All these models have some advantages or disadvantages over the other ones.
Source:https://hbr.org/2016/08/figuring-out-how-it-analytics-and-operations-should-work-together
Using Social Media to build Professional Skills
Social media is typically associated with leisure, yet professional skill development and management training can be effectively weaned out of the same as well. Podcasts are a great learning tool as they have recorded sessions. Major industry influencers’ hash tags must be tracked on Twitter to listen to their inspirational points. Similarly one can be regular readers of key bloggers or blogging forums. Twitter can also help us to stay in touch with latest industry trends and to listen to what people generally have to stay about things. LinkedIn can be used to network with a wide variety of professionals. For networking with people sharing similar interests or skills, one can always go to Facebook, LinkedIn or even Slack. In case, professionals ever get bored by typical power point presentations or excel files, they can look up to Pinterest and see in what interesting manner, info-graphics may be presented.
Source:https://hbr.org/2016/08/using-social-media-to-build-professional-skills
The Value of Client- driven Collaboration
It has been recognized through repeated studies that collaboration drives organization growth. Yet sometimes, this feeling of collaboration may not originate from inside but from external sources. A client for example can be a great source for such inspiration. This is especially true for legal firms which handle en number of clients at a single stage. These multiple clients bring a sense of diversity. Some global organizations have teams across the world and thus have diversity in workplace enshrined in their corporate strategy document. This gives the law firm a large sample of subjects to analyze.
Source:https://bol.bna.com/the-value-of-client-driven-collaboration-perspective/
Use simulations to develop millennial leaders
Source:http://www.talentmgt.com/2016/07/19/use-simulations-to-develop-millennial-leaders/
Corporate Learning Management System (LMS) Market continues explosive Growth
As per market research conducted by Markets-and-Markets, the Learning Management Systems (LMS) market is set to expand from the present value of just above five billion US dollars to three times that figure in five years’ time. While this growth will be universal across academics and corporates, LMS creators need to understand that these two segments have different requirements. While academics will require a step-by-step broader understanding, organizations will require specific modules to conduct corporate training. Academics LMS will enable granting of grades, while corporate ones will offer certifications. For the latter to work well, the developers must make sure that they can support multiple formats across videos, power point presentations, documents, PDF or excel files. Also they must be compatible with other systems. A Single Sign-On is recommended.
Virtual v/s Classroom Training
Virtual corporate training sessions have gained in popularity in recent years and thus a study was commissioned to gauge its positive impacts over traditional classroom based coaching. This study made some interesting discoveries such as eighty six percent of the participants claiming that their engagement levels were equally good or higher during virtual sessions. Everyone polled answered that they were highly satisfied. In a test to evaluate their learning, average respondents scored a ninety percent, which is marginally higher than for those who undertook classroom coaching. In order to conduct the best of such virtual sessions, some suggestions have been put forward. The learning modalities must be adjusted as per requirements. A mistake that some training planners make is to reduce interaction and practice just to save time. This must be avoided by all means. Virtual tools can greatly increase engagement levels. Sessions must be well spaced so that participants get the time to absorb content and relax while engaging in other work as well. Source:https://trainingmag.com/virtual-vs-classroom-training
How learning leaders can solidify the connection between engagement and learning
Beyond automation: the downsides of humanless customer service
Source:http://customerthink.com/beyond-automation-the-downsides-of-humanless-customer-service/
Using social media to build professional skills
Source:https://hbr.org/2016/08/using-social-media-to-build-professional-skills
Five (5) trending technology tips to empower training and development practitioners
Training in the age of Internet of Things
Source:http://nation.com.pk/business/29-May-2016/training-in-the-age-of-internet-of-things
9 Ways to find out where your employees need training
Source:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thomas-buus-madsen/training-and-development-_1_b_10219338.html?section=india
Why do we spend so much developing senior Leaders and so little Training new Managers?
Most companies provide far more corporate training avenues at senior positions that at entry level ones. This is in stark contrast to the actual need which is felt more acutely at supervisory and entry management positions. There is a major lag between being an employee with being a manager. This transition ensures people make mistakes but only learn using trial and error in the absence of formal channels. This anomaly is due to three main reasons. First of all, training budgets are approved by top management and thus training managers pitch sessions more suited to them in order to get their budgets approved. Leadership development is any day a more fashionable term. Crucially, the top end of money, influence and intellect resides at the higher echelons. So naturally the best of trainers tend to focus more towards that level.
New York City launches new Tourism Website
New York City has launched its own independent tourism website. The idea is to get direct visitors on its sites rather than being dependent on aggregators as has been the trend lately. This will bear great impact on the digital marketing for the city’s tourism industry. The website focuses on some of the city’s iconic locations or aspects such as the diversity of the population or detailed subway train maps of the 1970s. This site also keeps tabs on all major Broadway plays so users can book directly.
Source:http://www.torontosun.com/2016/06/09/new-york-city-launches-new-tourism-website
Companies waste Billions of Dollars on ineffective Corporate Training
Last year in the USA, a total of US dollars 162 billion was spent on corporate training by various companies. According to Harvard Professor Michael Beer, this is all money sent down the drain. He feels that some of trainings work while many do not. It is not that the content for the training is not up to the mark. Instead it is that the senior management does not do the necessary groundwork before hand. In order for these programmes to succeed, the senior management must be fully aware of what all is needed to fill the gaps. As large organizations are broken down into silos, it is important that they all identify their shortcomings and training programmes commonly address issues but also customize for individual groups.
10 Ways to create and retain Engagement with process Improvement
The staff members in any organization ultimately need to get involved in the improvement of business processes. Some methods have been identified which are sure to boost employee engagement in this regard. Firstly, all improvements already implemented and those in the pipeline need to be communicated effectively to the employees. Adequate recognition needs to be paid to aspects that have already shown improvement. Constant corporate training around management disciplines is even more important now due to the influx of technology in all aspects. This work needs to be conducted with a dash of enjoyment added. Proper leadership needs to be exhibited by some members of existing staff. Collaboration is now more than just a buzzword and needs to be integrated so that information does not get confined to silos. To ensure this some companies have ensured a daily integration of tasks involving outcomes versus expectations, job descriptions and staff development programmes. Individual employees and teams need to be held accountable for the tasks assigned. All team members must be open to acknowledging that there is scope for improvements at all times. Finally, results of all employees are bound to improve if adequate incentives are added to the mix.
Source:http://www.bsminfo.com/doc/ways-to-create-retain-engagement-process-improvement-0001
4 Learning Trends on the rise to keep you Competitive
Unlike earlier times when learning was just a one-time activity before plunging into actual work, now corporate training programmes are aimed at creating an environment where employees keep learning at all times. Executive coaching is a method by which working professionals can enroll for individualized learning beyond working hours. Team coaching on the other hand focuses on a team taking up learning sessions together as a group. Online learning platforms have mushroomed as they enable individuals to learn as per their convenience of time or space. Then there is hybrid learning which cross-pollinates ideas across learning modules combining power point presentations, video sessions and interactive chats with online sessions. This allows maximum customization as it caters to different learner personas.
Why you need to use your Learning Management System for Onboarding
Learning Management Systems (LMSs) can prove to be ideal tools to ease up the onboarding process. Onboarding is the critical element which is mishandled by several firms leading to high attrition levels during the first few months. A study conducted shows the reasons for attrition among new hires. Top reason for this is funds not being allocated for onboarding programmes. Adequate mentoring is not provided to new hires. Onboarding also does not include corporate training on most occasions. Also new hires are not explained their actual profile. In order to measure the new recruits’ onboarding success, four key metrics must be tracked. This includes the time taken to reach productivity levels, engagement, cost versus benefits and benefits of retention. In case, gaps show up, certain technological tools may be used up to smoothen the process. Docebo allows online learning while classroom training is always an option. Also there is the concept of on-the-job training where employee learns while working.
Source: https://elearningindustry.com/use-learning-management-system-for-onboarding
Mobile Learning Voyage: From small ripples to Massive open Waters
IAmLearn is an international association that organizes the mLearn conferences. It is held annually with participants from more than sixty countries. This conference brings together academicians policy makers, solutions providers, software developers, researchers and telecom providers in trying to connect towards common objectives. The promotion of mobile based corporate training is one of the key goals of this summit. Open sources of learning are also tracked so they can reach out to far flung areas especially in developing countries. Augmented reality is also included as one of the key trends for the future. Simulations are tried out at the conference to enable participants to have a practical feel about the thing.
User generated Content to be a key trend in Corporate e-Learning
User Generated Content (UGC) refers to the content developed by final users in order to aid others who will be in similar positions. This is a tactic employed for corporate training where existing employees create UGC for newer recruits. It allows employees to browse information and keep elarning at their own pace. Certain tools are enabling the improvements in UGC. Tools include the concept of Gamification, Big Data, Cloud computing, augmented reality and integration of social media with e-learning systems. Platforms such as Slideshare, Prezi and Moovly will gain further traction due to such trends.
Learning is so much more than Engagement
There exists a misconception regarding corporate training as a lot of professionals feel that its major aim is employee engagement. However, beyond that genuine learning is sought so that business goals can be achieved. Marketing, sales, operations, finance and customer service all ought to be improves through such sessions. Engagement is simply a positive fallout of these activities. The HR department gains specifically through leadership training as succession planning can then be done more smoothly. Thus the learning department must incorporate business goals within its mission and not just increasing employee satisfaction levels.
Source: http://www.clomedia.com/blogs/4-the-business-of-learning/post/6731-learning-is-so-much-more-than-engagement
Why every Business should run internal Hackathons
Hackathons are day or even week long events where computer programmers and software developers collaborate in teams against each other on projects. As part of employees’ corporate training, hackathons have been suggested as an extremely engaging activity. Such events can also aid in digital transformation of the organization as a whole. It also tests employees on time management as projects need to be completed within specified deadline. Cross-functionality also gets encouraged in the process. Most importantly, focus remains on the final output.
Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/theopriestley/2016/01/20/why-every-business-should-run-internal-hackathons/#24cb0de35905
How top Fortune 500 Companies are using eLearning to increase Office Productivity
According to a study commissioned, eight out of every 9 respondents have confessed to wasting time at work. Younger people tend to be even worse hit. Reasons for the same could be diverse such as feeling undervalued or underpaid, boredom, distractions or sometimes simply because one can. One method of reducing this is corporate training modules using e-learning methods. Google and Facebook, the primary culprits for distractions, seem no longer so popular once employees have other engaging tools. It also increases collaborations as some of these modules have inbuilt mechanism for instant feedback from individual participants. It also affords greater flexibility as all employees do not need to learn at same pace, but can rather tailor according to their needs. The study has also confirmed that employees in general feel more enthusiastic about their work after e-learning programmes.
10 HR Trends you’ll see in 2016
Ten trends have been observed that will be dominant in the world of human resource management this year. Talent recruitment will increasingly make use of data warehousing sources. This includes utilizing massive chunks of Big Data. HR will be more about fostering relationships among employees and various stakeholders. Training programmes will seek to constantly upgrade skill sets of employees to cope with modern demands. Engaging employees fruitfully and building corporate culture will emerge as top priorities. Like customers, employees’ experience will also be given greater importance by HR managers. The entire journey of the employee from joining including the onboarding process will now seek to include well being measures. HR teams will also continue their efforts at humanizing business operations. Organizations such as Deloitte and Accenture have done away with performance reviews and these are set to be launched in reinvented avatars across the corporate world. With time some businesses will consolidate and dominate their sectors. HR will play crucial role in aligning the disparate operations into one efficient team.
How blended learning is sprinting across Vietnam
Like most Asian countries, education was seen as a stepping stone in Vietnam. Thus the curriculum was controlled by the government and focus was on producing identikit workers brought up on a diet of hard work, perseverance and rigor. Rote learning was the model applied and there was no space for blended learning. All this has recently changed thanks to the business innovation pioneered by Everest Education. This model enables practical education where classroom teaching is combined with a mix of extra-curricular activities and video based sessions. Some of these sessions are also being broadcast by Everest in Los Angeles.
These B Schools are where Bain, BCG, McKinsey will snatch more MBAs in 2016
Management consulting giants such as Bain, BCG and McKinsey are on recruitment overdrive from business schools. Some business schools in particular have gained credence among these firms for recruitment over others. INSEAD in France is considered as top billing. Then there is the relatively less well known Emory Goizuetta, based in Atlata, Georgia. Kellogg, Dartmouth and Tuck are next in the list. The institute leading the pack for the UK is London Business School. Other American colleges such as MIT Sloan, Chicago Booth, Duke Fuqua and Michigan Ross complete this illustrious list. Typically in these colleges, up to 30% of graduating students are being hired by the big three of consulting firms.
6 Ways to powerfully engage and educate Millennials with Corporate Training
Certain corporate training methods have been identified as best suited to engaging the newer recruits. These people require regular feedback. Games are among best ways to engage with them. The training lessons they will receive must not be wordy but instead crisp. Millennials must also grasp the reason why they are being asked to learn. Real time challenges always bring out the best among the younger generation. And finally, millennials learn much better when being asked to work and collaborate in groups.
How to make Learning more Automatic
It has been a constant quest for employees to expand their scope of learning at work. Employees often wish to learn automatically without making extra effort as part of work itself. Automatic learning also helps organizations streamline corporate training programmes towards activities where focus is genuinely needed. Employees must take time out of their busy schedules to think big on strategic matters. However, they must not ignore the intricate details that are equally critical. They must analyze which of their co-workers or associates do they really envy and wish to emulate. At times of learning, they must be able to identify what exactly they are looking at hand holding for. Individual habits can best be monitored by themselves. They must continue to excel and take time out for activities which they are really good at. What employees must never do is procrastinate at work, as that disrupts schedule over period of time. Finally, what is needed is peer interaction with those people who already possess the skills one wants to be good at.
How MOOCs can transform Employee Learning in your Organization
MOOCs has been around since 2008 yet its popularity has soared over the last couple of years. This is mainly due to organizations using this tool to enhance the effectiveness of their corporate training programmes for their employees. A perfect example of this would be to cite LinkedIn which used MOOCs to create a learning platform for their employees involving weekly sixteen hours of lectures for four weeks. Certain HR departments use this platform for regular postings. These may involve a series of lectures or interactive sessions with respective trainers.
Knowledge work has had its Day
Over the last few decades, knowledge work has been given paramount importance, yet that is set to modify. With technology playing increasing role in our lives, paradoxically people with good inter-personal communications are gaining credence. An example of this shift is the reduction in production and transactional work profiles especially in the developed world due to a combination of the use of robots and outsourcing to developing countries. Management consulting firm McKinsey has conducted a study to gauge this trend in numbers and there has been a stark increase in jobs of high or low skills but involving human interactions. Thus the pinnacle of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) is set to move towards proper human interactions and communication skills.
Corporate training programmes have traditionally been held inside classrooms, yet that is a trend that is not very popular among substantial percentage of professionals. This has been found post business research conducted by Inter-Call. A lot of executives feel that their seniors feel the job has been done, yet these programmes are broadly defined and not suited to job descriptions of certain verticals. More customization is needed. That is where online learning tools are making a mark. With the workforce getting younger on average, a good number of professionals prefer taking lessons online during convenient time.
How Online Learning can prepare your Company for the Global Market
Market research conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit states that nearly three-fourths of organizations surveyed indicate that up to half their earning over the next couple of years will result from international business. In such an environment, it is imperative that leadership with international focus needs to be developed. A number of firms lament the lack of proper middle management level which can bridge the gap. A good way of doing so is to implement management training programmes specially designed for the level. Online packages such as Harvard Manage Mentor or Skillsoft have been in existence for a while, yet training regimes are evolving further. Video lectures and assignments are now getting aligned with live interactive events. On the spot polls can now be conducted. The skills gap can thus be bridged by multi-national firms using online platforms.
This Chart shows why your company probably needs better Leadership Training
Leadership IQ conducted market research involving more than thirty thousand American and Canadian executives to gauge the level of leadership across industries. More than a fourth of respondents say that their bosses never take interest in their development while another near quarter of them feel that leaders rarely exhibit such interest. This clearly points out towards three broad problems plaguing organizations. The world is changing at rapid pace, but employees aren’t able to cope with the change. Not enough of corporate training is taking place to upgrade the skill sets of existing employees. More effective training will also facilitate internal development of employees who will be able to face up to challenges in the future. Finally, top performing employees want to continually grow, yet due to improper talent management practices, these high performers aren’t getting enough such opportunities.
Revamping your Training Process: How to do it Effectively
In spite of economies growing, profit margins of many firms are shrinking primarily due to the effects of competition. Talent recruitment is such a scenario is getting crucial yet it remains a major challenge. Larger firms often outsource this aspect to specialist headhunters, while smaller firms in order to reduce cost, do it themselves. With recruitment such a challenging and often unrewarding experience, a lot of firms are revamping their corporate training programmes in order to train the existing workforce to improve the results. Training programmes need to be more contemporary using latest technologies. This also facilitates improved employee engagement using mobile and video sessions. Apple and Google are examples of firms that have cracked the code and deriving top results out of the training programmes designed.
Talent Acquisition: Challenges and Opportunities
Talent recruitment is facing major challenges in terms of technology, screening and onboarding. However, these challenges can also be converted into suitable opportunities. A major challenge with technology is the over-dependence on it. Webcams though provide an enormous opportunity to conduct interviews online. Screening has become a challenge due to the fact that number of job aspirants, taking advantage of online tools, develop those ideal CVs but in reality do not possess the necessary quality. Background check of aspirants though can be conducted better using online tools. During the onboarding process, the new recruit is provided with management training, which might end up costing a fortune and not giving the best of results due to the digital nature at present. However, as an opportunity, the HR of the firm, extracts vital business intelligence during the training process which can be incorporated for future benefits.
Close the Skills gap- Once and for All
While millions of people in both the developed and the developing world remain unemployed, organizations also continue to grapple short of talent. This is a major conundrum and this skills gap needs to be bridged. Talent recruitment practices need to alter. Instead of hiring based on skills, attitude towards work must be the principal evaluation tool. Management training during the onboarding stage needs to be paid particular emphasis upon. The existing workforce depreciates in terms of skill sets. Thus continuous learning and development programmes must be designed for them in order to avoid or reduce redundancy.
The Growth of self-directed Employee Learning
Due to the advent of learning management systems, corporate trainings can now be accessed in a variety of ways by employees. Such technologies inspire constant adherence to learning and development programmes. In order to execute such trainings in more effective manner, certain principles need to be kept in mind. Millennials respond well to situations where there is freedom to learn and grow at work. Due to the revolution brought about by social media, motivated employees are likely to further propagate business name online. The organizational hierarchies of old have been ripped apart to form flat structures and proper talent management will require training programmes to be delivered keeping this aspect in mind.
4 Things Successful Sales teams have in common with Sports Teams
Sporting metaphors such as “neck and neck in competition” have long been a part of office parlance. This is primarily because the competitive nature of team sports resonates at certain workplaces especially in sales. Business research conducted by the Harvard Business Review has clearly identified four ways in which sports and sales teams share common ground. Successful organizations’ sales people always speak highly about their firms’ quality. Much like sports teams, they have structured processes. Also, they are not afraid to aim high. Sadly, but inevitably sales and sports teams are both quick to identify weak links and eliminate non- performers.
Use Storytelling to explain your Company’s Purpose
Global giants Nike, Adidas, Pepsi and Coca-Cola have all built up their brands using the concept of storytelling to give purpose to their work. That is something that has inspired its own newer employees as well as the global followers of such brands. Apple is one example where the business leader became the brand himself. The corporate strategy was set in such a way that Steve Jobs’ not insubstantial brand name came to be leveraged for all company products. He was such an inspirational speaker that once at Stanford University in order to inspire the students, he narrated an incident from William Shakespeare’s play Henry V where the protagonist motivates his team using the phrase “band of brothers” to refer to them all. Marshal Ganz from the Harvard’s Kennedy School of Management calls this the “public narrative” which these brands which to carry forward.
The Key to Innovation in Talent Development
Management training has undergone a world of change due to the incorporation of online modules in it. However, HR leaders are instead suggesting that effective learning and development from such programmes has actually deteriorated over the past year. The problem identified has been that newer modules are being crammed through existing techniques and thus the trainees are not actually learning much. More mobile friendly apps for learning and development tools needs to be invested in. Tesla Motors and Xerox Services are examples of firms that have tried to innovate their training methods. Specific training is being provided to Xerox employees so they may design their own training courses. Tesla has created an atmosphere where less content is created and needs to deliver training have actually reduced due to the simplification of processes.
3 Lessons From One Of America’s Great Culture Builders
Talent Recruitment and Talent Management is a crucial task for leaders in today’s competitive environment where the quality of employees distinguishes the winners. These 3 lessons offer a key perspective.
- The young workforce is today all about working with a sense of purpose which sometimes matters more to them than a fat paycheck. Leaders should thus bear in mind that an organization with values at its core will be better able to attract and retain top talent.
- Companies and leaders should go beyond paying mere lip service to their mission statement and live the ideals enshrined in them. Not only this, the top management should continuously communicate their efforts in following these values with every employee to build and maintain motivation levels.
- Leaders should at all times be transparent with employees and engage with them constantly to enhance the organization culture.
Research has shown that these values ultimately result in high growth and profitability for the organization in the long term.
Mobile Devices Take Hassle Out of Employee Training
Mindflash is among the slew of firms which have taken advantage of a spurt in usage of mobile devices to aid corporate training programmes. They have recently developed the mobile content for Johnson Health Tech and this has revolutionized training at the organization as employees are now using their devices for their learning purposes whenever possible. The training material is all stored using Cloud based technology and can be accesses on tablets, laptops or phones. The courses can also act as refresher as they can be accessed at later dates as well.
Technology Will Drive a New Innovation Core
Organizations are heading for a major transformation as they try to adjust and adapt to the digital era and the presence of the cloud. This has an impact on how organizations view the innovation processes and need to align it to be nimble and responsive to a fast changing environment.
Organizations which find value in specialization and well structured processes are usually in conflict with the core identity of innovation which is disruptive in nature. At times, innovation is driven by hunch or a gut feel but should be fostered as it could lead to a game changing system.Innovation today is a manual process. In Future, organizational systems will need to be radically transformed to integrate digital systems into innovation and reduce unnecessary human intervention. The market is becoming increasingly dynamic and organizations run the risk of losing out on business opportunities if they are unable to match the digital and physical worlds. They should put in place a new innovation system suitable for the post-digital age. Using technology in innovation will test physical and mental capacities, decision making capabilities in real time bearing in mind the risks involved and also test organizations’ agility in face of the unexpected. In light of increasing importance of social and big data analytics and the cloud and collaborative platforms, innovation cannot be peripheral but has to become the focus of organizations. An Enterprise wide innovation system embedded in the cloud is a solution that can integrate technology with innovation. An Enterprise wide innovation system embedded in the cloud is a solution that can integrate technology with innovation.
The New Approach to Managing Global Workforce
Multinational firms have traditionally been dominated by local employment regulations wherever they are situated in. However, with firms ever increasing and challenges often converging a new strategy of common policy across national boundaries has been established. This has multi-pronged advantages. It enables more stringent following of codes of conduct to avoid money-laundering, bribery and corruption.Talent management improves as employees across borders are treated on similar scale while only taking care of local laws. There is now a greater integration of global workforce leading to increased levels of productivity. Local offices also help in improving the public face of the firm, enabling more effective marketing.
Architecting the Organization for Change
Organizations are so focused on the daily routine of business and implementing projects in time that they forget to include change as an element of their business strategy. Thus, they end up lagging behind when the environment changes rapidly.
Successful organizational change strategy includes analyzing the 5 disciplines of Planning for change, taking Leadership of change, Managing change, change Maintenance and finally change Portfolio Management.
Stakeholders like consumers, suppliers and employees are continuously evolving and the business architecture must support business strategy which consciously implements Big Change processes and Small Change projects to keep the organization aligned to the customer.
Architecting the Business for Change:
- Working out ways to improve organizational agility.
- Business strategy should incorporate changes in the marketplace.
- The 5 disciplines of organizational change should be integrated into the business architecture.
The foundation of an organization with change at its core is maintenance of change. This ensures that the organization continues to focus on change.
Project Planning and Management teams must work with professionals from teams of leadership for Change and managing Change to effectively structure the organization for change.
Industry 4.0 to add 550 billion to European Revenue
According to business consulting giant PwC, a consortium of industries is set to add over five hundred and fifty billion Euros to the overall revenues within the zone. This is due to the various opportunities arising and those that will grow due to the industrial internet. This industry 4 will involve manufacturing, process industry, automotive industry, electronics and communications. The degree of digitization is now above 80% or close to that figure in all these industries. The efficiency level has gone up by 3.3% while costs have gone down by 2.6%.
Shifting to a Higher Level of Individual and Organizational Consciousness
At times of organizational crisis, usually business consulting agencies advice them for restructuring. However, structure is a misleading term as organizations do not work in structures but are instead living creatures. A shift is needed in three ways- management, individual and organizational. Periodic financial data is merely an indicator not the performance analyzer. People are dynamic and with proper corporate training and shift in perspective can become the top resource. The organization needs to possess and further build upon its values and culture which do not develop overnight. Finally the six box leadership model has been subscribed to. This includes people dynamics- culture, relationship and individuals- and process related ones- strategy, systems and resources.
Creating the Right Service Culture
The Workplace Centre Limited (TWCL) is a business consulting firm in Nigeria which has clearly demonstrated that servicing levels are not up to the mark for customers at large. Much management training is required across industries to educate regarding the value of customer service provided. The image existing at present in Nigeria is of public sector enterprises lacking coordination and consistency over their operations. Nigerian brands will go on to achieve major success in Africa and the wider world if this one detriment can be cleared out.
An HR Tech Conference was held in October, 2015 which looked into the different ways in which technology is getting integrated into corporate training modules. Capgemini is among the pioneers in this change as the organization has implemented a company-wide interface which can be logged on at any time to aid learning and development of employees. Integration with technology has also helped making the training curriculum more global in nature and suitable to the present needs. Tutorial videos, transcripts and regular assessments are all part of this portal.
Transforming Corporate Cultures by Celebrating Failures
Ganesh Ayyar, the CEO of Mphasis has provided us with management consulting on ways to transform the corporate culture. He says that physical transformation is easier as it is aided by such instruments as reporting lines or incentive schemes, but the real challenge in organization building is the work culture among the people associated. It is all the more important in today’s digitally wired world where cannibalization is frequent. Also one must embrace failure as it is part of the learning curve and business innovation will not occur without the aid of the same. Apple is one perfect example of an organization bouncing to the top after learning from past misses.
You may not believe it but today, knowledge and expertise are increasingly becoming a commodity? Now everyone can become an expert with just a click. Talk to experts in auditing, engineering and business consulting and they will voice their concern about the trend that professional knowledge is becoming a commodity. For instance, automation of preparation of tax returns and auditing. Also, all the information including the latest about any field is already available on the internet and clients are wanting to know what they don’t already know. In addition, a lot of the content is being written by Artificial intelligence.
Expertise or complex knowledge no longer demands the huge premium it used to in the past. Firms now fear vulnerability and expect instant response. The question is if the traditional delivery of expertise is no longer acceptable then what is? The answer maybe lies in the trust equation. What is this trust equation? To find out, we urge you to read this article and also discover what is becoming more and more important today, “what you know” or “who you know?”
6 Cloud-Based Learning Platforms That Can Help Educate Your Workforce
Online education is getting more and more popular. It is at the takeoff stage with the present global market at $91 billion and expected to grow annually by 20 percent till 2017. The growth of elearning is dependent on the growth of cloud technology which offers seamless information access, easily sharable data and multi-user collaboration, an ideal environment for a virtual classrooms. Technology related to online-learning platforms has improved considerably making them flexible and easily accessable on a variety of devices like smartphones and tablets. The sources for developing content have also increased. Online-learning platforms offer businesses a flexible and cost effective corporate training option. Here Adam discusses six new promising cloud-based learning platforms (TalentLMS, Moodle, Degreed, BIStrainer, BizLibrary and Grovo) that are expected to boost the elearning marketplace. If you have interest in elearning and online education, then you must definitely read this article to gain knowledge of these latest tools of online education.
3 Things Business Leaders Can Learn From Web Developers
Robert has come up with an interesting 360 degree on the thought that one should focus on resolving the big issue and everything else will be resolved automatically and the famous 80/20 rule. And guess what, he makes sense. He does this by comparing managing in an organization with programming by web developers and suggests that apart from the thinking big thoughts the high level managers need to also make sure that these small mundane things also work. Quite a few times, the ignorance of these mundane things can lead to disaster. Robert has tried to support his contention by elucidating three lessons that high level managers can learn from web developers. One that being “off-by-one” or being extremely close is partial success but not success. Two, being redundant is not always bad as having a back-up plan is good thinking. The developers always have inbuilt checks and balances for critical processes so that nothing major goes wrong.Management trainingof managers should also include discussion on how to avoid the common myth that being “off by one” cannot lead to major consequences.
How Digital Transformation is Disrupting the World of Consultancy
Management consulting as an industry is going through a lot of change mainly brought about by digital transformation. In fact these days no firm is formulating its corporate strategy without aligning the same with technology. Thus the acronym SMAC has emerged to notify Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud. Cognizant being a technology company at heart has been among the first movers and thus growing at great pace in consulting. Clients no longer accept the traditional hierarchy bound model but instead demand a system based on agility.
6 Misconceptions that will drag down your CRM Strategy
A business consulting publication has provided us with certain misconceptions we take for granted which will be harmful for the CRM strategy of the firm. It is often thought that all data must be cleansed, yet that is not necessary as one never knows when which piece of information will come prove handy. More volume of data may not always be desirable. CRM data can be useful for all departments and verticals and not for any one particular. Also CRM is not important only for sales but for other tasks as well such as content creation. While businesses indeed are stuck with legacy systems, they can be modified depending on the immediate requirement. Often firms provide incomplete information believing that whatever is available must be shared. However, disseminating any piece of information without grip of the context can have disastrous implications.
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