Source: http://customerthink.com/beyond-automation-the-downsides-of-humanless-customer-service/

Source: https://hbr.org/2016/08/using-social-media-to-build-professional-skills

Source: http://business.inquirer.net/210669/five-5-trending-technology-tips-to-empower-training-and-development-practitioners

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.

Source: https://hbr.org/2016/06/why-do-we-spend-so-much-developing-senior-leaders-and-so-little-training-new-managers

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 

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.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/hbsworkingknowledge/2016/07/25/companies-waste-billions-of-dollars-on-ineffective-corporate-training/#2935fa2269cb

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