The Business of Learning

There is no question that 2009 was a turbulent year for many training organizations. Reduction in workforce, rationalization of portfolio's, reduced budgets - we can go on and on about the trials and tribulations of how this economy affected our profession. What I find interesting is through adversity, the changes organizations are making to improve how they manage the training function.

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Everyone knows that virtually every company, no matter of their size and industry vertical, in some way and at some time, must spend money to train themselves, their employees, their customers, or their suppliers. All large corporations and government offices provides some form of training for their constituents. Even the small independent consulting companies periodically provide or take training to keep their credentials current and to stay up to date on industry trends and innovations.

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If training is such an important investment in a company's future, then why do companies spend less when things are bad? Shouldn't we invest more in our people to help them be more efficient, or to prepare them for when the business returns? Or is management making the right decision?

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Would you agree that one of the fundamental reasons companies train employees is to improve their performance? Is it the employee's fault when they don't perform? Learn how to use the 3 laws of accountability to test whether an employee should be held accountable for their performance. Or if management is responsible.

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Credentials to be Santa? Gray hair and beard; poor vision (must own gold wire frame spectacles); overweight (greater than 200 pounds); jolly personality…and oh yes, must have completed certification training.

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It is no secret that the last two years have been brutal on many training companies - not to mention corporate training organizations. By our estimates at TrainingIndustry.com, overall spend by U.S. companies for training activities is down by as much as 25% from 2008. Of course some verticals are hurt more than others, (e.g. automotives and finance) while others have churned through the recession and held their own (e.g. healthcare). This change has created the Rubber Band Effect for the training industry.

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J. Nicholas Hoover of Techweb.com reported on October 19 in an article for InformationWeek that the state of Indiana has canceled a $1.3B, 10 year outsourcing deal with IBM claiming the vendor "failed to deliver the service improvement expected from a welfare modernization project." How many times have we heard that message from a buyer of training services?

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Today is the 99th birthday of a man which I believe is one of the greatest trainers of our era. He is in ALL the Hall of Fames of his profession; he is respected by all of those who worked under him, and more importantly, by all those who competed against him. He built a leadership system and philosophy which in its time (1960’s and 70’s) was thought of as genius. And by some, he was too detailed oriented; focused on things at a minutia level that people could not understand.

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Why is it many professions require a certification exam prior to being licensed to perform their trade? Maybe because the liability associated with poor performance is too costly and someone must be held accountable. No doubt our government officials want to make sure we are protected from unskilled people performing services that could have physically harmful affects if they are not done correctly? Of course certifications don’t prevent people from being unscrupulous or dishonest, but it does ensure they know what they are doing.

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ACS was acquired today by Xerox, the global leader in document management solutions. ACS is one of the Top 20 Training Outsourcing companies in the world. This deal, valued at $6.4B brings a powerful brand into a market still seeking validation. Is this deal good for the training outsourcing market? What does it mean for consumers?

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