1) A Growing Need to Humanize Technology & Development
2) Understanding Accreditation of Online Degree Programs
3) Training Bellwether - FL Employers See Value in Development
1) A Growing Need to Humanize Technology & Development
The mindset in HR circles today, as elsewhere in business, is do
more with less by attempting to leverage technology. It is apparent
in everything HR executives do from recruitment and selection to
training. We just came out of a day-long meeting with several HR
professionals and top executives at a mid-sized health care company
that has invested their first $300,000 payment in an LMS. Sounds
great, but they are experiencing some problems.
In our opinion, underlying many of their challenges is the fact that
their quest to automate the company has dehumanized HR. Don't misunderstand,
technology is important. It's critical to how business is done, employees
are trained and productivity is gained. But, to be successful, if
you're going to use technology in training or HR do yourself a big
favor - humanize it!
Sure technology should run on standardized platforms and come packaged
in well-accepted interfaces. This drives acceptance and trial, but
to get real usage content must have a purpose, be personalized, relevant
and, when appropriate, shared with others.
The general rule is to set up development resources so that technology
is hard to see, but easy to use. Remember development is for the
learner. Simple adjustments like personalizing email communication
and e-learning can result in employees participating more actively
and returning more frequently. According to several studies, up to
25 times more often.
1
Because the process of education involves social interaction, naturally,
there needs to be some level of interaction in an online environment
for learning to occur. This has been confirmed by any number of studies.
Whether it be IDC, Forrester, or Brandon Hall
2, all will
tell you interaction in an online education environment is absolutely
necessary
for successful learning to occur.
Peter Drucker often said, based upon common knowledge and research
we know what works in education, but in practice we never fully take
this into account.
3 Why don't we practice what we know about education
and increasingly understand about technology?
Don't allow this to happen to the people at your company. Work hard
to soften technology and build interaction into online development.
In doing so you put the "human" back into HR and development.
2) Understanding Accreditation of Online Degree Programs
With the explosion of online degree programs available from non-profits,
for-profits, public and private education organizations, there
is mass confusion about the most important topic of all - accreditation.
Accreditation is a tried and true method of evaluating an online
degree programs' effectiveness. However, the confusion surrounding
accreditation has been magnified as media, adult learners and their
employers lump everyone together irrespective of their accreditation
status. So, what is and is not full accreditation? In this newsletter
we'll hone in on business programs, in future publications we'll
attempt to cover the spectrum of accredited online degree programs.
Whom can you trust? According to David Binder, who spearheads a Special
Task Force on Accreditation and Compliance for Online University
Consortium, "There are three governing bodies that accredit
business programs. All three (AACSB, IACBE, and ACBSP) are reputable
and recognized."
Why are there three organizations that accredit online degree programs?
Binder adds, "But the difference (between the organizations)
is in their approach to accreditation. The major difference is the
relative importance of inputs versus outcomes in determining whether
a program will receive accreditation."
What are the most commonly misunderstood facts about accreditation?
Ken Bettenhausen, another leader in Online UC's Special Task Force
on Accreditation and Compliance, explains that there is a difference
between membership, which is open to any institution and full accreditation
held by only about 450 business programs worldwide." The differences
between membership and full accreditation, according to AACSB International,
is detailed further below.*
Understanding accreditation of online degree programs and choosing
an education provider that meets accreditation standards is critical
to the success of adult learners and companies that provide tuition
reimbursement as a benefit to employees. For more information on
accreditation, please contact
Online UC.
3) Training Bellwether - FL Employers See Value in Development
According at a 1st quarter survey of 425 employers in Florida, investment
in training is on the rise. "Salaries for training managers
increased 8.9% over last year. Training managers in banking and
finance showed an 8.3% gain; those in manufacturing and distribution
showed a 7.1% gain...It seems Florida employers continue to see
value in training!"
