Did you miss it?

If you missed the free webinar that Stephanie co-hosted with Sean Hougan at Lambda Solutions on October 30th 2014 called Creating Effective and Engaging eLearning in your LMS, check out the archived session. It was a really interesting session that provided participants with valuable information on the basics of understanding the technical aspects of creating transferable eLearning courses that are SCORM compliant. As well, Stephanie shared her insights on the specialized aspects of eLearning course development and some of her favorite eLearning resources. Take an hour, grab a beverage and listen in!

A free webinar on gamifying your eLearning

Limestone Learning and Lambda Solutions will be teaming up again on December 4th to host a free webinar - Gamify your eLearning! 6 Ways to Incorporate Gamification into eLearning.

Gamification has emerged as a significant trend in the field of learning and development in the past few years. By gamifying learning, you can harness the power of what people inherently love to do—have fun. But what is gamification and how can it be used effectively to motivate and engage learners?

Co-hosted by Paula Yunker, Limestone Learning's managing partner and Sean Hougan, Marketing Coordinator at Lambda Solutions, this webinar will explore what gamification is and how gamification can be used to create more meaningful, engaging and interactive eLearning experiences. We’ll discuss how you can create eLearning courses using principles of gamification that fit with your budget and we’ll also share examples of how organizations have successfully used gamification.

Join us to learn about:

• What gamification really is

• The difference between learning games and gamification

• Using gamification to engage learners

• Getting started with gamification – what you need to know

• Six ways to incorporate elements of gamification regardless of your budget

• Successful examples of gamification in eLearning

Register here

We hope to see you online, Thursday, December 4th, 2014 at 11:00am PST (1:00pm ET (10:00am PT, 11:00am MT, 12:00pm CT).

Free T&D webinars for November 2014

The year is racing along—here come darker days, with crunch-time to the holidays not far behind. Why not leverage this relatively calm time to build up your knowledge? November’s free webinars are full of innovative ideas, tips, and techniques to get you thinking about your business. We hope they will inspire and motivate you.

Monday, November 3, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST:Generation Z: Understanding the Next Generation of Worker(Free for ATD members)

Having grown up post-9/11, in the wake of the great recession, and always connected online, Generation Z is an emerging group that your entire company needs to understand, from HR to marketing. Gen Z represents 23 million Americans born between 1994 and 2010. Dan Schawbel has spent the past year learning about Gen Z through a global research study spanning the world, from America to the UK to South Africa. The first of its kind, the study sought to understand the implications of this generation from both a workplace and a consumer perspective. Dan found that while Gen Y is more optimistic, Gen Z is realistic and has a strong sense of career management, philanthropy, and entrepreneurship. This self-sufficient and tech-savvy generation also poses new threats and opportunities for managers, marketers, and HR professionals. No matter what interests you about Generation Z, this webcast is tailor-made to fit your needs.

Tuesday, November 4, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: Why Context Is King, Not Content – and What to Do in Your Learning Design

Learners are constantly on the go and demand rapid, short, and instant learning tools to perform on the job. Whether participating in structured courses or informal learning, they want knowledge acquisition to be fast and easy. Their leaders and businesses allow less time for training and expect shorter learning time. Most content is designed for DEEP DIVE LEARNING. However, learners' priority need is HIGH CONTEXT LEARNING to help them instantly find meaning and usefulness.

This webinar will share insights, techniques, methods, and tools on how to help organize your content so you aid the learner to determine what to learn first and how to learn it faster. This increases the application value of the content so they are equipped to solve problems and respond to on-the-job demands.

Tuesday, November 4, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: Women, Leadership, and Success(Free for ATD members)

Companies should not be run solely by men or be predominately male; nor should they be run solely by women. Generally, women offer different leadership skills and competencies than men, and these skills are every bit as important—if not more so. Women are more focused on organizational culture, the spirit of a company’s employees, and the long-term effects of decisions and actions. We need the best of both the male and female perspective in today's leadership.

During this webcast, you will learn to:

• Empower women to continue their careers while attending to family responsibilities.

• Communicate the accomplishments of everyone in the organization, including those working remotely.

• Let go of limiting assumptions about women in business and the importance of being open-minded.

John Keyser will help you recognize the skills and competencies of talented women regarding leadership, client relationships, sales (such as creating new relationships), and the positive influence they bring to organizational culture.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014, 6AM – 6:30AM PST: Brandon Hall Group Membership: Dynamic Tools for Business Improvement

Whether you work within a Talent Management, Talent Acquisition, Learning and Development, or HR/Workforce Management function, a Brandon Hall Group Membership unlocks answers to questions that every organization needs in order to excel in today's fast-changing business environment.

Here are just a few findings from our latest research:

• 68 percent of organizations say that coaching and mentoring is a highly effective learning method, but only 27 percent currently use it widely within their organizations.

• Over 50 percent of organizations say their biggest regret when implementing HR systems is lack of training.

• 64 percent of organizations operate without even a high-level strategy to guide their hiring strategy and initiatives.

If you are looking to enhance your human capital management processes, develop a better strategy, plan a major technology purpose or an organizational transformation initiative, Brandon Hall Group can help with its vast array of online resources and advisory and training services. Our members receive unlimited access to research and generous collaboration time with our team of expert analysts. Learn more about how BHG can be part of your team.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014, 9AM – 10AM PST: The IBM Manager Experience: A Strategic Transformation(Free for ATD members)

IBM is currently leading its networked enterprise through a major transformation. New markets, new buyers, and new ways of working are demanding greater agility and speed like never before. In addition, IBM’s strategy to lead Cloud, analytics, mobile, social, and security has leaders at all levels working towards reinventing IBM to deliver a differentiated client experience.

Learn how the newly formed IBM Management Development Team turned its programs inside out and flipped the classroom, offering managers the tools and experiences needed to engage IBMers in delivering a new client experience. The director of this initiative, Wagner Denuzzo, will share how the management development team was able to design the experience, deploy programs, and gain senior leadership support within one year to create the New IBM Manager Experience.

During this webcast, you will learn:

• How IBM is elevating the role of the manager to achieve the company’s strategic goals and change the landscape of management development.

• What, how, and who to engage when initiating changes in your organization.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: Behind the Screens: Secrets to Successful Synchronous Online Events

Just about anyone with a computer, an Internet connection, and a headset can produce and lead a virtual class, webinar, or other synchronous online event. Solid instructional design and good presentation skills will certainly help make these events effective, enjoyable, and successful, but challenges almost inevitably arise: Several of your participants can’t log in, no one responds to your carefully designed polls, your Internet connection drops just as you’re about to start the event, or that video … just … won’t … play.

Join us as we talk with three experts on designing and producing successful synchronous online events. Karen, Melissa, and Tammy are part of the team that has been producing The eLearning Guild’s Online Forums and various webinars for over a decade, they lead several Guild Academy courses on online-event design and production, and they have worked through just about every challenge to a successful online event imaginable. We’ll review several of these real-life challenges, discuss how we can meet these challenges with grace and ease, and learn what really happened.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: The Mental Game of Project Management: The Math of Project Lies

Pretend Lou just asked you how long it would take to you to design a job aid to support the new Hands-Only CPR process for your company. What would your answer be? Would you need more time to answer? Would you quickly Google to see what else is available or wing it on your own? And once you told Lou the number, would it be how long it would take you uninterrupted or how long it will take you on the calendar given your present workload? In other words, if you said two hours, would I get the job aid in two hours or two weeks from now when you have time to work on it?

At the Training 2015 Conference, Lou will be facilitating the Project Management Simulation clinic. During this session you will laugh and learn about:

• The Lies we tell ourselves during our projects that prevent success.

• The Lies our customers believe that prevent success.

• The Lies our stakeholders and executives believe that prevent success.

• How to eliminate guessing and just work back from the date.

Thursday, November 6, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: Metrics that Matter in Onboarding Excellence

New Hire Onboarding sits at a critical junction in human capital management. As the process through which candidates become employees, it presents a unique opportunity for talent leaders to harness the momentum built up in the hiring process and launch new hires into a successful career within the organization. And yet, onboarding remains largely an administrative process for the majority of organizations today.

According to Brandon Hall Group’s 2014 State of Talent Acquisition Report, a mere 27 percent rated their onboarding process as more than moderately effective. By identifying KPIs and tracking the metrics that matter, these organizations are keeping ahead of the curve.

In this webinar, SilkRoad and Brandon Hall Group are teaming up to explore the metrics that matter most in high-performance new-hire onboarding programs. Questions this webinar will explore:

• What are the most important metrics to measure in new-hire onboarding?

• How do you gauge the impact of a more robust onboarding program?

• What role does technology play in a high-performance onboarding program?

Thursday, November 6, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: Finding the Return on Investment in Blended Learning

Developing a blend takes investments in hardware, software, content development, and program design.  Implementing a blend requires investments in managing the program, marketing the program, and maintaining motivation through what might be a multiple-week (or month!) program for participants.

When we develop a face-to-face program, we know immediately after delivery what needs to change and we can adapt before we teach again. With blended programs, it might take six weeks to figure it out. After all this, how do we know if the blended learning program was worth the investment?  Sure, we can tell if people enjoyed the content using Level 1 evaluations, and if people LEARNED the content using Level 2 evaluations, but how do we evaluate at Level 3 (are they using what they learned on the job?) and ultimately Level 4 (was it worth the investment?).

These components together provide the background we need to calculate the Return on Investment (ROI) of our blended learning initiative. During this session we will discuss:

• The pros and cons of virtual, on-demand and face-to-face learning.

• How evaluation levels 1, 2, 3, and 4 relate to ROI.

• Applying a five-step process to calculate ROI of a blended learning initiative.

Thursday, November 6, 2014, 11AM – 12PM PST: Using Your LMS to Drive Customer Engagement and Deliver Results(Free for ATD members)

In a workplace with ever-increasing workloads, distractions, and information, getting potential learners to engage has never been more difficult. The days of an “If you build it, they will come” strategy are well behind us, and best-practice organizations are using a range of tactics to engage, excite, and build loyalty among learners.

Join us for a 60-minute session as we take a closer look at how one of those organizations, Bridgestone Americas, has put in place a multi-faceted engagement strategy with learning at the core. In this webcast, you will:

• Hear how Bridgestone defined its business challenge and strategy.

• See how Bridgestone implemented a learning portal that incorporates gamification, social learning, incentives, and more to engage its customers.

• Discover a framework for effective customer engagement.

Tuesday, November 11, 2014, 9AM – 10AM PST: Ensuring Happiness at Work

We have reached a unique time in history where no longer can we increase working hours and workloads expecting to maximize productivity and engagement. We can do better though—in a way that is both “good for people and good for business.” 

Contrary to what most of us have been told, our Success and Happiness formula is backwards. When we put happiness first everything changes. The science proves it. Want engagement? Want business success? Start with happiness. And sustain it. 

How do you do that?  How do you raise happiness levels for the long term?  How can you insure happiness?

In this webinar Shawn Achor and Gary Baker President of Nationwide Brokerage Services provide real-life examples of happiness efforts taking root. In this interview you’ll learn:

• How one organization is creating sustainable business outcomes and ensuring happiness by embedding positive psychology in its work routines.

• The latest in research findings on the application of positive psychology in the workplace.

• The leader’s role in getting our brains and organizations to move towards both positive and engaged.

Tuesday, November 11, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: Who Is Going to Leave Your Company This Year?

Engagement is the greatest indicator of why an employee makes a decision to stay with their current employer. When employees are motivated to perform, overall business outcomes such as productivity, performance, and retention improve dramatically.

Although most companies recognize the benefits of a highly engaged workforce, few have the right strategies or tools to make it work. In fact, most companies are doing very little outside of simple engagement surveys. During this presentation, Brandon Hall Group analysts will share the top challenges, strategies and technology solutions for engaging and retaining your workforce. Key takeaways include:

• The process for integrating engagement in overall talent management strategies, including performance and succession planning.

• The technology and tools to help organizations improve engagement and retention levels.

• The metrics to evaluate engagement and retention efforts.

Tuesday, November 11, 2014, 11AM – 12PM PST: From Silence to Brilliance: How to Kick Off a Compelling Presentation

Lights! Camera! Crickets? Don't let the deafening silence of a disengaged audience derail your presentation. Immediately capture attendees’ attention by dazzling them with a wow-worthy introduction. Attend this live, interactive webinar to learn:

• Confidence-building techniques to help kick-start presentations.

• Pre-work that will increase the likelihood of engaging openings.

• How to structure introductions that really motivate participation.

• And more...

Wednesday, November 12, 2014, 6AM – 6:30AM PST: Working with Brandon Hall Group: Many Options, High Value(see below if you prefer a later session)

All solution providers need tools to connect with clients, and Brandon Hall Group  provides you with a wide variety. Our newest and best include:

BusinessBuilders: A research-based tool that helps organizations make a business case for new technology purchases. Available for licensing.

DataNow: Our new online platform that puts customizable research results in your hands as soon as our analysts close a survey. You can instantly filter data by company size, revenue, and region; reports on major verticals are also available. DataNow comes with all Ultimate memberships.

KnowledgeBlasts: Short research reports—on topics like technology selection and implementation—that deliver compelling data as well as tips on how to succeed. Available for licensing or as part of our Premier or Ultimate membership packages.

KnowledgeGraphics: Research data for your clients or prospects to put to immediate use. One-page, colourful graphics available for licensing or as part of Premier or Ultimate membership.

Learn more about these tools—and other services Brandon Hall Group offers to solution providers—at this insightful webinar.

Wednesday, November 12, 2014, 10AM – 10:30AM PST: Working with Brandon Hall Group: Many Options, High Value

A second web session is also available.

Wednesday, November 12, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: Top Ten Ways to Maximize the Value from Training 2015 (or any other learning event)!!

Who else has gone to training, or a workshop, or a conference—gotten inspired, perhaps overwhelmed with all the information—and 60 days later—no matter how great the experience—has to admit that they have not applied anything (okay—very little)? Our learners have this happen more often than we'd like—and if we are honest as trainers, we do it too!

But that ends as soon as you attend this webinar! In just 60 minutes Bob Pike will help you explore a powerful ten-step plan that you can implement immediately to maximize your next learning experience—hopefully Training 2015! Many trainers can attend one conference or event per year—if they are lucky—and often the next year it's someone else's turn. Following the steps Bob lays out will give you a plan that will demonstrate so much ROI to your organization that there are sure to be many more learning events in your future!!

Wednesday, November 12, 2014, 11AM – 12PM PST: Creating Engaging Learning Video(Free for ATD members)

More people than ever are turning to video to learn new skills and obtain knowledge. Whether it’s on demand or as a part of webinars and eLearning products, learners are demanding visual content.

In this webcast, popular author Jonathan Halls will explain how video works in learning and what makes good video. He’ll also discuss the skills that trainers need in their personal development plans if they want video to be an important part of their professional toolkit. You will learn how video works as a communication medium, and explore the psychology behind why people watch and don’t watch video. Halls will highlight how you can make your videos more engaging and provide tips to help you shape your video so it’s focused on providing real learning. In this webcast, you will learn how to:

• Make people want to watch your video.

• Create video that engages learners.

• Shape your video so that it provides real learnin.

Thursday, November 13, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: eLearning Essentials for a Device-Rich World(Free for ATD members)

Is mobile learning the next logical leap from online learning? Should you be ramping up your mobile solutions?

We have turned a corner in mobile-learning authoring with the availability of the easy-to-use, responsive authoring now found in Adobe Captivate 8! Join Allen Partridge for an introduction to responsive design and authentic learning for mobile devices.

Key takeaways:

• Learn how to deliver high-quality, seamless, responsive, and device-aware learning experiences without any programming.

• Choose from a selection of out-of-the-box responsive themes to render customized content for multiple devices.

• Create award-winning simulations, HD videos, interactive modules, games, and more using Adobe Captivate 8.

• Discover best practices for tweaking content on specific devices, and using the in-product preview to see how your project will appear on various screens.

• Learn how to publish the course as a single project and automatically deliver the most appropriate experience for your learner’s device.

Thursday, November 13, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: mLearning: What’s Working

Mobile devices are playing an increasingly large role in the delivery of learning, but organizations are still struggling to identify the most effective ways to use them. According to Brandon Hall Group’s Mobile Learning 2014 survey, only 42 percent of organizations are doing anything more than allowing limited access to learning via mobile web browsers, but 87 percent agree that the use of mobile for learning will increase over the next 12 months.

Join David Wentworth, Senior Learning Analyst with Brandon Hall Group, and Mark Simon, Senior Training Specialist for Hi Mark Solutions, as they examine some of the strategies organizations consider the most effective, as well as examples of companies successfully leveraging mLearning today.

Discussion topics:

• The current mLearning landscape.

• What’s working.

• Security challenges.

• Examples of mLearning.

Friday, November 14, 2014, 11AM – 12PM PST: Best Webcast Series: Measuring Talent Development at Valvoline Instant Oil Change (Free for ATD members)

When measuring the impact of their programs, talent development departments too often settle for Level 4 data that doesn't connect to the needs of the business. In this session, you will see how Valvoline Instant Oil Change correlates actual employee business metrics with granular data from the employee training program. You will also look at methods for calculating a reasonable return on investment when the data you want isn't available.

Key takeaways from the webcast include:

• The true measure of training is actual employee job performance.

• Talent development departments should measure the knowledge, skills, and abilities that impact performance at a granular level.

• When you can't get the data you want, reasonable ROI calculations are still possible.

Monday, November 17, 2014, 9AM  – 10AM PST:The Self-Aware Leader: Reinventing Yourself, Others, and the Business (Free for ATD members)

Our work constantly challenges us to find faster and better ways of doing things—to reinvent. Yet the speed of business pushes leaders to maintain a pace that is exhilarating one day and exhausting the next. Leaders who move too fast risk missing important pieces of data that feed solid decision making. Self-aware leaders slow themselves down to speed themselves up. They recognize patterns around them to increase momentum and productivity. This interactive session presents practical and relevant guidelines based on the research of more than 700 leaders. The pillars highlighted will change the way you approach your work, your team, and your business. All participants of this webinar will have access to two special promotions: First, buy 50 copies of The Self-Aware Leader: A Proven Model for Reinventing Yourself and receive a free and perpetual license to the new one-day training program based on the book. Please note that 100 percent of all book proceeds go to City Year. Second, all participants in this webinar will gain access to an online self-assessment based on the research conducted to validate the model introduced in The Self-Aware Leader.

Tuesday, November 18, 2014, 9AM  – 10AM PST:The Coaching Approach: A Key Tool for Successful Managers (Free for ATD members)

In this webcast, ATD Research discusses the current state of the use of coaching as a managerial tool, and provides insight on how learning leaders can more effectively develop and sustain successful coaching programs. Although coaching is a powerful tool, only about a quarter of organizations incorporate it into their talent-development portfolio.

Key questions that will be discussed:

• Have organizations identified the skills that managers need to be effective?

• Do learning leaders provide managers with the learning assets associated with the necessary skills?

• Do organizations emphasize, measure, and recognize coaching?

• What are the best practices related to implementing, growing, and sustaining coaching, as identified by our research?

Tuesday, November 18, 2014, 10AM  – 11:30AM PST: Webinar Series: Building Better Leadership, Decision Making & Agility into Your Organization – Session 1: Kirk vs. Spock: Building Better Decision Making into Your Organization (Free for CSTD members)

Are you on a five-year mission to seek out better decision-making, to boldly go where no trainer has gone before?

We literally face dozens of decisions daily, from the ordinary to those more akin to intergalactic warfare. Decision making is a skill with many facets: how do you deal with a challenging stakeholder, when is enough analysis enough, how do you move the process forward, how can you add the most value, and how can a leader harness the most value from their crew? The Starship Enterprise has two great decision makers on board: Captain Kirk and First Officer Spock. Which of them does your organization need making decisions, and how will your training best prepare them?

Join us for a 25th-century view of decisions and learn what the future has to offer your organization today. You will take away tips from the latest research in neuroscience, develop new insights for targeting your training, and rethink the roles of your first officer and other crew members in the decision-making process.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014, 10AM  – 11AM PST: Best of DemoFest 2014: Award-winning eLearning in Action

This webinar showcases some of the award-winning eLearning projects presented at eLearning DemoFest 2014, now available to all through this special online presentation.

Each year at DevLearn, dozens of conference participants show off their latest and greatest eLearning projects at eLearning DemoFest, offering their fellow attendees the opportunity to see a wide variety of solutions to common eLearning challenges, and sharing information about the tools, technologies, and processes used to build them.

Meet several of this year’s winners in this complimentary Best of DemoFest Webinar. Learn about their award-winning projects and get some great ideas to apply to your work!

Wednesday, November 19, 2014, 10AM  – 11AM PST: The Business Side of a Successful Performance Consulting Practice: Session 5 – Unravelling Contacts

This series is for you if you are new to consulting or are thinking about starting your own consulting practice in the areas of training, eLearning, process improvement, or performance improvement.

Session 5 is about how contracts are structured and the implication of terms and conditions as they apply to operating a successful consulting practice. You will understand what your client’s procurement office is really wanting in its agreement with you and what you can negotiate.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014, 11AM  – 12PM PST: Moving the Middle: Motivating Existing Sales Teams to Perform Better (Free for ATD members)

Every sales organization can be categorized into top, middle, and bottom performers. Top-performing sales reps can be counted on for hitting quota and making those deals happen that didn't look possible. Most reps, however, fall into the middle category. Consider that a simple 5 percent gain in the middle 60 percent of your sales performers can deliver more than 91 percent greater sales than a 5 percent shift in your top performers. What if you could bump up your middle performers by just 5 percent? Join our webinar to better understand:

• The art and science of understanding your middle performers.

• Practical tips to help motivate those sales reps.

• The full financial impact of motivating your middle performers.

Thursday, November 20, 2014, 11AM – 12PM PST: 7 Strategies for Learning Leaders: Driving Agility, Accountability, and Results (Free for ATD members)

Much is expected of today’s learning leaders. They must ensure that their organization has the learning opportunities and resources it needs, measure the business value the department provides, and stay on top of their evolving role. This session is designed to help learning leaders build personal and organizational agility and success through learning. The seven strategies introduced in this webcast will help you stay at the top of your game.

Friday, November 21, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: Understanding What’s Next in Talent: The People Cloud Future (Free for ATD members)

Companies in the future will have two key assets to manage—their technological infrastructure and their human capital—with an increasing overlap between the two. We are all familiar with Cloud Computing—the ability to share, store, and deliver computing services over the Internet in real time. In the future, the concept of the Cloud will jump from software to “wetware,” resulting in open-source talent sharing that will in effect create a “People Cloud.”

In this world, work will be shared, collaboration across the globe will be instantaneous, and “Cloud” employees will work for multiple enterprises on a variety of projects simultaneously. The essence of the People Cloud is rooted in the emerging pattern of work becoming more social. As boundaries between internal and external social networks continue to blur, companies have begun to embrace the wisdom of crowds to execute their business strategies. The People Cloud will give rise to not only a new approach to the employee lifecycle, but a new way of doing business altogether. As a result of the  webinar, you will:

• Explore the trends pointing toward the future of the People Cloud that will completely reframe your organization and the employee lifecycle.

• Expand your field of vision around the possibilities of the future so that you can make better maps and decisions in the present.

Monday, November 24, 2014, 11AM – 12PM PST: Developing High-Performance Leadership Teams (Free for ATD members)

During the past couple of decades, organizations have increasingly become enamoured with the power of teams. However, if the team you are working with is a leadership team, comprised of "leaders of leaders," it will be difficult for them to build collaborative team-oriented relationships with their peers and hold themselves mutually accountable to achieve meaningful results.

By attending this session you will be able to:

• Define what leadership teams do and ensure that you have the right leadership team structure.

• Identify the specific benefits your organization will receive by investing in leadership team development and how to measure success.

• Launch a new leadership team.

• Address the unique challenges facing leadership teams.

• Assess the competencies required to be a successful leadership team member and to lead a leadership team.

• Support a leadership team’s development as a leader, trainer, coach, or facilitator.

Tuesday, November 25, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: Developing the 30-Second Perfect Learning Moments

Pictorials, symbols, emoticons, visualizations, and snapshots are 30-Second Learning Moments. However, they are challenging to create and construct because of pressure to deliver massive amounts of content. There is fear that our learners may not grasp what we want them to learn. This is the “They Must Learn All Content” mindset of trainers and designers.

Unfortunately, we are missing out on opportunities to help learners accelerate their need for learning and engagement. There exists the tendency to ignore or overlook new opportunities for instant and micro learning moments.

Attend the webinar and download Ray's “Chaos in Learning – Story Book,” a colorful pictorial of learning in a chaotic world. This is only available for those who attend the webinar.

Tuesday, November 25, 2014, 10AM  – 11:30AM PST: Webinar Series: Building Better Leadership, Decision Making & Agility into Your Organization – Session 2: Who’s Got the Ball? – Building Dynamic Leadership into Your Organization (Free for CSTD members)

An evolution of leadership thinking is afoot, driven by the need for greater collaboration, creativity, and efficiency in organizations. When we think of leadership as a dynamic role—a role that we all play at time—it opens up huge, untapped potential.

There is a second role—followership—that is just as important as leadership, but not well understood. When you combine leadership and followership, it produces partnerships which are the building blocks for the future, whatever it might bring. Through a series of interactive exercises you will uncover practical takeaways that create stronger leadership, more engagement, and greater organizational capability. It will change how you view leadership (and followership) forever.

Free T&D webinars for October 2014

Out with the flip-flops, in with the rain boots—and if you’re lucky enough to be inside, the comfy slippers. It’s a great time of year to cozy up inside and get some of that work done that you might have been tempted not to do in summer. Why not redouble your motivation with a free webinar or two? October has plenty to choose from—we hope they will inspire and motivate you.

Thursday, October 2, 2014, 9AM – 10AM PST: Social Learning: Get Started

Although it seems that social and collaborative technology tools for learning have been around for quite some time, many organizations are truly just beginning to understand how to leverage them. According to Brandon Hall Group’s Social and Collaborative Learning 2014 survey, the majority of organizations are still in the emerging/developing stages of social learning.

Join David Wentworth, Senior Learning Analyst with Brandon Hall Group, and Kelly Young, Learning Program Manager at Humana, as they explore where the market is (and where you are) on the social learning spectrum. They will also share Humana’s journey into social and collaborative learning and what it takes to get started. Discussion topics:

• Social Learning Maturity.

• The importance of getting started.

• A focus on engagement, alignment, and adoption.

• Humana’s experience with “Buzz” and more.

Thursday, October 2, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: Mastering Difficult Conversations

Nobody likes to deliver bad news, discuss a sensitive subject, or talk about a project or meeting that's gone wrong. The mere thought of these conversations can fill you with anxiety and distract you from your work. Because you can't always avoid these type of topics, you've got to be ready. You've got to take control and talk through them effectively. But how? Join Dr. Mark Goulston, international best-selling author and former FBI hostage negotiation trainer, as he shares practical, hands-on techniques for taking the stress out of toughest employee discussions. Attend this interactive webinar to learn how to:

• Handle difficult discussions about behaviour, performance, or pay.

• Keep the conversation calm when emotions run high.

• Decrease your fear of confrontations.

• Respond properly to employee pushback.

Friday, October 3, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: The Journey to Sustainable Leadership: Creating a Leading-Edge Leadership Plan (Free for ATD members)

It’s no secret that public-sector organizations have a reputation for being process-oriented, with a more conservative culture and traditional hierarchical structure. Some might say this perception can create limitations when it comes to innovation and thinking outside the box in certain business areas, including training and development. Erin Mahoney, commissioner of the environmental services department at York Region, is taking this notion and tossing it in the trash—or closest recycling bin. Through a more progressive and strategic approach, Erin and her team have created, and are in the midst of rolling out, a new leadership plan that is unlike most existing in the public sector today, proving that when it comes to leadership development, there is plenty of room for innovation.

Monday, October 6, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: End the New Hire Blues: Get the Critical Information You Need to Prevent Disengagement and Turnover (Free for ATD members)

The cost of ineffective onboarding goes beyond the cost of disengagement and turnover. As anyone who remembers their own new employee experience can attest, ineffective onboarding extends the amount of time it takes to become a productive contributor. Thus, better onboarding means your new employees provide value sooner. To prevent the engagement decline that occurs after the honeymoon phase of the new-hire experience is over, you need to know how you can improve your company’s onboarding process, the new-hire experience, and your new hires’ relationships with their managers. In this webcast, you will learn:

• Why your new hires probably aren’t telling you the truth—and the price you (and they) pay for it.

• Language managers you can use to help engage new hires in constructive conversations that help them gather important information and promote engagement.

• Processes you can use—from informal to more structured—that will enable you to gather key information and foster ongoing, open, unguarded conversations between new hires and their hiring managers.

Tuesday, October 7, 2014, 11AM – 12PM PST: High Impact Sales Coaching (Free for ATD members)

Research shows that effective sales coaching can dramatically improve the performance of sales teams—in some cases driving up revenues by 20 percent or more. However, all too often sales organizations find it challenging to develop a sales coaching program that's embedded in a coaching culture.

This webinar offers best practices and strategies for developing an effective sales coaching program for your sales organization. You will learn to:

• Create a coaching culture that empowers your sales force.

• Use key performance indicators to maximize sales-coaching ROI.

• Transform sales managers into highly effective coaches.

Wednesday, October 8, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: Learning Analytics as a Game Changer

Manage learning and development like a business by gathering the right metrics, driving continuous improvement, and reporting results up to the executive level.

This session will provide you with tangible recommendations and real-world examples for advancing your learning measurement maturity with a focus on the following key areas:

• Scrap Learning: what is it and what should I do about it?

• How to use business impact and ROI the right way.

• Actionable reports for each role.

• Quarterly executive reporting.

• Establishing a sustainable approach to measurement.

Wednesday, October 8, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: Why Web Meetings Stink and What to Do About It (Free for ATD members)

Join internationally recognized communication expert Wayne Turmel to learn why about two-thirds of online time is wasted, and what we all can do about it. In this high-energy, candid, and informative interview you’ll learn:

• Why web meetings are painful for the same reasons regular meetings are.

• Why technology makes things worse.

• Five tips for getting people to participate fully.

• Four tips to stop getting silence when you ask if there are any questions at the end of the meeting.

At the end of this session, you’ll leave with the ability to save time, money, and brain cells by assessing your current virtual meetings, and identifying easy ways to make them better. And two lucky participants will receive a signed copy of Wayne Turmel’s book, Meet Like You Mean It: A Leader’s Guide to Painless and Productive Virtual Meetings.

Thursday, October 9, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: Extend the Shelf Life of Your Training: Lessons You Can Implement from the Flipped Classroom

We’re sure you’ll echo our sentiment when we say that lecture-style training sessions can be quite the bore. Maybe even to the point of your business experiencing a case of “death by PowerPoint” (think rolling eyes and uncontrollable yawns). Since that’s no way to keep employees pleasant and productive, let’s see what we can do to switch things up in the boardroom.

Turn to education for a bit of inspiration and use an instructional method that’s giving the traditional model a run for its money: flipped learning. In the typical flipped classroom model, students review short video lectures at home before class, while in-class time is devoted to hands-on projects and exercises. Our discussion will address the following to help you get started:

• Why the flipped model works in education, and how it’s an effective method for professional development.

• How to implement video/visuals in your training.

• Typical time savings for trainers and participants.

• Ways to create video for your next training, including tech tips and best practices.

Thursday, October 9, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: Finding Your Inner Confidence When You Need It (Free for ATD members)

Has a lack of confidence ever kept you from pursuing your goals? Have you ever experienced self-doubt to the point where you talked yourself out of pursuing a job, a promotion, or a relationship? Have you ever gotten feedback that sounded anything like this?

• “You always sound like you’re asking a question.”

• “If only you could command the room.”

• “You need to speak up more.”

If you answered yes to any of these questions, this session is for you. The above quotes are from bosses of female professionals who were passed over for a promotion. All three women were grappling with self-doubt, and it showed. You don't have to feel so uncertain or hesitant when the stakes get higher and the situation calls for some risk-taking. Nothing gets you closer to achieving your goals than a healthy dose of self-reflection and new-found awareness of your strengths and capabilities. After participating in this webinar, you will see how hesitancy and uncertainty are speed-bumps to be stepped over, and be willing and able to take considerable action toward advancing your career.

Thursday, October 9, 2014, 10AM – 1PM PST: Online Workshop: Creating Highly Effective Virtual Teams (Free for CSTD members)

Can a virtual team be as effective as a co-located team?  This is a question that organizations are debating, and the arguments on both sides are very compelling.  Factors like work-life balance and organizational savings need to be balanced with the value of face-to-face collaboration and managerial oversight.  Whether you personally embrace the concept or not, chances are you will participate as a virtual team member during your career.

After discussing the arguments for and against establishing a virtual team, this interactive workshop will use real-life examples to address six key enablers for success:

• How to form the virtual team: Identifying the profile of an effective virtual team and its players, and how to engage existing team members in selecting new team members.

• How to enable the virtual team: Ensuring the right technologies and processes are in place to ensure success.

• How to maintain the virtual team: Creating inter-reliability, trust, and teamwork.

• How to protect the virtual team: Identifying and managing issues before they become destructive.

• How to lead the virtual team: Establishing credibility while maintaining the right balance of oversight and empowerment.

• How to reward the virtual team: Creating team-building opportunities across the distance.

For each step in the process, tools and worksheets will be provided.

Monday, October 13, 2014, 11AM – 12PM PST: BEST Webcast Series: IBM – The Adaptive Learner: Making Every IBMer an Innovator (Free for ATD members)

IBM Learning has researched the behaviours that drive innovation. Hear how practical and simple promoting innovation through learning can be. This webcast will be sure to spark ideas about how your organization can be even more innovative.

Key takeaways include:

• How to drive innovation through learning.

• How new ideas are generated.

• Practical learning design approaches.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: Finding the Return on Investment in Blended Learning

Developing a blend takes investments in hardware, software, content development, and program design.  Implementing a blend requires investments in managing the program, marketing the program, and maintaining motivation through what might be a multiple-week (or month!) program for participants.

When we develop a face-to-face program, we know immediately after delivery what needs to change and we can adapt before we teach again. With blended programs, it might take six weeks to figure it out.

After all this, how do we know if the blended learning program was worth the investment?  Sure, we can tell if people enjoyed the content using Level 1 evaluations, and if people LEARNED the content using Level 2 evaluations, but how do we evaluate at Level 3 (are they using what they learned on the job?) and ultimately Level 4 (was it worth the investment?)? During this session we will discuss:

• The pros and cons of virtual, on-demand and face-to-face learning.

• How evaluation levels 1, 2, 3, and 4 relate to ROI.

• Applying a five-step process to calculate ROI of a blended learning initiative.

Wednesday, October 15, 2014, 8AM – 9AM PST: ATD Human Capital Virtual Summit: Leadership For Today's Workplace (Free for ATD members)

Developing leaders in your organization starts with knowing your workforce. Implementing the wrong leadership strategy can mean losing time, resources, or even your employees.

The Human Capital Virtual Summit: Leadership for Today's Workforce is the second annual event hosted by ATD to take a deeper dive into leadership's role in developing talent. This event is focused on the different strategies available to today's leaders, and how each can best align with their unique workforce to drive results. During this summit, you will learn:

• Strategies for leadership development from thought leaders in the human capital field.

• Leadership tactics and how they work in various organizational environments, including virtual/remote employees, self-management, and "flat" organizations.

• The pros and cons of different leadership styles, and how to dynamically change between them to fit your organization's current situation.

Wednesday, October 15, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: Three Keys to Making Your Internal Coaching Program a Success

For many years, costly coaching programs were reserved for senior executives and emerging leaders. Organizations now offer coaching beyond the executive suite. The difference is that these new coaching programs and services are provided by internal coaches: individuals who may not be certified in coaching, but are trained in a set of coaching skills to support a specific business need and produce monetary business impact. Attend this session and learn how to create a successful internal coaching program.

Learn about:

• Internal Coaching: What it is and why is it important today.

• Three examples of Internal Coaching Case Studies.

• Three things to begin today.

Thursday, October 16, 2014, 10AM – 10:30AM PST: ATD Research Presents: Change Management Research (Free for ATD members)

This webcast is based on the recently released research report from ATD and the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp), titled Change Agents: The Role of Organizational Learning in Change Management. The report aims to provide learning professionals with insight into the learning practices most likely to make a positive difference in an organization’s change-related capabilities. Join Patrick Murray, Vice President of Employee Surveys at i4cp, as he explores the findings of the report and how organizations

Thursday, October 16, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: Wake up to the Digital Skills Gap! Update Your Employees' Competence in a Fast-Changing Cloud World

Technology is constantly evolving and learning materials are not keeping pace. The irreversible path towards Cloud-based applications is deeply impacting businesses of all sizes and from every sector. But most companies have yet to realize that their workers need now more than ever to adapt their digital skills to these rapid changes. The skills gap, accompanied by the fact that learners are changing their own behaviour, is urging their L&D teams to embrace a new era of online training: open to everyone, Cloud-based, fully localized, and always up-to-date. 

The session will cover:

• Why is digital transformation launching a new era for L&D management?

• Why should you take care of the digital skills gap now?

• How to innovate with a global, multi-lingual solution for your worldwide workforce.

Thursday, October 16, 2014, 9AM – 10AM PST: Drive an Accountable Collaborative Culture in a Virtual World

Two of the enemies of productive teamwork are tension and conflict. Many employees have yet to develop the skills to navigate these tensions when they arise, either face-to-face or in virtual teams. The result may be breakdowns in communication and productivity that, over time, diminish trusting relationships. How can you increase the capacity of groups within your organization’s virtual teams to be accountable to each other and to their common goals? It starts by showing employees how to resolve conflict directly, contribute constructively, and build relational capital in every interaction.

Join us in this one-hour webinar to learn how to build accountability and collaboration in your organization. This webinar introduces the practical, proven methods contained in Peer Power: Transforming Workplace Relationships, by Cynthia Clay and Ray Olitt, applied to work in a virtual world.

Friday, October 17, 2014, 10AM – 10:30AM PST: 7 Best Practices To Boost Employee Engagement (Free for ATD members)

In the average organization three out of 10 employees are engaged, while in the best organizations the number climbs to six or more. The low rate of engagement hasn't budged in more than a decade. Why? Employee engagement surveys and programs are not enough. Higher engagement is rooted in a culture whose language, attitudes, and behaviours make people feel connected to one another, rather than unsupported, left out, or alone. Employees in an organization with a high degree of connection are more productive, engaged, collaborative, and less likely to leave. In fact, research demonstrates that there is a set of learnable leadership behaviours that can ignite the workforce so individuals do more than survive—they thrive.

Sharing knowledge integrated from multiple fields, including neuroscience, organizational behaviour, psychology, sociology, history, and proprietary research, Michael Lee Stallard, president of E Pluribus Partners, describes the “connection culture” that every organization needs to boost employee engagement and to thrive for sustained periods of time.

Monday, October 20, 2014, 6AM – 7AM PST: BEST Webcast Series: Teknosa – A Career Road in Retail (Free for ATD members)

The Career Road in Retail program was designed in consideration of the strategic goals and route map of Teknosa, a Turkish retail chain. Consisting of interchangeable modules, this program was structured with targets to enhance performance and affect the Teknosa Key Performance Indicator. Career Road in Retail is carried out through processes such as performance management, talent acquisition, succession planning, and career planning.

During this session, you will learn:

• How to make a competitive career plan in the retail industry.

• Ways to create a common culture among employees and managers.

• How to quickly implement large-scale movement with blended learning methods.

Tuesday, October 21, 9AM – 10AM PST: Ally or Adversary? Navigating Professional Relationships (Free for ATD members)

"Difficult to manage relationships sabotage more business than anything else." – John Kotter, Harvard Business School.

For most of us, our early careers are spent developing technical expertise—and that's typically how we assess our value. Yet research and experience show that, as you progress through your career, it is the quality of your working relationships that has a greater impact on your success. This webcast draws ideas from the bestselling book Cultivate: The Power of Winning Relationships by Morag Barrett.

After this webcast you will be able to:

• Articulate why quality working relationships matter—the business and personal impact.

• Apply the Relationship Ecosystem to diagnose the health and quality of your professional relationships.

• Determine the next steps to develop ally relationships and learn to manage adversarial

Tuesday, October 21, 9AM – 10AM PST: Building Leadership Skills and a Coaching Culture (Free for CSTD members)

Learn how developing leaders and creating a coaching culture can address:

• Succession planning.

• Strengthening leadership bench strength.

• Cultivating teamwork.

• Recruiting top talent.

• Increasing retention and engagement.

• Improving customer service, safety, and wellness.

• Higher sales and higher profits.

Extraordinary leaders and coaches don't have to be rare—they can be developed by building on just 3 to 5 existing strengths, and following a proven process. In this learning-rich and fast-paced 60 minute webinar Jim Clemmer will outline how to build a culture of exceptional leadership and coaching in your organization.

Wednesday, October 22, 11AM – 12PM PST: Virtual Strategies for Social Learning (Free for ATD members)

Learning has always been a social process: It is human nature to learn from one another. What’s changed, however, is how social media and virtual learning technologies have made it possible for workers to collaborate in ways that were almost unimaginable a decade ago. Companies are now rethinking their approaches to corporate training, and are beginning to harness social technologies to increase learning outcomes.

In this webcast, you will learn to:

• Create interactive employee networks.

• Connect novices with coaches and mentors.

• Foster greater interaction with subject matter experts.

• Share knowledge through communities of practice.

Thursday, October 23, 10AM – 11AM PST: Enabling Virtual Learning by Design (Free for ATD members)

We all know that the use of virtual classrooms, eLearning, and blended learning has gone beyond a trend to become an accepted and permanent part of the learning mix. It’s hard to find a subject that isn’t, in some form and at some level, taught online. With so much content and technology readily available, why don’t people seem to be learning more? And why do so many people feel like they’re being forced to learn online?

Join Jennifer Hofmann, president of InSync Training—the leading source for blended learning and virtual training design and delivery—as she looks closely at implementing five critical elements that set our learners up for success.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: Bite Size Is the Right Size: How Microlearning Shrinks the Skills Gap (Free for ATD members)

We’re in the midst of a learning crisis. Rapid technological change has led to a skills half-life of just 2.5 years, according to Deloitte. At the same time, the way people consume information, and thus how they learn, has changed as well. Attention is a diminishing resource in the digital age. To defeat these twin challenges, we learning professionals must lead a revolution. Our secret weapon? Microlearning. Through case studies, anecdotes, step-by-step instructions, and group discussions, you will learn:

• What microlearning is, and the science behind its effectiveness.

• How to quickly create engaging microlearning that covers everything a learner needs to know.

• How organizations of various sizes are putting microlearning into practice.

• How to ensure that microlearning is addressing skills gaps in your organization, and driving your development and performance goals.

Wednesday, October 29, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: How to Use Coaching to Make Training Stick (Free for ATD members)

The unfortunate truth is that many training and development programs don’t “stick.” Even if the classroom instruction is outstanding, what’s taught often doesn’t translate to improved performance on the job. For people to turn what they’ve learned into positive work habits, the brain has to “rewire” itself for the new skill. That means applying it repeatedly on the job. And because of the pace and stress of a typical workplace, it’s hard to get this kind of reinforcement without support. Along the way they need tips, reminders, encouragement, feedback, and accountability—in other words, coaching to stay on track. But there’s a problem: it’s not economically feasible for organizations to hire a coach for every person who participates in a learning program.

In this webcast, you’ll learn about a cost-effective solution to this conundrum: helping people who care about the learner’s success find out how to serve as “support coaches.” By offering encouragement, feedback, and accountability, these individuals can play a critical role to help participants stay on track and apply what they learn. You will get complimentary access to nine videos and an e-book on “Support Coaching” that they can share with others in their organization.

Wednesday, October 29, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: What's Your Story? How to Lead With a Good Story

It is widely understood that stories are a great vehicle to communicate essential lessons and enhance learning—especially when used to influence, motivate, and lead others. For most people, however, the understanding stops there and key questions remain unanswered. What stories are most important? How do you stand out in a sea of sameness? How do you write, tell, and publish a good story?

In this practical, hands-on webinar, Dave Carroll, master storyteller, musician, and celebrated creator of United Breaks Guitars will:

• Discuss his real-life experience with United Breaks Guitars and the impact this customer-experience story, viewed by some 15 million people, had on an entire airline.

• Share the five stories every leader needs to know.

• Provide an in-depth insight into one key story that can benefit every organization looking to increase personal meaning and engagement in the workplace.

Thursday, October 30, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: Three Mysterious Keys to Interactive Learning: Game-Thinking, Game-Elements & Gamification (Free for CSTD members)

The terms game-thinking, game-elements, and gamification have all entered into the vocabulary of trainers, eLearning developers, and instructional designers in the past few years. But what do these terms really mean and how can you apply them to create interactive learning events that change behaviour and improve performance? How can you make your instruction more game-like without the cost and effort of creating a large-scale game?

Based on the bestselling book The Gamification of Learning and Instruction, this interactive session includes many examples of using game-elements, game-thinking, and gamification to promote learning for performance improvement, and highlights how organizations have added game-thinking to their toolkit. And, yes, you will play a polling game in this session. Discover how research-based practices and game-thinking fit in with today's fast-paced need for quick, effective instruction.

• Apply three principles of game-thinking to the creation of a curriculum.

• Explore how gamification has helped companies reduce training times and improve performance.

• Use game-elements to create an accelerated learning curve.

Thursday, October 30, 2014, 11AM – 12PM PST: Don't Let Compliance Audits Take You by Surprise

According to Brandon Hall Group’s 2014 Compliance Survey, 90 percent of companies say it is important they are able to demonstrate learning compliance to an external agency, and about half of those say it is critical to their business. The ever-changing labyrinth of regulations facing organizations around the world presents unique challenges to the learning function. How are companies meeting these challenges, especially those in regulation-heavy industries, as well as ensuring readiness for compliance training audits at any time?

In this webinar, join David Wentworth, Senior Learning Analyst with Brandon Hall Group and Steve Young, General Manager of NetDimensions Asia Pacific, as they walk through some of the results of Brandon Hall Group’s 2014 Compliance Survey, identifying global trends, challenges and strategies.

Discussion topics include:

• Audit cycles and readiness.

• Different drivers for compliance by industry.

• Differences in compliance strategies by industry.

• Different methods for assessing compliance.

• Accountability, budgets, development, and delivery.

• Compliance training content development.

Thursday, October 30, 2014, 11AM – 12PM PST: Use LOLAs to Increase Interactivity in Your Virtual Classroom (free for ATD members)

In this walk-the-talk webcast, Sivasailam "Thiagi" Thiagarajan will help you explore six different LOLAs to keep your participants engaged in your webinar and help them apply what they have learned. At the end of the session, you will be able to use Thiagi’s templates to rapidly design your own webcasts that immerse and impress your participants in interactive learning.

Free Webinars for September 2014

It seems like summer goes by faster every year. As the days grow shorter and the beach becomes less tempting, indoor activities start to beckon. Why not get cozy with one of the free webinars being offered this month? We hope they will inspire and motivate you.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014, 6AM – 7AM PST: BEST Webcast Series: Tech Mahindra—Aligning Learning to an Organization's Vision & Mission to Drive Business (Free for ATD members)

In this webcast, Tech Mahindra, an ATD BEST Award winner, will discuss how learning can become a strategic differentiator for organizational growth.

During this webcast, you will learn to:

• Align learning goals to the organization's mission.

• Draw business outcomes through learning initiatives.

• Create a self-sustained learning model.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014, 11AM – 12PM PST: Learning From Diversity and Inclusion Leaders: Prudential Financial and Pepsico (Free for ATD members)

Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) is recognized as being a necessity to compete and thrive in today’s global, changing workplace and marketplace. Many organizations have discovered that putting the aspiration to create an inclusive environment into action is quite challenging. Join us for this interactive webinar, where we will explore two in-depth case examples: Prudential Financial, ranked number eight in the DiversityInc. Top 50, and PepsiCo, which has established innovative ways to reward and recognize individuals and teams who exemplify D&I. As a result of this webcast, participants will:

• Learn how Prudential and PepsiCo establish priorities for D&I investments and obtain senior-level sponsorship.

• Discover how Prudential and PepsiCo engage employees at different levels in their respective organizations to get involved.

• Learn examples of “big wins” at Prudential in the workplace and marketplace.

• Learn how PepsiCo creates rewards and recognition programs to promote diversity best practices globally.

• Explore where PepsiCo and Prudential see D&I headed in the future

Wednesday, September 3, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: A Leader's Guide to Getting Things Done (Free for ATD members)

Getting things done in complex organizations doesn’t get any easier. Developing leadership gets squeezed out by the challenges and pressures of organizational life. Influential leadership is a new framework for making things happen, and for navigating between the short-term pressures and the long-term purpose of developing leaders.

Short, sharp, and practical, this webcast will share simple ideas that leaders can apply immediately to begin influencing more effectively, making faster progress, and freeing up time to allow their leadership to flourish.

Thursday, September 4, 2014, 5:30AM – 6:30AM PST: BEST Webcast Series: ICICI Lombard – Learning is Protein for the Organization's Muscle (Free for ATD members)

Hear how learning is the protein in the corporate diet at ICICI Lombard, a nine-time BEST Award winner. Learning is the perpetual fuel that satiates each employee’s personal desire to constantly stretch and grow. It adds variety and substance to every job and develops the muscle needed to drive a career. It enhances the flexibility and endurance that helps rise to new challenges. Most importantly, learning is the building block that helps the entire company to continuously grow, strengthen, and be more resilient. In this webcast, you will learn how to design remedial actions to optimize performance levels and build the knowledge and capability base across the organization.

Thursday, September 4, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: Finding Balance in Blended Learning: Making the Move to Interactive Online Training

In-person training is reliable, personal, and interactive. Online training is scalable, cost-effective, and empowers people to learn at their own pace, on their own time. With today's agile workforce, blended learning offers the best of both worlds. 

Yet online learning is too often limited to videos and slide decks, meaning learners may spend more time checking Facebook than learning the material. So how can organizations successfully make the move to online training while creating the same kind of captivating and engaging experiences found in person? 

In this lively webinar, you will...

• Learn how to create interactive online learning experiences that your audience will love.

• Explore ways to migrate lecture-style materials and exercises into online courses.

• Receive actionable tips on how to convey concepts interactively and keep your learners engaged.

Immediately following the webinar, participants are invited to remain for a semi-private demonstration of the new Versal for Organizations platform.

Thursday, September 4, 2014, 11AM – 12PM PST: Moving Beyond Compliance: Integrating Your LMS and CRM(Free for ATD members)

Most learning management systems (LMS) are put into place to implement and track compliance training. To ensure 100 percent employee compliance, it is essential to integrate the LMS with the organization’s CRM system. Your sales force most likely uses the CRM system every day—they probably don’t use the LMS every day. In many organizations, the LMS and CRM can leverage each other to achieve better product training and education. Better-trained partners can lead to improved customer satisfaction and reduced support costs.

Attend this webinar and learn how to:

• Identify business cases for LMS/CRM integration.

• List the benefits your organization could achieve with an LMS/CRM integration.

• Diagram the system work flow for a typical LMS/CRM integration

Friday, September 5, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: Marketing Strategies for a Targeted Job Search: Tips for Attracting the Attention of Employers (Free for ATD members)

Are you prepared to market yourself? Ask yourself these questions to find out:

• When was the last time you revised your résumé?

• Do you know what T&D competencies or expertise you want to showcase in a marketing campaign?

• Can you describe the professional image or brand you would like to project?

• Is your professional story up-to-date so that it represents the present into the future and not the past?

This session provides practical and useful tips for:

• Developing a marketing action plan.

• Identifying your market.

• Viewing résumés as a basic marketing document.

• Preparing for interviews.

• Creating a positive and confident mindset.

Essential to a successful marketing campaign is knowing how to tell a story and what story to tell to whom. This session teaches those skills and more. Learn what it takes to get the recruiter to listen to you and place your name on the follow-up list. This discussion also will include some of the differences between  phone or face-to-face interviews and those held at job fairs and employment programs.

Monday, September 8, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: Workforce Management Study: Findings Preview

Powering meaningful analytics, workforce planning, and managing a dispersed and diverse workforce: These are some of the most critical workforce management challenges revealed in Brandon Hall Group’s latest research. We invite you to join Mollie Lombardi, principal analyst and study lead, as she shares a sneak peek at some of the initial findings from this breakthrough study, including how organizations are rising to meet these challenges. She will cover:

• An overview of key concerns, drivers, and trends in workforce management.

• Study demographics.

• Insights into how organizations are using technologies like automated time and attendance, scheduling, absence management, and payroll solutions to drive business value.

• How top-performing organizations are integrating workforce management with key talent and business processes.

• The planned output from the study, including a timeline for publications on key topics.

Tuesday, September 9, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: 2014 Excellence Awards Winners Revealed Sept. 9th

And so the countdown begins! Winners of the prestigious 20th annual Brandon Hall Group Excellence Awards in Learning and Development, Talent Management, and Human Resources & Sales and Marketing will be announced in a live web event. Register for this much-anticipated live announcement and see which organizations will be dubbed as this year’s prestigious Gold, Silver, and Bronze awards winners in more than 50 categories.

Your hosts, Brandon Hall Group CEO Mike Cooke, COO Rachel Cooke, and VP/Corporate and Product Development Claude Werder, will take you through the winners of each category and highlight their achievements. As part of the program’s 20th anniversary, all winners will be honored at Brandon Hall Group’s HCM Excellence Conference 2015 to be held January 28–30 at the Hyatt Regency Pier Sixty-Six in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Conference presenters include select Excellence Award-winning organizations, who will take you through their journey of developing and deploying programs, strategies, modalities, processes, systems, and tools that have achieved measurable results.

Tuesday, September 9, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: Building Coachable and Approachable Employees for Training Success

The world of training is changing. The days of all-day workshops and seminars are behind us. Employees need to be developed, but there is little time allowed for the old traditional ways. This is where the world is changing, and NOW has never been a better time for trainers to build their value!

Employees and managers must share the responsibility for performance development. This webinar is dedicated to teaching the foundational principles that learners need to become high performers, and how trainers and managers can train and coach them.

• What the foundational principles are.

• Why foundational principles are required to develop targeted skills.

• Why development of the foundational principles will drive coaching and training success.

• How to create coachable and approachable employees.

• How to assess employees’ learning capacity.

• How managers can coach non-coachable and approachable employees into high performers.

• Why coaching is Training’s # 1 Supporter.

Wednesday, September 10, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: Beyond the LMS: Building a Virtual Training Strategy

Join Training Magazine for a live webinar where you will learn how to create virtual learning environments that deliver an interactive learning experience. This webinar will also discuss how a virtual learning environment can complement your existing learning management system—increasing learner engagement, improving knowledge retention, and reaching learners at their point of need.

This interactive webinar will feature guidance on how to:

• Increase the reach and effectiveness of your training programs.

• Use a virtual learning environment to provide an outstanding learning experience.

• Enhance and extend your existing learning management system.

• Extend the life of training sessions and content.

Wednesday, September 10, 2014, 11AM – 12PM PST: SharePoint for Training and Compliance (Free for ATD members)

Training and compliance are now more than ever a necessity in the corporate world. Adhering to applicable laws and regulations concerning your business is vital, and failure to do so can lead to severe penalties. Leveraging an option like SharePoint for training and compliance can effectively reduce security risks and challenges associated with compliance. In this session, we’ll discuss some examples of using SharePoint to support training and compliance in organizations. Topics include:

• Managing training curriculum.

• Employee onboarding/orientation.

• Workflows and version control.

• Project management.

• Using SharePoint as LMS.

Join guest speakers Dr. Shawn Andrews and Matthew Smith as they walk you through some practical examples based on business problems, solutions, results, limitations, workarounds, and lessons learned.

Thursday, September 11, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: How to Add Adventure, Challenge and Discovery in Learning Lessons

Learners often feel that training and eLearning are the least interesting and engaging activities. They have no time. They are busy. So, we need to push hard or force them to complete courses.

What if your courses provide the learners a sense of adventure, challenge and discovery? What if the courses become so inviting that learners are glued to the screen and refuse to end the course? What if they rave about the course and attribute high praises? What if your course is virally promoted to other learners as a “must experience” learning event?

In this webinar, you will learn:

• How to avoid using word learning games, but still add adventure and excitement in your courses.

• How to use heroes (super bosses, employees, customers, etc.) or villains (really obnoxious bosses, employees, customers, etc.) to represent learning challenges.

• How to add provocative exercises and interactivities that enthrall learners into action and learning.

• How to set up an adventure-based exercise by following a step-by-step process.

• How to make sure learners not only get excited but also use the knowledge.;

Thursday, September 11, 2014, 11AM – 12PM PST: New Technologies for Virtual Coaching (Free for ATD members)

The latest innovation in achieving performance improvement has arrived, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Many of us are experiencing the pressure of  decreased budgets, remote teams, and an increased need for performance coaching.

In this webcast, we will share the key reasons why talent development suffers, and how to overcome those pitfalls and unleash performance. We will also share the latest in a leading, web-based technology platform that helps accelerate talent development.

Friday, September 12, 2014, 9AM – 10AM PST: The Executive Speaking Presence(Free for ATD members)

What makes us gravitate toward some speakers over others? What is it that makes some people easy to listen to, while others put us to sleep? What can we do to be a great speaker?

This session takes an in-depth look at what it takes to be a successful speaker today, and how to maximize your executive presence in front of any group. We’ll examine 12 key aspects of verbal communication that will help you succeed in presenting, leading meetings, training, and engaging others in successful conversation.

In this webcast, you will learn to:

• Maximize your personal appeal by expressing a fine balance between strength and warmth

• Enhance your content by creating clear, compelling messages and delivering them powerfully.

• Boost your impact by turning presentations into interactive and appealing conversations.

Tuesday, September 16, 2014, 10AM – 10:30AM PST: Brandon Hall Group Membership: Dynamic Tools for Business Improvement

Whether you work within a Talent Management, Talent Acquisition, Learning and Development, or HR/Workforce Management function, a Brandon Hall Group Membership unlocks answers to questions that every organization needs in order to excel in today's fast-changing business environment.

If you are looking to enhance your human capital management processes, develop a better strategy, plan a major technology purpose, or initiate an organizational transformation, Brandon Hall Group can help with its vast array of online resources and advisory and training services. Our members receive unlimited access to research, and generous collaboration time with our team of expert analysts.

Learn more about how BHG can be part of your team. We will provide you with:

• A short update on the latest research

• A tour of our Research OnDemand member centre, DataNow (benchmarking database) and KnowledgeBases (database of technology solution provider profiles, and comparison tools).

• Overview of strategic consulting services.

Tuesday, September 16, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: When Remembering Really Matters: The Power of Serious Games for Learning

Remembering is hard. Forgetting is easy. Employees have to complete a lot of training during the year—so much so that it is simply impossible for them to remember everything that is asked of them. “Processes, policies, terms, Oh My!” While business-critical for organizations, so much detail can be overwhelming to learners.

This session shares research on remembering—and forgetting—and identifies techniques that foster long-term retention. It then connects these techniques to games and explains how games can help form long-term memories ... and business results. We'll share recent research on games and case studies that demonstrate how games can be used for learning.

Attendees will be entered to win a free "starter" package for use in your organization and—after the webinar—are invited to remain for a focused exploration of the game-creation platform, Knowledge Guru.

Wednesday, September 17, 2014, 10AM – 10:30AM PST: Working with Brandon Hall Group: Many Options, High Value

All solution providers need tools to connect with clients, and Brandon Hall Group  provides you with a wide variety. Our newest and best include:

• BusinessBuilders: A research-based tool that helps organizations make a business case for new technology purchases. Available for licensing.

• DataNow: Our new online platform that puts customizable research results in your hands as soon as our analysts close a survey. You can instantly filter data by company size, revenue, and region; reports on major verticals are also available. DataNow comes with all Ultimate memberships.

• KnowledgeBlasts: Short research reports—on topics like technology selection and implementation—that deliver compelling data as well as tips on how to succeed. Available for licensing or as part of our Premier or Ultimate membership packages.

• KnowledgeGraphics: Research data for your clients or prospects to put to immediate use. One-page, colourful graphics available for licensing or as part of Premier or Ultimate membership.

Learn more about these tools—and other services Brandon Hall Group offers to solution providers—at this insightful webinar.

Wednesday, September 17, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: Subject Matter Expert + Tablet = Faster, Cheaper, Better Video Learning Content

In this session, we'll discuss a whole new way to gather video learning materials from your subject matter experts. Rather than dragging them to a recording studio, why not put the studio in their hands?

We'll introduce you to a new class of tablet-based video production tools that makes it easy and even fun for SMEs to share their knowledge with the organization and its customers. You'll walk away with a couple of great new free tools and a lot of insight into how to fit these tools into a learning program.

We'll cover:

• New, easy-to-use tools that will let your SMEs create content right from their tablet.

• Best practices for using these tools effectively.

• How to make this content even more effective with easy post-production tools.

• How to coach your SMEs to get the best possible on-camera performance.

Thursday, September 18, 2014, 9AM – 10AM PST: Cracking the Hidden Job Market (Free for ATD members)

In this fast-paced, 60-minute session, national job search expert Laura M. Labovich will share with you:

• Why the "reactive" job search approach is a time-drainer and waste of time.

• The importance of being proactive in your job search campaign, and why it's too late to land the job once the job is posted.

• How a job target can enable you to help your network to help you better.

• Why a company list is like a GPS for your job search.

• How to become an insider—because insiders get hired!

Friday, September 19, 2014, 9AM – 10AM PST: Six Keys to Career Resilience(Free for ATD members)

It is commonly believed that “training is always the first to go” when organizations need to cut the budget, leaving many corporate training professionals looking for work. You often hear “let the problems roll off you like water off a duck's back,” but do you know that ducks aren't always waterproof? It takes a certain process for a duck to stay afloat, as well as for us to keep our career afloat. Building career resilience is crucial to your success. Using the metaphor of a duck’s waterproofing and relevant real-life case scenarios, we will explore the six steps to help you build your career resilience.

Tuesday, September 23, 10AM – 11AM PST: Creativity Matters: Why Creativity Is Crucial and How to Develop Creative Employees (Free for ATD members)

Global business trends underscore the important role of creativity and creative problem solving in the new millennium. Indeed, many reports published in the last several years highlight creative thinking, innovation, and creative problem solving as essential 21st-century skills for both individuals and organizations. Unfortunately, most schools and organizations are not effective in developing these crucial skills. A recent Conference Board report on job readiness skills listed creativity as one of the 14 applied skills most desired about new hires, yet creativity was also the number one skill organizations felt least prepared to develop among employees.

The purpose of this session is to highlight how these trends support the need for more concerted and systematic efforts in promoting creative thinking in individuals and organizations. Some of the topics to be explored and experienced include:

• What is creativity?

• How can I become a more effective creative thinker?

• How does creative thinking relate to leadership effectiveness?

• How to develop the creative talents of employees.

Tuesday, September 23, 10AM – 11AM PST: DataNow: Easy-to-Customize Research for HCM Practitioners

Brandon Hall Group for more than two decades has produced great research on Human Capital Management. But providing research that is quickly accessible and customized to each client’s needs has been challenging. Until now. This webinar introduces new research that is instantly accessible and customizable for your needs through Brandon Hall Group’s new DataNow platform. In this webinar, Brandon Hall Group analysts will show highlights of recent learning, talent acquisition, and workforce management research that can you can see in various formats, filtered by company size, revenue, and more.

In this webinar you will:

• See highlights of just-released research on Workforce Management, Social Talent Acquisition, Compliance Training, and Social Learning.

• See how you can quickly filter data by company size, revenue, and much more!

• See how data can be quickly exported to share with your team.

Wednesday, September 24, 10AM – 11AM PST: The Agile Organization: Improving Time to Decision through Collaboration

Modern organizations are driven by their ability to react, change, and make decisions quickly. But attaining that agility can be difficult as organizations continue to become more diverse and dispersed. It takes more than just collaboration tools. It takes an organizational commitment to a collaborative culture, supported by the right tools and technology, to let organizations move faster, perform better, and win more often.

Join Mollie Lombardi, VP and principal analyst, workforce management, of the Brandon Hall Group and Shelley Schmoker, VP Marketing at Bloomfire, as they look at the links between agility and collaboration. The webinar will discuss:

• How your organization can harness collaboration to improve decision making.

• The key strategies to building and reinforcing a collaborative culture.

• How collaboration not only supports internal processes like learning and performance, but how it impacts sales and customer service

Wednesday, September 24, 10AM – 11AM PST: Best of DevLearn: Streamlining Your eLearning Production Process for Efficiency

Clients want high-quality courses quickly and inexpensively, but there are many parts to creating eLearning courses, so you need an effective and efficient production process. A training, tracking, and performance monitoring system will let you increase your quality and decrease your production time and costs.

Session participants will learn best practices for documenting procedures, establishing clear roles, and creating tools, job aids, and checklists. You’ll get access to many of the tools and checklists. In this session, you will learn:

• The data types to capture and analyze about your current production process.

• How to map out your production process at both a macro and micro level.

• How to create a knowledge base to help train team members and reduce effort.

• How to create systems for effectively managing production.

Thursday, September 25, 10AM – 11AM PST:Strategies for Training Groups with Mixed Reading and Communication Skill Levels – Part 1 (Free for CSTD members)

Are you frustrated by mismatches between the materials you have to deliver, and the literacy, communication, and other foundation skills of the people who show up?

What can you do to increase your success in supporting learning with mixed level groups? Building support for literacy and foundation skills into your instructional and assessment strategies can enhance learning outcomes and support employees in developing their skills. Best of all, strategies for supporting literacy and foundational skills are often more engaging, memorable, and fun for everyone.

This is the first of a two-part webinar series offered by the Advancing Workplace Learning project in partnership with CSTD. To learn more, please visit the website. www.advancingworkplacelearning.ca.

Friday, September 26, 8:30AM – 9:30AM PST: Creating Engaged Employees (Free for ATD members)

The word "engagement" evokes different impressions from different people. What does the word mean? Why should anyone care about engagement? How can an organization create and sustain a culture of engagement? This presentation will answer these simple, yet profound questions. Upon attending this webcast, participants will be able to:

• Define the word “engagement.”

• Explain how to make the case for engagement with leaders and key decision makers.

• Build an organizational culture of engagement and sustain it.

Participants also will receive an instrument to compare their organizations' engagement culture to best practices.

Monday, September 29, 2014, 11AM – 12PM PST: Employee Brain Performance: Leveraging Neuroscience to Improve Critical Thinking (ATD subscriber content)

Science offers surprising information about what really engages employees and makes a difference in optimizing their performance.

Claire Herring is the head of product at Blue Ocean Brain. Claire is a human capital performance improvement expert. Her work has been featured on the Hallmark Channel, in Real Simple magazine, Fitness Magazine, and Women’s Health. She combines her experience as a Big Four executive with advanced degrees in cognitive science to help organizations optimize employee performance and elevate critical thinking. As head of product for Blue Ocean Brain, Claire helps organizations promote cognitive skill improvement through intellectual challenges and fun experiences that are brand new 365 days a year.

Tuesday, September 30, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: 3 Keys to Getting Employee Engagement Right

It's estimated that unengaged workers cost the US $350 billion/year and that US businesses lose $11 billion annually as a result of employee turnover. Clearly engagement is a key priority for all organizations—so why is it so low? And more importantly, what can be done—quickly—to get it right?

Join us as Mahan Tavakoli, Regional Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer for Dale Carnegie, shares best practices and action steps you can take immediately to start improving employee engagement.

Takeaways include:

• Why organizations have largely failed to turn engagement around despite all the buzz.

• Latest research into the drivers of employee engagement.

• Actions individuals can take—immediately—to start boosting employee morale.

Tuesday, September 30, 2014, 11AM – 12PM PST: From Searching to Shopping: Leveraging E-Commerce within Your LMS (Free for ATD members)

An extensive catalogue of training content provides tremendous value to an organization and its learners, but ensuring that learners can easily find and access the courses and resources they’re looking for is crucial. Luckily, there are many creative ideas that we can borrow from online retail to help learners find what they’re looking for and even discover content they didn’t know they needed. Finding ways to increase user adoption ensures your learning resources are used and valued!

In this session we will explore ways to leverage e-commerce capabilities to enhance the traditional training and development searching experience. You will learn how to:

• Replace the standard enrolment processes with an intuitive shopping experience.

• Expand the reach of your content through targeted promotions.

• Leverage cross-sell offerings.

• Monetize content to external users’ bases.