Welcome to the March, 2010 issue of Element K News, the e-Learning newsletter from Element K®, intended for our customers and other friends! Element K News provides a monthly update of our latest e-Learning product releases. But it goes beyond that, variously including partner spotlights, dates of upcoming Element K webinars and conferences, highlights from Element K Blog, and more. This month includes items on bridging skills gaps, two kinds of advice for CLOs, and many exciting product updates, so please read on!

• Bridging the Leadership Gap
• New Factors Compounding the Growing Skills Shortage
• 10 Questions for CLOs on "What's Next?"
• Are There Words Learning Professionals Should Not Say to Executives?
• What's New at Element K Blog

• Element K Recognized as an HR Certification Institute Approved Provider

• Webinar: March 10, 2 PM to 3 PM EST
  Developing Successful Online Education Programs with the vLab Platform
• Conference: May 16-19
  ASTD 2010 International Conference and Exposition

• HRD Press
  

• e-Learning Courses
• K-Cards
  
• Fifty Lessons Videos
• GetAbstract Book Summaries
  
• Did You Know?

Bridging the Leadership Gap

Two recent articles discuss the results of research on leadership from the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL): "Bridging the Leadership Gap" by Sylvester Taylor in the February issue of Chief Learning Officer magazine and "A Leadership Skills Gap?" by Dean Smith in the February issue of T+D magazine. Both articles discuss the recent CCL study that surveyed 2,200 leaders over a three-year period from companies in the United States, India, and Singapore. The goal was to measure whether today's leaders demonstrate skills (from a set of 20 key competencies) most needed by organizations now and in the future.

Taylor introduces the subject succinctly and with appropriate urgency:

"A growing number of organizations are facing an unpleasant truth: they simply don't have the talent they need to lead them into the future. Rumblings about this glaring gap in leadership talent began to surface nearly a decade ago and have grown louder and stronger over time. Fueled by real-world experiences, organizations around the globe are discovering their leadership pipeline is filled with people who are deficient in the skills and capacities needed for long-term success. Add layoffs and early retirements to the mix and industries face a potent recipe for a full-blown leadership crisis."

The CCL study found that eight key competencies were determined to be particularly critical to future success (ranked in order of significance, as reported by Taylor):

1. Leading people
2. Strategic planning
3. Managing change
4. Inspiring commitment
5. Resourcefulness
6. Doing whatever it takes
7. Being a quick learner
8. Participative management skills

Taylor also describes five "common-sense" steps learning and development departments can use to bridge this gap, and prevent the "crisis" from arising for their organization:

1. Perform a needs assessment for the organization.
2. Create a leadership strategy.
3. Develop specific goals and tactics for individual leadership development.
4. Create systems.
5. Evaluate.

Most organizations will find they need a combination of the classic approaches of recruitment and internal development, with the appropriate balance varying from one organization to the next. In terms of leadership development, what tactics is your organization taking? Are you providing ample opportunity for key individuals to learn strategic skills? As Smith noted, are you thinking beyond formal learning and enabling greater informal learning through the latest social learning technologies?

As noted in our February Element K News newsletter, we noted that Element K was recently recognized among learning providers on TrainingIndustry.com's first annual 2010 Top 20 Leadership Training Companies list. We feel this recognition conveys the unique value that Element K brings to the field of leadership training. In particular, our exclusive Real World Blended Learning Subscriptions provide leaders with a mix of modalities designed to work together from the start for optimal effectiveness and efficiency.

Contact your Element K Account Executive or Learning Consultant to learn more about Element K's leadership offerings, including our Real World Blended Learning Subscriptions.
 

New Factors Compounding the Growing Skills Shortage

As noted above, a growing leadership skills gap is of great strategic concern to many organizations. But there are factors leading to a broader skills shortage than just leadership, and a recent ASTD report brings these to the surface. This free, 31-page report is titled "Bridging the Skills Gap," and is the third report from ASTD that covers "the growing importance of talent to organizational performance and the skills gap that threatens so many organizations today."

Pat Galagan wrote a good article summarizing the key results of this report in the February issue of T+D magazine. Amongst key drivers of the skills gap are the changing nature of work (from industrial to a higher percentage of "knowledge work"), the growing influence of Web 2.0 and the "Net Generation" (aka, Millennials or Generation Y), and the looming retirement of the Baby Boomer generation. On this last point, Galagan notes "While many older workers postponed retirement because of the recession that began in late 2007, or because they want to remain active, a wave of retirements will still contribute to the skills gap."

In a 2009 ASTD poll of 1,179 organizations, some 79 percent indicated a current skills gap. When asked to rank the top reasons for the skills gap, 51 percent said the number one reason was that the skills of the current workforce do not match changes in company strategy, goals, markets, or business models (and additional 28 percent ranked that as the second biggest reason). Other high-ranking reasons in the poll include lack of bench strength in leadership ranks, the effects of a merger or acquisition, and -- importantly for Learning and Development professionals -- cuts in training investments.

Galagan summarizes six steps that learning professionals can take to help their organizational leaders bridge the workforce skill gaps they face:

1. Understand the organization's or unit's key strategies, goals, and performance metrics.
2. Identify competencies that map to strategies and performance metrics.
3. Assess the skills gap.
4. Set goals and prioritize the path to filling gaps.
5. Implement solutions.
6. Monitor and measure results and communicate the impact.

For a deeper dive on each of these, see pages 14-15 of the full ASTD report.

The poll data also indicated the specific skills gaps that were ranked the highest. Not surprisingly, leadership/executive-level skills tops the list, with 50 percent ranking it first. Basic skills -- the traditional building blocks of business-level competencies -- followed next at 46 percent, with professional or industry-specific skills coming in at 41 percent. Others with 20 percent or more ranking them first include managerial/supervisory skills, customer service skills, communication/interpersonal skills, technical/IT/systems skills, sales skills, and process and project management skills.

Do you currently face some or all of these skills gaps in your organization? Which of these gaps are the most urgent to close? Where does e-Learning and other learning modalities fit into your solutions? Do you have access to high-quality content in all the areas where you've identified important skill gaps?

Contact your Element K Account Executive or Learning Consultant to learn more about Element K's extensive catalog of robust e-Learning courses.
 

10 Questions for CLOs on "What's Next?"

Economists are split on just how rapidly the global economy will recover. While many organizations are still facing a cost-cutting mentality, others are focusing on innovation, creativity, and growth. Brian Klapper makes this point in his article "What Next? 10 Questions for CLOs" in the January issue of Chief Learning Officer magazine.

Based on a survey of 226 corporate managers across North America, the 10 questions "all CLOs should be asking themselves and their executive colleagues as the recovery approaches" make for an interesting read. For each of the following questions, see the article for details.

1. Are you exhibiting — on a daily basis — the essential behaviors to contribute to your company’s recovery and growth?
2. Are you doing everything possible to help employees embrace change?
3. Are you doing all you can to ensure your workforce is sufficiently nimble to take advantage of rapidly shifting market conditions?
4. Are the learning strategies you have traditionally employed optimally suited for the rapid pace of the new economy?
5. Are you helping your organization build an adaptive culture?
6. Are you utilizing innovative scalable learning strategies to do more with less or the same budget?
7. Do your initiatives encourage idea generation?
8. Are you doing everything possible to effectively train your future leaders?
9. Are you creating accountability for business results?
10. Have you remained vigilant on internal marketing?

This top-10 list is a powerful reflective checklist for all learning leaders!

Are There Words Learning Professionals Should Not Say to Executives?

The always provocative Jay Cross wrote an instructive column in the February issue of Chief Learning Officer magazine, titled: "Dirty Words: What Not to Say to Executives." As Cross notes, most learning professionals have by now learned the hard way that when talking with executives, they should avoid training industry jargon such as Kirkpatrick levels, Gagne, kinesthetic, and so on. But Cross wants to push you further, and presents his case for why even the following, far more common and seemingly innocuous words, can also be problematic:

• Learning
• Learner
• Social
• Informal
• Knowledge management
• Training
• ROI

As you probably know, no one is a bigger advocate than Cross for the importance of informal learning, social learning, and learning in organizations in general. So what are his reasons, sometimes subtle, for warning against the use of these words in some contexts? Read his column to find out!

What's New at Element K Blog

At Element K Blog,we provide commentary and insights on the Learning and Development industry. This includes reports on industry conferences, pointers to the best industry resource sites, and the regular feature Learning and Development Roundup, where we point you to key resources and opinions from the past four to six weeks.

Here is what you'll find at Element K Blog recently:

• Learning and Development Roundup (Vol. 11) - Includes links to items from Karl Kapp, Clark Quinn, Will Thalheimer, Harold Jarche, Judy Brown, Marcia Conner, and more.
• An IT Training Puzzle: Learning from Real Equipment, but Not at High Cost - Background on a common training problem that many IT organizations face, and the solution that "virtual labs" provide.
• Learning and Development Roundup (Vol. 10) - Includes links to items from ASTD's Learning Circuits, Judy Brown, Elliott Masie, Karl Kapp and Tony O'Driscoll, and much more.
• Ribbon Hero: A Learning Game from Microsoft - A description of the new learning game from Microsoft that teaches while you use Microsoft Office applications Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Highly Recommended on Enterprise 2.0: Meeting Jessica - A description and recommendation of a great presentation (with additional links) about the use of collaborative Web 2.0 tools at Pfizer.

We hope you'll check out Element K Blog, come back regularly, and add us to your RSS reader. Also, if you use Twitter, you can follow us there at our account @Element_K.
 

Element K Recognized as an HR Certification Institute Approved Provider

Element K is pleased to be recognized as an HR Certification Institute Approved Provider. As an approved provider, Element K enables HR professionals to earn re-certification credit through a broad selection of e-Learning content. The applicable Element K courses have been approved for both strategic and general re-certification credit.

For more information and a list of approved courses, please visit Element K at: http://www.elementk.com//products/certification-and-accreditation/hrci.

DISCLAIMER: "The use of this seal is not an endorsement by HR Certification Institute of the quality of the program. It means that this program has met HR Certification Institute's criteria to be pre-approved for re-certification credit."
 

Webinar: Developing Successful Online Education Programs with the vLab Platform

Wednesday March 10, from 2 PM to 3 PM (EST)

Your students need hands-on experience to master key concepts, but maintaining live production environments creates sizeable equipment expenses, and requires a dedicated staff for maintenance. In addition, requiring online students to invest in applications makes it very challenging for them given the economic climate.

Virtual labs (vLabs) offer the perfect solution for universities wishing to enhance the student experience by adding hands-on components without significantly increasing costs. It also enables students to apply their knowledge in a real environment, anytime - anywhere, without risk to their own or university equipment.

In this interactive webinar you will:

• Learn how to profitably add hands-on learning components to your IT and non-IT programs for both on-ground and online students, thereby giving both groups of students the same critical learning opportunities.
• Learn how your student community can affordably, safely, and reliably practice complex new skills in a live environment.
• Learn how to ensure your student community has mastered cutting edge skills by assessing them in a live environment.
• Discover how South University and others have leveraged the vLab technology.

Gain free access to a special vLabs trial package after the event!

For more information about this webinar and to register for the event, visit the registration page.

Conference: ASTD 2010 International Conference and Exposition

May 16-19, 2010, Chicago, IL
"Held each spring, this premier event for workplace learning and performance professionals welcomes attendees from more than 70 countries. The conference features 300+ educational sessions from industry-leading experts, and a world-class EXPO filled with the latest products and services available from top suppliers."

For more information about this conference, see the ASTD 2010 ICE site.

For more information about conferences that Element K will be participating in, see the Element K Events page.

For more information about our webinars, see the Element K Webinars page.

HRD Press

Element K's Business Skills offering continues to expand through our strategic partnership with HRD Press. For more than 30 years, HRD Press has published leading books on management, leadership, and human resources. Courses developed based on these books provide an online experience that includes engaging activities, animated graphics, and simulations integrated into the learning process.

Courses co-developed with HRD Press include:

• Leadership Skills
• HR Optimization
• HR Skills
• Interviewing and Hiring Top Performers
• Mentoring
• Ethical Leadership
• Strategic Development of Talent
• Employee Relations
• Managing the Generation Mix
• Workplace Coaching

To experience Element K's award winning e-Learning content, please visit the demo center.

Contact your Element K Account Executive or Learning Consultant for more information about the Element K Business Skills offering.
 

E-Learning Courses
Element K's award-winning e-Learning content includes robust multimedia content, software simulations, business simulations, quizzes, assessments, and more. And our massive libraries continue to grow each month! The latest e-Learning course additions in the following general areas include:

Business Skills

• Leading From the Front: Being a Leader in All You Do
• Mentoring Others
• Wellness: Introduction and Self-Assessment

Compliance

• Basic First Aid (Global Edition)
• Bloodborne Pathogens (Global Edition)
• Confined Space - Entry Level (Global Edition)
• Confined Spaces (Global Edition)
• Hearing Conservation (Global Edition)
• Introduction to OSHA (Third Edition)
• Lockout/Tagout (Global Edition)
• OSHA Work-Related Injury and Illness Recordkeeping (Third Edition)
• Personal Protective Equipment (Global Edition)

Office Productivity

• FileMaker® Pro 9: Level 2 (Macintosh)
• Getting Productive with Google™
• Google™ Chrome: Introduction
• Mac OS® X v10.6: Introduction

Design and Media

• Adobe® Flash® CS4: Level 3 (Macintosh)

IT Professional

• Certified Information Security Manager (CISM®) Certification (Comprehensive)
• CISM® Certification: Information Security Governance (Part 1 of 5)
• CISM® Certification: Information Risk Management (Part 2 of 5)
• CISM® Certification: Information Security Program Development (Part 3 of 5)
• CISM® Certification: Information Security Program Management (Part 4 of 5)
• CISM® Certification: Incident Management and Response (Part 5 of 5)
• Green IT: An Introduction

Localized Courses

• Administrar los objetivos organizacionales (Español)
• Aplicar los fundamentos del liderazgo (Segunda Edición) (Español)
• Fundamentos de la comunicación efectiva (Segunda Edición) (Español)
• Habilidades de moderación efectiva (Español)
• Lo que hacen los buenos gerentes: Los primeros 100 días (Español)
• Obtener resultados sin autoridad (Español)

• Compétences de négociation en action (Français)
• Développer et diriger une équipe efficace (Français)
• Écriture de courriel et autres communications électroniques (Français)
• Mener votre équipe vers des résultats professionnels (Français)
• Préparation de négocier (Français)
• Rédaction professionnelle persuasive (Français)
• Rédiger des messages électroniques efficaces (Français)

• Creating an Effective Resume (Indian English)
• Getting the Most Out of Your Day (Indian English)
• Managing Stress (Second Edition) (Indian English)
• UNIX and Linux: Fundamentals (Indian English)
• UNIX and Linux: Advanced User (Indian English)

• Assessing Change for Managers (International English)
• Effective Business Writing (International English)
• Effective Management: Cultivating Great Teams (International English)
• Effective Time Management (International English)
• Implementing Change for Managers (International English)
• Persuasive Business Writing (International English)
• Writing Effective Emails (International English)

• Business Meeting Skills (Japanese)
• Conducting Interviews for Successful Results (Japanese)
• Developing and Leading an Effective Team (Japanese)
• Dynamic Business Presentations (Japanese)
• Effective Business Writing (Japanese)
• Effective Time Management for You (Japanese)
• First Steps Towards Strategic Planning (Japanese)
• Get The Most Out of Your Meetings (Japanese)
• Leading Your Team To Business Results (Japanese)
• Negotiating Skills in Action (Japanese)
• Persuasive Business Writing (Japanese)
• Preparing to Interview Job Candidates (Japanese)
• Preparing to Negotiate (Japanese)
• Realistic Time Management Goals (Japanese)
• Writing Effective Emails (Japanese)

• Delegating (Second Edition) (Vietnamese)
• Microsoft® Office Outlook® 2007: Level 1 (Second Edition) (Vietnamese)
• Microsoft® Office Word 2007: Level 3 (Second Edition) (Vietnamese)

Contact your Element K Account Executive or Learning Consultant to learn more about our various libraries of e-Learning courses.
 

K-Cards
K-Cards are convenient quick reference cards that can be printed and referenced quickly to find answers to common tasks. They provide useful tips, techniques, procedures, and other reference information. K-Cards are comprehensive guides that increase productivity and expertise and provide an excellent, on-the-job, performance support solution that can extend the value of both e-Learning and classroom learning.

The most recent K-Card created is:

• CompTIA® Network+® (2009 Objectives) K-Card

Additional K-Cards exist for topics such as Office 2007 applications, Office 2003 applications, Windows XP and Windows Vista, Project Management, and CompTIA® Security+ and A+.

Contact your Element K Account Executive or Learning Consultant to learn more about Element K's K-Cards product.

Fifty Lessons Videos
Through our partnership with Fifty Lessons, Element K is able to provide over 1,000 videos of powerful stories from hundreds of the world's most respected and successful business leaders. The latest Fifty Lessons additions to the complete library include:

• Adapting Kaizen to Improve Business Process
• Aligning Your Team to a Common Vision
• Always Have an Exit Strategy
• An Ounce of Prevention is a Pound of Cure
• Be a Conduit for Ideas
• Be Prepared for Adversity
• Be True to Yourself
• Being a More Efficient Manager
• Being Acquired
• Being Conscious of External Environmental Factors
• Boards Need Transparency and Integrity
• Build a Sense of Community and Responsibility
• Building a Business-Focused Technology Team
• Building a Customer-Focused IT Team
• Building a Team of Talent
• Building Credibility with the C-Suite
• Business Executive First, Technology Executive Second
• Business is Not Always Fair
• Changing the Culture of a Firm
• Characteristics for Success
• CIO Succession Planning - Lesson 1
• CIO Succession Planning - Lesson 2
• Communicating from a Business Perspective
• Communication Through Translation
• Compromise is Crucial to Success
• Confidence is Essential to the Expansion of New Markets
• Confront Problems Honestly
• Cooperate with Suppliers from the Start
• Creating a Culture of Change
• Credibility is Fragile and Needs to Be Protected
• CSR: Giving Back to the Indian Society
• Delivering Technology ROI
• Developing Global Citizens
• Developing Mentor Relationships
• Diversification for Growth
• Do Your Own Thing
• Doing Good is Good for Business
• Don't Always Choose the Safest Path
• Don't Listen to Rumor
• Embrace the Terror
• Energy Efficiency and Community Projects
• Exploit Your Point of Reference
• Finding Your Passion
• Fix the Problem Not the Blame
• Future of Chinese–American Relationships
• Get the Right People On the Bus
• Getting the Business Perspective
• Getting Up to Speed
• Globalization Through Acquisition
• Have a Vision of the Future
• How to Listen Tto Users
• Ignore Weaknesses
• Improving Customer Interaction & Satisfaction
• Innovate to Disrupt an Industry
• Innovating with External Partners
• Integrating Global Business at a Local Level
• Integrity is Paramount
• International Business
• Involving Users in Vendor Selection
• Involving Users to Accelerate Change
• IT Talent Management in Emerging Markets
• It's About Value, Not Cost
• It's OK to Ask
• Just Go for It!
• Just Keep Going
• Justifying Technology Investment in These Challenging Times
• Keep Your Vanity in Check
• Leading Requires Continual Focus
• Let Your Team Flourish
• Letting Go of the Past
• Linking IT Change Programs to Profitability
• Living in China
• Local Versus Global
• Look Outside for Innovation
• Losing Face
• Loyalty to Employees Gets Noticed
• Making an Impact as a New Leader
• Making The Case for Change - Lesson 1
• Making The Case for Change - Lesson 2
• Manage Risk for the Inevitable Downturns
• Managing the Data Deluge
• Maximizing the Opportunity That is Given to You
• Mental Toughness
• Mentorship
• Open Communication is Key to Engaging Your People
• Overcoming Challenges
• Overcoming Fear of Change
• Overcoming Self Doubt
• Promote Technology Adoption
• Providing Opportunity Through Community Involvement
• Realizing More Value from Your Partners
• Redefining Your Roles as the CIO
• Respect & Teamwork Equal a Perfect Score
• Saying Yes to Change
• Stay Centered
• Stepping Up to a Leadership Role
• Stick to It
• Strive for Perfection
• Success Means Keeping Your Perspective
• Suppliers Must Combine Quality with Strong R&D
• Tailor Technology to Customer Needs
• Take Risks to Enter New Markets
• Technology Drives New Business Strategy
• The Art of Managing a Global Online Community
• The Challenge of Self Expression
• The Challenge of The CIO
• The Changing IT Skills Mix
• The Conductor of the Orchestra
• The First-Mover Shapes Emerging Markets
• The Need for Governance in a Decentralized Organization
• The Need for Multi-Disciplinary Teams
• The Opportunity To Be a Hero
• The Power of Teamwork
• The Power of The Indian Consumer
• The Power of Visualization
• The Role of the CIO
• The Three Imperatives of Doing Marketing in China
• The Value of a Broad Business Education
• There Are No IT Projects, Only Business Projects
• There is No Arrival Point
• Thinking Through a Translation
• Tomorrow is Never Promised
• Train Like a Champion
• Transform Business Objectives Into Technology Requirements
• Translating Success From One Career to Another
• Trust Leads to Respect
• Trust Your Instincts
• Turning Around a Business Unit
• Use IT for Innovation
• Use the Same Technology Your Customers Use
• Using Data Strategically for New Opportunities
• When the Right Decision is Hard to Make

Contact your Element K Account Executive or Learning Consultant to learn more about the Fifty Lessons products.
 

getAbstract
One of our most innovative partners, getAbstract, provides book summaries of the latest and most important books in business. Most of us don't have time to read every interesting book that comes along, but with getAbstract, you don't have to. Access book summaries in a variety of formats, including PDFs or as audio content for your iPhone, iPod, BlackBerry, or other MP3 player. The latest getAbstract additions include:

• Developing Great Managers: 20 "Power Hour" Conversations that Build Skills FAST by Lisa Haneberg
• Emotional Intelligence for Managing Results in a Diverse World: The Hard Truth About Soft Skills in the Workplace by Lee Gardenswartz
• How You Can Profit from Credit Cards: Using Credit to Improve Your Financial Life and Bottom Line by Curtis E. Arnold
• Keynes and the Market: How the World's Greatest Economist Overturned Conventional Wisdom and Made a Fortune on the Stock Market by Justyn Walsh
• Meltdown Iceland: Lessons on the World Financial Crisis from a Small Bankrupt Island by Roger Boyes
• Spent: Sex, Evolution, and Consumer Behavior by Geoffrey Miller
• The 5 Essential People Skills: How to Assert Yourself, Listen to Others, and Resolve Conflicts by Dale Carnegie Training
• The Great Betrayal: How American Sovereignty and Social Justice Are Being Sacrificed to the Gods of the Global Economy by Patrick J. Buchanan

Contact your Element K Account Executive or Learning Consultant to learn more about the getAbstract products.
 

Did You Know?
Did you know that Element K provides ample case studies on the benefits of our various learning solutions? We've recently added some new case studies to the library including Delaware North Companies, Verizon Business, and The Washington Post. To learn more about these and many others, visit the Client and Partner Case Studies web page.

For more information on Element K:
http://www.elementk.com or call 1-800-434-3466.
Element K, 500 Canal View Blvd., Rochester, NY 14623

Copyright 2010 Element K Corporation. All rights reserved. Element K and the Element K logo are trademarks of Element K Corporation. Products or other names may be trademarks of their respective proprietors who may not be affiliated with Element K. Element K is part of NIIT, a global talent development corporation operating in 44 countries.