Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008 - (Page 29)

STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT: TRANSFORMING THE BUSINESS OF TRAINING BY TRACY HOLLISTER FOCAL POINT W Next to each of the seven Most Critical Areas of Improvement hen considering the top areas of improvement for is a number which indicates its relative priority order by how training organizations across the industry, one would many comments it received for Most Critical and Most Need to expect the quintessential twins of training, Content Improve. Note that when an area for improvement was in a higher Development and Delivery, to be at the top of the list. What may not be obvious is that they would be topped by a business-focused percentage-of-comments range in one area (e.g., Most Critical) area – Strategic Alignment– as the single most critical area where than another (e.g., Most Need to Improve), priority was given to training organizations can improve. those areas, (e.g., Customer Commitment and Diagnostics) that In a recent study, Training Industry, Inc. collected data to dewere higher in Most Critical. This further focuses priority imtermine which areas are most critical for the success of training provement areas on areas which matter most. organizations and what specific areas of improveTable 1 ment are needed most. Those areas that received a large number of comments for both of these sepaMost Critical Areas of Importance rate study questions represent the most critical areas for improvement. Particularly during these Customer Over Strategic times of economic uncertainty, training leaders can Commitment 15%** Alignment (1) use the resulting cross-referenced list to focus lim(2) ited training resources for improvements on what matters most. Content Diagnostics 5 - 15% Delivery (3) Development (5) (4) The Most Critical Areas of Improvement ** Table 1 shows the seven areas that survey particReporting & ipants listed the most frequently as Most Need to Less than Analysis (6) and Improve and where they fall on both Most Critical Marketing/ 5% Communications (7) and Most Need to Improve. The four primary focus areas are in the upper right hand corner in yellow. Less than 5% 5 - 15% More than 15%** Secondary areas of focus are in green. These seven areas were selected among 15 listed areas, which are Percent of "Most Need to Improve" Comments (n=325) found in Table 3. Percent of "Most Critical" Comments (n= 335) Training Industry Quarterly, Summer 2008 / A Training Industry, Inc. ezine / www.trainingindustry.com/TIQ 29 http://www.trainingindustry.com/TIQ

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008

Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008
At the Editor’s Desk
Contents
Ezine Email
Winning Organizations Through People
Before You Buy…
Learning Technologies
Games & Simulations: Playing to Learn
Designing Learning Simulations: Strategies for Leveraging Failure
Business Impact 101: The Value of Learning
Strategic Alignment: Transforming the Business of Training
Meet David DeFilippo
Meet Krys Moskal
Meet Vince Eugenio
Dealing with Death: Learning’s Most Sensitive Lessons
Closing Arguments

Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2008