Part four of this series illustrates the high cost of an unhappy and disengaged workforce. Stress and dissatisfaction often lead to recurring absenteeism and presenteeism; over half of the 550 million working days lost in the U.S. are stress related. A happy workforce will often yield better productivity, customer ratings, profitability and retention, among other advantages. Click on the image below to view the full Job Satisfaction infographic.

There are things an employer can do to increase engagement and improve job satisfaction.  How many items can you check on the list?  Click on the image below to view the full Job Satisfaction infographic.

Pizza parties won’t sustain your bottom-line The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Facebook is building a $120 million, 394-unit housing community a hop skip and jump away from their headquarters in California. According to the article, "Facebook’s sprawling campus…is so full of cushy perks that some employees may never want to go home." All I could think was how much is too much? Sure, perks are important for recruiting the brightest talent — especially young workers in today’s highly competitive labor markets (like the high-tech corridor of Silicon Valley). Perks like free food and a place to sleep can keep workers on site and, in theory, more productive. But we also know from our research that perks may actually keep the wrong (aka disengaged) employees in the organization as well. Click here to read the rest of the article.

The Tin Can API, now officially known as "Experience API" (xAPI), is an e-learning software specification that allows learning content and learning systems to speak to each other in a manner that records and tracks all types of learning experiences. In this video, Bob Pietrantonio and Rick Gentner give a brief introduction into Tin Can API:

Employee Expectations for 2014: Five Times More Likely To Quit Than Be Fired From BlessingWhite Research - Princeton, NJ - December 6, 2014 A new year on the horizon and a new set of resolutions. Employers may well be wondering how many of their staff have "find a new job" on their list of things to accomplish in 2014. Recent economic news confirms that the economy is pursuing its slow recovery, and unemployment numbers are continuing to decline. About 34% of CEOs expect to hire more over the next six months, according to a recent economic outlook survey of US chief executive officers. While we are not yet back to the levels seen in a buoyant economy, employees today feel that they generally have the upper hand in the employer-employee relationship, and this is reflected in their attitudes towards career. A sample of 344 employed US workers reveals that: A substantial majority (72%) believe they personally have the biggest control over their next career move (as opposed to their manager or the company they work for). Their expectation of next career steps is more likely to include a new project or a new assignment (35%) or a move outside the company (23%) before a direct move up the corporate ladder (13%). They are five times more likely to expect to quit their current job than expect facing a layoff (84% vs. 16%). The idea that the immediate manager is the main reason people consider leaving is an outdated concept - three quarters (75%) of respondents do not credit managers with such influence. In general, organizations are seen to care about their employees’ career progression and employees perceive they have decent career opportunities with their current employer. The interesting thing to note here is that the perception the employer cares and the belief that there are opportunities are closely correlated (Pearson’s Correlation .75). Yet, despite the care and attention, a significant portion (44%) of employees would rather be working for themselves—a sense of individualism and entrepreneurship that employees would do well to tap into. Bottom line: People’s attitude towards "careers" is evolving. The perspective is becoming increasingly individualistic and managed outside of the rigid company-driven structures of yesteryear. Progressive companies will learn to enable individuals to craft their own role in the organization based on their personal skills and aspirations. Naturally, this needs to be done within the parameters that drive the company’s vision and business strategies. Equipping managers to navigate this new "career" context is also an important part of the puzzle. Managers can no longer assume they are coaching people up into their own role; rather, managers need to develop purposeful coaching partnerships to prepare team members to meet the organization’s future challenges while tapping into individual skills and aspirations. Companies that fail to manage this evolving dynamic will face increasing retention challenges going forward. [Note: The sample was taken from full-time US employed individuals aged 18 to 60 with high school degrees or better. Data collected in early December 2013 via online survey.] Click here for a link to the article and charts.

Bobby O’Steen discusses trends for managing manufacturing training in today’s economy:

What do a Renaissance painting technique and rapid instructional design have in common? Most of us are familiar with Leonardo da Vinci’s creative genius and his inventions, but few may know about his application of a Renaissance painting technique called sfumato, which he used to paint the famous Mona Lisa. Sfumato is a painting style where there are no harsh outlines and areas blend seamlessly into one another. When I first read this, I thought, "Wow, instructional design is often this way as well, designers creating many different types of training deliverables, using a variety of techniques that blend seamlessly into a particular project throughout the design process." Michael J. Gelb, in his book How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci, mentions the sfumato technique as one of da Vinci’s seven principles referring to the acceptance of ambiguity and change, moving forward with distinct purpose but also accepting there will be uncertainty. da Vinci’s application of sfumato to his painting allowed the viewer to see more than what was actually painted, implying something requiring deeper study and reflection. Embracing ambiguity Software advances have been valuable tools for instructional designers, simplifying development and increasing interactivity while offering shortened lead times. However, these tools can have a downside, often causing what I like to call "design discomfort" because they propel projects forward so quickly, while still in the early, imperfect development phase. It can be stressful to produce under these conditions. Embracing ambiguity and applying a sfumato mindset to instructional design offers us the opportunity of more creativity and freedom, driving us to move past the discomforts of imperfection. By giving clients an opportunity to stand back and take in the materials much as an art admirer would view the Mona Lisa, it allows us to integrate their unique interpretation of what they "see" into the design process. It supercharges the power of conceptualization—encouraging communication of what is missing from a fledgling work product and what is needed around those hazy edges. It gives designers the opportunity to fulfill the clients’ vision and create a superior product. It would seem that sfumato is now becoming a part of the way we work today. Doug Harward, CEO and Founder of Training Industry, Inc., wrote about the trend of imperfection in training development in Training Industry Quarterly, Winter 2013: "The key movement here is toward designing programs that are ‘good enough’ to meet the goals of the plan, not overly designed or too perfected." Accepting a degree of imperfection while using rapid design development gives us an opportunity to shine by leaving space for the clients’ imagination and interpretation, and then applying our experience and expertise, just as da Vinci wielded his paintbrush, to merge with the client vision to create a masterpiece something well beyond the original, fledgling product. How to pronounce the word sfumato    

It’s that time of year again; time for resolutions and reflecting. 2013 was a great year for the GP Strategies Blog, we began offering more digestible content through podcasts and videos, and thanks to your shares and engagement, readership is up 84 percent! As technology continues to evolve, our goal for 2014 is to continue to share insights and experiences from our industry experts, making them available in formats that can be more easily accessed where and when you need them. As you plan and implement your own business resolutions for the New Year, here is a snapshot of our most viewed blog posts, videos and podcasts from 2013, providing a few tips and trends to support a successful strategy and to help you make a bigger impact through the work that you do. Best wishes for a prosperous and Happy New Year! Best Blog Posts: Seven Characteristics of Decision Making by Mike Koper Storytelling Brings Training to Life by Karen Sieczka 10 Tips for Developing Millennial Talent - NOW! by Billy Biggs What is Employee Engagement? Infographic: Trust, Leadership and Employee Engagement by GP Strategies Crossing the Chasm Between Sales and the Learning Function by Brian Lambert Best Videos: Qualities of a Great Leader - From the Front Line Together…Making a Meaningful Impact on the World Importance of Implementing a Millennial Talent Management Program Telecommuting and Its Effect on Employee Engagement Exploring Mobile Learning Technology Best Podcasts: The Five Levels of Listening Social Learning: Trust and Integrity in a Global Workforce Learning Analytics The Hidden Benefits of Cloud Computing Communication Needed Before Collaboration Can Begin What topics would you like to see covered on the blog this year? Leave your suggestions in the comments section below.

Enabling your people to improve personal and organizational performance is challenging in today’s  expanding business environment. Priorities must be set and time must be managed to not only survive the challenge but to prosper as a global organization. The articles in this issue provide insight into mobile technologies, what drives job satisfaction, and developing leaders for a global workforce. Click here to read the full newsletter.

Recently Bob Mosher wrote in Chief Learning Officer about Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) handing off their well-established roles in learning and development as the "keepers of knowledge" to what he calls Business Matter Experts (BMEs). Mosher asserts these changes are necessary in the dynamic world of agile training design and need to manage BMEs in a different way than we are used to handling SMEs. As an instructional designer, I agree and I disagree with Mosher’s reasoning. Yes, I agree that simple knowledge sharing expected of SMEs of the past is not enough to complete useful and applicable designs for today’s learner. Where he and I differ is that I believe SMEs and BMEs are not two entirely different creatures. I see many SMEs transforming into BMEs because they have been tasked with not only keeping the knowledge, but also are being held accountable for understanding the whole business process, often contributing to the development of these processes on some level. On a current project, I am designing training for an auto part retailer/distributor, and although we still refer to those with the knowledge keepers as SMEs, often they are also project managers and are well aware of the business processes, including both the whys and the hows. It makes my job easier as a designer because they provide knowledge with necessary context that the training might lack otherwise. In all it makes for better training for the end user since it reflects what they would actually see/do in their world. Perhaps we should call them SME-BEES?