Did you know that 94% of key decision-makers say certified staff provide added value above and beyond the cost of certification?* This is why so many organizations invest in the practice of upskilling (and reskilling) their employees, but some nowadays are hesitant, and it is easy to understand why. COVID-19 brought with it massive changes to every industry and uncertainty to every worker. In complicated times such as these, employers may not see the point of upskilling a workforce, but it is only because they have not yet discovered its value. Upskilling, for the uninitiated, simply refers to teaching employees additional skills, procedures and methods to help them stay abreast of the latest industry best practices, regulatory requirements and standards. In general, upskilling helps gain competencies and efficiencies, so they are prepared to take on the challenges of the future. Upskilling can present itself in the form of taking new training classes, receiving select manager mentoring/coaching sessions, attending conferences, receiving new certifications, etc. The "how" of upskilling depends on organizational needs at the time and the availability of budget. This practice can help build and retain stronger and more effective information system teams in an industry that is in a state of constant evolution. New technology emerges daily and while it creates new business opportunities for your organization, it simultaneously widens the skill gaps in your employees. Plus, companies that opt out of upskilling workers expose themselves to further risk and may struggle to comply with ever-evolving compliance and regulatory requirements. Continued education offers the opportunity to combat skill gaps and retain an organization’s workforce. Training and developing new employees will expand their expertise and give an organization a competitive advantage. But that’s not all… 

Rachel Cubas-Wilkinson has been instrumental in the design of the Inclusive Leadership Workshop and studied the latest research from Gartner, Harvard Business Review, McKinsey, our own research and more to put together a 3 page report into the current DEI landscape within organizations, focusing on inclusion strategies in leadership. Read more about: The business benefits of inclusion Is inclusion happening yet? Why leaders aren’t getting it right 5 challenges of inclusive leadership Inclusion: 3 ways to get it done and make it work

Low learner engagement is the worst. Often hampering your training’s impact and success, what can your team do to tackle it head-on and overcome lackluster engagement rates? At LearnUpon, we asked the experts. Working with our industry-leading Customer Success Team, this eBook investigates why learning teams experience low engagement, while also providing tried and tested techniques to boost your learners’ engagement.

We asked over 80 leaders in learning and development how they measured their organization’s training return on investment (ROI). Using the data from this survey, we’ve gained insights into what tools training leaders use along with much more. Discover more insights in our bite-sized infographic.

While organizations around the world are spending billions of dollars on training, most of that investment is being wasted. Here’s what you can do to make sure your sales training initiatives add up to long-term results. Have you ever observed a sales representative during a call and thought, "How can this be the same person who did so well during training? Why aren’t they doing what they were taught?" They’ve been through the training and learned the skills—intellectually they know what they should do—but now that they’re back on the job, they’ve fallen into old habits and behaviors. The fact is, this situation is more often the rule than the exception. Data collected by the consulting firm ES Research has shown that 85 to 90 percent of sales training fails to translate into a lasting improvement in productivity. So what’s keeping the training from moving sales professionals from knowing to doing? Here are 4 of the most common reasons most sales training fails.

Perhaps the single greatest challenge facing instructional designers is providing training materials that are accessible to all AND providing training that is maximally effective in achieving performance gains. We need to do both!  Don't resist good instructional design on account of needing to be 508 complaint. In this eBook, Ethan Edwards, Chief Instructional Strategist, shares some clarity and useful strategies to combat the difficulties in creating effective and accessible courseware. 

Uncover the sales negotiation fundamentals that are most often overlooked and misunderstood by salespeople, including both positional (win-lose) and principled (win-win) negotiation styles. You’ll also learn how to defend against the six most advanced procurement tactics that you may not even realize you are coming up against, such as: Best-of-the-Best Pricing Reverse Auctions and eBids Limited Authority Discomfort Nibbling Reopening

Microlearning is now the go to method for organizations to rapidly upskill and reskill their workforce to drive business forward. Traditional and one size fits all approaches to training have proven to be ineffective time and time again. These programs usually result in low learner engagement and only check for completion - not proficiency. This is a major barrier to L&D initiatives. It prevents them from truly receiving results that impact business objectives.  Download this white paper to get the latest insights on how L&D practitioners are taking advantage of microlearning to train people to acquire the important skills that beneficially affect business performance. 

Accessibility to Artificial Intelligence for your organization is easier than you think. Implementing a digital learning platform powered by AI will put your workforce ahead of the rest. In fact, 27% of HR leaders believe that AI-powered solutions for employee training will have a positive impact on learning and development. How can digital learning powered by AI impact your organization? Driving engagement for learners Making learning truly useful for your people Creating a true corporate brain that realizes an exponential business impact Create a business impact and better employee experience. Explore the four ways to power up your digital learning. Download our eBook to find out more.

Leaders are looking for employees who can work with more flexibility and be ready to contribute as needs arise as they face a rapidly changing work environment. Qualities like this are essential for employers who want to prepare workers to take on a variety of roles throughout an organization. In other words, in a post-Covid world, everyone needs to be a utility player. Companies that prioritize a skills-driven culture can get ready to weather unforeseen transitions and prepare for what comes next. But what defines a skills-driven culture? Why is it important to develop new skills and flexibility in the workplace? And how can employers build competencies within their teams?

The digital transformation of L&D continues at pace. Indeed, corporate education may never return to the classroom. A more engaging and immersive digital solution is needed as global enterprises look to turn change into opportunity. Have a look at the startling stats that back up these claims and discover four essential ‘must haves’ to consider when planning your digital learning programs.

Employees want personalized opportunities for learning and development and career opportunities, and they aren't afraid to leave in search of them. Personalized training might sound like a lot of work - after all how can you spend time creating a customized training plan for everyone at your organization?  With the right tools, achieving personalized training doesn't have to be as daunting as you would think. In this infographic, you'll learn how to get started with this worthwhile effort without feeling overwhelmed.  You'll also learn:  What personalization tools other L&D professionals are using  How to use technology to streamline your efforts  The benefits of personalized training for individuals and the organization

Workplace expectations are once again on the rise. L&D is now managing more than ever before, and often delivering training to a scattered workforce. The demands of modern learning are quickly showing the limitations of inferior solutions. In this eBook, we’ll breakdown the 5 ways that modern learning is rewriting the rules of the LMS.

Modern employees are turning away from traditional education and learning toward certifications and online learning. You’ve seen the challenges facing today’s workers who want to take their careers to the next level. You know they need the credentials to get ahead and succeed. You also know they need modern learning tools to gain access to the future they want. So, the question is: what can you do to support them? In this white paper, you will learn how credentialing bodies can seize this golden opportunity to reinvent their approach and create scalable learning that is aligned with where education is headed. 

Engaged learning is unlikely to be the result of an aggregation of courses selected from content providers. The L&D department needs to stop only focusing on ‘courses’ (created externally of the organisation or wholly by L&D) and rather start partnering with the business. Tapping into tacit knowledge and SMEs in order to create resources and experiences which drive measurable value and performance. This eBook aims to demonstrate the power of SME learner relationships in driving engagement. Read the eBook and learn:  What engagement with learning - and the process of learning - really looks like  How tech can enable and support a culture of learning engagement and performance  Real examples of how progressive companies such as Vodafone, Avon, Carpetright and Scandic build and maintain an army of engaged learners

Research from Brandon Hall Group found that course-centric learning lacks a connection with business and performance outcomes. While course-centric learning defines much of corporate learning today, this approach cannot keep up with the speed of change, nor can it provide adequate performance support.  Organizations seeking to improve learner engagement to drive performance outcomes must address the following key issues: How do we develop a learning strategy that focuses on the learner? What do learners need from learning programs to be engaged and successful? What must be included in learning programs to ensure an effective experience? Which tools and technologies should organizations leverage as part of the learner experience? 

What does the future of learning bring to the corporate world? What are the challenges and opportunities? Read all about it in our guide to the changing landscape of learning & development. Topics in the eBook include: The global trends affecting L&D including upskilling & reskilling, sustainability and more How education technology can support your strategy for success in a changing world Tips and tricks for top-quality remote training and bright learning outcomes

As a training manager, your time and resources are spent developing others, and your own development is likely to be pushed to the side. But making time for your own development can help improve the effectiveness. In this eBook, you'll learn the skills you need to take your program management to the next level. You'll also learn: Characteristics of top training programs How to conduct a needs assessment to align training needs to organizational goals Tips for conducting data analysis to identify training trends

Few can dispute that the Covid-19 pandemic has revolutionized the workplace. Before the pandemic and according to a Gallup poll conducted in August 2020, the average American worker averaged 2.4 days of a 20-workday month telecommuting; during the pandemic, the average American worker is averaging 5.8 workdays telecommuting (Jones, 2020). One in four U.S. workers now works completely from home. While only 51 percent of Chinese employees work from home, 69 percent of U.S. workers do (Liang, 2020). After the pandemic has been vanquished, many workers will prefer to work at home either full-time or part-time (Courtney, 2020). Employers that offer work from home opportunities will enjoy advantages in attracting and retaining star talent. Download this paper by Dr. William J. Rothwell & Cho Hyun Park to learn their ideas on how to manage and improve on how virtual coaching can provide some effective solutions.

The role of L&D professionals is rapidly changing. Now is the time to evolve. Yesterday, "Agile" development was the exclusive territory of software developers. Today, new tools and resources are making it possible for learning professionals to easily deliver content on demand, in modern formats that are proving to be more effective in eliciting dramatically improved results.  Download this eBook to discover how learners’ expectations of content and delivery have changed, and how you can leverage that change to deliver stronger results to your organization. 

Emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, many (if not all) companies are hyperfocused on boosting sales. A Google search for "sales enablement" yields millions of results—and a variety of conflicting definitions. Clearly, sales enablement can mean different things to different people. To some, it’s tools, tactics, and training. To others, it’s all about strategy, data, and analytics.  To us, it includes all those things—but it always starts with the story. Like any good book, your sales story should be a page-turner—keeping prospects hooked by engaging, inspiring, and making powerful emotional connections with them. But too often, the stories sales teams tell are fragmented, overly focused on product specs and features, or misaligned with marketing. The right story can make all the difference. And because research suggests that 50% of leads are qualified but not ready to buy, telling that story in the right ways at the right stages of the sales funnel is essential for converting new prospects into loyal customers. But an effective sales story involves more than delivering certain keywords to drive awareness, consideration, and decision as prospects move through the funnel. It should be a holistic, consistent thread that runs through all your communications to prospects—and one that’s laser-focused on the value you offer and the problems you can solve for them. Here are three critical steps to ensure that your sales team is telling a clear and compelling story about what you offer and why people will want to engage with your brand.

Teaching as a Design Science Blended learning has traditionally been thought of as a combination of digital and face-to-face learning components. However, as we move towards a greater dependence on technology, the definition of blended learning is changing. An effective blended learning program simply needs to contain a variety of learning elements. These can include virtual or in-person workshops, eLearning modules, learning games, and components that sit outside of all of these, like line manager check-ins and coaching sessions. The work of Professor Diana Laurillard is central to our blended learning design process. In her book 'Teaching As a Design Science1', she discusses how various learning approaches may be supported by technology. We’ve created a blended learning methodology inspired by her work which we use to create blended solutions for a range of clients. This ebook will talk you through the five key elements of effective blended learning design—from understanding how learning works through to the technologies we can use to enhance it. We’ve also included some stories from real projects we’ve worked on to help add some context.

In the past two years, organizations and educational institutions have broken out of the classroom and into the world of digital learning. Discover the lessons they learned and the challenges they encountered on the road to transforming teaching and training for the new normal. Topics in the eBook include: How to boost engagement in distance learning The future of upskilling and reskilling How to build emotional intelligence in your organization Developing relationships digitally How gamification is transforming training 

Onboarding is an opportunity to make a strong impression on your new hires, immerse them in your culture, and set them up for success from day one. But how can you accomplish all of that virtually? Onboarding can be an overwhelming experience in person, and the same is true through a screen. The key is to create an experience with enough structure to keep new hires engaged while also allowing plenty of independent work and break time. In this guide, you'll get tips on putting together an engaging and effective virtual onboarding experience. You'll learn: What you can do in advance for a stress-free first day How to leverage technology without causing screen fatigue Tips for getting employees invested in their own development right away