I recently read a very interesting article about the importance of human capital to businesses in the “knowledge era.” The premise was that companies who are able to maintain high employee retention rates are generally more successful. Employee retention effects customer satisfaction which in turn impacts customer retention and ultimately the business’s bottom line.

The best employees are seeking learning and growth opportunities from their employers. Employers can demonstrate their commitment to employee development by offering skills training for people in new positions as well as training to help employees make it to the next step. Similarly, a company who offers tuition reimbursement or generally encourages their employees to pursue professional development gives an employee less reason to move elsewhere.

When an organization fails to understand the importance of their human resources, it will not thrive. If your best employees leave, they take with them a wealth of institutional knowledge, experience, successful relationships with customers, etc. The cost of replacing an employee includes not only advertising, screening, interviewing, reference checks, training, but also the variable costs of damaged employee morale and lost business.

 According to a Gallup survey, employees who have an above-average attitude toward their work will generate 38 percent higher customer satisfaction scores, 22 percent higher productivity, and 27 percent higher profits for their companies. The benefits of employee job satisfaction are clear. If an organization is serious about attracting and retaining the best employees, as well as building a successful business, it must invest in employee development.

Six Tips for Increasing Employee Retention

Evaluating Your Employee Retention Program

 

Brett from Certain Software


Behind the scenes at Certain Software are some very talented, dedicated, and fun-loving people. While creating our new on-demand training videos, I had the pleasure of recording voiceovers with a number of our staff. When I began this project, a few people were recommended to me for voice talent. Since every video is an opportunity for new characters and scenarios, I decided to see who else might respond to a talent call.

The surprising thing is nearly everyone I’ve asked to record a voiceover has said yes and is excited to do so. I think people appreciate the chance to spend a few minutes of their day doing something very different from their typical responsibilities.

Nina and Heather appear in a few different videos and both work in new product design. Neither of them comes from a performance background. Heather shared that the voiceover work was a welcome opportunity to get “involved in another aspect of the company.” Nina has worked in training in the past and found the e-learning modules were dull. She likes that the voiceovers and photos make the “training more interactive and add a personal touch.”

When Brett isn’t busy directing program management for Certain, he plays guitar in a band and has actually taken voiceover classes. Brett notices that “musicians and artistic types” seem drawn to the voiceover work. He personally enjoys the opportunity with voiceovers to work on how you say something, as well as what you say. Brett’s also the one who coined the title for this blog.

As you watch the videos, you’ll hear numerous other voices from the Certain Software staff. While I didn’t name them all here, I am grateful to each for their enthusiasm and courage!

Nina and Heather from Certain Software

Comments (0)

If I use the internet to learn new information, is that e-learning? How about if I send an email to a friend with instructions on how to do something? If I watch a video of someone demonstrating how to use an application, is that e-learning?

Wikipedia defines e-learning as “a general term used to refer to computer-enhanced learning.” With this broad definition, many of our activities today could be considered e-learning.

I’m taking a class on designing e-learning right now and there’s not a lot of agreement among the group about what defines e-learning. The instructor even seems reluctant to provide us with a working definition, but would rather let us ponder the question.

I suspect there’s a fair amount of ambiguity around e-learning because the field and associated technology is changing so rapidly. Wikipedia’s article mentions blogs, wikis, text chat, virtual classrooms, and podcasts among the technologies that could be utilized in e-learning. All of these tools are relatively new and people are discovering innovative ways to use them all the time.  

I believe there has to be an instructional component, meaning it can’t just be informational. For me this means that reading an article online is not e-learning. I may learn new information from the article, but the article itself does not teach me how to use the information. Good teaching involves helping people bridge the gap between knowing and doing.

When it comes to creating software simulation and training, I’ve found Adobe Captivate is easy to use and makes polished video tutorials. Not only can you demonstrate how a software application works, but you can also create interactive simulations for learners to practice using the application. In addition to screen captures, Captivate also provides quiz and survey features and is flexible enough to allow you to import images, audio, Powerpoint slides, and Flash files.

I've seen training videos produced using TechSmith’s Camtasia, but it doesn’t offer the simulation component that helps make for a more active learning experience. As a learner myself, I find simple demonstrations fall short of effective instruction. If you are mainly interested in recording a presentation, then Camtasia might work well for you.

As an online registration technology provider, Certain Registration is committed to giving customers the tools and solutions you need to manage events successfully. That’s why we’re developing on-demand training videos to help your registration specialists and meeting planners get up to speed quickly on our application. Look for our videos online later this spring!

If you are cooking for your 7-year old son’s birthday party or dinner for your boss and his wife, are you likely to prepare the same dishes? The same sorts of considerations that go into planning a meal for these different groups also apply to meeting planning and trainings. The point is, don’t underestimate the importance of knowing your audience.

When you are preparing a training or presentation, consider the age, skill level, and backgrounds of your audience. How much do they already know about your topic? How will this new information be of use to them? Is the terminology going to be over their heads? What do the participants have in common with each other? Learning the answers to questions like these in advance will help you develop curriculum that meets the needs of your particular audience.

Recently, an acquaintance who frequently presents to groups of public school teachers lamented how tough an audience of teachers can be. As a former high school teacher, I knew exactly what she was talking about. Whether it was a faculty meeting or professional development workshop, the presenters competed for our attention with the looming pressures of papers to grade, lessons to create, parents to contact, etc.  Knowing this about the audience makes it all the more important to communicate immediately how your information or training will be of value to them.

If you’re interested in tips for how to get your audience’s attention, you might want to check out this article:

Creative Presentation Openers

Or if you know your audience may be hostile, here’s an article with strategies for defusing the tension and managing attendee experience:

Defusing a Hostile Audience

When you’re facilitating a training or presentation, you want the audience to ask questions and participate. It shows they’re listening and interested in your topic. But what should you do if one individual keeps hammering you with questions?

Some people call this phenomenon “stump the chump.” But I don’t think a participant is necessarily playing games when they ask multiple questions. They may really want to understand a concept or feel they need to know all the ins and outs before they can feel comfortable.

As a presenter or trainer, the key is to recognize when the questions are no longer relevant to the majority of your audience. You don’t want to lose everyone else in your audience in order to appease one person’s curiosity. At that point, tell the questioner that you can catch up with them at the break or that you’ll get to those questions later in your presentation.

Don’t let a participant drag you off topic or waste your audience’s time. Your audience will appreciate a facilitator who keeps the presentation or training focused.

Whether you work in sales, training, product design, or another functional area, you’ve probably led or participated in webinars or web conferences. The webinar is a widely used method for communication and training these days. Although everyone’s using web conferencing technology and meetings are easy to setup, we mustn’t forget that it’s a real event. As a meeting or event planner, you’re probably concerned about managing your attendee experience. It’s worth it to do some planning and preparation in advance. Here are a handful of best practices I recommend:

·        Login 10 -15 minutes early to set things up and start on time

·        Ask participants to login 5 minutes early for similar reasons

·        Recommend participants mute their phone lines unless they have questions

·        Provide an agenda and/or key objectives to focus participants

·        Use presentation materials that are clear and concise

·        Pace your speech and content delivery

·        Avoid fast or unnecessary mouse scrolling

·        Check-in periodically with participants to see if they have questions

·        Pose questions to participants to encourage active participation

·        If possible, have a partner with you that can attend to any technical problems

These are just a few quick tips for delivering successful webinars. Here are a couple of more detailed resources you might want to check out:

Ken Molay's Blog on Webinars

National Service Resources : webinar how-to guide

I’m excited that soon we’ll be launching a new set of on-demand training videos for Certain Registration! The first group of videos focuses on registration management topics. Our on-demand videos will help new users hit the ground running as well as offer experienced users the opportunity to refresh their skills with Certain’s online registration software. Meeting planners can watch and interact with the training videos at their convenience. Each video contains narration, animation, interactivity, and chances to review the content at your own pace.

The videos will be available to all Certain Registration customers at no additional charge. As a valued customer, we also supply you with online context-sensitive help, a searchable knowledge base, and live technical support so that you can achieve effective meeting management in no time!