World-Class Talent Development:

How Learning Organizations Align Talent

Development with Organizational Objectives
by Dr. John Sullivan
World-Class Talent Development

Table of Contents

Executive Summary 2
The New Realities of Talent Development 3
Are training and development obsolete? 3
What is a learning organization? 4
Aligning Talent Development with Organizational Objectives 5
Responsibility for Talent Development Falls On the Managers 6
What can employees be expected to do? 6
What can the development office be expected to do? 7
Measuring the Impact of Talent Development 8
The use of metrics in talent development 8
Assessing the Business Impact of Talent Development 9
Assessing Your Learning Organization 10
Development Toolkit for Senior Managers and Development Professionals 11
Program ideas for senior managers 11
Program ideas for development professionals 13
Conclusion 16
World-Class Versus Traditional Talent Development: A Comparison 17

©2005, Dr. John Sullivan. Page 1

World-Class
World Class Talent Development

Executive Summary
We can all agree on one thing: the world of business is changing more rapidly now
than ever before. With a never-ending stream of evolving technology, expanding
global markets, and cutthroat competition tactics, no organization can afford to
rest on its laurels.

Organizations aiming for success must maintain a world-class workforce. While it

has always been accepted that knowledge and skills gradually become obsolete, we
know now that they become obsolete in a matter of months, not years. The new
reality facing organizations is this: continuous learning and skill development are no
longer options, but necessities. For organizations to become world-class, talent
development must become a cornerstone of business.

Senior executives have begun to realize the importance of building a “learning

organization,” in which every employee, manager, and process continuously
improves. Unfortunately, the sheer size, complexity, and speed of change in the
global economy makes this goal difficult to attain.

The objective is further complicated by a demographic shift in the composition of

the U.S. workforce, one that many are calling an impending crisis. As members of
the baby boom generation approach retirement age and exit the workforce, they
are leaving behind a much smaller, younger, and more diverse population. These
subsequent generations come to the workplace with different ideals, needs, and
expectations regarding development opportunities.

While many organizations have tried, few have succeeded in transforming themselves
into a learning organization. Most chief learning officers (CLOs) and development
professionals realize that competitive advantage is at stake, but lack the business
knowledge and support needed to create a centralized development organization.

This white paper examines what managers and development professionals must do
in order to take responsibility for talent development and ensure a positive impact
on the bottom line. It suggests that those involved with developing talent must
rethink the current approach, and it offers dramatic alternatives to the status quo.
It also challenges the idea that development activities must be centralized in order
to be successful, and recommends shifting many development activities directly to
the line manager and the employee.

While it may be provocative, this white paper attests that traditional approaches to
training and development cannot be effective in widely dispersed, lean, and rapidly
changing organizations. Everyone is overworked and no one has any time for
traditional development approaches and methods. Organizations need simpler
management-driven approaches and tools that are designed to make continuous
learning and development an integral part of the process.

©2005, Dr. John Sullivan. Page 2

World-Class Talent Development

The New Realities of Talent Development

Knowledge has become very much like the technology products we rely on: once
counted on to retain value for five or more years, it now becomes out of date in
less than two. What’s worse, the rate at which knowledge becomes obsolete is likely
to increase over the coming years. More employees are gaining access to massive,
computer-aided knowledge bases. Meanwhile, globalization and offshore outsourcing
practices are diversifying our employee population.

What does all this mean for the development function and everyone involved?
Current processes and programs must be redesigned to account for rapid obsolescence.
Organizations must develop processes to learn faster, share ideas more quickly, and
increase the speed at which individuals update their capabilities. This task is made
even more daunting by the environment created by downsizing, mergers, and
economic pressures. No one has time to learn, and development budgets have been
cut to the bone.

Are training and development obsolete?

Many experts now agree that the corporate training department as we know it is
fast becoming obsolete. For too long organizations have accepted putting together
a catalog of classes, providing facilitators, and implementing every fad from
emotional intelligence to exercises in the woods as the equivalent of developing
individuals and producing business results. What senior executives want now is a
radical new approach. They want to see a direct connection between development
activities and increased workforce productivity. They don’t want training or even
development. What they want are results that:

• Increase the capabilities of the workforce

• Boost individual output or productivity
• Improve the adoption rate of best practices
• Enhance innovation and creativity in the workforce

In short, senior executives want the development function to radically change into
one that increases productivity and delivers business results.

©2005, Dr. John Sullivan. Page 3

World-Class Talent Development

What is a learning organization?

After an organization has achieved its goal of developing a world-class talent
development strategy, it is not unusual for senior managers to strive to proceed to
the next step: becoming a learning organization.

A learning organization has certain characteristics. Employees seek out continuous

improvement at the individual and organizational level and are hired based on
their ability to self-develop and continuously improve the quality of their work and
level of output. Employees are expected to be on the leading edge of knowledge
for their positions. Also, employees and managers are measured and rewarded
based on learning and information sharing.

Knowledge sharing is considered a critical success factor for the organization, and in
fact information hoarding is discouraged by the organization’s senior management.
The organization considers learning a major competitive advantage. Competitive
intelligence and continuous benchmarking are considered essential, and open-book
management is widely practiced.

©2005, Dr. John Sullivan. Page 4

World-Class Talent Development

Aligning Talent Development with Organizational Objectives

One of the primary goals of most talent development programs is to ensure alignment
with the overall goals and objectives of the organization. Although every organization
is different, there are some simple ways of accomplishing this.

The first step is to understand senior management’s expectations. CEOs are focused
on results, and laser-focused on the short list of things for which their board of
directors holds them accountable. Therefore, one method for ensuring alignment
of development is to identify exactly what factors the CEO is being measured and
rewarded on, and then concentrate talent-development efforts in those areas.

For example, if the CEO is measured and rewarded for increasing customer satisfaction,
then talent development must demonstrate how improving customer service skills
immediately impacts service ratings, and what each percentage point increase
represents to the bottom line.

If the CEO is rewarded for increasing sales revenue, then talent development must
demonstrate how improving skills in the sales area dramatically increase overall
sales. The impact can be demonstrated by using a control group to show how the
talent development program makes an economic difference.

Some other ways to align talent development with corporate objectives include:

• Spending the development budget in direct proportion to priorities identified

and ranked as most critical by senior managers
• Developing programs that are made available on a fee-for-service basis
• Identifying key business units and divisions in the organization and allocating
more resources to those with the highest business impact
• Developing special programs for high-impact jobs and key positions

Improving performance in areas that are off the CEO’s radar screen does little to
improve the image and perceived value of talent development. However, it’s important
to remember how frequently that radar screen can change. Organizational objectives
shift almost as often as the business world changes. That said, it’s not enough to
align development with corporate goals once a year. Ensuring alignment is a
continuous process that requires at least one midyear review and adjustment point.
Talent development must remain agile and capable of providing just-in-time services
as corporate needs change.

©2005, Dr. John Sullivan. Page 5

World-Class Talent Development

Responsibility for Talent Development Falls On the Managers

One of the essential elements of world-class talent development is shifting responsi-
bility for employee training and development to the business-unit level. Under the
traditional model, managers have few responsibilities when it comes to employee
development. In fact, if you ask individual managers to list their primary duties as
they relate to people management, they seldom mention talent development. Some
are not even certain what talent development means, associating it with attending
technical training classes but not understanding the broad scope of true talent
development. This isn’t surprising, given that most organizations make no formal
effort to measure or reward managers based on employee development.

Of course, not all managers avoid taking ownership for developing employees. But
there is rarely a set time for development discussions, and when they do happen, it
often requires bold employees to initiate them. There are some exceptions, such as
General Electric and Intel, where company culture and senior leadership reinforce
the need to make development an essential element of every manager’s job. Those
companies correctly see development as a key element to success.

What can employees be expected to do?

In most organizations, employees are expected to somehow manage their own
development. That may not have been such a bad idea when it was an employer’s
market, but in today’s turbulent business waters it can be disastrous. Employees
should take some percentage of ownership in developing themselves, but there are
several factors that keep them from effectively managing their own development
altogether, including the following.

Learners are not heroes. There are few organizations in which learning is considered
an essential element of leadership. In fact, the culture of many organizations has
made continuous learning something that is simply not important.

There is no assessment. Employees are never directly assessed on development.

Performance appraisals discuss prior performance, but make no attempt to identify
areas where future development is needed.

Lack of understanding. Employees are not trained or knowledgeable in terms of

what constitutes development. As a result, they don’t know what is expected of
them in that area.

©2005, Dr. John Sullivan. Page 6

World-Class Talent Development

Unclear on their future. Employees are not told what new skills will be important or
where the key growth areas will be within the organization. If they are developing
themselves in hopes of a promotion, they are most likely to reference current job
descriptions and have no insight into how they might differ in the future.

Focus on the short term. So many organizations have frozen or restricted promotions
that employees often see immediate productivity as the key to success, as opposed
to developing themselves for future opportunities within the organization.

Fear of failure. It’s difficult to rely on employees to manage their own development
because, if they get it wrong, they feel that their mistake will be perceived as job
failure. Worse, if employees fail to develop in the appropriate ways or at the right
speed, they are likely to become frustrated in their jobs.

What can the development office be expected to do?

Becoming a self-learner is difficult, given the existing culture and management
practices in most organizations. The only other available option is to make the
centralized development function or office responsible for employee development.

Although some organizations have actually adopted that approach, on the surface
it’s obvious that no central organization can identify the development needs or
opportunities for thousands of employees. Thus, the third option must become
more viable, in which the manager becomes the primary person responsible for
employee development, in partnership with an educated employee and a centralized
support function. In that case, ownership and personalized development at the
departmental level are the keys to success.

©2005, Dr. John Sullivan. Page 7

World-Class Talent Development

Measuring the Impact of Talent Development

In the business world, measuring results is an essential component of success. Senior
executives and shareholders rely on the numbers to make decisions every day.
Human resources, however, has historically resisted the use of financial or performance
metrics. CEOs routinely say that people are an organization’s most important asset,
yet they rarely back up such words with actions. One possible explanation is that
human resources has always failed to sell senior management on the impact of
executive and employee development.

Metrics are the fastest and the cheapest way to change behavior in business. They
work as motivators because they excite, draw out competitiveness, and occasionally
embarrass performance-driven individuals. Although metrics might seem intimidating
at first, once you grow accustomed to them, you will not be able to live without them.

The use of metrics in talent development

Once an organization begins the process of creating or updating its talent development
strategy, it doesn’t take long for the individuals involved to realize that they will
need to build a set of metrics that will allow development to assess its business
impact, processes, and programs.

There are five primary measurement categories for which metrics should be chosen:

1. Business impact. Assessing and placing a dollar value on the business impact of
talent development.

2. Learning organization. Assessing your organization’s progress towards becoming

a learning organization.

3. Development office. Identifying metrics that can be used to assess the

development office.

4. Development programs. Identifying metrics that can be used to assess individual

development programs.

5. Processes and approaches. Assessing your talent development function by comparing

its processes and the features it includes against industry benchmarks.

©2005, Dr. John Sullivan. Page 8

World-Class Talent Development

Assessing the Business Impact of Talent Development

In the current business environment, requisite information and knowledge is changing
so quickly that employees can go from capable to obsolete in less than a year. Add
to this the impacts of globalization and technology innovation, and you will soon
realize that the likelihood of employee obsolescence is greater than ever before.

Assuming that obsolete employees make more errors, slow product development,
and are more apt to offend customers makes it easy to understand why a lack of
talent development can have a significant negative impact on business results. In
making the business case, the magnitude of these impacts must be identified,
quantified in dollars, and reported to senior management.

Implementing new talent development programs and then measuring the results
represents the traditional way that most development professionals determine
whether a new program is successful. However, many executives understand that
increases in productivity or output can be influenced by numerous factors occurring
simultaneously. As a result, these individuals are likely to dismiss the notion that
such increases are automatically the result of development efforts.

To solve this problem, consider some of these surefire approaches to removing senior
management’s doubts:

Run a pilot. A small trial allows you to compare the before and after and see if the
activity or program has a noticeable impact on output, productivity, or business results.

Use split samples. Apply your development approach or tool to one group and not
another. An examination of the control group versus the affected group will help
determine if the program worked.

Show a correlation. Demonstrate that as the use of development programs increases,

so does productivity, output, and/or business results.

Before-and-after sampling. Demonstrate that an individual employee’s results

improved within a relatively short period of time following a development program.

Program hibernation. If you really want to prove that a program works, hibernate
it after a period of successful operation in order to see if productivity returns to
lower levels.

Although some of these approaches may seem drastic, they are the same approaches
used by marketing and product development departments to prove program value
and success.

©2005, Dr. John Sullivan. Page 9

World-Class Talent Development

Assessing Your Learning Organization

Learning organizations typically advance beyond the traditional limits of what most
training and development departments accomplish. Thus, it’s only natural to expect
that their goals and performance metrics would go beyond those of most organiza-
tions. The following is a list of metrics that can be used to assess your organization’s
status as a learning organization.

Problem solving and solution sharing. The speed at which managers are notified
about problems and workable solutions identified in another region or business unit.

Information and idea transfer. The percentage of new ideas, information, and best
practices that are generated and shared by individuals in jobs at the bottom 30 percent
of the organization.

Learning and information sharing. The speed at which important company, competitor,
and industry information is shared between managers and employees.

Employee self-development. The percentage of employees that have individual

development plans, which may include learning assignment and salary-based training
allowances, that are reviewed by their manager at least quarterly.

On-the-job learning. The percentage of employees that report a majority of their

learning takes place on the job (as opposed to classroom and e-learning), including
the number of free hours per week the average employee is allotted to learn, plan,
and develop in the workplace.

Open-book management. The percentage of corporate information that can be

accessed via the intranet by all employees with a reasonable need to know.

Continuous improvement. The level of employee development success, a basis for

manager performance measurement, as well. In addition, new hires cite excellent
development opportunities as a reason for accepting a position, and development
ranks high on employee and manager satisfaction surveys.

Rewards for successful development. Percentage of an average manager’s pay that

is directly tied to the successful development and continuous learning of their
employees, and percentage of employees who receive bonuses for learning.

Obviously no organization has the time or resources to utilize all of these learning
organization metrics. To achieve excellence in this area, however, organizations
should strive to incorporate as many as possible.

©2005, Dr. John Sullivan. Page 10

World-Class Talent Development

Development Toolkit for Senior Managers

and Development Professionals
The following section contains numerous development tips and program suggestions.
They are divided into two distinct categories: ideas that are primarily for managers
and ideas primarily for the talent development department.

Program ideas for senior managers

Consider giving every employee his or her own development fund. Most managers
and development departments inform employees of the development programs
that are best for them. This takes away employees’ control and in many cases
makes them feel like they don’t own the development process.

An alternate approach is to give every eligible employee a percentage of their

salary to use for professional development. This teaches them how to manage
resources and allows them to select the most appropriate development mechanisms.

Use “what-if” and “if-then” scenarios to forecast results. Many employees and
managers are so tied up in day-to-day activities that they don’t have time to
forecast. One way to force the development of this forward-looking capability is
to run employees and managers through what are known as “what-if” and
“if-then” scenarios.

During these scenarios, individuals are asked to walk through the steps that they
would take if they were confronted with a likely future event or problem. They are
then assessed on their approach to handling the situation. Even though they don’t
always have the right answer, the process forces individuals to think ahead and
understand how to handle a situation.

Use parallel benchmarking. Many organizations take a relatively narrow perspective

on where they learn: within their own company or from a few direct competitors in
their industry. However, there is another learning opportunity, known as parallel bench-
marking, that includes some opportunities for dramatic learning and improvement.

By benchmarking best practices in related or parallel industries, it’s possible to learn

how to implement programs faster than your industry typically does. The key is to
learn from the advanced programs and processes of other disciplines, industries, or
geographic regions.

©2005, Dr. John Sullivan. Page 11

World-Class Talent Development

Explore other delivery mechanisms and media. Every individual learns in his or her
own way, and some despise classroom training. As a result, you need to find ways to
help employees learn that fit into their style.

For example, give employees CDs to listen to during their commute, or provide
subscriptions to publications they can read on the subway to and from work. If your
budget allows, consider providing short videos on monitors located by elevators,
water coolers, and other areas where employees congregate. Some firms have
even utilized fortune cookies to send a key message. Identify the media that your
employees regularly utilize outside of work, and adapt them to development and
learning programs.

Respect development diversity. Many managers fail to realize that individuals from
different backgrounds learn and develop differently. It’s important when you design
programs to ensure that many different types of people will gain from them.

One recommended solution is to develop an advisory board made up of employees,

including some who have had poor development program experiences in the past.
The board will help you continuously improve both the attendance and the impact
of your programs.

Try “the pit.” General Electric made the pit famous, and a similar tactic called
“constructive confrontation” is used at Intel. This approach employs senior managers
to deliver their ideas and assess the ideas of other employees.

In the pit, the individual presenting is encircled by other employees and managers,
and is bombarded with questions from the audience. Managers can observe individ-
uals asking tough questions and assess them on the quality of their questions and
their answers. The net effect is that if the idea is accepted the entire group will be
less resistant to it. If the idea is weak, those weaknesses will be uncovered during
this session.

Identify employee motivators. Most managers are terrible at motivating and

developing their employees. One of the primary reasons for this is that managers
have no way of finding out what motivates each employee.

Try surveying employees, as early as their first day, on what motivates and frustrates
them. Also, try asking employees to list what they want more of and less of in order
to maintain their productivity and motivation. It’s important to have discussions
directly with employees regarding motivation, as well as the challenges and learning
opportunities available to them.

©2005, Dr. John Sullivan. Page 12

World-Class Talent Development

Share learning best practices. Managers and employees often have little time for
traditional education. One way to speed up the learning process is to provide
employees with presorted sources of learning.

What that means is that an employee, rather than having to search through volumes
of Web pages and periodicals, instead receives a presorted list of the sources that
your most successful managers have found to be the most effective. The sources
selected are labeled by who uses them, how much they cost, and the type and
depth of information they contain. As additional sources are identified, the profile
is refined and updated.

Identify on-the-job development opportunities. There is abundant research to

demonstrate that more than 70 percent of all learning in organizations happens on
the job. Managers and development professionals need to know all of the available
options for on-the-job learning, which may include special job or task-force assignments,
free-time allocation, presentations, and leadership assignments.

Establish a learning network. A learning network is a group of individuals who

exchange information and assess each other’s ideas in real time. The group can be
formalized as a learning organization or kept as a relatively informal network of
colleagues. Most learning networks have few rules, but some have specific guidelines
to keep the group focused.

Information that might be exchanged includes best practices, problems, articles,

reading lists, and learning materials. What makes a learning network successful is
that it spreads learning throughout a small group of people with similar interests.

Program ideas for development professionals

Rewards for successful development. One of the easiest yet least-used ways to
encourage development is changing the performance appraisal and the bonus system.
When managers are rewarded for successfully developing and releasing talent, they
automatically spend more time on it. The same can be said for employees.

When employees see that continuous learning and development is rewarded in

their paycheck, they will invariably find a way to develop faster. Public recognition
can also have an impact on manager and employee focus on development.
Remember, most haven’t been convinced that development directly impacts their
productivity, output, and job security.

©2005, Dr. John Sullivan. Page 13

World-Class Talent Development

Use list servers to support information sharing. Many organizations share information
and facilitate best practices via the company intranet. Unfortunately, the failure
rate is extremely high because it requires managers to periodically post their best
practices to the site.

A more effective option is using a list server, which only requires a manager to send
an email to the list. The email is then automatically shared with all other members
on the list. List server software is inexpensive and easy to use, and resistance is minimal.
Results can be easily archived for people researching questions that are likely to
have already been answered. List servers that are restricted to relatively narrow
technical or management areas are generally the most successful.

Convince the CEO to be your CDO. Nothing increases attendance and demonstrates
the importance of talent development like having senior management participate
in development efforts. By having the CEO and other senior officers sponsor, attend,
or even lead a session, it sends a clear message to everyone that development is
important. Solicit the CEO’s help by demonstrating the business impact of develop-
ment, then getting his or her commitment to allocate four to eight hours per
month to development efforts.

Work closely with managers that resist development efforts. While most managers
appreciate the development function, there is always a core group of managers
that resist overhead functions, and development is no exception.

The problem with this group is that they disparage development and can negatively
impact your overall image. As an alternative, try assuming that there are certain
individuals that will resist development, and seek them out in order to identify why
they feel this way. Consider putting them on a task force to design alternative training
programs, giving them ownership of the problem and the solution.

Seek out the managers with the biggest challenges. The best way to identify the
biggest business problems faced by the organization is to directly solicit the managers.
Once you know what your company-specific problems are, demonstrate to the
managers how learning and development efforts can help to solve them. This
approach will help change the development function’s image from a passive overhead
program provider to a proactive business problem solver. Also, targeting the biggest
business problems alleviates much of the concern about whether development is
directly aligned with corporate goals and objectives.

©2005, Dr. John Sullivan. Page 14

World-Class Talent Development

Put the right person in the right job. Keeping up with the rapid changes in business
means moving people quickly from low-return areas to high-return areas. For the
talent development function, this means proactively identifying individuals and
moving them into assignments, jobs, and business units where they can have the
most impact.

In most organizations, the development function plays little or no part in placing

individuals. However, in a learning organization, individuals are identified and
moved based on the recommendation of development professionals. In turn, managers
are measured and rewarded based on how well they develop and move talent to
other areas.

Change initiatives are top down and bottom up. The most effective talent development
functions expand their role beyond learning and development. They are also experts
in change management, because learning has little value if it is not implemented.

Information and decisions cannot always come from the top down. The trickle
down just takes too long. In a learning culture, initiatives come from the individual
with the most information relevant to the problem. The development function must
create processes to ensure the free flow of communication to increase the likelihood
that ideas, innovations, and criticisms come from every layer in the organization.
This is important because learning occurs in every level of the organization, and in
order to be successful, that information has to be passed quickly without having to
go through a tedious hierarchy.

©2005, Dr. John Sullivan. Page 15

World-Class Talent Development

Conclusion
The purpose of this white paper is to cause you to rethink your approach to talent
development, and it purposely takes a cynical view of the traditional approaches to
training and development. Managers seldom report being 100 percent satisfied with
the training and development options that are offered. Every year, development fads
come and go, but overall there has been little change. Surveys routinely point out
that managers’ expectations are not being met. If you need additional proof as to
whether or not the development function must improve, you need look no further
than development budgets, which are consistently slashed during tough economic
times. The message is clear: we need to do things differently.

The cornerstone of world-class talent development is that it focuses on increasing

workforce productivity rather than providing training and development activities.
Other key features include shifting development ownership to the managers and
shifting most development activities so that they take place on the job. Increasing
integration with other functions and adding significant metrics and rewards are
also imperative to success.

These new approaches will emphasize fact-based decision making, in which decisions
on where to allocate development resources are based on data and business impact
rather than on intuition and past practices. That is the biggest key to success for
employees, their managers, and the organization.

©2005, Dr. John Sullivan. Page 16

World-Class Talent Development

World-Class Versus Traditional Talent Development: A Comparison

This section is designed to give you a high-level perspective on world-class talent
development approaches by comparing the characteristics of world-class talent
development with more traditional training and development. There are numerous
factors that make a talent development approach world-class, each of which is
outlined here.

World-Class Talent Traditional Training and

Characteristic
Employee expectations
Development
Every employee is expected
to remain at the leading
edge of knowledge.
Development
No expectations are commu-
nicated. Employees expect
that training will be provided
when necessary. Executive
expectations are not subject
to organizational limits.

Quantified continuous Expectations for continuous Employee expectations are

improvement improvement are quantified rarely established and almost
for each employee. Each never measured.
employee is given a cus-
tomized learning plan that
is updated with measurable
objectives.

On-the-job focus Emphasizes using job Emphasizes classroom or con-

assignments, rotations, and trolled environment learning
sophisticated simulations using a one-to-many model.
for one-to-one development
and learning.

Business case for managers
Calculates the ROI of Fails to determine and
development activities and communicate to managers
communicates that informa- the economic impact of
tion to managers, driving participating in development
support for development activities.
activities. This business case
compares the performance
of units and managers with
their usage of development
tools and practices.

©2005, Dr. John Sullivan. Page 17

World-Class Talent Development
Characteristic
Owned by managers
Economic benefits of
development are apparent
to employees
Integrated in existing
business processes
“What works” knowledge
sharing permeates the
organization
Focuses on making workforce
more productive
©2005, Dr. John Sullivan.
World-Class Talent
Development
Accountability for learning
and development belongs
to managers. They are
responsible for assessing
development needs and
coordinating with a central-
ized function to provide
opportunities for continuous
learning, challenge, growth,
and development.
Recognizes that maintaining
a workforce on the leading
edge of knowledge not only
requires a financial invest-
ment, but also a willingness
to learn on the part of
employees. The economic
benefits are communicated
via pay differentials, bonuses,
promotions, etc.
Learning and development
activities are embedded in
every major business process.
Managers do not separate
development activities
from the productivity
improvement process.
Focuses on developing
methodologies and systems
to promote and enable rapid
sharing of “what works”
knowledge, upcoming
business problems, and tech-
niques for effective learning.
Development is managed
to impact retention and
motivation. Managers are
expected to have a personal-
ized motivation plan for
energizing each employee
through development
opportunities. The primary
measure of success is increased
individual productivity.
Traditional Training and
Development
Accountability for develop-
ment is not clearly attributed
to one party or another, but
rests on the shoulders of the
training function, managers,
and employees in an
unplanned manner.
Employees who excel may be
promoted more quickly, but
connections to development
are not made and economic
drivers for the majority are
nonexistent.
Training and development
operates as an independent
function within HR. It is
viewed as an overhead
function whose activities
are nonessential in tough
economic climates.
Does not traditionally play a
role in knowledge capture,
knowledge sharing, or
knowledge management.
The primary focus is to
impart information that may
or may not prove useful to
individuals in the execution
of their jobs. The primary
measure of success is partici-
pant satisfaction. A growing
measure of success is
information retention
as measured through
standardized testing.
Page 18
World-Class Talent Development

World-Class Talent Traditional Training and

Characteristic Development Development
Extensive use of distributed Metrics are used assess Use of metrics is minimal
metrics development programs and and is focused primarily on
impact. Metrics are distrib- the basics of knowledge
uted to all managers to drive acquisition and satisfaction.
development discussions,
usage, and results.

Increased access to Open-book management Access to information about

information gives every employee access company problems and
to the information they need opportunities is restricted.
to make better decisions.
Employees also have open
access to information about
the business. Every employee
is aware of how their job
impacts output, productivity,
and profitability.

Managers are the primary The majority of training is Training and development
delivery mechanism delivered via managers, is delivered primarily via
including classroom and corporate trainers or third-
online learning. This is party consultants and
because managers have more outside experts.
credibility, can provide more
company examples, and can
be developed more quickly.

Just-in-time program Allows for the rapid develop- Program development is

development ment of programs to meet time-intensive, often requiring
sudden needs. as much time as one year to
develop new courses.

Kronos Incorporated 297 Billerica Road Chelmsford, MA 01824

(800) 225-1561 (978) 250-9800 www.kronos.com

©2005, Dr. John Sullivan, reproduced with permission. Kronos Incorporated. Kronos and the Kronos logo are registered trademarks, and “Improving the
Performance of People and Business” is a trademark of Kronos Incorporated or a related company. All other product and company names mentioned are
used for identification purposes only, and may be the trademarks of their respective owners. Printed in the USA. xxxxx Rev. x

Page 19