Social Learning Systems

Focus on Observed Errors to Make Training Efficient | trainingmag.com

I took tennis lessons for years when I was a kid, and they were boring and mostly ineffectual, as evidenced by my weak tennis game. So when I signed up for my first lesson in 25 years while on vacation in Mexico, it was due more to boredom than to any thought that it would seriously improve my skills. I told my instructor, Rick, a crusty former touring professional from South Africa with a right forearm like Popeye and a complexion like tanned wildebeest hide, that based on past experience I didn’t expect a lot either from him or from myself. Rick asked me what my previous lessons were like, and I told him they had involved lots of verbal instruction and artificial drills. He laughed and said, “Don’t worry, doc, I don’t think you’ll have that problem today.”

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via trainingmag.com

Company training programs: What are they really worth? - Fortune Management

American businesses spent a staggering $125.9 billion on employee learning and development in 2009, according to the American Society of Training & Development's 2010 industry report. While companies track every data point of an advertising campaign, they often ignore the return on investment on their training dollars. Are companies getting any bang for their training buck?

While many companies collect data on the number of employees they train and the cost of training per person, most do not establish metrics that connect training sessions to the ultimate goals: improved sales, generating new customers and increased productivity.

Staff training programs largely fall into two broad categories: product, sales, and technical training, which teach specific skills; and more "intangible" workshops on leadership, team effectiveness and diversity, says Homa Bahrami, a lecturer in management at The University of California-Berkeley's Haas School of Business.

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via management.fortune.cnn.com

34 case studies that prove social media ROI

Great summary of case studies...    
 
"Here are 34 of those 100 social media case studies.  These 34 case studies cover B2C, B2B, profit and non-profit areas.  They include businesses big and small.  They prove social media ROI based on:

• Sales
• Shorter Sales Cycles
• New Leads
• Improved company operations
• Innovations that resulted in a better way to do business

Conclusion: Significant results are proven to occur in social media where low out-of-pocket investments lead to high ROI’s when businesses: 1) Have a clear business strategy, 2) Aren’t afraid to jump in 3) Use their imagination to make the most out of social channels, customer engagement and brand relationship."

via barnraisersllc.com

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