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A LMS can no longer rely on it’s effectiveness as a learning medium to deliver, track and monitor training. It now needs to fend for itself and clearly demonstrate how it adds value to a business’s bottom line.

Previously, a traditional LMS has been able to provide sufficient value and worth to an organisation, by delivering and tracking training in a more cost effective and flexible method. However, as technology improves, and new technologies emerge, the humble LMS doesn’t quite cut it any longer.

The new breed of Learning Management Systems, provide organisations with the ability to target the delivery of training to those who require it, driving better business performance through better employee performance.

It is a worn out cliche that people are an organisations best asset. However, they are also an organisation’s greatest expense. That’s why it’s so important to ensure employees are kept up to a level where they’re able to perform to the best of their ability and provide the organisation with the best possible rate of return.

To measure this performance and to ensure skills and knowledge are attained, a level, or standard, must be set on an individual basis, with each employee given a specific set of goals.

This level, or standard, is directly proportion to the specific role or function that the employee has been hired to perform. However to acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to fulfil this role, every employee needs to undergo training and further development. It makes sense then, to ensure that there is a specific process surrounding the training and development of the employee. Thus ensuring the employee not only learns the basics and fundamentals of their role, to perform it at an optimal level, but also continues to increase their skills, knowledge and abilities, which ultimately brings further benefit to the organisation.

So how do we do this without hiring a team of HR consultants who will want to change your entire organisational culture and put more fish tanks around the office?

Say hello to the new breed of Learning Management Systems — all inclusive solutions that provide the identification, mapping, training and tracking of employee skills and knowledge.

Such solutions (like Aframe’s Skills Optimiser) allow for the creation of role profiles that are matched against each individual employee. These role profiles consist of individual skills, skill sets and knowledge components that are specific to the role and then customised for the individual employee. Once an employee begins their training, a training needs analysis is conducted. This matches the employee’s current skills and knowledge against the created role profile, identifying training gaps, thus producing the employee’s development plan.

These Learning Management Systems are then able to schedule the appropriate training to the employee, whether it be online training through the LMS, instructor led training which is planned, scheduled and managed by the LMS or a combination of both.

The end result is a system that helps businesses ensure their staff are provided with training that is specific, relevant and timely.

On top of this, is the reporting and analytical benefits provided by such a system. With uniform role profiles, skills and skill sets already defined and mapped to training, Learning and Development Managers now have the ability to dive deeper into the skill and knowledge attributes of those employees who outperform their peers. It also allows HR to search for employees who may fit certain skill and knowledge criteria for job roles, allowing more comprehensive internal recruitment and screening capability.

Effectively trained and better skilled staff will benefit any organisation in striving to become a better performing business, however the method, efficiency and speed at which it can be done, has been changed forever.

Aframe provides comprehensive eLearning, learning content development, compliance training, and learning management system solutions across Asia Pacific.

Sales training is perhaps the single greatest resource you can give to your employees. It is a means of teaching them the best techniques for today’s business world. It is also a means of giving your employees the right tools to boost sales and profit margins.

Sales training is being used more and more by businesses because of the proven methods of training that can inspire your sales staff. By implementing these methods you are giving your employees the opportunity to exceed at their jobs.

Whether you set up in house sessions or online, sessions for just a few employees or many, Sales training is taught by seasoned sales professionals who have been in sales field for many years and know what methods are effective in today’s market place.

Although these methods are developed for salespeople, any staff members who have contact with your customers can benefit from them, making it a very cost effective way to conduct your business.

Many business owners are skeptical of the cost that is associated with these types of courses. However, it is nothing compared to money that is lost in revenues from customers that got away.

Business owners who have tracked their sales after sales training have found that their profit was raised substantially, allowing them to give bonuses to their employees for a job well done.

Sales training can be conducted in many different ways. It can be set up at orientation for new hires, or you can hold an all day training session in your office. The trainers develop a method that is tailored to your business and will assist all personnel who attend the sessions in honing their skills on many levels to turn them into selling machines.

Sales training for outside sales staff and virtual offices has always been very difficult to schedule. No one seems to have the same time available and traveling to one location was nearly impossible, especially if the company had worldwide salespeople.

Today, it is possible to hold sessions online, where your staff can log in with their own username and password to attend the training sessions at a time when it is most convenient for them.

Sales training can teach your sales force many different aspects of sales and how to perform them with accuracy and ease. A trainer can instruct your employees on how to prospect and close a sale. He or she is specially trained in the fine art of sales and each has a lot of knowledge to offer.

Sales today are very different from sales in past years. Many of the techniques are outdated and obsolete. The business word today is fast paced and aggressive and if a business does not keep up to date, they will end up failing.

Each business is unique and sales trainers understand this. They bring to the sessions proven methods of sales protocol and teach your staff how to implement each aspect of it.

When your sessions have finished, you will find that by initiating the training that has been provided, your sales will increase substantially.

Peter Geisheker is the CEO of The Geisheker Group marketing firm

Peter develops and implements strategic marketing programs as well as sales training for businesses of all sizes.

My assumptions are that:
You have some basic knowledge of training.

Or you may have experience in the training field as an instructor.

You might have developed instructor-led training or printed training manuals.

YOu would rather get a root canal than write objectives!

Wait, there is hope!

The first most important principle to remember about writing objectives is: Understand is not a measurable objective!

Let me repeat, Understand is not a measurable objective!

Having written objectives for over 25+ years, I admit I am very picky. And when I see a document that starts off with objectives that include “understand”, I cringe. Excuse me, how to do measure someone’s understanding of a concept or procedure? You can’t.

What is a measurable objective?
- Objectives are written to give direction to training events.
- A measurable objective contains an “action” verb thereby engaging the learner to demonstrate knowledge or problem solving skills.
- A measurable objective is “capable of being measured”.

Here is how to quickly create measurable objectives by putting Bloom’s Taxonomy theory into practice.

1. At the Knowledge Level, the learner exhibits previously learned materials by recalling facts, terms, basic concepts and answers.

Level 1: Key Words include: Choose, define, find, label, list, match, name, recall, relate, select, spell, tell, what, when, where, which, who, why

Use these to create instant objectives:

The student will be able to:
- Define what is ______?
- Match how is… related to______?
- Choose where is ______ found?
- Tell why we chose to use ______?
- Select the main ______?

2. At the Comprehension Level: the learner demonstrates the ability to relate to facts and ideas by organizing, comparing, translating, interpreting, giving descriptions and stating main ideas.

Level 2: Key Words include: Classify, compare, contrast, demonstrate, explain, extend, infer, interpret, illustrate, outline, relate, rephrase, show, summarize, translate

Use these Instant Objectives:

The student will be able to:
- Classify the type of ______
- Compare and contrast ______to ______
- Explain the process to ______ a ______
- Illustrate the best process to ______

3. At the Application Level: the learner solves problems by applying knowledge, facts, techniques and rules in a different way.

Level 3: Key Words include: Apply, build, choose, construct, develop, experiment with, identify, interview, make use of, model, organize, plan, select, solve, utilize

Use these Instant Objectives:

The student will be able to:
- Solve common business case scenarios using ______
- Identify what would result if ______ happened
- Select the best ways to solv e a problem about ______
- Organize the ______ into ______ for efficiency
- Utilize the process to ______

4. At the Analysis Level: the learner examines and breaks down information into parts by identifying motives or causes; making inferences and finding evidence to support generalizations.

Level 4: Key Words include: Analyze, assumption, categorize, classify, compare, conclusion, contrast, discover, distinguish, divide, examine, inspect, simplify, survey, take part in, test for

Use these Instant Objectives:

The student will be able to:
- Discover the process by examining the individual components of the ______
- Classify the ______ into elements
- Conclude that ______ will happen if the following steps occur
- Examine the relationship between ______
- Categorize the parts of the ______

5. At the Synthesis Level: the learner compiles information together in a different way by combining elements in a new pattern or other solution.

Level 5: Key Words include: Adapt, build, change, choose, combine, compile, compose, construct, create, design, develop, elaborate, estimate, formulate, imagine, improve, invent, make up, maximize, minimize, originate, plan, predict, propose, solve, solution, suppose, theorize, test,

Use these Instant Objectives:

The student will be able to:
- Discuss the changes needed to solve ______
- Choose the most efficient way to ______
- Invent a new technique to ______
- Modify the plan to ______
- Minimize the loss or risk by ______
- Combine the right techniques to ______
- Improve the efficiency by ______
- Propose effective strategies to ______
- Adapt a new way to ______
- Design a new approach to resolving ______

6. At the Synthesis Level: the learner presents and defends opinions by making judgments about information, validity of ideas or quality of work.

Level 6: Key Words include: Agree, appraise, assess, award, choose, conclude, criticize, decide, deduct, defend, determine, disprove, dispute, estimate, evaluate, explain, influence, interpret, judge, justify, measure, mark, rate, recommend, rule on, perceive, prioritize, prove, select, support, value

Use these Instant Objectives:

The student will be able to:
- Provide reasons to agree with the ______
- Offer opinions on the effectiveness of specific wording to customers.
- Estimate the amount of time it takes to______
- Recommend effective strategies or tactics to complete work more efficiently.
- Recommend three approaches to ______
- Rate the effectiveness of ______
- Defend the actions of ______
- Evaluate representative / client conversations for ______
- Assess the value of ______

A closing note on writing objectives:

Don’t use more than 3-5 objectives per unit of instruction. If there are more than that, consider breaking that unit into two parts. And even though we would like to think that we live in a perfect world and the learners need to achieve competence up to Level 6 - that’s not reality. Be happy if you can get them to solidly achieve typical goals of Levels 1 - 4.

Good luck in writing objectives painlessly!

Design2Train, a SBA 8a certified company, was founded by Karen Miller, an award-winning instructional designer with over 25+ years of project management experience. Design2Train specializes in creating training at the speed of business. Visit our website: Design2Train

If you are interested in succeeding in the area of business, it is essential that you are well educated in the area of effective communication skills.

While many individuals seem to be born natural communicators, the rest of us must acquire this particular skill in order to be successful at it. Consistency is the key when it comes to business and communication skills.

Here, you will find useful information directly related to the impact of good communication skills in the business environment. If you are looking to gain effectiveness in your professional career, you are sure to benefit from the information contained here.

The lack of communication skills has been determined to be one of the most popular reasons for the overall decline in many businesses.

The inability to share ideas and thoughts, facts and figures, and express oneself in the business world can literally destroy careers, and close the door on many different types of businesses. It is essential to know and understand this very important fact in order to completely grasp the overall importance of this particular skill.

It is also important to understand that building skill level in this area is a must. Each and every single individual communicates in different ways, due to their take on the matters that are important to them, as well as their skill level in the area. You must be able to adapt to these differences effectively.

There are two general types of communication. The first type, obviously, is verbal. The second type of communication is nonverbal.

Many times, believe it or not, the nonverbal cues that we give off speak louder than the words that we actually use. When it comes to communicating in a professional environment, it is important that we are all aware of the things that we are communicating with our mouth, our facial expressions, and our general body language.

This is really the first step to increasing business and communication skills. Without this knowledge, there is no marked area for improvement. With this knowledge, you will find yourself constantly striving to increase the verbal and nonverbal means in which you communicate with others in the professional environment.

When focusing on business and communication skills, it is important that you focus on several different aspects that may be experienced in the professional environment.

First, you should be able to experience comfort and quality when it comes to communicating with a person in a one on one manner.

Second, you should understand how to communicate when it comes to conflicts that may arise in the professional environment.

Third, you must ensure that you know and understand how to communicate with a team of individuals in a discussion that is related to the business for which you are a part of.

Last, you should gain some sort of comfort level in communicating in training sessions, as well as the general public.

When it comes to business and communication skills that are numerous necessary components that should be the center of focus these are considered to be the “building blocks” of effective communication.

The first component is the ease of establishing contact with another and the method in which it is done. The second is active listening. This means listening to what it said and paraphrasing to ensure understanding with the other party involved.

The third is the ability to speak in a general manner so that it reduces the possibility of complicated emotions arising. The fourth is the ability to communicate in an ethical manner so the business is not compromised in any way, and that policies and procedures are properly adhered to.

The last is in the area of presentations both on an internal basis and an external basis.

In conclusion, business and communication skills are an absolute must for the professional. The areas previously mentioned should be practiced consistently, and reinforced at every opportunity.

In today’s business market, writing has also become a standard form of communication on top of verbal and nonverbal types.

It is important that every professional knows and understands how to communicate via electronic and written communications. By focusing on all the areas mentioned here, you are sure to see an increase in your performance in the area of business communications.

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While catching the early morning news at the gym today, I was astonished to hear the headline that Starbucks is closing nationwide for three hours to train its 135,000 store employees on the art of coffeemaking and the ultimate customer experience.

Wow! I have been a training professional for over 25 years and this announcement is monumental to our profession. A company actually talks about the importance of training, stop the presses!

Training is often the 800 pound corporate gorilla that never gets addressed, yet needs to be. Many businesses fail based upon their lack of buidling an effective and ongoing internal training program. Since training is considered an expense to most companies, its importance is low on the corporate totem-pole.

Finally, through this announcement, a well-known and profitable company has given us a peek behind the corporate kimono and revealed that lower sales and unhappy customers could be related to “a training issue.” Kudos to Starbucks for stepping up to the plate and addressing this situation. And cheers to them for making a marketing event around it. How often do we hear about other companies staff training events? NEVER.

Telling the world you need to devote time training is a great positive, because it reveals you know the secret to success - its your people! A well trained staff and happy customer experience help drive company profitability.

How did Starbucks determine they needed additional training? Well, they didn’t ask me, but if they followed standard training industry processes, here are the steps they might have taken. First, they would analyize their volumes of data to determine who their target audience known as demographics.

Often large companies will trun demographics into fictional people and create a story around them to help staff to better visualize their customer needs. For example: A typical young mom with 2 children under the age of four frequents the store between the hours of 8:30am - 10:30am. So they will give this group a name, Sue. And that business professionals will be descending upon the store between 6:00 to 7:30am. Perhaps this group will be called Bob. Each story will tell what products these people ask for most and what customer experience they expect.

When building the training program objectives, they will address the individual needs of Sue and Bob. The key to sound training programs revolves around meeting the needs of your target audience.

The next step is to teach staff members what you want them to say and do. This should be a step-by-step process that is repeated several times. Repetition builds knowledge, confidence and skills.

Now they know the expectations, it is time for the learner to practice their new skills. Using case studies about Sue and Bob will help to reinforce the key learning strategies determined in the objectives. When working through real problems, learners become problem solvers. The key to highly successful customer service is to create problem solvers.

Finally, the trainer might have asked for learner feedback so any questions can be addressed then in real time.

I predict the net result of this three-hour training intervention will create a mad rush to your local Starbucks, just like the mood we experience on the day after Thanksgiving. We Starbucks groupies will wake up and literally run to be the first in line to benefit from the well-trained barrista’s abilities to wow us with that perfect latte and service with a smile. I want to taste the fruits of the training intervention first-hand and affirm my training profession.

Thank you Starbucks for elevating the corporate training experience to a new level. I tip my training hat to you!

Karen Miller founded Design2Train, an instructional design and training development company to help companies solve triaining related issues. Learn more about the company at Design2Train

Recently I helped a small business owner totally re-write his marketing and business plans. The owner was grateful for the new copy, but expressed a concern that he may have issues writing copy for marketing materials or responding to bid proposals later in the year.

He said,”It is so hard to start from scratch writing a marketing document when you have a blank piece of paper staring you in the face.” I understand completely and recommended how we could help him create “branded copy” quickly.

If you are a typical business owner, there are many times in the day when you must write about your business to inform, educate or communicate about your unique products and service offerings. Using this technique, you will no longer have to start with a blank page.

I refer to it as the Content Blocks writing technique. This method has personally saved me many hours of writing time as well has kept my marketing messages consistent and focused in proposals, company flyers and websites. It is a simple yet effective technique and here’s how to use it to build your business marekting campaigns. Here’s how to create your own content blocks document.

Start with a Word document and name it content blocks with a date in the title. Here is an example: abc_company_content_blocks_02152008.doc

You want to put a date in the file name because this is a work in progress, as your company grows and matures, the content will evolve. Keep this document on your desktop so you can easily click on it to retrieve information with one click.

Now it’s time to map out what to put into this important marketing reference document. You will want to write the information in a short paragraph format with a couple of spaces around each one to form “content chunks”. Take the time to write about three to five sentences in each paragraph. It is better to include a little too much information and be able to erase as needed, rather than having to think about and add additional information.

One of the easiest ways to add the best information to your content blocks document is to review a proposal and see what types of information they are requesting. Fortunately, over 50% of the information they request will be on the next proposal, therefore you have a competitive edge in getting proposals done quicker using this menthod.

Once your document is prepared, you can open it in a second window on your screen and as you are responding to a proposal you can quickly cut / paste information. Not only does this save time in preparation, you are able keep spelling errors to a minimum since your content blocks document has been run through spell / grammar check.

Think of the time you will save responding to proposals, writing article publications, and preparing other documents in a normal marketing business cycle.

Checking back with the owner, he has used his content blocks in several ways including sharing it with his webmaster to get the correct wording for extending his brand on the homepage.

Another important suggest is to revise your information regularly and as needed, so that your marketing materials are current and consistent in “voice” and terminology. Time marches on, your company flexes and grows - so does your need to refine your content blocks.

Here are the topics we included:
Board of Directors (and a quick description)
-Company Summary: include founder and founding date
-Competitive Comparison: what types of businesses do you compete with?
-Competitive Edge: what makes you different
-Competitive Landscape (includes five competitors)
-Contact Information: name, address, cell, fax, email
-Company Owner Biography (including professional memberships, patents, degrees)
-Executive Summary (break up into 1-2 sentences, easy to cut / paste in other docs)
-Market Segmentation: public vs private?
-Mission Statement: no more than three sentences
-Company Objectives (stating where business income comes from in percentages)
-Positioning Statement: contextual reference
-Promotional Strategy: how do folks hear about you?
-Sales Literature: include links to websites,PDF documents, audio files, video files
-Target Clients: describe who is your target client
-Technology overview: are you high or low tech?
-Testimonials (quotes from clients): audios are better

In addition to words that describe your company include visuals that “brand” as well including:
-Logos: website, products, affliate programs
-Pictures of company owner, business site, website, clients, processes, products
-Links to audio files with testimonials, music or the company owner telling about the business

Using content blocks is a simple way to organize the most current and important information about your company. Take time to create this simple Word document and save hours agonizing over attempting to create proposals and other important documents at the last minute.

V. Karen Miller is the founder of Design2Train Design2Train.com, an instructional design /training development company helps business owners prepare training and information products.