Enhancing Employee Training: Corporate Learning Management Software Solutions
Posted February 29, 2024 • 9 min read
Welcome to the ultimate guide on enhancing employee training with corporate learning management software solutions! As we are going through one of the most significant shifts in employment history, staying ahead means… Read more →
Upskilling and Reskilling: Your Organization's Path Forward
Posted December 18, 2023 • 7 min read
Welcome to the future of work, where technology is rapidly evolving, industries are transforming, and skills have a shorter shelf life than ever before. As organizations race to be "first," they must adapt and thrive … Read more →
How to prepare your workforce for the future of AI
Posted November 20, 2023 • 8 min read
Technological advancements are reshaping the way we work and live. With AI rapidly infiltrating various industries, businesses must prepare their workforce for the future. From automation and data analysis to machine … Read more →
How a Learning Management Tool Can Transform Training Programs in the Digital Age
Posted October 04, 2023 • 8 min read
Technology has revolutionized every aspect of our lives, including how we learn and train. Organizations are constantly seeking innovative ways to deliver effective training programs to keep up with the changing times… Read more →
20 Tips Every Onboarding Coordinator Should Know
Posted September 05, 2023 • 22 min read
Onboarding is a critical process that sets the tone for a new employee's experience and ultimately impacts their success within your organization. As an onboarding coordinator, you must ensure that each new hire feels… Read more →
Knowledge vs Skills: What Really Matters in the Workplace?
Posted August 07, 2023 • 8 min read
It's a conversation many people on hiring teams have had: knowledge vs. skills. In the cutthroat world of recruiting and hiring, we often find ourselves caught up in debates about which is more important, only to l… Read more →
10 Ways to Develop Employee Strengths
Posted August 01, 2023 • 13 min read
Unlocking the full potential of your employees is not just a lofty goal but a strategic necessity. When you invest in developing the strengths of your team members, you create a motivated, productive, and engaged work… Read more →
What is a Cloud-Based LMS?
Posted June 23, 2023 • 9 min read
Gone are the days when organizations could use only in-person training, introductory PowerPoint presentations, and a few discussions to train their employees. A cloud-based LMS (or a learning management system) is one… Read more →
5 Reasons Why A Direct Connection With Managers Matters During Onboarding
Posted June 07, 2023 • 6 min read
Onboarding is a crucial phase for any new employee joining an organization. It sets the tone for their entire journey with the company and determines whether they stay for years or quickly exit. It must be stated how … Read more →
10 Core Elements of Manager Training
Posted May 24, 2023 • 13 min read
Are you a manager looking to improve your skills and lead your team towards success? Or are you an organization seeking to enhance the capabilities of your management team? You must invest in new manager training or p… Read more →
Developing an Employee Coaching Plan
Posted May 10, 2023 • 8 min read
Developing an employee coaching plan used to happen much more in the workplace, and now it has fallen out of style. Coaching employees is an integral part of retaining and engaging your employees. Employee engagement … Read more →
Understanding Enterprise Learning Management Systems: What Are They and Why Do You Need One?
Posted April 10, 2023 • 9 min read
Is it time to invest in an enterprise learning management system or an ELMS? If you're new to this concept, don't worry - we've got you covered. Trakstar Learn is one of the top-rated learning management systems for e… Read more →
Reskilling: What Leaders Need To Know
Posted April 05, 2023 • 8 min read
You don't need to worry about reskilling employees, right? If you are a leader who wants to stay ahead of the curve in today's rapidly evolving business landscape and you don't want to spend all your time hiring ne… Read more →
A Conversation with Jessie Blum-Gabriel, Trakstar's Education & Instructional Designer
Posted March 21, 2023 • 5 min read
Have you taken a course through Trakstar Academy? If so, you've seen the work of Jessie Blum-Gabriel, Trakstar's Education and Instructional Designer. She's completely changed how we do internal training here at Traks… Read more →
Using Webinars for Employee Training: Pros, Cons, and Recommendations
Posted March 09, 2023 • 7 min read
Do you use webinars for employee training? Maybe you forward an email to an employee, asking them to attend the webinar and report back. Or perhaps you attend yourself and take notes for the employee. However you do i… Read more →
What is Talent Mobility? A Crash Course in Internal Talent Mobility Programs
Posted January 06, 2023 • 5 min read
What is talent mobility? Imagine a world where your company has to shift from one project to another quickly. You may be switching markets, acquiring a new product, or simply changing the way you do things - what d… Read more →
Best Learning and Training KPIs to Measure Workforce Development
Posted December 14, 2022 • 7 min read
The key to workforce development is knowing how your team develops and learns on the job. Whether it's training or self-learning, we've put together a list of learning and training KPIs that can help you measure your … Read more →
Top eLearning Trends for 2023 To Know
Posted November 21, 2022 • 6 min read
All signs point to learning, training, upskilling, and development being a massive focus for human resources departments - including elearning. As more companies focus on retaining their best employees instead of hiri… Read more →
Training Millennials in the Workplace: Why Is It So Hard?
Posted November 03, 2022 • 7 min read
Training millennials in the workplace, and even Gen Z, has been a largely debated topic amongst professionals. Simon Sinek is one of the people we most often quote when talking about managing millennials in the workpl… Read more →
Building Your Onboarding Training Curriculum: What Should You Include?
Posted October 06, 2022 • 7 min read
Building the best onboarding training curriculum is something that everyone needs to think about, though the work typically falls on the human resources department. The new hire experience is one of the essential proc… Read more →
5 Leadership Skills You Can Teach (And 3 You Can't)
Posted September 15, 2022 • 8 min read
Hiring young, talented, and hungry employees is often one of the most effective ways for HR leaders to impact their workforces. However, with young employees comes a challenge that very few can master: teaching and de… Read more →
Closing the Skills Gap In Your Employees: 7 Tips
Posted July 21, 2022 • 7 min read
Closing the skills gap is a topic many human resources leaders are talking about for a good reason: you are trying to find ways to keep your existing employees and reduce churn that causes culture issues, costs money,… Read more →
10 Tips To Move Your Training Online
Posted July 06, 2022 • 6 min read
It looks like many of us are going to be staying remote or hybrid, so now is the time to move your employee training courses online if you haven’t already done so. Making the move is difficult for many companies who h… Read more →
How To Reward Employees Who Reach Learning Goals
Posted June 07, 2022 • 1 min read
If you are struggling to think of non monetary rewards for employees who reach their learning goals, you aren’t alone. While it is easy to think of ways to reward employees that include things like raises and promotio… Read more →
20 Soft Skills To Teach Your Employees
Posted May 17, 2022 • 10 min read
What are soft skills? Finding one specific soft skills definition can be challenging because many people define soft skills differently. These skills are essential for workers to have or learn because they help them f… Read more →
15 New Tips For Multigenerational Workforce Training
Posted May 03, 2022 • 8 min read
Finding tips for multigenerational workforce training is hard to do because new generations of people have been added to the workforce over the last few years, some generations have left, and some have even come back … Read more →
5 Tips For How To Create An Employee Training Program
Posted April 13, 2022 • 5 min read
Employee training programs are one of the most important kits that HR leaders need to develop. Often, these kits will pass down from one generation to another - you may have gotten the framework of an employee trainin… Read more →
Setting New Hires Up For Success
Posted March 17, 2022 • 6 min read
Once you have made a new hire, how can you set them up for success? It makes sense to think about every new employee as a chance to refresh and reset within a role, department, or even the entire company, so you need … Read more →
Announcing Trakstar Insights For Learn: Equipping Great Teams
Posted March 08, 2022 • 1 min read
If you are a user of Trakstar Learn, you are about to get access to unprecedented information about your employees, their education, and more, thanks to the launch of Trakstar Insights for Learn on March 29, 2022. Ins… Read more →
How To Create A Training Program that Is Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive
Posted March 03, 2022 • 6 min read
Over the last few years, our world has changed and we’ve expanded the way we hire, retain, and train our employees. Thanks to more remote and hybrid workplaces, you may start to see different kinds of people entering … Read more →
10 Signs Your Employee Training Program Isn't Working
Posted February 16, 2022 • 7 min read
Having a good employee training program is paramount to running a successful business, regardless of industry, size, or scope. Whether your employees are dealing with the general public or they are fairly contained to… Read more →
11 Ways To Encourage Participation in Training
Posted February 09, 2022 • 6 min read
How do you encourage participation in training for your employees? These are the people who have been around for over a year and know what they are doing. Maybe you want them to learn a new skill, take sensitivity tra… Read more →
How To Increase Nurse Engagement During Training
Posted February 02, 2022 • 5 min read
As a leader of nurses, doctors, and other healthcare professionals, you are probably worried about engagement during training. The healthcare industry is particularly difficult right now, and much of that pressure com… Read more →
Mindflash is now Trakstar Learn
Posted June 11, 2021 • 2 min read
We're excited to announce that Mindflash is now rebranded to Trakstar Learn, connecting our deep learning management tools and functionality to Trakstar's integrated talent management platform. Now, more customers … Read more →
Source Content for Professional Development Courses
Posted October 08, 2020 • 5 min read
Today’s professionals don’t just want favorable compensation. They also want great benefits. Even beyond good health insurance and PTO plans, companies are increasingly offering work-from-home opportunities, wellness … Read more →
The Benefits of Multimedia Employee Training
Posted August 19, 2020 • 5 min read
Do you remember being in school and trying to learn by just reading the textbook? Or perhaps you can recall the pre-smartphone days when a friend would try to talk you through directions to their house? Both cases … Read more →
Promote Employee Engagement with Professional Development Training
Posted June 26, 2020 • 6 min read
Employee engagement isn’t just a buzzword. It’s the key to forming a workplace where every team member is set up to be successful and feel good about the work they do. We’ve all heard that today’s employees want m… Read more →
The Difference Between New Hire Orientation and Onboarding
Posted May 07, 2020 • 5 min read
New hire onboarding and orientation are often viewed as interchangeable terms for the same process. However, they are different sets of tasks with somewhat similar objectives. The goal of both activities is to complet… Read more →
The Role of Color in Employee Training Content
Posted February 26, 2020 • 5 min read
Learning is all about processing, storing, and retrieving information. Training professionals and instructional designers are always striving to optimize those three stages so their audience acquires as much knowledge… Read more →
Tips for Creating Engaging Employee Training Content
Posted December 23, 2019 • 5 min read
The goal of employee training is to pass important information on to the right team members. They should come away from the experience with newly-acquired knowledge that prepares them to deliver the best work and resu… Read more →
FinancesOnline Recognizes Mindflash with Three Awards
Posted November 26, 2019 • 1 min read
Big news! We’re excited to share that Mindflash has been recognized for being a leader in the elearning and learning management system (LMS) industry. FinancesOnline has presented us with their Expert's Choice 2019, G… Read more →
Cognitive Load Theory and Employee Training
Posted November 06, 2019 • 4 min read
Thinking back, you can probably recall a class in school where you were always a couple of steps behind the teacher’s lecture. Or perhaps you’ve read a book that was so dense, you struggled to keep up with the plot. … Read more →
Employee Training for Each Learning Style
Posted September 05, 2019 • 5 min read
DAVE ANDERSON | 5 MIN READ Remember when you were in school? You likely had classmates who excelled in different subjects and activities. There was the math genius, the avid reader, the musician, the athlete, the art… Read more →
The Importance of Knowledge Capture and Transfer
Posted July 23, 2019 • 4 min read
DAVE ANDERSON | 4 MIN READ Losing a valuable employee hurts in more ways than one. You of course have to go through the process of hiring and training a replacement. But the subtraction of knowledge and wisdom from y… Read more →
What Pride Means to Us at Mindflash
Posted June 25, 2019 • 7 min read
JULIE RIEKEN | 7 MIN READ June is Pride Month and organizations around the world are sharing stories about diversity and inclusion. We here at Mindflash felt inspired to share our stories too. We presented our team wi… Read more →
Announcement: Mindflash Partners with eLearning Video Provider ej4
Posted May 31, 2019 • 1 min read
DAVE ANDERSON | 1 MIN READ We’re delighted to announce that Mindflash customers can now purchase employee training video courses from ej4 with our new integration and partnership. A pioneer in the microlearning space,… Read more →
How to Bring Employee Accountability to Your Training Program
Posted May 07, 2019 • 4 min read
DAVE ANDERSON | 4 MIN READ You have certain expectations for your employees. You not only need them to produce results. You also need them to follow the right procedures as they work toward their goals. Training emplo… Read more →
Chunking: How to Effectively Learn and Retain Important Information
Posted March 21, 2019 • 4 min read
DAVE ANDERSON | 5 MIN READ Have you ever started a new job and been told learning the role will be like “drinking from a fire hose?” Did you ever pull an all-nighter in college to cram for a test? If you answered yes… Read more →
5 Learning Styles Each Trainer Must Know
Posted August 28, 2018 • 1 min read
JEN SCOPO | 2 MIN READ Building exciting training content starts by establishing your goal and working backward. While this is a good roadmap for creating materials that help your learners reach that goal, strong lea… Read more →
Powerful Factor in Building a Sustainable Software Business
Posted July 12, 2018 • 9 min read
Bob Casey | 7 MIN READ Albert Einstein is credited with saying that "the most powerful force in the universe is compound interest." The most powerful force in software businesses is revenue retention. High revenue re… Read more →
7 Ways to Say I’m Sorry When Dealing with Customers
Posted June 08, 2018 • 4 min read
Keisha Stoute | 4 MIN READ How many times have you heard, “oops”, when your provider made a mistake concerning a service, an account balance, incorrect paperwork or an issue that was not resolved? It’s not easy say… Read more →
7 Business Communication Blunders to Avoid
Posted May 12, 2018 • 4 min read
Natia Seegars | 8 MIN READ Talk is cheap, if you are guilty of committing common communication blunders that thwart your success. Ineffective communication causes conflict and confusion that hinder productivity and… Read more →
Bad Customer Experience: 5 Tips from Professional Mediator
Posted April 21, 2018 • 3 min read
Have you ever had a bad customer experience? Whether you were put on hold forever, dealt with an incompetent representative, or continued to experience poor service due to unresolved issues, these are all common blun… Read more →
On-Demand Training Helps MLSs Improve Broker Satisfaction
Posted March 17, 2018 • 3 min read
With initiatives like upstream and AMP along with general consolidation of Multiple Listing Services (MLSs), it's clear that the real estate industry is rapidly changing to keep up with the pace of the market. Consume… Read more →
10 Inspiring Videos about Customer Service
Posted March 13, 2018 • 4 min read
Customers make the world go round. If you haven't figured it out by now then you're behind the eight ball. Businesses are being challenged to give customers what they want, when they want. And, if one company doesn't … Read more →
Engage and Retain Customers With Customer Training On-Demand
Posted March 06, 2018 • 7 min read
It’s no secret – every company wants to improve profitability, but keeping customers satisfied is a major part of the equation. And with the array of competitive options available to consumers, businesses are challeng… Read more →
Customer Experience Statistics and Benefits of Training
Posted February 13, 2018 • 5 min read
The secret is out: 2018 has been declared the “Year of the Customer” -- and there is a list of surprising statistics about the customer experience to support this claim. Though people pleasing always has been a fundam… Read more →
How Creating a Learning Culture Drives Customer Loyalty and Profit
Posted January 30, 2018 • 5 min read
"The single biggest driver of business impact is the strength of an organization's learning culture,” said Josh Bersin of Bersin by Deloitte. Every organization has a culture, but is your corporate culture the ki… Read more →
Embracing Learning in a Mobile First World
Posted January 20, 2018 • 5 min read
It may not be news, but mobile is everywhere. "Mobile First" is impacting life (and learning) as we know it. Almost 80% of Americans have a smartphone, according to the Pew Research Center. As a matter of fact, there… Read more →
Eight Signs You Should Invest in Online Training
Posted January 12, 2018 • 5 min read
In today’s marketplace – where ever-changing regulations, competitive pressures, and client satisfaction all hang in the balance – online training is the single best way to speed critical information to your customers… Read more →
Be-Attitudes of Customer Service
Posted November 22, 2017 • 4 min read
Leaving a positive lasting impression with customers can not only turn into revenue, but can also build lasting relationships in addition to increasing your chances for repeat and new business. Customer Services shoul… Read more →
How Emotional Intelligence Training Improves Business Performance
Posted November 17, 2017 • 9 min read
Emotional Intelligence, also known as emotional quotient (EQ) has been a recurring theme in Corporate America and in varied professional environments for years. It’s been linked to performance and success in areas inc… Read more →
How to Train on Complex Topics
Posted November 07, 2017 • 8 min read
In today’s world, with so many distractions, and so much technology competing for mindshare, training on complex topics is no small effort. Simple-Minded as a Goldfish To understand the extent of this challenge, … Read more →
8 Attitudes that Will Ruin Your Customer Experience
Posted November 02, 2017 • 6 min read
Creating a positive customer experience (CX) is more challenging than you think. Sometimes businesses have a good streak with customers. Then, out of nowhere everything goes downhill. And we all know, when business is… Read more →
8 Pro Tips for Training Real Estate Agents
Posted October 25, 2017 • 4 min read
Training real estate agents is critical to the success of any brokerage firm or listing service. Since new agents come from various backgrounds, you may find that they may or may not already have the sales and marketi… Read more →
Supercharge Your Pipeline with Medical Sales Training
Posted October 20, 2017 • 4 min read
Unleashing a new sales representative into the halls of physicians’ offices without proper medical sales training is a bit like driving a Porsche without a windshield, gas pedal or a steering wheel. In both cases, the… Read more →
5 Tips to Put Your Active Listening Skills to Work for Your Business
Posted October 17, 2017 • 4 min read
Active listening skills can not only help build better business relationships with your customers, partners, and vendors; but they can also increase your chances of promotion. When the Harvard Business Review surveyed… Read more →
8 Awesome Tools to Make Your Next Training Pop!
Posted October 09, 2017 • 5 min read
It's not easy to capture the attention of an audience, let alone keep them interested! For trainers, the job can be even more challenging. So, here's a little help to make your next training pop. Bring it to life wi… Read more →
How to Motivate Resellers for High Performance
Posted October 03, 2017 • 3 min read
In today’s dynamic sales environment, businesses and leaders are progressively looking for new strategies on how to motivate resellers for high performance. The ideal reseller is highly energized, invested in organiza… Read more →
5 Tips for a Winning Customer Service Experience
Posted September 19, 2017 • 4 min read
Many businesses want to be customer focused, but get stuck when it comes to implementing a memorable customer service experience. A strong customer experience starts with the right training. And, many companies are tu… Read more →
4 Ways to Increase Indirect Revenue with Partner Training
Posted July 05, 2017 • 3 min read
With companies seeking new income-generating opportunities and ways to increase indirect revenue, many are surprised to find that the answer may be as simple as training channel partners. Your network of salespeople, … Read more →
Training Incentives to Improve Training Participation
Posted June 27, 2017 • 3 min read
Crafting an appealing online training incentives program is an excellent way to motivate distributed workforces and members of your extended enterprise. Effectively training your contractors, resellers, partners, and … Read more →
Mindflash Reviews: Online Training to Scale Your Business
Posted June 06, 2017 • 4 min read
Globalization means businesses have an ever increasing need to scale their operations, and recent Mindflash reviews suggest that we're helping businesses do just that! Mindflash Reviews: Online Training to Scale Yo… Read more →
ROI: Determine the Impact of Your Training Programs
Posted May 16, 2017 • 3 min read
Calculating Return on Investment (ROI) is no easy feat for most business initiatives. Measuring the ROI of your training programs is no exception but can be accomplished with the right approach. Industry Growth Mean… Read more →
Repurposing Content for Your Training Programs
Posted April 08, 2017 • 3 min read
Repurposing content is an important way to deploy new content for your in-person or online training programs without having to start completely from scratch. Added bonus: You also have the luxury of knowing how the co… Read more →
Healthcare Compliance Training in the Cloud
Posted March 13, 2017 • 3 min read
For healthcare organizations looking to ensure they remain compliant, having the proper tools and training is essential. Companies must establish that their entire organization is compliant with ever-changing governme… Read more →
Rapid Deployment of Business-Critical Information
Posted January 24, 2017 • 3 min read
In the rapidly-changing business environments many of us find ourselves in today, there are those moments when a policy or procedure changes, a product update is released, or there is a need to figure out the new soft… Read more →
The Salesperson and The SME
Posted January 10, 2017 • 3 min read
In the divided world of sales and product expertise, the salesperson typically chats with a customer about a product or service with canned catchphrases and relatable industry jargon while the Subject Matter Expert (S… Read more →
A Simple Guide to Write Quiz Questions for Web Based Training Courses
Posted December 12, 2016 • 3 min read
There you are, sitting at your desk, trying to finish your eLearning course. You only have one more thing to do before it gets reviewed. Write a few quiz questions. The problem is that you are stuck. You don't know wh… Read more →
More E-Learning Needed to Improve Sales Enablement Efforts
Posted November 21, 2016 • 3 min read
According to ASTD, companies spend $15 billion per year on sales training, an enormous number when you consider that people do not find sales training very effective. If organizations are spending this kind of money o… Read more →
Can Centralized and Decentralized Online Training Co-Exist?
Posted November 07, 2016 • 5 min read
Centrally managed. Those two words conjure many images in my mind…Big Brother, top-down control, central command—as three examples. When it comes to applying the words "centrally managed" to online training, the t… Read more →
Can You Prove That Training Directly Increases Sales Revenue?
Posted October 10, 2016 • 3 min read
What if you could tie training data directly to sales revenue? Would the ROI of training increase? Would interest in completing training increase if it you could show that certain types of training enabled more sales?… Read more →
9 Must-Consider Topics When Designing Partner or Reseller Training
Posted September 26, 2016 • 5 min read
Online training is an effective way to arm your partners and value-added resellers with knowledge. It’s scalable—you can train thousands at once while retaining your own corporate brand in the training materials. A hi… Read more →
5 Ways to Kick-Start Great On-the-Job Sales Training
Posted August 30, 2016 • 2 min read
Is there a more critical function in most companies than enabling sales professionals to excel their jobs? After all, a high-performing sales force is the lifeblood of most organizations including non-profits. Most b… Read more →
The Keys to Multi-Language Content in eLearning
Posted August 23, 2016 • 3 min read
Imagine being the content creator for an internationally distributed global workforce and having to write online training programs that are translation friendly. The task can seem overwhelming but necessary in the wor… Read more →
Voice Over Training Tips that will make Training Stick
Posted August 16, 2016 • 3 min read
Learning to do voiceovers doesn't have to be terrifying or daunting; it can actually be fun and exciting. Think of yourself as delivering valuable and interesting information to the masses in a performance-like w… Read more →
Learning Franchises: An Evolution in Positive ROI
Posted July 13, 2016 • 4 min read
This day and age, CEOs and other executives are faced with many challenges from finding and retaining talent, to updating ways to analyze and implement financial goals and objectives, to being responsible for institut… Read more →
The Importance of Storytelling in eLearning
Posted July 07, 2016 • 3 min read
“If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.” ― Rudyard Kipling, The Collected Works The most effective way to convey information in eLearning is to get your audience to care about… Read more →
How to Train Millennials to Become Leaders
Posted June 27, 2016 • 3 min read
The 75.4 million Millennials, those ages 18-34, are surpassing the 74.9 million Baby Boomers, those ages 51-69, according to Pew Research Center in Washington, D.C. That means that the Millennial generation is clearly… Read more →
The Benefits of Gaming Capacities in Learning
Posted June 20, 2016 • 3 min read
Gamers, defined as individuals who play computer or video games, have developed new and distinctive learning capacities. From the advent of Atari to the modern-day PlayStation 4 and World of Warcraft eSport competitio… Read more →
Distance Learning Tips for The Remote Worker
Posted June 13, 2016 • 3 min read
It is estimated that 63 million Americans will work remotely in 2016, which is more than a third of the total workforce. As workplace flexibility becomes more important and technological capacities increase, companies… Read more →
Repetitive Spaced Out Learning: Making Learning Stick
Posted June 07, 2016 • 4 min read
“The spacing effect is one of the oldest and best documented phenomena in the history of learning and memory research.” — Harry Bahrick & Lynda Hall (2005) What really makes learning stick? For adult learners, pract… Read more →
The Power of Animation in Elearning
Posted May 31, 2016 • 3 min read
Over the last twenty years, technology gave birth to the PowerPoint presentation and animation within PowerPoint is a very well-known function for user engagement in the modern training landscape. We all went wild … Read more →
Employee Engagement Continues to be a Critical Issue in 2016!
Posted May 24, 2016 • 3 min read
Employee engagement and what to do about it is a critical global business initiative in 2016. From a 2103 Gallup report stating that, “Currently, 30% of the U.S. workforce is engaged in their work, and the ratio of en… Read more →
Come See our CEO Donna Wells at #ATD2016!
Posted May 17, 2016 • 3 min read
Sometimes organizations will ask a trainer to calculate the ROI of a training initiative to justify a training budget. In this case, the benefit may need to be estimated if actual data is not available. Calculating RO… Read more →
Building Relationships While Onboarding
Posted May 10, 2016 • 4 min read
Relationships in any capacity whether as friendships, acquaintances, significant others, and, yes, even employees, is based on trust, respect, support, and authenticity. Therefore, during new employee training, relati… Read more →
Fun eLearning?
Posted April 28, 2016 • 4 min read
eLearning is the perfect answer to a training solution for many reasons which is why it is becoming more and more popular. However although saving costs, accessing the courses anywhere and everywhere and being able to… Read more →
It’s Time to Get Personal in eLearning
Posted April 26, 2016 • 3 min read
2017 will be the year of personalization in eLearning. As eLearning becomes more and more popular, students will demand more interaction, entertainment, and personalization. Going forward, a one-size-fits-all approach… Read more →
Mindflash Named One of the Country's Best Workplaces for Flexibility
Posted March 31, 2016 • 3 min read
March 29, 2016, Palo Alto, CA – Mindflash, a Silicon Valley tech start-up, was today honored as one of the 50 Best Workplaces for Flexibility in the United States by the Great Place to Work® Institute and Fortune mag… Read more →
7 Million Training Courses Delivered from Mindflash
Posted March 23, 2016 • 1 min read
Silicon Valley learning management system, Mindflash (www.mindflash.com),is hitting significant business milestones – on account of growing demand from unicorns to large enterprises to help train their employees, cust… Read more →
7 Safety Training Videos That Hurt to Watch
Posted February 22, 2016 • 3 min read
Looking to help promote safe behavior and reduce the risk of accidents in your workplace? Like a lot of employers, you might be inclined -- perhaps required -- to create safety training videos for all new hires. A wor… Read more →
As a Course Creator, You Need These eLearning Tips
Posted February 19, 2016 • 2 min read
Through eLearning, trainers enjoy the benefits of being able to effectively and efficiently teach trainees what they need to know. One of the key challenges with course material on your LMS is finding a way to gain th… Read more →
Power of Virtual Coaching on an mLearning Platform
Posted February 10, 2016 • 2 min read
Corporate learning and development is an ever evolving process. Whether someone chooses to take a certification course, take a trade school class or go through college; getting your staff to better themselves is cruci… Read more →
Producing Microlearning Courses - What Do I Need To Know?
Posted February 02, 2016 • 3 min read
What are the advantages of microlearning? It doesn’t overwhelm the user with an intimidating amount of information to absorb. It easily fits around other work-related tasks as small, regular breaks that provide … Read more →
Become a More Valuable Employee in 2016
Posted January 27, 2016 • 3 min read
If you haven’t already come up with a work-related resolution for 2016, here’s one to consider: Become a more valuable employee. Being more valuable to your company not only helps with job security, it could put you o… Read more →
What is Self-Service Learning?
Posted January 20, 2016 • 5 min read
Self-service – it’s a term that most of us view as synonymous with convenient, quick and hassle-free. Can the same be said about learning independently and completely unassisted? With the advent of elearning, can … Read more →
In the New Year, use an LMS to Promote Growth
Posted January 06, 2016 • 5 min read
Keeping up with the learning and development requirements of your workforce is tough, even when you’re established and have the resources available. Whilst you may only have a few staff members working in your star… Read more →
Ring in the New Year by Making your eLearning Mobile
Posted December 30, 2015 • 5 min read
It’s a topic that is widely discussed and is only going to come more into focus in 2016 as the rise of mobile browsing continues. LMS technology continues to improve, and converting eLearning to mLearning requires … Read more →
Holiday Report: Wearable Tecnhology in eLearning
Posted December 23, 2015 • 4 min read
Wearable technology has been big news in recent years, however it isn’t a completely fresh concept with some early pieces like the calculator watch dating back to the 70s! This was just the start of a technological ev… Read more →
How to Give Your eLearning a Storytelling Structure
Posted December 21, 2015 • 3 min read
There are so many benefits of eLearning as a training delivery method, but as you’d expect there are of course drawbacks too. One of the myriad of challenges involved in creating eLearning content which is engaging fo… Read more →
Drive your Sleigh with Member Driven Learning!
Posted December 15, 2015 • 4 min read
The end of 2015 is upon us, and there’s only one thing on most people’s minds at the moment: The Holidays. So in the spirit of the festive season, I’ll keep this one short and jolly, so you can get back to decking … Read more →
How UBER Took their Online Training to the Streets
Posted December 09, 2015 • 0 min read
We here at Mindflash pride ourselves on our easy online training platform. It is our ease of use and scalability that has drawn many companies to us, including the e-hailing car service juggernaut UBER. We are del… Read more →
Remote Workforce: Increase Productivity with eLearning
Posted December 08, 2015 • 4 min read
It’s a question that we’ll ponder more and more frequently in the second half of this decade: How do I get the most out of my remote workforce? Whether it’s freelancers, permanent employees working remotely or an … Read more →
Mindflash Introduces the NEW Mobile Manage Users Feature
Posted December 01, 2015 • 3 min read
Manage Users in your Training Program on the Go! Mindflash is excited to report that the new Manage Users page is mobile friendly! Everywhere you look, people are on their phones: in the car, at the park, while the… Read more →
Online Training: So Much More Than an Online Presentation
Posted November 24, 2015 • 4 min read
Organizations that plan on increasing spending on learning initiatives in the next 12-24 months will do so by 87%. And best-in-class organizations will increase spending on learning initiatives by 121%, according to A… Read more →
3 Must-Read Reasons why an LMS Improves Talent Retention
Posted November 18, 2015 • 5 min read
Back in June 2012, WorldatWork – a global non-profit association setup to focus on how businesses can attract, motivate and retain employees – ran a study on the Retention of Key Talent and the Role of Rewards. Now… Read more →
Simplifying New Employee Orientation: A One Week Cheat Sheet
Posted October 21, 2015 • 6 min read
Your company is growing, fast. It seems like you’re hiring new employees every other week – maybe you are! Amid this chaos, it’s easy enough for the necessary procedures involved in introducing new individuals to … Read more →
An Employer's Guide to Employee CPD
Posted October 12, 2015 • 6 min read
Aiding employees in their continual professional development (CPD) is not always a primary concern to senior management when battling with other, more pressing, complex and critical issues. However, collaborating wit… Read more →
Corporate Learning & Development: Whose Job Is It?
Posted September 29, 2015 • 4 min read
Creating, promoting and sustaining an organizational culture of learning is one hallmark of organizational success. A culture of learning can result in an organization which cultivates the values that individuals seek… Read more →
Cinemagraphs - The Latest Trend in eLearning
Posted September 23, 2015 • 4 min read
In the development of eLearning, we’re always creatively incorporating great technology into our interactive courses, including videos, infographics, and animation. Cinemagraphs are the latest trend to join the multit… Read more →
Overcoming Obstacles to Creating a Culture of Learning
Posted September 15, 2015 • 3 min read
“[A culture of learning results in] a compelling vision of an organization made up of employees skilled at creating, acquiring, and transferring knowledge. These people could help their firms cultivate tolerance, fost… Read more →
Reduce Travel Costs and Boost Collaboration through Online Training
Posted September 15, 2015 • 3 min read
Hosting employee training can be an expensive proposition. Funding for travel and accommodations is often a significant part of the training budget. But we tend to approve the allocation of those travel-related funds … Read more →
Why a LMS is as Vital as Staff Performance Management
Posted September 15, 2015 • 5 min read
Managing your employee’s performance is vital, right? In 2013, 95% of organizations in a research sample of over 1,000 companies worldwide stated that they set individual goals, whilst 89% used performance ratings … Read more →
Staff Development Dilemmas: In-House vs. Outsource
Posted August 25, 2015 • 6 min read
You've probably faced this dilemma before. Training your workforce in-house is limited to your organization’s capabilities, whilst outsourcing means relinquishing control of a highly important business process. In… Read more →
Helping Overloaded Employees Stay Focused on Learning
Posted August 19, 2015 • 3 min read
The average worker is just plain busy. More than two-thirds of business leaders say that overwhelmed employees are a top challenge. I could cite more statistics, but we all recognize that it’s common for today’s emplo… Read more →
How Animation is Effective in eLearning
Posted August 11, 2015 • 3 min read
For today's post, we want to welcome a very special guest from the UK - Liz Bark, Creative Director at Optimised Learning Ltd! Animation in eLearning eLearning courses offer the opportunity to access and optimise lea… Read more →
Take Control of Your Personal Learning Journey
Posted August 04, 2015 • 3 min read
A consistently-used criterion in the annual “best companies to work for” lists is the level of corporate investment in employee training. Yet, 81% of learners are responsible for managing their own personal developmen… Read more →
How Office Thermostat Wars Relate to Learning Preferences
Posted July 28, 2015 • 3 min read
Disagreed with a co-worker over the room temperature lately? If yes, did you decide to put on (or remove) an extra layer of clothing and grin and bear it? Or did you engage in a contest of wills for ultimate thermosta… Read more →
6 Principles of Effective Online Training that Will Surprise You
Posted July 18, 2015 • 3 min read
When it comes to developing online training, technology is making it easier to create courses that are visually appealing, interactive, and engaging. This is a good thing, after all, because visually appealing, intera… Read more →
Use Blended Learning For Both Classroom and Online Training
Posted July 14, 2015 • 3 min read
Traditional classroom training or online training—which is better? A strong case can be made for either method. But a stronger case can be made for transcending this either/or choice in favor of blended learning. Wit… Read more →
The Numbers Don’t Lie: Post-Sales-Training Reinforcement Works
Posted July 07, 2015 • 2 min read
While most organizations do provide initial training for their sales force, only 44% of organizations use post-training reinforcement to provide long term support for their sales teams, according to the Aberdeen group… Read more →
Investing in your Personal ROI without being Self-Centered
Posted June 29, 2015 • 5 min read
There is absolutely nothing wrong with a “what’s in it for me” attitude. As long as, I’d argue, that attitude doesn’t end there—in pure selfishness. When it comes to looking for training for your own personal devel… Read more →
They Say, “Be Agile”. What Does that Really Mean?
Posted June 22, 2015 • 6 min read
It’s more-than-popular to talk about “Agility” in business lately. But what does “being Agile” really mean? And, if you’re not a software developer, what does it mean to “borrow concepts from Agile software developmen… Read more →
5 Reasons your Charity Must use eLearning
Posted June 15, 2015 • 9 min read
We are very excited to have a special guest author from across the pond on blogging with us this week! Please enjoy the thoughts of Jordan Bradley, eLearning professional from the UK's High Speed Training Limited! V… Read more →
Start Doodling in Class: The Value of Lo Fi Graphics in eLearning
Posted June 08, 2015 • 6 min read
Going to class and taking notes go hand in hand. And often, particularly when taking notes by hand, note-taking and doodling go hand in hand. It turns out that there’s value in those doodles. So much value, in fact, … Read more →
Live Training Management and Tracking is Here!
Posted June 01, 2015 • 2 min read
Mindflash has just released the ability to track and manage live, in-person and virtual training courses for blended learning. This feature is available on the Pro tier. The Live Training feature allows trainers to ke… Read more →
Why Mobile Learning Can Grab Millennials’ Attention
Posted May 27, 2015 • 4 min read
As learning professionals are expanding the possibilities in mLearning farther than ever before, it’s helpful to rewind and reflect on why mLearning is an excellent learning strategy for the modern workplace. mLearni… Read more →
Spearheading an Organizational Culture of Learning
Posted May 18, 2015 • 5 min read
Creating an organizational culture of learning is imperative. Few people would argue with that statement, I would venture to say. But the nitty gritty of what a culture of learning should entail is likely organizat… Read more →
4 Ways to Use Professional Development to Keep Your Employees
Posted May 11, 2015 • 3 min read
We are very excited to have a special guest author on blogging with us this week! Please enjoy the thoughts of David Niu founder and CEO of TINYhr! Do you know how often your employees think about looking for a new j… Read more →
How to Make Your Online Training “Go Viral”
Posted May 04, 2015 • 7 min read
I’m not a marketer. I’m an educator. But, maybe, I’m both? Or, at least, maybe I should be both. Consider content marketing and online training, for example. Both involve content delivered through digital media… Read more →
Free Online Training Software for Nepal Earthquake First Responders
Posted May 01, 2015 • 2 min read
We’ve been seeing the same images that you have of the devastating situation in Nepal...but we feel we’re in a unique position to help. Since our online training platform is specifically designed to support rapid cou… Read more →
How To: Creating the Learn Example Course
Posted April 30, 2015 • 6 min read
Many customers have reached out to Learn recently asking how we created our Learn Example Courses so we decided to put together a blog post to share the steps we followed. This article will walk you through the best t… Read more →
Creating Training for Millennials that Works
Posted April 28, 2015 • 6 min read
Millennials, they say, grew up on gadgets, PCs, wireless, and Smartphones. Millennials are said to believe that “smaller is better”, multi-tasking is a basic survival skill, collaboration reigns over individualism, an… Read more →
Quick Start Guide to Training Your Employees Yourself
Posted April 21, 2015 • 6 min read
Managers are often measured on their team’s results. And when a manager’s team includes trained employees with small skills gaps, such a team can often deliver better results. Couple this fact with the fact that jo… Read more →
On Tying Training to Employee Retention
Posted April 14, 2015 • 5 min read
“Ponder this: Do your people have to leave to learn something new?” This question is the heading for the chapter entitled “Enrich: Energize the Job” in Beverly Kaye’s and Sharon Jordan-Evans’ book Love ‘Em or Lo… Read more →
7 Digitally-Enabled Learning Techniques Scrutinized and Categorized
Posted April 07, 2015 • 8 min read
Industry terms come and go. New terms crop up, while other terms disappear. Sometimes terms remain, but their meaning changes over time. The online training industry is no exception, and if you don’t use the “right” o… Read more →
Corporate Learning & Development: 3rd of 10 Issues in 2015
Posted March 31, 2015 • 5 min read
The 2015 Global Human Capital Trends report from Bersin by Deloitte details the current top 10 HR trends and highlights what business leaders need versus what HR is delivering. Of all the trends catalogued in this lat… Read more →
Could Competency-Based Online Training Address the Skills Gap?
Posted March 24, 2015 • 4 min read
Universities traditionally confer degrees based on “seat time”—the number of credits (often, 120 credits for undergraduate degrees) that a student earns with a passing grade. Whether the student earns an “A” in every … Read more →
Are you using the Edtech Technologies?
Posted March 17, 2015 • 5 min read
The New Media Consortium’s Horizon Report > 2015 Higher Education has just been released. The report covers technology and trends on the five-year horizon (2015-2020) for higher education institutions, and is widely u… Read more →
Our Very First Hackathon Event
Posted March 14, 2015 • 2 min read
Earlier this month, we had our “fly-in” sprint, when we have our entire distributed team fly in and work out of our Palo Alto office for a few days doing planning, design and pairing on implementation. We have many of… Read more →
Why Video in Training Can Be So Powerful
Posted March 10, 2015 • 4 min read
Learning is important for human growth and development, and training is certainly an integral part of workplace learning. But a constant challenge for workplace learning professionals is creating training programs tha… Read more →
7 Surprising Things You Could Learn by Accepting This Challenge
Posted March 03, 2015 • 6 min read
CHALLENGE: Can you create an online training course in less than a day? EXTRA CREDIT: Can every single person on your team, or in your organization, create an online training course in less than a day? Before you … Read more →
Encourage Employees to Comply with Compliance Training
Posted February 24, 2015 • 5 min read
Compliance training—or training that helps employees understand how to comply with the legal, ethical and policy-related aspects of doing business—is often mandated by an agency external to the organization. In other … Read more →
Three Ways to Encourage Safety in the Workplace
Posted February 21, 2015 • 3 min read
Safety in the workplace is of paramount concern, especially in a warehouse where there is heavy machinery, large equipment and complicated processes involved. All it takes is a second for an unfortunate accident to oc… Read more →
Workshop Facilitator Secrets: Leveraging To Author eLearning
Posted February 10, 2015 • 6 min read
I personally love facilitated, in-person training workshops. I relish the idea of taking a break from work and life (particularly if it’s at an exotic location or a posh hotel) and to sit back and absorb learning away… Read more →
BYOD vs. 1:1 Debate: Chances for Device-Agnostic Designer
Posted January 27, 2015 • 5 min read
Here’s where the opportunity comes in for learning professionals: Forget the BYOD versus 1:1 versus hybrid model versus anything else. Design and deploy learning content that is device-agnostic. The Debate: New for… Read more →
Uncovering the Full Advantages of Cloud-Based Learning Solutions
Posted January 13, 2015 • 5 min read
When the words “cloud” and “learning” are mentioned together, I can’t help thinking of “daydreaming”. Not a desirable word association. But, when it comes to learning, having your head in the clouds—cloud-based learni… Read more →
The 100 Day Plan: Driving Accountability to Ensure Success
Posted January 06, 2015 • 6 min read
Everyone, not just the President, could use a 100 Day Plan when taking on a new job or position. A thoughtfully created 100 Day Plan, supported by effective online training, can drive organizational accountability for… Read more →
5 Videos that Will Inspire Your Online Training Designs
Posted December 30, 2014 • 3 min read
I recently viewed the classic videos in 6 TED Talks That Anyone Designing Online Training Should Watch. The Talks inspired me to think of videos that are not directly related to training that nevertheless inspire me w… Read more →
Corporate Training Programs – What people want from it?
Posted December 23, 2014 • 4 min read
Employer spending on training is up. Employees want training. But when employees get training, they often complain about it. What’s the disconnect? The full answer has many complex, moving parts. But part of the answ… Read more →
How to Add Video to eLearning on a Budget
Posted December 16, 2014 • 6 min read
There’s no doubt video is an essential component in your eLearning tool box. Video can enhance learning retention by accommodating multiple learning styles, including aural, visual, verbal, and even kinesthetic learni… Read more →
Silence, in eLearning, is Not Always Golden
Posted December 09, 2014 • 6 min read
If you’re creating your first eLearning course with a new LMS, here’s a tip: Grab your slide deck (PowerPoint, Haiku Deck—whatever you use) and upload it. You can always delete this “test course” later. But in the mea… Read more →
The Top 3 LMS Features Requested? Survey Says…
Posted December 02, 2014 • 4 min read
A recent employee survey by Software Advice, a site that researches learning management systems, reveals thought-provoking data on how corporate learning programs can drive employee engagement. It’s logical that studi… Read more →
12 Terms mLearning Designers Should Know
Posted November 26, 2014 • 6 min read
This article is a follow up to the Mindflash post “Terms eLearning Designers Should Know”. The original post discussed the terms: eLearning, Asynchronous, Synchronous, vILT, Blended Learning, Learning Management Syste… Read more →
What does Mobile Learning Look Like?
Posted November 24, 2014 • 5 min read
This article is the second in a two-part series on mLearning. The first article, Why Mobile Learning is Here to Stay, covered why you should consider embedding mLearning into your overall learning strategy. If you’… Read more →
Why Mobile Learning is Here to Stay
Posted November 19, 2014 • 5 min read
This article, which covers reasons why you should consider mLearning as part of your overall learning strategy, is the first of a two-part series on m-Learning. The second article covers how to create mLearning progra… Read more →
5 Reasons to Put Your Customers “In the Know”
Posted November 07, 2014 • 5 min read
Often, we think of corporate online training as synonymous with employee development. Certainly, internal training is critical, especially in such learning areas as on-boarding, product training, leadership developmen… Read more →
How to Measure Online Training Engagement
Posted November 04, 2014 • 2 min read
How do you know if your online training course content is engaging? More importantly, which parts of your course is less engaging? In traditional online learning, you don’t receive feedback until it’s too late, if yo… Read more →
6 Ways Digitally-Enabled Learning Improves Productivity
Posted October 28, 2014 • 5 min read
“According to i4cp surveys, improving employee productivity is one of the most important people-management issues, with almost 9 out of 10 participants predicting that the issue will grow in importance over the next d… Read more →
Train Healthcare Workers on Ebola for Free
Posted October 23, 2014 • 2 min read
We’ve been reading the same headlines that you have, and we share the same concerns. We feel we’re in a position to help. So, we are making our product available for free to qualified healthcare organizations doing … Read more →
How Can “Performance Support” Support Your Organization?
Posted October 21, 2014 • 4 min read
On average, learners forget 70% of the content we teach them within 24-48 hours of formal training. Performance support is a way to extend formal training to the job site, reminding learners of how to apply thei… Read more →
Data-driven approach to Efficient Customer Enablement
Posted October 21, 2014 • 5 min read
Background Earlier this year, we completed the roll-out of our HTML player as we continued on our expansion to support tablets and mobile devices for our training application in addition to the Web. In parallel with t… Read more →
Flexing Your Tools to Create Maximum-Impact Online Training
Posted October 14, 2014 • 6 min read
When designing and delivering online training programs, we often focus on the tools and the content independently. The management and administration tool of choice is often a Learning Management System (LMS). LMS’s pr… Read more →
Effective Online Training with Disorienting Dilemmas
Posted October 07, 2014 • 6 min read
“All children, except one, grow up.” J. M. Barrie, Peter Pan (1911) “Okay, now I don’t want to alarm anybody in this room, but it’s just come to my attention that the person to your right is a liar. [Laughter] Also… Read more →
Secret Ingredient in Creating Must-Experience Online Training
Posted October 02, 2014 • 7 min read
As a manager, you want your employees to complete a given training course. And learn the material. And apply learning on the job. And contribute to the company’s bottom line. And enjoy the learning process. As a le… Read more →
Going Global with our Online Training System
Posted September 30, 2014 • 2 min read
By Shobana Radhakrishnan and Josh Iverson Background Mindflash offers a cloud-hosted learning management solution serving 1000+ medium and large enterprise customers across 35 countries. These customers use our syste… Read more →
Our "Delight the Customer" Contest
Posted September 28, 2014 • 2 min read
Earlier this month, we had our “fly-in” sprint, when we have our entire distributed team fly in and work out of our Palo Alto office for 3 days doing planning, design and pairing on implementation. We have a majority … Read more →
Have You Really, Really Identified Your Learning Champions?
Posted September 22, 2014 • 6 min read
I catch myself, sometimes, misusing the term “stakeholder”—or at least using it in an unnecessarily limiting way. I simply apply the term to those people who hold the purse strings for my initiatives. They receive the… Read more →
What is SCORM?
Posted September 20, 2014 • 1 min read
SCORM stands for Sharable Content Object Reference Model. It is a way of packaging and presenting content on e-learning platforms. If a learning management system (LMS) is SCORM conformant, it can play any content tha… Read more →
Closing Skills Gap via Training Contributes to 21% LMS Market Growth
Posted September 16, 2014 • 5 min read
Great news regarding the learning and development industry: the Learning Management System (LMS) “market is well over $2.5 billion and grew by over 21% this year.” The stats come via Josh Bersin, Founder and Principal… Read more →
What is Gamification, and are we Using it Right?
Posted September 03, 2014 • 5 min read
Gamification concepts have been employed since the 1960’s, 1970’s or 1980’s, depending on whom you talk to and how you define the term. Others claim that gamification has been in use since 1912, when Cracker Jack® box… Read more →
How to Reduce the Social "Risks" in Online Training
Posted August 25, 2014 • 5 min read
Social learning—or learning with and from others (with or without social media technology)—is a force to be reckoned with. But how do you entice your online training learners to participate to take learning to a highe… Read more →
The Accidental Trainer: Creating Professional Training
Posted August 16, 2014 • 5 min read
Not everyone can be a great learning professional. But, you don’t need to be a “professional” learning professional to create or contribute to exceptional learning experiences for others. If you are tasked with creat… Read more →
Use Your LMS to “Get Personal” with Your Learners
Posted August 11, 2014 • 5 min read
Online training is typically made for mass consumption—one reason why it’s so cost effective compared to classroom training. It is typically not meant for private tutoring or coaching. However, if every learner feels … Read more →
7 Ways For Learners To Buy Your Online Training
Posted August 04, 2014 • 7 min read
Stores—brick-and-mortar or eCommerce sites—want customers to buy their products or services. And recommend the products to others. Then, return and buy more. Similarly, for online training, you want trainees—whether e… Read more →
Software Advice's Favorite LMS User Interfaces
Posted July 31, 2014 • 1 min read
Mindflash was recently awarded one of the Most Favorite LMS User Interfaces by Software Advice. “Software Advice, a company that reviews HR & LMS technology, chose Mindflash because it makes learning simple—both f… Read more →
Pop Quiz! Do You Really Need Quizzes in Online Training?
Posted July 29, 2014 • 6 min read
Question: Do you really need quizzes in your online training modules? Select the best answer to the question from the choices below. A. Always B. Never C. Probably The answer is C, “Probably.” If I said th… Read more →
What is Microlearning?
Posted July 23, 2014 • 4 min read
Microlearning generally involves dissecting learning into “microscopic” learning bursts (typically 2-10 minutes each). Supporters say microlearning matches human brain processing capabilities, combating learner boredo… Read more →
Go Global : Delivering Online Training Courses in Multiple Languages
Posted July 14, 2014 • 4 min read
Online training is a powerful learning vehicle—it allows people to learn on their own schedule (asynchronously), at the own pace (on-demand), and on their device of choice (flexibly). And developing online training vi… Read more →
Create Learning Content that Inspires Action
Posted July 09, 2014 • 4 min read
In developing your last online training module, you likely poured significant effort into choosing the right training vehicle to solve the business problem, creating engaging content, mapping learning to expected outc… Read more →
Changing Workforce Dynamics and How You Can Be Ready
Posted June 30, 2014 • 3 min read
The day is not too far when the concept of a company campus or an office where everyone comes in to work and leaves during highly overlapping hours becomes a thing of the past. And when that happens, Learning Managem… Read more →
Two Common Visual Design Mistakes in Online Training
Posted June 26, 2014 • 3 min read
When I talk about visual design in online training, I talk about simple things a designer can do to lay out a slide so that it makes the most of evidenced-based instructional design techniques that maximize learning. … Read more →
Why Online Training is Replacing Traditional Training
Posted June 23, 2014 • 3 min read
Online training has grown in popularity over the past decade due in large part to the ease with which learning professionals can develop and deliver online training. Rapid eLearning authoring tools and web-based learn… Read more →
Handling Chrome's Extra Security for Using the Microphone in Flash
Posted June 20, 2014 • 4 min read
One of my first projects at Mindflash was to create a feature that gave trainers the ability to record narration over their slides within the Mindflash app. The impetus for this was that content like Word documents an… Read more →
How to Determine Your Online Training Budget
Posted May 29, 2014 • 3 min read
As companies build a training department, there are many questions that come up. What training role should we hire first? Should we start with live training or online training? What learning technology should we choos… Read more →
Adding Animated Video to Online Training is Easier Than You Think
Posted May 20, 2014 • 4 min read
If we all could, we would love to use more video in our online training courses. Most of us wish we had a nice studio, great recording equipment, and a team of production experts standing by to produce videos for all … Read more →
5 Ways to Make Online Training More Engaging
Posted May 15, 2014 • 3 min read
Online training designers are not the only ones constantly searching for ways to create more engaging content. Journalists, copywriters, and authors, to name only a few others, must create content that people want to … Read more →
How Online Training is Better than YouTube
Posted May 06, 2014 • 3 min read
Leaders of training departments receive training requests continuously, and it is their job to respond to these requests with solutions after a proper analysis. Solutions can come in many forms, from formal multi-day … Read more →
Is Your Online Training Working? Here's How to Tell
Posted April 29, 2014 • 4 min read
There are many reasons to start developing online training. For one, your audience can take the training whenever they want. For another, you can deliver training to anyone in the world. So, all of your employees who … Read more →
6 TED Talks That Anyone Designing Online Training Should Watch
Posted April 22, 2014 • 2 min read
We all know that TED Talks are educational and inspiring, and most of us have watched them from time-to-time for general entertainment and inspirational purposes. However, as I watched one of these videos just the oth… Read more →
How FocusAssist Works
Posted April 16, 2014 • 5 min read
In a live training environment, generally a real life trainer works with one or more trainees to educate them on the training material. One benefit of this is that the trainer has a good sense of a trainee's leve… Read more →
Should You Replace Classroom with Online Training?
Posted April 15, 2014 • 3 min read
Online training is growing in popularity for a variety of reasons. First, as organizations become more dispersed, classroom training becomes a larger challenge as employees work in offices (and at home) all over the w… Read more →
Misha McPherson Interview: Worldwide Sales Enablement Director
Posted April 08, 2014 • 6 min read
Misha McPherson is director of worldwide sales enablement with a San Francisco-based provider of cloud-based digital marketing software. She is responsible for creating and managing the onboarding and ongoing sales tr… Read more →
Improve Your eLearning Review Cycles with Prototypes
Posted April 01, 2014 • 3 min read
In any business that creates physical products, prototypes are used to show an early example of a product so people can visualize it. Inventors live by the prototype, producing early examples of inventions to test and… Read more →
6 eLearning and Online Training Books You Should Read
Posted March 25, 2014 • 4 min read
For anyone who wants to be as great as they can be in a chosen field, reading books on the subject is critical to one’s development. Whenever I see a blog or article listing important books, I read the article. And mo… Read more →
5 Practical Online Training Trends You May Have Overlooked
Posted March 17, 2014 • 4 min read
The online training industry is flooded with articles and blog posts about future trends that focus on far fetched fantasies attainable only to those with discretionary budgets and/or niche needs. These trends general… Read more →
SCORM - Articulate Storyline and Adobe Captivate
Posted March 10, 2014 • 2 min read
Mindflash has recently started supporting SCORM content from Articulate Storyline and Adobe Captivate. SCORM is an often-requested feature, but as many of you know, getting it to work reliably on all players and devic… Read more →
Interview: Jeff Fermin at Officevibe
Posted February 25, 2014 • 4 min read
Jeff Fermin is cofounder of Officevibe, a Montréal-based company that develops cloud-based software for employee engagement. The company’s mission is ambitious: “to help people grow and gain motivation to succeed in t… Read more →
Mindflash Integrates with Shopify
Posted February 20, 2014 • 2 min read
You spend many hours putting together great courses. Have you wanted to sell your courses to your customers or partners? Selling your courses has never been easier! Now that Mindflash integrates with Shopify.com you c… Read more →
Interview with Jack Phillips on ROI for eLearning
Posted February 11, 2014 • 4 min read
Jack Phillips is founder and CEO of the ROI Institute, Inc., a research, benchmarking and consulting organization. Phillips developed the ROI Methodology™, a critical tool he has used for measuring and evaluating prog… Read more →
eLearning: It's Not as Difficult as You Think
Posted February 11, 2014 • 3 min read
You are a one-person training department mostly running live, classroom training sessions. You have even started conducting live training using a virtual classroom technology, which made things a lot easier for you. B… Read more →
Customize Your Certificates
Posted February 06, 2014 • 2 min read
We’re continually enhancing Mindflash on a monthly basis! Another month has passed and we’re happy to release another exciting new feature. Several of our features in our Pro Plan fall into customer training such as h… Read more →
Research: 7 Factors That Make eLearning Successful
Posted February 04, 2014 • 3 min read
It is the nerd in me, but I like it when I can base decisions on evidence from research. So when I found this study, "What drives a successful eLearning? An Empirical investigation of the critical factors influencing … Read more →
Increase eLearning Retention with Storytelling
Posted January 30, 2014 • 3 min read
One technique that helps to make our eLearning content digestible is to break it up into bullet point lists of talking points. A bullet point list is easy to scan, and the content is easier to remember. No one wants t… Read more →
7 Horrible Mistakes You're Making with eLearning
Posted January 28, 2014 • 4 min read
We have all made mistakes in our lives, and eLearning is no different. I have certainly made mistakes in my eLearning designs. Sometimes because I didn’t know any better, and sometimes I knew better but did it anyway … Read more →
Free Resource for eLearning Designers
Posted January 24, 2014 • 2 min read
Over the last few years, we have seen software companies successfully adopt a freemium model that allows people to try software for free before they buy. Sometimes the free portion is in the form of a 30-day trial. In… Read more →
Three Reasons eLearning Platform is Best Choice
Posted January 16, 2014 • 4 min read
If you are reading this, you are likely considering how to create a deliver training and/or eLearning to a growing audience. You have either decided that classroom training will only take you so far or that you are go… Read more →
New Year's Resolution: Read 'Design for How People Learn'
Posted January 14, 2014 • 2 min read
I like to read and would generally call myself an avid reader. However there are times when I am busy with other priorities like work, family, or just plain not wanting to read. When I do resume reading, I discover bo… Read more →
Mindflash FocusAssist Now Available on Computers and iPads
Posted January 08, 2014 • 2 min read
In online training, one of the most challenging things for trainers is knowing whether their training courses are engaging and effective. Having great animations, videos, and quizzes doesn’t necessarily mean that a tr… Read more →
Informal Learning Does Not Have to Be Formal
Posted December 31, 2013 • 3 min read
One of the biggest problems with social learning is that it is an informal type of learning and organizations can’t help but to try to formalize it in any way possible. It is understandable because a free-for-all in a… Read more →
Software Training Focused on the Work, Not the Tool
Posted December 10, 2013 • 3 min read
Much of my training career has been about designing and delivering training on new software implementations. These software implementations included financial software, CRMs, and many internally developed tools design… Read more →
How to Make Your Training More Entertaining
Posted December 06, 2013 • 3 min read
Over the past two weeks, I have been experimenting with ways to create more entertaining eLearning tutorials. The belief is that entertaining training will hold people’s attention better and people will learn more. In… Read more →
What Learning Designers Can Learn from Marissa Mayer About Design
Posted December 04, 2013 • 4 min read
I attended the Dreamforce conference recently in San Francisco and was blown away by the size and scope of the conference. Over 135,000 people registered for the the conference, and sessions were held over four days a… Read more →
Three Things You Can Do to Increase Social Learning Participation
Posted November 26, 2013 • 3 min read
The problem with anything social (social media, enterprise social, social learning) is the 90-9-1 rule which states that 90% of people will not participate. These “lurkers” are content to read what the other 10% are p… Read more →
Social Learning: Build Conversations into eLearning Courses
Posted November 14, 2013 • 3 min read
One of the major problems with eLearning is that people cannot interact with each other. No matter how interactive you make an eLearning course, it is still a matter of a screen delivering content and a person consumi… Read more →
Yammer & Mindflash on Demand Learning improves Office 365
Posted November 09, 2013 • 1 min read
Microsoft recently announced that all existing Office 365 Enterprise Plans will now include Yammer Enterprise. This is great news especially for Office 365 customers. Mindflash has been a long-time Yammer customer.… Read more →
Is your eLearning programs On-the-Job Training Friendly?
Posted November 05, 2013 • 3 min read
Whether or not we can prove it, most of us “know" that we learn most of what we need to know about our jobs through some form of informal learning. Most of us will cite experience or on-the-job (OJT) training as the m… Read more →
Like Short Book Chapters, Short eLearning Courses are Better
Posted October 28, 2013 • 3 min read
In 2003, I worked on a project to break up long eLearning courses into shorter versions. In an early meeting to discuss how we would tackle the problem, the idea came up to “chunk” up the courses, so we called the pro… Read more →
Stop Conducting Training Surveys
Posted October 22, 2013 • 3 min read
Earlier this month, I wrote a blog post about five ways to make your training survey questions more effective. This week, I'd like to discuss whether we should do survey questions at all? Seriously. Part of me thinks … Read more →
Enhance your E-Learning Programs with Audio Narration & Graphics
Posted October 15, 2013 • 3 min read
We all do it. We begin creating a training class, eLearning course, or presentation by sitting down at the computer, typing bullet points of the important things we need to present. If we are in a groove, we can creat… Read more →
Five Ways To Write Effective Online Training Survey Questions
Posted October 11, 2013 • 3 min read
When it comes to writing training survey questions, the most important principles is to write questions that seek responses on which you can take action. After all, isn't that the point of survey responses? You want t… Read more →
Do You Know Whether Your eLearning Solution is Effective?
Posted September 20, 2013 • 3 min read
Two questions any eLearning designer should ask when designing a course are, "How will I know if this eLearning course is effective and how will I define effective?" Certainly every professional, no matter what the fi… Read more →
Delivered Our E Learning Solutions After the Recent AWS Outage
Posted September 19, 2013 • 4 min read
When AWS has an outage people really notice. Obviously the tech community explodes. Every company starts tweeting out their downtime status while swarms of developers / ops folks at all of these companies gang tackle … Read more →
Guide to Overcome Writer's Block and Create on Online Course
Posted September 11, 2013 • 3 min read
Writing a training course is not much different than writing a blog post, an article, or a book. At some point, you will need to sit down and just plain start writing. Anyone who creates any type of content has had to… Read more →
Two Simple Ways to Improve Action from eLearning Solutions
Posted August 27, 2013 • 3 min read
Too many eLearning courses are lectures in the form of slides with content that learners must either read or listen to. The content usually contains abstract topics, such as processes, that learners are then expected … Read more →
Create Simple LMS and Reduce the eLearning Gap
Posted August 24, 2013 • 3 min read
One problem that faces learning and development professionals is that people do not necessarily flock to your course catalog to complete the eLearning you worked so hard to develop. Sure they may complete the required… Read more →
Three Simple Ways to Improve Your Online Training Programs
Posted August 13, 2013 • 3 min read
No matter how good we get at something, there will always be times when we either get lazy or stuck in a rut. This is certainly true with talented eLearning designers who can fall into a pattern of using the same old … Read more →
How to Use Mindflash to Flip Your Classroom Training
Posted June 26, 2013 • 4 min read
Gone are the days when you have as much time as you need to deliver an effective training class. Few businesses are willing to dedicate the time necessary for people to learn new skills. After all, proper training is … Read more →
iPad Training - Three Things you Need to Know
Posted June 12, 2013 • 4 min read
If you have been paying even the slightest attention to technology news or you get out of your house once in a while, you know that mobile is a staggering trend threatening to make desktop computers and even laptops o… Read more →
Delivering Online Training Securely
Posted June 11, 2013 • 6 min read
While the goal of any training program is primarily to make sure your trainees get the vital information they need to be successful, a secondary concern is to make sure that the same vital information does not make it… Read more →
Switching to E-Learning Solutions Lead To Our Clients Success
Posted June 04, 2013 • 4 min read
There are plenty of "general" reasons to implement e-learning in your company. For example, you could deliver training to anyone in the world, people can complete training at their own pace, and you can provide a cons… Read more →
How to (and Why) Produce High Quality Audio for E-Learning
Posted May 29, 2013 • 5 min read
Let's get one thing out of the way right from the start and answer the question, "Should you use audio narration in your e-learning courses?" Ruth Clark, author of E-Learning and the Science of Instruction: Proven Gui… Read more →
Best Practices to Deliver Online Training Overseas
Posted May 20, 2013 • 3 min read
One of the reasons that e-learning is so successful is that it solves a problem of delivering training to audiences that are dispersed across the country and even around the world. Our workplaces have never been more … Read more →
Webinar Recap: How Yammer Uses Mindflash For Training
Posted May 14, 2013 • 4 min read
On Thursday, May 9, Mindflash hosted a webinar to discuss how Yammer uses Mindflash to conduct training. It was a very informative webinar, and I thought I would recap some of the highlights so you can learn how to us… Read more →
Four Ways to Ensure You Have Simple LMS Reporting
Posted May 07, 2013 • 5 min read
Unless you are among the fortunate learning and development leaders who does not care about tracking and reporting the training activity and results that are occurring in your organization, you likely have a beef with… Read more →
How to Design a MOOC in Your Company
Posted April 30, 2013 • 4 min read
Services like Coursera, Venture Lab, and Udemy (to name only a few) make free on-line courses available to anyone in the world for free. What is even more incredible is that using these services, you can take a Stanfo… Read more →
Trends and Career Prospects for Learning Professionals
Posted April 23, 2013 • 3 min read
We all know the cliche that when companies cut back, training is the first thing to go. The tendency for organizations to downsize training is a reality that can negatively impact career prospects in the learning and … Read more →
Motivate and Reward Learners with (Credible) Certificates
Posted April 15, 2013 • 3 min read
Last year, I had the opportunity to evaluate an industry certificate program with the intent of making it available to employees as a skill development program. My evaluation included completing an entire series of co… Read more →
Four Ways to Use Video in e-Learning
Posted April 10, 2013 • 4 min read
Read. Click Next. Read. Click Next. Skim. Click Next. Click Next. Click Next. Admit it. This is the way most of us take self-paced e-learning courses. Too often the e-learning we take contains nothing more than tex… Read more →
Designing Blended Learning Is Easier Than You Think
Posted April 02, 2013 • 5 min read
Everyone is talking about blended learning, but that does not mean everyone is doing it. At the 2011 ASTD Techknowledge Conference, Allison Rossett presented results of a study that showed that most learning professio… Read more →
Terms e-Learning Designers Should Know
Posted March 26, 2013 • 5 min read
There are concepts and terms that are part of the every day life of the professionals within an industry. In order for a professional to be successful in one's craft, a thorough understanding of industry concepts and … Read more →
Self-Paced Learning - When to Choose it
Posted March 18, 2013 • 5 min read
As you begin to learn about the different ways to bring e-learning into your organization, you will invariably come across the question, "Which is a better option: self-paced e-learning or live, on-line training?" It … Read more →
Getting Organized When Launching Large-Scale E-Learning
Posted March 11, 2013 • 6 min read
One of the most intimidating things in the learning and development field is launching your first large-scale e-learning initiative to your entire company. So many things could go wrong. People might not be able to lo… Read more →
Three Benefits of Quizzes in e-Learning
Posted March 08, 2013 • 5 min read
When it comes to testing, training professionals have a dilemma. "With all the focus on determining whether training helps people perform better, do we really need to include multiple choice quizzes in our e-learning?… Read more →
How to Sell Training Internally
Posted March 06, 2013 • 5 min read
Learning professionals spend a considerable amount of time trying to convince management that the training ideas we have are worth doing. Whether it is that new conflict management training or switching to e-learning … Read more →
How to Be Ready for Your Big Budget Increase
Posted February 20, 2013 • 5 min read
You are in your CEO's office and she says to you, "I am happy to increase your training budget next year. But here's the catch. The training better be shorter, faster, and more targeted at our top three company goals … Read more →
Designing Engaging E-Learning with PowerPoint
Posted February 14, 2013 • 4 min read
Recently, I took on an e-learning design project that had me wanting to refresh my perspective. For this particular project, I did not want to fall into the trap of producing the same old style of e-learning with whic… Read more →
How to Get People to Apply What They Learned: Just One Thing
Posted January 29, 2013 • 4 min read
Learning is complex. There are many definitions and many different ways of learning. Learning is the acquisition of knowledge or skills through study, experience or being taught. Learning is the modification of a beha… Read more →
Good News: Spending on Training Increasing
Posted January 24, 2013 • 3 min read
In a recent Bersin by Deloitte study, spending on learning and development rose by 12% in 2012. In another study, 90% of CEOS said they plan to maintain or increase training budgets in 2013. Obviously, this is great n… Read more →
Getting Started in Mobile Learning
Posted January 17, 2013 • 4 min read
In a recent post, I talked about a new feature in Mindflash that allows you to create training modules that work beautifully on the iPad. This opens up a whole new realm of possibilities for reaching learners with eff… Read more →
The Secret to Designing Training For Busy Schedules
Posted January 15, 2013 • 4 min read
When one gets started in e-learning, it is easy to think, "This is great, now we don't have to do classroom training anymore." This is certainly one benefit of e-learning. However, you do not have to think of this as … Read more →
Big Ass Fans and Mindflash
Posted January 08, 2013 • 3 min read
About the Organization: Based in Lexington, KY, Big Ass Fans is the preeminent designer and manufacturer of 6 ft. to 24’ diameter high volume/low speed ceiling and vertical fans developed to provide significant ener… Read more →
Gear Up for Mobile Learning
Posted December 28, 2012 • 4 min read
Mobile is everywhere. We all know this intuitively as we walk down the street or at the mall or at the airport, and observe people looking down at their mobile devices. Mobile stats are staggering. For example, there … Read more →
Improve E-Learning Effectiveness: Track Duration
Posted December 18, 2012 • 4 min read
I cannot tell you how many times I have run reports in a learning management system that have shown learners who took five minutes and twenty seconds to complete an e-learning course that should have taken twenty minu… Read more →
Learning Design Models Are Fine: But Are They Practical?
Posted December 14, 2012 • 3 min read
One of the most important things a learning experience (LX) designer can do is apply a sound, repeatable process to one's designs. The problem I have with design processes is that they are often too vague and do not a… Read more →
How to Address Learning Wants
Posted December 11, 2012 • 3 min read
Like many learning and development professionals, I have received numerous and continuous requests throughout my career for training on topics that, with just a little motivation and creativity, people could learn on … Read more →
Book Review: Leaving ADDIE for SAM
Posted December 11, 2012 • 5 min read
Many of my recent blog posts have been about learning experience (LX) design and how our designs can be improved through the proper application of action steps that keep the process as simple as possible. Some of my p… Read more →
E-Learning Designs: Don't Underestimate Learner Overload
Posted November 14, 2012 • 3 min read
I am at the beginning of a long-term project to create an internal certification program for a specific job type in my organization. The method for the learning content will be primarily asynchronous, so that people c… Read more →
Learning Design: When You Just Don't Know Where to Start
Posted November 08, 2012 • 4 min read
ADDIE is good, SAM is good. DMADDI is good. AGILE is good. Rapid instructional design is good. But sometimes a course design project can be overwhelming, and these design models are not specific enough to answer the q… Read more →
Employee Development Comes in Many Shapes and Sizes
Posted November 08, 2012 • 2 min read
There has been much written about employee development lately. All of these articles say two things that I find important. First, employees value it when an organization provides opportunities to develop skills beyond… Read more →
Three Ideas for New Learning Experience (LX) Designers
Posted November 07, 2012 • 5 min read
Starting out in any new job is a challenge, but new instructional designers and learning experience (LX) designers have a particular challenge in that they must learn their own role and the tools associated with their… Read more →
Three Ways to Build an Employee Development Culture
Posted October 24, 2012 • 3 min read
There is no doubt that in order to attract and retain a highly talented employee pool, organizations need to think seriously about branding themselves as development cultures. At the very least, organizations need to… Read more →
New to Managing the Learning Function? Start Here
Posted October 24, 2012 • 6 min read
So, you are new to your role as a training manager or VP/director of learning and development, and you want to know how you can make a valuable impact early in your tenure. As with any new role, we want to do our best… Read more →
The Role of the Learning Function in an Acquisition
Posted October 23, 2012 • 3 min read
This Fast Company article, How to Survive an Acquisition and Live Profitably Ever After, reminded me of an experience I had when a company I worked for bought two fairly large competitors. It was an enormous opportun… Read more →
Practical Ways Social Learning Can Enhance Formal Learning
Posted October 23, 2012 • 4 min read
In a recent Chief Learning Office Magazine article, How to Create a Dynamic Social Learning Space, Julian Stodd makes the point that social learning is not a replacement for formal learning, but a "supplement" to it.… Read more →
On-boarding New Employees with Jam Sessions
Posted September 12, 2012 • 4 min read
It is timely that I found this article in Fast Company about jam sessions because I am planning a new hire on-boarding program for senior managers in which I am designing a jam session called "Product/Client Jam" to e… Read more →
Subject-Matter Experts and Keeping Up with the Demand for Learning
Posted September 05, 2012 • 4 min read
In the quest to run efficient training departments, learning and development professionals wrestle with the conflict between staffing resources and keeping up with the demand for learning services. There are rarely en… Read more →
Admit it: You Care (Only) About What You Measure
Posted August 30, 2012 • 3 min read
This HBR Blog Network post about measuring performance reminded me of countless conversations I have had with managers about the stated importance of quality and the actual importance of productivity. It is a classic … Read more →
Note-taking and E-learning: Lessons for Learners and LX Designers
Posted August 28, 2012 • 4 min read
With all the talk of creating short, consumable, e-learning, most are long, boring, and difficult to retain. Think about it: When was the last time you took a self-paced e-learning course that was so long, you wanted … Read more →
What Learning Designers Can Learn from Agile Software Designers
Posted August 21, 2012 • 5 min read
I have always been fascinated with software design, even as a young kid learning BASIC on a Radio Shack TRS-80, I wanted to make that computer do stuff. The problem was that when the sun came up, I wanted to go fishin… Read more →
Training App For Yammer Users First By Mindflash
Posted August 14, 2012 • 3 min read
PALO ALTO, CA--(Marketwire - August 13, 2012) - Mindflash, the leading online training platform, today announced its launch of the first training app for Yammer, a leading provider of enterprise social networks. This … Read more →
How to Use Enterprise Social Networks to On-Board New Employees
Posted August 14, 2012 • 5 min read
On-boarding new employees is not just about new hire training. In fact, new employee training may be the least important part of on-boarding new people. As more evidence piles up linking employee engagement to perform… Read more →
Does Your Training ROI Actually Destroy Shareholder Value?
Posted August 06, 2012 • 3 min read
There is no doubt that the return on investment (ROI) of training is a controversial issue. There is no shortage of books, articles, blog posts, and Twitter chats filled with reasons why determining training ROI is es… Read more →
They Might Not Need Training, Just a Little Support
Posted July 24, 2012 • 4 min read
One of the biggest challenges that learning professionals face is overcoming the reality that people forget much of what they learn from a training class very quickly after it is over. This is horrifying considering… Read more →
Top Five Tips for Improving Safety Training
Posted June 25, 2012 • 2 min read
Mandatory safety training programs run the gamut, from repulsive (remember Red Asphalt in Drivers' Ed?) to funny, to boring. But more often than not, it's the latter. But they needn't — and shouldn't — be that way. A… Read more →
What the Horrible Video Game E.T. Can Teach Us About Training
Posted June 21, 2012 • 9 min read
It's said that for every action, there's an equal and opposite reaction. A few weeks ago, I explored the connections between instructional design and the critical and commercial success of the video game app… Read more →
Want People to Learn? Get Them to Collaborate
Posted June 20, 2012 • 5 min read
Of all the sections in my book on critical skills learning professionals need to know now, "enterprise 2.0 collaboration" seems like the most unlikely "critical" skill. However, as the speed of business keeps increasi… Read more →
Three Ways Company Trainers Can Help Hire Top Talent
Posted June 19, 2012 • 3 min read
Corporate trainers and educators are profit drivers now — and in more ways than one. Although their primary impact on a company is by training employees to master high-impact skills that help improve business performa… Read more →
Top Five Tips for Sales Training
Posted June 19, 2012 • 2 min read
Sales is a tough nut to crack — some people seem to get it, while others always lag behind, struggling to keep their numbers up. And teaching it to a newbie? It can feel practically impossible. Worn-out cliches and ad… Read more →
How Trainers Can Manage Their Social Media 'Brand'
Posted June 14, 2012 • 4 min read
Social media and social networks, to say the least, have become one of the most common ways for people to communicate. Just about everyone — even your mom, probably — has connected somehow with someone else through as… Read more →
Three Simple Ways to Get Started with Social Learning
Posted June 13, 2012 • 5 min read
Social learning a lot of us hear a lot these days — we know, vaguely, what it is, and we know that it's happening, whether we like it or not, every day. And yet the vast majority of our money and energy goes toward fo… Read more →
Three Reasons Training Is Now a Profit Driver
Posted June 12, 2012 • 3 min read
The word on the street is that we're in a skills shortage. Companies’ bottom lines are negatively impacted by employees who don’t have the increasingly complex skills needed to consistently perform their work and posi… Read more →
Top Five Tips for Creating Training Quizzes
Posted June 11, 2012 • 2 min read
It's about the time of year that we used to get all worked up about grades and cramming for finals. But if you thought taking tests was hard — how about writing them? We know that quizzes play an important role in wor… Read more →
Three Things Trainers Need to Know About Project Management
Posted June 08, 2012 • 4 min read
Launching a training program can be a daunting task, one that take months or even years to shepherd from its inception (identifying the need for an intervention) to its closure (evaluation). It takes planning, organiz… Read more →
Are You Giving Informal Learning Short Shrift?
Posted June 07, 2012 • 3 min read
Most of us know from personal experience that you learn a large percentage of what you need to know to do your work while on the job. Sure, your education gave you the basic skills and factual foundation to process ne… Read more →
Three Ways to Speed Up Instructional Design
Posted June 06, 2012 • 5 min read
Business today moves fast, and it's become critical for instructional designers to ramp up their own processes just to keep pace. Many training designers probably think they can't move any faster than they already … Read more →
For Maximum ROI, Focus on Training Top Employees
Posted June 05, 2012 • 3 min read
In his book First Break All the Rules, employee-engagement specialist Marcus Buckingham shares this alarming statistic: As many as 65 percent of employees are disengaged, and do just enough work to not get fired. Near… Read more →
Top Five Tips for On-Boarding New Employees
Posted June 04, 2012 • 2 min read
School's out for the summer, and that means eager college interns are flooding into the slowly-but-slowly-maybe-rebounding job market. And that means a lot of companies have a lot of training to get through, quickl… Read more →
How to Make Training Fun: 4 Easy Steps
Posted June 01, 2012 • 3 min read
Whether you're training customers or resellers or employees...anyone for that matter. You're likely faced with the same challenge... How to make training fun! We hear it often, trainers are always talking about the ne… Read more →
Twitter for Trainers: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced Ideas
Posted May 31, 2012 • 4 min read
How do you know an idea has gone thoroughly mainstream? It appears in melodramatic primetime television. This is even true of training. Take the 'Twitter for Training' episode of sudsy medical drama Grey's Anatomy fro… Read more →
Required Learning for Training Managers: Business 101
Posted May 30, 2012 • 4 min read
Learning professionals need a host of skills in order to be successful. One that often gets overlooked is business acumen. If trainers don't truly understand how a business works, what it expects out of its training d… Read more →
Keep It Real: Strategies for Adding More Authenticity to Your Training
Posted May 30, 2012 • 2 min read
This post by Trina Rimmer first appeared on the Impact Instruction Group blog. Have you ever read a sales or marketing script used for training and thought to yourself, “Who actually says this stuff?” or “No call… Read more →
What Storytellers Can Teach Instructional Designers
Posted May 29, 2012 • 4 min read
People love to hear stories and think in terms of the traditional beginning, middle, and end structure we all associate with a classic yarn. It's a reality that many of have suggested putting to good use in a busines… Read more →
3 Ways Training Managers Can Focus on Results
Posted May 29, 2012 • 2 min read
As educators, we're intimately familiar with the time and effort required to prepare and present any kind of training program, whether it's in a classroom or online, self-directed or a collaboration. Under-preparing f… Read more →
Top 5 PowerPoint Design Tips for Trainers
Posted May 28, 2012 • 1 min read
It's indispensable, it's maddening. It's revolutionary, it's boring. It's every training designer's best friend and worst enemy — PowerPoint. Love it or hate it, PowerPoint is one of the most commonly used tools for c… Read more →
Simulating the Consequences in 'High Stakes' Training
Posted May 26, 2012 • 3 min read
In high-stakes training, one powerful technique to make training stick is to simulate the consequences as much as possible. The idea comes from anesthesiology training: In simulated surgical environments operating … Read more →
Online Computer Skills Training - Resources
Posted May 25, 2012 • 8 min read
Computer technology has become ingrained in every aspect of society. Computers have virtually changed the way businesses advertise services, people interact with each other, and media reaches the masses. Each modern g… Read more →
How Trainers Are Holding Themselves Back
Posted May 24, 2012 • 4 min read
“Training needs to earn a seat at the table.” “We need to show the ROI of training.” “Leaders don’t understand the value of training.” In my years as a learning and development professional, I've heard phrases like… Read more →
Managing Employee Training Online
Posted May 23, 2012 • 2 min read
By now many organizations have moved their training departments online, tapping into the vast potential of e-learning or blended learning programs. With a virtually infinite source of training materials to draw from j… Read more →
Five Must-Have Skills for Learning Professionals: An Update
Posted May 23, 2012 • 5 min read
The first post I wrote here was called Critical Skills Learning Professionals Need Now, back in October 2010. Since then, I've been on a quest to help people in the learning and development industry continuously … Read more →
10 Ways to Spot a Lame Corporate PowerPoint Template
Posted May 23, 2012 • 7 min read
This post first appeared on Brent Dykes' blog, PowerPoint Ninja. If you work at a company with more than 100 people, you probably have an official corporate PowerPoint template. If you work in a company with more tha… Read more →
Five Ways to Spice Up Employee Training Programs
Posted May 22, 2012 • 3 min read
Most employee training and education programs focus on just a few required, core topics: basic skills, computer systems, and keeping current on industry regulations or changes. That's fine. Fundamentals are important.… Read more →
Educational Gamification Getting a Big Boost — Is Corporate Training Next?
Posted May 21, 2012 • 2 min read
Imagine an Angry Birds for teaching sales training. Or a Super Mario Bros. for employee on-boarding. The Sims for sexual harassment compliance training. (OK, maybe not the last one.) GameDesk, a Southern Californi… Read more →
Gamification: Should We Believe the Hype?
Posted May 18, 2012 • 3 min read
Gamification is hot. And why not? It's youthful, clever, and promises to transform mundane tasks into fun activities. It speeds up learning and increases productivity in the process — that's a lot going for … Read more →
What the Demise of Draw Something Should Teach Trainers
Posted May 17, 2012 • 6 min read
A couple of months ago, the smartphone app/game Draw Something had been downloaded by 35 million people and was being played daily by 15 million users, making it the hottest smartphone game in the country. The company… Read more →
What L&D Pros Need to Know About Sales Training
Posted May 17, 2012 • 2 min read
The following post first appeared on Dave Stein's Commentary on Sales Effectiveness blog, and is republished here with permission. On Monday I attended and presented at ASTD’s (American Society of Training and Develo… Read more →
Remote Training: Best Practices
Posted May 16, 2012 • 4 min read
No matter what sort of training you're involved in, training remote workers requires a particular kind of preparation and execution. The dynamics of teaching and learning change when instructor and pupil aren't in the… Read more →
Nine Training Alternatives to 'Correct' and 'Incorrect'
Posted May 15, 2012 • 6 min read
Imagine a trainer at the front of the room responding to a participant’s comment by saying nothing more than “You’re right!” or “Incorrect.” Imagine this happening over and over again. Even though it seems futile, th… Read more →
Let Employees Choose Their Own Training Materials
Posted May 15, 2012 • 3 min read
Lots of employees dread company education. They dread it because often we, as educators, don’t create compelling or engaging programs. Nor do we explain the reasoning behind the materials we use in those programs. Som… Read more →
How Sears Home Services Trained 8,000 Techs to Smile
Posted May 14, 2012 • 4 min read
The difference between a great customer interaction and a bad one was, in many cases, as simple as a smile. That's what Sears Home Services, the $2.7 billion arm of the nationwide retail chain responsible for customer… Read more →
Are You Mistaking Tracking for Learning?
Posted May 11, 2012 • 3 min read
In learning and development, as in every area of business, it isn't simply enough to produce results. You also need to measure those results to prove you're beneficial to your organization and get recognition (and sup… Read more →
Types of Learning Management Systems - Blog
Posted May 10, 2012 • 4 min read
There are now dozens of different types of Learning Management System, or LMS, used by organizations to manage e-learning and deliver course materials to employees. And while these systems typically share a common pur… Read more →
Should We Change The Language of Training?
Posted May 10, 2012 • 4 min read
When I speak with my peers in the field of organizational learning and performance, either in person or virtually, I'm always amazed at the amount of time we spend discussing, debating, and examining the language of o… Read more →
New Hire Orientation Ideas - 4 Tips for Welcoming
Posted May 10, 2012 • 4 min read
Now more than ever, it's critical for learning professionals to address the incredible costs of high employee turnover. The trends are well known: People are staying at jobs for less time than they use to. And that's … Read more →
Survey Shows Surprising Attitudes Toward Workplace Learning
Posted May 09, 2012 • 3 min read
Only 14 percent think that company training is an essential way for them to learn in the workplace. That was one of the findings of my recent anonymous survey on how people learn best in the workplace, and even I was… Read more →
Why Learning Is The Most Valuable Element of Workplace Culture
Posted May 08, 2012 • 2 min read
When I start working with organizations, I like to take some time to meet with the employees. I find that listening to how they describe their own organization — its values, behaviors, and attitudes — often shows more… Read more →
Some Common Sense on Measuring Training Effectiveness
Posted May 07, 2012 • 3 min read
Measuring L&D drives me a bit bonkers, because it’s so often poorly done. It’s not that I hate numbers. It’s not that I’m afraid that my program will be proved to be a disaster. It is just that I haven’t seen a truly… Read more →
Are Your Training Methods Outdated? Survey Says: Yes
Posted May 04, 2012 • 3 min read
Like a carton of milk that's past its sell date, the concept of something being "out-dated" means it's been superseded by something better, and can safely be discarded. But according to a new survey, many tr… Read more →
How to Create a Training Video
Posted May 03, 2012 • 4 min read
The first-ever moving picture, shot in 1878, was intended to answer a pretty simple-sounding question: How do horses move their legs when they run? Before the advent of the moving picture, it wasn't known. But string … Read more →
How to Learn from a Conference You Aren't Attending
Posted May 03, 2012 • 5 min read
Continuous professional development is a critical part of a trainer's work. We often think of it from the perspective of our learners, but need to think of it from our personal perspective as well.I think of this now … Read more →
Save Training for Employees Who Truly Need It
Posted May 02, 2012 • 2 min read
Too often, organizations settle for one-size-fits-all training. They simply don't have the time or money to create unique, customized programs for each learner. But the consequence is that they always seem to have a f… Read more →
Three Questions Every Workplace Trainer Should Ask
Posted May 01, 2012 • 3 min read
Right now I'm working on a new education program for our sales team that I call The Art of Questioning. In it, we'll be reviewing what makes a great question, how to ask one, and how to listen for and assess informati… Read more →
Can Doodling Actually Enhance Training? Apparently, Yes
Posted April 30, 2012 • 2 min read
We usually think of doodling on your legal pad during a long presentation as a way to stay sane. But it may be even more beneficial than that. An April 24 Wall Street Journal article pointed out that several high-tec… Read more →
LCMS and LMS
Posted April 28, 2012 • 3 min read
Many organizations looking to add more e-learning elements to their company training programs get stuck choosing between two similar-sounding, but ultimately different, systems: Learning Management Systems (LMS) and L… Read more →
What Is Blended Learning?
Posted April 28, 2012 • 3 min read
Blended learning is a term increasingly used to describe the way e-learning is being combined with traditional classroom methods and independent study to create a new, hybrid teaching methodology. It represents a much… Read more →
Online Testing in the Workplace
Posted April 28, 2012 • 5 min read
Testing employees on their comprehension of online training and e-learning materials is often thought of as something of a necessary evil. I mean, nobody especially likes taking a test, right? But by spending a little… Read more →
What Is Blended Learning?
Posted April 28, 2012 • 3 min read
Blended learning is a term increasingly used to describe the way e-learning is being combined with traditional classroom methods and independent study to create a new, hybrid teaching methodology. It represents a much… Read more →
It's Time for E-Learning to Embrace 'BYOL'
Posted April 27, 2012 • 3 min read
Corporate IT is being transformed by the phenomenon known as BYOD, or "Bring Your Own Device." Used to using smoothly functioning, good-looking consumer products at home, the argument goes, workers are increasingly de… Read more →
How to Save 'Social Learning' Before We Destroy It
Posted April 26, 2012 • 4 min read
Social Learning is a term that is rapidly spreading throughout the learning and performance field. It’s also a phrase that is on the verge of being completely perverted by the same community. Don’t get me wrong; I’… Read more →
How to Empower Employees by Delegating Responsibility and Freedom
Posted April 25, 2012 • 3 min read
Managers often talk about "empowering" employees. Books are written about it. Studies show it improves productivity, quality, employee satisfaction, and customer service. We all know it's important, but the fact of th… Read more →
Four Ways to Ensure Your Training Fits Every Learner
Posted April 24, 2012 • 2 min read
I distinctly remember a classroom program a colleague and I presented to our corporate office several years ago. We were sharing ways for the corporate support staff to work more closely with the field service operati… Read more →
Future of Vocational Training Likely to Be Online
Posted April 23, 2012 • 2 min read
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on Thursday announced a White House proposal to significantly reform the way vocational training is funded and run — a move that's likely to rely heavily on online training and e-lea… Read more →
How to Use 1-on-1 Training Without Breaking the Bank
Posted April 20, 2012 • 2 min read
When you hear the words "one-on-one training," your first impulse is probably to throw your hands in the air and explain about your squeezed budget. But fear not. We understand resources are tight. But even in today's… Read more →
How a One-Person Training Department Can Still Achieve Big Results
Posted April 19, 2012 • 3 min read
I've worked as a training director in two companies. In my previous role, I managed a group of 13 trainers and instructional designers. But in my current role, I am what many would call a "department of one". I nev… Read more →
Three Ways to Promote Continuous Learning
Posted April 18, 2012 • 4 min read
Last week I participated in an all-employee meeting during which I shared our philosophy about creating a culture of continuous learning. I was frank when I told everyone that the “training department” will not be abl… Read more →
What the 'Draw Something' App Can Teach Training Designers
Posted April 17, 2012 • 3 min read
A friend of mine introduced me to "Draw Something" last month and I must admit — I'm addicted. I've always been a doodler but this app really ups the ante by challenging me to illustrate a wide array of conc… Read more →
How Training Can Get Employees Out of a Performance Rut
Posted April 17, 2012 • 3 min read
Even great employees can get into a performance rut, where the monotony of doing the same thing day in and day out can turn into a sort of mindlessness. Nobody intends to get in a rut, but few people actively seek out… Read more →
In 'Flipped' Classroom, the Emphasis Must Be on Support, Not Video
Posted April 16, 2012 • 2 min read
Salman Khan, he of Khan Academy fame, has said that the "flipped classroom" model — in which students watch or listen to pre-recorded lectures over the Web, on their own time rather than during class — liberates instr… Read more →
What Angry Birds Can Teach Us About Instructional Design
Posted April 13, 2012 • 5 min read
You're probably familiar with Angry Birds, the massively popular iPhone game. What is it about this game that's so addictive? And how can learning and development pros tap into that stickiness to get people this excit… Read more →
How Workplace 'Strength Training' Produces Top Performers
Posted April 12, 2012 • 2 min read
If your employees already have strong skill sets in key areas of job performance, shouldn’t training programs focus on developing new skills or correcting weaknesses? Nope. A new study from Gallup suggests that wor… Read more →
Reasons Why Entire Team Must Go for Industry's Biggest Conference?
Posted April 11, 2012 • 4 min read
It isn't often that an industry conference comes along at just a time when an organization can send its entire team. But this year, the stars aligned, and we were fortunate enough to be able to send our entire le… Read more →
Trench Instructors Are Effective When Mixing It Up With Employees
Posted April 10, 2012 • 4 min read
About a month ago, I gave up my office and set up in the cubicles with the rest of my employees. My move probably surprised some people. After all, getting a private office is one of the trappings of being in manag… Read more →
Can E-Learning Be Elite? One Startup Thinks So
Posted April 09, 2012 • 2 min read
E-learning is, no doubt, moving closer to the education word's mainstream. Cash-strapped public universities are moving more and more classes online, and many private schools offer entire degree and certificate progra… Read more →
How to Make Wikis Part of Your Training Program
Posted April 06, 2012 • 3 min read
With the Encyclopedia Britannica abandoning its 244-year-old printed version in response to the dominance of Wikipedia, and Britain's education minister calling for a "wiki approach" to designing the curriculum for sc… Read more →
How to Create Your Own Khan Academy for Training
Posted April 05, 2012 • 4 min read
An emerging trend in learning and development is creating short, specific tutorials that can be created quickly, posted on an internal website, and distributed to employees -- who can use them anytime, anywhere, and u… Read more →
Why We Should Stop Talking About ROI in Training
Posted April 04, 2012 • 4 min read
For as long as Return on Investment, or ROI, has been a prevalent concept in business, it's also been a fixture of workplace learning and performance. But no longer a welcome one. What started as a concept that had va… Read more →
Great Training Starts With Asking Great Questions
Posted April 03, 2012 • 4 min read
The biggest problem I see with trainers and educators? Simple. They talk too much! They feel a need to lecture -- to impart their knowledge on trainees. Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) aren’t much better in this regard.… Read more →
How to Choose the Right Sales Trainer
Posted April 02, 2012 • 3 min read
Selecting the best sales training provider for your company’s needs isn’t easy. In simple terms, it’s a matter of finding the provider at the intersection of a number of critical learning areas. Let’s examine just thr… Read more →
The Benefits of Online Learning
Posted March 30, 2012 • 3 min read
E-Learning Solutions Allow Workers to Access Training Materials from Anywhere, at Any Time Online learning, or e-learning, offers a number of advantages for people and companies looking to develop a new content pro… Read more →
How Can the Mortgage Industry Regain Credibility?
Posted March 30, 2012 • 7 min read
While the economy and the stock markets have crawled back to life, the sectors that drove the economy into the worst recession in decades -- mortgage and banking -- are still grappling with a tough issue in the after… Read more →
In Retail, a Compelling Case for More Employee Training
Posted March 30, 2012 • 3 min read
Retail companies have typically responded to the economic recession by cutting staffing and training departments in order to keep prices low. But in an interesting new piece in the New Yorker, James Surowiecki argues … Read more →
History of the LMS
Posted March 30, 2012 • 0 min read
More Online Training Resources course management system | learning management system definition | lms learning | sales training online | point of sale online | online computer classes | compliance course softwar… Read more →
How to Win Over the Training Skeptics In Your Organization
Posted March 29, 2012 • 3 min read
As a chief performance officer, my job is to transform my company’s human capital into financial capital. I need to get employees to act on what they hear and learn during company educational programs. We do some grea… Read more →
Asynchronous E-Learning Vs. Synchronous E-Learning
Posted March 29, 2012 • 1 min read
The modern day e-learning environment can be divided into two categories: synchronous and asynchronous. Synchronous e-learning involves online studies through chat and videoconferencing. This kind of learning tool is… Read more →
Formal Training Vs. Informal Learning: Which Makes More Sense?
Posted March 29, 2012 • 3 min read
There's been a great deal of discussion over the last few years related to informal learning. Today, just about any training magazine, website, or conference probably devotes significant time to talking about informal… Read more →
Benefits of Online Learning
Posted March 27, 2012 • 3 min read
E-Learning Solutions Allow Workers to Access Training Materials from Anywhere, at Any Time Online learning, or e-learning, offers a number of advantages for people and companies looking to develop a new content progr… Read more →
Online Training Course Development
Posted March 24, 2012 • 3 min read
With powerful new tools like learning management systems, building online training courses is easy. In sounds contradictory, but the first step to developing an online course — whether it’s for general education or… Read more →
What is a Learning Management System?
Posted March 24, 2012 • 3 min read
Learning Management Systems Allow Powerful Training Programs to be delivered on the Go Over the past decade or so, powerful software for managing complex databases have been combined with digital frameworks for manag… Read more →
Best Practices for Creating Online Tests and Quizzes
Posted March 24, 2012 • 3 min read
Enrich Your E-Learning and Training Courses With Brain Teasers — and Track Your Trainees’ Results Testing can be a useful tool for online course designers, yet it’s one that tends to be underutilized. And with onli… Read more →
Alternatives to Moodle
Posted March 24, 2012 • 5 min read
Cloud-based, Easy-to-Customize Learning Management Systems May Make More Sense for Your Organization Moodle has emerged as one of the most visible brands for creating and managing e-learning content online. As one of… Read more →
Customer Service Skills
Posted March 24, 2012 • 4 min read
Teaching ‘people skills’ can be difficult, but e-learning makes it easier than ever to get your customer-facing teams trained with the proper customer service skills to deliver amazing customer service experiences. W… Read more →
How E-Learning Might Be Improving Nationwide Graduation Rates
Posted March 23, 2012 • 2 min read
Does e-learning have a direct influence on graduation rates — whether it's in high school or employee training? E-learning advocates will of course say yes, but a new study of high school graduation rates offers some … Read more →
Why 'Gamify'-ing Employee On-Boarding Makes Tons of Sense
Posted March 23, 2012 • 5 min read
Most new employee training looks pretty much the same. A new worker joins the organization, and for the first week we put them in a training class, have them fill out piles of paperwork, and walk them through who's wh… Read more →
What is E-Learning?
Posted March 23, 2012 • 4 min read
Whether it’s delivering K-12 education to children in foreign countries or compliance training to multi-national corporations, e-learning is transforming how information is distributed. In use for over than a decade,… Read more →
Three Ways to Make Sure Your Company’s Training Isn’t Boring
Posted March 21, 2012 • 3 min read
When I first started as an education director, our company’s only training program was really routine and systems-focused. Employees used to groan and roll their eyes when I talked about it. People thought workplace e… Read more →
Why Blended Learning Is Really Just Blended Training
Posted March 20, 2012 • 4 min read
Blended learning is a hot phrase in the training world, and it usually refers to a mixing of traditional face-to-face classroom facilitation with computer-based modules — usually self-paced online training. Proponent… Read more →
How Training Can Help Overcome the Manufacturing Skills Gap
Posted March 19, 2012 • 4 min read
The following article was written by Derek Singleton of SoftwareAdvice.com. The original can be seen here. Article republished with permission. Three Ways to Overcome the Manufacturing Skills Gap A recent Deloitte r… Read more →
Why Your Diversity Training Is Backfiring
Posted March 16, 2012 • 3 min read
Studies show that diverse teams are more creative teams. But the research is just as clear that having folks with very different backgrounds working together is also a source of conflict, and that teams need solid com… Read more →
Training Managers? Teach Leaders It's Not About Them Anymore
Posted March 15, 2012 • 3 min read
Over the past three weeks, we’ve been interviewing people in my office for leadership positions on our internal teams. The process has triggered memories of the first time I applied for a supervisory position. I’d bee… Read more →
Walk the Walk: Does Your Company Promote Continual Education?
Posted March 14, 2012 • 3 min read
When I started at my position as chief performance officer at an e-marketing agency nine months ago, the company's products and services were good. Its business strategy was sound. But the quality of its people — thei… Read more →
Three Essential Tips for New Online Training Designers
Posted March 13, 2012 • 5 min read
One of the biggest challenges online training developers have is that they often have no background in online training. Online training is very different than face-to-face training, yet many classroom trainers inherit… Read more →
New Hires Not Working Out? Try Psychometric Testing
Posted March 12, 2012 • 4 min read
Too often sales executives find that newly hired sales professionals do not possess the particular traits needed for the jobs they were hired to do. ES Research Group estimates that this happens 25 to 33 percent of th… Read more →
Using Every Last Minute to Make Training Suck Less
Posted March 09, 2012 • 3 min read
If I told you your car was wasting two-thirds of the fuel you put in it, you'd be pretty annoyed (especially considering gas prices right now). And if I told you your brain was only working at two-thirds capacity… Read more →
Two Easy Ways to Make Training Webinars More Personal
Posted March 07, 2012 • 3 min read
I’ll admit it: When it comes to teaching, classroom programs are my favorite. Classroom education is more personal and more responsive — it allows the instructor’s personality and knowledge to interact with students’ … Read more →
Why People Hate Training, and How to Overcome It
Posted March 06, 2012 • 4 min read
"It's not that people don't like what you do; it's just that nobody likes training. Nobody. You do an excellent job, but still... people hate training." That's a direct quote from an organization's senior human res… Read more →
What We Mean When We Say 'Sales Training'
Posted March 05, 2012 • 3 min read
When Shakespeare famously penned, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” it’s clear that he didn’t live in the age of Google searches and brand positioning. Today, he might still have found success as a writ… Read more →
Why the Right Vocabulary Is Key to Effective Training
Posted March 01, 2012 • 3 min read
The future of learning, many have speculated, will almost certainly be less formal and structured and more about picking things up as you go. Corporate training pro Catherine Lombardozzi, who writes the blog Learni… Read more →
How to Turn Your Resident Experts Into Star Trainers
Posted February 29, 2012 • 4 min read
One of the great debates within the learning professional circle right now is whether subject-matters experts (SMEs) can be used as effective trainers. SMEs, which can come from anywhere — including within your very-o… Read more →
In-House Training - 3 Things you Need to Know
Posted February 28, 2012 • 4 min read
One of my former jobs was as a CFO for a struggling wholesale distribution business. The company had once had a great reputation and solid products, but by the time I got there, it badly needed a boost. Employee pe… Read more →
Is Inside Sales Training More Important Than Field Sales Training?
Posted February 27, 2012 • 4 min read
In today’s challenging selling environment, people and resources typically regarded as inside sales are driving a higher proportion of bottom-line sales results. To stay competitive, sales managers must improve traini… Read more →
How Training Toughens Up Employees and Improves Your Brand
Posted February 24, 2012 • 3 min read
After several years on life support, the American economy is starting to show stirrings of life. But it's clear that even if unemployment numbers are dropping, we aren't soon likely to return to our parents' economy (… Read more →
Seven Training Sins to Avoid at all Costs
Posted February 23, 2012 • 5 min read
Almost all of us have been stuck in a training class at some point with a bad trainer. So, to help spare the world from these mind-meltingly lame training sessions, I've compiled a list of the seven worst habits bad t… Read more →
How to Find, and Embrace, Your Company's Hidden Experts
Posted February 22, 2012 • 3 min read
In spite of what your parents told you, you are not great at everything. Nobody is. But each of us is great at something. This is critical information. Because the more we know what our “thing” is — the more we know o… Read more →
How Big Data Will Reshape eLearning -- and the Future of Work
Posted February 21, 2012 • 4 min read
I recently attended the American Society for Training and Development's 2012 TechKnowledge conference, where over 1,200 attendees and 70 exhibitors got together in Las Vegas to talk about training, do some networking,… Read more →
Why Should you Involve Everyone to Reap the Benefits of Training
Posted February 17, 2012 • 2 min read
Here's a great bit of insight I came across recently on Steve Wheeler's blog: "We Learn by Teaching." Wheeler, a professor of learning technology at Plymouth University, reminded me of similar advice my father gave m… Read more →
Three Myths About How We Learn
Posted February 16, 2012 • 3 min read
If you were to stroll back into your old elementary school today, you'd probably find that the classrooms look pretty similar to the ones you studied in, and the kids are still learning to read and write the same way … Read more →
Employees Training - Tips for Maximizing Your Training Dollars
Posted February 16, 2012 • 3 min read
You've invested money and energy in building an education department, or at least in training materials. You've been open to hearing about what employees need to better do their jobs. Maybe you've even allowed time of… Read more →
Online Job Training a Central Component of $8 Billion Funding Initiative
Posted February 15, 2012 • 1 min read
President Obama proposed a new Community College to Career Fund Monday, which intends to provide some 2 million people with job-related training — a project that people in the e-Learning and training fields will certa… Read more →
Don't Sell BS to Salespeople, Make Their Training Meaningful
Posted February 15, 2012 • 4 min read
What really works — and what doesn’t — in corporate sales training? We sat down with Inc.com’s Geoffrey James, author of How to Say it: Business to Business Selling, for his latest insights on the state of the industr… Read more →
Best (and Worst) Practices in Sales Training: Q&A with Geoffrey James
Posted February 14, 2012 • 4 min read
What really works -- and what doesn't -- in corporate sales training? We sat down with Inc.com's Geoffrey James, author of How to Say it: Business to Business Selling, for his latest insights on the state of the indus… Read more →
Who Trains the Trainers?
Posted February 13, 2012 • 3 min read
Are you someone who has ‘fallen into’ your role? In most fields, professionals have gone to school and been ‘prepared’ in some way for their role in the workplace. An accountant, for instance, generally has some sort… Read more →
How iPhone Apps Fit Into Online Training
Posted February 10, 2012 • 4 min read
M-learning — mobile learning — is a hot new topic among training professionals, but what, exactly, is it? And who uses it? We know the idea is to tap into the immense power and popularity of smartphones and tablets an… Read more →
What's in a Letter? Thoughts on Dropping the E from E-Learning
Posted February 09, 2012 • 2 min read
Instructional designer Melissa Venable posed an interesting question this week on OnlineCollege.org that any training professional ought to consider: Should we drop the “e” from “e-learning”? It’s more than a questio… Read more →
Life's a Big Video Game for Gen Y – So Let Them Play!
Posted February 08, 2012 • 3 min read
The generation of young people now entering the workforce are the first to have spent their entire childhoods surrounded by video games. And it seems they may be bringing some by-products of all that time with control… Read more →
Verizon Snafu Underscores Importance of Security in Training
Posted February 08, 2012 • 2 min read
When a company is getting ready to release a new product or service, it will need to train its workers on how to use, handle, and sell it. But apparently a few too many companies are forgetting an important training s… Read more →
When (and Why) Training Isn't the Best Solution
Posted February 07, 2012 • 4 min read
Training professionals often make two mistakes without ever realizing it. By simply acknowledging them, we can begin to improve performance quickly and easily -- and without any new training programs. The first mista… Read more →
The State of Sales Training in 2012: Top Trends and Takeaways
Posted February 06, 2012 • 2 min read
On December 7, 2011 ESR delivered a webinar presentation on the state of sales training (download the MP3 or PDF—free registration required). It was an hour full of valuable intelligence and insight for sales training… Read more →
Obama's Going to Close the Skills Gap. But Does It Even Exist?
Posted February 03, 2012 • 4 min read
Americans are stomping mad about the economy in general and unemployment in particular, and it appears the President has gotten the message. In his latest State of the Union address, President Obama laid out a raft of… Read more →
Strategies for Running a Lean & Mean Learning Organization
Posted February 02, 2012 • 5 min read
I’m in the midst of finalizing the budget and strategic plan for our learning organization at Allonhill, which is pushing me to confront one really difficult question: How can we be useful for our constituents without… Read more →
Q&A With Julie Dirksen On What Learning Designers Need to Learn
Posted February 01, 2012 • 3 min read
How do you design course material for optimal retention, attention, and engagement — at the same time juggling the needs of your "learners," subject matter experts, and others? It's a daunting challenge, but one that … Read more →
How a Learning Culture Builds a Key Competitive Advantage — Employee Accountability
Posted January 31, 2012 • 3 min read
I’m on the road a lot, so I tend to find myself in a lot of different Starbucks coffee shops. And while they all sort of look alike, someone like me can pretty easily spot the best shops where the baristas develop a r… Read more →
Drowning in E-Mail? A Few Tips for Staying Afloat
Posted January 31, 2012 • 2 min read
You’re sitting down to type up your big report, which is due by the end of the day. Ping! An e-mail pops up. Ping! Another one. Neither are particularly important. But somehow it’s just impossible to start working wit… Read more →
Has the Recession Permanently Scarred Gen Y?
Posted January 26, 2012 • 3 min read
Put more than one economist in a room and chances are slim they'll find much to agree on. However, lately there seems to be a consensus forming among economists that the economy's trajectory is heading up. That’s grea… Read more →
Four Core Elements of Great Learning — Avoid 'Teaching by Telling'
Posted January 25, 2012 • 2 min read
I recently covered an MBA class for a Ph.D colleague of mine. Though the class lesson was to cover global HR, the instructor required that at the beginning of each class, one or two teams of students present an overvi… Read more →
Why eLearning Can Never Be Boring: Q&A with Cathy Moore
Posted January 24, 2012 • 3 min read
Cathy Moore is a recognized elearning and training expert who has helped dozens of organizations (including the U.S. Army, NATO, USPS, and Chevron) and shares her insights on her blog. In February, Moore will be prese… Read more →
Apple's Taking Over Textbooks — Are Training Manuals Next?
Posted January 24, 2012 • 2 min read
With its unveiling last week of the second iteration of its iBookstore and new e-book-creation "Author" application, Apple appears to have set its sights on reshaping the world of educational publishing. In many circ… Read more →
How Training Can Speed Adoption of New Social Apps — and Make Them Stick
Posted January 23, 2012 • 3 min read
Last month, our company launched a new performance-management system called Rypple, a socially driven performance-appraisal system that helps employees get continuous feedback from their bosses, and keeps track of whe… Read more →
Finally, Good News: Training Budgets Up Over 9 Percent, Survey Says
Posted January 19, 2012 • 3 min read
Each year Bersin & Associates surveys the training landscape, asking companies how much they’re spending on training, and distills the results into its annual Corporate Learning Factbook (an executive summary is avail… Read more →
How Well Does Your Company Know its World?
Posted January 18, 2012 • 2 min read
I used to teach an introductory-level course for an online MBA program. This program introduced MBA students to the role of accounting, basic financial statements, monetary policy, and macro- and microeconomics. In on… Read more →
The Art of the 30-Minute Meeting
Posted January 17, 2012 • 2 min read
I thought we all agreed that most of the meetings we attend are a waste of time. We discussed it in the halls, we sent IMs and emails to each other, and we snickered while the boss rambled on for 20 minutes about how … Read more →
Who Should Be Paying for Job Training?
Posted January 11, 2012 • 2 min read
The economy might be showing the faintest glimmers of recovery, but with unemployment still at 8.5 percent and many long-term unemployed struggling to find their way back into the labor force, investing more in traini… Read more →
How To Make Training (or Anything) Stick
Posted January 10, 2012 • 2 min read
We’ve been training employees on several new procedures and approaches recently in my workplace. But what’s been bothering me is the question of why some of these practices, which include really sound and important in… Read more →
Give Your Employees More, and Get More Back
Posted January 09, 2012 • 2 min read
According to author Peter Drucker, a responsible worker is a person who “not only is accountable to specific results, but also has the authority to do whatever is necessary to produce these results, and finally, is co… Read more →
E-Learning is Closing the Achievement Gap. Right?
Posted January 05, 2012 • 3 min read
Technology is changing just about everything, including the way we learn. From free online classes to high-quality Internet connections that let experts share their knowledge across vast distances, the future of educa… Read more →
A Few Words to Live by in 2012
Posted January 04, 2012 • 2 min read
For the start of a new year, I thought I would draft a letter you can use with your employees — a way to challenge them to be better in all that they do in 2012. If you like it, please feel free to use it (or edit it … Read more →
A Review of 2011 and the Future of Workplace Learning
Posted January 03, 2012 • 3 min read
Yogi Berra once said, "Predictions are hard, especially when they are about the future." So instead of writing a 2012 prediction post, I decided to review the topics I wrote about in 2011 and rediscover what topics re… Read more →
Year in Review: The Worst Employee Training Mistakes of 2011
Posted December 29, 2011 • 3 min read
The end of the year is a good time to look ahead and make plans and resolutions to improve in the year to come. But the run-up to New Year’s Day isn’t all about optimism and positive change. It’s also a time to look b… Read more →
Your First New Year’s Resolution: Spend More Time With Your Employees
Posted December 28, 2011 • 3 min read
With a new year comes a look back at what went right and what didn’t go so right in 2011. Over the past 12 months we learned that over 50 percent of our employees said that if the economy were better, they’d change jo… Read more →
Instructional Designers: Create Workbooks, not Manuals
Posted December 27, 2011 • 2 min read
How many binders do you have on your bookshelf? A lot, right? Just about everyone has taken a training class and been given a training binder, taken it back to their desk, and never opened it again. It's crazy. So man… Read more →
Gen Y and Dunning-Kruger: They Don't Know What they Don't Know
Posted December 21, 2011 • 4 min read
If you aren't yet familiar with the Dunning-Kruger effect you’re missing out (and if you are, you’re bound to be pleased to be reminded of this old friend). It’s an idea that explains so very many aggravating things i… Read more →
On-Demand is the Future of Online Learning
Posted December 20, 2011 • 3 min read
TIVO and DVRs completely changed the way we watch television. People no longer have to watch a program at the exact time it's aired, since it's so easy to record it and watch whenever you have the time. So what can wo… Read more →
Three Ways to Make Your Workplace More Like Your Company Party
Posted December 19, 2011 • 3 min read
We had our office holiday party last night. Almost everyone came and brought their special someone. We all had a terrific time. I know it sounds like a vacation postcard, but as I stood in the food line waiting my tu… Read more →
Looking Back at the Year in e-Learning, and Other Web Links
Posted December 16, 2011 • 3 min read
Forget the calendars and Christmas sale TV ads. To my mind, winter only starts when everyone I see on the train in the morning is wearing a scarf. And this week, everyone was. So it must be official – winter’s here, a… Read more →
Gen Y Wants its Employers to Go Green, Mostly
Posted December 14, 2011 • 3 min read
The young are often perceived as crusaders for a better, cleaner, fairer way of doing business, and there is some evidence that this folk wisdom on youthful idealism is correct. A recent analysis by Pew found that the… Read more →
Encourage Employees to Wonder, Not Wander
Posted December 13, 2011 • 2 min read
Culture: it is the foundation of all great organizations, and the lowest common denominator of performance. Your company’s culture can attract and retain the best employees, or send the best away. Your culture can enc… Read more →
How to Lead the Facebook Generation
Posted December 12, 2011 • 1 min read
Gary Hamel, in his weekly WSJ.com blog, writes about the Facebook generation and ways fortune Fortune 500 companies aren't prepared to deal with this new crop of workers. There is one item in particular that caught m… Read more →
Training Sales Reps, and the Selective Attention Challenge
Posted December 08, 2011 • 1 min read
This post comes courtesy of Dave Stein, author of the blog Commentary on Sales Effectiveness. One of the most common issues that needs to be overcome through a sales-performance-improvement initiative is the subjecti… Read more →
Gamification: A Good Idea ... Sometimes
Posted December 07, 2011 • 3 min read
The old way of work — grinding out eight hours a day in soulless cubicles — could use some updating, nearly everyone agrees. And what solution is more intuitive than bringing games, one of the most fun aspects of life… Read more →
What's On Your Employees' Wish List This Christmas?
Posted December 06, 2011 • 2 min read
I was in the mall this week (bad idea). A large Santa’s village, complete with Santa and his minion of elves, was dwarfed by the queue of kids waiting to sit on Santa’s lap to share what they wanted for the holiday. I… Read more →
Four Ways to Empower Your Team to Make its own Decisions
Posted December 05, 2011 • 2 min read
When I speak with managers, especially senior-level managers, a common complaint I hear is, "How can I get my team to make more decisions on its own?" It's a good question and one all managers need to spend time answ… Read more →
No Cash for Raises for Your Gen Y Employees? Try Training Instead, Survey Says
Posted December 01, 2011 • 2 min read
Gen Y isn’t known for its loyalty. Some studies have indicated that as many as 70 percent of workers in this demographic will leave their first employer within two years of joining. So how can you keep your 20-somethi… Read more →
How to Develop (and Teach) a Smart 'Raise Strategy'
Posted November 30, 2011 • 3 min read
Regardless of tough times, poor company results or average employee performance, most employees feel they are entitled to an annual raise. This is because most employees have not been shown the connection between pay … Read more →
Tuition Assistance and Improved Performance
Posted November 29, 2011 • 2 min read
This case study in the December issue of Chief Learning Officer about Verizon Wireless' tuition assistance program scratches me right where I itch. Verizon Wireless is nailing it, and the case study shows the results … Read more →
The Problem With Praise
Posted November 28, 2011 • 4 min read
As a training professional, you’ve probably seen plenty of examples of the positive effects of praise. Who doesn’t get a kick out of an employee or student’s face lighting up when they‘re told they’ve done well on a t… Read more →
The One Thing You Must Do to Develop Leaders
Posted November 21, 2011 • 3 min read
If you want to ensure your leadership development programs are successful, you need to instill a single belief among aspiring leaders in your organization. This single belief trumps all other efforts you undertake in … Read more →
Instead Of Whining About The Skills Gap, Use Training To Close It
Posted November 18, 2011 • 3 min read
This post was written by Mindflash CEO Donna Wells for Fast Company Magazine. Excerpt republished with permission. Read the whole article at Fast Company. It is a tragic irony that there are over 3 million open jobs … Read more →
Gen Y and the Incredible Shrinking Office
Posted November 17, 2011 • 3 min read
As Boomers gradually retire and your organization hires more young workers, your office may change. The median age will drop, the average wardrobe alter and, with team-happy young people filling the cubicles, the plac… Read more →
Work-Flex: Another New Workplace Term
Posted November 15, 2011 • 2 min read
Languages never remain static; they constantly evolve – adding and deleting words based on changing life and work attitudes, circumstances and events. Many times the words are cultural or social markers (bromance, hel… Read more →
Four Ways to Invest in Personal R&D
Posted November 14, 2011 • 3 min read
Companies that invest heavily in research and development during recessions often come out better positioned to compete and often become market leaders. This McKinsey Quarterly article demonstrates that while most com… Read more →
Gen X to Gen Y: Quit Whining, We Have It Worse
Posted November 11, 2011 • 3 min read
An article in New York magazine recently set off a bit of an online shouting match between 20-something Gen Yers and representatives of the smaller and less intensely examined generation a decade or so older than them… Read more →
Don’t Pay Your Employees to Just Show Up
Posted November 09, 2011 • 2 min read
While presenting to an audience this week, I met Joanne, a manager struggling to get better performance out of her employees. Her comment was, “It seems like my employees just kind of show up to work – like they had n… Read more →
The Unintended Consequences of Employee Surveys
Posted November 08, 2011 • 2 min read
Employee surveys can be an excellent tool for discovering what employees want from the organization in order for them to feel engaged and productive. However, organizations can actually do more harm than good if the o… Read more →
Gen Y to HR: Don’t tell us how to learn
Posted November 04, 2011 • 3 min read
What is the one thing you can be sure your youngest employees straight out of school know how to do? Anecdotal horror stories suggest that sometimes their knowledge of corporate culture isn’t up to snuff. Certainly th… Read more →
Four Ways to Keep Education Alive and Profitable
Posted November 01, 2011 • 3 min read
A quick question. Why do you pay your employees? My answer: You pay them to provide the best, most efficient and most profitable response in the moment – then to do it again in the next moment, then the next. We pay… Read more →
Anti Social Learning: Why We Don't Learn from Others
Posted October 31, 2011 • 3 min read
Watching college football this weekend, it occurred to me how great instant replay is in professional tennis. In college football and the NFL, instant replay can take so long it makes you want to change the channel. W… Read more →
The Easy Way to Learn, Courtesy of Psychologists
Posted October 27, 2011 • 3 min read
As a trainer, it’s pretty intuitive to understand your role as an imparter of knowledge. Your students’ brains, in this common sense understanding of learning, are like buckets into which you dump key facts and concep… Read more →
Poor Managers. Poor Performance.
Posted October 25, 2011 • 2 min read
Managers have enormous impact on people performance both positive and negative. However, there are too many examples of the negative impact that bad managers have on people and performance for us to ignore it the way … Read more →
Four Ways to Engage, Not Overwhelm, Your Employees
Posted October 24, 2011 • 2 min read
Change is constant – we all understand that. But a dangerous side effect in a world where information availability doubles every 2-3 years is that most of today’s employees are worn out, never knowing what is coming n… Read more →
3 Learning and Development Lessons From .... M&Ms
Posted October 21, 2011 • 3 min read
M&M’s, those delicious little candies with a mix of colors on the outside and great filling on the inside. Yum. Who would have thought they would provide a great lesson about hiring and developing employees? Today’… Read more →
An Alternative for Gen Y Networking-Phobics
Posted October 20, 2011 • 3 min read
You’ve probably heard of slow food, maybe slow travel or even slow money, but how about slow networking? Networking is ubiquitous in the business world, but it’s still a polarizing term (not sure about this? Just G… Read more →
Death by Bullet-Point, and Other PowerPoint Design Tips
Posted October 20, 2011 • 4 min read
Getting up in front of a conference room full of yawning coworkers to deliver a PowerPoint presentation is already hard enough. Subjecting your colleagues to half an hour of mind-numbing .gifs and tedious minutia… Read more →
Interactive Training - 9 Tips to Make Training More Engaging
Posted October 17, 2011 • 3 min read
Training and performance improvement professionals work hard every day trying to make training more engaging. Our goal is not to make the training more engaging by itself; we want to improve participation in class, in… Read more →
The Antidote to Gen Y Burnout
Posted October 12, 2011 • 3 min read
It’s rough out there for recent college grads. With the group experiencing sky-high unemployment and even more rampant underemployment, those lucky few young people with a career track job are probably feeling pretty … Read more →
Please Don't Call Your LMS an LMS
Posted October 10, 2011 • 2 min read
For Pete’s sake, do not call your learning management system, the “learning management system.” That is like telling your friend to call you on your “hand-held, long-range, mobile, radio-telephone device.” Too many ti… Read more →
Gen Y: A Driving Force Behind the Gig Economy?
Posted October 06, 2011 • 3 min read
When the parents of so-called Gen Y (aka the Millennials) graduated from college or high school, they knew exactly what to do: Get a job. Their employers may have changed periodically as they climbed the proverbially … Read more →
How to Enhance Training Courses with a Quiz
Posted October 05, 2011 • 3 min read
Pop quiz: How do you ensure that your employees are really absorbing the materials in the training courses you’ve created with Mindflash? Answer: Make a pop quiz. Mindflash offers several ways to drop easy-to-make, … Read more →
Turning PowerPoint Presentation into a Dynamic Training Tool
Posted October 04, 2011 • 3 min read
So you’ve toiled and fine-tuned and delivered your PowerPoint presentation dozens of times, until it really sings. The good news is that Mindflash allows you to upload it in a snap, and easily share it with your colle… Read more →
Four Ways to Speed Up the Instructional Design Process
Posted October 03, 2011 • 4 min read
Yes, I know. The business is putting more pressure on you to deliver more training and you just don't have the resources. “If only they understood how long this stuff takes,” you think to yourself. “If we had two mor… Read more →
The Ultimate Motivator for Gen Y: Big Goals
Posted September 29, 2011 • 2 min read
Gen Y employees get a bad rap as listless, entitled, attention span challenged and in need of constant praise. But perhaps the problem isn’t with their attitude, but with the way their work has been presented to them.… Read more →
How to Get Managers -- Who Don't 'Need' Training -- Learning Again
Posted September 26, 2011 • 4 min read
There are specific employee groups that learning professionals have come to assume don't need training -- or, if these groups do need training, training teams needn't offer them many training opportunities, if any at … Read more →
Good to Great Training With Images, Audio, and Video
Posted September 23, 2011 • 4 min read
Photos, sound files and video clips are always great ways to liven up great presentations. For people creating training content, there's an added bonus: adding media also helps boost retention. A few quick examples: … Read more →
Forget Flying Solo: Why Women Compete Better in Teams
Posted September 22, 2011 • 2 min read
The reality and underlying causes of the gender pay gap may be much debated, but another striking difference between women and men at work is just as widely perceived but much less discussed – the competitiveness gap.… Read more →
Book Review: Designing mLearning by Clark N. Quinn
Posted September 19, 2011 • 3 min read
What I wanted to learn when I read Designing mLearning: Tapping into the Mobile Revolution for Organizational Performance by Clark N. Quinn was specific tools and technologies that I could pick up and start designing … Read more →
Generation Wars: Is Gen Y Anger With Boomers Fair? Useful?
Posted September 15, 2011 • 3 min read
For as long as there have been generations, there have been clashes between them. After all, Aristophanes was complaining about spoiled, disrespectful children four centuries before Christ. Despite this long history o… Read more →
Get Results In A Period of Change
Posted September 14, 2011 • 2 min read
In the workplace, change is the new constant. With the increase in access to information, successful organizations must always be adapting, changing, learning and growing. This can wear your employees out. So how do … Read more →
Implementing Social Learning: Start Small and Start Now
Posted September 12, 2011 • 4 min read
Arnold Palmer, one of the original kings of golf, had a saying, "Your worst putt is better than your best chip." In other words, if you are off the green, you are better off putting from the fringe or light rough than… Read more →
Gen Y to Pollsters: We Love Training But Not the Traditional Kind
Posted September 08, 2011 • 2 min read
On the Mindflash blog before we’ve pointed out there’s plenty of evidence for a training crisis in American business, with various experts and surveys bemoaning a "sink or swim" approach to on-boarding new employees. … Read more →
I Can’t Be Great If I Don’t Know What is Expected
Posted September 07, 2011 • 2 min read
This blog is generally about maximizing performance – sometimes through expanding education, sometimes just by stating the obvious. Today’s post is about the latter. So, here is the obvious employee statement: “I c… Read more →
Does Sales Coaching Work?
Posted September 06, 2011 • 4 min read
I have never been a fan of sales coaches. Yes, sales performance is just about the most important function in any business. Yes, top performing people in any field need a coach. And yes, sales people should constantly… Read more →
Gen Y: Delusional About Economic Reality?
Posted September 02, 2011 • 3 min read
New U.S. consumer confidence numbers are out today. Guess what? They’re abysmal. Americans, it seems, are looking around at the signs of economic hardship and coming to some pretty gloomy conclusions about their prosp… Read more →
Wag More, Bark Less
Posted August 31, 2011 • 3 min read
This is a bumper sticker on my car. Yes, we love dogs. Moreover, I love when people work to get along instead of engage in conflict. And, of course I have a workplace connection. I am working with a company that ha… Read more →
A Real How To Guide to Prioritize Learning
Posted August 29, 2011 • 3 min read
When deciding how to spend your learning investments, consider what the CEO cares about. In broad terms, the CEO wants grow the business and make it more efficient. In very specific terms, it mean increasing revenue a… Read more →
Tailoring Sales Training The Right Way
Posted August 26, 2011 • 4 min read
Sales training isn't an out-of-the-box commodity. Effective training requires customization and tweaking to fit the values, goals and ideals of a particular organization. Here's a few ways to cut and fit in the most v… Read more →
Three Reasons Why Employee Development Pays
Posted August 24, 2011 • 2 min read
Today’s best employees, not the average ones, are those who look at the quality of the workplace and its commitment to educate, advance and develop employees before they accept a job. They are selective because they r… Read more →
Unofficial Office Training Guide To Eliminate Office Place Hazards
Posted August 23, 2011 • 0 min read
No Matter what the work environment, safety hazards exist and can result in weeks and months of injury leave for employees – not to mention loads of workers' comp paid out by companies. Even if most of your employees … Read more →
Digital Natives Actually Stink at Search, Says Research
Posted August 23, 2011 • 3 min read
Gen Y have been called the first generation of "digital natives," those who never knew a world without the internet. What’s the result of this early exposure to all things digital? The standard answer is that having t… Read more →
Using Evernote to Design and Deliver Training
Posted August 22, 2011 • 5 min read
On Thursday, August 18, I attended the first ever Evernote Trunk Conference in San Francisco. I have been a light user since early 2010, but recently I have taken on so many projects that I have been searching for an … Read more →
How to Motivate Gen Y: Let Them Give Away Your Money?
Posted August 18, 2011 • 2 min read
Evidence shows that, when it comes to retaining Gen Y, it’s not all down to dollars and cents. Training, a collaborative work environment and a sense of shared purpose can all motivate younger workers to stay put, not… Read more →
Check Your Brain at the Door
Posted August 16, 2011 • 3 min read
Author Seth Godin, in his book Linchpin, reminds us that “job” and “work” (where work is your “art” – your contribution) are very different things. The job requires showing up and doing recurring, routine tasks – not … Read more →
Lessons in Social Learning: What Happens in the Classroom Stays in the Classroom
Posted August 15, 2011 • 4 min read
There is an exciting case study in the August issue of Chief Learning Officer Magazine about how Coldwell Banker uses social learning to get to the learning that is occurring most closely to the actual work in the org… Read more →
The Secrets of Memory Savants, for Trainers
Posted August 11, 2011 • 3 min read
A trainer’s job would be much simpler if her audience were all geniuses. Imagine, for example, the long lunch breaks you could take if every person you worked with had the recall capacity of savant Daniel Tammet, who … Read more →
Review, Rethink, Respond
Posted August 10, 2011 • 2 min read
Face it, what we need most from our employees is for them to think through each of the situations they encounter in their days to create the best, most efficient and most profitable response in the moment. However, … Read more →
Practical Ways to Design Social Media Into Your Training Programs
Posted August 08, 2011 • 5 min read
There is a lot of talk about using social media in training or about social learning in the workplace, but frankly there is not a lot of action. There are many reasons for this inaction, but anyone who has worked in a… Read more →
Making Sure Mentoring Is A Two-Way Street
Posted August 05, 2011 • 4 min read
Mentoring is much more complex and complicated relationship than most people think. Mentors and their protégés need to take care to establish a mutually-beneficial relationship in order for it to be truly successful. … Read more →
Another Element of Overall Training: Joining Professional Associations
Posted August 03, 2011 • 3 min read
Last week, I renewed my annual membership to the American Society of Training and Development (ASTD) and got to thinking why I joined in the first place, and why I continue to participate. Whether you believe leaders… Read more →
Performance Development Program to Drive Employee Growth
Posted August 02, 2011 • 2 min read
At a time where most organizations have employees doing more with less, employees’ days are already filled. Though busy employees may handle today’s responsibilities, unless they are constantly learning and growing, t… Read more →
4 Ways to Improve Your Webinars (And Keep Your Audience From Dozing Off)
Posted August 02, 2011 • 3 min read
By definition, a seminar, unlike the traditional lecture, is small enough to allow all participants to actively engage. But the digital-age child of the traditional conference table seminar, the webinar, hasn’t always… Read more →
Update and Enforce Compliance and Ethics Training
Posted July 29, 2011 • 2 min read
Headline news scandals that include preventable employee behavior — case in point, News Corporation — are always helpful for justifying training budgets. Even if your work is far from the publishing industry, hedge fu… Read more →
How to Streamline a Training Workshop
Posted July 28, 2011 • 6 min read
Erik J. Froelich speaks from 12 years experience in developing and implementing training, teaching and learning solutions, administering and supporting corporate research and educational technologies in a variety of s… Read more →
Cast a Vote for your Favorite Small Business Influencers
Posted July 26, 2011 • 1 min read
Small Business Trends and Small Biz Technology have paired up for the 2011 Small Business Influencer Awards. They’re on the hunt for leaders, companies, journalists, news outlets and gurus who have made a significant … Read more →
Do You Have to Be Downtown to Attract Gen Y Talent?
Posted July 26, 2011 • 3 min read
You want your company to stay innovative and attract the next generation of customers, so you’re pretty keen to hire the best and brightest 20-somethings. If you’re firm is located in SoHo or San Francisco that should… Read more →
Ram Charan to HR Managers: Build a 'People Engine' Geared for Results, Not Vision
Posted July 25, 2011 • 2 min read
Last week I had the great pleasure of hearing Ram Charan speak at the Bay Area Executive Development Network meeting. The theme of Charan's talk was how the Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO) can add value and build … Read more →
Train Your Sales Team How to Handle Rep vs. Rep Competition
Posted July 22, 2011 • 2 min read
Finding out a competing company's strengths and weaknesses can often be accomplished by a little Googling, but a key part of preparing to do battle in the sales world is diagnosing your competition's sales strategies … Read more →
No Two Sales Reps are the Same. Their Onboarding Programs Shouldn't be, Either
Posted July 21, 2011 • 2 min read
Newly hired sales reps all have certain strengths, otherwise they (theoretically) wouldn't have gotten the job. Correctly assessing new employees' weaknesses is crucial too, however. Instead of onboarding new sales re… Read more →
Create Your Own Twitter-Powered Personal Learning Network
Posted July 19, 2011 • 2 min read
Sometimes creative ideas hide in the darkness, and we, as designers, can fall into a routine of producing the same types of designs that we always do, using the same formula, and the same process. This leads to ho-hum… Read more →
Conference Outlines Cutting-Edge Learning Technology
Posted July 19, 2011 • 2 min read
From how we communicate, to how we work, to how we shop, advances in technology have radically changed how we go about nearly all aspects of our lives — with at least one notable exception. In classrooms from grammar … Read more →
4 Ways Employees Can Add Value, Every Day
Posted July 19, 2011 • 2 min read
I thought I would try something different in this post. Today, I thought I would write something that you could print and leave for your employees. Perhaps this outline of how they can add more value will clarify what… Read more →
Why Many Sales 'Gurus' Aren't Qualified to Train
Posted July 15, 2011 • 3 min read
Without the right experience and methods, many sales trainers these days are more flash than substance. Before dropping obscene amounts of money (and wasting your sales reps') time, pay attention to what's behind a sa… Read more →
The Benefits of On-the-Job Training -- On a Different Job
Posted July 15, 2011 • 3 min read
On-the-job training gets a bad rap. It conjures up an image of being thrown to the fire to sink or swim. Employees should be able to figure everything out and absorb needed information by osmosis. The impression is pr… Read more →
9 Warning Signs You Need a Sales Training Overhaul
Posted July 14, 2011 • 3 min read
Sales representatives can find themselves in a difficult position when it comes to training. All reps need it, but an ineffective sales training class provides little more than the kind of time-suck reps can hardly af… Read more →
Mentoring 2.0: Why Gen Y Demands a New Approach
Posted July 12, 2011 • 3 min read
If asked to picturing mentoring in action, you’d most likely imagine a seasoned, grey-haired veteran out to lunch with an eager 20-something, sharing his or her hard-won business wisdom. But is this the same image you… Read more →
Management Skill Coaching Vs. Training: 4 Key Questions to Help Close the Gaps
Posted July 12, 2011 • 4 min read
It’s not always easy to determine whether a management skill gap requires coaching or training. During the past few weeks I’ve been presented with a few situations that required review to identify the best approach. … Read more →
How Social Media Has Changed Learning: A Few Answers Via Tweet Chat
Posted July 11, 2011 • 5 min read
Each week, a group of learning professionals gathers for at Tweet chat called #lrnchat to discuss issues and ideas in the workplace learning space. I try to join the sessions as often as I can because it keeps me in t… Read more →
Got a List of Company Values? Be Like Zappos -- Make Them 'Committable'
Posted July 08, 2011 • 2 min read
I spoke at and attended the Society of Human Resources Management’s (SHRM) annual conference last week in Las Vegas. The conference creates the opportunity for those of us who work to transform our human capital into … Read more →
New Must-Read: Gary Woodill's 'The Mobile Learning Edge'
Posted July 08, 2011 • 3 min read
The evidence is overwhelming. We're becoming more mobile and more dispersed. Devices are becoming simultanteously smaller and more powerful. And the younger workforce that will eventually replace the baby boomers has … Read more →
How to Keep Employee Training Programs From Backfiring
Posted July 06, 2011 • 2 min read
Training programs are usually associated with better retention, but not always. Make this mistake and see your investment walk out the door. Training your employees, common sense tells us, builds loyalty and capaci… Read more →
Why Workplace Training Shouldn't Get the Summer Off
Posted July 05, 2011 • 3 min read
It’s well past the start of summer, but does workplace training take a holiday too? Each year in July and August, class scheduling seems to slow. The common rationales: “We need to work around all those vacations.” “W… Read more →
19 Tips From an International Trainer
Posted July 01, 2011 • 6 min read
Tim Allchin currently consults in instructional design, advanced facilitation and Occupational Health & Safety (OHS) consultancy with a focus on Early Childhood Services. In addition, he writes a variety of other trai… Read more →
How Managers Can Learn from Employees' Mistakes
Posted June 30, 2011 • 2 min read
An employee in my company totally blew it. The blowout was for something critical that improves how we connect with our clients – and for context – it was big. This time, it was truly his responsibility (sometimes it'… Read more →
Google's New Sales Training Tactic: Talk-Show-Style Conference Calls
Posted June 29, 2011 • 2 min read
When it comes to fast-shifting product lines, Google is a powerhouse, with an ever-evolving array of offerings and new features. So how does the search megalith manage to keep its sales associates up to date with what… Read more →
Five Ways to Get Started in Mobile Learning
Posted June 27, 2011 • 3 min read
If you ask me if mobile learning has arrived, and you ask me this week, I'll say "yes." Though, I am jaded because last week I popped in on the ELearning Guild's Mobile Learning Conference in San Jose, and have been f… Read more →
What Business Can Learn from Remote Teaching
Posted June 24, 2011 • 3 min read
A futurist’s out-of-the-box ideas on how education should develop provide inspiration for the training programs of today. Among the proposed solutions to America’s much-discussed crisis in public education are meri… Read more →
Run Training Sessions With Experts From Your Organization
Posted June 23, 2011 • 2 min read
Face it — if your organization has done a great job hiring, then you have some experts on your team. And by experts I mean those who have the talents, strengths and passions to be effective in their roles. Think power… Read more →
Nature or Nurture with Sales Training? Answer: A Bit of Both
Posted June 23, 2011 • 2 min read
Recently I attended an SMMConnect Webinar by Teresa Hiatt, former director of sales education at Ricoh Americas Corporation. The topic: Nature versus Nurture in B2B Sales — whether sales people are just plain born to … Read more →
How to Kick Off Successful Sales Training? Ask, Don't Tell
Posted June 21, 2011 • 2 min read
Sales training needs to be changed fundamentally. One major learning objective of sales training should be that sales people spend the first phone call or two solely on discovery. Include plenty of practice on this ph… Read more →
Training Gen Y for Today's Open Jobs: Pros and Cons
Posted June 20, 2011 • 3 min read
Recommendations on how to train workers for the jobs of today and the jobs of tomorrow differ hugely. Is focusing on current skills gaps short-sighted? Starting their careers in a recession, Gen Y has had their boo… Read more →
The Definition of Onboarding vs Orientation
Posted June 17, 2011 • 3 min read
When did new employee orientation become onboarding? I’m not sure, but the concept has taken hold to describe a more comprehensive process than sitting an employee down on day one to fill out I-9 and W-4 forms. Dicti… Read more →
Why Every Great Workplace Needs a 'Classroom' Environment
Posted June 16, 2011 • 2 min read
Picture this – a classroom that provides real time education, uses actual workplace events to learn from and requires on-the-spot thinking. What would you pay for your employees to be part of this kind of learning exp… Read more →
How to Train Potential Leaders? Easy. Treat Leadership Like Any Other Skill
Posted June 15, 2011 • 2 min read
In my recent Mindflash post on developing leadership skills, I proposed three ideas. First, leadership is a skill set like any other. Second, it can be learned like any other. Third, not everyone wants to learn the sk… Read more →
Want Gen Y to Learn Faster? Combine Technology and Teams
Posted June 15, 2011 • 3 min read
Everyone agrees that Gen Y loves teamwork. Can technology help you put this fact to use in your training program? After a youth filled with the collaboration and interaction on everything from Facebook to World of … Read more →
5 Questions to Ask Your Employees -- and Customers
Posted June 07, 2011 • 2 min read
The unusual thing in today’s intellectual economy is the questions you need to ask customers are the same you must ask employees. Both the service event and the workplace now are “human-based” – these events are perso… Read more →
3 Ways Managers Can Teach Without Telling
Posted June 02, 2011 • 2 min read
In today’s service economy, organizations need employees to constantly learn, share information, coach each other and think on their feet. The more employees know (and how to use what they know), the better they can r… Read more →
Aggressively Recruiting Gen Y? It Could Backfire
Posted June 01, 2011 • 2 min read
This month about 1.7 million members of Gen Y will graduate, armed to enter the workforce with a shiny, new bachelor’s degree. Many smart companies will be angling to hook the most talented of this group, sending repr… Read more →
The Three C's of Successful Training Organizations
Posted May 31, 2011 • 4 min read
If you're in the fortunate position to build a training organization from scratch, you have a unique opportunity to avoid and/or leapfrog all the traditional characteristics of training groups that keep them from havi… Read more →
Reinforce Learning Through Storytelling
Posted May 27, 2011 • 3 min read
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” — Benjamin Franklin Trainers bring a full tool box to reinforce content: small group work, role plays and a myriad of experiential learning t… Read more →
For SMBs, 5 Ways to Offer Learning that Sticks
Posted May 26, 2011 • 2 min read
Great companies take extreme measures to hire the right people for the right jobs. They know not everyone is great at every job and that the best results come from aligning employees to jobs that need their particular… Read more →
4 Ways to Boost Training Retention and Memory
Posted May 24, 2011 • 2 min read
Whatever the field in which you're training or being trained, there’s one thing that can improve the experience – a better memory. Whether the subject is chess, computer coding or cookery, better recall will help stu… Read more →
To Increase Knowledge Retention, Call on Clients in Class
Posted May 23, 2011 • 2 min read
One of the most important challenges learning professionals experience is the transfer of training to the job. Some suggest that as little as 10% of what is learned in a training class is transferred to behavior chang… Read more →
How to Teach Employees to Make Smarter Decisions
Posted May 19, 2011 • 2 min read
We don’t pay employees to do a “job.” We pay them to invent the best, most efficient and most profitable response at each moment in their day. We pay them to watch each situation they encounter in their constantly cha… Read more →
Training for Creativity: It's Difficult But Doable
Posted May 18, 2011 • 2 min read
Creativity, educators tell us, is declining in America. Whether this is due to a TV overdose or changes in school curricula, over the decades our kids are apparently doing worse and worse on standard psychological mea… Read more →
Communications Training: Know When Your Company Needs It
Posted May 17, 2011 • 2 min read
It’s a safe bet that your company would benefit from some form of training on communications. When I sit down with a CEO to discuss training, the subject will inevitably pop up on the short list of must-have classes. … Read more →
Leadership Can Be Taught, But Not Everyone Wants to Learn
Posted May 16, 2011 • 3 min read
Often the question is asked: can leadership be taught or is it a character trait that is inborn? The vast majority of the responses tell us that leadership cannot be taught. However, those same people will almost cert… Read more →
How to Create a Culture of Learning? Let Employees 'Walk Around the Company Table'
Posted May 13, 2011 • 2 min read
So many employees fall behind from the first moment of their workday. How? They're often caught in workplaces that have cultures that do the same things over and over, regardless of how their environments change — wor… Read more →
Is Your Training Program Just a Band-Aid?
Posted May 11, 2011 • 3 min read
When it comes to problems of the body, we all recognize that there are symptoms and there are underlying causes. If you have an aching back, you take an aspirin for relief but you know that the real cause of your prob… Read more →
4 Essential Elements of Social Learning
Posted May 10, 2011 • 3 min read
When we think of social learning, we often knee-jerk react by saying that we need to implement social media technologies in our organizations so people can connect and learn. Then the pundits chime in and say it's not… Read more →
Launching a Great New Training Video? Make Sure It Passes Your Screen Test
Posted May 09, 2011 • 3 min read
Whether training is conducted online or in person, video glitches can wreak havoc on a presentation. My first significant training mishap occurred early in my career. As the Safety and Security Supervisor in a manufac… Read more →
Cartoon: 'OK, I've shown you the ropes, gotten you up to speed. All that's left is actually training you.'
Posted May 06, 2011 • 1 min read
I've always been a huge fan of George Carlin. I remember borrowing/stealing my sister's Carlin records as a kid and, very quietly so my mom wouldn't know, listening to them over and over and over. And as brilliant, hi… Read more →
The (Big) Difference Between 'I Have to Get to Work' and 'I Can't Wait to Get to Work'
Posted May 04, 2011 • 2 min read
Do your employees say, “I have to get to work”? Or do they say, “I can’t wait to get to work”? The migration away from our industrial (make-things) age to our current intellectual (provide-service) age has changed … Read more →
The 'Wikified' Future of Employee Training
Posted May 03, 2011 • 3 min read
The recession is technically over, but that doesn’t mean organizations are keen to spend one penny more than they have to. Just look at training — back in 2009 when the financial crisis was still raging, research firm… Read more →
Mindflash CEO Donna Wells: How to Make Online Training Pay Off for Small Business
Posted May 03, 2011 • 1 min read
In case you missed it: Susan Johnston's interview with Mindflash CEO Donna Wells on the Intuit Small Business blog, about how changes in technology have made online training a powerful new management tool. Great insig… Read more →
Training Professionals: Learn to Say No to 'No'
Posted May 02, 2011 • 3 min read
I overheard training professionals at an industry networking event last week talking about how they needed to be better at telling their clients “no." The premise of the discussion: stakeholders often come to trainers… Read more →
A Must-Do Before Training Begins: Assessing Readiness
Posted April 29, 2011 • 3 min read
Trainers will often identify whether an individual has completed level one of a technical program before moving to level two — but just as often they fail to go back to basics of cataloging employee knowledge before t… Read more →
Offering Valuable Training to Job-Hopping Millennials? Consider a Contract First
Posted April 29, 2011 • 3 min read
Millennials have a growing reputation in the HR universe as serial job hoppers. Recent studies say the phenomenon isn’t actually limited to the young, but true or not, employers’ belief that their 20-something employe… Read more →
Management Training 101: Why Bosses Need to Coach, Connect, and Care
Posted April 26, 2011 • 3 min read
Harsh truth: More often than not, people leave their bosses, not their company. I was one of these. I loved my job. I was great at my job. But I had no real rapport with my manager – his choice, not mine. He let me… Read more →
Cartoon: 'This is what we in the training department call a teachable moment'
Posted April 22, 2011 • 1 min read
My wife is a teacher, and every so often when her class is in higher spirits she brings out two stuffed animals. One animal models the offending behavior, and the other tests out different responses. For example, one … Read more →
How Can Managers Get More Involved in Coaching Their Teams?
Posted April 21, 2011 • 3 min read
A: Don’t save coaching for a special event. Effective athletic coaches don’t save their counsel for the big game. In Major League Baseball advice and conversations begin before spring training and continue until lo… Read more →
Can On-the-Job Training Make Up for the Failures of Business Education?
Posted April 20, 2011 • 3 min read
Sensibly enough, companies hire students with business degrees because they expect them to have learned the fundamental skills needed to succeed in corporate life in college — but do they? Not if a recent anti-busines… Read more →
Are You Using a Training Design Zoom Lens?
Posted April 19, 2011 • 2 min read
In a recent issue of the Harvard Business Review, Rosabeth Moss Kanter discussed the importance of leaders knowing when to focus in on details and when to pull back to see the big picture. While good leaders are able … Read more →
Why Sales Training Fails? Too Little Focus on Buyers' Needs
Posted April 19, 2011 • 2 min read
Could you run a sales training class without talking about selling skills, products, features, or benefits? John J. McCarthy, author of an influential article in Trusts & Estates magazine, says you should. And I could… Read more →
Mindflash in Fast Company: 'How Mint Exec's New Company Will Teach All Employees To Teach Others'
Posted April 16, 2011 • 1 min read
In case you missed it: Mindflash CEO Donna Wells shared some of her insights earlier this week with Fast Company's E.B. Boyd about the company's potential to revamp training methods and tools -- and get employees to s… Read more →
Two Great Questions to Get Your Employees Thinking
Posted April 15, 2011 • 3 min read
Most employees are great about showing up on time every day. Significantly fewer show up fully present — ready to make a difference with customers and the business. Many employees don’t pack their brains when they pac… Read more →
Is There a Training Crisis in American Business?
Posted April 13, 2011 • 3 min read
When the advertising industry gathered in March for the 4As (American Association of Advertising Agencies) conference, participants probably expected a bit of networking and some chat about the state of the industry. … Read more →
Learning What Matters: How to Focus on Improving Business Results
Posted April 11, 2011 • 2 min read
The best way for learning professionals to demonstrate their influence and get a seat at the table is to think like a CEO — or at the very least, understand the business leaders' goals and put learning programs in pla… Read more →
How the Smart Small Business Keeps Its Best People
Posted April 08, 2011 • 2 min read
Let me tell you about a very wise company I work with: At a time when many company’s conversations with employees can still be about surviving and doing more with less, this company is actively talking about the fu… Read more →
5 Tips on Training Remote Workers: Mindflash CEO Donna Wells in Mashable
Posted April 08, 2011 • 1 min read
If you work from home or from the road, or manage people who do, you know that staying connected, engaged and motivated is even more of a challenge away from the hub of the office. Mindflash CEO Donna Wells, who runs … Read more →
5 Great (Free) Perks for Non-Profits
Posted April 07, 2011 • 2 min read
The recession may be technically over, but it’s still not exactly high times for non-profits. Budget-strapped donors continue to be reluctant to part with their pennies, but if you’re a scrappy start-up non-profit doi… Read more →
Training Lessons from Seinfeld: Lesson #2 – Don't Overwhelm Your Trainees
Posted April 05, 2011 • 4 min read
As I recently watched this classic Seinfeld episode featuring George Costanza's “morbidly obese” wallet, I immediately made a real-world training connection. Watch and see if you're reminded of anyone you work with...… Read more →
Not Measuring ROI for Training? Then Don't Bother With the Investment
Posted April 04, 2011 • 2 min read
Although many learning professionals talk about the importance of conducting return on investment (ROI) analysis of training programs, few actually do it. Many reasons are given for not conducting this level of analys… Read more →
Mindflash in the New York Times: How One Business Made the Switch
Posted April 04, 2011 • 1 min read
In case you missed it: the New York Times' profile of Mindflash last week showed how one company — DBS Financial of Akron, Ohio, an auto loan provider with 30 employees — is turning to online training courses not just… Read more →
How to Get Your Team Fired Up? Tap Into Their Passion, Get Them Connected -- Or Else
Posted March 31, 2011 • 3 min read
Face it — the workplace is changing. And getting the most out of your best people is directly tied to one crucial ingredient: employee work passion. The more passionate an employee is about her work, the more signific… Read more →
How to Retain Restless Gen Y Talent? Be a 'Helicopter' Employer and Offer Some Career Training (for Starters)
Posted March 29, 2011 • 3 min read
The prevailing stereotype to many employers is that Gen Y are a bunch of job hoppers, and therefore training them in any significant way is likely a waste of time and money. In a few months, they’ll just take those sk… Read more →
Training Lessons from Seinfeld: Lesson #1 - Embrace Your Creativity
Posted March 29, 2011 • 2 min read
I recently stumbled upon Bill Gammell's ebook on marketing lessons learned from Seinfeld. Because of Seinfeld's ongoing pop-culture resonance, I've been mulling over the idea of a Seinfeld-themed post for a while now … Read more →
5 Essential Business Terms for Learning Leaders
Posted March 28, 2011 • 4 min read
We learning leaders often spend too much time trying to educate stakeholders on the language of training and development — and merely hoping that if our CEOs better understood what we do and how we do it, they would … Read more →
Overcoming 3 Common Objections to Training Needs Assessment
Posted March 23, 2011 • 4 min read
A friend of mine recently discovered a suspicious mass and, given her family history of cancer, immediately assumed she was about to die. Convinced of the seriousness of her illness, she spent the first 10 minutes of … Read more →
5 Learning Tactics to Keep Your Top Talent In-House
Posted March 21, 2011 • 4 min read
Fewer than half of all employees are satisfied with their current job -- yet 70 percent or more say they do not plan to look for another job in the near future. I'm not sure if this is good or bad, but it's safe to as… Read more →
How Top-to-Bottom Re-Training Can Be Critical to the Bottom Line
Posted March 17, 2011 • 2 min read
While the economy still hasn't fully recovered from recession, smart employers are investing in one thing that keeps customers coming back — excellent service — even if it means re-training employees on basic skills y… Read more →
The Secret of Effective Sales Training? Simple: Simplicity
Posted March 15, 2011 • 2 min read
If you do any research on sales training, most of what you will find is focused on sales approaches and methods and not how people actually, like, learn selling skills. In other words, there are plenty of good — even … Read more →
Do You Want Super-Engaged Trainees? Use Online 'Helpers' That Look (and Talk) Like Them
Posted March 11, 2011 • 2 min read
It's why birds of a feather flock together -- and why people are more likely to bond with others who match their physical appearance. We tend to trust people who look like us. A new study takes a look at this phenomen… Read more →
Adding and Tracking Trainees on Mindflash
Posted March 11, 2011 • 1 min read
Adding Trainees to your Mindflash Course Whether your course content is complete and ready for activation or you’ve only uploaded the first draft, you can go ahead and add your trainees. It’s an easy process that giv… Read more →
Consider Training As a Reward, Not a Requirement
Posted March 08, 2011 • 2 min read
Most savvy HR managers and trainers recognize the value of training programs as something beyond a mandatory best practice -- they're a critical element of business success, and the programs themselves should be engag… Read more →
Design Tutorial, Part 1: Making own iPad-Inspired Icons
Posted March 08, 2011 • 2 min read
Following Apple's unveiling of the iPad 2 , I found myself inundated with tons of great articles and thought-provoking blog posts about the impact of the iPad on the tablet market, the growing appetite for mobile lear… Read more →
Want Training That Sticks? Make Sure It Tells a Story
Posted March 02, 2011 • 3 min read
So I'm giving a presentation at the California Society of Association Executives' annual conference later this month, and I want to deliver something a little different from just about all of the presentations I'm use… Read more →
5 Ways to Help Trainees Retain Their Learning
Posted February 28, 2011 • 4 min read
If there's any kind of upside to sick time I suppose it's having some downtime to catch up on my reading. As I convalesced from yet another illness last week, I was reminded that reading and laughter are still the be… Read more →
Mindflash Expands Platform For Online Training and Collaboration
Posted February 24, 2011 • 7 min read
New Features Simplify Knowledge Sharing, Employee Learning Palo Alto, Calif., February 23, 2011 - Mindflash.com, a leading cloud platform for online training and collaboration, today unveiled an expansion to its awa… Read more →
Need to Motivate Your Trainees? It's All About Recognition
Posted February 24, 2011 • 2 min read
Today my coworker Victoria hit a milestone in her caffeine consumption: she reached the Starbucks Gold Card level, signifying her purchase of 30 beverages using her Starbucks card. Then she freaked out. Why? Because s… Read more →
Don't Want to Be a Training Dinosaur? 3 Ways to Embrace Learning 2.0
Posted February 22, 2011 • 4 min read
The workplace learning space tends to split into two camps. The first camp believes that learning hasn’t changed fundamentally, only the tools and technologies used to enable learning. The second camp believes that le… Read more →
Two Takes on the Future of Workplace Learning
Posted February 22, 2011 • 3 min read
What's on the horizon for learning and development technologies over the next few years? At Brightwave’s recent Learning Technologies 2011 Exhibition, a group of trainers, training managers, and other learning and dev… Read more →
How Effective is Your Training? Focus on Measurements that Matter
Posted February 16, 2011 • 3 min read
I've got a real problem with my six-year old son's nightly reading log. While I understand the importance of establishing good reading habits early, reading books for the sake of filling out the log has turn… Read more →
Launching a Web Collaboration Platform? Here's How to Get Past the Naysayers
Posted February 14, 2011 • 5 min read
Most startups these days recognize the critical importance of collaboration tools and other Web apps that can deliver huge value to an organization at minimal cost. But they're the exception, still, not the rule, in … Read more →
Why Learning Professionals Still Have a Lot to Learn
Posted February 10, 2011 • 3 min read
You know the expression -- "We only hear what we want to hear." I usually attribute this phrase to others, but I admit that last week at the ASTD TechKnowledge 2011 Conference, I only heard what I wanted to hear -- al… Read more →
Small Businesses: How to Get Started with E-Learning (Without Blowing Your Budget)
Posted February 09, 2011 • 5 min read
ASTD's Learning Circuits just published their annual survey of E-Learning Trends and, being the training geek that I am, I've taken some time to compare last year's survey with the current survey to spot trends that m… Read more →
Infographic: How Does the Brain Retain Information?
Posted February 08, 2011 • 0 min read
Despite centuries of scientific research, the inner workings of the brain remain somewhat of an unsolved mystery -- especially the study of memory retention and the process of learning. But theories certainly exist as… Read more →
How to Retain Your Top Talent (Who Might Be Looking for the Exit)? Training Initiatives Can Be Key
Posted February 04, 2011 • 2 min read
As the economy regains some momentum, and hiring appears to be making a comeback, managers should keep a close eye on their most talented people -- who might be looking to leave. According to a recent Corporate Leade… Read more →
How to Choose the Ideal Training-Design Tool
Posted February 02, 2011 • 4 min read
I'm a big proponent of "paying it forward" so a while back I gave away 3 free PowerPoint templates for use in your training projects. Recently, I got a phone call from a friend and former colleague who was excited abo… Read more →
Creating Engaging Online Training Courses in PowerPoint
Posted February 02, 2011 • 4 min read
PowerPoint is one of the most common tools trainers use to design their online courses, but if you don’t have much experience using it, it can be tricky to produce a professional-looking presentation. The tips below s… Read more →
Essential Reading (and Other Skills) for Staying Ahead in the Learning Space
Posted February 01, 2011 • 3 min read
I read a lot, and I am often asked by my friends (you know who you are), "how I do it?" In a recent conversation with a friend and colleague, we discussed this very topic. He has just finished his masters degree, and … Read more →
4 Ways to Expand Your PowerPoint Creativity
Posted January 31, 2011 • 4 min read
I don't know about the rest of you, but my Adobe PhotoShop and Illustrator skills are circa 1998. I can muddle my way through the easy stuff, but for the most part, I'm hopelessly out of date. How did I, a s… Read more →
Managers: How To Know When You Need to Add Training
Posted January 27, 2011 • 4 min read
High-society events aren't my scene but when an opportunity came up recently to mingle with a group of independent business owners over free wine and hors d'œuvres, I couldn't pass up the chance to build my personal l… Read more →
Infographic: 10 Hot Jobs for 2011 (and How to Get One)
Posted January 26, 2011 • 2 min read
We're all hearing the same grim news on the U.S. jobs front: Nationwide unemployment sits stubbornly above 9 percent. The latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows no significant uptick in hiring. And th… Read more →
Mindflash.com Expands Executive Team With Brand and Marketing Veteran
Posted January 25, 2011 • 2 min read
Dan Silmore joins the online training software company as VP of Marketing Palo Alto, Calif., January 24, 2011 – Mindflash.com, in its mission to provide the best online training software for small and medium-sized b… Read more →
How to Stay on Top of Training Demand? Know the Alternatives
Posted January 25, 2011 • 3 min read
As a learning and development professional, I have often struggled with the question, "how can we keep up with the constant and increasing need for learning and demand for training?" Organizations of all sizes are mov… Read more →
Cartoon: "Test scores are way up since we started rewarding correct answers with kitten videos."
Posted January 22, 2011 • 1 min read
One day in my studio I was perusing YouTube for a video to embed in my blog when my 4-year-old daughter skipped in. "DADDY! LOOK AT THE KITTY! OOH!" Sure enough on the right side of the screen there was a thumbnail f… Read more →
Bright Corporate Outlook for Employee Development Doesn't Mean You Need a Bigger Budget
Posted January 20, 2011 • 3 min read
Chief Learning Officer magazine recently reported that its Business Intelligence Board (BIB) of learning leaders is more optimistic about the outlook for 2011 it was in 2010. Sixty percent of learning executives repor… Read more →
Transform Old Training Content into New Performance Tools
Posted January 19, 2011 • 3 min read
In a society where "there's an app for that" is synonymous with quick problem-solving, who wants to read a book or take a class to learn something new when a simple keyword search or a dedicated application will do? … Read more →
Training Courses in Big Demand for Job Seekers and Career-Switchers Alike
Posted January 14, 2011 • 1 min read
Because the U.S. labor market remains stuck in slow-growth mode, the job training sector continues to enjoy a surge -- not just for the legions of unemployed workers but also underemployed folks looking to make care… Read more →
Should Learning & Development Fall Under HR or Operations?
Posted January 11, 2011 • 2 min read
Recently I read through a discussion on the Chief Learning Officers Network that caught my eye: "Should L&D report to HR or operations?" As a learning professional, I have reported directly to both operations and HR, … Read more →
7 Job Skills Tech Employers Are Hiring for Now
Posted January 06, 2011 • 3 min read
With the economy still stuck in slow-growth mode, many job-seekers are scrambling to add new and improved skills to their resumes. In the tech sector, in fact, employers are dealing with a labor shortage that job hunt… Read more →
3 Ways to Make Mandatory Training Less Mandatory, More Effective
Posted January 05, 2011 • 4 min read
What's the most sure-fire way to ensure people do not learn anything from a training program? Easy. Send an email announcement with a "MANDATORY TRAINING Next Week" subject line. As e-learning author and expert Jan… Read more →
Best Practices for Converting Files into Online Courses
Posted January 04, 2011 • 4 min read
Converting your Training Content for Online Delivery If you’ve been conducting your training in person until now, you will probably find that your content is less compelling when delivered in an online format. Withou… Read more →
3 Ways to Get Inspired for Your Biggest Training Challenges
Posted January 04, 2011 • 3 min read
Whenever I feel like my training efforts will never scratch the surface of the real problems, or that I'll never make headway with a project stakeholder, win over that difficult SME, or build trust with an audience fu… Read more →
Who Are the Smartest People in the World?
Posted December 29, 2010 • 4 min read
The verifiability and practicality of IQ tests is hotly debated in academic and popular circles: Does it really measure intelligence? Is it racist, sexist, and/or ageist? What kinds of people benefit from them? What's… Read more →
How To Retrain for the Gig Economy
Posted December 22, 2010 • 4 min read
The "Gig" Economy. That's what Daily Beast editor Tina Brown calls our new, recession-based economic environment. Instead of full-time jobs with benefits, legions of underemployed people -- even high-earning-potential… Read more →
Get Started in Social Learning in 5 Steps (Without Spending a Dime)
Posted December 20, 2010 • 4 min read
Social learning is not new, but we still do not know what it is. Albert Bandura wrote a book called Social Learning Theory in 1977, and he didn’t even have a Facebook account. Who would have thought? Bandura wrote tha… Read more →
Cartoon: "I'm learning toymaking to bring in some extra money for the holidays."
Posted December 18, 2010 • 1 min read
Holiday cartoons are kind of an oddity. There's all kinds of material available (Santa, snowmen, elves, Scrooge, reindeer...) but you're looking at probably a good 100 years or so of Christmas cartoons that you're up … Read more →
The Year's Most Thought-Provoking Training Blog Posts
Posted December 16, 2010 • 4 min read
It's that time of year again -- the onslaught of top 10 lists, wistful reflections, and flawed predictions for the year to come. Normally I try to avoid such clichés, but in support of other much-maligned but secretly… Read more →
How to Win Over Tough SMEs
Posted December 14, 2010 • 4 min read
From time to time, we've all had to tap into our inner Perry Mason to convince a tough Subject Matter Expert (SME) to let us try something new. Many of us can attest to the challenges of working with skeptical, change… Read more →
Inside Tips from America's Top Santa Trainer
Posted December 14, 2010 • 4 min read
Tim Connaghan has been dressing up as Santa since the Nixon years — and now spends most of his time coaching hopeful amateurs on how to go pro. Through his traveling seminars at the International University of Santa C… Read more →
How to Get Up to Speed (Fast!) on Rapid E-Learning
Posted December 11, 2010 • 4 min read
Everything you know about rapid instructional design or rapid e-learning development is likely wrong. Vendors will have you believe it's only about the tools. Consultants will have you believe it's about str… Read more →
3 Lessons Trainers Can Learn From Marketers
Posted December 06, 2010 • 4 min read
I've worked for many places where there was a pretty intense rivalry between the marketing team and the training team. To the training geeks, marketing was the popular but superficial prom queen to our brilliant but a… Read more →
How to Align Your Learning Strategy to Business Goals
Posted December 02, 2010 • 3 min read
Your role as a learning leader exists to drive an organization to achieve or exceed its business goals. Nothing else matters -- anything else is a waste of time and resources. If you then want to develop and implement… Read more →
What Game Mechanics Can Offer Online Learning for Business
Posted December 01, 2010 • 3 min read
Using games to train people sounds kind of suspicious, like an unseemly corporate bait-and-switch tactic, or something of equal malignance -- but studies have shown that incorporating game mechanics into online traini… Read more →
Thanksgiving Exclusive: Talking Turkey (and Training) with a Butterball Talk-Line Expert
Posted November 24, 2010 • 4 min read
What training hot-line takes 100,000 calls each November and December, employs 55 trainers, and answers half a million emails? That’s right -- the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line. This week, Mindflash got a few minutes… Read more →
Infographic: Who's Hiring For The Holidays?
Posted November 23, 2010 • 1 min read
Each fall, retailers hire tens of thousands of workers as they staff up to handle Black Friday and the holiday shopping rush. Economists watch those hiring numbers closely as a leading indicator of holiday sales expec… Read more →
Black Friday Sales Predictions Uncertain, but Jobs Outlook is Rosier, from WalletPop (11/19/10)
Posted November 20, 2010 • 0 min read
Black Friday Sales Predictions Uncertain, but Jobs Outlook is Rosier, from WalletPop (11/19/10) Read more →
Social Learning Strategy- Fix the Problem, Not the Strategy
Posted November 19, 2010 • 3 min read
So you've decided you need to introduce social media into your learning strategy. You do the research, find technology solutions, and present a plan to your boss. You're engaged, enthusiastic, and energized … Read more →
3 Keys to Becoming a Top Training Designer
Posted November 17, 2010 • 5 min read
Times are tough. Many of us are personally and professionally disillusioned and disengaged. Making all of this harder for training and development people is the fact that our own professional development needs often… Read more →
How the Web is Re-Inventing Employee Training, from Fast Company (11/12/10)
Posted November 13, 2010 • 0 min read
How the Web is Re-Inventing Employee Training, from Fast Company (11/12/10) Read more →
How to Build a Training Organization for a 2.0 World
Posted November 11, 2010 • 3 min read
As training budgets continue to get slashed, training directors are scrambling to keep up with the pace of change while still serving their constituents. Like a lot of folks in business today, they're being asked… Read more →
Infographic: Behind the Boom in E-Learning
Posted November 11, 2010 • 0 min read
The manner and means by which we learn have changed drastically over the past few years -- in the classrom and on the job. More and more, students and educators, and employees and managers are turning to online enviro… Read more →
How PowerPoint's New Shape Tools Can Upgrade Your Training Design
Posted November 08, 2010 • 3 min read
The more I experiment with PowerPoint 2010's new features, the more I'm impressed. Here's a quick video that nicely highlights some of the coolest new features. The New Features in Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 Cool, … Read more →
How to Plead the Business Case With E-Learning Skeptics
Posted November 05, 2010 • 2 min read
Many organizations are considering implementing e-learning projects, but there are always stakeholders who are tough to convince. They have certain objections to e-learning, which makes trainers' jobs more diffic… Read more →
How online training can benefit your brand, from BizReport (11/3/10)
Posted November 04, 2010 • 0 min read
How online training can benefit your brand, from BizReport (11/3/10) Read more →
5 Ways to Stretch Your Training Budget
Posted November 02, 2010 • 4 min read
Despite ample evidence supporting the bottom-line value of training and professional development, training budgets are almost always the first place business leaders target for cost-cutting. If you haven't had a … Read more →
Top 60 eLearning Posts for October 2010, from eLearningLearning (11/1/10)
Posted November 02, 2010 • 0 min read
Top 60 eLearning Posts for October 2010, from eLearningLearning (11/1/10) Read more →
October Review, from Jane’s Pick of the Day (10/31/10)
Posted November 01, 2010 • 0 min read
October Review, from Jane’s Pick of the Day (10/31/10) Read more →
Cartoon: "The millennials are testing much better since we changed true/false to like/dislike."
Posted October 29, 2010 • 1 min read
Cartoonist Mark Anderson shares the personal anecdote behind today's cartoon: I'm not a last minute kind of guy. I check and update my calendar regularly, I never miss a deadline, and I usually arrive just … Read more →
Want to Deliver Better Training? Take a Cue from 'Top Chef'
Posted October 27, 2010 • 4 min read
I'm not much of a reality TV fan but the one show I go out of my way to watch is Top Chef on Bravo. It's fascinating to watch the creative process in action as chefs are challenged to turn basic or bizarre ingredient… Read more →
When to Just Say No to Training Evaluations
Posted October 27, 2010 • 3 min read
Do you think anyone in the accounting office sits around wondering how they should measure the effectiveness of their work? What about the HR folks? The bean counters don't work overtime at the end of the year creatin… Read more →
Is Your Training Path Full of Traffic Lights (Instead of Roads)?
Posted October 18, 2010 • 2 min read
Some food for thought: Is your training path full of traffic lights? Before you answer that, check out the following video from Rogert Ebert's blog for the Chicago Sun Times. The question posed by the video: Does … Read more →
Web Software Veteran Joins Mindflash.com As Vice President of Product
Posted October 18, 2010 • 2 min read
Leonard Tancuan to lead product development for online training software company Palo Alto, Calif., October 18, 2010 – Mindflash.com, in its mission to provide the best online training software for small businesses,… Read more →
Three Critical Skills Learning Professionals Need Now
Posted October 16, 2010 • 3 min read
News flash: The organizations that training professionals serve are moving faster than ever to respond to customer needs. Big shock, right? What will be a huge shock is that training directors, trainers, and instructi… Read more →
How (and Why) You Should Promote Informal Learning with Trainees (and the Boss)
Posted October 12, 2010 • 4 min read
When was the last time you asked your training audience where they get more of their training from? Do they learn more about their job from formal training (classroom, online, etc.) or do they learn more informally (f… Read more →
Cartoon: "Bad news. The new guy got the VP training by mistake. Now he's our boss."
Posted October 08, 2010 • 1 min read
Cartoonist Mark Anderson shares the personal anecdote behind today's cartoon: The last job I had before becoming a full-time cartoonist was as a salesperson at a tech company. When I arrived for my first day I was … Read more →
Are You Training for Ideas or Actions?
Posted October 08, 2010 • 3 min read
I have a problem. My husband doesn't seem to understand how to take out the trash and recyclables. Friendly reminders, bribes, and threats don't seem to have any effect on his behavior. Clearly he needs some trainin… Read more →
Why You Should Consider a 'Game Layer' To Boost Training Impact
Posted October 05, 2010 • 3 min read
While much of the training world seems stuck in a rut of game show quizzes, the rest of the world is actively integrating games into our everyday lives. From “checking-in” at our favorite stores to win discounts or fr… Read more →
5 Must-See PowerPoint Tutorials for Creating Better Training
Posted September 30, 2010 • 2 min read
From the New York Times to the US Military, 2010 may go down as the year PowerPoint-hating went mainstream. The ongoing Death by PowerPoint debate resurfaced last week when Oracle CEO Larry Ellison delivered a keynot… Read more →
Interview with Donna Wells, CEO of Mindflash.com from Econsultancy.com (9/17/10)
Posted September 28, 2010 • 0 min read
Interview with Donna Wells, CEO of Mindflash.com from Econsultancy.com (9/17/10) Read more →
Mindflash.com launches to solve online training needs for junk haulers, tech helpers and all other small businesses
Posted September 27, 2010 • 3 min read
New Online Training Tool Makes Employee Training Simple and Affordable SANTA BARBARA, Calif., September 27, 2010 – Mindflash.com, in its mission to provide the best online training software for small businesses, toda… Read more →
Ideas, Tips, and Resources for Using Video in Your Online Training
Posted September 23, 2010 • 3 min read
I have a love/hate relationship with training videos. On the one hand I love how engaging video can be for demonstrating complex concepts or processes. On the other, I hate the cringe-worthy corporate training videos … Read more →
We are giving away a pass to CLO Symposium to thank our Private Beta users!
Posted September 17, 2010 • 1 min read
We have a big milestone to announce: Mindflash.com online training will launch on September 28. To celebrate, we are giving away a free registration to the CLO Symposium in Dana Point, CA (worth $1995!). We’ll be at … Read more →
4 Tips for Reaching Training Introverts
Posted September 16, 2010 • 3 min read
I stumbled upon a great article in this month's Psychology Today magazine that really got me thinking about my training audience. Most of us are primarily introverts or extroverts. If you’re primarily an extrover… Read more →
Mindflash.com Adopts FinancialForce.com to Better Integrate Sales and Finance Operations
Posted September 09, 2010 • 3 min read
Supplier of online training platform opts for better integration with Salesforce CRM San Mateo, CA, Sep 08, 2010: FinancialForce.com, the global leader in online cloud accounting solutions built natively on the Forc… Read more →
Out-Teach Your Competition: 37signals’ Ideology Meets Online Training (Part 2)
Posted September 08, 2010 • 3 min read
“Instead of trying to outspend, outsell, or outsponsor competitors, try to out-teach them.” Think about it this way: There will always be a competitor with more money for advertising, marketing, and expensive client d… Read more →
"This Training Sucks!" The Why and How of Asking for Feedback
Posted August 31, 2010 • 3 min read
Training teams are somewhat notorious for their focus on feedback. Between user test groups, program pilots, smile sheets and evaluations, we’re a bunch of feedback junkies. Where I think we fall short is in how we s… Read more →
37signals' Idealogy Meets Online Training (Part 1): Meetings are Toxic
Posted August 24, 2010 • 3 min read
[ Editor’s note: Simply put, we at Mindflash are big fans the 37signals’ ethos . Usefulness, simplicity, and ease-of-use are principles we strive for. We also think that these principles apply to online training, whet… Read more →
Why Are Corporate Trainers Happy? MindFlash: Powerful, Feature Rich and Easy to Use by www.smallbiztechnology.com (8/23/10)
Posted August 24, 2010 • 0 min read
Why Are Corporate Trainers Happy? MindFlash: Powerful, Feature Rich and Easy to Use by www.smallbiztechnology.com (8/23/10) Read more →
How to Use Stories in Training
Posted August 18, 2010 • 3 min read
Stories are a fundamental part of our humanity. We share them to inform, enlighten, and entertain because they touch our imaginations AND emotions. Therefore it's no surprise that storytelling is one of the most… Read more →
3 Training Myths You Need to Bust
Posted August 11, 2010 • 4 min read
Perpetuating certain myths about training can be an easy way to side-step larger problems. For example, when training fails to take root with the audience, we fall back on the myth of the “bad trainee.” When new idea… Read more →
Mint.com Product VP Joins Mindflash.com Advisory Board
Posted July 30, 2010 • 3 min read
Mint.com Product VP Joins Mindflash.com Advisory Board Company announces plans for Q4 public beta launch SANTA BARBARA, Calif., July 29, 2010 -- Mindflash.com, () in its mission to provide the best online training so… Read more →
What's Your Training Design Superpower?
Posted July 13, 2010 • 4 min read
If summer movie blockbusters have taught me anything, it’s this: no matter how bleak the circumstances—heroes who recognize, embrace, and employ their superpowers will prevail. In reality, most of us are superheroes … Read more →
3 Rs of Smarter Training Design: Reuse, Recycle, Renew
Posted May 25, 2010 • 4 min read
With many training and development departments stretched thin or nearly non-existent, the task of creating new online training is daunting enough. Who has time to think about, let alone do, maintenance? Of course pr… Read more →
Getting Into Your Training Groove (even when you don't dig your topic)
Posted May 19, 2010 • 4 min read
I’ve always believed that no matter how dull a training topic might be, it shouldn’t be a barrier to creativity; rather, it should inspire ingenuity. But even those of us self-described "creative types" must admit th… Read more →
Mint.com Veteran Joins Mindflash.com as President and CEO
Posted May 12, 2010 • 3 min read
Donna Wells to lead online training software company, now in private beta SANTA BARBARA, Calif., May 11, 2010 -- Mindflash.com, in its mission to provide the best online training software for small businesses, today… Read more →
Reaching the Reluctant Trainee, Part 2
Posted May 11, 2010 • 3 min read
In part 1 of “Reaching the Reluctant Trainee”, I explored two basic types of reluctant trainees – the Skeptic and the Technophobe -and gave you some tips and techniques I use to get to know my training audience better… Read more →
Reaching the Reluctant Trainee, Part 1
Posted May 04, 2010 • 4 min read
If you've always assumed that your training audience should be purely motivated by the goals & objectives you provide, I’ll wager that you’ve also come across a few holdouts that resist online training no matter … Read more →
3 Ways to Introduce the Element of Surprise into Your Online Training
Posted April 27, 2010 • 3 min read
Ever left your wallet at home only to find a long-forgotten $20 bill in your coat pocket - just in time for lunch? Or, ever pulled up to a highway toll plaza only to discover that the person ahead of you, a stranger,… Read more →
Visual Design Tip: Finding Font Personality
Posted April 20, 2010 • 4 min read
Like other visual design elements, the right font has the power to grab your audience on an emotional level while reinforcing your message. But unlike other visual elements such as color scheme, photos, or clip art,… Read more →
Webinar Series: The TrainingMagNetwork.com Story
Posted March 24, 2010 • 1 min read
Our friend and guest blogger, Ray Jimenez is co-hosting a free webinar series, The TrainingMagNetwork.com story. Here's a quick series description: After growing Training Magazine Network for the past two years,… Read more →
Grabbing Your Trainees with the Right Picture
Posted March 23, 2010 • 4 min read
It’s been said that a picture is worth a thousand bullet points, and this is particularly true of training. Training designs are at their most engaging when words AND pictures work together to drive home the message. … Read more →
Simple Idea #2: Make Your Online Training Sticky
Posted March 16, 2010 • 2 min read
In my first post, I talked about how online training should be focused on results, getting your trainees to apply what they’ve learned to their jobs. In this post, let’s focus on the next step: making your training me… Read more →
Ensuring Return on Expectation: The True Measure of Online Training Success
Posted March 09, 2010 • 3 min read
Think about the first time you went to your favorite restaurant, what were you expecting? Do you remember what those expectations were based on? Maybe it was a friend’s recommendation or a glowing review on Yelp!, may… Read more →
Simple Idea #1: Online Training is About Results
Posted March 02, 2010 • 2 min read
Somewhere in the history of the training profession we forgot that training and learning are about results. We got fuzzy from thinking too much about tracking and ROI, multimedia, games, web 2.0, social media, and oth… Read more →
Introducing the Mindflash Blog!
Posted February 27, 2010 • 1 min read
We’ve talked to a lot of trainers over the past year and we heard that many of them are looking for really practical information on best practices for online training. They’re curious about things like: Do I have … Read more →