Jun

2

The president is busy!

The $787 billion stimulus package included $500 million for training in workforce development in green jobs and other sectors. More at http://tinyurl.com/ns8fu4

In case you have not been paying attention, this recession is not an excuse to cut vital training and e-learning funds. Rather take this opportunity to provide the single most important tool your team can use now and when the recovery kicks. Train like there’s no tomorrow.

Download free training resources to help you get started.

Ask the folks at eLeaP LMS and Training Software for an account so you can get started.

Mar

17

Surprisingly, sexual harassment training is not specifically required by federal law.  However, training is an important tool to prevent harassment and limit your liability.

Q:  Are we required to provide our employees with training on sexual harassment?

A:  No federal law specifically requires sexual harassment training, but a few state laws do. Still, training is a vital element of any harassment policy.  Even if your organization is not required by law to conduct this training, you can limit your potential liability by doing so and, at the same time, promote a more productive work environment.

Here’s a quick look at state law requirements.  Some states, such as California and Connecticut, require harassment training only for supervisors.  One state, Maine, requires that all new employees receive the training.  You should check with your state equal employment opportunity agency to determine potential coverage.

While Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (which prohibits sexual harassment as a form of sex discrimination) does not require training, decisions by the Supreme Court illustrate the importance of having an effective harassment policy and complaint procedure that includes employee training.

In Burlington Indus. v. Ellerth, 524 U.S. 742 (1998), and Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, Fla., 524 U.S. 775 (1998), the Court determined that an employer may be able to defend itself from liability for harassment by a supervisor in certain cases if it has taken reasonable care to prevent and correct any sexually harassing behavior.  In particular, you must adopt a policy against sexual harassment, have an effective complaint procedure, and take steps to ensure that employees are aware of their rights and obligations and are properly trained in harassment issues.

Clearly, if you do not train your employees, you will have a difficult time defending harassment claims. To be effective, training should target not only employees but also supervisors who have the authority to hire, fire, or make other employment decisions.  At a minimum, your harassment training should include the following:

1.  A statement that you condemn harassment of any kind, even if it is not explicitly prohibited by your policy or by law.

2.  The definition of harassment, with particular attention paid to the legal definitions of sexual harassment, including quid pro quo and hostile work environment.

3.  A description of prohibited conduct.

4.  The consequences of violating your harassment policy and the types of behavior that may lead to immediate termination.

5.  The use of your dispute resolution procedure for handling complaints.

6.  Ways to report harassment combined with assurances that there will not be any retaliation for filing complaints or making reports.

An obvious conclusion from the court cases is that harassment training is not optional if you want to limit your liability.  So, you can either treat the training as a necessary evil or turn it into an opportunity to enhance good employee relations.  The latter approach makes the most sense since it both builds a positive work environment and a sound legal defense.

Subscribers to the Personnel Policy Manual and HR Policy Answers on

CD can find more information on sexual harassment in Productive Work Environment, Chapter 201A.

Download free sexual harassment policy and HR policies from www.ppspublishers.com.

Use learning management systems like eLeaP LMS & Training Software to create, manage and track all training including sexual harassment training.

Please note that the above comments are not intended as legal advice.  You should consult an attorney for a legal opinion on this matter.

Copyright © Personnel Policy Service, Inc.

Mar

16

As the Obama administration tackles the issue of re-training America’s workforce, it is clear that the old methods just won’t do. We need to new new technology to ensure that training is created in real-time, tracking and interactivity is provided and reports and documentation is guaranteed. An LMS will do the trick.

Using a learning management system or LMS is one way to easily create, launch, manage and track online  training and workforce re-training under the stimulus program. About $5 billion has been allocated for training. We need to make sure that small business, middle size organizations, schools and communities are using the best methods to train and arm their workers for the future.

The eLeaP Learning Management System is an easy to use LMS and training software platform that is so simple that any organization regardless of size or sophistication can create and manage their own training and e-learning. Take a tour of the eLeaP LMS and training system and see if this solution will work for your organization.

Sep

30

This just in:

According to Bersin & Associates,

You can get the full report at www.bersin.com

You can get started with your high impact learning at www.eleapsoftware.com using the eLeaP LMS and Training Software Platform

Aug

7

You asked and we provided. Visit www.eleapsoftware.com to download Free e-learning and training resources.

Build your professional library by downloading these free company training and e-learning white papers today. To get started go to: http://www.eleapsoftware.com/free-training-resources/

May

28

Managers and supervisors should create an atmosphere that not only
provides constructive dialogue and recognition for a job well done but
also motives employees to continue to learn and improve. Therefore,
you should train supervisory personnel how to provide meaningful
feedback to employees, set achievable performance goals, and monitor
performance between formal evaluations.

To help your managerial employees with the process, you should provide
written guidelines explaining how to perform evaluations. These
guidelines should outline the steps to follow and instruct supervisors to:

1. Provide useful feedback to employees by focusing on specific
events or behaviors. For example, it is better to tell an employee that his
failure to help with a rush order contributed to a missed deadline and
created morale problems, as opposed to just saying he has a “bad
attitude.”

2. Prepare a written appraisal that includes future performance
goals. Goals may be both short-term and long-term and can cover a
wide variety of objectives, depending on the employee’s current job
responsibilities and future aspirations. Identified core competencies
should be used to determine future performance goals. Goals should be
specific and quantifiable where possible, such as the completion of a
specific project within a set period of time. To help employees meet their
goals, supervisors should be prepared to offer additional training or other
necessary support. New performance goals should be recorded,
reviewed regularly, and modified as appropriate.

3. When needed, create an action plan for improving performance.
Action plans can be helpful when an employee has performance
problems that need correction. The supervisor should identify and
discuss the problems with the employee as they occur and suggest a
course of action to improve performance. The plan should detail the
nature of the problem, the steps that both the employee and the
supervisor will take to help solve the problem, and the time within which
the plan is to be implemented. The employee should have input into the
plan and be encouraged to suggest changes. Once a plan has been
agreed upon, it should be reviewed regularly to make sure the employee
is on track and able to implement it successfully.

4. Give the written appraisal to the employee several days prior to
the review meeting and encourage him to make comments and suggest
changes to the goals and action plan. By allowing the employee to read
the evaluation and plan before the meeting, you can make the process
more efficient and help defuse possible initial negative reactions. In
addition, employee input is essential to creation of realistic performance
goals and individual buy-in.

5. Create a relaxed atmosphere for the appraisal meeting.
Appraisals should take place in a private, comfortable setting, and
adequate meeting time should be scheduled. The manager should begin
the session by briefly explaining and reviewing the appraisal process and
by encouraging employee questions and comments throughout the
meeting.

Learn more about Performance Appraisals here.

Article excerpt provided by HR Matters E-Tips, a service of
Personnel Policy Service.

—————————-

Leveraging training software via learning management systems enables many organizations to easily continue the performance enhancement process. Learn about learning management systems or training software from eLeaP.

Dec

3

M-Powered: Workforce Development & Training

Erick Ajax knows a thing or two about the state of workforce development in the country. Consider this. As owner of E.J. Ajax & Sons, one of the country’s leading metal stamping companies, he is in the front lines of the talent wars – recruiting, training and retaining skilled employees in the manufacturing sector is becoming quite difficult. Why you ask?

First the current workforce in manufacturing is retiring or older. Added to this the general perception in the media that manufacturing is headed for disaster due to overseas competition and outsourcing. True there is increasing competitive pressures but the real issue is Workforce Training & Development. Using learning management solutions can help manufacturing companies leverage affordable and easy to administrator training technologies.

According to Mr. Ajax, “I work with the National Association of Manufacturers Center for
Workforce Success as a Business Champion and speak about these issues
all over the country. And I’ve had the opportunity to share some of our
success stories on Sector Strategies. For instance, the Hitachi
Foundation provided some seed money several years ago to help us
develop a program for lower-income workers, the M-Powered Project. We
were able to partner with the National Association of Manufacturers,
the Precision Metalforming Association Education Foundation, the Annie
E. Casey Foundation and others. It has helped us develop a fast-track
training program to help low wage individuals get the skills necessary
to take the first step onto a career ladder in the manufacturing sector
so they can begin to earn a living wage to support their family so they
can live the American dream.

Samantha Brady went through the M-powered program. She’s now 23. But
when she was 19, she had just given birth to her second child and had
been was arrested for possession of methamphetamine. She was in a state
correctional facility for a few years. We were able to take the
M-Powered program on the road to her and several other women who were
about to be released from that facility. They completed the M-powered
fast track 12-week training program. Samantha did well in her class.
When she was released about a year ago, we were able to hire her. She’s
did well here. She now has custody of her kids. She has her own
apartment. She has even testified before the legislature about
M-Powered. She says that her life before this program was worthless.
Now she can make enough money to support her children and doesn’t need
to do the things that got her in trouble before.”

Clearly the M-Power project is yielding some positive results. Training and development using multiple tools: classroom, e-learning or web-based training or blending the two approaches is powerful enough to stem the tide and hopefully reverse this decline in manufacturing in the US.

Organizations interested in using learning management systems to create and manage their e-learning can check out this company: eLeaP Training Software & Learning Management Systems

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Oct

12

Have you been tasked to create employee training? Do you need to
deliver your solution like yesterday? eLeaP is throwing down the
gauntlet!

Use the eLeaP training software and learning management system to create employee training in less than 30 minutes or its free for 60 days!

The process is very simple:

  1. Create an eLeaP Account: Click here for free account
  2. Build or upload your training courses (use your existing training if you want)
  3. Deploy and track completion certification

Are you up for the challenge? Try the eLeaP 30 Minute Employee Training Challenge today!

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Oct

5

According to the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) in UK, women are resigning in increasing numbers because of lack of training and development opportunities.

From a rate of 5.5% in 2005, resignation rates rose to 7.2% in 2006. One of the most common reasons given for women resigning was lack of proper training.

CMI spokesman Mike Petrook said: “Women are saying that unless they
are given the training and development opportunities they want at work,
they will move on elsewhere. Employers need to act to reverse the trend.

“A lot of employers are saying to us [the CMI] that they know they are not giving enough training and development.”

How can companies be proactive and institute training policies to combat these rising rates of resignation.

Use training software to create, manage and track corporate training programs. Also many organizations use learning management systems to help them manage organizational learning, training and development.

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Aug

2

A recent study done by ERE showed that 60% of human resource development departments believe that it is possible to measure the return on investment (ROI) of their employee development initiatives. Only 18% however, measure whether the employee training and development carry an effective ROI. Click here to read full article, http://www.ere.net/inside-recruiting/news/-in–hr-directors-measure-180954.asp .

Use the eLeaP Employee Training System to help you begin quantifying your employee training and development initiatives.

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