Wanted: L&D Officer

image from www.docstoc.com Here is a question I always get asked by L&D heads:  I need to hire someone to assist me in Training/L&D. I’ve whittled down the applicants to a certain extent, but is there a process to choose the final candidate? Applicants can claim to know certain things when they actually don’t. #1:  What are the main responsibilities and deliverables of the employee you are looking for? L&D includes...

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Putting the “e” in Learning

image from http://blog.lionbridge.com/ e-Learning seems to be gaining ground. Not only are e-learning vendors increasing in number, budgets for e-learning courses are also on the rise. Some organizations are even creating e-learning teams or units specifically for the creation of e-courses. But there are concerns about this learning modality from those who have yet to implement it:  Should I go into e-learning?  For those who...

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Lessons From Training in Africa

One of the great things about what I do is the opportunity to travel and experience other cultures. I have been traveling to Africa since 2009.  I still remember the first time I stepped off the plane in Khartoum, Sudan. It was going to be one great adventure. And it was… Definitely not corporate… I was shown to my “hotel”- a container fitted out with the necessities to look like a living quarters. I was lucky, I had one with...

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Telltale Signs you need Instructional Design

After posting “Who Needs Instructional Design?” I received emails asking for specific indicators that knowledge of Instructional Design is recommended. Queries came from both career Training professionals and those rotated into L&D from other functional areas. Since there are different roles in the Learning function, I will try to go over each one. If you design training programs, the first thing to review is your objectives. Are...

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Do I Need Instructional Design?

image from houses.com This is the most common question asked by Learning & Development (L&D) professionals. To answer the question, there are 2 related questions one needs to ask: 1) What really is Instructional Design? and 2) What do you do in the L&D function? I describe Instructional Design (ID) as the planning side of training. My daughters say it so abstract that I have been using a metaphor of building a house to be more...

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My Learning Journey

I discovered my love of learning later in life. I did alright in school but did not particularly excel nor care about academic achievements. Even as I was applying for my college degree, I chose what took my fancy; and even then, moved from one course to another. My only consideration then was that my job would allow me to travel. My first jobs applied what I learned in school: sales and marketing in the tourism field. I liked the planning part and setting up sales agencies. My sales were also adequate but I detested going on sales calls; each call...

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