8:30 am - Don Fowler
Don talks about talent management as an investment in employees. This conference represents an investment in doing what's needed to maintain knowledge and skills as the world and workforce changes. Talks about future talent challenges due to demographic changes. "SumTotal will be by your side" in this change. Handheld training. Online simulations. Investing in technology for talent management add-ons. 'Expand reach in your organization'...
Committed to 'best of breed' strategy. Not abandoning learning for talent managment. Not abandoning perpetual licenses.
8:42 am - Bill Perry
Bows, Tells story about showing respect by bowing. Tells joke about not not washing hands, better than bowing hands. Introduces John DiBenedetto, ex-of WalMart
8:45 am - John DiBenedetto
Mulit-media intro: Wal-Mart theme, Save more, Smile more.
Starts with the Wal-Mart story, Sam Walton's vision of being in the business of saving people money. From one story to #1 US retailer in two decades. 100 million customers by 2000, approaching 2 million employees. About $1 billion a day, opens a new store about once every two days. Enterprise LMS for world-wide service. Why evolve training? The business is evolving to broaden Wal-Mart's appeal to more consumers. "Wal-Mart Out In Front': Become a better place to work, improve business operations and efficiency, provide a better place to shop for customers.
Talent management became imperative: "Without a knowledgeable and adaptive workforce, "Wal-Mart Out In Front' would not succeed."
Started with seven decentralized non-communicating training silos
Duplicate work streams and no best-practice sharing
Few training professionals: 72 people on training staff, none with an HR or training background
No science behind learning solutions
Training initiatives didn't map to business objectives
Limited learning technology
Quick workshop: What would you do?
What he actually did:
Nine steps, following 100 days of 'on-boarding activities'.
Re-align leadership
Build (27) competency models and compensation structures
Study best practices
DEevelop stategy
Gold standard selection process
Serverance and outplacement
Organization structure
formalize on-boarding
... some missing here
Nine steps over eighteen months
Step 1: Find out what's working and what's not. Primary research on perceptions, needs and desires of our associates and stakeholders, including exectives, store managers, assistant managers, hourly store workers
Key learingins: confusion about hob responsibiliites and expectations made learning difficult for associates and management
Management talent gap, primarly at the assistant manager ranks.
Training was not perceived as a value-add, as solutions didn't map to business objectives, and training effectiveness not being measured
no LMS/technologies options to do more
Training was about output instead of effectiveness, and knowledge was not being retained...
Reduce unnecesary courses, focus on stickiness
Step 2: Do what it takes, not what's easy. Wiped out exisitng system and organization, built/'birthed' new Wal-Mart University from scratch.
Technology was limited and e-learingi was being abused as a commuications tool. With 550 e-learning modules, there was a lot to say but little to teach. e-learning was drudgery, wasn't being retained.
Step 3: Get the right folks on the bus, and let the wrong folks off...
Wal-Mart University needed a blend of external learning professionals and imcumbent associates. Interviewed over 1,000 candidates. Created a gold-standard selection process that faciliteates by a d
comptency based inerviews
40% from outside the business to build diverse organization.
Step 4: Put organization together - benchmarking
Succession planning, talent management and training, four teams crated to flow work through the organization, use ASTD model for root cause analysis
two directors - business relationship managers, four teams crated to flow work through the organization
director - Talent planing and development
director - learning solutions
two directors - focused on consulting and delivery services
4000 training touch points
100 (to eventually 360) centralized training professionals)
Step 5: Align your team to customer's needs, ensure they are taking on the right projects that matter to the busines...
Performance consultants based on looking for business challenges addressable through talent management, started with over a hundred challenges, narrowed to the top ten business impacts.
Step 6: Identify global Learning and Development needs
Leadership bench strength
Competency development
'Blocking and tackling' - the basics, training aids and job aids.
Step 7: Deliver the goods...
Critical Need in Leadership bench strength
Initiative: used a people asset review, matrixed analysis of performance and potential, Used the GE nine-box grid. Big cultural change for Wal-Mart, used sixmonth permromance improvement plan
Initiative: Leaders out in Front. new leadership development/management program, competency-based assessment program to guide management track & development. Start with high potentials and critical jobs.
Initiative: Stores of Learning, select a 'best store' wtih 'best leadership', and do all training in those stores
Initiative: Regional Leadership champions, two at each "Store of learning'
Initiative: Created seniro eladership development program
Competency Development,
Initiative: build competency modes (outsourced), one universal model, three year project
Initiative: skills comparison/assessment/gap tools, 360 PDI profile
Initiative: AIM Toolkit: completency model, job description, skill inventory, development plan,
Blocking and tacling:
curriculum classes delivered, prescriptive learning solutions, consulting projects, 88% approval rating
Step 8: Measure, validate, prove
Partnered with ROI Institute to measure humand and business impact statistics
Level 1 through 3 on most learning solutions
Measured 10% to 15% of instructor-led courses for ROI
Scorecard based on issues such as customer sat scores, perfomance improvments, pre/post testing
Step 9: Keep the faith
You will hit the wall, you will hit the tree, keep your humility, call out your mistakes and fix them.
It has been a long journey, but learning and performance is an investment, not a cost or overhead.
Q&A:
What would you do differently?
Paid more attention to the the strong culture, despite having been brought in as a change leader. Was more concerned with getting it done over casualties, cost some credibility and effectvieness.
What about unions?
Nothing different, but must work with unions to build consensus and partner. Just additional stakeholders, can be considered an employee branding strategy, and can be a positive (investment) strategy for both the business and the union.
What about LMS implementation?
Build business case two years ago for LMS, LCMS, e-performance and e-succession. Signed contract, fifty person team, implementing LCMS this October, technical issues on Wal-Mart's side, namely DB2 for LMS (not LCMS). Configuration workshops in progress. Unit testinng on DB2 by STS, performance testinng by Wal-Mart starting in November. Largest LMS in the world, big project.
What about 'stickiness', especially for informal learning?
'New associate program' - peer-to-peer learning, partnered with 'Solutions House' for 'Learning Maps' and podcast-based content delivery for day-to-day scenario scripts. Also in test with hand-helds.
Influence - big challenge - how do we influence big organizations to change?
First, doesn't always work, top org must buy in. Got research to show correlation of talent mangement with financial measures. Show end state, get feedback and input to make sure of active involvement for change management.