As talent development professionals, we must be equipped to assist our teams with the development of their people. Companies with large budgets may be able to create in-house development programs or send their employees to classes and conferences, or even bring companies in house to conduct development courses. What if you don’t have endless budget dollars to spend?

There is low cost training that can be found on platforms such as LinkedIn Learning, Udemy, and via MOOC.org, however, if paying for or sending people to such training is not possible, one way to help your employees develop their skill-sets organically is through volunteering.

Getting involved in extracurricular activities at work or through non-profit and/or professional organizations, such as the ATD, is an excellent way to develop current skill-sets or curate new skills. Through my involvement with ATD Buffalo Niagara I have learned how to develop my own graphics and videos; skills I did not have previously and now able to directly apply to my job as a senior trainer. Boom! I was developed without realizing it.

Think of the implications for anyone that is on the fence about spending time volunteering: Volunteering can help you feel good AND you can learn something new. In her book, Employee Development on a Shoestring, author and development expert Halelly Azulay outlines numerous ways low-cost ways to develop employees, one of which is through volunteering. She shares “that employees can develop a variety of skills outside their work environment for no cost to the organization when they take on volunteer jobs in industry and community organizations” (p. xx).

Halelly further reveals that “[a]nyone who wants to ensure that employees are developing new skills and knowledge and who realizes that sending them to a training class cannot be, and should not be, the only path to achieve that outcome, [will] benefit from the ideas presented in [Employee Development on a Shoestring]” (p. xviii).

While not everyone can volunteer outside of their workplace, Halelly Azulay, our April Webinar speaker will explore other low-cost opportunities to develop employees. Please join us on April 16, 2019 at noon when Halelly Azulay will help you to Develop your Employees on a Shoestring.

This webinar is FREE for ATD Buffalo Niagara Members. Not a Member?  Join now and save on member-only content.

Cheers!

When a stimulus happens to you in the form of change, what do you do? Do you resist, embrace, or lead the charge?

Change happens all the time. Some changes are small and can be easily accepted. For instance, you may usually buy wintergreen flavored gum. The store is out of wintergreen flavored gum, so you try Peppermint flavored gum today. A fairly easy exchange, however, when it comes to change that affects how we interact with the world on a larger scale such as moving from paper to electronic processes, the ability to accept and adapt to the change can become more difficult.

You may never be completely comfortable with change; however, you can develop your ability to adapt to change by building your resilience.

According to, Nozomi Morgan, MBA and certified Executive Coach, “[q]uickly adapting to change will improve your effectiveness and productivity. And, being resilient will help you avoid being overwhelmed by changes.”

How do we build resilience? 

As shared by Vincent Arecchi and Ernest Baker in their paper, Effective strategies to move from change to resilience, presented at the 2012 PMI® Global Congress, “[b]uilding resilience starts with understanding the personal choices we make when faced with change...[and] [h]ow well…you cope with adversities associated with the change.”

As a leader of a team, it is important to know how to help your team members adapt to change and, more importantly, become more resilient. During the ATD Buffalo Niagara Signature Speaker Series event, we will explore How to Be Better: Change Management and Effective Coaching Methods. 

This event features author, speaker, and retired C-Level executive, Gretchen Fierle.  You won’t want to miss the Free breakfast event where Ms. Fierle will share years of corporate leadership experience and invaluable insights. Learn the skills necessary to go from good to better to great by attending this interactive leadership event at The Buffalo Club on Tuesday May 14^th at 8:30a.m.

Photo Credit: Simon Migaj on Unsplash

Arecchi, V. & Baker, E. (2012). Effective strategies to move from change to resilience. Paper presented at PMI® Global Congress 2012—North America, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute. Retrieved from https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/effective-strategies-move-change-resilience-6002.

Morgan, M. (2017) How to Build Resilience in Times of Change; Huffington Post. Retrieved From: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/nozomi-morgan/how-to-build-resilience-i_b_8930152.html.

Debbie Richards recently conducted a webinar for the Buffalo Niagara chapter on the topic of Augmented Reality (AR).  During the webinar she shared examples of how AR is used in advertising and games.  She also explored how we can add the interactive and slick (my word) technology to the classroom environment. Not only can use use technology to layer in virtual elements in a live environment, you can also create checkpoints that people can scan to explore additional content, such as a video or 3D picture.  Think about how you can make the first day building tour more exciting if you added AR checkpoints through out the building?!?

What do you think of Augmented Reality and similar emerging technologies? If you use SnapChat - you engage with AR. How can we use this tool in our classrooms? In recruiting?

Check out this article that I found on TD.ORG: https://lnkd.in/eW6V8EK

Thank you Homewood Suites for sponsoring our event, The Six Most Important Things You Can Do to Improve Training Effectiveness!       

 

At Homewood Suites by Hilton Buffalo/Amherst we know you need your downtime. That’s why we offer spacious suites with full kitchens and flat screen TVs, a complimentary evening social Monday  Thursday, and a free hot breakfast every morning. You’ll also enjoy free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel and our 24-hour fitness center, indoor heated pool and sport court. So, whether you’re on the road for two nights or two weeks we have everything you need to Be at Home.

Homewood Suites by Hilton® Buffalo/Amherst

1138 Millersport Highway | Amherst, NY 14226 

www.homewoodsuitesamherst.com

For more information on becoming an event sponsor, please see Become a Sponsor.

Dr. Roy Pollock will be presenting The Six Most Important Things You Can Do to Improve Training Effectiveness for the ATD Buffalo Chapter on November 16. For more information on this event, click here.

Dr. Roy Pollock is the Chief Learning Officer and a co-founder of The 6Ds® Company. He is co‐author of the best‐selling Six Disciplines of Breakthrough Learning, which Will Thalheimer of Work-Learning Research called “the most important book of the last decade in the workplace learning field.”

Dr. Pollock a popular international speaker and consultant who has a passion for helping individuals and organizations excel. He has extensive experience in business management, learning, and strategy development.

Prior to founding The 6Ds Company, Dr. Pollock served as Chief learning Officer for the Fort Hill Company, as Assistant Dean for Curriculum Development, Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine; Vice President, Strategic Product Development for SmithKline Beecham Animal Health and Vice President, Companion Animal Division for Pfizer.

Dr. Pollock received his B.A. magna cum laude from Williams College, and his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree with highest honors as well as his Ph.D. degree from Cornell University. He lives and works at Swamp College in Trumansburg, NY.

For more information visit The 6Ds Company.

Want to Improve Your Batting Average? Cut Back on Content!

I Don't Want to Hear Any of that Stuff You Learned at Harvard!

Don't Bet on a Miracle

Not Everything is a Nail

Ensuring Learning Transfer: An Introduction to the 6Ds

REGISTER NOW, to attend The Six Most Important Things You Can Do to Improve Training Effectiveness.

As part of our commitment to our community, ATD Buffalo strives to provide programming and events that relate explicitly to the ATD Competency Model, offering a range of programming throughout the year.

By doing so, we will help participants understand the value the program will allow them to bring back to their work.

Our upcoming premier event, The Six Most Important Things You Can Do to Improve Training Effectiveness will focus on the Managing Learning Programs Area of Expertise and Business Skills Foundational Competency.

The Managing Learning Programs Area of Expertise focuses on helps to provide leadership to execute the organization’s people strategy; implements training projects and activities.

This includes information to:

• Establish a vision.
  
• Establish strategies.
  
• Implement action plans.
  
• Develop and monitor the budget.
  
• Manage staff.
  
• Model leadership in developing people.
  
• Manage others.
  
• Manage and implement projects.
  
• Manage external resources.
• Ensure compliance with legal, ethical, and regulatory requirements.

The Business Skills Foundational Competency focuses on the ability to:

• Analyze needs and propose solutions.
  
• Apply business skills.
  
• Drive results.
  
• Plan and implement assignments.
  
• Think strategically.
  
• Innovate.
  

Each component of Dr. Roy Pollock's presentation will include a discussion of "what you can do now" to ensure that participants can apply what they have learned, to their work.

For more information on the ATD Competency Model, visit Training and Development Competencies Redefined to Create Competitive Advantage.

For more information, and to register for this program, visit The Six Most Important Things You Can Do to Improve Training Effectiveness.

Training takes time and costs money. It produces a return on investment only when it is applied on the job in a way that improves performance.

This presentation is based on the best-selling Six Disciplines of Breakthrough Learning. It focuses on six practices that ensure training adds value, beginning with aligning to the business needs and ending with documenting the results in ways that both prove and improve value.

This program will include an interactive discussion on "next steps" to apply the Six Disciplines to your own work.

Don't miss out, register now!

Learn more about the 6Ds!

Program Agenda:

8:30-9:00: Breakfast and Networking

9:00-10:30: Speaker Presentation

Note: at the conclusion of this program, HomeWood Suites will be offering a tour of their latest renovations!

About the Speaker:

Dr. Roy Pollock is the Chief Learning Officer and a co-founder of The 6Ds® Company. He is co‐author of the best‐selling Six Disciplines of Breakthrough Learning, which Will Thalheimer of Work-Learning Research called “the most important book of the last decade in the workplace learning field.”

Dr. Pollock a popular international speaker and consultant who has a passion for helping individuals and organizations excel. He has extensive experience in business management, learning, and strategy development.

Prior to founding The 6Ds Company, Dr. Pollock served as Chief learning Officer for the Fort Hill Company, as Assistant Dean for Curriculum Development, Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine; Vice President, Strategic Product Development for SmithKline Beecham Animal Health and Vice President, Companion Animal Division for Pfizer.

Dr. Pollock received his B.A. magna cum laude from Williams College, and his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree with highest honors as well as his Ph.D. degree from Cornell University. He lives and works at Swamp College in Trumansburg, NY.

For more information visit The 6Ds Company.

Want to Improve Your Batting Average? Cut Back on Content!

I Don't Want to Hear Any of that Stuff You Learned at Harvard!

Don't Bet on a Miracle

Not Everything is a Nail

Ensuring Learning Transfer: An Introduction to the 6Ds

This program is being sponsored by:

At Homewood Suites by Hilton Buffalo/Amherst we know you need your downtime. That’s why we offer spacious suites with full kitchens and flat screen TVs, a complimentary evening social Monday  Thursday, and a free hot breakfast every morning. You’ll also enjoy free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel and our 24-hour fitness center, indoor heated pool and sport court. So, whether you’re on the road for two nights or two weeks we have everything you need to Be at Home.

Homewood Suites by Hilton® Buffalo/Amherst

1138 Millersport Highway | Amherst, NY 14226 

www.homewoodsuitesamherst.com

Don't miss out, register now!

The ticket to a successful and fulfilling life is a significant upgrade to everyone’s ability to learn. Visionary teacher and lifelong learner Patricia McLagan views learning ability as software for processing daily life. And like all software, learn­ing software require upgrades—and regular reboots!

In Unstoppable You: Adopt the New Learning 4.0 Mindset and Change Your Life, McLagan shares her method for keeping learning powers sharp, ensuring that we can continuously advance and adapt in a nonstop world. We’re born with basic programming, which is learning 1.0. We then evolve and upgrade as we make our way through the education system in learning 2.0, and we start to self-manage how we learn as we integrate our diverse experi­ences and master skills in learning 3.0. That brings us to learning 4.0—learning mastery. This final upgrade equips us with survival skills for the 21st century— skills essential to meeting our goals in a world that’s always in motion.

Discover McLagan’s seven practices for effective lifelong learning—from hearing and heeding calls to learn, to taking steps to translate new skills into action. Unstoppable You also includes a complete toolkit of supporting tem­plates, guides, and tips.

Unstoppable You is the handbook to your dynamic future. Begin actively shaping your success in fast-changing times today.

Join ATD Buffalo on October 27, 2017 for a free book discussion and networking event! Register today!

About the Author

Pat McLagan, CEO of McLagan International, is an international thought leader on implementing strategy by unleashing the learning and leadership capabilities of everyone in the business. Her books include Change Is Everybody’s Business, On-the-Level: Performance Communication at Work, The Age of Participation, The Shadow Side of Power: Lessons for Leaders, and the just released (ATD Press) Unstoppable You: Adopt the New Learning 4.0 Mindset and Change Your Life. She has received ATD’s highest award for thought leadership and service, is an elected member of the International Association for Adult and Continuing Education, and was recognized as an Inspiring Mind for a Century by the University of Minnesota’s College of Education and Human Development. She has worked globally, including living and working in South Africa before, during, and immediately after the end of apartheid. McLagan is a former ATD board member who also led two field-defining competency studies for ATD.