Content about Human Interest

February 27, 2013
Download the 2014 Training Top 125 Application

Trainingmagazine’s Training Top 125 Award winners are the organizations with the most successful learning and development programs in the world—and the Top 125 has been the premier learning industry awards program for more than 10 years. See if your organization can join the ranks of illustrious past winners such as Verizon, Farmers Insurance, IBM, and The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company.

For more on the Top 125, view this short overview:


 

The 2014 Training Top 125 application is available now for download. Please download the application below today. The deadline for submission is September 23, 2013.

February 21, 2013
Top 20 Things to Negotiate for When Terminated from a Job

Being terminated is one of the most stressful events in an adult’s life. But if you get your head in the game and learn to negotiate your best deal, you will be able to move on with confidence. When you review the termination package, depending on your level in the organization, make sure you consider these 20 items to be included.

By Suzanne Kleinberg

So you have been terminated. Assuming you haven’t been fired for just cause, your (soon-to-be- ex-) employer has handed you with an envelope with a termination package. What do you do now?

Firstly, do not sign anything until you have had a couple of days to get over the shock and humiliation. Don’t succumb to pressure from your employer to sign it during your termination meeting. They are not allowed to coerce you to agree to anything. It would not be binding as you are signing under duress.

February 19, 2013
2013 Training Top 125 Rankings

Trainingmagazine’s 13th annual ranking of the top companies with employer-sponsored workforce training and development.

Operational excellence and culture transformation are lofty goals. But training can play a big part in an organization attaining them, as Verizon can attest: Verizon Lean Six Sigma (VLSS) helped earn the telecom the No. 1 spot on the Training Top 125 for the second year in a row. Despite some belt-tightening, Top 125ers still dedicated a mean of 4.58 percent of their payroll to the training budget. Some 25 newcomers earned a spot on the list this year, the 13th in a row Training has ranked the top companies of employer-sponsored workforce training and development.

February 19, 2013
2013 Training Top 125: CHG Healthcare’s Rx for Success

Expanded new hire orientation and onboarding programs highlight a year of training advances at CHG Healthcare Services, No. 5 on the 2013 Training Top 125.

By Margery Weinstein

February 19, 2013
2013 Training Top 125: Coldwell Banker’s Sold on Training

No. 3 Coldwell Banker Real Estate took sales training to the next level last year, offering innovative online and offline programming, and even user-generated content.

 

By Margery Weinstein

February 19, 2013
2013 Training Top 125: Farmers’ Comprehensive Training Policy

Employee engagement and leadership development programs that ensure a well-staffed C-suite are just a couple of the components of No. 4 Farmers Insurance’s winning training formula.

By Margery Weinstein

February 19, 2013
2013 Training Top 125: Jiffy Lube’s Training Drive

Training kicked into high gear to help develop growth opportunities for No. 2 Jiffy Lube franchisees and provide a world-class experience for customers in 2012.

By Lorri Freifeld

The Jiffy Lube training drive starts at the top with Stu Crum, president of Jiffy Lube International (JLI). He developed Operation Frontline in which he called for every employee to follow his lead by completing seven courses in Jiffy Lube University (JLU), the company’s award-winning training program, plus spend a minimum of one day at a Jiffy Lube service center. The courses included Orientation and Safety, and training for the Courtesy Tech, Upper Bay Tech, Lower Tech, Customer Service Advisor, and Team Lead positions and products.

February 19, 2013
2013 Training Top 125: Verizon’s #1 Calling

The telecom company takes the top spot on the Training Top 125 for the second consecutive year and heads for the Top 10 Hall of Fame in 2014.

By Lorri Freifeld

Never underestimate the power of a Black Belt.

Verizon set its sights on operational excellence in 2012, implementing Verizon Lean Six Sigma (VLSS) to transform its culture, satisfy customers, and improve processes that drive results and increase profitability and shareholder value. One of the first VLSS initiatives focused specifically on Learning Effectiveness and led to reduced training time and a projected $4 million savings by the end of 2012.

February 19, 2013
Training magazine Ranks 2013 Top 125 Organizations

Training magazine recognized the 2013 Training Top 125 winners with crystal awards and revealed their rankings during a black-tie gala held last night during the Training 2013 Conference & Expo at the Walt Disney World Coronado Springs Resort.

Excelsior, MN (February 18, 2013)— Verizon picked up the No. 1 spot on the Training Top 125 for the second year in a row, earning its induction into the Top 10 Hall of Fame in 2014 after securing positions in the Top 10 for the last four consecutive years. No. 4 Farmers Insurance likewise punched its ticket to the Top 10 Hall of Fame next year. Top 5 newcomers Jiffy Lube International, Coldwell Banker Real Estate, and CHG Health Care Services nabbed Nos. 2, 3, and 5, respectively. This year, 25 newcomers cracked the Top 125 list.

January 18, 2013
Top 5 Steps for L&D in 2013

With 21st century technologies changing the way we think and learn, it’s not surprising that we find ourselves at a tipping point for change. 2012 saw Facebook’s 1 billionth user, and the world was gripped by a Korean artist-turned-global-phenomenon, thanks to YouTube. So how can we grasp these compelling opportunities to prove L&D business impact and propel L&D to its rightful seat at the C-table? There are five key steps to success in the year ahead.

By Ara Ohanian, Chief Happiness Officer and CEO, CERTPOINT Systems

With 21st century technologies changing the way we think and learn, it’s not surprising that we find ourselves at a tipping point for change. 2012 saw Facebook’s 1 billionth user, and the world was gripped by a Korean artist-turned-global-phenomenon, thanks to YouTube. So how can we grasp these compelling opportunities to prove L&D business impact and propel L&D to its rightful seat at the C-table? I see five key steps to success in the year ahead:

November 19, 2012
Training magazine Announces 2013 Top 125 Winners

Trainingmagazine announces the finalists for the 2013 Training Top 125 list of leading organizations that excel at employee development. Rankings will be revealed at the Training 2013 Conference & Expo, February 18-20 in Orlando, FL.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                            

Contact:

Lorri Freifeld

lorri@trainingmag.com

 

October 5, 2012
Planning Your Training Company’s Future

Given the current level of buyer interest in the corporate and professional training sector, business owners can take certain steps right now to better position their companies for a future sale.

By Peter Yoon, Managing Director, Berkery, Noyes & Co., LLC

It is never too early to start establishing concrete long-term goals for your company. For many C-level executives, this involves contemplating the eventual sale of their business. With the recent robust level of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity involving corporate and professional training companies, this seems to be an appropriate time to put what may be an unfamiliar process into proper perspective.

What’s Happening   

March 27, 2012
Bridging Generational Workplace Chasms

The Department of Labor projects that by age 32, today’s young adults will have had approximately eight jobs, an average of about 1.5 years at each company. Here are best practices Ambius employs to attract and retain Gen Y/Millennial workers while honoring and empowering its Gen X and Boomer employees.

By Jeff Mariola, President, Ambius

 “All Baby Boomers who grew up during the period between 1946 and 1964, are afraid of technology.” “Gen Y/Millennials (born between 1982 and 2001) don’t want to work hard.” Have you heard these stereotypes? As a “Boomer” who oversees thousands of people in North America and Europe, I believe there are inherent challenges in managing divergent generations of colleagues, but the opportunities for growth and renewal are far greater.

March 19, 2012
2012 Top Young Trainer Award Winners

Trainingmagazine named the winners of its 2012 Top Young Trainer awards, recognizing the top 40 training professionals age 40 and under. All Top Young Trainer candidates had to be nominated by co-workers or industry peers. All nominators had to submit a nomination form and a resumé for their candidate.

Training magazine named the winners of its 2012 Top Young Trainer awards, recognizing the top 40 training professionals age 40 and under. These executives will be profiled in the May/June 2012 issue of Trainingmagazine and online at www.trainingmag.com, and they will be honored at an awards ceremony in February 2013 at the Training 2013 Conference & Expo, World Disney World Resort, FL.

March 19, 2012
New Hire Orientation at IMG College

IMG College thinks of its new hire orientation as the first opportunity new employees, or “team members,” have to experience the organization’s culture. Orientation focuses on the company’s three tenets of the “Total Team Member—Personal, Character, and Professional Development.”

By Margery Weinstein

March 4, 2012
Advanced Banking Training at ESL

In September 2010, ESL Federal Credit Union added both Business Banking products and services to its financial services portfolio and small and mid-sized businesses to its membership mix. The new business processes, procedures, and offerings were foreign to front-line staff and support functions. So before launch, the company’s learning and development (L&D) team delivered a blended curriculum that included instructor-led training, a custom practice database, and a comprehensive CBT module.

By Margery Weinstein

February 22, 2012
Your Secret Weapon—Your Scorecard

Track every action that relates to the area of your life you want to improve, advises Darren Hardy, author of “The Compound Effect.” Simply carry around a small notebook and a writing instrument. You’re going to write it all down. Every day. Without fail. The biggest difference between successful people and unsuccessful people is that successful people are willing to do what unsuccessful people are not.

By Darren Hardy

I’m about to walk you through one of the single greatest strategies I’ve ever used in my personal development. This strategy helps me take control of the choices I make throughout the day, causing everything else to fall into place, and leading to behaviors and actions that shepherd my habits into line like dutiful, loyal minions.

February 22, 2012
Your Secret Weapon—Your Scorecard

Track every action that relates to the area of your life you want to improve, advises Darren Hardy, author of “The Compound Effect.” Simply carry around a small notebook and a writing instrument. You’re going to write it all down. Every day. Without fail. The biggest difference between successful people and unsuccessful people is that successful people are willing to do what unsuccessful people are not.

 

By Darren Hardy

I’m about to walk you through one of the single greatest strategies I’ve ever used in my personal development. This strategy helps me take control of the choices I make throughout the day, causing everything else to fall into place, and leading to behaviors and actions that shepherd my habits into line like dutiful, loyal minions.

February 21, 2012
Best Practices and Outstanding Initiatives

Trainingeditors recognize innovative and successful learning and development programs and practices submitted in the 2012 Training Top 125 application.

BEST PRACTICES

Edward Jones: Practice Makes Perfect (Sales Training)

Each month, Edward Jones hires more than 150 new recruits with little financial background, then trains them to serve clients well. This organic growth is achieved through extensive training, including coaching by veterans, online study, virtual classes, weeklong stints of classroom training, and recorded role-play.

February 21, 2012
The 2012 Training Top 125

Training magazine’s 12th annual ranking of the top companies with employer-sponsored workforce training and development.

The best learning and development organizations support business initiatives tactically and help drive strategic change. Verizon did just that, earning it the No. 1 spot for the first time on the Training Top 125. Verizon and the other 2012 Top 125 winners continued to invest in training, collectively dedicating a mean of 4.52 percent of their payroll to the training budget. Some 24 newcomers earned a spot on the list this year, the 12th in a row Training has ranked the top companies of employer-sponsored workforce training and development.

February 21, 2012
Training Top 10 Hall of Fame

Microsoft Corporation and SCC Soft Computer are the newest inductees into the Training Top 10 Hall of Fame, joining the ranks of the 11 companies named to the hall since its inception in 2008.

February 20, 2012
A Higher Calling

Verizon rang in the New Year with a new number: The telecom company earned the No. 1 spot on the 2012 Training Top 125. Farmers Insurance claimed the No. 2 spot, while Top 5 newcomers Miami Children’s Hospital, Mohawk Industries, and McDonald’s nabbed Nos. 3, 4, and 5, respectively.

Verizon rang in the New Year with a new number: The telecom company earned the No. 1 spot on the 2012 Training Top 125. Farmers Insurance claimed the No. 2 spot, while Top 5 newcomers Miami Children’s Hospital, Mohawk Industries, and McDonald’s nabbed Nos. 3, 4, and 5, respectively.

Some 24 new companies broke into the Top 125 this year, with Capital One and Sprint Nextel Corp. debuting in the Top 50. The majority of the companies are in the health/medical services, real estate/insurance, business services, and finance/banking industries.

February 20, 2012
Farmers Insures Success

It’s not surprising an insurance company would have an insurance policy for the future. But Farmers Insurance takes that strategy one step further, setting its sights on 2020 with a far-reaching plan to foster growth, productivity, and leadership development through intensive training.

By Lorri Freifeld

It’s not surprising an insurance company would have an insurance policy for the future. But Farmers Insurance takes that strategy one step further, setting its sights on 2020 with a far-reaching plan to foster growth, productivity, and leadership development through intensive training.

February 20, 2012
Mohawk Maximizes Learning

For flooring manufacturer Mohawk Industries, it is not enough to teach employees how to be great. The long-time Training Top 125 contender focused last year on helping employees to blaze their own learning paths while meeting organization imperatives. That meant improving the technology that supports employee performance, as well as creating new social networking platforms to enable learners to challenge and teach one another.

By Margery Weinstein

February 20, 2012
Successful Store Managers at Dollar General

Dollar General Corporation doesn’t leave the leadership of its stores to chance. The company’s signature program is designed to ensure that newly hired or promoted store managers are trained to achieve operational excellence—to achieve “Retail Excellence, Every Day.”

By Margery Weinstein

Dollar General Corporation doesn’t leave the leadership of its stores to chance. The company’s signature program is designed to ensure that newly hired or promoted Store Managers (SMs) are trained to achieve operational excellence—to achieve “Retail Excellence, Every Day.”