Human Capital Investment

While industry reports indicate that corporate tuition assistance programs have not experienced major cuts despite the uncertain economy, John Zappa, Senior Vice President of Learning Services at the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL), encourages learning leaders to take action now. Zappa provides steps to ways to optimize your current program, and position tuition reimbursement as a part of your overall talent strategy.

Bersin & Associates estimates that 2008 training expenditures were 11 percent below 2007 levels. Although funds to develop future leaders are shrinking, tuition assistance continues to be funded, but is managed under “benign neglect.” While most organizations are struggling to make tuition assistance a strategic investment, a few, such as Verizon Wireless and The Home Depot, have gone beyond best practices to true breakthrough. – Chief Learning Officer, June 2009

It’s no secret that corporations’ investment in human capital is a key indicator of their success. Yet, the value of that investment and how it is shown, resourced, and leveraged remains a mystery for many training professionals. Jennifer A. Murnane, Ph.D., Assistant Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Bellevue University and Nancy Maresh, Founder of Brains at Work make the case for new methods and measurements, tactics, and strategies for leveraging value in a global knowledge economy at Training magazine’s Training Leadership Summit. The presentation is capped off with metrics on how well this learning mode works at Verizon Wireless.

While industry reports indicate that corporate tuition assistance programs have not experienced major cuts despite the uncertain economy, John Zappa, Senior Vice President of Learning Services at the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL), encourages learning leaders to take action now. Zappa provides steps to ways to optimize your current program, and position tuition reimbursement as a part of your overall talent strategy.

Developing mutually beneficial working relationships is a wise strategy for HR departments. Read how to leverage alliances with universities to supplement your employee learning interventions, to increase the talent, skills, and knowledge of your workforce.

Learn how companies can spend less on tuition assistance while gaining more business impact; how tuition assistance programs influence employee retention; how to measure effectiveness; and how to align programs with corporate talent strategies. Bersin & Associates, in partnership with The Human Capital Lab, developed the research report: Tuition Assistance Programs: Best Practices for Maximizing a Key Talent Investment. View the report's executive summary.

According to the 2008 American Society for Training and Development yearly report, organizations across the U.S. spend an estimated $134 billion on developing their workers. Yet, fewer than five percent attempt to measure the business impact of these learning interventions. This study explores the question: Why is measurement of this intangible asset not occurring?

Transfer the knowledge you'll gain from Bersin & Associates' comprehensive study of how to deploy cost-effective approaches that enhance the value of your organizations' tuition assistance programs. Purchase full report at www.bersin.com.

"We are at a tipping point – a shift in the measurement of value, and the even more fundamental conversation about what value is." Listen as Dr. Mike Echols discusses the struggling economy's impact on stock prices and executive salaries, and why those figures weren't rooted in reality. Echols calls for a broader approach to determining "value," and to bridge the gap between HR and accounting when it comes to value measurement.

Bellevue University's Human Capital Lab and Verizon Wireless examined the Verizon Wireless Tuition Assistance Program to gauge its effectiveness in the company's talent management retention rate. The team presented their research findings at Corporate University Week.

One of the challenges faced by organizations today is the impending leadership gap – the difference in sheer numbers of millennials entering the workforce to take the place of retiring baby boomers. To prepare for this future, training and learning efforts must accelerate the development of leaders who can innovate in the face of rapid change. Michael E. Echols, Ph.D., suggests that the only way to prepare for the uncertain future is to manage expenditures targeted at human capital as investments – not current-period expenses, and this will require the measurement of value being created by training and e-learning programs.

Budget discussions between learning leaders and financial execs can be frustrating if neither party is speaking the same language. The Human Capital Lab provides an accounting "Rosetta Stone," preparing you to translate the value of human capital investments to business outcomes, in a way that makes sense to corporate decision-makers. Read how Chrysler's bottom line is positively impacted by additional employee training implemented with senior management's approval.

The IRS imposed dollar limit on the maximum tuition assistance allotment for employees shouldn't limit you from offering your employees learning opportunities that can add value to the bottom line.

Did you know that one-quarter of the U.S. workforce has been with their current employer less than one year? Or that by 2010 the projected top 10 in-demand jobs will be positions that didn's even exist in 2006?

Frank J. Anderson, Jr., Director of Human Capital Initiatives and President of Defense Acquisition University, reveals the danger of operating under old assumptions, and how he developed strategies to maximize human capital investments at his organization.

Did you know that one-quarter of the U.S. workforce has been with their current employer less than one year? Or that by 2010 the projected top 10 in-demand jobs will be positions that didn't even exist in 2006?

Frank J. Anderson, Jr., Director of Human Capital Initiatives and President of Defense Acquisition University, reveals the danger of operating under old assumptions, and how he developed strategies to maximize human capital investments at his organization.

This study of more than 500 HR, learning, and line of business professionals reveals the current and anticipated status of learning and human capital development, their role within talent management, and the value organizations derive from it. The full report is now available for download.

By documenting your learning initiatives from the planning stage to implementation and beyond, you will gain the respect and understanding of senior executives.

David L. Vance, former President of Caterpillar University, suggests starting with a written business plan, which outlines clear and measurable objectives that align with your company's strategies – such as increased production levels or reduced injuries, your projected learning program outcomes, and evaluation methods to determine if you've met your goals.

Discovering how employees think and the rationale behind their behaviors provides the basis of Emergenetics, a brain-based profiling tool that can assist learning leaders in building successful teams. Morgan Browning, Executive Vice President for Emergenetics International, explains how this tool can foster group synergy, enhance employee relations, improve communications, support leadership development, and increase creativity.

Unlock the human potential within your company, and measure the impact and value of learning interventions on the bottom line. Dr. Michael E. Echols' book shares his expertise on this topic, and provides methods that can demonstrate the value of talent to senior management. Order yours today!

Review preliminary findings from Human Capital Lab original research that studied five multi-national companies leading in human capital management, and determine how to apply the study results within your own organization.

Landmark study uncovers the actual cost of tuition paid by employees per semester in the U.S. Utilize this data to develop ROI measurements for your organization, based on market prices.

The value of your company’s human capital is an asset not typically shown on the pages of an annual report. Entice potential corporate investors by featuring the results and impact of your employee learning interventions on business outcomes.

In just four short years, the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) increased the number of employee learning program graduates from 60,000 in 2002 to 114,000 in 2006. DAU President Frank J. Anderson, Jr., shares how he moved learning initiatives to the next level by engaging and empowering the workforce through strategic partnerships, centers of excellence, cohort training, high impact performance support, and providing students learning opportunities at their point of need.

Utilize the key questions identified in this presentation to survey your senior management about their understanding of talent management, and identify barriers that may keep your organization from optimizing its human capital investment.

Learn how to position your workforce's talents and skills as the ultimate competitive resource that is key in today's global economy in which advances in technology and increases in the complexity of skills needed to carry out new tasks require an even higher level of performance by employees.

Organizations that continue to view human capital investment as an expense may struggle to survive in today's global economy. Learning leaders must prove the business impact of this employee benefit to C-suite executives who scrutinize budgets and cut costs they believe are not beneficial to the company's overall strategy. See how CACI International, Inc. demonstrated why ongoing training and strategically managing tuition assistance is critical to corporate success.

HR managers can broaden their roles beyond traditional compensation and benefits duties by focusing on talent development. Learn how you can team with senior management and serve as a strategic advisor by aligning human capital investment with organizational goals.

Gain knowledge of the measurements and models needed to define policies, practices, and procedures that result in measurable business outcomes. This book provides guidelines on how to manage the human capital investments that comprise your company's critical intangible resources. Order yours today!

Understand how your CFO determines the cost and risks associated with investments in learning and development. Armed with this information, you can create a collaborative relationship with your organization's finance professionals to determine the ROI of employee learning interventions that can positively impact the bottom line.

Senior executives and accounting professionals are challenged by stakeholders to enhance the bottom line, by boosting worker productivity levels. This is your opportunity to enlighten this audience about how investment in human capital can align with corporate strategies.

Debunk the myths held by C-suite executives that diminish the value of your employee learning interventions, from the belief that tuition reimbursement outcomes cannot be measured to hiring outside employees versus investing in the new skills of current employees.

Few business leaders fund capital expenditures without reviewing ROI projections. Yet most organizations approve HR budgets containing tuition reimbursement programs without the financial data to corroborate the cost. Learn the equations needed to obtain this data, and apply this information to get to the ROI of your company's tuition reimbursement program.

Study new methods to measure and manage the return and risk related to human capital investment. Dr. Michael E. Echols' book provides innovative processes to favorably impact the financial returns from employee training initiatives. Order yours today!

Without an understanding of ROI measurement, learning leaders are challenged to quantify their employee tuition assistance budgets to C-suite executives. Review the steps to develop a corporate tuition assistance policy based upon scientifically proven measurement tools.