The folks in IT, communications and marketing are quick to understand and own the intranet. Their brethren in HR are often a little further behind them in terms of understanding and seizing the opportunity presented by the intranet and its associated technology.

There are far too many HR departments that just don’t get it: the intranet is a major recruitment, retention, and training tool. Employees and new employees are increasingly looking to the intranet as THE source for job related information, culture and communications.

The "Improving Front-line Training Practices 2008" report highlights a number of key learnings that all HR managers, and intranet managers and owners regardless of their position and title within the organization, should know:

• More money on training - According to the American Society for Training & Development, companies are spending more per employee on training and the average number of hours of formal learning per employee is increasing.
• More money on technology - The use of technology to deliver learning content has increased and companies are also spending more on external services like content design, development and delivery or technology infrastructure.
• Internet speed - Training and training delivery systems are changing, slowly but surely evolving to take advantage of the power of the Internet, mobile communications, and handheld technologies, the technologies that are changing society itself.
• The individual - Technological advancement has made it possible and practical to shift from classroom training to individualized learning.
• SMEs - More and more subject matter experts are assuming the training role.
• eLearning - More live instruction is being delivered remotely or online and more and more self-paced or computer-based training is being offered to busy employees, making it even more convenient to brush up on skills or learn a new procedure.
• PDAs - Training that is portable, self-directed, and available on-demand is becoming popular, through pod casts, PDAs, or even mobile phones.
• Virtual training - Simulation technology is also being more widely implemented, allowing learners to realistically "try the job" before actually on the job (e.g. Second Life).

The report also states that, more so than ever before, an organization's training function is being run like any other business function with increased attention on operational efficiency, accountability, and connection to organizational strategy.

The report also cites an Ascent Group study in 2005 that is still precisely relevant today (but underscores what all of us should have known all-along): “the Intranet is overwhelmingly the most effective job aid & training tool for new front-line employees.”

The study asked participants to “share management tactics and strategies, as well as identify any improvement in performance. The study also asked companies to include considerations, successes, and plans moving forward.”

Among its many uses, organizations are using the intranet to post:

• policies
• procedures
• preferred scripting
• transaction forms
• interactive reference manuals
• letter templates
• online-help
• webinars
• Q&A
• recent announcements
• self-paced learning modules
• performance progress
• chat boards

Other effective job aides include:

• cheat sheets
• video examples of good and bad service
• special topic-based workshops and seminars
• simulation technology

For more information on this report, please visit: http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/91036b/improving_frontli.

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