With this in mind, many organizations are revamping their training programs _ often focussing them in a corporate learning institute _as they position themselves to succeed and thrive in the 21st century marketplace that is just a few years away.
Northern Telecom, for instance, refocussed its in-house learning programs in 1992, creating the NT Learning Institute, which currently has a staff of about 40 people, supported by adjunct faculty from outside the corporation as required. The institute plays a key role in providing a forum for employees to gain an understanding of the issues involved in the company's corporate vision.
At the heart of this vision is NT's goal of being the employer of choice for its people, and the supplier of choice for its customers. These issues are closely linked, says Paulette Kestelman, the institute's director. "If employees feel good about the company, that permeates through to the customer. It's a chicken-and-egg thing."
To ensure that the courses developed by the institute continue to deliver real value to employees and stay abreast of changing corporate needs, account managers are assigned to each business group. These individuals help develop programs to address the business needs and support new market initiatives.
The strategic value of learning institutes is also recognized by companies in the financial services sector. The Bank of Montreal, for example, has just opened a new campus for its Institute of Learning, complementing training centres in Montreal and Calgary. The bank views the new Learning Institute facility as "the Corporate Strategic Plan cast in brick and glass and concrete." Located in Toronto, the $40 million facility saw its first students in mid-January and expects to handle some 13,000 employees annually, helping the bank achieve its target of five learning days per employee by 1997.
The main objective of the bank in restructuring its employee education efforts was to change the focus from training to learning; that is, to focus on the employees, and give them responsibility for their own learning _ in the own way and at their own pace. With employees coming from all across Canada, the new Institute is expected to provide a forum for creativity and a source of innovative ideas that can be disseminated across the organization.
A focus on imparting the corporate culture to employees is also a key objective of the Canada Trust Management Institute, according to assistance vice-president Laurie Main. The corporate culture, he observes, is woven through all the classes and workshops. Courses _ addressing issues such as dealing with change and fostering teamwork _ are developed in-house, using case studies and examples drawn from Canada Trust's own experience.
A renewed focus and emphasis on employee learning programs can also be seen in public-sector organizations, such as the U.S. Postal Service. Recently, the Postal Service has embarked on a top-to-bottom renewal so it can better fulfil its service mandate and address the competition.
As part of this effort, the Management and Employee Development Group has reworked its course offerings to help change the organization's internal culture. A key aspect of this culture change is an effort to empower employees and encourage their participation. The goal is to give employees the tools to help them improve their local environment, says Jim Holmes, the Group's director.
For example, one new program addresses the issues of EOS (employee opinion survey) improvement and teambuilding for PCs (Performance Clusters, the teams set up to improve both operational efficiency and customer service). The program is "not aimed at driving [EOS] scores," Holmes explains, "it's aimed at changing the internal culture. If this is accomplished the results [EOS scores] will follow."