Competency management is often considered a "black art" in HR and training organizations. Yet today, competencies actually provide the necessary linkage between business strategy and the talent processes for sourcing, developing, assessing, and managing people. And, as discussed in our research, competency management is one of the Top 22, those talent-related processes that yield the highest business impact.

This new report examines all aspects of competency management, including:

• Descriptions, business applications, and benefits of each competency type (core values, leadership development, functional, and career path).
• Approaches to selecting and maintaining each competency type.
• The use of competency management systems.
• The alignment of competency management with other talent management processes, along with a summary of competency applications for each process.
• Examples from companies such as Aetna, Southwest Airlines, Microsoft, and Textron.
• Case studies of Steelcase and its leadership development competency model and Eastman Chemical, which uses its competency management to ensure it meets compliance standards.

The organizational benefits of competency management are many. Equitable compensation, career planning, effective recruiting, and better targeted leadership development are just a few examples. As we illustrate in our talent management framework, competency management provides the foundation for all talent processes.

Members: Download this report today.
Non-members: This report is available to you for a limited time. Download today.

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As budgets get tighter and talent management programs become increasingly strategic, it is more important than ever to make sure your L&D investments are optimized for business value.

For instance, a global engineering and construction company came to us with two daunting challenges: the company is experiencing its most dramatic growth in two decades, while simultaneously, a significant percentage of its workforce is nearing retirement. The company's new vice president of HR wanted an objective review of L&D resources, with particular focus on evaluation of the governance model, shared services strategy, and resource allocations.

The company embarked on a detailed learning organization assessment, combined with extensive interviews and an organization review, to identify the needed changes. As a result of this effort the company formed a new learning council and an executive steering committee, expanded availability of shared services, and is revising plans for a new LMS implementation.

Many companies come to us seeking ways to optimize the efficiency and effectiveness of their learning organizations. We recommend that research members take advantage of our unique Learning Organization Scorecard™ (included in most memberships) for an objective view.

The scorecard covers dimensions such as governance and organizational structure, shared services, performance consulting, LMS and other technologies, measurements and standards, and multi-generational learning. The information you provide is analyzed and compared against Bersin & Associates' extensive database, benchmarking your current status against industry best practices.

We encourage you to take advantage of this offering. For more information, contact Mike Cooke at mcooke@bersin.com.

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Have you implemented a high impact learning and development initiative? We'd like to include you in a new global study. If selected, you'll receive a $150 gift cheque, a copy of the report, AND two of our research reports on global customer support training and best practices in learning measurement.

We are especially interested in global solutions and those that incorporate an innovative new strategy, practice or use of technology. Examples include successful content development and collaboration approaches, integration of learning and talent management, high-impact career development programs, new approaches to organizing and managing the learning function, and the unique use of technology and tools.

You'll be asked to participate in an online discussion forum focusing on your key business challenges and the learning or talent solutions that have produced positive results. Your information will be kept anonymous, unless we obtain approval to use your company's name in the published report.

If you work in a company with 1,000 or more employees and are interested in participating, please contact karen.oleonard@bersin.com by April 1. Please include your company name, company size (# of employees), office location (country or region), and a brief description (just a few sentences) of your learning or talent initiative. We look forward to hearing from you!

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Workforce Management
February 2008
E-Learning Hits Its Stride
By Garry Kranz

This article by contributing editor Garry Kranz includes key findings about training expenditures and e-learning usage from the Bersin & Associates Corporate Learning Factbook 2008. Click here to read article.

Talent Management
February 2008
Integrating Talent Management Systems Strategically
By Leighanne Levensaler

Talent managers involved in setting their company's integrated talent management systems strategy have many good reasons to look before they leap. Leighanne Levensaler outlines the major considerations in developing this critical system strategy. Click here to read article.

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CONFERENCES

IMPACT 2008: The Business of Talent
April 22-24
St. Petersburg, FL
The Renaissance Vinoy Resort


With 300 people registered, IMPACT 2008 is officially sold out. We have several announcements for those of you joining us in Florida.

• Available this week: An online community for all registrants, speakers, and sponsors. Built in conjunction with Mzinga, a leading provider of social networking solutions, this community will give conference participants an opportunity to voice questions and interests before the conference and to continue to network after the event.


• We're putting the final touches on three scorecards available to registrants: leadership development, learning organization, and talent management organization. Beginning this week, registrants can download one of these scorecards. We'll compile an assessment, based on industry data and best practices, and have the report waiting for you when you arrive.


• Don't miss the keynotes! Josh Bersin will open the conference with "Insights of the Perennials: Lessons from Enduring Organizations." He'll discuss how all aspects of talent management are critical to enduring business success; share the secrets and best practices of companies such as IBM, McDonald's, and Caterpillar; and discuss our role in building a supporting culture. The conference will end with "The Performance Culture of Enduring Organizations," delivered by Jason Young, author of Culturetopia, a former executive at Southwest Airlines, and a consultant to Fortune 500 companies.

WORKSHOPS

Talent Management Masters Workshop
Tuesday, April 15
Westin, New York City

Thursday, May 22
InterContinental Hotel, Chicago

This hands on workshop, designed for executives, directors, managers of HR, and talent management will give you industry best-practices and an action plan to build and execute a talent management strategy tailored to your organizations needs.

Workshop Highlights
By attending this valuable workshop, you will leave with a talent Management Plan tailored to the needs of your organization and:

• Focus on – and resolve – the strategic issues and challenges you're grappling with right now.
  
• Get updates on the corporate talent management market, including current business drivers, vendors, and relevant technologies.
  
• Learn how and where talent management fits into the relationship between HR and learning.
  
• Benchmark yourself against the industry's best. Meet with other learning, development and HR professionals and gain valuable connections.
  
• Get a chance to think strategically in an exciting, fact-filled day.
  

WEBINARS

Meeting the Demand for "Learning on-Demand"
Tuesday, March 25, 1:30 p.m. ET
Chris Howard, Principal Analyst and Director of Research

As companies move from course-centric learning to learning on-demand, the role of the corporate training department must change. This presentation will discuss the organizational changes, tools, best-practice processes, and resources required to support an on-demand model. Chris Howard will discuss how to leverage existing content and the types of standards and templates that work best. Registered attendees will receive Bersin & Associates research paper, Integrating Learning Into the Enterprise Portal, compliments of OutStart. Click here to register today.

Talent Management Experience Series Part I: The Manager's Experience
Tuesday, March 25, 2:00 p.m. ET
Leighanne Levensaler, Principal Analyst

In Part I of this three-part series, key strategies pertaining to the manager's experience will be addressed, including:

• Inspiring a true pay-for-performance culture.
  
• Motivating and retaining your best employees.
  
• The killer combo: learning and performance for a better talent management strategy.
  
• Building competitive advantage through competency-focused assessment and development.
  
• Aligning organization goals to team goals for increased productivity.
  
• Implementing an effective succession planning strategy.
  

Learning and Performance Go On- Demand
Tuesday, April 8, 2:00 p.m. ET
Chris Howard, Principal Analyst and Director of Research

The market for learning and performance management platforms is undergoing significant change. One area in particular is the growth of Software-as-a-Service solutions, also known as on-demand. This approach, now used by more than 30% of all new platform buyers, enables learning and performance solution providers to consolidate and integrate many technologies into a single, best-of-breed enterprise learning solution. Chris Howard, principal analyst and research director at Bersin & Associates, will define exactly what Software as a Service is, how it's different from "on premises" software, and identify its business advantages for learning organizations. He'll also separate hype from reality and debunk some of the myths about SaaS related to scalability, security and configurability. And finally, he will share some important questions to ask potential vendors when evaluating on-demand learning and performance management systems. Click here to register today.

Missed it live? Research members can view all recorded webinars by visiting the research center event archives.
Not a member? Sign up for a trial membership today.

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Learning and Development Strategies: Qualcomm Implements Learning through Storytelling
This case study examines how Qualcomm has formalized storytelling as an effective organizational learning tool – through structured learning and employee communications programs built around storytelling. Download today.

Who Should You Target for Leadership Development?
In this research bulletin, Kim Lamoureux discusses the principles companies should consider in identifying and targeting employees for their leadership development programs. Download today.

The LMS Operating Guide for Global Enterprises
Global enterprises face significant challenges in deploying learning management systems (LMS). This report details the costs, staffing and governance models for operating a global, enterprise LMS. Download today.

Bersin & Associates Leadership Development Maturity Model®
In this research bulletin, Kim Lamoureux discusses the four levels of the Bersin & Associates Leadership Development Maturity Model and the six best practices on which it is based. Download today.

Competency Management: Gateway to an Integrated Talent Strategy
Competencies play a significant and foundational role for all aspects of talent management. In this report, we explore the part that competencies play in recruiting, performance management, succession planning, and learning and development. Download today.

The Business Benefits of e-Learning in High-Growth Companies
This research report looks at learning strategies and the use of e-learning technologies in high-growth companies – by focusing on the experiences of six such organizations. Download today.

Learning On-Demand: Extra Space Storage Drives Performance of Key Business Initiatives with LMS
This case study illustrates how a company used LMS technology after an acquisition to align all its employees with its corporate business goals – thereby minimizing employee turnover, boosting productivity and complying with regulatory requirements. Download today.

Join our research community to access these reports.

Bersin & Associates' new Talent Management newsletter highlights research on: leadership development, performance management, competency management, recruiting, succession planning and the evolution of integrated talent management systems. In each newsletter you will find actionable research you can immediately apply. Subscribe today!

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