Dear Friend,

Which employees should be included in your learning and development program? WorkforceChicago2.0's Exemplary Practice #4 states that, "Management recognizes that leadership skills are essential for employees at all levels and efforts are made to develop talent from within the organization." Reaching employees at all levels of the organization is the focus of this issue of SmartWork. Business Leadership Group member, Patrick Ormsby, President and CEO of Bimba Manufacturing, summed it up well: "The question for employers is: how much are you willing to invest to upskill your workforce?" Click here to jump to Pat's interview.

As a result of CAEL's early consulting and research, we discovered that companies invest most of their learning budgets in the top 20% of their workforce. Exemplary companies, such as Bimba Manufacturing, understand that human capital investment needs to be made at all levels of the workforce. Bimba, IBM, and Accenture all invest significantly in their entry level and non-management employees, despite their different industries. IBM and Accenture won the WorkforceChicago2.0 Exemplary Practices award this year, and we look forward to providing opportunities for you to learn from both winning companies and their innovative practices and ideas.

The 25 companies on our Business Leadership Group care about educating all of their employees. Their CEOs provide leadership to help build this movement—urging more companies in the region make similar investments in learning and development. In early November, WorkforceChicago2.0 held our annual Business Leadership Group meeting. Member CEOs and senior business leaders provided insight and direction for our work plan for the coming year and beyond. Click here to read more about it.

We encourage you to forward our newsletter to a colleague or friend.

Sincerely,

WorkforceChicago2.0's Annual Business Leadership Group Meeting: Topics and Highlights

On November 2nd, members of WorkforceChicago2.0's Business Leadership Group (BLG) gathered to discuss current WorkforceChicago2.0 projects and developments, and offer their insight and feedback on the work proposed for the coming year. This year, we welcomed seven new members to their first annual meeting, which was graciously hosted by co-chair Ray McCaskey, CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois.

At the meeting, a plan for WorkforceChicago2.0's next two years was outlined to members. The mission is to impact the region's corporate culture by helping non-member business leaders realize that investing in employee learning and development is a business imperative. The goals of the plan are to develop more resources for special projects and research, position the initiative as an increasingly valuable resource in the region, and improve our capacity for outreach and visibility. Over the past five years, this movement has continued to grow. The two-year plan aims to build on this momentum. In the coming months, watch for more information on work including:

• Our Research Agenda
• Next steps for the Higher Education—Business Leaders Forum
• A CEO/Senior Leader Survey

Common sentiments shared at the meeting involved concern for the pipeline issues facing tomorrow's future workforce, as outlined in this State of Working Illinois policy brief drafted by Matt Eskew and Paul Kleppner at Northern Illinois University. With an increasing number of workers reaching retirement age and a low rate of high school graduation in the city, a skills shortage or skills mismatch will surely affect the future regional economy and companies must prepare for it now. Companies must continuously train and re-train their current employees, from executives to front-line workers, to keep their education and skills both current and relevant—meeting the needs of today's competitive market. Learning and development is becoming a need-to-do for all—and a priority for forward-thinking corporations. As co-chair Jack Rooney said, "We don't call it training anymore, we call it education."

Also featured at this year's annual meeting was an update on the re-branding work that WorkforceChicago2.0 has taken on with the pro-bono assistance of Insidedge, a division of GolinHarris. Keith Burton, President of Insidedge, outlined the goals behind the rebranding effort, explained the work that's been completed thus far, and identified the next steps to increase the visibility and reach of WorkforceChicago2.0.

Each year this meeting is a forum where business leaders have a chance to share their unique perspectives on the employee learning and development issues facing some of Chicagoland's most successful and progressive companies. This year offered lively conversation and an engaged group, providing each of us with invaluable insight that we can use to inform our future projects and better serve our members, and in turn, the region.

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CEO Interview with Pat Ormsby, President and CEO, Bimba Manufacturing

WorkforceChicago2.0's Exemplary Practice #4 is the focus of this issue of SmartWork. Michelle Sanford, Director of WorkforceChicago2.0 sat down with Pat Ormsby, President & CEO of Bimba Manufacturing to learn about his unique perspective and experiences implementing learning and development practices throughout all levels of his company. In the interview, Ormsby discusses the challenges facing many companies today, both in the manufacturing sector and universally, when trying to relate training to their customer-facing and/or entry level workers. His thoughts provide valuable insight at a time when most companies are realizing that the skills required for every job are changing rapidly, and this change demands effective education and training solutions.

"How can we motivate front line manufacturing employees to continue learning, besides motivating the employer to do it?  Companies need help in trying to figure out how to get employees who want to improve themselves, from a skills and educational standpoint and how to encourage their on-going development."

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A Tale of Business-Centric Learning—a review of the book, Return on Learning: Training for High Performance at Accenture

Learning can drive performance in any industry—by fueling innovation, perfecting customer service, retaining and attracting talent and optimizing technologies—but are these areas concrete and measurable? Do they warrant making a business investment even in a challenging economic climate?  Learning programs are often developed without a comprehensive understanding of the knowledge and skills employees at each level and in each job really need to enable them to create more value for their company.

Return on Learning: Training for High-Performance at Accenture is the account of how one company dove deeper to find a more solid, quantifiable way to ensure that their learning program enabled the company to meet or exceed its business results—from design to delivery. It includes key learnings and insights from the primary team charged with this task, led by Chief Learning Officer Don Vanthournout. Accenture's experience is one any organization can learn from, no matter what its size or situation.

To learn more about how Accenture revitalized its learning program to prove a significant return on investment, click here.

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New Members Update: Recent additions to the Business Leadership Group

Since the last newsletter we are pleased to announce two new additions to WorkforceChicago2.0's Business Leadership Group: Dustan McCoy, the President & CEO of Brunswick Corporation, and Mike Hall, Midwest Region Managing Partner at Grant Thornton, LLP.

Brunswick Corporation is one of the foremost manufacturers of boats, marine engines, fitness, bowling, and billiards equipment, and many other technologically-advanced products. Brunswick understands that people make the difference in today's market, and that it must invest in its workforce to release employees' potential for creativity and innovation: "We believe our advantage is in the people we hire and how we lead, inspire, develop and motivate them."

As a leader in global accounting and tax/finance services, Grant Thornton was named one of Working Mother Magazine's 100 Best Companies to Work for in 2006. To maintain its high level of thought leadership in the field, it recognizes that it must cultivate and develop talent from within. To do this, it provides its employees with countless learning opportunities, challenges, and rewards to support the development of its workforce.

WorkforceChicago2.0 is proud to have these two companies join the Business Leadership Group and is certain that their involvement will bring greater regional attention to our critical workforce development issues.

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Nominations Will Open for the WorkforceChicago2.0 Annual Award on January 8, 2007!

Interested in winning the WorkforceChicago2.0 Exemplary Practices Award? Each year, the WorkforceChicago2.0 awards recognize companies in the region that have demonstrated exemplary employee learning and development practices. Nominations for the 2007 award will open on January 8th!

Past winners include some of the leading companies in the region. Award winners are recognized at an annual event attended by Mayor Daley and Chicago's top leaders in business and higher education. The nomination process is via online an application—giving you a quick and convenient way to communicate the structure, quality, and overall uniqueness of your company's learning and development practices.

For information on how winning companies are selected, please see our award criteria.

If you or a colleague is interested in nominating your company for this regionally-recognized award, check back on our homepage in early January for more updates and a video clip from last year's award event.

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Accenture's Return on Learning Event in October Assembled Nobel Laureate and Others for Discussion

Some view the number 13 as lucky—others as an omen of bad tidings to come. Regardless of your beliefs, this past Friday the 13th in October proved very fortuitous for all who attended Accenture's Return on Learning event at the University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business.  Gathering local and international thought-leaders from business and higher education, presenters at this event spoke on various topics surrounding the intersection of economics, management, and learning in the 21st century.

The day opened with the provocative thoughts of University of Chicago professor emeritus, Marvin Zonis, who outlined recent trends in the business world and discussed what these trends mean for the economic development of nations and regions across the world. Who will turn out the business leaders of tomorrow? How will this affect the composition and make-up of the global economy? These were just some of the important questions Professor Zonis posed in his remarks.

After setting this global context, a series of presentations were held by the writers of Return on Learning: Training for High Performance at Accenture, led by Accenture's Chief Learning Officer, Don Vanthournout. These presenters shared their experiences, as discussed in the book, of how they developed a learning program focused on business results. From garnering top business support to the reasoning behind specific technological decisions and overall learning delivery, these sessions focused on implementing a learning program that was aligned with business goals—a key factor for a competitive global business.

The keynote speaker was University of Chicago professor and Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences, Gary S. Becker. Professor Becker discussed his work in the study of human behavior and interaction, as microeconomic factors. His thoughts tied a global context to the day's discussions on 'human capital.'

The afternoon closed with a panel discussion comprised of the key speakers of the day. The engaging questions from local business leaders and HR professionals in attendance proved that learning and development will be a key business issue in years to come.

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Update on Exemplary Practices Discussion Series Workshop, Sponsored by IBM

On September 19th, IBM, a WorkforceChicago2.0 2006 award winner, sponsored an innovative workshop in the Exemplary Practices Discussion Series, entitled; Learn while you work—Building capability in less time: How work-embedded learning can improve business results while fostering employee learning and development. At this workshop, respected IBM thought-leader, Dr. Robert Weintraub shared methods of improving job performance through embedded learning—learning that is integrated with employees' workflows. This on-demand learning allows IBM to integrate its learning and training opportunities within a specific job function, so that people can learn while they work. Through lively discussion, the attendees discussed the challenges and key technological issues involved with implementing this kind of performance solution. The next Exemplary Practices Discussion Series workshop will be held in February at Accenture, another WorkforceChicago2.0 2006 award winner. These workshops are open to Human Resources and Learning professionals in the region, free of charge. Check back on our website for more details on this workshop in the coming months!

If you are interesting in attending the coming workshop, please inquire by emailing Kate Hoeppel at khoeppel@cael.org or calling (312) 499-2302.

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Lifelong Learning Account (LiLA) Legislation Passed in Illinois with Bi-partisan Support!

Last July, Illinois Governor Blagojevich signed a bill into law that authorizes the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) to create a Lifelong Learning Account (LiLA) pilot in the health care sector. LiLAs are similar to 401(k) accounts, where employees make contributions and their employer matches it—but with LiLAs, individuals can use funds for education and training. The bill passed out of the Illinois Senate unanimously and also the Illinois House with a wide margin—showing strong bi-partisan support in both state chambers. 

This effort was helped by significant support for LiLAs from the business community in Illinois, including the Illinois Restaurant Association, the Illinois Manufacturers Association, and the members of WorkforceChicago2.0's Business Leadership Group. Planning for the Illinois LiLA initiative is already underway and will draw upon results from needs assessment research conducted by CAEL with the support of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO). 

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New Staff Update: Kate Hoeppel joins the 2.0 team as Program Coordinator

In mid-September, Kate Hoeppel joined the dedicated and energetic staff of WorkforceChicago2.0 as the new full-time Program Coordinator. Kate comes to WorkforceChicago2.0 with a healthy breadth of experience in designing, administering, and delivering adult learning and employee training programs. From administering adult literacy programs to marginalized populations in the Chicago suburbs to designing award-winning e-learning courses for Fortune 500 companies, Kate has a passion for finding new ways of leveraging technology and learning to benefit peoples' lives and help them reach their goals. Kate will assist the Director of WorkforceChicago2.0, Michelle Sanford, in many aspects of program administration, resource development, planning, and marketing. If you have any questions or feedback on the initiative, please let us hear from you. Click here to tell us your thoughts.

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