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From systematic charts to feedback mechanisms, IT training experts outline strategies for creating best-of-breed career development programs. By Sandra
Gittlen  "Commitment to development is a strong piece of retention and recruitment,"
says Margaret Schweer, director of human resources for IS at Kraft Foods
in Northfield, Ill. "It's not just giving people skills for where they
are now but for where they're going."
Getting people to that goal may require insight from a chief learning
officer empowered with setting corporate training strategy, says Mark
Schietinger, manager of e-learning at Sun. "It's important for a company
to manage its knowledge base at the 30,000-foot level," he says.
Whether you'll be getting guidance from a chief learning officer or not,
following this step-by-step guide will help you put together a top-notch
IT training program.
Taking stock
A great training program needs a strong foundation - knowledge of
what skills employees have.
"You want to be able to look at the skills base and instantly recognize
if you don't have the competencies you need," Schietinger says.
One quick way to take this inventory is to survey current employees and
new hires. This can be done online or on paper, as a self-evaluation,
a test or a combination of the two.
Sears, Roebuck & Co., in Hoffman Estates, Ill., takes this type of inventory
one step further. It tests new employees on technical aptitude and assesses
their "soft skills," such as the ability to manage projects, work with
vendors, build teams and lead others, says Janet Pennel, a human resources
project manager for Sears' IT department. Pennel has even earmarked almost
40% of her $4.9 million annual training budget for soft skills development.
Also find out the preferred learning styles of your IT staff. Ask your
employees questions like: "Do you work better in a group or alone?" and
"Do you learn better through reading or doing?"
Next, poll departments about upcoming projects and determine what technology
and business skills you're going to need for those. Do you have a Java
programmer who can handle marketing's e-commerce plans? Will your database
specialist be able to handle purchasing's planned project?
 Again,
Schietinger stresses the importance of executive team involvement. He
says chief information and technology officers should draw a roadmap outlining
the projects, staff and technology needed. The chief learning officer
would be responsible for designing and maintaining the roadmap.
IT managers would chart employee skills to the project roadmap. Through
this process, you'll find the skill gaps and discover where training is
needed.
At Sears, IT managers will get help from a homegrown intranet database
- a "mechanized skills inventory," in Pennel's words - in matching people
to projects. They could use the database, called the Catalog of Associate
Training and Opportunities (CATO), to pick appropriately skilled team
members and identify training needs for a project. In the meantime, the
company's 1,700 IT associates can use CATO to find out what upcoming projects
they're qualified to work on. CATO will go online later this year.
A la carte education
Formalizing education is another important step. For example, at Sears
and Kraft, all IT employees are required to log 10 days of training annually.
Options vary because employees can participate in formal or informal mentoring
programs, attend conferences, participate in forums, go to weeks-long
technology boot camps or use self-paced online and computer-based tools.
Sears has partnered with external learning providers to build its technical
and leadership education programs. It works with companies such as LearningPatterns.com,
for Java training; Lockheed Martin Technology Services, for technical
training; ESI International, which specializes in contract management;
and SmartForce, for e-learning. It also works with the American Management
Association, Pritchett & Associates, Career Systems International and
Sears University.
Schietinger, for one, sees e-learning as a crucial component of a best-of-breed
training program. Toward that end, Schietinger and his team have launched
Sun Educational Services, a worldwide IT skills training center. The learning
center includes Sun's own courses as well as those from outside providers,
on-site or online.
"The demands of technology are putting a lot of pressure on the rate and
method of learning. Time to learn needs to be improved, and the time to
results from that learning needs to be improved," Schietinger says.
 E-learning
is popular at Kraft and Sears, but not any more so than other training
methods, Schweer and Pennel say. Creativity in training methods is more
important, they add.
For instance, an IT associate assigned to Sears' large service department
might learn a lot about the systems used just by riding along with some
of the service technicians. That's a day of training, Pennel says. At
Kraft, Schweer is working with local universities to supplement on-site
learning with classroom time. She encourages others to do the same.
Feedback required One of the last steps to develop an effective IT training program is incorporating feedback mechanisms. Doing so will ensure that you understand what value will come from the training. Ideally, Pennel says, an employee would say to the manager, "This is what you can expect from me, and this is how I will change and grow." At Sears, employees must prove that they "will have meaningful work opportunities for the classes they take," Pennel says. "The training and learning we provide is designed around opportunities that associates can go back into." Schweer says it's important for managers to give employees time to practice their skills. "We tell managers [to] create an environment where they can practice what they've learned," she says. "Managers are told to talk to employees before their training, during it and after to develop an action plan for when they come back." Related linksContact Fusion Managing Editor Sandra Gittlen
You: Top 10 general job concerns Keeping employees up to date on technologies could keep them at your company for the long-term. Network World, 07/17/00. IBM launches e-learning business unit IBM Monday announced the formation of a new unit to provide businesses with Internet-based educational and training activities. Network World, 05/16/00. IT staff crunch prompts program to train homeless In an effort to address a Silicon Valley staffing crisis, Cisco Systems Inc. is extending a company-run training program from its usual venue of high schools and vocational colleges into a homeless shelter. Network World, 02/11/00. Kraft's development tools Ways you'll learn while working for this food giant. Sun Educational Services Training options from Sun Sears' Web site Send this article to a colleague
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