Post on 02-Jan-2017
A Sample Business Plan for Learning �
The 2011Business Plan for Learning
forXYZ Corporation
Corporate University
Approved by the Board of GovernorsDecember 16, 2010
� The Business of Learning
Contents
Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Last Year’s Accomplishments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Strategic Alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Business Case for Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Learning Resources, Expenditures, and Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Detailed Work Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Evaluation Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Communication Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Continuous Improvement Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Contact Information and List of Learning Groups and Staff . . . . . . . . . . 35
List of Figures Figure
1 . Description of the Strategic Alignment Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 2 . Strategic Alignment of Learning to the Organization’s Goals . . . . . . 9
List of Tables Table
1 . Learning’s Contribution to 2010 Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2 . 2011 Summary Business Plan for Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 3 . Impact of Learning on 2010 Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 4 . 2010 Financial Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 5 . Results of the Strategic Alignment Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 6 . 2011 Business Case for Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 7 . Enterprise Learning Expenditures for 2010 and 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 8 . Enterprise Expenditures by Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 9 . Enterprise Learning Resources for 2010 and 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1610 . Corporate University and Business Unit Learning Resources for
2010 and 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1711 . 2011 Corporate University Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1812 . 2011 Corporate University Staffing Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
PAGE
A Sample Business Plan for Learning �
Executive Summary Learningcontinuestobeacriticaldriverofourcompany’ssuccess.In2010CorporateUniversityinitiativessupportedallfivetopprioritiesandmorethanhalfoftheremainingcorporategoals.Moreover,learningisbelievedtohavehadasignificantimpactonachievingmanyofthesegoalsandinsomecasesisthoughttohavecontributedmorethananyothersinglefactor.(Thelearningimpactesti-mates below represent the consensus view of the corporate goal sponsors anduniversityleadership.)
Learningisconservativelyestimatedtohaveproducednetbenefitsofmorethan$2.6millionin2010,up$450,000or24%from2009andjustslightlybelowplanof$2.7million.Thenumberofuniqueparticipantsrose8%to4,552,reflect-inghighercompanyemploymentandexpandedofferings.Thenumberoftotalparticipantsroseevenfasterat10%to19,769astheaveragenumberofcoursestakencontinuedtorise. Learningisforecasttohaveanevengreaterimpactonresultsin2011.Onceagainlearningwillcontributesignificantlytothefivetopgoalsandtotheachieve-ment of the remaining goals. Learning initiatives are expected to account forabouthalfoftheplannedincreaseinsalesandleadershipscoresandmorethanhalfoftheplannedreductionindefectsandinjuries.Learningisalsoexpectedtocontributeabout30%oftheplannedimprovementinemployeeretention. Learningwillalsocontributetotheachievementofotherkeygoals,includ-ingreductioninpurchasecosts,supportcomplaints,andexposuretofraudand
TABLE 1
Learning’s Contribution to 2010 Results
Plan Estimated Actual
Expected Expected Impact of Impact of Priority Corporate Goal Target Learning Result Learning
1 ReduceInjuries 10% 5% 8% 5%
2 ReduceDefects 10% 5% 11% 5%
3 IncreaseSales 5% 3% 3% 2%
4 ReduceMfgCosts 6% 2% 5% 3%
5 IncreaseInnovation 4% 1% 2% 1%
� The Business of Learning
insidertrading.Ineachcaselearningisexpectedtoaccountforhalformoreofthe planned reduction, making learning the single most critical driver to goalachievement. Takentogether,theselearninginitiativesareexpectedtoreachallfivethou-sandemployeesandyieldmorethan$3.3millioninnetbenefitstothecompany.Total participation in learning is forecast to rise 65%, reflecting the safety ini-tiative with five courses for each manufacturing employee, the drive for everyemployeetohaveanindividualdevelopmentplan(IDP),andthecomprehensivecompliancecampaignforfraudandinsidertrading. Toachievetheseresults,enterprise-wideexpendituresonlearningareforecasttoincreaseby$700,000or18%to$4.5million.AlloftheincreasewilloccurattheCorporateUniversity,whichwillconstitute74%ofthetotalenterprisespendingonlearning.Theremaining24%($1.6million)willbemanagedbythebusinessunitsandisdirectedprimarilyattechnicalskillsandotherspecialties,whichareuniquetoindividualunits.CorporateUniversitywillcontinuetofocusonlearn-ing, which can be leveraged across the enterprise or where consistency acrossunitsisrequired. Staffingisprojectedtoincreasemodestlytosupporttheincreasedworkload,althoughmostoftheincreaseindemandwillbemetthroughgreateruseofflex-ibleresources,includingourpartnersandpart-time(PT)employees.Onlyoneadditionalfull-time(FT)hireisplannedin2011fortheCorporateUniversity.Sixadditionalpart-timeemployees(threefull-timeequivalentsorFTEs)willbringthetotalsfortheCorporateUniversityto21FT,12PT,and27FTEs.Noincreas-esareplanned in thebusinessunits,whichhave sixFTemployeesandsixPTemployees. Evaluation and measurement will continue to be central to our efforts tomanageforresultsandcontinuousimprovement.Application,impact,andbot-tom-lineresultswillcontinuetobemeasuredforcriticalprogramstoensuretheplanned net benefits are delivered to the company. Continuous improvementplans for 2011 include a system-wide upgrade to the LMS, a new knowledge-sharingplatform,andimprovedsynchronousonlinelearningcapabilities. Finally,weplantobuildonlastyear’ssuccessandcontinuetoinvestinouruniversity and company brand by hosting benchmarking companies, publish-ingarticles,speakingatconferences,andenteringawardscompetitions.Weareproudoftheinternalandexternalawardswehavereceivedoverthelasttwoyearsbutknowwestillhavealongwaytogotobethebestwecanbe.
A Sample Business Plan for Learning �
TABL
E 2
2011
Sum
mar
y Bu
sine
ss C
ase
for L
earn
ing
20
10 Es
timat
ed Ac
tual
20
11 Pl
an
Expe
cted
Uniqu
e To
tal
Tota
l Net
Ex
pecte
d Un
ique
Tota
l To
tal N
et 2
011
Impa
ct of
Pa
rtici
Parti
ci Be
nefit
s
Impa
ct of
Pa
rtici
Parti
ci Be
nefit
s Pr
iority
Co
rpor
ate G
oal
Resu
lts
Lear
ning
pant
s pa
nts
(thou
s.)
Targ
et Le
arnin
g pa
nts
pant
s (th
ous.)
1
Incre
aseS
ales
3%
2%
105
105
$420
10
%
5%
100
1,100
$8
93
2
Redu
ceD
efects
11
%
5%
103
276
$412
20
%
14%
20
080
0$1
,018
3
Redu
ceIn
juries
8%
5%
1,1
67
4,698
$2
33
25%
15
%
3,100
13
,600
$415
4
Impr
oveL
eade
rship
-2pt
sNA
50
50
NA
+
5pts
+2p
ts18
018
0$3
16
5
Incre
aseR
eten
tion
-4pt
sNA
NA
NA
NA
+
5pts
+1.5
pts
5,000
7,5
00
$310
Subt
otal
Top F
ive Pr
ioitie
s
1,
425
5,12
9 $1
,065
5,
000
23,1
80
$2,9
52
Subt
otal
Othe
rGoa
ls
2,4
21
10,38
1$2
,193
1,950
4,7
25
$1,02
8
Tota
lAllG
oals
2,997
15
,510
$3,25
8
5,0
00
27,90
5$3
,980
Unali
gned
Lear
ning
3,651
3,8
59
0
4,0
00
4,000
$0
Othe
rCos
ts(n
otin
clude
delse
wher
e)
-$60
0
-$
600
Gran
d Tot
al fo
r All L
earn
ing
4,55
2 19
,369
$2
,658
5,
000
31,9
05
$3,3
80
� The Business of Learning
TABL
E 3
Impa
ct o
f Lea
rnin
g on
201
0 Re
sult
s
20
10 Pl
an
2010
Estim
ated
Actu
al
Expe
cted
Uniqu
e To
tal
Tota
l Net
Ex
pecte
d Un
ique
Tota
l To
tal N
et
Im
pact
of
Parti
ci Pa
rtici
Bene
fits
Im
pact
of
Parti
ci Pa
rtici
Bene
fits
Prior
ity
Corp
orat
e Goa
l Ta
rget
Lear
ning
pant
s pa
nts
(thou
s.)
Resu
lt Le
arnin
g pa
nts
pant
s (th
ous.)
1
Redu
ceIn
juries
10
%
5%
1,200
4,8
00
$24
08%
5%
1,1
67
4,698
$2
33
2
Redu
ceD
efects
10
%
5%
100
3
00
$40
011
%
5%
103
2
76
$412
3
Incre
aseS
ales
5%
3%
120
1
20
$72
03%
2%
1
05
105
$4
20
4
Redu
ceM
fgCo
sts
6%
2%
1,400
7,2
00
$64
05%
3%
1,5
78
7,256
$9
00
5
Incre
aseI
nnov
ation
4%
1%
2
00
200
$
400
2%
1%
188
1
88
$383
Subt
otal
Top F
ive Pr
ioitie
s
2,
260
12,6
20
$2,4
00
2,18
9 12
,523
$2
,348
Subt
otal
Othe
rGoa
ls
1,4
30
2,996
$
912
1,657
2,9
87
$910
Tota
lAllG
oals
2,874
15
,616
$3,31
2
2,9
97
15,51
0$3
,258
Unali
gned
Lear
ning
3,500
3,5
00
$0
3,6
51
3,859
$0
Othe
rCos
ts(n
otin
clude
delse
wher
e)
-$60
0
-$
600
Gran
d Tot
al fo
r All L
earn
ing
4,30
0 19
,116
$2
,712
4,
552
19,3
69
$2,6
58
A Sample Business Plan for Learning �
Last Year’s Accomplishments Learningcontributedsignificantlytoourcompany’ssuccessin2010.Corpo-rateUniversityinitiativessupportedallfivetopprioritiesandmorethanhalfoftheremainingcorporategoals.Learning’simpactoncorporategoalsrangedfromalowof20%tomorethan60%.Overall,morethan4,500employeesparticipatedinCorporateUniversityprograms,generatingmorethan$2.6millioninnetben-efittothecompany. Themajorityofparticipants(12,523)wereengagedinlearningthatdirectlysupportedthetopfivecorporateprioritiesanddeliveredabout$2.3millioninnetbenefit.Aboutaquarterasmany(2,987)participatedinprogramstosupporttheremainingcorporategoalswhiletheremainder(3,859)pursuedlearningoppor-tunitiesnotdirectlytiedtothe2010goals.
Highlights•More than 1,100 manufacturing employees participated in classes and
onlinelearningtoreduceinjuriesintheworkplace.Learningisestimatedtohavereducedinjuriesby5%orabouthalfofthecorporategoalof10%andmorethanhalfoftheactual8%reduction.
•Morethanonehundredengineerstookpartinthefirstcoursescreatedtoreduce design defects. The design courses are estimated to have reduceddefectsby5%oralmosthalfoftheestimatedactual11%totalreduction.
•Learningprogramsto increasesalesareestimatedtohavecontributedtoa2%increaseinsales,slightlylessthantheplannedimpactof3%butstillmorethanhalfoftheactualincreaseof3%.
•Morethan1,500employeestookanaverageoffiveclasseseachtolearnhowto reduce manufacturing costs. The learning is believed to have reducedcostsby3%,onepercentmore thanplanned,andcontributedalmost$1millioninnetbenefits.
•Almosttwohundredengineerstooktheinnovationworkshop,whichcon-tributed to a 1% increase in Tier One workable concepts. Although thecorporatetargetof4%wasnotachieved,theworkshopcontributedhalfoftheactual2%increaseandgeneratedalmost$400,000innetbenefits.
•Morethan1,600employeesparticipatedinlearningtosupportfiveoftheremainingeight corporategoals.For thesefivegoals learning isbelievedtohavecontributed from20%to70%of thecorporateresult,generatingalmost$1millioninnetbenefits.
� The Business of Learning
In addition, the Corporate University staff achieved $100,000 in efficiencygainsbyconsolidatingvendors,standardizingRFPs,andreducingdevelopmenttime. Another $100,000 in opportunity costs were saved by substituting web-basedlearningforclassroominstructionwhereappropriate. The above results were accomplished without exceeding budget for 2010.Expensescameinat$52,000belowbudget,nearlyoffsettingthe$75,000shortfallinincome.Netincomewas$23,000or1%belowtheplan.
Strategic Alignment for 2011 Abusinessplanforlearningstartswiththestrategicalignmentoflearningtothecompany’shighestprioritygoals.Thisapproachensuresthattheinvestmentinlearningwillmakethegreatestpossiblecontributionto2011results. Theprocessofalignmentbeginswiththe2011corporategoalsandinputfromtheCEO.Itendswithspecificlearningprogramsalignedtosupportthecompa-ny’sobjectives.Figure1containsabriefdescriptionoftheprocess,whichstartedinAugustandconcludedwithapprovalbytheboardofgovernorsinDecember.
FIGURE 1
Description of the Strategic Alignment Process
• Interviewed CEO, group presidents, and members of the board of governors with regard to goals and priorities
• Discussed goals in detail with each sponsor and explored whether learning could contribute to achieving the goals
TABLE 4
Corporate University 2010 Financial Performance
Thousands of Dollars
2009 2010 2010 Variance Actual Plan Estimate $ %
Income $1,847 $2,250 $2,175 ($75) 3.3%
Expense $1,839 $2,250 $2,198 ($52) 2.3%
NetIncome $8 $0 ($23) ($23)
A Sample Business Plan for Learning �
• Compiled preliminary findings on goals, priorities, and the appropriateness and impact of learning and identified target areas for learning
• Held detailed discussions with targeted sponsors on potential learning programs, impact of learning, requirements, and costs
• Refined impact and cost estimates
• Finalized strategic alignment and shared it with the CEO and the board of governors for review; revised as necessary
TheresultsofthestrategicalignmentprocessareshowninFigure2andTable5onthefollowingpage.
FIGURE 2 Strategic Alignment of Learning to the Organization’s Goals
Summary Matrix
Learning programs for Customer Corporate Objectives Sales Design Safety Leadership Perf Mgt Product Purch. Skills Compliance
HighPriority Increasesales X X X Reducedefects X Reduceinjuries XMediumPriority Improveleadership X Increaseeeretention X Increase innovation Reducepurch.costs X Increase bench strengthLowPriority Open Beijing office Reducetechsupcomplaints X X Reducefraud&insider X tradingexposure
NOTE:Objectivesinitalicsnotaddressedbytrainingfornextyear.
�0 The Business of LearningTA
BLE
5 St
rate
gic
Alig
nmen
t of L
earn
ing
to O
rgan
izat
ion
Goa
ls
Ex
pecte
d %
Inclu
de
Uniqu
e Im
pact
on
In
Prio
rity
Corp
orat
e Obje
ctive
Ke
y Lea
rning
Prog
rams
Ta
rget
Audie
nce
Parti
cipan
ts Co
rp Ob
j Im
pact
of Le
arnin
g Sp
onso
r Pla
n ?
1
High
In
creas
esale
sby1
0%
Cons
ultat
ivese
llings
kills
(new
)M
arke
tinge
mplo
yees
10
0
Or
tega
Ye
s
Ne
wpr
oduc
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orm
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(rev
ised)
M
arke
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10
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To
talk
eypr
ogra
ms
10
050
%
5%hi
gher
sales
2
High
Re
duce
defec
tsby
20%
Fo
urD
esign
cour
ses(
3new
)Ne
w,ot
here
ngine
ers
200
70%
7%
redu
ct.in
defec
tsD’A
goto
Ye
s
3
High
Re
duce
Injur
iesby
25%
Fiv
eSafe
tyco
urse
s(3n
ew)
Man
ufac
t.as
socia
tes
2,500
Sw
ilthe
Ye
s
On
eSafe
tyco
urse
(rev
ised)
Fa
ctory
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rviso
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0
Tw
oSafe
tyco
urse
s(1n
ew)
Office
emplo
yees
50
0
3,100
60
%
15%
redu
ct.in
injur
ies
4
Med
ium
Impr
ovel
eade
rship
Intro
tosu
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ision
(rev
ised)
Ne
w,ot
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visor
s10
0
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ang
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ints
Lead
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urve
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(exis
ting)
De
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ation
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Esta
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asei
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urph
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asei
nter
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ench
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ne
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Dr
eise
No
stren
gthf
oroffi
cers
9
Low
Open
office
inBe
ijing
Orien
tatio
nNe
wem
ploye
es
25
Low
Note
ssent
ial
LiNo
10
Lo
wRe
duce
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ort
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ng(n
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ploye
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Salva
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ed)
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ploye
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ct.in
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A Sample Business Plan for Learning ��
Learninghasbeenidentifiedtosupportallthreehigh-prioritycorporategoalsandthreeofthefivemediumprioritygoals(seeTable5).Theexpectedimpactoncorporateobjectives for thisgroupranges froma lowof20% for increasedinnovation toahighof70%fora reduction indefects. Investment in learningis recommended to support all of these goals except a) innovation, where theexpected impact of learning (20%) is simply too low to justify the investmentthisyear,andb)increasingtheofficerbenchstrength,whichwillnotrequireanyformallearningnextyear. Inaddition,learningisrecommendedfortwolow-prioritygoals(reducetech-nicalsupportcomplaintsandcompliance)becauseof itsexpectedhigh impact(50%+)onachievingthosegoals.For2011learningisnotessentialtoopeningtheofficeinBeijing. Althoughtherewillbelearningthatisnotdirectlyinsupportoftheabovecorporategoals(learningforgoalsbelowthecorporatelevel,professionaldevel-opment, and personal growth), the priority for learning will be the learningalignedtothecorporategoals.
The 2011 Business Case for Learning Thebusinesscaseforlearningstartswiththestrategicalignmentprocessandaddsthecostsanddollarbenefitsoftherecommendedlearning.Costsareforecastforeachprogram,includingalldirectexternalcosts(forexample,contractven-dorsandroomrentalandfully-burdenedinternallaborratestodevelop,deliver,reinforce,andmanagetheprograms).Inadditiontothesebudgetcosts,opportu-nitycostsarecalculatedforeachprogramtocapture,ataminimum,thevalueoftheparticipants’time(usingtheirlaborandrelatedrate).Totalcostequalsbudgetplusopportunitycosts. Forthebusinesscase,dollarbenefitshavebeenforecast(whereappropriate)basedontheexpected impactof thecorporategoalonnet incomeandontheexpected impactof learningonachieving thecorporategoal.Forexample, thecorporategoalofa10%increaseinsalesisexpectedtohaveabottom-lineimpactof$3million.Learningprograms,properlyconceived,developed,deployed,andreinforced,areexpectedbythesponsorandbytheCorporateUniversitytocon-tributehalf(50%)ofthe10%increaseinsales.Inotherwords,learningisexpectedtodelivera5%increaseinsales,whichwouldbeworth$1.5milliontothebottomline.Wheretheimpactonnetincomewasnotavailableforacorporategoal,we
�� The Business of Learning
workedwiththesponsortoderiveaforecastofthedollarimpactofthelearningonnetincome. Thenetbenefitoflearningissimplythedollarimpactoflearning(like$1.5millionforthesalesexample)lessthetotalcostofthelearning.Forsales,thecostoflearningisforecasttobe$607,000($490,000inbudgetcostsplus$117,000inopportunitycosts), so thenetbenefitof sales-related learning is$893,000.Thebudget impactof learning is thedollar impact less just thebudgetcost.So forthesales-relatedlearningthebudgetimpactis$1.5million-$490,000or$1.010million.Thebudget impactwillalwaysbehigher since itdoesnot include theopportunitycosts. The2011businesscasefor learningisshowninTable6.Thedollar impactoflearningonnetincomeforthetopfivecorporategoalsisforecasttobe$7.8million.Subtractingthebudgetcostsof$2.39milliongeneratesabudgetimpactof$5.41million.Subtractingtheopportunitycostsof$2.46millionleavesanetbenefitof$2.95millionforareturnoninvestment(ROI)of61%. Learningfortheothercorporategoalsisexpectedtogenerateadollarimpactof$3.05millionforabudgetimpactof$1.81million.Aftersubtractingopportunitycosts,thenetbenefitoflearningisforecasttobe$1.03millionforanROIof51%. Thebusinesscasealsoincludesthecostandexpectedbenefitfortheunalignedlearning,althoughthedollarimpacthasbeenconservativelyforecasttojustoffsetthetotalcosts.Allothercostsnotbuiltintothefully-burdenedlaborrate(liketheofficeoftheCLOandthestaff,systems,andvendorsforsupportfunctionslikemeasurement,planning,andstrategy)areincludedasthelastlinewithnooffset-tingdollarimpacts. Intotal,the2011businesscaseforlearningshowsadollarimpactfromlearn-ingof$11.6million.This impactcanbeachieved throughthedevelopmentofthirty-eightnewcoursesandtherevisionoffiveexistingcourses,combinedwithsuccessfuldeploymenttomorethanthirty-onethousandparticipants,reachingallfivethousandemployees.Thebudgetcosttoachievethe$11.6milliondollarimpactis$4.5million,resultinginaplannedbudgetimpactof$7million.Sub-tractingopportunitycosts,thenetbenefitoflearningfor2010isconservativelyestimatedtobe$3.4millionforanROIofabout41%. Note:ThebusinesscaseinTable6representsonlytheCorporateUniversityinvestmentinlearning.Accordingly,thebudgetcostof$4.537millionmatchesthe$4.5millioninCorporateUniversityexpenditureinTable7(line1)andinTable11.
TABL
E 6
2011
Bus
ines
s Ca
se fo
r Lea
rnin
g
Th
ousan
ds of
Dolla
rs
Un
ique
Total
Expect
ed %
Dolla
r Impa
ct
Op
port-
Pa
rtici-
Parti
ci- Im
pact o
n Im
pact o
f of
Learni
ng on
Bu
dget
Budg
et un
ity
Net
Prior
ity
Corpo
rate O
bjecti
ve
Key L
earni
ng Pr
ogram
s Tar
get A
udien
ce pa
nts
pants
Cor
p Obj
Learni
ng
Net In
come
Cost
Impa
ct Cos
t Be
nefit
ROI
1
Increa
sesal
esby
10%
Co
nsult
ative
sellin
gskil
ls(ne
w)
Marke
tinge
mploy
ees
100
100
forPr
oduc
tA
Ten
NPIm
odule
s(10
new)
Ma
rketin
gemp
loyee
s10
01,0
00
To
talke
yprog
rams
10
01,1
00
50%
5%hi
gher
sales
$1,50
0$4
90
$1,01
0$1
17
$893
147
%
2Re
duce
defec
tsby
20%
Fo
urDe
signc
ourse
s(3n
ew)
New,
othe
reng
ineers
20
080
070
%14
%red
uct.i
ndefe
cts
$2,10
0$5
70
$1,53
0$5
12
$1,01
894
%
3
Redu
ceIn
juries
by25
%
FiveS
afety
cours
es(3
new)
Ma
nufac
t.asso
ciates
2,5
00
12,50
0
On
eSafe
tyco
urse(
revise
d)Fa
ctory
supe
rviso
rs10
010
0
Tw
oSafe
tyco
urses
(1ne
w)
Office
emplo
yees
500
1,000
To
talke
yprog
rams
3,1
00
13,60
060
%15
%red
uct.i
ninju
ries
$1,20
0$4
10
$790
$3
76
$415
53
%
4
Impro
vele
aders
hip
Int
roto
supe
rvisio
n(rev
ised)
New,
othe
rsup
erviso
rs10
010
0
score
by5
point
s
Lead
ership
form
anag
ers(n
ew)
Divisio
nman
agers
65
65
onem
ploye
esur
vey
Ad
vanc
edle
aders
hip(e
xistin
g)De
partm
enth
eads
15
15
Total
keyp
rogram
s
180
180
40%
2poin
tincre
ase
$1,20
0$5
82
$618
$3
02
$316
36
%
5
Increa
seret
entio
nby
Ind
ividu
alde
velop
ment
plans
All
emplo
yees
5,000
5,0
00
5p
oints
Pe
rform
ance
mgt
(new)
Mg
temp
loyee
s2,5
00
2,500
To
talke
yprog
rams
5,0
00
7,500
30
%1.5
point
incre
ase
$1,80
0$3
40
$1,46
0$1
,150
$310
21
%
Total
for T
op Fi
ve Pr
ioriti
es
Learn
ing fo
r Top
Five
Objec
tives
5,0
00
23,18
0
Rang
e = 30
%-70
% $7
,800
$2,39
2 $5
,408
$2,45
7 $2
,952
61%
Cours
es:2
0New
,2Re
vised
Total
for A
ll Oth
er Ob
jectiv
es
Learn
ing fo
r All O
ther
Objec
tives
1,9
50
4,725
Rang
e = 50
%-70
% $3
,050
$1,24
5 $1
,805
$778
$1
,028
51%
Cours
es:1
6New
,2Re
vised
Total
for A
ll Alig
ned L
earni
ng
5,0
00
27,90
5
Rang
e = 30
%-70
% $1
0,850
$3
,637
$7,21
3 $3
,234
$3,98
0 58
%
Co
urses:
36N
ew,4
Revis
ed
Unali
gned
Learn
ing
4,0
00
4,000
Assu
me Ne
t Ben
= 0
$700
$3
00
$400
$4
00
$0
0%
Co
urses:
2Ne
w,1
Revis
ed
Othe
rCos
ts(no
tinclu
dede
lsewh
ere)
NA
NA
NA
$600
($6
00)
$0
($600
)NA
Gran
d Tota
l
Gran
d Tota
l for A
ll Lea
rning
5,000
31
,905
Ra
nge =
30%-
70%
$11,5
50
$4,53
7 $7
,013
$3,63
4 $3
,380
41%
Cours
es: 38
New
, 5 Re
vised
�� The Business of Learning
Enterprise Learning Expenditures, Budgets, and Statistics Thissectionprovidesasummaryoflearningexpenditures,budgets,andkeystatisticsforboththeCorporateUniversityandtheenterprise.Itanswersthefol-lowingquestions:
•Howmuchisbeingspentonlearning?•Whatisitbeingspenton?•Howmanyresourcesarededicatedtolearning?•WhatistheCorporateUniversitybudgetfor2011?
How Much Is Being Spent on Learning? EnterprisespendingisshowninTable7.For2010thecompanyspent$5.4milliononlearning,notincludingopportunitycosts.Thatrepresentsa$325,000or6%increaseover2009.TheCorporateUniversityspent$3.8millionor70%ofthetotalwhilebusinessunitsspenttheremaining$1.6millionor30%.Halfofthebusinessunitspendingoccurredinmanufacturing,wheremostofthetechnicaltrainingtakesplace.Theotherhalfwasspreadfairlyevenlyovermarketing,IT,R&D,financeandaccounting,andpurchasing.
Thebusinessplanfor2011callsforenterprisespendingtoincrease13%or$700,000 to$6.1million.Allof the increase is forecast for theCorporateUni-versitytomeetthegoalsdescribedinthelastchapteranddeliveranadditional$800,000innetbenefits(aftercoveringtheadditional$700,000incosts).Withthisincrease,CorporateUniversityspendingwillconstitute74%ofthetotalcom-panyspendingonlearning.
TABLE 7
Enterprise Learning Expenditures for 2010 and 2011
(Millions of dollars)
2010 2009 Estimated % 2011 % Actual Actual of Total Plan of Total
CorporateUniversity $3.4 $3.8 70% $4.5 74%
BusinessUnits $1.7 $1.6 30% $1.6 26%
Total $5.1 $5.4 100% $6.1 100%
A Sample Business Plan for Learning ��
What Is It Being Spent On? For2010,morewasspentonmanufacturing($1.4millionor26%ofthetotal)thananyotherarea,reflectingthehighprioritygiventoreducingmanufactur-ingcosts.Thesecondlargestfocusareafor2010wasmarketing,where$540,000or10%ofthetotalwasinvested.Leadership,engineering,andcomplianceeachcomprised6–7%ofthetotal,withsafetyaccountingforabout4%. Table8showsspendingforallkeyfocusareasfor2010and2011aswellasother,generalandadministrative.“Other”representsthetechnicalskillsnotiden-tifiedspecificallyelsewhereinthetable.“General”referstolearninginsupportofemployees’generalskills,suchaswriting,speaking,language,teambuilding,andpersonalgrowth.“Administrative”referstolearningexpensesnototherwiseallocated,liketheofficeofCLOandLMSandmeasurementcosts.
Thecompositionofspendingshiftsnoticeablyfor2011,reflectingtheyear’sgoalsanddifferentpriorities.Thesharespentonmanufacturingdeclinesto13%whiletheshareforpurchasingincreasessubstantiallyby11%.Sharesforleader-ship, marketing, engineering, and safety all increase by 3–4 percentage points.
TABLE 8
Enterprise Expenditures by Area
2010 Est Actual 2011 Plan 2011 vs 2010
Thous $ % Thous $ % Thous $ Change in %
Leadership $324 6% $582 10% $258 80%
Marketing $540 10% $880 14% $340 63%
Engineering $324 6% $570 9% $246 76%
Safety $216 4% $410 7% $194 90%
Manufacturing $1,432 26% $800 13% -$632 -44%
Compliance $381 7% $230 4% -$151 -40%
Purchasing $115 2% $775 13% $660 574%
Other $656 12% $725 12% $69 11%
General $846 16% $515 8% -$331 -39%
Administrative $600 11% $600 10% $0 0%
Total $5,434 100% $6,087 100% $653 12%
�� The Business of Learning
Spending on general or unaligned learning declines significantly from 16% to8%asresourcesareredirectedtohigher-prioritygoals.Theadministrativesharedeclinesslightlyasthedollaramountremainsunchanged.
How Many Resources Are Dedicated to Learning? In 2010 twenty-six full-time employees, twelve part-time employees, andtwelve vendors were employed across the enterprise to develop, deliver, rein-force,andmanagethelearningtoover4,500employeesand19,000participants(Table9).For2011thenumberofemployeesandvendorsisforecasttoincreasetomeettheadditionaldemandforlearning.Theplancallsforonemorefull-timeemployee,sixmorepart-timeemployees,andtwoadditionalvendorstodelivertheadditional$700,000oflearning.
Table10providesdetailbytheCorporateUniversityandthebusinessunit.AlloftheincreaseinheadcountisplannedforbyCorporateUniversity,wheretheadditionalsixpart-timeemployeeswillhelpmeettheincreaseddemandfor2011butnotaddtothepermanentheadcount.CorporateUniversitywillalsomanagetheincreaseinvendors.
TABLE 9
Enterprise Learning Resources for 2010 and 2011
2010 Est Actual 2011 Plan 2011 vs 2010
Number Thous $ Number Thous $ Number Thous $
Employees
Fulltime 26 $1,622 27 $1,685 1 $62
Parttime 12 $250 18 $374 6 $125
Total 38 $1,872 45 $2,059 7 $187
ExternalResources 12 $1,978 14 $2,444 2 $466
Total 50 $3,850 59 $4,503 9 $653
A Sample Business Plan for Learning ��
What Is the Corporate University Budget for 2011? The Corporate University budget for 2011 is presented in Table 11. Bothincomeandexpenseareexpectedtobe$4.54millionsincetheuniversityisexpect-edtobreakeven.Incomeisprojectedtoincrease$769,000or20%assignificantlyhigherincomefromthebusinessunitsmorethanoffsetsaplanneddecreaseincorporatesupport.Externalsales(primarilylearningfordealersandjointventurepartners)alsoareforecasttoincrease,doublingto$200,000.
TABLE 10Corporate University and Business Unit Learning Resources
for 2010 and 2011
2010 Estimated Actual 2011 Plan
Corp Univ Bus Units Total Corp Univ Bus Units Total
Employees
Fulltime 20 6 26 21 6 27
Parttime 6 6 12 12 6 18
Total 26 12 38 33 12 45
ExternalResources 6 6 12 8 6 14
Total 32 18 50 41 18 59
�� The Business of Learning
Expensesarebudgetedtoincrease$747,000or20%,primarilyduetoa34%or$466,000increaseinspendingwithvendors.Thisreflectsthecorporateuniver-sityphilosophytooutsourcedevelopmentanddeliverywheneverfeasible,whichallowsuniversitystafftofocusonreinforcementandmanagementofthelearn-ing.Nonetheless, someadditional staffareneeded tomeet thehigherdemandandensure that theplanned impactof learningon thecorporategoals is real-ized.Consequently,laborandrelatedspendingisprojectedtoincreaseby15%or$206,000tofundoneadditionalfull-timeandsixpart-timepositionsaswellastoprovidefora4%meritpool.ThestaffingplanisshowninTable12andreflectsfouradditionalfull-timeequivalentsfor2011.
TABLE 11
2011 Corporate University Budget
2009 2010 % 2011 2011 vs 2010 Actual Estimate Change Plan $ %
Income
Corporate $1,400 $1,200 -14% $1,000 -$200 -17%
BusinessUnit $2,031 $2,465 21% $3,337 $872 35%
External $54 $103 91% $200 $97 94%
Total $3,485 $3,768 8% $4,537 $769 20%
Expense
Labor&Related $1,235 $1,354 10% $1,560 $206 15%
IM&E
Vendors $1,287 $1,376 7% $1,842 $466 34%
Other $615 $704 14% $685 -$19 -3%
Total $1,902 $2,080 9% $2,477 $397 19%
InternalCharges $323 $356 10% $450 $94 26%
Total $3,460 $3,790 10% $4,537 $747 20%
NetIncome $25 -$22 $0 $22
A Sample Business Plan for Learning ��
Detailed Work Plan for 2011Learning Aligned to Corporate GoalsSales Theplanistodeployoneconsultativesellingskillsclass(ILT)andtenNPImodules(WBT)toatotalofonehundreduniqueparticipantsinsupportofthecorporategoaltoincreasesalesby10%.VPOrtega,thecorporatesponsor,andthecorporateuniversityagreethatthislearning,properlydeveloped,deployed,andreinforced,shouldhaveasignificantimpact(50%)onachievingthe10%goal.Inotherwords,thesales-relatedtraininghasthepotentialtoincreasesalesby5%.
Consultative Selling Skills Workingwithavendor,developatwo-dayinstructor-ledcoursetosignificantlyimprove the consultative selling skill competencies of the primary sales force toenablehigherclosurerates,higherpricerealization,abettersalesexperienceforthe
TABLE 12
2011 Corporate University Staffing Plan
2010 2010 2011 Plan 31-Dec Plan
Full-timeAssociates 20 20 21
Part-timeAssociates 8 6 12
[Full-timeequivalents] [4] [3] [6]
Total 28 26 33
[Full-timeequivalents] [24] [23] [27]
�0 The Business of Learning
customer,andincreasedcustomerloyalty.Thiswillbeanewofferingandwillusethecompetenciesandproficiencylevelsalreadyinplaceformarketing. ThetargetaudiencewillbetheonehundredprimarysalesassociatesselectedbyVPOrtega.DevelopmentwillbecompletedbyMarch31.Input,review,andapprovalarerequiredfromVPOrtegaandseniorsalesleaders.Deploymentwillbedoneinfourclasseswithabouttwenty-fiveineachatheadquartersinApril.VPOrtegawilldevelopareinforcementplan,includingincentivestouseconsul-tativesellingskills.
New Product Introduction (NPI) Workingwithavendorandrelyingheavilyonsubjectmatterexpertsinmar-ketingandmanufacturing,developtenone-houronlinemodulestoincreasetheknowledgeoftheprimarysalesforceaboutthefeatures,benefits,andcompeti-tiveadvantagesofthetennewproductsintroducedoverthelastyearorcomingthisnextyear.Thesewillbenewofferings.(Aone-day,instructor-ledcoursewasdevelopedthreeyearsagowiththesamepurpose,butthematerialanddeliverymodearebothoutdated.) Targetaudiencewillbethesameonehundredprimarysalesassociates.Devel-opmentwillbecompletedbyApril30ifsubjectmatterexpertsmaketheirtimeandexpertiseavailabletothedevelopmentteam.ReviewandapprovalarerequiredfromVPOrtegaandseniorsalesleaders.Thetenmoduleswillbeavailableonthecorporateuniversity learningmanagementsystem(LMS),andprogresswillbetrackedandreportedtoVPOrtegaonaweeklybasis,beginninginMay.Comple-tionofalltenmodulesisexpectedbyMay31.Eachmodulewillcontainanonlinetest,andascoreof85%isrequiredforsuccessfulcompletion.
Quality The plan calls for the deployment of four design courses for two hundreddesignengineerstoreducedefectsinthedesignanddrawingsfornewproductsandcomponents.This shouldmakea significantcontribution to thecorporategoalofreducingdefectsby20%.Infact,VPD’Agotoandthecorporateuniversitybelievethatthislearning,properlydeliveredandreinforced,hasthepotentialtoreducedefectsby14%(inotherwords,a70%impactonthecorporategoal).
Design Courses Fourdesigncoursesareplanned.Onecurrentlyexistsandisinuse.Theoth-erthreewillbedevelopedworkingwithavendorandseniordesignengineers.
A Sample Business Plan for Learning ��
Each will be a two-day instructor-led course designed to teach and reinforcebest-in-classdesignmethods topreventdesigndefectsandsupportdefect-freemanufacturing.Eachcoursewill incorporateexamplesofactualdesigndefectsandvisitstothefactoryfloor.Thetargetaudienceoftwohundredconsistsofnew-lyhiredengineersandjuniorengineersaswellasotherschosenbyVPD’Agoto.Eachengineerwilltakeallfourcourses.DevelopmentofthethreenewcourseswillbecompletedbyApril30.CompletionofallfourcoursesisexpectedbyJuly31.Atestwillbeadministeredattheendofeachcourse,andapassingscoreof90%willberequired.BiweeklyprogressreportswillbeprovidedtoVPD’Agoto.
Safety Theplancallsfordeployingeightsafetycoursesreaching3,100uniquepar-ticipantsinsupportofthecorporategoaltoreduceworkplaceinjuriesby25%.Thecorporatesponsor,VPSwilthe,andthecorporateuniversityagreethattheplanned learningcoupledwith strongreinforcement should reduce injuriesby15%thisyear.
Courses for Manufacturing Associates Fiveone-houronlinemodulesareplannedforall2,500manufacturingasso-ciates. With the assistance of a vendor, plant supervisors, and subject matterexperts,thethreenewmodulesshouldbedevelopedbyFebruary28.Twomod-ulesarealreadylive.Thefivemoduleswillcoverinjuriestothehand,foot,back,andhead,aswellaswholebodyinjuries.TimewillbemadeavailableatworktotakeallfivemodulesbyApril30andwillinvolvesomeovertime.Modulesmayalsobetakenfromhomebyaccessingthecorporateleaningmanagementsystem.Thesuccessfulcompletionofeachmodulerequiresascoreof80%.
Course for Factory Supervisors Anexistingcoursewillberevisedfortheonehundredfactorysupervisorstoimprovetheircompetencyinmanagingforsafety,includingidentifyingsafetyrisks,providing reinforcement, and being an effective sponsor and change agent. Theone-dayinstructor-ledcoursewithroleplayingwillbeavailableonFebruary1andwillbeofferedseventimesinFebruary.VPSwilthehasrequiredallsupervisorstocompleteitbytheendofFebruary.Weeklyprogressreportswillbeprovided.
Courses for Office Employees Twonewone-houronlinesafetycourseswillbepurchasedforofficeemployees.Thegoalistoincreaseawarenessofsafetyissuesandtoteachemployeestoavoid
�� The Business of Learning
accidentsandinjuries.ThetwocourseswillbeavailableonFebruary15withcom-pletionexpectedbyApril15.Successfulcompletionrequiresapassinggradeof90%onthetestattheendofeachmodule.ThetargetaudienceconsistsoffivehundredofficeemployeesidentifiedbyVPSwilthewhohavenottakenofficesafetyinthelasttwoyearsorwhoworkinareaswithhighinjuryrates.VPSwilthewillsendamemotoemployeesandtheirbosses.Progresswillbetrackedbiweekly.
Leadership The2011planincludesafocusonall levelsof leadershipinsupportofthecorporategoaltoimproveoverallleadershipandspecificallytoincreasethelead-ershipscoreonthesemi-annualemployeeopinionsurveybyfivepoints.ThethreeleadershipprogramsareexpectedbyHRVPWangandthecorporateuniversitytocontribute40%ortwopointsofthefive-pointincrease.
Course for Supervisors Theexistingfive-dayinstructor-ledcoursewillbedeployedtoonehundrednewandexistingsupervisorstosharethecorporateleadershipphilosophy,frame-work,andcompetenciesandtoexplorepracticalissuesofleadership.Sincethisisthefirsttimemanyparticipantswillhavehadleadershipresponsibilities,thecourse will include a significant amount of role-playing and group discussion.Moreseniorleadersalsowillserveasteachers.Sincethiscoursewasnotofferedlastyear,allnewsupervisorsoverthelastyearandthecomingyeararerequiredtotakethecourse.Inaddition,fortyothersupervisorswithfewerthanfiveyearsofexperienceareexpectedtotakeitvoluntarilyorattherequestoftheirman-ager.Thecourseisofferedatheadquarterseverymonth.ExistingsupervisorsareexpectedtotakeitbyMarch31andnewsupervisorswithinsixtydays.Corporateuniversitystaffwillprovidereinforcementideas.
Course for Division Managers A new two-day course is planned for division managers to increase theirproficiency in leading and managing leaders. The course will be developed inconjunctionwithavendorandwillexploretheleadershipframeworkinmuchgreaterdetail,includinga360-degreeassessmentandfollow-upactionplanforcontinuous improvement.Allsixty-fivedivisionmanagersareexpectedtotakethecourse,whichwillbeavailableinMay.ThecoursewillbeofferedeachmonththroughNovember.Corporateuniversitystaffwillworkwiththedivisionmanag-ersandtheirbossesonreinforcement.
A Sample Business Plan for Learning ��
Course for Department Heads A new two-day instructor-led course is planned for all fifteen departmentheads to provide advanced leadership education with an emphasis on strate-gic planning, leading large-scale change, and increasing effectiveness of yourdepartment.Companyofficerswilldomuchof the teaching,and therewillbeasignificantuseofsimulationandrole-playing.Thecoursewillbedevelopedinconjunctionwithauniversitypartnerandwithsignificantinputfromtheexecu-tiveoffice.ItwillbeofferedonceinJulyatacorporateretreat.
Employee Retention Two important initiativesareplanned in response to thecorporategoal toincreaseemployeeretentionbyfivepointsandinresponsetotheresultsoftheemployee opinion survey last year on employee engagement and learning anddevelopment.Thesetwoinitiativesareexpectedbythesponsor,VPDreise,andbythecorporateuniversitytoincreaseretentionby1.5pointsor30%ofthe5.0-pointgoal.
Individual Development Plans Thefirstinitiativeisnotformallearning.Sincefewemployeescurrentlyhavean individual development plan (IDP) and since the employee opinion surveyshowstheimportanceofdevelopmentandspecificallyhavingaplanfordevel-opment,the2011plancallsforthecreationofanIDPforeachemployeebytheend of the year. The IDP will include formal and informal learning as well asdevelopmental assignments, reading, serving on committees, and professionalassociationinvolvement.TheIDPwillincludedevelopmentforhigherproficiencyonthecurrentjobaswellaspreparationforpossiblenextpositions.Thecorpo-rateuniversitywillcreatethetemplatefortheIDPonthelearningmanagementsystemandpre-populateallrelevantsections.VPDreiseandcorporateuniversitystaff will create a change management plan and work closely with all levels ofleadershiptoprovideguidelinesandfacilitatethediscussionbetweenemployeeandsupervisor.Progresswillbetrackedmonthly.ByDecember31allemployees(expectedtobefivethousand)shouldhaveaplaninplaceandatleastonedevel-opmentdiscussionwiththeirbosses.
Performance Management Thesecondinitiativetoincreaseemployeeengagementandretentionistofocusonperformancemanagement.Thetargetaudiencefor2011isall2,500manage-
�� The Business of Learning
mentemployees,includingassociatesandleaders.Anewone-day,instructor-ledcourse is planned, which will include group discussion and role-playing. Eachclassisexpectedtoincludeassociatesandleaders.Topicstobecoveredincludegoal-setting, performance reviews, the evaluation process, feedback, listening,andconflictresolution.Thecoursewillbedevelopedinconjunctionwithcorpo-rateHRandavendorandwillbereadybyMay31.PilotclasseswillbeconductedinJune,withthefinalclassreadyinJuly.ClasseswillbeofferedeverymonthinmultiplelocationsthroughOctober.Monthlyprogressreportswillbepreparedfor all leaders. VP Dreise and corporate university staff will share the changemanagementplaninFebruaryandwillfollow-upwithreinforcementtoolsandsuggestions.
Purchasing Fivenewpurchasingclassesareplannedinsupportofthecorporategoaltoreducepurchasecostsby5%.Corporatesponsor,VPMurphy,andthecorporateuniversityagreethatthesefivenewcourses,properlydeveloped,deployed,andreinforcedshouldreducepurchasecostsby3%.Inotherwords,learninghasthepotentialtocontribute60%oftheplannedreductioninpurchasecosts.
Courses for Purchasing Since most of the experienced purchasing professionals retired years ago,theplancallsfordevelopmentoffivetwo-day,instructor-ledcoursesforthetwohundredpurchasingprofessionals to increasetheirproficiency inallaspectsofpurchasing.Thecourseswillbedevelopedinconjunctionwithavendor,seniorpurchasingmanagers,andin-housesubjectmatterexperts.Thefivecourseswillbesequential,beginningwithbasicsthatapplyacrosstheindustryandfinishingwithadvancedtopicsforourcompany.ThefirstcoursewillbereadyinFebruary,thesecondinMarch,thethirdinApril,thefourthinJune,andthefifthinSeptem-ber.Apassingscoreof85%willberequiredforsuccessfulcompletion.Eachclasswillbeofferedtentimesoverthethreemonthsfollowingrollout,andemployeesareexpectedtocompletetheclassbythattime.Progresswillbetrackedmonthly.Therewillbeonesetofmake-upclassesatyear’sendforemployeeshiredduringtheyear.VPMurphywillworkcloselywithhisleaderstoensuretimelycomple-tionbyallparticipants.
A Sample Business Plan for Learning ��
Technical Support Twocoursesareplannedinsupportofthecorporategoaltoreducetechnicalsupportcomplaintsby30%.Needsanalysisrevealsthatthecurrenthighlevelofcomplaintsisduetoalackofproductknowledgeandcustomerrelationshipskillsonthepartofthecallcenteremployees.Thecorporatesponsor,VPSalvatore,andthecorporateuniversitybelievethateffectivelearningtoaddressthesetwoissuescombinedwitheffectiveandmeaningfulreinforcementcanreducecomplaintsby15%orhalfofthecorporategoalof30%.
Product Training Tennewone-houronlinemodulesareplannedtoprovidecallcenteremploy-ees the product knowledge they need to address technical support issues andcomplaintsmoreeffectively.Thetenmoduleswillbedevelopedinconjunctionwithavendor,seniorcallcentermanagers,andsubjectmatterexperts.ThefirsttwomoduleswillbeonlinebyFebruary28,thenextfourbyMarch31,andthefinalfourbyApril30.Thetargetaudienceisallfiftycallcenteremployees,whoareexpectedtocompletethemodulesinthemonththeycomeonline.Ascoreof85%ontheintegratedonlinetestwillberequiredforsuccessfulcompletion.Monthlyprogressreportswillbeprovided.
Customer Relationship Skills Anexistingcustomerrelationshipskillscoursewillbeupdatedandrevisedforthetwenty-fivecallcenteremployeeslessthantwoyearsonthejobwhohavenotcompletedthistypeoftrainingpreviously.Thetwo-day,instructor-ledcoursewillcontainasignificantamountofrole-playingandsimulation.Thecoursewillbe ready for deployment in March and will be offered off shift (paid) in threeclasses(oneinMarchandtwoinApril).Alltwenty-fiveparticipantsareexpectedtocompletethecoursebytheendofApril.
Compliance Learning Two courses are planned to address the corporate objective of reducingexposuretofraudandinsidertrading.Althoughdifficulttomeasure,thespon-sor,DirectorOmwetti,believesthatlearningwillbethemostimportantfactorinmeetingthisgoalandwillcontributeatleast70%ofthereductioninexposure.
Course on Fraud Onenewone-houronlinecourseisplannedforselectmanagementemployeestoincreasetheirunderstandingandawarenessoffraudanditspotentialimpact
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onthecompany.Thecoursewillalsoteachemployeeshowtorecognizepoten-tialfraudulentactivityandwhatactionstotake.Thecoursewillbedevelopedinconjunctionwithavendor,internalsubjectmatterexperts,internalsecurity,andmembersof theethicscommittee. Itwillbeavailable in June.Thetargetaudi-enceis1,700managementemployeesindepartmentsandpositionsselectedbyDirectorOmwettiasbeingmostatrisk.DirectorOmwettiwillprovideinitialandongoingcommunication.CompletionisexpectedbySeptember30andrequiresascoreof90%ontheintegratedtest.Monthlyprogressreportswillbeprovidedtothedirectorandallaffecteddepartmentheads.
Course on Insider Trading Oneexistingone-houronlinecoursewillbedeployedforselectmanagementemployeestoincreasetheirunderstandingofinsidertrading.Thecoursealsowillcoverthepotentialcriminalandcivilpenaltiesthatmayaccruetothemandtothecompanyforengagingininsidertrading.Thecourseisalreadyonline,andDirectorOmwettiwilllaunchthe2011compliancecampaignwiththiscourseinFebruary.Thetargetaudienceis1,500managementemployeesinselectdepart-mentsandpositions.CompletionisexpectedbyApril30.Ascoreof90%ontheintegrated test is required for successful completion.Monthlyprogress reportswillbeprovidedtothedirectorandallaffecteddepartmentheads.
Unaligned Learning Theplanalso includes thedevelopmentof twonewinstructor-ledcourses,revision of one existing instructor-led course, and the annual review of usage,feedback,andeffectiveness forallothercourses.ThetwonewcoursesareCom-municationintheWeb2.0AgeandManagingYourCareer.BothcourseswillbeavailableMarch1.Theprojectmanagementcoursewillberevisedandreducedinlengthfromfivedaystothreedays.TherevisedcoursewillbeavailableOctober1. Theannualreviewincludesbothinstructor-ledandweb-basedcourses.Par-ticularattentionwillbepaidtothelibraryoftwohundredonlinecoursesprovidedbyourvendor.Since20%ofthecoursesmaybechangedeveryquarter,frequentreviewsarenecessarytoensureall thecoursesrepresentthebestvalueforourinvestment.
A Sample Business Plan for Learning ��
Evaluation Strategy Evaluationisakeycomponentofourstrategytorunlearninglikeabusiness.Our evaluation strategy is designed to manage the function for results and toidentifyopportunitiesforcontinuousimprovement.Onlyarigorousanddisci-plinedstrategywillensurethatwedeliverthepromisedresultsandthemaximumreturnonthecorporateinvestmentinlearning. Followingisourevaluationstrategyfor2011.Itrepresentsthenextstepalongourpath tobecomeaworld-classcorporateuniversityby fully integratingourLMSwiththecapabilitiesofourmeasurementpartnerstoautomatethecollec-tionandanalysisofdata.Thiswillallowustogatherandanalyzemoredatamuchmoreefficientlyandeffectivelywithnoadditionalstaff. The discussion is organized by the six levels of measurement commonlyemployedinthelearningfield,progressingfromthemoststraightforwardtothemostcomplex.
Level 0: Volume or Activity Measures Dataonthenumberofuniqueandtotalparticipantsarecollectedforeverycourse.Completionsarealsotracked.Forinformallearning,wetrackparticipa-tion inourcommunitiesofpractice, thementoringprograms, andourvirtualbooksprogram. Allcostsofdevelopmentanddeliveryare trackedandcompared to indus-trybenchmarks.Thedurationofthedevelopmentisalsotrackedandcomparedtobenchmarks.Actualcompletiondatesfordevelopmentanddeliveryarealsotrackedandcomparedtoplanneddates.LMSuptime,thenumberofcomplaints,andthespeedofcomplaintresolutionaretracked.
Level 1: Satisfaction or Initial Reaction Level1measuresarecollectedforeverycoursetoanswerthefollowingtypesofquestions:
•Wasthelearningrelevanttoyourwork?•Canyouapplywhatyoulearnedtoyourjob?•Howlikelyareyoutoapplywhatyoulearnedtoyourjob?•Wouldyourecommendthiscoursetoothers?
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•Howwouldyouratetheinstructor?•Werethematerialshelpful?•Wasthelengthoftheclassappropriate?•Howwouldyourateyouroverallsatisfactionwiththecourse?
Thisisaccomplishedelectronicallyviaasurveyattheconclusionofanonlinecourseandwithintwodaysforaninstructor-ledcourse.WeemploytheMetricsThatMatterprogramfromourpartnerKnowledgeAdvisorstogather,compile,andparsethedata.Randomsamplesareusedinmanycasesforestablishedcoursestolessenthesurveyburdenonparticipants.Surveysaredesignedtobecompletedinlessthanthreeminutesandaremanagedinternallyandinanongoingbasisthroughouttheyear,withreal-timereporting.Resultsareusedtoidentifycoursecontent thatneeds tobereworkedand instructorswhoneed tobecoachedorreplaced.Summaryresultsarecapturedinmonthlyscorecards,withdetailsavail-ableonline.
Level 2: Knowledge or Skill Acquisition Atestofknowledgeisappropriateforabout50%ofourcourses.Manytimes,thesponsorwantstoensurethattheparticipantshaveafirmgraspofthesubjectmatterandhaveestablishedaminimumpassingscore.Thisisespeciallytrueforonlinecoursesandcompliance-relatedcoursesforwhichapermanentrecordofsuccessfulcompletionisimportant.Thesponsorandsubjectmatterexpertassistindevelopingthetest,approvethefinalversion,settheminimumpassingscore,anddeterminethenumberofunsuccessfulattemptsallowed. Level2knowledgechecksareplannedforthefollowingcourses:NewProd-uct Introduction,Design,Safety,Purchasing,ProductTraining,andFraudandInsider Trading. The checks are managed internally and on an ongoing basisthroughouttheyear,withreal-timereporting.Summaryresultsarecapturedinmonthlyscorecards,withdetailsavailableonline.
Level 3: Application Applicationofthenewknowledgeandskillsiscriticaliflearningisgoingtoachievetheintendedimpactoncorporateresults.Learningprofessionalsdesignlearning to maximize its application, but the sponsor is ultimately responsible
A Sample Business Plan for Learning ��
fortherequiredchangemanagement,incentives,andreinforcementtoensureitsapplication. Thelevel1surveyprovidesdataontheintent toapplythelearning.Level3followsupwithparticipantsthreetosixmonthslatertodeterminewhethertheyhave,infact, appliedit.Thisisdonethroughasurvey,phoneconversation,orfocusgroupwitharandomsampleofparticipants.Sinceitistimeconsumingandmoreexpensivethanlevels0–2,itisnotconductedeveryyearforeverycourse.Throughtime,though,level3willbedoneonallkeyprograms. Level3datawillbecollectedinthesecondhalfof2011byaspecializedcon-sultantforthefollowingcourses:ConsultativeSellingSkills,Quality,Leadership(DivisionManagersandDepartmentHeads),andPurchasing.Resultswillbeusedtomakechangestothecoursecontent,delivery,changemanagement,incentives,orreinforcement.
Levels 4 and 5: Impact and ROI Levels4and5measurethebottom-lineimpactofthelearning.Inmostcas-es,a forecasthasbeenmadeof theexpected impactandROI.Now, theactualimpactandROIwillbedetermined.Likelevel3,thisisresourceintensiveandspecialized,soaconsultantwillbeemployedtoconductalevel4and5evaluationontwohigh-priorityprograms(ConsultativeSellingSkillsandDesignforengi-neers),usingrandomlyselectedsamplesand/orcontrolgroups.Thestudyistobeconductedinthethirdquarter,withresultsavailablebyOctober31tobeincor-poratedinnextyear’sbusinessplanning.Resultsalsomayindicatethatchangesneedtobemadetothecoursecontentordelivery,changemanagement,incen-tives,orreinforcement.Disappointingresultsmayalsoindicateamisdiagnosisoftheunderlyingissues,leadingtoathoroughreexaminationoftheperformanceissueandneedsanalysis.
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Communication Strategy Goodcommunicationiscriticaltooursuccess.ThecommunicationstrategydescribeshowweplantointeractwiththeBoardofGovernors,sponsors,officers,employees,thelearningcommunity,andourpartners.
Board of Governors CorporateUniversityseniorleadershipwillmeetwiththeBoardofGovernorsquarterly to shareprogress, review thescorecard, solicit feedbackandcounsel,andsecureboardapprovalforkeyitems.Anin-depthpresentationononetopicwillalsobemadeateachboardmeeting.Wewillprovideadvancematerialstotheboard.Eachgovernorwillreceiveacopyoftheannualbusinessplanforlearning.
Sponsors CorporateUniversityleadersmeetwithgoalsponsorsseveraltimesduringthebusinessplanningprocess tosecureagreementonprograms, targetaudi-ences,timelines,expectedimpact,reinforcement,androlesandresponsibilities.Theprogrammanagerwillcontinuetomeetwiththesponsorthroughouttheyear.TheCLOwillmeetwiththesponsorforamidyearreviewandawrap-upreview. The sponsor will be asked for formal feedback twice a year through ashortsurvey.
Officers TheCLOwillvisitallofficerswhoarenotsponsorssemi-annuallytoupdatethemonprogressandissuesandtounderstandtheirissuesandconcernsbetter.Eachofficerwillreceiveacopyoftheannualbusinessplanforlearning.
Employees in the Corporate University TheCLOandsenior leadershipwill communicatewithuniversityemploy-eesformallyonamonthlybasisthroughtownhallmeetings,whichwillincludeprogressupdates,scorecardreviews,upcomingspecialevents,topicsofgeneralinterest,andquestion-and-answersessions.Eachleaderwillalsoholdweeklyormonthlystaffmeetingswiththeirdirectreports.Inaddition,alluniversityleaderswillmeetmonthlyforlunchtodiscussleadershipissues.AninternalFacebookisalsoplannedfor2011.
A Sample Business Plan for Learning ��
Informal communication and performance feedback are encouraged on areal-timebasis.Formalperformancereviewsareconductedquarterly. TheCorporateUniversitywebsiteprovidesanotheravenueforcommunica-tion.Thecalendarofeventswillbeupdatedinrealtime,andnewarticleswillbepublishedmonthly.Theannualbusinessplanforlearningwillbeprovidedtoallleadersandwillbeavailabletoanyemployeewhorequestsit.
Employees Outside the University TheCLOandsenioruniversityleadershipwillcommunicatewithallemploy-eesthroughperiodicpostingsandarticlesonthecorporatewebsiteandrealtimethrough the corporate Facebook. The corporate LMS also provides a mediumforshortmessagestoemployees.TheCLOandsenioruniversityleaderswillalsomakenumerouspresentationstoemployeegroupsthroughouttheyear.
The Learning Community TheCLOandsenioruniversityleadershipwillmeetwiththeleadersintheenterprise learning community, including those not directly reporting to theCorporate University, via teleconference on a monthly basis. This affords anopportunitytoupdatetheentirecommunityonlearninginitiatives,issues,bud-gets,andchallenges.Italsoprovidesanopportunitytoheardirectlyfromothersintheenterpriseinvolvedinlearningandtosharesuccessfulpractices.TheCLOwillmeet individuallyat leastsemi-annuallywithlearningleaderswhoarenotpartoftheCorporateUniversity.TheCorporateUniversitywebsitealsoservesasaresourcefortheenterpriselearningcommunity.Eachleaderoutsidetheuniver-sitywillreceivetheannualbusinessplanforlearning.
Partners Since the Corporate University relies on many partners for development,delivery,andmeasurement,it isimportanttokeeptheminformedaswell.TheCLOorothersenioruniversityleaderswillmeetatleasttwiceperyearwithallkeypartnerstodiscusstherelationshipandlookforwaystoimproveit.StrategicpartnerswillbeinvitedtothePartnerSymposiuminthefall,wheretheemerg-ingneedsforthenextyearwillbediscussedalongwiththeoverallbusinessandplanningclimate.Partnerswillbeaskedtoprovideformalfeedbacktwiceperyearwiththegoalofimprovingthepartnership.
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Outside the Company There is also value in communicating outside the company to build thebrand and make the company more attractive for prospective employees andpartners.Towardthisend,leadersandemployeesareencouragedtoparticipatein professional learning organizations like ASTD, to attend and participate inindustryconferences likeASTD’sInternationalConference&Exposition,CLOSymposiums, Bersin & Associates Impact Conferences, Knowledge AdvisorsConferences,andothers,andtowritearticlesforlearningpublications.Inordertolearnmoreaboutbestpracticesandtoimprovecontinuously,itisourgoalin2011tocompeteintwoawardcompetitionsinthelearningfield.
Continuous Improvement Strategy Our vision to be a world-class corporate university can only be achievedthroughcontinuousimprovement.Wehavebeenworkingonanumberofinitia-tivestomoveusclosertothatgoal. For2010wefocusedonthesystemsandchangemanagementthatwouldberequired for each employee to have an Individual Development Plan (IDP) intheLMSin2011.Thisrequiredvarioussystemenhancementsandatremendousamountofintegrationtoallowforautomatedinputstothatplanfromcorporate(requirements to take compliance-related courses, for example), from disciplineleaders(accountingrequirementsfromtheCFO),frombusinessunitleaders,andfromthesupervisor.ThesystemisnowreadytobelaunchedonJanuary1st,althougha tremendousamountofchangemanagementwill stillberequired toensureallemployeesareusingthesystemandmeetingfrequentlywiththeirsupervisors. Inthesecondhalfof2011,anotherLMSsystemupgradeisplannedtotakeadvantage of the latest version offered by our vendor. The release of V12.4 isexpectedinJanuary,butwehavechosentowaituntilthesecondhalfoftheyeartobesurethenewversionisstableandtoavoidaconflictwiththeIDProllout.ThisnewversionwillsupporttwomorelanguagesandwillmeettheupcomingEuropeanUnionprivacyrequirementsaswellasoffergreaterspeedforintegratedplatformssuchasours. In 2011 we will introduce a new platform for knowledge sharing that willsupportmorecommunitiesofpracticewithgreatersearchfunctionalitybyareaof interestandexpertise.Theplatformalsosupportsmuchmorerobustreport
A Sample Business Plan for Learning ��
generation.Anewsynchronouslearningplatformisalsoplannedforthefourthquartertosupportourfastestgrowingmedium.Thiswillalloweachparticipanttoseeallotherparticipantsandwillsupportvirtualbreakouts. Lastly,basedonfeedbackandfocusgroupslastyear,weplantomodifyoursponsorandpartnersurveystoelicittheiractionablefeedbackmorereadilysothatwecandoourpartinimprovingtheserelationships.
History SignificantprogresshasbeenmadesincetheCorporateUniversitywasfound-edfiveyearsago.Abriefhistoryhighlightsthemostimportantdevelopmentsandmilestones.
Corporate University founded January 1, 2006•CEOStrathamestablishestheCorporateUniversitytoprovideenterpriseleader-
ship to learning, toensure that learning isalignedwith thecompany’shighestpriorities,toincreasetheimpactoflearninganditsreturnoninvestment,andtocapturesynergiesthroughcentralizedleadership.
•The university absorbs predecessor organization and two other learning func-tions.
•TheBoardofGovernorsisestablishedwiththeCEOasamember.•Thefirstthreecollegesareestablished:business,engineering,andleadership.•Thefirstenterprise-widelearningleaders’conferenceisheld.•TheCorporateUniversitybenchmarksbestinclasscorporateuniversities.•Atyear’send,staffsizewasthirteen,andannualexpenditureswere$1.8million.•Uniqueparticipantstotal3,589andtotalparticipants12,369.
2007: Second Year•CorporateLMSisupgradedandextendedto70%oftheenterprise.•TheCollegeofMarketingisadded.•Thefirstbusinessplanforlearningiscompleted.•TheBoardofGovernorsapprovesthelong-termstrategy.•Twomorelearningorganizationsareintegrated.•Theimplementationofbestpracticesfrombenchmarkingbegins.•Atyear’send,staffsizewasseventeen(nineteenFTE),andannualexpenditures
totaled$2.6million.•Uniqueparticipantsstandat3,974,withtotalparticipantsat15,897.
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2008: Third Year•CorporateUniversitydoesitsparttoreduceexpensesinresponsetotheglobal
recession.Spendingiscutby15%,threepositionsareleftunfilled,andtheuseofpartnersisscaledback.
•ThefirstspecialmeetingoftheBoardofGovernorstoreprioritizeandapprovespendingcutsisheld.
•TheremainingbusinessunitlearningorganizationsareintegratedintotheCor-porateUniversity.
•Onlinelearninggrowsrapidlyasinstructor-ledofferingsarecurtailedbecauseoftherecession.
•CorporateUniversityprovidesleadershipforknowledgesharing,usingcommu-nitiesofpractice.
•TheLearningCouncilisestablished.•Thefirstentriesinnationalandinternationalawardcompetitionsforlearningare
submitted.•CorporateLMSreaches80%oftheenterprise.•Atyear’send,staffsizewasseventeenFT(alsoseventeenFTE)andannualexpen-
ditureswere$2.3million.•Uniqueparticipantsstandat3,789,withtotalparticipantsat14,985.
2009: Fourth Year•CorporateUniversity iswellpositionedtorespondtotheeconomicupturnby
scalinguptheuseofpartners,rehiredretirees,andpart-timeemployees.•Allcollegesaregrowing.•Thefirstbenchmarkingofouruniversitybyothersoccurs.•Corporate University receives internal recognition from the CEO for being a
well-run,strategicpartnerinthecompany’ssuccess.•CorporateUniversityreceivesrecognitionfromASTD,IQPC,andChief Learning
Officermagazineforstrategicalignment,measurement,andspecificprograms.TheuniversityisnamedoneoftheonehundredbestcorporateuniversitiesbyASTDandTrainingmagazine.
•TheBoardofGovernorsapprovesastrategyfortheuniversitytobecomeacon-tinuallearningorganization.
•CorporateLMSreaches90%oftheenterprise.•Atyear’send,staffsizewaseighteenFT(twenty-oneFTE),andannualexpendi-
tureswere$3million.•Uniqueparticipantsstandat4,233,withtotalparticipantsat17,895.
A Sample Business Plan for Learning ��
2010: Fifth Year•TheCollegeofManufacturing(technicalskillsandsafety)issplitfromtheCollege
ofEngineering(design,engineeringskills,quality)foratotaloffivecolleges.•Growthacceleratesacrossallcollegesinresponsetosignificantincreasesinsales,
newhires,andexpansionsintonewlinesofbusiness.•BoardofGovernormeetingsareextendedtothreehours.•CorporateUniversitywinsfirstandsecondplaceawardsfromCorporateUniver-
sityXchangeandCLOmagazine.•CorporateLMSreaches97%oftheenterprise.•Atyear’send,staffsizewastwentyFT(23FTE),andannualexpenditureswere
$3.8million.•Uniqueparticipantsstandat4,552,withtotalparticipantsat19,369.
Contact Information and List of Learning Groups and Staff
Contacts for questions or additional information: BarbSmith,Editoratxxxxxxxxxx@yyy DonnaJones,VPforLearningatxxxxxxxx@yyyy
Corporate University Name Email Phone
Administration VPforLearning DonnaJones xxxxxxxx@yyyy 541.235.8759 AdministrativeassistantCollegeofMarketingandPurchasing Dean SeniorProgramManager ProgramManager PerformanceConsultant PerformanceConsultantCollegeofLeadershipandBusiness Dean SeniorProgramManager ProgramManager PerformanceConsultant PerformanceConsultant
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CollegeofManufacturingandEngineering Dean SeniorProgramManager ProgramManager PerformanceConsultant PerformanceConsultantCollegeofGeneralStudies Dean Manager PerformanceConsultant PerformanceConsultantBusinessSupport(financial,LMS,measurementandevaluation,businessplanning,communication) Manager BusinessManager PlanningManager MeasurementAnalyst SystemsManager SystemsAnalyst CommunicationManager
Other Learning Groups Name Email Phone
Manufacturing DirectorofLearning LearningManagerforU.S.Plants LearningManagerforEuropeanPlants LearningManagerforAsianPlants PerformanceConsultant LearningAnalystPurchasing LearningManagerIT LearningManagerMarketing LearningManagerEngineering LearningManagerAccounting LearningManagerCorporateHR LearningManager