An all-in-one document showcasing the top media placements and PR efforts for year.

1. Expertus
Media Presence
2009

2. Table of Contents
January 2009..............................................................................................page 3 to 19
February 2009...........................................................................................page 20 to 31
March 2009...............................................................................................page 32 to 40
April 2009..................................................................................................page 41 to 45
May 2009...................................................................................................page 46 to 52
June 2009..................................................................................................page 53 to 58
July 2009...................................................................................................page 59 to 65
August 2009...............................................................................................page 65 to 72
September 2009........................................................................................page 73 to 78
October 2009.............................................................................................page 79 to 82
November 2009.........................................................................................page 83 to 92
December 2009.........................................................................................page 93 to 94

3. 2009 Predictions | Viplav Baxi
January 3, 2009
It’s the new year and time to review some of the predictions I had made for 2008.
PLEs will be shareable – tools shall arrive on the web that shall allow entire learning experiences
to be sliced and shared between users. This shall be followed by ratings on which PLE slices are
great. Any learner wanting to learn about a topic will take a PLE slice of a person who the com-
munity says has mastered it and follow the learning path.
Not much success here! Some notable attempts such as Twine helped in some way, as did others, but the
concept of shared learning experiences seemed to be too futuristic or useless for 2008. Better luck in 2009
perhaps.
Hybrid VLE + PLE systems – LMS/VLE enterprise systems shall incorporate many social construc-
tivism inspired features and organizations will pick up this trend.
Some luck here as major LMS vendors started putting in 2.0 features into their toolkit. But no real effort except
perhaps for Mzinga which focused on Communities of Practice. This will pick up in 2009.
The first classification systems to manage and search the huge amount of tagging will start to
surface. Folksonomies will start getting structured in some way.
The semantic web beckoned, and IMINDI was a start. I don’t reckon that this will catch up steam in the near
future either, but it is a start.
The shift to rich Internet applications in e-learning using Flex and Silverlight among other tools,
shall become a reality thus providing a boost to gaming and simulations for learning.
Ah! This was perhaps more successful as a prediction. We can see some real movement this year with Silver-
light courses being developed and Flex extending in RIAs.
Learning process outsourcing will get established as a business model for small and medium
companies.
Doesn’t seem to be well entrenched, but companies such as Expertus and Intrepid seem to have taken larger
strides in the enterprise market.
That sure is a mixed bag. I hope I do better with my 2009 predictions. Here they are:
1. Silverlight (more so) and Flex for learning development and tools will see a significant rise
2. LMS mindshare shall start being significantly impacted by Learning 2.0 solutions such as Mzinga and
ELGG. As the adoption starts, enterprise measures/metrics will also start falling into place. Adoption of
Learning 2.0 approaches will start in earnest in the second half of the year
3. LPO or Learning Process Outsourcing will gain momentum in 2009
4. The use of the mobile as a learning platform shall see renewed interest – the start of ubiquitous learn-
ing being made possible by technological developments in the handset, services and network space
5. The use of virtual worlds for learning will acquire more importance – if things are right, it should mark
the beginning of the end for traditional virtual classrooms.
6. Games and simulations will see an increased adoption
page

4. The trends in the industry that shall back these predictions seem to be cutbacks on travel spend, need to bring
in cost effective approaches to learning, higher engagement provided by games, simulations and virtual worlds
and opportunities for enterprises to strategically pause and reflect on systemic changes in the light of the
recessionary trends.
That’s my take on the new year. Hope they are borne out by the events to follow!
page

5. January 7, 2009
Expertus Wraps Up 2008 Training Efficiency Masters Series
Expertus (www.expertus.com), a global provider of services that optimize the business impact of learning,
today announced the end of its 2008 Training Efficiency Masters Series. The fourth webinar of the series
“Numbers Don’t Lie: The 4 Universal Truths for Learning Measurement” was held on December 11, with over
1,200 registered attendees, and a final white paper of the series will be available in January.
“In 2008, we have been committed to bringing to light common themes surrounding efficiency within training
organizations and discussing these topics with learning executives everywhere,” said Ramesh Ramani, Founder
and CEO of Expertus. “We decided to take a collective look at key challenges and showcase best practices so
learning leaders feel empowered to build organizations that truly make an impact on the business.”
The 2008 Training Efficiency Masters Series was designed to help learning executives transform their
organizations into models of operational efficiency. Through research, webinars, white papers, CLO roundtables
and more, Expertus executives and strategic partners have offered practical insight and ideas about how to
master a core dimension of learning efficiency. The topics addressed in 2008 were surrounding four pillars of
training efficiency: Cost Leverage, Technology Optimization, Business Intelligence and Process Management.
To hear webinars, including the recent, “Numbers Don’t Lie: The 4 Universal Truths for Learning Measurement
Success,” visit www.trainingefficiency.com.
Also available:
-- Survey Results: Customer Training Issues, Technology Optimization
Issues, Cost Optimization Issues and Marketing Training Internally
-- Webinar Slides: Customer Training: Fast-Track Your Programs in a Slow
Economy, Secrets of Successful Learning Systems and 9 Ways to Trim
Operational Costs to Fund Strategic Learning
-- White Papers: Customer Training: 5 Ways to Fast-Track Programs in a Slow
Economy, Secrets of Successful Learning Systems, Centralize Service, Not
Business Processes and How To Eliminate Training Waste and Reap the Rewards
-- Roundtable Reports: Technology Optimization - Portals, and Cost
Optimization Issues
-- And much more.
“Our international clients speak the same language when it comes to their desire to run efficient, effective
learning groups,” added Ramani. “We had a successful year, diving deep into research, reaching thousands of
people through surveys, webinars and more; we look forward to tackling more of these universal subjects in
the coming year.”
For information on Expertus, please visit www.expertus.com. page

6. Appeared in print and online
January 10, 2009
Survey Indicates Drop in Training Budgets and Limitations in Measuring ROI
Mountain View, Calif.
A November 2008 study by Expertus and Training Industry Inc., “Measuring Learning as Budgets Tighten,”
reveals that far more training budgets are decreasing than increasing in 2009. Despite the need to demonstrate
the return on increasingly limited training investments, the study found that ROI and business impact metrics
are not being used very often.
For 2009, more than twice as many respondents expect budget decreases rather than increases. Forty-eight
percent expect their budgets to decrease in 2009, up from 41 percent in 2008. By contrast, only 17 percent
expect their budgets to increase in 2009, up from 31 percent in 2008. Similarly, since 2008 budgets were first
approved, far more saw decreases (38 percent) than increases (11 percent).
“This research offers perspective on the current business environment’s impact on training budgets and how
organizations are measuring their activities,” said Ramesh Ramani, founder and CEO of Expertus. “With nearly
half (48 percent) of respondents watching their budgets decrease for 2009, the challenge becomes measuring
investments and understanding their impact.”
As training budgets become more limited in today’s challenging economy, it is increasingly important to
demonstrate the impact of training funds through effective measurements. However, this survey of corporate
training professionals revealed that volume and cost metrics, as well as Kirkpatrick Level I and II evaluations,
are still used far more than business impact or return on investment metrics.
As a result, those metrics are seldom used to influence budget or other types of important decisions. However,
when they are collected, cost, ROI and business metrics are almost always used to support budget requests.
“We weren’t surprised that there is a connection between how difficult a metric is to collect and how often it
is collected,” added Doug Harward, CEO of Training Industry Inc. “However, we recommend that organizations
make measuring the value and impact of learning a priority. This way, training organizations can make better-
informed budgetary decisions about which training should be supported and which training needs to be
improved.”
In addition to reporting on budget changes and metrics use, this research report also provides fresh data on:
How cost-reduction pressure is increasing.
Major challenges of learning measurement.
Types of decisions that are well-supported by learning metrics and reporting capabilities.
The survey was completed by 84 corporate and government training professionals in organizations with
varying sizes throughout 19 industries. Technology companies represented 25 percent of all survey-takers,
while banking and finance companies were represented by almost one in six respondents. page

7. Training Tech Check | Gail Dutton
January 12, 2009
It’s 2 a.m. in Sydney, but the lights are blazing in the home office of an expert Web developer for Alpha
Software. Strange hours are the norm for programmers, but he’s not developing the next “killer app.” Instead,
he’s hosting a live Webinar to help other developers build the next great thing. His audience, by the way, is
online during normal business hours, in real time, many time zones away. Simple technology made it possible.
The glitches and time lags that plagued earlier e-learning platforms largely have vanished. We’re in the midst
of a training evolution in which trainers are learning to leverage newer options to improve training efficacy,
reduce training costs, and reach new audiences. The technology is especially beneficial in training international
employees, who historically receive less training than home-country employees, according to Gordon Johnson,
vice president of marketing for infrastructure provider Expertus. In fact, a recent Expertus survey found that
only 10 percent of the training budget is spent training employees at a company’s international sites.
Online training helps trainers to tap a wealth of expertise from around the world, providing cutting-edge,
expert content without the expense and logistical hurdles of assembling everyone in one location. Nelson Hall
Research says that more than 50 percent of courses now are delivered online. But the training doesn’t all have
to occur online. Some of the most effective options combine face-to-face training with Webinars. For example,
an online facilitator working in real time may stop periodically to let local groups discuss the material and apply
it to their own situations, and reconvene at a predetermined time.
“We need to move away from the tendency to jump on a plane. There always will be advantages to meeting
face-to-face, but the benefits of alternatives often outweigh these,” emphasizes Kevan Hall, CEO of Global
Integration. As Johnson points out, “Online meetings are one-third the cost of face-to-face meetings, so the
question becomes not which is best, but whether face-to-face training is three times better. Usually not.”
“The biggest challenge in accessing technology for training is lack of familiarity with the tools,” Hall says.
Hosting a Webinar or making a YouTube video is simple, requiring a computer with broadband access and
some imagination. Participating just requires the computer and broadband access. Transferring the signal to
a large screen suitable for many viewers is generally as simple as connecting the screen to a PC with a single
cable.
At “Play to Train,” an emergency response training course hosted in the Second Life virtual environment,
the biggest challenge is teaching participants to navigate a virtual world, according to one of its developers,
Rameshsharma Ramloll, Ph.D., research assistant professor at Idaho State University. That includes the concept
of avatars, how to navigate, how to talk with each other, and how to “buy” their virtual uniforms. “But that’s
not a problem once it starts,” Ramloll adds. “There’s a lot of enthusiasm.”
In that environment, the technical challenge was whether the participants—fire, police, and health-care
page

8. workers—had computers capable of rendering the environment in real time. That required replacing many PCs
and upgrading graphics cards, Ramloll says. Participants’ IT departments downloaded the client application to
ensure trainees could enter the virtual world easily.
Typically, the greatest technical hurdle is communicating through the corporate firewall. That’s an easily solved
issue, but one worth addressing beforehand. Other potential stumbling blocks may be the number of people
who can log onto a conference simultaneously or a slow log-in process. Check with your own IT department
and the conference host to ensure employees can log in easily and quickly. Test that beforehand. Then, record
the session and keep it online afterward for those who missed the initial training or want to review it.
“Play to Train” doesn’t replace real-world training, Dr. Ramloll emphasizes. Instead, it replaces dry lectures and
also serves as a test bed to improve preparedness plans before real-world exercises. The benefits, he says, are
lowered training costs, better results, and more engaged participants.
Those benefits of animation are working their way into technical training, too—even for consumers. “If you’ve
bought a new printer in the last few years, you’ve probably noticed the manual has been replaced with a quick
start guide, with electronic help files either onscreen on the machine or the PC,” points out Robin Lloyd, vice
president and general manager of global content development for training firm Lionsbridge Technologies. “One
client found that downstream support costs decreased 40 percent” when consumer technical training involved
multimedia. Other companies are using this just-in-time training to replace or augment lengthy classes. “It’s
particularly popular in the medical device, aerospace, and automotive industries,” Lloyd says.
One-Way Communication
Another trend is delivering just-in-time training to employees via iPhones or Blackberries, breaking information
into small chunks that are broadcast as podcasts or videos. That approach is especially popular in Asia, where
mobile devices dominate.
In the U.S., Alpha Software takes this approach, posting demos and step-by-step instructions, among other
things, on YouTube. Segments are less than 10 minutes. YouTube also can be a good way to introduce key
personnel or new products. The benefit is that the videos are inexpensive to make and easy to access by
anyone throughout the world with Internet access.
Making a YouTube video requires a digital video camera, video editing software, and a way to transfer the
video to the PC. MPEG4 video with MP3 audio is a popular file format combination that works with YouTube,
although other formats are accepted. If your digital recording devices have other formats, they can be
converted with a mouse click once they’re loaded onto your computer. Keep a copy of your raw footage as a
backup. More information about YouTube videos can be found at www.help.youtube.com.
Webcasts are another option. Companies are using them to get more mileage out of presentations at key
conferences. Internally, they can provide training for particular skill sets—such as the latest regulatory
compliance guidelines—in which two-way communication is unnecessary. Often, these are audio only, or audio
with slides.
Two-Way Street
Webinars—also called Web meetings or videoconferences—are a step beyond Webcasts. These interactive
technologies are live seminars delivered over the Web, with real-time communications via phones, computer
microphones and speakers, or chat capabilities. Web meetings let participants talk, share, and annotate
documents; have whiteboard capabilities; conduct real-time polls; and otherwise collaborate and interact as if
they are face-to-face. Sessions can be recorded for later use with a mouse click, and the moderator can screen
participants to ensure privacy if needed. page

9. WebEx (www.webex.com) and Microsoft Office Live Meeting (www.livemeetingplace.com) are two popular
Web meeting technologies. Hosting a Webinar generally involves e-mailing participants a conference link,
signing on to the meeting site, and clicking an icon to share your computer screen with participants. Browser-
based conferencing has an advantage over sites requiring software downloads because, as Lee Salz, CEO of
Business Expert Webinars, points out, “there are always a few who can’t download the software to get into the
meeting.”
page

10. January 12, 2009
Expertus Experiences Dramatic Growth in Second Half of 2008
Expertus (www.expertus.com), a global provider of services that optimize the business impact of learning,
today announced that it witnessed dramatic growth in its business during the second half of 2008. Expertus
executives believe that the new business resulted from its expanded offering of learning solutions that impact
business and the need to do more with shrinking budgets.
Expertus, which offers strategies, services and solutions that help learning organizations contribute directly to
business growth, has been retained by new customers from around the world, including:
-- Autodesk
-- SuperValu
-- Ameriprise
-- Baker Petrolite
-- Pioneer Natural Resources
-- Rambus
-- Richardson
-- Sainsbury
-- Wyeth
“We offer a new point of view about how organizations can take a hard look at their training infrastructure and
make critical improvements to do more with shrinking training budgets,” said Ramesh Ramani, Founder and
CEO of Expertus. “Our products and services resonate with global organizations during this economic crunch
because we are actually able to save them money.”
Customers from a wide variety of industries tapped Expertus for its learning-related products and services,
including learning technology, training administration, content creation and deployment, Web 2.0 portals,
infrastructure solutions and more.
Additionally, Expertus has become an industry leader by providing research, case studies and thought
leadership around the topic of efficiency in tandem with the extremely successful Training Efficiency Masters
Series that recently came to a close. For information on the series and access to a library of resources on the
topic, visit www.trainingefficiency.com.
“Learning organizations require business sense that includes total visibility, efficient practices, and solutions
that make an impact on the business,” said Doug Harward, CEO of Training Industry, Inc. “Expertus has a deep
understanding of these principles and is continually developing their knowledge on the subject. As a result,
their customers benefit greatly.”
For information on Expertus, please visit www.expertus.com or call Mike Murrell at 803-802-9971.
page 10

11. January 13, 2009
Survey Indicates Drop in Training Budgets and Limitations in Measuring ROI
Mountain View, Calif.
A November 2008 study by Expertus and Training Industry Inc., “Measuring Learning as Budgets Tighten,”
reveals that far more training budgets are decreasing than increasing in 2009. Despite the need to demonstrate
the return on increasingly limited training investments, the study found that ROI and business impact metrics
are not being used very often.
For 2009, more than twice as many respondents expect budget decreases rather than increases. Forty-eight
percent expect their budgets to decrease in 2009, up from 41 percent in 2008. By contrast, only 17 percent
expect their budgets to increase in 2009, up from 31 percent in 2008. Similarly, since 2008 budgets were first
approved, far more saw decreases (38 percent) than increases (11 percent).
“This research offers perspective on the current business environment’s impact on training budgets and how
organizations are measuring their activities,” said Ramesh Ramani, founder and CEO of Expertus. “With nearly
half (48 percent) of respondents watching their budgets decrease for 2009, the challenge becomes measuring
investments and understanding their impact.”
As training budgets become more limited in today’s challenging economy, it is increasingly important to
demonstrate the impact of training funds through effective measurements. However, this survey of corporate
training professionals revealed that volume and cost metrics, as well as Kirkpatrick Level I and II evaluations,
are still used far more than business impact or return on investment metrics.
As a result, those metrics are seldom used to influence budget or other types of important decisions. However,
when they are collected, cost, ROI and business metrics are almost always used to support budget requests.
“We weren’t surprised that there is a connection between how difficult a metric is to collect and how often it
is collected,” added Doug Harward, CEO of Training Industry Inc. “However, we recommend that organizations
make measuring the value and impact of learning a priority. This way, training organizations can make better-
informed budgetary decisions about which training should be supported and which training needs to be
improved.”
In addition to reporting on budget changes and metrics use, this research report also provides fresh data on:
• How cost-reduction pressure is increasing.
• Major challenges of learning measurement.
• Types of decisions that are well-supported by learning metrics and reporting capabilities.
The survey was completed by 84 corporate and government training professionals in organizations with
varying sizes throughout 19 industries. Technology companies represented 25 percent of all survey-takers,
while banking and finance companies were represented by almost one in six respondents.
page 11

12. January 19, 2009
Expertus Experiences Dramatic Growth in Second Half of 2008
Expertus, a global provider of services that optimize the business impact of learning, today announced that it
witnessed dramatic growth in its business during the second half of 2008. Expertus executives believe that the
new business resulted from its expanded offering of learning solutions that impact business, and the market’s
need to accomplish more with shrinking budgets.
Expertus, which offers strategies, services and solutions that help learning organizations contribute directly to
business growth, has been retained by new customers from around the world, including:
• Autodesk
• SuperValu
• Ameriprise
• Baker Petrolite
• Pioneer Natural Resources
• Rambus
• Richardson
• Sainsbury
• Wyeth
“We offer a new point of view about how organizations can take a hard look at their training infrastructure and
make critical improvements to do more with shrinking training budgets,” said Ramesh Ramani, Founder and
CEO of Expertus. “Our products and services resonate with global organizations during this economic crunch
because we are actually able to save them money.”
Customers from a wide variety of industries tapped Expertus for its learning-related products and services,
including learning technology, training administration, content creation and deployment, Web 2.0 portals,
infrastructure solutions and more.
Additionally, Expertus has become an industry leader by providing research, case studies and thought
leadership around the topic of efficiency in tandem with the extremely successful Training Efficiency Masters
Series that recently came to a close. For information on the series and access to a library of resources on the
topic, visit www.trainingefficiency.com .
“Learning organizations require business sense that includes total visibility, efficient practices, and solutions
that make an impact on the business,” said Doug Harward, CEO of Training Industry, Inc. “Expertus has a deep
understanding of these principles and is continually developing their knowledge on the subject. As a result,
their customers benefit greatly.”
For information on Expertus, please visit www.expertus.com or call Mike Murrell at 803-802-9971.
page 12

13. January 26, 2009
Training losing ground in the battle of the budgets
Financial hardships caused by the economic recession have led even more organizations to cut spending on
employee training, according to two recent studies.
The average amount companies spend on training per employee fell 11% in the past year, according to a
recently released research report by Bersin Associates. Training expenditures per employee declined from
$1,202 per trainee in 2007 to $1,075 per trainee in 2008.
Bersin’s data also showed that the U.S. corporate training market shrank by more than $2 billion, from $58.5
billion in 2007 to $56.2 billion in 2008, marking the greatest decline in more than a decade.
This latest report mirrors another study released in November, revealing that more than twice as many
corporate and government training professionals expect training budget decreases rather than increases in
2009.
According to the study by training services firm Expertus, almost half (48%) of survey respondents expect
smaller training budgets in 2009, up from 41% in 2008.
“When budgets became tight, organizations with a traditional training focus suffered
most,” Bersin said in a statement. “Today’s business world demands a combination of
formal and informal learning with an emphasis on collaboration, knowledge sharing, social
networking, coaching, and mentoring.”
A well-trained employee is one of your company’s best assets and worthy of the financial investment. Resist
the urge to take the “easy” way out by cutting development opportunities and find creative ways to stretch
your training budget.
For more information on how to (and how not to) handle employee training in a recession, take a look at some
of these related posts:
--Cutting training, cutting safety: Is our economy causing more workplace injuries
--Employee training and the budget battle
--Training budgets, just another victim of the recession
--‘Recession-proof’ employee training tips
--5 tips for employee training on a tight budget
page 1

14. Training Is Taking a Beating in Recession, Studies Find | Ed Frauenheim
January 26, 2009
The recession is leading organizations to slash spending on training, two recent studies show.
Average training expenditures per employee fell 11 percent in the past year, from $1,202 per learner in 2007
to $1,075 per learner in 2008, according to a report issued Friday, January 23, by research firm Bersin
Associates.
Bersin said its figures include training budgets and payroll. Bersin also said the U.S. corporate training market
shrank from $58.5 billion in 2007 to $56.2 billion in 2008, the greatest decline in more than 10 years.
Bersin’s report echoes a November study by training services firm Expertus and research provider Training
Industry. The survey of 84 corporate and government training professionals found that more than twice as
many respondents expect training budget decreases rather than increases for 2009.
Forty-eight percent expect their budgets to decrease in 2009, up from 41 percent in 2008. Only 17 percent
expect their budgets to increase in 2009. In addition, since 2008 budgets were first approved, far more saw
decreases (38 percent) than increases (11 percent).
Bersin president Josh Bersin said organizations funneled money and staff into traditional and “often
nonstrategic” training programs in good years.
“When budgets became tight, organizations with a traditional training focus suffered most,” Bersin said in a
statement. “Today’s business world demands a combination of formal and informal learning with an emphasis
on collaboration, knowledge sharing, social networking, coaching, and mentoring.”
The new reports confirm the old theory that training is among the first things cut during hard times, which
today include a U.S. economy estimated to have contracted by more than 5 percent in the fourth quarter, an
unemployment rate that rose to 7.2 percent in December and thousands of job cuts announced daily.
Trimmed training budgets also come amid a broader reassessment of employee development. In recent
years, experts have argued that workers increasingly see career development as vital in an employer. At the
same time, traditional, formal training in classrooms or through computer coursework has come under fire as
less effective compared to less-formal modes of training, including on-the-job learning and the use of social
networking tools such as corporate wikis.
Peter Cappelli, management professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, has suggested
that employees share in the cost of training. In particular, he argues for tuition assistance programs, in which
employees invest their time and effort on classes and class work.
The Expertus-Training Industry report found that return-on-investment and business-impact metrics are not
often used to evaluate training programs. page 1

15. “We recommend that organizations make measuring the value and impact of learning a priority,” Doug
Harward, chief executive of Training Industry, said in a statement. “This way, training organizations can make
better-informed budgetary decisions about which training should be supported and which training needs to be
improved.”
In its 2009 Corporate Learning Factbook, Bersin said it found that companies have changed training program
priorities; moved to coaching, informal learning, collaborative activities and other less-costly training methods;
and increased reliance on outsourcing.
page 1

16. E-Learning and Depression 2.0 Revisited | Michael Hanley
January 29, 2009
Prologue: Today’s post was meant to be a short piece about how the e-learning industry is faring in current
market conditions, but as I carried out my research for the article, something a little more worrying emerged
from the source information.
Now read on…
About a year ago, I began commenting on the affects of the current financial crisis on the e-learning industry;
it’s been a while, so I guess that it’s about time I revisited the subject. In my post Recession and the Challenge
to E-Learning in February 2008 I remarked that:
Historically, when a slowdown or organization rationalization occurs, the first against the
wall are the folks in the PR, marketing, and training departments. Typically, individuals and
organizations revert to previously-learned behaviors in tough times; this usually means going
through the process of carrying out tried-and-tested, though not necessarily logical responses
to the problems put in front of them. Outcome: tea and sympathetic chat, and the Training
team get their pink slips / P45s. …I reckon that this will be strategy undertaken by a significant
number of organizations over the next year or so.
Sadly, it seems that my prediction was correct.
According to a recent Expertus/Training Industry, Inc. report: for 2009 over twice as many training
professionals who responded to their survey said that they expected budget decreases rather than increases.
Forty-eight percent expect their budgets to decrease in 2009, up from 41% in 2008. Less than one-fifth expect
their budgets to increase in 2009, down from 31% in 2008. Similarly, since 2008 budgets were first approved,
far more saw decreases (38%) than increases (11%) in funding and capital.
These data are reinforced by the findings of a 2009 Bersin Associates study: BA’s Karen O’Leonard indicated
that the U.S. corporate training market shrank from $58.5 billion in 2007 to $56.2 billion in 2008, the greatest
decline in revenue in over a decade.
In a 23 January 2009 press release, Josh Bersin himself stated that
…to reduce costs, companies are switching from e-learning [my italics] to coaching,
collaboration and on-the-job training methods
The press release also states:
Today’s business world demands a combination of formal and informal learning with an
emphasis on collaboration, knowledge sharing, social networking, coaching, and mentoring.
While formal, instructor-led training is not going away, it is becoming a smaller and smaller
percentage of training budgets.
This shift in organizations’ thinking and strategy merits discussion in it’s own right, so I will return to the topic
once I have given it more consideration.
However, I have to say that I’m not encouraged by the inaccurate terminology Mr. Bersin used in the press
release: I want to know - how do Bersin Associates define ‘e-learning’? Based upon the above statement,
page 1

17. collaboration and knowledge-sharing in particular, but also mentoring, coaching, and OTJ training are not
categories of e-learning.
I’m sure you have your own favorite definition of e-learning – I’ve included mine below – but regardless of how
you define it, you are in the e-learning domain if the learning materials are
networked,
delivered to end-users via a computer using standard internet technology,
focused on the broadest view of learning.
By e-learning, Bersin Associates of course mean “e-training” – those superannuated, expensive page-turner
style self-paced courseware libraries provided by vendors like SmartForce and HMH. You may argue that I am
merely fussing over semantics, and that such terminology is unimportant. Tomayto / tomahto.
When questions are investigated using quantitative analysis, the Scientific Method is being used. Contingent
with that is a healthy skepticism of the assumptions and conclusions made by the investigator. This is the
essence of progress, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. To be
termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering observable, empirical and measurable
evidence subject to specific principles of reasoning and criticism.
In this context I would assert that precise categorization of terms is an essential part of communicating
meaning accurately. If you consider that e-learning is
The continuous assimilation of knowledge and skills by adults stimulated by synchronous and
asynchronous learning events – and sometimes knowledge management outputs – which are
authored, delivered engaged with, supported and administered using internet technologies,
(Morrison, D. 2004, p.4)
then we must say that the Bersin statement contradicts itself.
Based upon the Bersin Associates data (see Table 1), what seems to be occurring is a contraction in the
use by organizations of one e-learning modality (the
self-paced page-turner – in a sense the methodology
most aligned with traditional instructor-led workplace
learning), and the growth or expansion of a range of
other modalities of e-learning, based upon non-formal
and informal structures, Web 2.0 principles, and the
removal of intermediaries in the workplace learning
development supply chain.
Table 1 Distribution of training categories (after Bersin
Associates, 2009)
References:
--Bersin Associates (2009) 2009 Corporate Learning Factbook Reveals 11% Decline in Corporate Training Spending [In-
ternet] Available from: http://www.bersin.com/News/Content.aspx?id=8438 Accessed 24 January 2009
--Expertus (2008) Measuring Learning as Budgets Tighten [Internet] Available from: http://www.trainingefficiency.com/
system/files/Survey+Results_Learning+Measurement_+Expertus_Nov08.pdf Accessed 12 January 2009
--Frauenheim, E. (2009) Training Is Taking a Beating in Recession, Studies Find Workforce Management. [Internet] Avail-
able from: http://www.workforce.com/section/00/article/26/12/95.php Accessed 23 January 2009
--Morrison, D. (2004) E-Learning Strategies: how to get implementation and delivery right first time Chichester: John
Wiley Sons, Ltd.
page 1

18. January 29, 2009
The Cost of Training
Average training expenditures per employee fell 11 percent in the past year, from $1,202 per learner in 2007
to $1,075 per learner in 2008, according to a report issued Friday, January 23, by research firm Bersin
Associates The report also showed the U.S. corporate training market shrank from $58.5 billion in 2007 to
$56.2 billion in 2008, the greatest decline in more than 10 years.
A November study by training services firm Expertus and research provider Training Industry found that more
than twice as many respondents expect training budget decreases rather than increases for 2009. Forty-eight
percent expect their budgets to decrease in 2009, up from 41 percent in 2008. Only 17 percent expect their
budgets to increase in 2009. In addition, since 2008 budgets were first approved, far more saw decreases (38
percent) than increases (11 percent).
It makes total sense to me, as training is seen as a “cost”, not an investment that immediately pays back
dividends.
Let’s look at some numbers… I’m all about the numbers.
• According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov), the median wage of our country’s 134,000,000
employees is about forty-one thousand dollars or nearly twenty dollars per hour. For employees with a
bachelor’s degree or higher, the average salary is 50 percent higher, sixty-six thousand dollars per year, or
thirty-two dollars per hour.
• The average replacement costs for higher educated (and higher skilled) is at least 50 percent of the
employee’s annual salary, which means a company outlay of thirty-three thousand dollars for each
replaced worker.
That’s a lot of dollars and percents. What we now have to figure out is the ROI of training, the return on
investment.
Let’s skip the argument that training makes employees more valuable by giving them new or additional skills
that can be used by their employer. It’s true, but hard to quantify. Let’s skip the argument that training
improves the productivity of employees, adding to their through-put and decreasing costly errors. It’s true,
easier to quantify, but we don’t need it for our ROI calculation.
We’re going to concentrate on the cost of training (now $1,075 per employee per year) and the relationship to
turnover costs.
8 days.
Huh?
page 1

19. $1,075 equates to eight days of replacement costs for an employee who earns sixty-six thousand dollars a year.
If an employee who receives training stays eight days longer than she would have without the training, it’s a
“push” as they say in Vegas. If they stay a month longer, your return on investment is two-hundred and fifty
six percent. Spend eleven hundred, save twenty-eight hundred. If you stretch out the training and they stay
an extra three months (you tricky little devils), your ROI skyrockets to seven-hundred and sixty-seven percent…
spend eleven hundred, save eight thousand, two hundred and fifty bucks.
Real money. Math rocks.
YOU HAVE TO TRAIN YOUR EMPLOYEE SO THEY CAN LEAVE, OR ELSE THEY’LL LEAVE.
Got it? Good.
page 1

20. page 20

21. February 2009
Recession Tactics: Training
page 21

22. page 22

23. page 2

24. Alternatives to Employer-Provided Training | Jorina Fontelera
February 4, 2009
During times of recession, workers often look to increase or improve their skills to gain some job security.
Many employers, however, are trimming training budgets to save their bottom line.
As companies slash business costs to stay afloat, recent studies have found that the training budget is one of
the first to be cut. Employees and human resources (HR) managers, on the other hand, clamor for training
during downturns. Unfortunately for them, many companies don’t share their views.
According to a report released last month by enterprise learning and talent management advisory Bersin
Associates, the average training expenditures per employee fell 11 percent last year, from $1,202 per learner
in 2007 to $1,075 in 2008. The U.S. corporate training market shrank from $58.5 billion in 2007 to $56.2 billion
last year. This was the biggest drop in a decade, as Workforce Management notes.
A survey of 84 corporate and government training professionals late last year by training services firm Expertus
and research provider Training Industry showed that they didn’t expect much improvement in 2009. More than
twice as many respondents (48 percent) expected training budgets to decrease rather than increase this year.
Only 17 percent anticipated their training budgets to go up. Additionally, 38 percent saw decreases in their
2008 training budgets since they were first approved.
Trellis Usher-Mays, president of management consulting firm T.R. Ellis Group, tells Human Resource Executive
that the results don’t surprise her. “Most companies are cutting training budgets,” Usher-Mays says. “HR
leaders need to fully understand the strategic business objectives of the organization to ensure that training
dollars get approved — and to make sure those dollars deliver the best return on investment.”
It’s not all bad news, she says, adding that “the focus on budget cutting provides an opportunity for HR leaders
to highlight the value of training to an organization, particularly when it comes to compliance issues, creating a
competitive advantage and keeping good employees engaged and growing professionally.”
The Expertus/Training Industry report found that return-on-investment metrics are not often used to appraise
training programs.
“We recommend that organizations make measuring the value and impact of learning a priority,” Doug
Harward, chief executive of Training Industry, said in a statement. “This way, training organizations can make
better-informed budgetary decisions about which training should be supported and which training needs to be
improved.”
Human Resource Executive suggests HR professionals leverage their training dollars through e-learning and
mentoring programs where employees rely on managers or peers for training.
But HR professionals aren’t the only ones struggling with the training budget cuts. Employees looking to shore
page 2

25. up their skill-sets in the face of widespread layoffs find that company-provided training may no longer be an
option and must seek alternatives.
The following are a few ideas to consider for acquiring free or inexpensive training outside of work, from ABC
News/Women for Hire, U.S. News World Report and Monster.com.
Government Programs
• Career One Stop offers on-site and online skills development workshops and training programs, most of
which are free.
• Career Voyages is a joint venture between the Department of Labor and Department of Education that
provides access to apprenticeship and certificate programs for blue-collar and white-collar workers.
• Low-income workers can apply for the federal Pell Grant, which provides up to $4,731 for college
tuition — enough to cover most costs at community colleges.
Nonprofit Organizations
• Jewish Vocation Services assists with job training and placement. It has 22 agencies nationwide and
works with 40,000 employers and communities to customize training programs to meet the demands
of various industries.
• Goodwill offers job training in a variety of industries, including health care, information technology,
computer programming and more.
Online
• For people looking solely to develop new skills and who don’t need credit can study the lectures and
assignments posted online by professors at MIT, UC-Berkley and dozens of others at OpenCourseWare
Consortium.
• ITunesU also posts free courses from Stanford, Michigan Tech and other universities.
Industry-Specific
• The Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute’s PMMI U offers practical, useful educational
experiences based on real needs to help individuals and companies upgrade the skills of packaging
workers and develop new talent in today’s high-tech packaging industry.
• CarQuest runs the CarQuest Technical Institute, which offers ongoing training for auto mechanics, who
can train in a shop or through a self-paced series of programs.
“Many trade organizations offer training programs to improve skill level within the field and to attract new
workers,” Women for Hire advises, so “check with the leading trade organizations in your current or desired
field to learn about training opportunities.”
Resources
Corporate Learning Factbook 2009: Benchmarks, Trends and Analysis of the U.S. Corporate Training Market
by Karen O’Leonard
Bersin Associates, Jan. 9, 2009
Training is Taking a Beating in Recession, Studies Find
by Ed Frauenheim
Workforce Management, Jan. 26, 2009
Measuring Learning as Budgets Tighten
Expertus, Inc. and Training Industry, Inc., Dec. 3, 2008
Downturn Drains Training Budgets
by Scott Westcott
Human Resources Executive, Dec. 30, 2008 page 2

26. Where to Find Job Retraining Services and Classes
by Tory Johnson
ABC News, Jan. 2, 2009
Advice: Training Programs
Women for Hire
Affordable New Ways to Get Job Skills
by Kim Clark
U.S. News World Report, Jan. 2, 2009
Get Automotive Training on the Cheap
by Jim McPherson
Monster.com
page 2

27. Professional Development: To train or not to train? | Robin K. Cooper
February 13, 2009
Not even a recession will force Simmons Machine Tool Corp. to cut into its $200,000-a-year budget for in-
house employee training and grooming new recruits.
“Certainly in a downturn we could say ‘let’s cut our training budget,’” said Simmons President and COO David
Davis. “We’d much rather cut elsewhere than disrupt the pipeline of new talent,” Davis said.
The Menands manufacturer, which builds massive machines used by customers who produce parts for the
railroad industry, allocates money every year to train its employees and groom recruits at area colleges and
BOCES. The company also spent much of 2008 training staff to make its manufacturing process more efficient.
The decision to spend another $200,000 in training and professional development this year makes Simmons
part of a shrinking group. More companies around the country are expected to reduce or eliminate training
expenses to survive the economic downturn.
“The first thing all companies cut in a down economy is discretionary spending, which is travel and training,”
said Doug Harward, CEO of Training Industry Inc. in North Carolina.
In 2007, U.S. companies spent a total of $132 billion in training and professional development, according to
research by Harward’s organization. Spending shrank to $129.2 billion last year, and another 10 percent cut is
forecast for this year as companies trim expenses, Harward said. He oversees a company that provides data
and advice to training and professional development businesses around the country.
Corporate training, depending on the scope and the duration, can cost businesses anywhere from $1,000 to
$2,500 a day, according to Erika Choi, founder of Choice Solutions, an Albany training consulting firm that
specializes in manufacturing.
State and federal grants are available to offset some training costs, but as the economy continues to affect
state budgets, that kind of aid could decline, according to Jeff Lawrence, executive director of the Center for
Economic Growth in Albany, which offers training assistance to area businesses.
CEG receives money from the state and federal governments. The organization’s budget is $2.6 million this
year, down from $4 million in 2008, Lawrence said.
State spending cuts are a big concern, he added.
He’s also worried about businesses cutting professional development budgets due to fears about the economy.
The organization works with 100 companies or so each year.
“I think there will be dramatically less training this year, maybe significantly less,” Lawrence said. “If money
isn’t there, companies just won’t do it.”
page 2

28. That would be bad news for everyone, said Choi.
Companies should know that training can cut waste and improve the bottom line. That’s important at a time
when many sectors realize they may have a hard time increasing sales this year, Choi said.
Choi, who is coming off her biggest sales year since she formed the business in 2003, said she also can help
companies save money by helping them carry only the amount of inventory they need.
“The cost of carrying inventory can impact cash flow and it wastes time for people who are required to manage
it.” she said.
Some companies might delay some soft skill instruction such as sexual harassment training.
“I wouldn’t find that surprising,” she said.
Like Simmons, E/One, a Niskayuna-based designer and manufacturer of grinder pumps and other products for
sewer systems, has no plans to scale back staff development and training efforts.
The company completed a weeklong problem-solving training for engineers last month. Now it’s planning for
leadership development instruction in the middle of this month.
And there is no indication from its Oregon-based parent, Precision Castparts Corp., that training budgets will
be cut, said Kelley McCart, E/One’s human resource director.
The one difference is that E/One now is trying harder to use corporate staff for professional development
instead of contracting out. In some cases, corporate staff training can be less expensive, but not always when
you factor in airfare and hotel costs.
Either way, it’s a necessary expense, McCart said.
“We are in a talent competition in the U.S.,” McCart said. “If we are not preparing the next generation of
engineers, we could get left behind.”
page 2

29. Economy Taking a Toll on Training, Studies Conclude | Ed Frauenheim
February 16, 2009
The recession is leading organizations to slash spending on training, two recent studies show.
Average training expenditures per employee fell 11 percent in the past year, from $1,202 per learner in 2007 to
$1,075 per learner in 2008, according to a report issued in late January by research firm Bersin Associates.
Bersin said its figures include training budgets and payroll. Bersin also said the U.S. corporate training market
shrank from $58.5 billion in 2007 to $56.2 billion in 2008, the greatest decline in more than 10 years.
Bersin’s report echoes a November study by training services firm Expertus and research provider Training
Industry. The survey of 84 corporate and government training professionals found that more than twice as
many respondents expect training-budget decreases rather than increases for 2009.
Forty-eight percent expect their budgets to decrease in 2009, up from 41 percent in 2008. Only 17 percent
expect their budgets to increase in 2009. In addition, since 2008 budgets were first approved, far more saw
decreases (38 percent) than increases (11 percent).
Bersin president Josh Bersin said organizations funneled money and staff into traditional and “often
nonstrategic” training programs in good years.
“When budgets became tight, organizations with a traditional training focus suffered most,” Bersin said in a
statement. “Today’s business world demands a combination of formal and informal learning with an emphasis
on collaboration, knowledge sharing, social networking, coaching and mentoring.”
The reports confirm the theory that training is among the first things cut during hard times, which today
include a U.S. economy estimated to have contracted at an annual rate of 3.8 percent in the fourth quarter and
unemployment that rose to 7.6 percent in January.
Trimmed training budgets also come amid a broader reassessment of employee development. In recent years,
experts have argued that workers increasingly see career development as vital in an employer. At the same
time, traditional, formal training in classrooms or through computer coursework has come under fire as less
effective compared to less formal modes of training, including on-the-job learning.
Peter Cappelli, management professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, has suggested
that employees share in the cost of training. In particular, he argues for tuition assistance programs, in which
employees invest time and effort on classes.
The Expertus-Training Industry report found that return-on-investment and business-impact metrics are not
often used to evaluate training programs.
“We recommend that organizations make measuring the value and impact of learning a priority,” Doug
page 2

30. Harward, chief executive of Training Industry, said in a statement. “This way, training organizations can make
better-informed budgetary decisions about which training should be supported and which training needs to be
improved.”
In its 2009 Corporate Learning Factbook, Bersin said it found that companies have changed training-program
priorities; moved to coaching, informal learning, collaborative activities and other less-costly training methods;
and increased reliance on outsourcing.
page 0

31. Training Products Services | Margery Weinstein
February 26, 2009
• IBM released IBM Workforce and Talent Solutions, a talent management system. Key components of IBM
Workforce and Talent Solutions include workforce analytics, e-recruitment, performance management,
learning, succession planning, compensation and rewards, workforce deployment and scheduling, employee
portal, collaboration and social networking, and targeted consulting services.
• Marshall Goldsmith, author and CEO coach, released a virtual coach program, The Marshall Goldsmith
Professional Success System. It consists of proprietary tools, exercises, and training usually available only to
Goldsmith’s clients.
• Expertus is launching a solution set called SmartSolutions. Offered as software-as-a-service, the suite of
modules is designed to help organizations reduce costs, increase revenue, improve efficiency, and achieve
greater visibility or heightened adoption of training throughout the organization.
• SmartDraw.com is offering a free e-course for business professionals, “Better Beginnings.” Authored by Dr.
Carmen Taran of Rexi Media, the course is designed to help speakers and writers grab and maintain their
audience’s attention.
• Select International, a Pittsburgh-based global provider of assessment products, hiring solutions and
recruiting services, released AssureFit, a multi-stage sourcing, recruitment, and assessment solution for hiring
managers, internal corporate recruiters, human resources professionals, and search firms.
• CCH released the “Family and Medical Leave Act, Military Family Leave Final Regulations” guide, covering the
changes to the Family and Medical Leave Act that took effect in January. The reference includes information
about rule changes, along with explanations of the new rules and how they have changed from prior
regulations.
page 1

32. Measuring Informal Learning: Encourage a Learning Culture and Track It! | Tom
March 2009
Kelly
The evolution of informal learning has been interesting to watch.
We’ve witnessed decades of changing landscapes within learning
organizations and, regardless of the latest or greatest learning theories
and behaviors, people continue to learn – from each other.
Though it seems as though the term “informal learning” has found a
new life, it’s actually been around for centuries. It has passed the test
of time from old world storytelling to hands-on vocational training, but
learning organizations are often resistant to embrace it. “Fill rates”
and “percentage of employees trained” are comfortable statistics, but
they lack luster, depth and any suggestion of importance or impact to executive leadership. While we knew
for decades that people learned from each other at the water cooler, on the phone and inside meetings,
technology has made the discussion of informal learning a whole new conversation. The question becomes,
“We know it happens, but how do we measure it?”
Over the course of my career, I have often had to decide what metrics mattered to the executives in the
enterprise where I was employed. What truly matters depends on the priorities and the size of the company,
but there are a few recommendations that I have made repeatedly related to capturing informal learning and
turning it into measurements that count.
Create a teaching culture – and make it measurable!
An organization whose people are learning at the pace of change is going to be
more successful, in a faster timeframe, than an organization that cannot keep
up. With a continually changing marketplace, new products and cutting-edge
technologies that drive productivity or sales, having up-to-date employees is
critical to an organization’s success.
To create such a learning organization, you have to build a teaching culture. A
teaching culture is one that believes in recognizing and rewarding people for
sharing how they achieve, what they know, how they learned it, and where they
find information. An organization that fosters this culture will grow faster and
make fewer mistakes than an organization that does not.
An enterprise does not need one best sales person, they need dozens or
hundreds or thousands who understand that they are not competing
page 2

33. against each other, but rather, against other companies. The same applies to Engineering, Support, and each
functional job in the company: you need an army of great people. High potential “stars” and other successful
people empowering their peers is a real winning strategy.
When discussing measurement – harness this culture and use tools that provide reliable use data. We’ll
discuss those techniques below.
Encourage employees to create content based on their successes (and even failures).
I have recommended decentralizing content creation for almost 20 years, but these days it is so easy! Content
creation tools finally exist that make it easy for anyone who is an expert to share knowledge. They work well
for anyone who has experienced some success and wants to share it with partners/colleagues/employees
looking for a new or different way to be successful.
With wikis, blogs, audio-over-slides, video, and social networking tools, learning organizations can manage
public forums where knowledge is openly shared. Peer to peer teaching tools require training organizations to
give up some control of the content creation process, but these tools also increase the accessibility and speed
by which content can be updated or corrected.
Professionals want to learn tips, tricks, and techniques from successful peers in their community. They don’t
really want to listen to scripted “talent”, or to professional trainers. Those tips and tricks should be brief,
focused knowledge nuggets that are two, five, seven or 10 minutes long. Short, direct, and specific answers or
coaching comments that teach professionals how to be successful, how to approach a situation or customer,
address different vertical markets, or solve any other narrow problem are immensely impactful. They are also
easily searched within a database and are much more easily updated and replaced than courses, white papers
or one-hour video segments. Decentralize content creation and you will capitalize on a scalable formula of
successful informal learning.
The beauty of wikis, blogs, message boards and other knowledge-sharing tools is the ability to monitor, track
and measure their success. How many people are searching for specific topics? How many best practices are
being shared and how are improvements being realized in that area? What questions are prevalent that can
be addressed company-wide and what are the results once they are answered? It’s as if we’ve recorded water
cooler conversations, put them in one place and have the ability to effectively respond to questions raised.
Measure and report the right metrics.
I am fond of this back-to-basics reminder. There are only three reasons for companies to have a training
function:
Drive enterprise revenues up.
Increase employee productivity.·
Increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.
If you cannot show that kind of impact, they are likely the wrong metrics. When tracking informal learning,
how are people communicating about these objectives? How are people learning from others and becoming
more productive? Where are people learning tricks that save time and money? What best practices are being
shared about how to keep customers happy? When you can correlate informal learning activities with solid
metrics that support these objectives, you will have the attention of executives.
Research
Expertus and Training industry, Inc. recently announced the findings from their joint November 2008 study,
“Measuring Learning as Budgets Tighten.” The survey was completed by 84 corporate and government training
professionals in organizations with varying sizes throughout 19 industries.
page

34. The study had many interesting findings, including:
More than twice as many organizations’ budgets went down
than up in 2008. During 2008 (through early November), 38
percent reported training budget decreases compared with only
11 percent who reported increases. About half of the budgets
remained the same.
Fewer learning leaders expect budgets to increase in 2009.
Only 17 percent reported budget increases from 2008 to 2009
compared with 31 percent who reported budget increases
from 2007 to 2008. 2009 budgets changes are more likely flat or
lower.
More difficult-to-collect metrics are used less often. Return on investment and other types of
business impact metrics, which are arguably the most difficult to calculate, are used the least
often – by one in four respondents or less. Conversely, simple metrics such as numbers of
course completions and registrations are among the most often used.
Since far more training budgets are decreasing than increasing in 2009, there is heightened importance
in demonstrating the impact of training spending through effective measurements. There are traditional
measurement tools that should be reevaluated and updated, but it also opens up the discussion for measuring
informal learning. It can even be less expensive than traditional training if you encourage people to talk, share
and ask questions.
Everything can be tracked in some shape or form, but measurement can be perplexing. When framing your
thoughts around how to implement measurement techniques, here is my advice.
My “Top Five” Thoughts on Measurement
1. Look beyond formal training sources for your impact metrics. Informal training sources have become
more important than ever before.
2. Do not settle for easy metrics, they are of little interest and no real value beyond annual funding
discussions. The harder the data is to gather is generally directly related to its relevance.
3. Focus on macro numbers and trend lines, not individual (micro) employee statistics. For example, is
there a relationship between how many salespeople/partners view training materials before product
sales take off?
4. Map trends of training usage and timing with changes in sales; internally and through channel
partners. Finding correlations between training trends and selling – it’s a holy grail.
5. Find data showing impact on or alignment with your enterprise priorities. What are your training
products doing to grow revenues? Improve customer satisfaction? Increase employee productivity?
To recap, informal training is rapidly overtaking “formal” training in its importance to the learner community,
so it is time for us to embrace and leverage that capability. I highly recommend some paradigm shifts within
organizations that are still using old ways of learning and traditional measurement techniques.
If I were to share some simple “take-and-go” final thoughts, it would be to (1) build a learning organization
and a teaching culture, (2) decentralize your content creation – maximize the new ways of information sharing
– and (3) centralize content deployment; focus on processes that allow access to new success metrics that
evidence alignment with and impact on enterprise goals.
page

35. March 16, 2009
Leading Vendors
Here are some of the leading vendors that provide outsourced learning offerings, with information on their
companies provided from their Web sites.
Accenture
Accenture Learning BPO Services is a comprehensive learning outsourcing offering -- backed by deep
consulting and technology capabilities -- that helps organizations drive measurable improvements in business
performance from their learning and talent management investments.
ACS
ACS Learning Services provides end-to-end learning outsourcing services to companies that are integral to
a comprehensive HR, talent management or learning process outsourcing (LPO) strategy, including learning
assessment services, curriculum design and content development services as well as complete learning process
outsource services and learning technology services.
Convergys
Convergys fully integrates comprehensive learning services into broader HR BPO services. Solutions include
alignment and governance; content development and sourcing; learning delivery; administration and
operations; reporting and analytics; and learning diagnostic.
Expertus
From global LMS consolidation to Web 2.0 customer training portals -- and from learning performance
dashboards to rapid e-learning development for worldwide product rollouts -- Expertus helps manage learning.
It promises to deliver measurable business impact -- with management strategies, outsourcing services and
technology-rich solutions that optimize learning efficiency and effectiveness.
General Physics
GP is a global performance improvement company that offers innovative and knowledgeable training,
consulting, and business improvement services customized to meet specific needs. It has more than 40 years
of leadership in training, consulting, and engineering services, and commits to bringing proven processes, best
practices and lessons learned to bring greater success to organizations.
GeoLearning
GeoLearning is a leading provider of managed learning services, and on-demand performance and learning
platforms. Its on-demand learning and performance management products and services are designed to
leverage the power of the Internet to accelerate the critical business processes within an organization,
centrally manage human capital and knowledge acquisition, and dramatically increase their capacity to win a
competitive advantage in the marketplace.
IBM Learning Solutions
IBM learning solutions are designed to inspire and equip employees to improve their performance, skills and
page

36. knowledge for results. Consulting services and solutions include learning-content development , learning-
management technology, learning infrastructure and hosting, learning outsourcing and learning delivery.
Intrepid
Intrepid is a global provider of award-winning learning solutions. In addition to consulting, technology and
managed services, it offers packaged holistic learning solutions that can be rapidly tailored to support learner
preferences and business goals worldwide. It collaborates with clients to create and sustain education and
training programs that deliver measurable business results.
NIIT
NIIT is a leading global talent development corporation, building skilled manpower pools for global industry
requirements. The company offers learning solutions to Individuals, enterprises and Institutions across 40
countries. Research-based innovation, a key driver at NIIT, is used to develop programs and curricula that use
cutting-edge instructional design methodologies and training delivery.
Raytheon Professional Services
Raytheon Professional Services applies a broad range of award-winning training capabilities on a global scale
to help organizations redesign how they train their employees, customers and partners. It also manages their
training over the long term. It all aims at improving the performance of the learner while reducing total cost
of ownership and delivering other measurable benefits. Its experience and insights span a wide variety of
commercial industries, government agencies, languages, cultures and skill sets.
RWD
RWD’s broad capabilities and experience in learning services is designed to offer organizations an added edge,
while providing solutions that are both cost-effective and designed to meet the specific learning requirements
of employees. It helps develop the optimal learning solution from strategic planning to implementation and
post-launch management. The scalable spectrum of programs, which range from soft skills to highly technical
training initiatives, are designed to reach organization-wide learning while recognizing the particular needs of
individual corporate cultures and organizational models.
Thanks to Bersin Associates for their help in putting this list together.
page

37. March 18, 2009
Learning Executive Think Tank Releases New White Paper: “5 Ways to Survive
Thrive in a Troubled Economy”
Expertus (www.expertus.com) today announced the release of a new white paper summarizing the discussion
among a handful of learning leaders during the Learning Executive Think Tank’s second virtual meeting. The
white paper, “5 Ways to Help Your Training Organization Survive and Thrive in a Troubled Economy,” is available
at http://www.trainingefficiency.com/system/files/WP_5-Ways-Training-Organizations-Survive-in-a-Troubled-
Economy.pdf.
Expertus, a global provider of services that optimize the business impact of learning, has found that, although
many organizations are taking cover and freezing their activities as a result of economic hardship, many
learning executives now see promise and opportunities.
According to the white paper, the emergent winners use recessionary times to innovate and widen the gap
between themselves and their competition. While many companies slash payrolls, place product development
on hold, and take a wait-and-see position in their markets, the true ‘winners’ strategically increase productivity
and prepare to come out ahead when the good times return. Forward-thinking companies who take this
position are therefore required to keep the training engine running at full speed.
The roundtable group, which included learning leaders from a broad spectrum of businesses, compared
insights on key issues facing the industry and shared ideas about not only surviving, but thriving in this tough
economy.
The white paper states, “The interesting dichotomy of the current business climate is that it’s creating an
increased demand for training. Organizations are making hard decisions about what stays and what goes. They
are making sure that at the end of this recession, their learning organization and the company is stronger and
better than it was before.”
When asked how to endure and advance during these tough times, the following advice surfaced:
Create a Teaching Culture - One participant from the knowledge service industry noted that this is an
extremely effective and economical method for training the workforce.
Shift to Virtual and e-Learning - Roundtable participants earmarked e-learning as a critical training tool
in a cost-conscious business climate, offering an opportunity to create programs that ensure excellence
without a loss of productivity.
Encourage and Integrate Informal and Collaborative Learning - Borrowing from successful social media
technology, the use of blogs, webinars, wikis, white papers, and peer-to-peer training helps to ensure that
organizations have access to the training they need at any given moment.
Re-negotiate Contracts with Vendors - Keeping current partners is much easier and economical than
finding new ones, but many roundtable participants agreed that this should to be done with caution.
Align, Prioritize and Cut - Understand your objectives, align training with the business, and reduce head
count intelligently. page

38. Read the full report at: http://www.trainingefficiency.com/system/files/WP_5-Ways-Training-Organizations-
Survive-in-a-Troubled-Economy.pdf.
Expertus also recently released a related white paper entitled “Top 5 Ways to Ready Your Training
Organization for a Troubled Economy,” available at www.trainingefficiency.com. Five additional roundtable
discussions are planned for 2009. To find the latest results from each roundtable discussion, visit http://www.
trainingefficiency.com. To inquire about participating in a roundtable, contact Gordon Johnson at gordonj@
expertus.com. For information on Expertus, visit www.expertus.com or call Mike Murrell at 803-802-9971.
About Expertus
Expertus is the leading global provider of services that optimize the business impact of learning. For more than a decade, the firm’s
500+ learning management professionals have defined and implemented plans, processes and technologies that transform training
organizations creating measurable value for the world’s most successful corporations. Clients include ADP, Cisco, ConocoPhillips,
EMC, Honeywell and Lockheed Martin. Every day at these and other companies, more than a million employees, customers and
business partners are educated as a result of Expertus’ innovative business strategies, outsourcing services and technology-rich
solutions.
Based in Silicon Valley, Expertus serves its clients from offices in the US, UK and India. For more information, visit www.expertus.com,
or call toll-free 1-877-827-8160.
page

39. March 24, 2009
Expertus Named a “Top 20 Training Outsourcing Company” for 3rd Consecutive Year
Expertus (www.expertus.com), a global provider of services that optimize the business impact of learning,
today announced that it has again been named one of Training Outsourcing, Inc.’s “Top 20 Companies in the
Training Outsourcing Industry.” This is the third year that Expertus has been selected for the influential list,
and the fourth year the firm has been honored by Training Industry, Inc. In 2006, Expertus was selected as an
Emerging Outsourcing Leader.
“It has become a tradition to watch for this coveted announcement and celebrate our place among such
exceptional companies,” said Ramesh Ramani, Founder and CEO of Expertus. “The expanding selection criteria
correlates with the direction of the industry, and we are pleased that our products, services and customers
illustrate our continual growth, as well.”
Each year since 2004, Training Industry, Inc. has assessed the leading companies in the training industry to
determine those best suited for world-class outsourcing engagements. This year, they contacted over 500
companies to assess their expertise, experience and capabilities.
The evaluation criteria include corporate competencies in the 26 business processes identified in Training
Industry, Inc.’s Training Process Framework. They looked at the marketing strategy of each company to
determine if training outsourcing was considered a core service in a firm’s business model, and evaluated the
strength of each company’s major clients.
“The criteria used for selecting the ‘Top 20’ reflects the expanded role outsourced learning services play in the
business strategy of major corporations,” said Jim Hanlin, Chief Marketing Officer of Training Industry, Inc. “We
stress the importance of innovative methods in learning analytics and evaluation methods used to assess the
impact of learning on business performance, and are pleased to publicly announce the organizations that stand
out as innovators.”
Expertus offers learning services, strategies and solutions to organizations of all sizes focused on aligning
training with business objectives. Services include, but are not limited to, learning management consulting,
SmartSourcingTM outsourcing services, and learning technology services. Some recently retained clients
include Autodesk, Baker Petrolite and SuperValue. Visit www.expertus.com for full explanations of Expertus’
suite of offerings.
For details on Training Outsourcing, Inc.’s Top 20 list, go to: http://trainingoutsourcing.com. For more
information on Expertus, visit http://www.expertus.com or call 1-877-827-8160.
About Expertus
Expertus is the leading global provider of services that optimize the business impact of learning. For more than a decade, the firm’s
500+ learning management professionals have defined and implemented plans, processes and technologies that transform training
organizations creating measurable value for the world’s most successful corporations. Clients include ADP, Cisco, ConocoPhillips, EMC,
Honeywell and Lockheed Martin. Every day at these and other companies, more than a million employees, customers and business
partners are educated as a result of Expertus’ innovative business strategies, outsourcing services and technology-rich solutions.
Based in Silicon Valley, Expertus serves its clients from offices in the US, UK and India. For more information, visit www.expertus.com,
or call toll-free 1-877-827-8160. page

40. March 25, 2009
SALT Industry News and Announcements
Reports, White Papers and Case Studies
Expertus Releases White Paper
March 18, 2009 - Expertus announced the release of a new white paper summarizing the discussion among a
handful of learning leaders during the Learning Executive Think Tank’s second virtual meeting, “5 Ways to Help
Your Training Organization Survive and Thrive in a Troubled Economy.” The roundtable group, which included
learning leaders from a broad spectrum of businesses, compared insights on key issues facing the industry and
shared ideas about not only surviving, but thriving in this tough economy. ... More
page 0

41. April 2009
Engagement | David Aquino
Learning, Training Development: A Short-Term Savior to Maintain Employee
page 1

42. page 2

43. Appeared in print and online
April 22, 2009
Outsource Learning Operations With Confidence
Expertus, a provider of services that optimize the business impact of learning, released a white paper, “A Guide
to Successful SmartSourcing: Learning Operations on a Shrinking Budget, 7 Ways to Ensure You Achieve More
with Less.”
Recently named a Top 20 learning outsourcing provider by Training Outsourcing Inc., Expertus shares
applicable tips and tools for learning executives who are researching outsourcing as a cost-saving option.
“This white paper discusses the concept of SmartSourcing: how to strike a good balance in the management of
your training operations,” said Ramesh Ramani, founder and CEO of Expertus. “We view intelligent outsourcing
as picking vendor partners who enhance your training organization by saving money and adding value.”
The white paper outlines the top eight activities for outsourcing learning operations based on which activities
have the biggest potential for improving operational efficiency and increasing service levels. They include:
1. Training administration
2. Help-desk services
3. Facilities and resource management
4. Registration management
5. Vendor management
6. Catalog management
7. Training materials fulfillment
8. Training program marketing
Also outlined are three different types of outsourcing organizations, explaining the benefits and pitfalls of body
shops and business process outsourcers (BPOs) with learning industry expertise. The white paper offers a guide
to successful SmartSourcing and an outline of what to investigate when researching potential partners.
page

44. April 22, 2009
Outsource Learning Operations With Confidence
Expertus, a provider of services that optimize the business impact of learning, released a white paper, “A Guide
to Successful SmartSourcing: Learning Operations on a Shrinking Budget, 7 Ways to Ensure You Achieve More
with Less.”
Recently named a Top 20 learning outsourcing provider by Training Outsourcing Inc., Expertus shares
applicable tips and tools for learning executives who are researching outsourcing as a cost-saving option.
“This white paper discusses the concept of SmartSourcing: how to strike a good balance in the management of
your training operations,” said Ramesh Ramani, founder and CEO of Expertus. “We view intelligent outsourcing
as picking vendor partners who enhance your training organization by saving money and adding value.”
The white paper outlines the top eight activities for outsourcing learning operations based on which activities
have the biggest potential for improving operational efficiency and increasing service levels. They include:
1. Training administration
2. Help-desk services
3. Facilities and resource management
4. Registration management
5. Vendor management
6. Catalog management
7. Training materials fulfillment
8. Training program marketing
Also outlined are three different types of outsourcing organizations, explaining the benefits and pitfalls of body
shops and business process outsourcers (BPOs) with learning industry expertise. The white paper offers a guide
to successful SmartSourcing and an outline of what to investigate when researching potential partners.
page

45. April 22, 2009
SALT Industry News and Announcements
Reports, White Papers and Case Studies
New Expertus White Paper Discusses How to Outsource Learning Operations
April 21, 2009 - Expertus released a white paper, “A Guide to Successful SmartSourcing: Learning Operations
on a Shrinking Budget, 7 Ways to Ensure You Achieve More with Less” The white paper discusses the concept
of SmartSourcing – how to strike a good balance in the management of your training operations. The white
paper outlines the top eight activities for outsourcing learning operations, based on which activities have the
biggest potential for improving operational efficiency and increasing service levels. ... More
page

46. States consolidate on learning management | David Raths
May 1, 2009
Like you were reinventing the wheel. That’s what it sometimes felt like to work in training for the
Commonwealth of Virginia five years ago, according to Brooke Schepker, Virginia’s Knowledge Center systems
administrator.
When the governor would put out a new executive order on a topic such as business continuity or
cybersecurity, agencies would occasionally share CDs they had created. But more often each agency would
spend the time and resources to create its own training materials, which it would host on its own learning
management system (LMS). Often those systems were not compatible and couldn’t share content.
“We used to spend time and money in many duplications of effort,” Schepker says.
But those days are over. An LMS consolidation project instigated by eight of the largest state agencies led to
the development of the Commonwealth of Virginia Knowledge Center, which Schepker says has increased
efficiency, saved the Commonwealth money and allowed trainers to focus on creating better content.
The Knowledge Center Web site presents a visual metaphor of a Campus Map, with buildings that house online
functions such as administration and a lecture hall. Schepker calls it a hub-and-spoke system, in which agency
training staffers retain control over look and feel, and learning modules are appropriate for their employees,
but the system uses one centralized database, and the online content and employee training records are easily
sharable.
“We call it a knowledge center rather than an LMS because we like to stress that we have the ability to house
content for agencies in their own libraries in the system,” Schepker explains. “They can upload internal
documentation or presentations in their own agency knowledge center.”
Virginia also encourages city and county governments to utilize the site, and now has 300,000 people using it.
The consolidation of learning management systems is an ongoing trend in the corporate landscape, and as with
other IT movements, state and local government enterprises are following private-sector entities in seeking
improved content integration and the centralization of learner data.
A late 2006 survey by consulting firms Expertus and TrainingOutsourcing.com found that more than 25 percent
of 249 corporate respondents used multiple learning management systems within their organizations, and
more than 75 percent of those organizations planned to consolidate. Perhaps surprisingly, only 40 percent
said reducing costs was a key driver, while centralizing data about learners, integrating content and improving
integration with other applications such as enterprise resource planning all were top factors.
Roy Haythorn, VP of operations for Meridian Knowledge Solutions, says most large government organizations
have plenty of inefficiencies to address. “Many state governments have 40 different learning management
systems in place, with individual maintenance contracts on each, and they’re not able to share content. So
they are creating good online content, but other agencies can’t easily share it.”
page

47. LMS vendor Meridian has worked with many state governments, including Virginia, on consolidations. “The
challenge is to find a champion to take the lead to make it happen,” Haythorn says. “It works best if you can get
the CIO of a state to herd the cats and convince agency leaders to agree to work together.”
Cost savings in Virginia
Although the Virginia Knowledge Center started in 2005 with a steering committee from eight large agencies,
other department leaders soon jumped on the bandwagon. It has since grown to 74 agencies, and 20 more are
considering it.
Some agencies were paying $20,000 for annual hosting fees for their own LMS, which provided no
communication with those of other agencies. Now they pay as little as $800 a year in hosting fees for access to
the centralized LMS, Schepker says. In fact, the state social services agency was paying $140,000 a year for its
own LMS, and now pays only $1,000 in hosting fees, she adds.
“Whenever agencies work together on a purchase, the result is going to be cost savings,” Schepker says. “We
can have one of me instead of 70.”
The system has had other benefits, according to Schepker, including automating reporting. Each state agency
has to file quarterly training metrics figures with the Department of Human Resource Management. In the
past, that might have been sent as a spreadsheet file or hard-copy printouts. Now most of the data is already
in the Knowledge Center system. A feature called “learning events” allows administrators to enter information
about training events that take place outside the Knowledge Center, such as a certification an employee has
earned through classroom training.
Schepker says that training staff members now have more time to create compelling content. She remembers
an old conflict-of-interest training module that was just a video of a talking head. “It was awful and people
dreaded having to go sit in a room and watch it,” she recalls. With time freed up from administrative tasks,
trainers have converted the video into an interactive e-learning piece. “Now people can complete it at their
leisure,” Schepker says, “and users like it much better.”
‘Virtual LMS’ in public health
Many states are finding it valuable to share public health training materials across agencies and state
boundaries, and now state governments are expanding their outreach to county public health workers. For
instance, the New York State Department of Health’s Office of Public Health Practice has launched NY Learns
Public Health, an LMS designed to facilitate the tracking of learners, courses and competencies for state and
local public health workers.
“We do not manage all the public health training in the state by any means,” says Thomas Reizes, learning
management system global administrator, “but we can help take training efforts that were sometimes
disjointed, isolated and separate, and unite some of them with a common platform.”
Reizes describes the project as allowing local health agencies to set up their own ‘virtual LMS’ to manage and
coordinate the training their staffs receive. New York state is offering free access to the system to local public
health agencies. Designed by the Center for Advancement of Distance Education at the University of Illinois at
Chicago’s School of Public Health, the LMS allows users to search a database of online and classroom courses,
register for sections, complete quizzes and track course completion. It also includes a self-assessment tool to
help users find training opportunities relevant to their job roles.
Last year, a pilot project with 29 agencies, including local public health departments, helped develop a catalog
of almost 300 courses. “Now we are training those administrators who want to use it to start tracking their
own employees’ training,” Reizes says.
page

48. New York also has worked with the South Central Partnership, a public health learning gateway developed at
Tulane and University of Alabama on a solution that allows New York’s users to pass through the South Central
registration gateway and register for coursework. Then the completion data is automatically passed back to the
New York system.
Learning community for teachers
A centralized learning management solution holds out promise for efficiency gains in education as well. Since
2003, school districts in Michigan have been able to take advantage of a Web-based system called LearnPort
that provides access to online continuing education courses and administrative functions.
The system was re-launched in 2007 with a more intuitive user interface and several new features. For
instance, besides allowing teachers to take continuing education classes online, the portal also gives them
access to a full collaboration center, explains David Myers, executive director.
“Any of our 40,000 users can create a learning community that can be private, moderated or public, as they
choose,” he says. “We now have 250 professional learning communities.” Some are associated with the online
courses, while others are regional. Chat is available, but users tend to gravitate toward threaded discussion
forums. They can register and get e-mails telling them of updates in their community room.
The LearnPort’s record-keeping functions help administrators track and report teachers’ continuing education
efforts.
In Michigan, teachers are required to recertify every five years by taking 18 continuing education units, from
up to six different organizations. “Previously, there was no easy way to consolidate all that information into
one record,” Meyers says. Now units taken through LearnPort are automatically entered; others are entered
manually, and the consolidated record for each teacher can be submitted to state officials.
LearnPort also offers compliance courses on topics such as Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
and the proper handling of chemicals. There are more than 5,000 enrollments a year in those courses, but
more than 150,000 people in the state are eligible to take them. “If everybody did it,” Meyers says, “it would
lead to considerable cost savings.”
Training executives say that the vendor selection process is central to consolidating learning management
systems. When shopping for one, users should make sure the system is:
scalable enough to handle thousands of concurrent users without performance degradation,
configurable enough to allow individual agencies to control the look and feel, and
able to handle integration with other enterprise applications.
But more important than system evaluation, they say, is getting buy-in from stakeholders. For instance, the
main challenge facing NY Learns Public Health has been to develop a sense of ownership among local health
agencies.
“It has to be a collaborative effort,” Reizes says. “Any time the state government offers an IT-based solution,
there are going to be some trust issues.”
He is convinced that the fact that there is no cost to local agencies will help prove the value of NY Learns
PublicHealth during difficult financial times. “People can reuse content and promote availability,” he adds,
“even if they are facing decreasing budgets for training.”
page