Tag: news

South Dakota same-sex marriage ban ruled unconstitutional

by Jane Pfeifle On Monday, a federal judge in Sioux Falls ruled that South Dakota’s constitutional and statutory prohibition on same-sex marriage violated the U.S. Constitution. Six same-sex couples filed a lawsuit against the governor, the attorney general, the secretary of the South Dakota Department of Health, and other public officials seeking to overturn the […]

3 New Training Tips for Using New Technologies in the New Year

  The technology website Geek Wire published advice from ergonomics writer Larry Swanson, author of Scared Sitless, the Office Fitness Book. In the past few years, tablets and smartphones have made huge inroads in workplaces of all types. According to Swanson, the compact size and portability of the devices make work and life better in […]

Design Handouts to Give Trainees a ‘Hand Up’ to Better Performance

  If your handouts are “throwaways,” you’re doing something wrong. Presentation expert Marie Wallace says, “Too many presenters treat handouts like an afterthought, justifying their action with ‘They will just get trashed anyway.’ That kind of thinking becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. When handouts are not designed well, they do get trashed.” When done correctly, however, […]

Vermont’s layoff warning law to take effect January 15

by Jeff Nolan The substantive notice requirements of Vermont’s new law requiring warnings before mass layoffs takes effect January 15, meaning the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act) isn’t the only law requiring certain employers to notify employees of an impending plant closing or mass layoff. The Vermont Notice of Potential Layoffs […]

What Follows Your Training Sessions?

  It’s been estimated that: Less than half the skills and information learned in training will be transferred to the job immediately after the training session unless trainers follow up on trainee performance. Within 6 months, as much as three-quarters of training can be lost without follow-up. After 1 year, some employees will retain as […]

Ongoing Training on Job Descriptions Keeps Employees Engaged

  Ongoing training about job descriptions is “essential, since no job remains exactly the same from year to year,” say Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey, business, marketing, and corporate training experts and coauthors of The Entrepreneurial Culture: 23 Ways to Engage and Empower Your People. In fact, since “job descriptions are typically out of date […]

Legal knots untied: Same-sex marriage soon to be lawful in Florida

by Robert J. Sniffen and Jeff Slanker Effective January 6, 2015, same-sex marriage will be lawful in Florida. On December 19, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to extend the postponement of a federal district court’s decision that Florida’s ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. The district court judge postponed his order until January 5, 2015, […]

New Red Cross Research Shows 4 Benefits of Blended Learning

  The most effective safety training method has long been a subject of debate. Is classroom training best? On-the-job learning? Computer-based training? A new white paper from the American Red Cross makes the case for a blended approach that combines online scenario-based simulation learning with in-person classroom training. This blended approach is represented in a […]

Resolve to Freshen Up Your Training in the New Year

  If you get feedback that tells you that your training is boring, you’ve got a problem. Let’s face it: It’s easy to fall into the same monotonous pattern of giving the same training over and over. But if your training is boring it’s not going to be effective. Here are some easy tweaks to […]

Do You Want to Be a Better Trainer in 2015? Try These 4 Methods

  If you had to rate yourself as a trainer, you’d probably give yourself high marks, right? But would your trainees agree with your score? Quality, productivity, safety, and innovation in your organization really depend a great deal on the effectiveness of your training. And, if you are the trainer, you need to be good […]