Hot Topics for 2011: Survey Results In!

What are the hottest T&D topics for 2011? We surveyed our readers last month. If you participated, THANK YOU, and we hope you used your $5.00 coupon in the Webstore!  Here’s what you and your colleagues had to say:

 

Top Training Needs for 2011 (pick top 3)

• #1 (76%) Management and/or Leadership Development
• #2 (49%) Coaching and Mentoring
• #3 (48%) Performance Management
• #4 (38%) Change Management
• #5 (37%) Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and Decision-Making

(Other training topic areas included Generational Differences, Diversity, Communication Skills, Teams and Teamwork, Time Management, Delegation, Stress Management, Spanish-language training)

 

What’s Going on with eLearning? Are you using it?

• 49.3% YES, we do use it now  
• 32.4% No, and not sure we will any time soon  
• 18.3% No, we don’t currently, but we plan to

 Do you Use Social Networking? (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) 

• 69.4% Yes, I do! 
• 30.6% No, I do not 

SO WHAT DO THESE RESULTS MEAN?  

Management, Leadership and Coaching continue to lead as a hot topic in today’s business world. HR and training managers are focusing on building great managers, leaders and coaches as Boomers retire and younger workers take over in this challenging economic environment.

Performance Management, likewise is a bulwark of successful organizations. The process of setting performance goals, managing to them, providing feedback, and managing poor or substandard performance is a complex set of activities. Performance management is hardly a new topic but continues to seen as critical to business success. 

Change Management also was rated in the top 5. This seems to us to be a reflection of the environment surrounding us. It’s one of rapid change from technological, social and economic perspectives. Managers are struggling to adapt and to manage that change better within their organizations. This topic had great resonance with most people. 

Rounding out the Top 5 topics were the areas of Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and Decision Making, a set of interrelated topics focused on the analytical dimensions of work. In newspapers and blogs we read, we see a lot of talk about the inability of schools to teach some of these important reading and critical thinking skills – and so it makes sense to us that employers are now turning their attention to the development of these skills in the working world.

We also noticed the number of folks who are engaing in Social Networking is up to almost 70%.  We think those numbers will rise.  While many joined these networks to reengage with old friends and keep up with family, the opportunities for greater engagement with colleagues and providers afforded in networks like LinkedIn should not be missed.  We suggest you consider your current social networking strategy and add a LinkedIn Profile if you don't already have one, and "friend" some of your colleagues and favorite businesses in Facebook.  It's a great way to see innovations, ideas, promotions, white papers and more on topics of interest to you.  Don't forget to friend ReadytoManage on Facebook while you are at it!

And dont' forget check out the webstore for some great ways to jumpstart your training initiatives this year on hot topics such as these.  http://www.readytomanage.com/