Author: eleanor

In today’s knowledge-based economy, organizations are becoming increasingly vested in their employee development and workforce upskilling. This trend has correlated with an increase in learning management systems (LMS) adoption in organizations worldwide to make it possible for organizations to deliver learning at scale. In fact, the LMS market is expected to grow from $28.58 billion in 2025 to $70.83 billion in 2030 at a CAGR of 19.9%.

While this is good news, learning how to make the most out of these investments is key. It is crucial to be able to purchase the right LMS for you, tailor it appropriately to make it your own, and host it in the right environment. In this post, we’ll help you with the latter two. To learn about how to choose the right LMS for you, explore our article about the top 5 mistakes to avoid in LMS purchasing.

What is LMS Customization?

Although almost all learning management systems do the same basic function, namely providing a platform to host, deliver, and track your online courses, they differ greatly in how seamless and enjoyable the experience they offer can be. LMS customization is one of those distinctive features that separates the good from the great in the world of LMS.

Not all LMSs are customizable. And those that are customizable differ greatly in the degree of customization they allow. This is why it is important that before you make any LMS purchase decision, you are aware of your customization requirements and what the different LMS platforms can offer.

The Different Faces of Customization

A great LMS platform would allow for extensive customization. To help you create a shortlist of what facets of customization you may want to consider, we have compiled a list of the top areas of customization that LMSs usually offer.

1. Organizational Branding

Probably one of the most common and most obvious areas of customization, branding customization allows you to adjust the look and feel of the LMS to your organizational brand. That would include using your organization’s logo, typography, colors, and visual elements. It may even involve generating your custom domain for more brand identity consistency.

2. Multiple Instance Support

The larger an organization, the more likely it is to have separate divisions, lines of business, countries of operations, etc. Each division may have unique branding and customization requirements, each called an ‘instance’ or ‘tenant’. A great LMS would enable multiple instances for any organization, enabling you to cater to the needs of your different divisions.

3. Localization

In an increasingly globalized world, organizations commonly employ multilingual, multicultural teams working across different time zones. A great LMS enables customization to match the languages and time zones of your employees wherever they are in the world. This customization may be administrator-led or learner-managed.

4. Content Customization

 Some learning management systems feature only their learning content, others rely solely on organizations adding their content, and the remainder enable both. A great LMS enables you to get the best of both worlds, where your learners can have immediate access to a wide library of LMS-provided courses and can at the same time access customized, in-house-developed courses on the LMS.

5. Learner Experience Personalization

Learning management systems are, first and foremost, solutions to enable an enjoyable and engaging learning experience for learners. LMSs that support learner experience personalization go beyond simply customizing content and further into customizing the experience itself. This includes features such as adding adaptive learning paths based on interactions and performance, gamification such as certificates, leaderboards, badges, and collaborative activities such as forums, discussion boards, and many more enhancements that transform the learning experience.

6. Role Customization

Learning needs vary across functions and levels within an organization. A great LMS addresses this by enabling tailored content and learning experiences for each employee or role. This customization may be based on function, level, geography, language, or interests. It may even be AI-powered, enabling real-time customization. This type of customization also involves permission and access rights customization; a comprehensive LMS will allow you to tailor your own roles to the needs of your organization.

7. Third-Party Integration

 As an organization, you probably already have your own existing third-party tools and technology. A state-of-the-art LMS enables third-party integration via a variety of methods such as APIs, plugins, and LTI, be it with other HR tools such as an attendance system, HRIS, performance management module, etc., or enterprise management systems (ERPs), or collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams or Google Meet. This third-party integration allows you to move data across systems seamlessly. It also enables you to schedule online learning sessions and encourage learning collaboration within the LMS using your standard organizational tools.

8. Multi-Device

With the global smartphone penetration rate reaching 71% in 2024, mobile learning has become an essential element in every LMS offering. LMS customization supports a seamless mobile viewing experience and synchronization between a learner’s desktop and mobile experiences. A great LMS will also allow for offline learning to ensure  learning can be undertaken at any place or time.

9. Reporting & Analytics

A favorite among all learning admins! A great LMS not only offers you standard training reports, but also enables you to custom-create your own reports to meet your unique and evolving needs. Through powerful data visualization, a great LMS allows you to custom-create dashboards for instant, real-time access to insights that lead to informed decision-making.

Hosting: The X Factor of Customization

Hosting is a key decision when purchasing your LMS.  Where your system resides could be based on your country’s data sovereignty mandate, organization strategy, resource support availability, or preference.

What is LMS Hosting?

In general, there are three different hosting environments you can choose from:

1. On-Premise Hosting

From its name, on-premise hosting simply means that you have the server within your own data center or server room on-site. This will mean you purchase the servers yourself and configure the server software ready for deployment. Responsibility for penetration testing, disaster recovery, backup rotation, and security belong to the organization.   For organizations that have invested in their own data center infrastructure and have high technical capability, this is often a chosen route.

2. Cloud Hosting (SaaS)

Cloud hosting is the opposite of on-premise hosting. With a cloud-hosted option, the application is often referred to as a SaaS solution—meaning Software as a Service. Generally based on a subscription model, the infrastructure, security, and application are managed by the vendor; however, the instance is set up specifically and securely for your organization. This option comes with minimal upfront costs and faster deployment time.   For organizations that have a cloud-first strategy, this option is often chosen, as it allows the responsibility for the system application, server security, and monitoring to be outsourced, allowing internal IT teams more time to spend on internal critical business tasks. A limitation on this option, however, is that the cloud hosting is prescribed by the vendor, which may or may not suit your organization’s data governance strategy.

3. Managed Hosting

Managed hosting is a type of cloud hands-off hosting where the supplier becomes responsible for handling the setup and support of the servers and applications; however, the instance is created just for your organization.  There is often more flexibility in where the system is hosted, which allows data sovereignty requirements—e.g., PDPL specific to a country to be met more readily.  This allows organizations to enjoy the benefits of cloud hosting whilst having greater control over data residence and still eliminating the need for in-house support.  A limitation is that it is a more costly option due to the specific instance created tailored to your organizations requirement.

Custom Fit Your LMS to Your Needs

Not all learning management systems are created equal! A fully customizable LMS can go a long way in creating a joyful learning experience for your employees, enabling you to upskill your workforce with ease.

If you’re interested in exploring your options, discover more about our LMS .

So much has been said about the importance of learning in organizations, but what is often missed is the effect of the forgetting curve on slowly stripping away learning achievement. Moreover, what guarantees that the retained learning is actually transferred onto the job post-training?  Enter coaching! Hailed as one of the best techniques to encourage learning retention, implementation, and reinforcement after any training intervention, coaching is a simple, yet powerful way to ensure that learning sticks and creates organizational impact.

What is Coaching?

Coaching is a learning technique based on a collaborative relationship between a coach (usually a manager, a peer, or an accredited professional) and a coachee (the employee). It focuses on providing personalized feedback and self-reflection to help employees set their individual development goals, overcome barriers to achievement, and work towards their goals with the coach’s guidance.

The ROI of Coaching

Coaching provides powerful ingredients that traditional training often misses out on; namely, personalization and follow-up.

While traditional training, still essential, provides employees with knowledge regarding vital behavioral, professional, and leadership skills, coaching helps reinforce this learning on the job. Coaching recognizes that at the heart of learning implementation are barriers that differ from one individual to the other and sets out with the employee on a journey to identify these barriers and overcome them.

Moreover, whilst training engagements may last from 1 day to 3-4 weeks, coaching engagements usually last for 3 to 6 months, providing the necessary follow-up to ensure learning implementation, accountability, and reinforcement.

In fact, the numbers don’t lie. Research shows that organizations with a strong coaching culture witness a 52%+ increase in belonging, 30%+ increase in authenticity, and 27%+ increase in work-life balance compared to those without a coaching culture. Moreover, a study on executive coaching’s effect revealed an average ROI of 5.7 times the initial investment, or a return of over $100,000. Along the same lines, our coaching solutions lead to 20%+ behavioral change, 14%+ career advancement, and 90%+ goal achievement post-coaching interventions. These are just some of the reasons why a coaching solution is an excellent investment.

Types of Coaching

 But before you start rolling out organization-wide coaching solutions, take a look first at the different types of coaching and which is the best for you.

1.Post-Training Coaching

This form of coaching primarily targets learning reinforcement and transfer to the job. It is considered supplementary to training. It is especially useful when rolling out new systems, processes, or culture initiatives. It is also useful after leadership programs to ensure leaders get the personalized feedback and follow-up they need to implement learning.

2. Professional & Leadership Development

 This form of coaching is independent of any training programs. It simply aims to identify employees’ and leaders’ next career goals, the barriers to these goals, and the action plan necessary for goal achievement. Afterward, the coaching journey focuses on providing guidance and support to the employee or leader as they capitalize on their strengths, address their weaknesses, overcome their barriers, and work on their action plans. Very often, this type of coaching intervention utilizes assessments and benchmarks to help identify coachees’ strengths and weaknesses and focus the coaching conversations.

How Coaching Works

Coaching interventions are in the form of meetings, often weekly, between the coach and the coachee, for a period of 3-6 months. The first meeting is usually a meet & greet, followed by a goal-setting meeting. The following meetings are usually progress check-in meetings. Along the coaching journey, the coach may assign the coachee assessments, questionnaires, or activities to help them achieve their goals.

That being said, coaching can be conducted by internal or external coaches.

1. Internal Coaching

Internal coaching happens when the organization assigns an employee inside the organization the role of coach to other team members. This coach can be accredited or not. In most cases, the coach is not accredited and is simply a manager or more experienced co-worker who guides the coachee. Even then, the organization is responsible for providing the necessary training for these employees playing ‘coach’ roles to ensure the effectiveness of their engagements.

There are many coaching models that organizations can adopt and train their internal coaches on. One of the most common models is the GROW model.

The acronym stands for:

• G – Goal Setting: In this stage, the coach helps the coachee set SMART goals.
• R – Reality Check: In this stage, the coach helps the coachee discover where they are from their goal achievement and the barriers and weaknesses that stand in their way.
• O – Options: In this stage, the coach works with the coachee to identify the different options the coachee has to bridge the gap between their goals and reality.
• W – Will: In this stage, the coach works with the coachee on setting an action plan for goal achievement with clear timelines and progress check-ins.

It is important to realize in all of these engagements that coaching is a collaborative relationship. The coach’s role should not be to instruct or teach, but rather to facilitate employee self-discovery and learning.

2. External Coaching

This type of coaching involves contracting an external freelance coach or coaching company to lead the coaching engagements inside the organization. Although a safer, more effective approach than internal coaching, it is more costly.

Before getting an external coach on board, you must ensure they are accredited by an internationally recognized body. Here are the top accredited coaching bodies:

• The International Coaching Federation (ICF)
• The Association for Coaching (AC)
• The European Mentoring & Coaching Council (EMCC)
• The International Association of Coaching (IAC)

Moreover, it is important to note that coaches usually have specializations, such as career, executive, leadership, business, life, or relationship coaching. Their individual life and career experiences also play a role in how helpful they can be in a particular coaching situation. So you need to pay special care to the process of coach-coachee matching to ensure optimal results.

Coaching Modalities

Coaching used to be face-to-face, but virtual coaching sessions are now widely available. Moreover, artificial intelligence is totally revving up the game with AI-powered coaches. To learn more about these state-of-the-art coaches, check out Caisy AI coaching simulator.

Moreover, coaching can be conducted one-on-one or in groups, depending on the specific skill set you are addressing. For example, one-on-one coaching can be used to help an employee with emotional regulation, but group coaching can be used to guide a team to develop better collaboration skills.

Are you ready to embrace coaching as an integral part of L&D?

Coaching can help you maximize your L&D ROI. If you believe that you’re ready to embrace coaching as part of your L&D strategy or would like to learn more, contact us at [email protected].

Research shows that 75% of employees say they don’t receive feedback frequently enough to improve their work performance. Statistics like that have created a feedback fever in organizations, all on the premise that more feedback equals more performance. But are organizational feedback loops really serving their purpose? And are performance management systems really aiding organizations in improving employee and organizational performance? 

In this article, we’ll help you get an overview of the correct performance management process, best practices, and how state-of-the-art talent management systems can help you optimize your performance management.

What is Performance Management?

Performance management is a continuous process by which organizations align all their employees with the organizational strategic objectives to ensure that all employee efforts converge to achieve these objectives. The strategic objectives are accordingly used as a basis to set individual employee goals and assess individual performance.

The Process of Performance Management

The traditional performance management process is usually done on an annual, semi-annual, or quarterly basis. The shorter the timeframe, the better. However, select the timeframe based on the cadence of environmental change within which your organization works. The faster the pace of change in an organization’s environment, the more suitable a shorter timeframe would be. Here are the steps of the process from beginning to end.

1. Set organizational objectives

It is important for senior management to set the organizational objectives in order to kick-start the process. Avoid the temptation of having individual functions set separate functional and operational objectives without waiting for the overarching organizational objectives. This is like putting the cart before the horse. 

Remember, at this phase, to select the goal-setting frequency more suitable to your organizational environment. You could set quarterly, semi-annual, or annual organizational objectives.

2. Cascade the organizational objectives

Once the organizational objectives are set, ensure you cascade them to all functions so that functions can engage in their departmental goal-setting with the big picture in mind. It is important in this phase that departments pay special attention to how their departmental objectives link to the organizational goals. 

Moreover, try not to fall prey to a top-down goal-setting approach. It is best practice to look at goal-setting as a brainstorming activity. Encourage managers to have team-wide brainstorming sessions where employees can share their ideas regarding how their department can best contribute to the organizational goals and use the results of these sessions as the basis of departmental and individual goal setting.

3. Ensure individual buy-in

Ensure as you assign individual goals that all goals are SMART, aka specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. Moreover, once individual goals are set, take the time to ensure individual employees understand what is expected of them and gain their commitment to their individual goals. Talent management systems can make this process a piece of cake with their automated notifications and report generation.

4. Conduct frequent performance check-ins

One of the worst mistakes a manager can make is to set objectives at the beginning of the performance management cycle, keep them lying there, and only revisit them at the end of the cycle. In fact, research by Gallup points out that the team members of managers who provide weekly feedback instead of annual are 5.2 times more likely to strongly agree that they receive meaningful feedback.

For optimal results, it is better to schedule weekly check-ins both on a team level and an individual level. In team meetings, it is better to review the team’s progress toward the departmental goals; in individual meetings, it is better to take the opportunity to have a two-way feedback conversation with individual team members.

 5. Conduct the all-too-dreaded performance appraisal

At the end of every performance management cycle, it is standard practice that managers conduct appraisal meetings with their individual employees to evaluate their cycle performance. However, managers and employees alike shouldn’t simply view the appraisal as an evaluation but rather a feedback conversation about the employee’s performance.

It is also important to not only focus on the ‘what’ but also on the ‘how’ of individual performance. In other words, managers need to evaluate their employees’ performance, not only on what goals have been achieved but also on their behavior as they were working towards the goal achievement.

When it comes to performance appraisals, there is a rule of thumb: the employee should never be surprised! If the employee hears any feedback for the first time in the appraisal meeting, it simply means the manager did not conduct check-ins with sufficient frequency or clarity. Bearing this rule of thumb in mind removes all the dread from the performance appraisal meeting.

The Award-Winning Talent Management Platforms that we offer

Talent management platforms come with a myriad of modules, all designed to help your organization with its talent management processes. Performance management is one of the standard modules in almost all of the world’s top platforms.

1. Cornerstone OnDemand

With more than 25 years in the business, Cornerstone OnDemand boasts a comprehensive AI-based talent management platform known as Cornerstone Galaxy. Cornerstone Galaxy is formed of three main modules: Cornerstone Learn, Cornerstone Elevate, and Cornerstone Transform.

With Cornerstone’s performance management module, part of Cornerstone Elevate, you can help your employees stay aligned with personal and organizational goals and drive their continuous growth throughout the year. Powered with feedback and check-in tools, Cornerstone’s performance management module can help you set goals, coach employees, receive feedback, guide development, and give recognition. 

Moreover, the module goes beyond performance management and seamlessly links performance and skills data with internal learning opportunities to enable employee-driven, manager-supported growth. 

Here are the top benefits of Cornerstone’s performance management module. It helps you:

• Align your people to organizational strategy goals.
• Gain a global view of your workforce.
• Assess employee capabilities to build critical competencies for your organization.
• Manage complex succession plans.
• Conduct more frequent or continuous appraisals.
• Design a sustainable compliance process.
• Automate the performance review process.
• Create objective-based development plans.
• Crowdsource feedback and gamify the experience with badges.

2. Totara

Established in 2011, Totara is also one of the world’s top talent management platforms. Also comprising three modules, Totara Perform, Totara Engage, and Totara Learn, the platform gives you the all-in-one solution to your talent management needs. 

Totara Perform, in particular, frees your organization from rigid processes, giving you the ability to set your own course and tailor practices that suit your unique work environment. Powered by a flexible approach, it enables you to select both traditional and continuous performance management processes. It also has built-in tools to help you build a coach-mentor culture with check-ins, reviews, and fast feedback.

Even more, Totara Perform helps you identify and close skill gaps across the entire workforce. With its insights, you can prescribe actions and content that align with the goals of your people and organization. When coupled with Totara Learn, it helps you connect competency management to critical learning requirements.

With Totara Perform, you can enjoy:

• A performance review workflow builder
• Continuous performance management tools
• Open-source and flexible frameworks which allows the application to be extended and customized to meet your organizations’ specific needs if additional functionality is required 
• Frequent and flexible performance check-in tools
• Traditional and modern performance management workflows
• Skills and development tracking
• A 360-degree feedback tool
• Intuitive detailed reports
• Flexible hosting options – on-premise or in-country managed hosted using AWS and STC. 

How XpertLearning Can Boost Your Performance Management

Performance management is a key pillar in any organization’s journey towards success. Do it right, and you reap a lot of benefits! Do it with high-tech AI-powered talent management platforms, and you reap the benefits in no time and with minimal effort. Reach out to us at [email protected] if you’re looking for more insights on implementing or optimizing performance management at your organization.

Since the release of ChatGPT by the end of 2022, the world has changed and will never be the same again. The number of generative AI tools that have emerged in every area of business is immense, and the number of AI users has been increasing exponentially. In fact, it is forecasted that the global number of AI tools users worldwide will continuously increase between 2024 and 2030 to reach a total of 414.7 million users, an increase of 131%.

This rise of AI presents challenges but immense opportunities. In this article, we will tackle the most pressing fears that people have about AI, the unlimited opportunities, and how we can help your organization adapt fast to this trend.

The Top Fears Around AI

Artificial intelligence is not without its challenges. Here are the top fears associated with the use of generative AI.

Fear 1: AI will kill jobs

This is the most widespread fear that employees have about AI. However, AI will not be killing jobs, but employees who do not use AI will get out of work. The greatest benefit that comes with AI is that it removes the mundane, repetitive part of any job to free you up to focus on the impact-making, relationship-building work that no machine can make. You can also use AI for inspiration, proof-reading, double-checking, consulting, etc. Consider it your digital best friend. 

Fear 2: AI gives robotic responses

There are some people who still cannot trust the quality of work generated by AI. This boils down primarily to the way they are using it. It is crucial to understand that Gen AI tools do not function the same way as a Google search. There is an art and science to prompt engineering so that you can write the best prompts to get the best results. More importantly, getting the best results from AI is not about simply writing the first prompt right, but it’s also about learning how to do prompt follow-up and personalization. 

Fear 3: AI poses a great data security risk

Generative AI has made cybersecurity crimes easier than ever. In fact, 40% of all phishing emails targeting businesses are now generated by AI. Moreover, 61% of organizations saw an increase in deepfake attacks over the past year, many of which were generated by AI. With that in mind, it is not surprising that 60% of IT professionals feel their organizations are not prepared to counter AI-generated threats. 

All hope is not lost, though! AI, on the other hand, can also be used to strengthen data security systems, compensate for cybersecurity skills gaps, and build AI-powered preventive strategies. 

Fear 4: AI will kill copyrights

AI imposes huge intellectual property and copyright infringement issues. The violations primarily stem from the illegitimate use of copyrighted work as input to the training data given to the AI model. To safeguard against this huge risk, organizations should demand terms of service from generative AI platforms that confirm proper licensure of the training data that feed their AI to ensure the safety of organizational data. Furthermore, organizations need to raise awareness about such issues among their employees, especially the ones working in content creation, design, media, or software development. 

Fear 5: AI will weaken human skills over time

It is true that you lose the skills you do not lose. However, AI shall not replace human employees completely. Employees are still going to use all their skills on the job. It is just that they will use the skills that matter more. Moreover, AI can actually help develop employees’ skills. There are many Gen AI tools that produce highly simulated scenarios and case studies that make learning the hardest skills easy in a safe environment. Our AI Conversation Simulator, Caisy, does just that, helping you develop your skills while receiving real-time, personalized feedback.

Is Your Organization AI-Ready?

These were the top AI-related fears that organizations and employees worldwide have. Some of them are real, others unfounded. In all cases, the unlimited opportunities presented by AI necessitate that we overcome the fears, mitigate the risks, and develop our organizations’ AI capabilities. To learn more about our AI offerings, explore our AI Skills Solutions.

Aside from welcoming new joiners, organizational onboarding serves the purpose of equipping new employees with all the information they need to succeed in the organization and their roles. Despite its obvious benefits, around 1 in 3 employers don’t have a structured onboarding process.

In this blog post, we’ll explore why onboarding matters, its components, and how it is done right.

Why Onboarding Matters?

The importance of onboarding to organizations cannot be underestimated. Onboarding plays a key role in ensuring the smooth sailing of new joiners, reducing time to optimal performance, and retaining the people you have worked hard to attract to your organization. Here are the top benefits of onboarding.

1. Increasing New Hire Performance

Research shows that effective onboarding can improve new employee productivity by 60%. It is simply easier for employees to reach optimal performance faster when they know the system, the people, what is expected of them, and how to get things done.

2. Increasing New Hire Retention

You will be surprised to know that 1 out of 5 new hires exits within the first 45 days of a new job. And what can help turn this around? Onboarding! The first couple of months on the job are the most critical to employee retention. This is the time when the new hire is still not fully committed and may be still getting offers from his recent job search. It is the time when you need to do the most to convince the new hire that they’ve made the right choice by choosing you.

3. Building Organizational Alignment

A successful onboarding program delivered consistently to all new hires ensures that all employees speak the same language. This can go a long way in ensuring smooth processes, frictionless operations, positive employee interactions, and, most importantly, a common organizational culture.

Components of an Effective Onboarding

Now that you know the importance of having a structured, consistent onboarding process, you need to know the main components that make the program successful.

1. Tools Allocation

One of the first things you need to do when an employee comes to the office on Day 1 is to ensure they have all the tools they need to get going with an early start. You need to provide the new hire with their station, laptop, accessories, wifi connection, email account, access cards, etc. as early on as possible. Moreover, you can even pump it up more by gifting the new hire a ‘welcome kit’ that may include more fun items, such as a mug with their name, pen, notebook, etc.

2. Compliance Training

There is no better time to provide the new hire with compliance training than when they are still fresh to the organization and not yet loaded with work. Compliance training may include code of conduct, information security, health & safety training, and much more.

3. Culture Orientation

Culture is one of the key components of any successful onboarding program. Your new hire needs to know about the organizational history, structure, vision, mission, values, catalyzing behaviors, principles, and artifacts. This helps set the tone for the new hire and accelerates their fitting in.

4. Job Orientation

A successful onboarding program also must contain an element of job orientation. In this part of the program, the new hire is introduced to their job role, description, KPIs, and, most importantly, performance expectations. This also includes visibility into the organizational objectives and how the new hire’s role fits in.

5. System Orientation

Most organizations today flaunt more than one system that they use to automate their work. They may have a system for HR processes, one for communication, one for procurement requests, another for project management, and many more. With such myriad systems and tools, it is important to ensure that before the end of the program, the new hire has gained access and knowledge of how to use all the tools needed for their role.

How to Get Onboarding Right?

Once you have a fully-fledged onboarding program that comprises all these main components, you can follow these general tips to implement the program successfully.

1. Use an onboarding checklist

An onboarding checklist goes a long way in helping you stay on top of things and keep organized. It ensures you don’t miss anything important, gives visibility to the new hire into their onboarding plan, and ensures buy-in if you require the new hire’s sign-off at the end.

2. Make it human

It is very important that you don’t get lost in the trees and miss the forest. After all, the new hire is probably overwhelmed and slightly worried. At every step of the way, ensure you connect the new hire with the ‘people’ who can help them with the topic at hand. It is also critical that you leverage the onboarding period to start the new hire’s relationship with their peers and manager on the right foot. You can even schedule a ‘meet & greet lunch’ with the team as part of the onboarding.

3. Measure effectiveness

You cannot improve what you don’t measure. Take the time to survey the new hire’s opinion at the end of the program to learn what went well and what needs improvement. A best practice related to measuring onboarding effectiveness is to also share an effectiveness survey three months post onboarding. This 90-day survey gives you indispensable insights into the effectiveness of your program because, unlike the former one, it is filled in with a deeper perspective from the new hire.

Digitize Your Onboarding Process

Do you believe like us that successful onboarding is important? If yes, you can always provide a seamless, digital onboarding experience to your new hires. Visit our talent management solutions to learn more.

Organizations achieve an average of 147% higher earnings per share when their number of talented managers increases and the rate of engaged employees doubles. However, with only 40% of leaders rating their organization’s leadership quality as “very good” or “excellent”, the need for leadership development training becomes even more serious.

The question, thus, becomes, ‘what skills do we need to help leaders develop?’, and, with the 2024 LEADx Leadership Development Benchmark Report highlighting insufficient time as the top challenge behind leadership development training failure, the question also becomes, ‘and how can we do it?’. 

With our micro digital leadership development courses, leaders in your organizations can develop their skills at their own pace and convenience. With regards to what courses they can take, we have compiled for you a list of some of the top-rated leadership courses we offer.

   1. Business Execution: How Things Get Done 

Business execution is the “how” of getting things done. Leaders can use business execution to drive performance and strategies in the right direction, to solve problems, and to inspire others. In this course, your leaders will learn about the characteristics that define effective business execution culture and the three elements needed to execute a business plan: practice, planning, and people. They’ll also learn actionable strategies for fostering a business execution culture.

The Course Objectives

• Identify characteristics of a business execution culture
• Recognize effective leadership practices for business execution
• Identify how to guide the execution of a business plan
• Choose business execution techniques that motivate people to get things done
• Select actionable strategies to benefit from business execution

2. Effectively Directing & Delegating as a Manager 

Understanding the essential responsibilities leaders have when directing and delegating to others and the practices they should employ in order to meet those responsibilities will help them fulfill their duties and realize the potential of their entire teams.

This course provides information on the key proficiencies of managing people, such as setting direction and establishing clear objectives and goals for direct reports. It discusses the importance of organizing, as well as communicating for clarity and direction. It also covers the best practices for planning delegation and the techniques leaders need to carry through with delegation. The course also details the importance of monitoring delegated tasks to ensure employees are on the right track.

The Course Objectives

• Sequence the steps in setting the direction and pace of work as a manager
• Identify organizing actions a manager should typically take
• Recognize aspects of communicating for clarity and direction when directing employees
• Identify essential elements of planning to delegate
• Recall strategies for delegating tasks
• Identify examples of ways to follow up after delegating tasks

3. Engaging & Challenging Your Top Performers 

Research shows that a top performer can be 400% more productive than an average performer. Such top-performing employees play a significant role in your organization’s success and are critical to its future. Replacing them is not only hard, but also expensive. However, retaining such top performers is not easy; they are usually ambitious and are often sought after by other organizations. If they are not happy or engaged in your organization, they may easily find another job. 

In this course, we help your leaders identify the typical characteristics of top performers, learn what motivates them, and know what to do to keep them engaged and challenged.

The Course Objectives

• Identify key traits common to top performing individuals
• Identify techniques for attracting and retaining top performers
• Identify best practices for keeping top performers motivated
• Identify strategies to effectively manage the top performers of your organization

4. Gauging Your Leadership Performance 

Leaders’ ability to monitor and assess their own progress as they develop is vital to ensure their growth and overall success as leaders. In this course, leaders in your organization will learn about techniques they can use to carry out a self-assessment, such as reflective journaling, surveys and checklists, and 360-degree feedback. They’ll also learn ways to increase their motivation and manage their own learning by creating a leadership development plan.

The Course Objectives

• List the steps in using reflective journaling for self-assessment
• Recognize the process for using surveys and checklists for self-assessment
• Identify the benefits of self-assessment via 360-degree feedback
• Recognize the techniques for leading and listening
• Identify ways to challenge and empower yourself
• Recognize the techniques for rewarding yourself for achieving your goals
• Take appropriate actions to prepare a leadership development plan

5. Learning from Failure & Success 

Failure is trendy. Every day you can read about failure being celebrated for lessons learned. People are encouraged to fail as fast as they can, with buzzwords exhorting “Fail Fast,” “Fail Big,” and “Fail Often.” But while you certainly can learn from failures, you can also learn powerfully from successes. The key is to take advantage of all your experiences to learn essential lessons that will help you prosper in the future. 

In this course, your leaders will learn methods to glean growth and learning from any experience, and to identify each stage of the success cycle to make that happen. They’ll also examine actions that allow them to learn from setbacks or even mistakes, and how to use their successes to inspire and guide themselves to future triumphs.

The Course Objectives

• Identify key actions to enable you to learn from any experience
• Recognize the key stages of the success cycle
• Identify key actions that foster an attitude of learning from failure
• Choose techniques to help you use successes to inspire and guide you

Kickstart Your Leadership Development Today

These were the top leadership courses we offer that every leader must take to excel in their roles. If you’re interested in learning more about our leadership development courses, visit https://xpertlearning.com/leadership-2/ or contact us at [email protected] for a free, quick demo.

Since the early 2000s, there has been a significant increase in the emphasis on sustainable organizational practices. Investors, employees, and consumers are now prioritizing organizations’ sustainability efforts. For instance, 77% of consumers are inclined to buy from companies dedicated to making a positive impact on the world, and 73% of investors consider environmental and social improvements as key factors in their investment decisions. These figures represent a stark contrast to the attitudes prevalent two decades ago.

In this blog, we will delve into the concept of organizational sustainability and provide insights on how to kick off an organizational sustainability strategy.

What is Organizational Sustainability?

Sustainability is a leadership approach that transcends the traditional focus on a single bottom line—profits—to embrace a broader set of goals known as the triple bottom line. This concept, often referred to as the 3 Ps, includes profit, people, and planet.

Organizations committed to sustainability operate on the principle that fulfilling present needs should not jeopardize the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Consequently, sustainable organizations create benefits for their employees, communities, and the environment, ensuring positive impacts for both current and future generations.

The Three Pillars of Sustainability

For an organization to achieve sustainability, it must realign its goals around these three pillars.

1. The People Pillar

This pillar emphasizes that growth should not come at the expense of people. It reflects a deeper understanding of a business’ responsibilities towards its employees, customers, and the broader community. A sustainable business considers the short, mid, and long-term interests of its employees, customers, stakeholders, and the community wherein it operates.

2. The Planet Pillar

This pillar is based on the understanding that long-term business growth is unattainable on an unsafe planet. Therefore, organizations committed to sustainability must prioritize practices that protect our environment and ensure its safety.

3. The Profit Pillar

While generating profits is a natural inclination for most organizations, it should not overshadow the other two pillars. Profit must be pursued responsibly, ensuring long-term viability. This involves assessing the sustainability of business directions, operations, and projects, and making necessary adjustments. This pillar often encompasses compliance, proper governance, and risk management, which is why it is sometimes referred to as the governance pillar.

What is an ESG Strategy?

An ESG strategy is an acronym that stands for three principal strategies: environmental, social, and governance strategies. These strategies set an organization’s main direction and principles regarding the three pillars, which in turn translate into practices and initiatives to guarantee organizational sustainability.

Common ESG Practices

There are many ESG practices that are gaining traction worldwide. Here are the top practices.

1. Environmental Practices

Organizations are increasingly focused on reducing their carbon footprints, packaging waste, water usage, and other ecological impacts. They also emphasize the environmental sustainability of their supply chains, ensuring that raw material sourcing does not lead to deforestation or biodiversity loss.

 2. Social Practices

This pillar centers on fair treatment of employees. Businesses are implementing retention and engagement strategies, improving working conditions with better maternity and family benefits, flexible scheduling, learning and development opportunities, competitive compensation, and safe work environments.

Common practices in this pillar also include fostering good relationships with the community. Organizations ensure that the communities they operate in benefit from their profits through initiatives like fundraising, sponsorships, scholarships, and investments in local public projects. On a global scale, businesses work to ensure the safety and fair treatment of individuals within their global supply chains.

3. Governance Practices

This pillar involves establishing ethics and compliance policies, risk management practices, and conducting internal audits. These measures help prevent conflicts of interest, unethical or illegal activities, and risky decisions that could jeopardize an organization’s operations, performance, or reputation.

Common Sustainability Certifications

There are many certifications that your organization can aim to acquire in order to gain evidence of the success of its sustainability commitment. Here are the top certifications.

ISO 14001

The International Organization for Standardization governs many quality standards that businesses follow. ISO 14001 is one of these quality standards. The standard is set to ensure legal obligations are met and organizations recognize their environmental impacts. The certificate is issued to more than 360,000 organizations.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)

A globally recognized certification, LEED by the US Green Building Council (USGBC) addresses some of the key reporting and accountability requirements of the construction sector, which naturally links to the renewable energy sector. LEED incorporates various factors, including sourcing of materials, finished building efficiency, maintenance requirements, and the impacts of development on the local community.

B Corporation

The B Corporation logo is one of the latest certifications that small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) strive for to be recognized for sustainability. The certification is based on all aspects of the organization—from the nature of the finished products to the supply chain implications.

FairTrade

The FairTrade movement was founded in 1992 and is currently a long-standing certification that encourages supply chain equity. Today, the FairTrade mark is seen across thousands of consumer goods, such as chocolate, coffee, and other products whose ingredients or labor are outsourced.

Build a Sustainable Organization Today

Whether you are a long way into your sustainability journey or still starting, many of our ethics, compliance, health, and safety programs may help your organization. Explore our courses to learn more.

As technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain continue to disrupt all sectors, the education sector included, we sat down with Sarah Daly, XpertLearning’s EdTech Director, to delve deeper into her insights on the impact of these technologies on educational institutions.

Sarah Daly has more than 20 years of experience working with EdTech, during which she has worked both within a Higher and Professional Education consulting setting, including working with some of the leading organizations in the region.

Q: How would you describe your current role?

A: My role involves any of the solutions we have in place under the XpertLearning portfolio, which fall into the Edtech sector, such as K12, higher education, and continuing professional education. In my role, I’m responsible for vendor relation management, positioning the products, and working with the vendors to meet the localization requirements for this region. And I guess a big part of my responsibility is ensuring that those products become relevant for this market.

Q: And what types of organizations would you say you have worked with so far in your role?

A: A real variety – Federal and Private Education institutions, Ministries and more latterly with Corporate CPD organizations.  We predominantly started working in the UAE, but in the last few years we’ve spread out to working more across the GCC and we’re seeing much more focus in Saudi Arabia and the other GCC countries now. Our clients range from leading education organizations to ministries and federal and private education institutions.

Q: What kind of solutions do you offer these clients?

A: We’ve got a range of ed-tech solutions aligned to the sector. We’ve got a suite of solutions around learning management and student information systems, and we also offer solutions that are based on blockchain technology, which support life-long learning through the provision of digital micro-credentials, certificates and badging. We also provide learning content, both custom and off the shelf, for K12 and higher education.

But what’s more interesting than that is what you do with these solutions, and that’s where we really help. For example, the learning management system is a vessel for learning content and most organizations have had those in place for a number of years in some capacity. But actually, what we’re spending more time on now, is supporting institutions with how we can really make those learning management systems sync to underpin the Teaching and Learning experience.  So, we’re interested in working with our vendors as to how we can meet emerging learning needs for Middle East clients through the use of additional features.

Yes, we offer learning management systems and student information systems, but we’re now seeing a lot more conversations around some of the newer technologies that would finesse those solutions.

Q: One of the learning solutions you provide is built on blockchain, why is that important in the education industry?

A: One of the newer solutions that we have in our portfolio is a digital credentialing solution, which is based on the Hyperledger Fabric Blockchain framework. We’ve got a growing client base who utilize that software to provide a passport of qualifications to learners.  The dominant business reason for that solution gaining traction is to ensure the security and the validity of credentials that are being published by the institution. The student population and workforce today, particularly in the Middle East, is so geographically mobile, whether that’s due to students moving between countries as they complete their education, or employees moving to take up new opportunities, therefore we need to ensure that a learner can gain their validated credential from an institution and be able to share it with a relevant new school, employer, government organization or network easily and securely. A solution secured by blockchain, ensures the authenticity.

Q: What are the newer technologies that can finesse learning solutions other than blockchain?

A: The word that everybody always mentions is AI. In reality, most of the learning solutions that we provide have a layer of AI or machine learning natively embedded into them. So, whether that is around surfacing relevant content or providing personalized trending content based on how a learner is engaged in the learning management systems, it’s all fairly common technology that we’re seeing now in our baseline solutions.

But now we’re looking a lot more around how we can inject AI to complete discreet activities which add value.  I love the term ‘injectable AI’ which I heard at a recent vendor partner conference as it allows a client to try out options without compromising the baseline solution. There are many examples of how AI can be injected, whether that be a plugin that helps in finessing content creation, the generation of an examination or questionnaire out of a piece of learning content, or proctoring solutions that use AI rather than just the generic ‘lockdown browser’ type solution that used to be on the market. That’s what we’re starting to look at now.

The big example that was characteristic of the use of AI a couple of years back was chatbot type functions that you integrate with your work. That’s great but not always supportive of the learning journey. But now we’re looking at what the relevant applications that we can plug into the solution so that AI will actually support the learning journey, replacing the AI vanity projects, just to say that we’ve got AI in the solution.

It’s those pieces around the edges of our core systems where we’re starting to find that we’ve got some really interesting technology that is supporting and underpinning our systems to make them different than competitors. And it’s also making the learning solutions more relevant and better for the constituents who are using it.

Q: And when it comes to the use of AI or blockchain, are you talking about systems that already have these built-in or are you talking about plug-ins? What is more common?

A: What’s more interesting now is around injectable AI. That would be where a vendor solution doesn’t build out the AI themselves. Let’s face it, AI is moving very, very fast at the moment. Some of our vendors have partnered with solutions that offer these solutions as part of the product, even though they don’t proprietarily own them, they are bundled with the software.

As far as the education institutions are concerned, they could purchase these plug-ins through us as part of their learning solution if the vendor has partnered with an AI company. There’s also an entire marketplace that allows institutions to plug AI into their solutions. It has to be the right one though. And this is one of our big offerings in XpertLearning. We’ve always had more of a consultative approach with how we solution software to our vendors and clients to give them the freedom of choice around the solutions more suitable for their needs.

Q: Can you list the top uses of AI plug-ins today that you have seen most clients ask for?
A: Certainly, the one that we’re definitely seeing more of is the use of AI in the proctoring process. This is where you’ve got a virtual classroom with learners undertaking an examination. The proctoring software has become much more sophisticated in the way it works, utilizing AI to ensure that there’s no cheating or impersonation going on and reducing the reliance on tutors freeing up their time. So that would be one of the uses that I’ve seen.

The other one that we have seen quite a lot is around where you would take AI and embed it in the course design process. This is where a tutor might generate a new course in the LMS and use AI to generate a quiz out of the learning content rather than coming up with the 25 quiz questions and answers themselves. That’s what I would consider to be targeted use of AI in the learning process rather than a chatbot in the corner that says, ‘How can I help you?’.

Q: From your experience, what are the biggest drivers that make academic institutions want to have a learning solution or an AI-based learning solution?

A: The majority of LMSs aren’t new. So, if we look at the LMSs in the Higher Ed market – the same top 4 have been in place for many years and having a learning management system in your organization as an education institution is a given.

There’s a fairly mixed use of the systems in a number of institutions. There’s a really sophisticated use of learning management systems in some of the institutions, but quite a rudimentary use in others. So there’s still loads we can do in terms of our commitment to the sector and supporting our prospects and clients. Now, we are looking more into elevating the experience both for the staff and learners to ensure that the learning experience they’re getting through their virtual learning environment is suitable for 2024.

Q: And, in your point of view, what are the biggest challenges that make some organizations have only a rudimentary use of learning solutions?

A: It’s multi-faceted. It depends on the size of an institution and can also depend on the subjects they teach, whether they do a lot of chalk-talk-type subjects, more research subjects, or lab-based work. The second reason is always around where it sits in the layer of priorities for an institution and if there is funding available to be able to do it. And the third reason that we hear is ‘time’.

Q: And how can institutions best overcome these challenges?
A: One of the best ways to overcome these challenges is where we’ve got a champion in an institution who is looking to enhance the teaching and learning experience. They might come from a different organization, it may be due to the criteria of the region they’re working in, or it may be about the competitiveness of the organization.

Q: Are there any parting words you’d like to share with our audience?

A: Not really parting words, just to voice how much I enjoy the sector I work in, improving the digital experience by introducing new technologies to organizations and supporting the associated change.   I look forward to the next stage of XpertLearning supporting the ambitious growth within the Education sector across the region.

Leverage Technology for Your Educational Institution

These were the insights we’ve gained talking to Sarah, the EdTech Director at XpertLearning. If you’re interested in learning more about how our high-tech solutions can help elevate your students’ learning experience, explore our academic solutions or schedule a demo with any of our Xperts.

According to Manpower Group, a whopping 75% of organizations globally face challenges filling roles. And, this is just the tip of the iceberg. By 2030, Korn Ferry estimates that the number of unfilled jobs may reach 85.2 million worldwide. This staggering statistic is exacerbated by an increasing employee global attrition rate that has almost doubled between 2013 and 2021.

With these facts in mind, organizations need to do everything possible to attract, retain, and motivate the best talent. Here we share with you the top seven mistakes that organizations make with talent management and how you can avoid them. 

Mistake 1: Hiring with only the beginning in mind

Faced with hiring time crunches and the constant need to deliver results fast, hiring managers and HR professionals often scramble to find the best fit for open organizational vacancies. In an attempt to get results fast, there is no better hire than one with the exact education and experience a manager is looking for, often, preferably, experience in the same industry.

As tempting as this is, beware! Your new hires today are the leaders of tomorrow. You must not hire only for the capabilities the candidates demonstrate for the open roles. You must also weigh in their potential for future managerial and leadership roles in your organization. 

Moreover, experience is only one side of the coin; exposure is another. Ask yourself, would it help if you hire a candidate with relevant experience from a different industry? Would their exposure expand the organizational viewpoint and open a whole new realm of solutions?  

Mistake 2: Bulking experience instead of chunking skills

Organizations often make the mistake of hiring people based on experience, developing individuals based on roles, and promoting talent based on overall performance. As reasonable as this is, there is a catch, past performance is not necessarily an accurate indicator of future performance.

In an increasingly changing world, the experience gained yesterday may prove irrelevant for future roles and organizational demands. Moreover, since it is estimated that 44% of workers’ skills will be disrupted in the next five years due to rapid technological change, organizations are better off chunking employees’ and candidates’ capabilities on a skill-by-skill basis, rather than experience. 

Use skills-based or competency-based assessments to assess candidates, employ skills benchmarking to develop individual personalized development plans, and use skills matching to identify possible promotion opportunities for individuals that may on the surface seem far removed from their original area of expertise, but may, in fact, have many skills in common.  

Mistake 3: Training at all the wrong times

Timing is one of the most critical factors of training effectiveness. A common mistake that organizations often make is to provide training to employees based on their current roles, with little training investment in potential future roles these employees could play. This leaves organizations usually playing catch-up in training, rather than promoting employees who are already trained and skill-ready for their new roles.

Another common timing mistake is tied to the misconception of day-long in-class training programs. Although these kinds of training programs are effective, organizations must still account for the timing of when information is needed, the regular pace at which learning needs to be reinforced, and the time employees have available for learning. In fact, in our learning and development in the UAE guide, we discovered that 77% of employees surveyed reported not having the time available for learning, making it the number one challenge facing corporate learning today.

To overcome these timing issues, organizations must consider just-in-time learning by integrating AI into already-used organizational tools and systems. They must also consider self-paced and microlearning options.

Mistake 4: Measuring performance instead of transforming performance

A common mistake organizations make with performance management systems is that they reduce it to simply a ‘system’. This mindset leads organizations to be hooked on setting objectives, filling in appraisal forms, and doing it all over again the following year. This kind of mindset often leaves actual current performance out of the equation and leaves employees feeling disenchanted. 

To overcome this issue, organizations need to approach performance management with a culture-first mindset. Performance management, in its essence, is not about setting annual objectives, but rather about providing a compass to guide everyone in the organization. 

It is also about checking in often daily or weekly about how well we all measure to that compass. Organizations that truly embrace performance management are more in the now, than in the past, and leverage their technologies and systems to keep everyone motivated towards the North Star metric.  

Mistake 5: Really boxing people in the 9-box grid

First introduced by McKinsey in 2008, the 9-box grid scoring people across two dimensions, performance and potential, has quickly become one of the most commonly used talent identification and succession planning tools in organizations worldwide. The tool places employees in one of nine boxes such as rising star, key contributor, adequate performer, etc., and is often used to identify individuals more suitable for promotions and growth opportunities.

One of the biggest mistakes organizations make is to actually ‘box’ people based on the grid. Organizations must be aware that all employees deserve growth opportunities, each according to their own growing potential and increasing performance. The key here is that the grid does not tell you where someone ‘can be’ in the future; it only tells you whether they are ‘ready now’. Human potential is ever-expanding and should never be limited. 

Mistake 6: Thinking pay instead of benefits

Some organizations consider higher pay as a means to retain and motivate talent. As significant as pay is, it is still not the only way to retain your organizational talent. Employees look at the overall compensation and benefits packages when making career move decisions. These benefits could include traditionally-known benefits such as medical insurance, social insurance, and incentives. But you can also consider more modern benefits such as work-from-home options, flex hours, daycare in-house, free e-learning platform access, profit share, recognition awards, mentoring and coaching programs, gym access, and even free coffee and snacks. 

Mistake 7: Managing by attendance instead of managing by objectives

Talent management systems often come with a core HR & payroll module. They provide a great edge in automating attendance tracking, leave calculations, and payroll management. Although they enhance HR efficiency helping you focus more on the actual HR work that matters, you must not fall for the temptation of making these systems serve as a measure of employee commitment.

Attendance does not equal productivity. In fact, Stanford University research has found that productivity per hour declines sharply when people work more than 50 hours a week. After 55 hours, productivity drops so much that putting in any more hours is pointless. And, those who work 70 hours a week only get the same amount of work done as those who put in 55 hours. That being said, use these attendance tracking systems to make payroll calculations easier and faster, and measure commitment by objectives achievement instead.

Use a State-of-the-Art Talent Management System to Do It Right

These were the top seven fatal mistakes organizations make with talent management. If you’d like to do talent management right, all while saving time, cost, and effort, explore our state-of-the-art talent management solutions. And, if you’d like to know more about the future of talent management, check out our blog article on the 2023 top talent management trends.