June 2017 | CLOmedia.com

June 2017

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DAU’s Jim Woolsey

Defense Acquisition University

2017 Learning Organization of the Year

Leaders of the LearningElite - DAU: Focused Flexibility - PwC: Building Leaders Nationwide: Learning Advantage - Vi: Living and Learning - Western Union: Eyes on the Future

18 Chief Learning Officer • June 2017 • www.CLOmedia.com

Every year the LearningElite program helps us to identify the best new learning and development trends and best practices from top learning or-ganizations. Several years ago, the top organiza-tions were focused on using workforce analytics.

They were assessing the impact of their learning and devel-opment programs and identifying areas where learning in-vestments would produce the greatest impact on perfor-mance. Last year saw a push toward career pathing and integrating learning efforts to bolster the succession pipeline. Other trends continue to show up year after year. As we re-view LearningElite applications, we seek to identify these key themes. Then we use them to tell the story of organiza-tional learning in our annual “LearningElite Best Practices and Benchmarking Report.”

Completing the LearningElite application is a tremen-dous undertaking. The questions we ask require weeks — if not months — of preparation. Some organizations begin preparing next year’s application soon after the awards gala.

For the top five LearningElite organizations, their in-volvement doesn’t end with the application. Each top five organization participates in a capstone presentation to deter-mine their final rank. Three weeks after they’re notified of their status, their learning and development team — and any C-suite members they choose to involve — presents on a theme to me, Chief Learning Officer’s editor-in-chief and Research and Advisory Group team members.

One of the most pronounced trends this year was cus-tomization, and capstone presentations explored the con-cept of perfect fit. While many organizations purchase off-

the-shelf solutions, just as often they need something to address their unique needs. The solution might be custom-ized to fit the work culture or address the scale or geographic distribution of the workforce. We wanted to know more about how and why customized solutions are popular among LearningElite organizations. Our capstone rubric asked organizations to present on customized solutions, spe-cifically how each organization used customization related to the five dimensions of the LearningElite model: learning strategy, leadership commitment, learning execution, learn-ing impact and business performance results.

Many of the following success stories showcase how our LearningElite organizations use customization to suit their needs. Every work culture is different, but one run-ning theme is that an organization needs a solution that will fit seamlessly with how it does things. From building new learning initiatives from the ground up to imple-menting custom development solutions for different business units, each of this year’s LearningElite organiza-tions is seeking a perfect fit between their learning initia-tives and their organizational needs to maximize the im-pact of their learning investments.

Congratulations to this year’s top LearningElite organiza-tion: Defense Acquisition University. Since the beginning of the LearningElite program in 2011 DAU has always placed in the top 10, and this year the organization joins Accenture, Qualcomm and Vanguard in the Winner’s Circle. The scope and scale of DAU’s learning and development initiatives are unprecedented; the organization takes the idea of “perfect fit” to heart. CLO

There’s the Best, and There’s the Rest

BY SARAH KIMMEL

Whether they’re building new learning initiatives from scratch or implementing development solutions for different business units, many of this year’s LearningElite organizations customize to make the most of their learning investments.

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Chief Learning Officer • June 2017 • www.CLOmedia.com 19

Defense Acquisition UniversityDAU provided its entire workforce with a comprehensive learning ecosystem. The program produced 181,970 grads, 12.3 million hours of training, 673,000 continuous learning grads, and 160,000 community members with 45 million page views. Company Size: 158,000 Location: U.S.

PwCPricewaterhouseCoopers’ integrated talent management strategy, the PwC Leadership Development Experience, envisions a unique leadership path for every staff member. LDE delivers formal learning, experiences and real-time development to advance technical capabilities and leadership skills. Company Size: 49,000 Location: U.S.

2

ViVi’s one-year Breakthrough Leadership Program blends classroom, online virtual learning, study groups and assessments to attract, retain and improve high potential leaders’ effectiveness. VI estimates it will realize a standardized return on investment for a total value of $123,520 per participant. Company Size: 2,946 Location: U.S.

4

Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.Nationwide associates are the final filter for 23.5 million emails weekly not screened out by tooling. The Protect the Network: Phishing Education program uses experiential learning, sending test emails on content and attachments. Users who take the bait receive immediate feedback and resources. Company Size: 34,019 Location: U.S.

3

Western Union Co. In 2016, Western Union transformed its legacy performance management system. The new approach, GPS, Guide, Perform, Succeed, includes revised goal-setting characterized by employee-led quarterly discussions, removal of performance ratings and reduced documentation. Company Size: 10,000 Location: U.S.

5

Tata Consultancy ServicesASCENT-“The Foundation for your Leadership Journey” is TCS’ blended learning program for first-time managers to effectively deliver business results. Associates participate in case studies, role-playing and team-activities in the four-day experiential workshop. Company Size: 353,843 Location: India

7

Mountain America Credit UnionMountain America Credit Union’s Career Advancement Program is built on a learning technology platform that recommends articles, videos, books and courses tied to various job competencies daily, via email. A social component allows users to recommend items to others with common interests. Company Size: 1,671 Location: U.S.

9

Siemens HealthineersSiemens Healthineers delivered a single education solution, VES, for all health care customers and employees, setting the groundwork for the future of the health care education industry. VES delivered more than $500 million in cost savings, creating system efficiencies and increasing performance. Company Size: 45,000 Location: Eastern Europe

6

AT&T Inc.AT&T redesigned its driver instruction to better equip those operating its 81,000 vehicles by replacing traditional classroom learning with scenario-based driving simulations. Since the training redesign, accidents among program participants have decreased by 52 percent. Company Size: 270,000 Location: U.S.

8

DeloitteDeloitte’s Communication Excellence program is designed to strengthen business communication skills in the workforce. The program has been scaled over time to decrease per-professional training costs, resulting in an 80 percent cost reduction as the headcount has increased by 400 percent. Company Size: 79,861 Location: U.S.

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2017

Best of the best: Accepting their award for being No. 1 overall in this year’s field of the LearningElite are Defense Acquisition University team members William Parker, director of the foundational learning directorate, Jim Woolsey, DAU president, Lois Harper, dean of Capital and Northeast regions, and Chris Hardy, director of strategic planning and learning analytics.

20 Chief Learning Officer • June 2017 • www.CLOmedia.com

2017

Enterprise Holdings Inc.In 2016, Enterprise’s car sales division redesigned its Account Executive First-Year Road Map. After two weeks of training, AEs participate in a sales boot camp to practice skills. Since its implementation, the number of AEs selling 10 or more vehicles in their first six months has tripled. Company Size: 97,000 Location: U.S.

11

BlueCross BlueShield of North CarolinaIn 2016, BCBSNC facilitated 4,270 hours of learning through its enterprise learning and development facilitators program with an ROI of $444,700. The Blue University Resource Guide gives quarterly course recommendations based on current organizational or industry topics and employee development. Company Size: 47,850 Location: U.S.

15

Emory UniversityIn 2016, Emory University implemented two new programs within its leadership development suite. Emerging Leaders at Emory targets high potential midlevel leaders, while the Aspiring Leaders Program focuses on high potential front-line employees. Company Size: 29,388 Location: U.S.

13

Mindtree Ltd.Mindtree provides digital transformation and technology services from conception to execution. With the L&D team’s help, engineers’ average time to billability decreased by 78 days and saved Mindtree $2,322 per learner, delivering an ROI of 42 percent. Company Size: 16,219 Location: India

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G4S Secure Solutions (USA) Inc.G4S’ Custom Protection Officer Certification Program consists of a tenured group of more than 10,000 officers across the U.S., who account for 98 percent of all client retention. This 48-hour classroom instructor-led program is conducted weekly by G4S certified trainers. Company Size: 46,970 Location: U.S.

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Janssen PharmaceuticalJanssen Pharmaceutical developed a new value-based selling model and delivered it through instructor-led training, coaching and personalized microlearning gamification. This resulted in a state of continuous learning, a No. 1 rated cardiovascular drug, and a 29.6 percent increase in new market share. Company Size: 4,835 Location: U.S.

12

InterContinental Hotels GroupIHG’s fourth annual Crowne Plaza Performance Series learning event drew 300 general managers, sales directors and owners representing 94 percent of its Americas hotels. Hotels attending saw a 2.9 percent post-event increase in revenue per available room year over year. Company Size: 116,000 Location: Western Europe

16

KPMGKPMG launched the Audit New Hire Forum, an integrated web portal featuring a range of learning resources. New hires returned an average of 16 times per person. Resource usage increased 1,600 percent over the previous year, and social interactions increased 10,000 percent. Company Size: 36,264 Location: U.S.

14

CareSourceCareSource University’s Leader Transition Coaching program provides six months of coaching to new and newly promoted leaders. Program goals include acclimation to the CareSource culture and helping with the challenges new leaders face. To date, the program has identified an ROI of 448 percent. Company Size: 3,299 Location: U.S.

18

New York Life Insurance Co.In addition to promoting on-the-job manager and employee learning, New York Life’s In-Force Service and Operations Manager Support Program has directly driven improvements in employee motivation, employee productivity and customer satisfaction, and decreased average call handle time. Company Size: 20,000 Location: U.S.

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Health Plan Institute, Kaiser PermanenteHealth Plan Institute, Kaiser Permanente completely overhauled its new employee onboarding program to consistently leverage content, ensure content is available for mobile devices, and drive consistent manager involvement and support. A successful pilot launch means the program will roll out to all employees in 2017. Company Size: 180,000 Location: U.S.

21

Genentech Inc.In 2015, Genentech launched its New Manager Onboarding Roadmap. Before managers spent one-day in the classroom learning their role. NeMO uses an online interactive roadmap to guide that journey, along with text notifications to provide reminders about key managerial activities. Company Size: 15,266 Location: U.S.

25

Automobile Club of Southern California (AAA)Automobile Club of Southern California’s expanded learning and development programs resulted in more than 330,000 learners completing courses in a variety of modalities. This included facilitating more than 2,500 live instructor-led classes in five time zones, with classes that ran five days a week, 22 hours a day. Company Size: 13,197 Location: U.S.

23

Sidley AustinDuring the past year, Sidley Austin offered more than 1,200 educational programs to its lawyers, staff, alumni and clients. Of these, over 93 percent were both developed and delivered by Sidley personnel, reflecting the firm’s deep commitment to learning both within and beyond the organization. Company Size: 3,724 Location: U.S.

22

Memorial Health SystemMemorial Health System’s goal is to have 80 percent of its RNs with a bachelor’s degree by 2020. The company partnered with Benedictine University and completed 19 cohorts pursing the RN to BSN degree. The University of Illinois-Chicago also offers nursing education classes on MHS’ campus. Company Size: 7,200 Location: U.S.

26

Sears Holdings Corp.Sears reengineered its enterprise compliance training program. Previously, the company delivered 9.14 million compliance courses. Through intelligent targeting using people and business data, each employee now receives a personalized compliance learning plan specific to their job responsibilities. Company Size: 150,000 Location: U.S.

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EDITOR’S CHOICE AWARDSIn addition to the ranked LearningElite awards, Chief Learning Officer’s editors want to recognize the following organizations for special achievement:

Learning Strategy: Deloitte

Leadership Commitment: AT&T Inc.

Learning Execution: Tata Consultancy Services

Learning Impact: Janssen Pharmaceutical

Business Performance Results: Siemens Healthineers

Best Small Company: Mountain America Federal Credit Union

Best Midsized Company: FDIC Corporate University

22 Chief Learning Officer • June 2017 • www.CLOmedia.com

2017

Hewlett Packard EnterpriseIn 2016 Hewlett Packard Enterprise revamped its onboarding program for software executives. The integrated evaluation approach demonstrated a very high effectiveness. One of the success metrics was the decline in voluntary attrition from 10.9 to 8.6 percent, and a hiring cost savings of nearly $1.5 million. Company Size: 240,000 Location: U.S.

31

Buckman Laboratories International Inc.In 2016, the Buckman learning team successfully implemented two sales workshops in Europe and South Africa that targeted a critical business challenge involving chemical trials. The company needed to address skills gaps in trial project management in those regions. Company Size: 1,745 Location: U.S.

35

Bridgepoint Education Inc. Bridgepoint Education’s learning team partnered with business leaders to implement Stop Listen Collaborate, a customer-service program to enhance the quality of student advising through a consistent conversation framework. A 30-day post-implementation survey showed that the program was very well received. Company Size: 6,734 Location: U.S.

33

MTM Inc.In 2016, MTM Training revamped its new hire orientation. It no longer covers policies or procedures on day one, focusing instead on culture, customers, mission and workplace values. By replacing paperwork and policies with cultural submersion, employees have a higher level of belief in the culture. Company Size: 1,500 Location: U.S.

37

Deckers Outdoor Corp.Deckers developed a tailored curriculum to provide greater support for its front-line leaders. The program focuses on improving effectiveness and produced a demonstrable shift in employee proficiency ratings, with more balanced ratings than ever before. Company Size: 3,262 Location: U.S.

39

Kubota Tractor Corp.In less than 3 years, the Kubota Tractor Corp. has built a fully functional corporate university with full leadership support. Kubota University has grown into a department of 21 with a budget of $4 million, and released more than 1,500 titles. KU provides learning for employees, customers and dealers. Company Size: 800 Location: U.S.

32

NIIT Ltd.NIIT’s blended learning leadership program Art of Leadership is designed for middle managers. Its 163 managers have completed the first phase of the program with a majority demonstrating measurable behavioral changes per regular 360-degree surveys. Company Size: 2,337 Location: India

36

United Services Automobile AssociationUSAA’s L&D team partnered with Property & Casualty Insurance and Underwriting to develop a new cohesive property course. The course features modules to improve employees’ ability to find information and become certified using mock calls. The course generated $2.8 million in extra revenue. Company Size: 29,000 Location: U.S.

34

MetLife Inc.Professionals at MetLife created a highly interactive redesign for MetLife’s corporate website. This design was chosen over a vendor’s design, which would have cost $300,000 and would have taken six months to implement. The in-house design took five weeks to complete at a cost of $90,000. Company Size: 66,000 Location: U.S.

38

OptumRx Inc.In 2016, OptumRx redesigned customer service new hire training. The new curriculum is a situational, scenario-based onboarding program with seven specific stages. The design produced a 12 percent improvement in customer experience after-call survey scores, and a 22 percent reduction in new employee turnover. Company Size: 8,500 Location: U.S.

40

AonAon created new leader training to enable new and newly promoted managers to better understand the Aon way of leading. Managers overwhelmingly find the workshop a worthwhile investment in career development. The 681 percent ROI far exceeds an external benchmark of 266.52 percent. Company Size: 71,376 Location: Western Europe

27

Berkshire Health Systems Inc. Berkshire Health Systems spearheaded conversion of its paper-based payroll to an electronic time-and-attendance system. This required considerable change management strategies and training for all 4,000 employees. Berkshire used a variety of instructional methodologies including online and classroom learning. Company Size: 4,000 Location: U.S.

29

State Farm Mutual Insurance Co.In 2016, State Farm rolled out AutoAnswers to better support auto policy underwriters and call center representatives. A cross-functional team of more than 100 people across 12 different business units contributed to program development. AutoAnswers poduced a 62 second decrease in call handle time. Company Size: 162,000 Location: U.S.

28

FDIC Corporate UniversityFDIC Corporate University supports the FDIC Chairman’s Workforce Development Initiative. The annual Succession Planning Review program assesses managers’ and executives’ developmental needs and creates a plan to enhance their skills. Company Size: 6,886 Location: U.S.

30

WINNER’S CIRCLE

Qualcomm Inc.In 2015, Qualcomm’s Learning Center provided comprehensive change management support for the organization’s strategic realignment plan to improve execution, enhance financial performance and drive profitable growth. The realign-ment created business units and eliminated approximately $1.4 billion in spending.Company Size: 33,000 Location: U.S.

2015

AccentureAccenture employees can now pursue one of more than 60 internal certifications, an increase of 10 from last year. More than 100,000 employees participate in certification programs annually. To augment its certification program, Accenture launched a strategy certification program with business school INSEAD. Company Size: 373,000 Location: Ireland

2014

The Vanguard GroupVanguard University developed a team-based curriculum that uses drill-based workshops, sales coach feedback and enrichment sessions, a live simulated sales final, and a parallel leader learning experience. As of October 2015, Vanguard accrued $30 billion in assets over their target goal.Company Size: 13,986 Location: U.S.

2016

AT&T Inc.AT&T’s Transformation Learning Series measures enrollments, completions and talent availability for emerging jobs. After complet-ing each track, participants can take a comprehensive assessment to receive certification. In 2015, there were 47,174 certifications awarded. Company Size: 243,000 Location: U.S.

2013

Bright Horizons Family SolutionsBright Horizons’ internal executive coaching program provides access to formal, tailored executive coaching for select employees identified through the succession planning process. Certified coaches engage in a three to nine month coaching engagement. Early results indicate a 500 percent ROI. Company Size: 27,500 Location: U.S.

41

24 Chief Learning Officer • June 2017 • www.CLOmedia.com

2017

USDA Virtual UniversityUSDA Virtual University established programs to build the leadership pipeline, involving more than 50 percent of executives in mentoring, and offering a no-cost 360-degree assessment to managers, supervisors and executives. More than 60 percent of participant graduates have moved into executive roles. Company Size: 87,000 Location: U.S.

51

Mariner FinanceMariner Finance’s learning and development team deconstructed and rebuilt its new hire program. The program introduced new recordings and a simula-tion-based curriculum with complex branching and innovative mapping. Since the program was introduced, time-to-proficiency has decreased by 80 percent. Company Size: 2,000 Location: U.S.

55

Axis BankIn 2016, Axis Bank launched ACElerate, Axis Capability Enhancement, an integrated performance management and capability development system. High performers can access additional learning opportunities in behavioral capability building programs and exclusive certification programs from Coursera. Company Size: 50,130 Location: India

53

Enbridge Inc. Enbridge’s employee orientation program was completely redesigned in 2016 to be highly interactive, engaging and almost entirely activity based. Course satisfaction ratings doubled compared to the previous iteration of the program, accelerating new joiner engagement and increasing performance levels. Company Size: 5,986 Location: U.S.

57

Kimberly-Clark Corp.In 2016, Kimberly-Clark delivered a global strategy and governance model for L&D. Using this model, they delivered targeted programs in team leader development, exceeding the goal by 1,200 participants and setting clear behavioral expectations for team leaders globally. Company Size: 43,000 Location: U.S.

59

Love’s Travel Stops & Country StoresIn 2016, Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores provided classroom learning to more than 400 retail managers, restaurant managers and tire care managers through Love’s University. Learning developed business acumen, increased knowledge of soft-skills, hands-on learning in a retail environment and team building. Company Size: 16,000 Location: U.S.

52

BKDEach year BKD professionals participate in updated technical training, prerecorded, learning-centered presentations delivered virtually, during which an SME/proctor facilitates client-specific discussions. The company uses technology to augment this learning via polls and chats, ensuring consistent messages for all local offices. Company Size: 2,572 Location: U.S.

56

AAMCO Transmissions Inc.AAMCO’s market-based pricing initiative trains CSMs and franchise owners to perform their own regional market research. They determine price ranges to make pricing adjustments on a regular basis. This increased customer awareness built up team member product knowledge and increased bottom-line profits. Company Size: 3,100 Location: U.S.

54

Beachbody (Customer Service)Beachbody Customer Service extended the nesting period for new agents with Transition Nesting. This gave agents two weeks of transactions to achieve 90 percent in quality certification with an additional week of monitoring if necessary. The increase from five days to three weeks led to quicker speed to proficiency. Company Size: 3,300 Location: U.S.

58

Siemens (Learning Campus)Siemens’ Learning Campus partnered with the Building Technologies division to transform its sales organization across the U.S. and Canada. This initiative created a new way to approach the customer for 1,000 sales managers and reps. Based on feedback, other Siemens divisions are considering the approach. Company Size: 351,000 Location: Western Europe

60

Paycor Inc.Paycor’s sales learning team deployed five unique new hire programs, an LMS, a learning app, a video rehearsal platform and a new HQ communication strategy to improve first-year retention for sales executives. Retention increased 23 percent for year one associates. The annual benefit is more than $5 million in revenue. Company Size: 1,500 Location: U.S.

61

Ingalls ShipbuildingIngalls Shipbuilding successfully hardwired key strategic initiatives with leadership development and talent management programs by building accountability and evaluation systems to provide touchpoints and feedback. Its 2016 diversity and inclusion workstreams spurred commitments from the entire leadership team. Company Size: 35,000 Location: U.S.

47

Beachbody (Learning and Development)Beachbody L&D’s technology initiative, Wave 1, used a blended learning approach to improve overall online experiences. The first month after training showed significant learning proficiency. The first week post training saw a 75 percent reduction in the number of hypercare questions from agents. Company Size: 3,300 Location: U.S.

49

PJ Lhuillier Inc.In 2016, PJ Lhuillier had 64 Cebuana Lhuillier Alternative System Community Learning Centers in different regions of the Philippines. They provide academic, livelihood, spiritual and social education to former out-of-school youths and adults in elementary and secondary levels. Company Size: 7,205 Location: Asia Pacific

48

Sberbank Corporate UniversitySberbank Corporate University launched its Risk Culture initiative with 100 percent of managers participating in risk-management programs that include gamification and microlearning. Completion of the online risk management program is triple that of a traditional MOOC course. Company Size: 330,000 Location: Eastern Europe

50

Dept. of Veterans Affairs Acquisition AcademyThe Dept. of Veterans Affairs Acquisition Academy developed and delivered webinar training to more than 3,000 VA contracting and program management personnel within days of a Supreme Court ruling. VAAA developed the webinar in real time as the policy document was being developed. Company Size: 40,000 Location: U.S.

45

TELUS InternationalTELUS International’s expanded Global Learning Excellence organization grew from 50 to 733 team members, continuing its strategy to align learning delivery globally. TELUS delivered Trainers’ Development Workshops, certifying facilitators to lead the program. In 2016, TELUS trained 300 facilitators globally. Company Size: 25,000 Location: Canada

43

International PaperSenior leadership turned mass retirements into an opportunity to redesign its manufacturing learning strategy. A vision for future operators and mechanics produced standardized enterprise recruitment, selection, onboarding, training, and the Global Manufacturing Training Initiative certification process. Company Size: 55,000 Location: U.S.

42

DaVita Inc.DaVita’s STAR program streamlined training time for new clinical teammates. Since its implementation, the program has expanded nationwide from 12 states. The STAR program streamlined training for new clinical teammates from 12.7 to 9 weeks at a savings of $600,000. Company Size: 67,992 Location: U.S.

46

Texas Health ResourcesTexas Health Resources created a culture of safety for its patients and workforce by becoming a High Reliability Organization. In 2016, Texas Health Resources University trained more than 20,000 employees, physicians and volunteers in HRO principles and error proofing tools. Company Size: 23,000 Location: U.S.

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26 Chief Learning Officer • June 2017 • www.CLOmedia.com

2017

T he seventh time’s the charm for the Defense Acqui-sition University. DAU has been recognized in the Top 10 of the Learning Elite program for the past several years thanks to its consistency, excellence and demonstration of learning impact. The corpo-

rate learning arm for the United States Department of Defense is constantly willing to reevaluate and revamp its strategy.

Many successful organizations fail to reinvent themselves, said Chris Hardy, director of strategic planning and learning analytics at DAU. But this learning organization doesn’t have the luxury of resting on its laurels. The knowledge it instills in its learners is of utmost importance, as it prepares the defense acquisition work-force to provide America’s warriors with the best weapons and equipment. More than 150,000 professionals in the acquisition workforce rely on the courses DAU provides to get certified in their fields and to stay educated throughout their careers.

The most urgent challenge facing DAU was improving busi-ness results, Hardy said. The organization’s key metric was cus-tomer value. Although this consideration is always important to any learning organization, it was especially important for DAU last year because of the major changes in Congress that come with any presidential election, said Jim Woolsey, president of DAU.

“In the government, every four years our organization an-nounces that it’s changing,” he said. “Learning organizations have to make sure they’re still serving the right people the right way as those changes happen.”

One way DAU sought to improve customer value is by custom-izing the learning process. Everyone wants more customization, said Woolsey. For DAU, this meant providing accessible, on-the-job con-tent. Even after getting certified, learners can quickly find useful ma-terial again via DAU.mil, the organization’s one-stop learning re-source, and DAU tracks this usage with Google Analytics.

“In addition to providing in-person services, making sure peo-

BY ANDIE BURJEK

Defense Acquisition University continually reinvents itself and embraces new technologies to serve its customers well.

1Defense Acquisition University: Focused on Flexibility

“All organizations change over time, and learning organizations have to make sure they’re still serving the right people the right way as those changes happen.”

— Jim Woolsey, president, DAU

2017

Chief Learning Officer • June 2017 • www.CLOmedia.com 27

ple can get what they need online at the time they need it is an important way to provide that customization,” said Wool-sey. “And we’re moving to be more aggressive in that area.”

Just as proactive technology use allowed DAU to reach learn-ers on the job more readily, it has also allowed them to make impactful decisions using learning analytics. It surveys students right after they’ve completed a course and 60 days after, too.

“By getting that data on all our different courses, we can look specifically at our lower performing courses and ask the right questions,” Hardy explained. “Do we have a popula-tion issue? Are the right people coming? Is it the right time in their career? Maybe the content needs updating. Maybe it does not match the job skills. Focusing on impact metrics has changed the discussion on what needs to be improved.”

Smart use of learning analytics helped make a solid impact this past year for a specific segment of learners and ultimately for the Pentagon. DAU looked at the lowest course scores and conducted a deep-dive, exploring students’ demographics, job titles and the content provided in those courses.

DAU discovered that due to existing certification man-dates, students in the financial management career specialty were required to take a highly technical course they did not actually need on the job. “This analysis helped change the requirement and allowed for re-allocation of resources to other training,” Hardy said.

DAU pulled that data and briefed the Pentagon, which then made a policy change so that segment of the workforce did not need to take the course to complete certification. This saved travel costs and learners’ time. Some 8,000 peo-ple were affected.

On a macro level, DAU’s learning strategy also has gotten strong results. One senior business leader from a major de-fense program on which DAU has consulted cited a 20 per-cent increase in savings due to the learning organization’s targeted training.

Within DAU’s own workforce, 89 percent of learners found on-the-job value in their courses. Only 11 percent said they’d never use the content, compared to the industry standard of 40 percent. But the self-evaluating and self-im-proving DAU chooses to look at that 11 percent and con-sider what it can fix.

Moving forward, DAU plans to continue mixing class-room and on-the-job learning and using analytics to tighten up any gaps in training effectiveness. “How we’re measuring and where we think we’re going are very consistent and aligned with where we see the future,” Hardy said.

“For our key performance measure, we want to know what’s most valuable to our customers. Are they using it? Is it making a job impact? We think that’s where the whole [L&D] community is also moving.” CLO

From left: Defense Acquisition University’s Chris Hardy, Lois Harper, Jim Woolsey and William Parker.

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