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Rick Feldt

April 2011 - TD Magazine

2011: The Year of the Media Tablet As a Learning Tool

As 2024 unfolds, the HR and L&D landscape has transformed significantly, driven by advancements in artificial intelligence (AI). Earlier in the year, CYPHER Learning made key predictions for 2024 about AI’s role in shaping the future of work and learning. Now, many of those predictions have become a reality. The AI trends that have emerged are not just speculative but practical shifts in how we work and learn.Here are eight AI predictions for 2024 that have stood the test of time and are shaping the HR and L&D market today.1. Proactive AIOne major prediction was that AI would become more proactive, and that’s exactly what we’re seeing. AI now anticipates user needs rather than waiting for input. Tools like Microsoft’s Copilot and Google’s Gemini have taken proactive AI mainstream, streamlining workflows across industries by predicting actions and suggesting content.In HR, this has translated into AI tools that automatically recommend training courses based on employee roles and skills gaps, making it easier for L&D teams to stay ahead of workforce needs and ensuring more tailored learning experiences.2. Refined vs. Raw AI2024 saw a shift from experimental AI models to more polished and reliable tools. The refinement of AI systems, driven by improved oversight and cross-checking mechanisms, ensures accuracy and reduces the risk of errors or biases. OpenAI and Google, for example, have refined their models to deliver more dependable results.In L&D, this refinement is critical. AI Crosscheck from CYPHER plays a key role in ensuring the accuracy of AI-generated content, particularly for training programs, making sure employees receive high-quality, validated learning experiences.3. Remote Training for ManagersThe prediction that AI would help managers lead distributed teams has also proven true. With remote and hybrid work becoming the norm, AI tools are being used to support managers in training and managing teams from a distance.Platforms like Zoom and Salesforce now integrate AI to enhance communication, track employee progress, and provide real-time feedback, ensuring that remote teams stay productive and engaged. This has helped bridge the gap between remote workers and in-office teams, offering personalized training and support.4. Workforce VersatilityAI has become a key driver in creating a versatile workforce. Platforms like Udemy and CYPHER Learning use AI to help employees build both hard and soft skills, offering personalized learning paths based on individual goals and performance.This shift is essential in today’s rapidly evolving work environment. AI-driven tools ensure that employees remain adaptable and versatile, ready to meet the challenges of a changing job market.5. Upskilling and ReskillingAs industries rapidly change, the need for upskilling and reskilling has become more urgent. AI has played a crucial role in helping organizations address these challenges by identifying skills gaps and recommending tailored training solutions. For example, the CYPHER Learning platform automates the mapping of course content to skills and assessments, enabling employees to quickly develop and master the competencies required to keep pace with technological advancements.This automation makes L&D efforts more scalable and efficient, allowing companies to better align employee development with their business objectives.6. Improving Daily LifeAI is now embedded in both personal and professional settings, streamlining tasks and improving daily workflows. From virtual assistants like Alexa to AI-powered learning platforms, technology is making everyday processes more manageable.In the HR and L&D space, AI is being used to personalize learning experiences, ensuring that employees receive content that is relevant to their needs. AI-driven tools are making it easier for workers to acquire new skills, contributing to more dynamic and adaptable learning environments.7. Job Market ShiftsAI is transforming the job market, just as predicted. New roles focusing on AI management, data analysis, and oversight have emerged, while traditional roles are being redefined to include AI-based skills. This shift is being felt globally; for example, a survey reveals that 78 percent of workers believe AI will affect their roles within the next two years.In HR, AI tools are being used to assess workforce readiness and match candidates to roles more precisely. Meanwhile, L&D teams are leveraging AI to guide employees toward the skills they need to stay competitive in an ever-changing job market.8. Addressing AI BiasThe increased focus on addressing AI bias in 2024 has proven essential. Companies like Google and Microsoft are investing in reducing bias in AI systems, ensuring that AI models are more inclusive and representative of diverse perspectives.In the L&D space, AI-generated content and recommendations must be equitable to ensure that all employees, regardless of background, have access to learning opportunities. This focus on fairness is critical as AI continues to evolve, ensuring that AI systems benefit everyone and promote inclusive growth across organizations.2024 and BeyondWhether it’s refining AI tools, supporting remote work, or addressing bias, the industry has moved in the direction that was forecasted. At CYPHER Learning, we’re proud to have contributed to these advancements, particularly with innovations like AI Crosscheck and AI-enabled skills development, which are helping organizations create smarter, more efficient learning environments.Stay tuned for our 2025 predictions—they’ll provide insight into the next phase of AI’s impact on HR and L&D, helping you stay ahead of the curve.

8 AI Predictions for 2024 That Stood the Test of Time

For 70 years, Denny’s has been an icon in the casual dining industry, building on its proud position as “America’s Diner.” To live up to its reputation of being a place where everyone is welcome, the company had to make diversity, equity, inclusion, and well-being a top priority.Beyond creating a safe and welcoming workplace, Denny’s leadership recognized that investing in DEI would improve employee engagement, reduce absenteeism, and improve overall financial performance. Additionally, prioritizing employee well-being can lower healthcare costs, increase productivity, and improve financial outcomes.Ultimately, the goal of these efforts is to establish a community where everyone feels valued, appreciated, and accepted as they are—and not just for guests but for team members as well. The challenge, as is often the case with large organizations, was finding a way to enact meaningful and sustainable change for all employees.The numbers don’t lie. Research shows that when employees feel a genuine sense of inclusion and belonging, their work performance increases by 56 percent, while sick days decrease by 75 percent, and the risk of turnover drops by half. Yet, just a single incident of micro-exclusion can lead to an immediate 25 percent decline in an individual’s performance.So, where to begin?Learning From the PastThe Denny’s brand has had its share of missteps over the years, culminating in a multi-million-dollar settlement payout in a 1994 racial bias lawsuit. Rather than bury or shy away from its past, however, the company has used this as an opportunity to learn and improve. The result: 58 percent of Denny’s restaurants are minority-owned. Likewise, among our board members, 56 percent come from underrepresented groups, and 44 percent are women. Yet, even with numbers trending in the right direction, Denny’s leadership recognized the need for ongoing and substantive DEI and well-being efforts.The fact is that most organizations approach DEI and well-being by providing a traditional one-day workshop. Unfortunately, this tactic fails to create awareness or generate an authentic change in the mindset or behaviors of many participants. Hence, the Denny’s Together initiative was born.Create a Place for AllThe Denny’s Together culture journey comprises several elements that support each other. The first is learning and embodying Denny’s “Rules to Live By,” which offers a set of foundational expectations that inform how team members treat Denny’s guests and one another. The L&D (leadership and development) team delivers interactive webinars and e-lessons to share these “rules” with restaurant team members.To boost awareness about DEI and well-being among Denny’s corporate team members, we offer the Go Beyond program. This collaborative program challenges participants to go on a journey of self-discovery as they take a deep dive into the advantages, barriers, and science of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Over 30 days, the program uses daily challenges to encourage team members to observe and explore their individual experiences and beliefs with compassion and curiosity.For example, Go Beyond kicks off with “reflection” activities, which include conversations led by other people leaders within the organization. In addition, there are community events where participants gather to share food and dialogue aided by conversation cards with specific reflection questions like, "What did you learn about bias and how it impacts your decision making?"What’s more, themed daily challenges and reflections, such as: “What Is Appearance Discrimination” and “How to Minimize the Bias Impact,” work to open participants’ minds about their own biases, attitudes, and relationships, while also coming together as one big Denny’s family. Example topics covered in these daily challenges include representation, appearance discrimination, implicit bias, inclusive language, empathy, bias blind spots, micro-affirmations, and allyship. Here’s an example of a daily challenge:Example of Daily ChallengeThe DEI Council and Business Resource Groups champion the theme. Team leaders discuss and reflect on challenge topics in meetings, and a weekly email supports exploring the challenges.To sweeten the pot and generate as much engagement as possible, raffles and giveaways for various challenges gamify the overall experience. For instance, all participants who complete challenges are entered to win a grand prize of two roundtrip airfare tickets to anywhere in the continental United States.Lasting ChangeThere were many lessons learned from the first two years of the Denny’s Together and Go Beyond programs. The four most powerful ones are:1. Get full buy-in from all key executives.2. Understand the culture you are starting with.3. Establish a sense of trust and safety for employees to freely participate.4. Set a high standard and invite employees to participate without a requirementIn addition to understanding that DEI efforts must be immersive to be effective, Denny’s leadership recognizes that achieving an entire cultural transformation that will affect the company from the top down and the bottom up requires an ongoing effort.But to measure the fruits of these efforts so far and guide future iterations, Denny’s leadership embarked on a comprehensive initiative to survey participants on how they felt about the Go Beyond program and the brand in general from a DEI perspective.Nearly all participants (94 percent) of team members felt that the Go Beyond program was an engaging experience, with 73 percent saying that it helped them grow as individuals. In fact, it was such a positive experience that 60 percent said they would be eager to participate again.More importantly, 82 percent of participants said they would recommend Denny’s as an employer, largely because of initiatives like this.Building on the success of Denny’s Together and the initial Go Beyond challenge, the company recently completed the second Go Beyond challenge, this time with the theme of Empowered Well-Being. Likewise, also in the works is the Championing Humanity challenge, a four-week reflection that will help participants discover what active allyship looks like, what shared power means, and most importantly, how to create a safe place for all.Moving forward, the L&D team is also working on rolling out a new leadership development program called Elevating the Power of We. This two-day, cohort-based program will have participants explore how to communicate in a supportive way, cultivate empathy and compassion, and genuinely listen to other people’s stories and perspectives.At Denny’s today, individuals are viewed as holistic beings. As such, their physical, emotional, and mental well-being must be prioritized. This is why Denny’s leadership is on a mission to create a brand that actively promotes mental fitness and overall empowered well-being. By creating a safe place to have candid conversations about real things that matter to real people, Denny’s is well on its way to creating a culture that embraces differences, welcomes personal stories, and celebrates all voices.

Denny’s Together

5 Things to Help Lead Your Team Through the Coronavirus Crisis: Proven Military Leadership Lessons That Can Help Your Team through a Crisis

Mission+Leader's Intent -- improving your team's alignment by helping them understand the why and what success looks like.
Where to go as a leader -- We have all heard the leadership mantra that the best leaders “lead by example.” Yet in day-to-day work and this crisis, deciding where your physical presence as a leader has the most impact is a little more complicated. Often leaders tend to go where they are most comfortable, the part of the business where they grew up, or where they believe they have the most talents. And in the current crisis, there is a risk aspect to where you go as a leader that wasn’t there before. We will highlight seven ways to think about where you should go as a leader.
Lead with optimism -- As we all lead our families, teams, and companies through the coronavirus it is worth talking about optimism. We all know that during a crisis we should lead with optimism. But does one stay optimistic through all the news, challenges, and new routines? We will discuss six ideas to help you stay optimistic.
How are you looking for opportunities in this crisis? The coronavirus crisis has and will continue to disrupt the status quo. There is value in thinking about how to adapt your team or company to the new environment. Andy Grove, former Intel CEO, once said, “Bad companies are destroyed by crises. Good companies survive them. Great companies are improved by them.” Like all crises, the coronavirus crisis will change the risk/reward balance for your team, increase your organization’s focus, encourage innovation, and reveal opportunities. So how do you find these opportunities in the crisis? We will discuss seven questions that might help you and your team start thinking about finding an opportunity and become one of the great companies formed out of the coronavirus crisis of 2020.
Recognizing excellence -- In the chaos of a crisis, it is often hard to remember to recognize members of your team for the amazing work they are doing. In a pre-coronavirus study, 80% of employees stated that they feel motivated to work harder when they felt appreciated for their work. However, over three quarters of all employees feel undervalued because of a lack of recognition and appreciation. Although it is simple, when was the last time you recognized members of your team for the great work they are doing?


5 Things to Help Lead Your Team Through the Coronavirus Crisis: Proven Military Leadership Lessons That Can Help Your Team through a Crisis

The worldwide talent development community is diverse. Our members bring a wealth of experience and insight to their work. We're spotlighting their stories.Suzanne Wagner, CPTD has been an ATD Member since 2009. Here's her story in her own words.Years in the Talent Development Field?15Favorite or Most Used ATD Member Benefit?• TD magazineBest Talent Development Advice?Be open to opportunities even if they don’t tick every box of a preconceived perfect job or title. Be flexible and explore engaging work via both lateral and promotional career paths. Take on unexpected new challenges as they arise to gain insight and skills in an unconventional way. The reward is a unique perspective with a deeper knowledge and skill set across varied areas, which positions anyone well for whatever move is desired next for a fulfilling and successful career. I’ve experienced tremendous professional growth working with the same global company for over a decade, holding seven roles and reporting to as many leaders, while supporting varied business areas in L&D and HR. When offered different roles throughout my employment, I was not at first convinced that the positions being discussed were the right ones at the right times for me. After careful consideration though, each time I always said “Yes,” so I could keep growing in previously unimagined ways. While there were definite obstacles to surmount along the way, the accomplishments at the end were tremendously gratifying. My talent development advice is to say “no” to a narrowly-defined, traditional career path as the only option and a resounding “YES” to newly envisioned opportunities for a fulfilling, well-rounded career! You’ll be glad you did.Most Valuable Thing You’ve Gained or Experienced During Your Membership with ATD?My ATD membership and CPTD® certification are the bedrock which enable my professional career to continue to evolve with every stage of life. I began my membership as a single person embarking on a new career path in L&D (find out more about my journey in the blog post “Never Look Back, Full Speed Ahead”). Since that time, I've changed jobs, married, had a baby, moved twice, dealt with long-term elder care, changed job roles multiple times at my current employer, and transitioned to permanent remote work while handling pandemic-related HR challenges. Being an ATD member and CPTD positioned me well each time I needed to pivot my position at work to fit my ever-changing life circumstances. I took on different roles in both L&D and HR, leveraged different knowledge or skills I had honed as part of the certification process, and was able to apply those to new situations. When studying for the exam, some areas of expertise felt less relevant to me than others. Little did I know just how relevant they would become as I navigated fresh challenges in totally new job roles! I'm so glad I had such a full toolkit at my disposal when my professional world expanded and my responsibilities grew. In 2014, I attended ATD’s 2014 International Conference & Exposition in Washington, DC, where General Stanley McChrystal was a keynote speaker. My father was also a former Army Ranger, and the general's speech inspired me, so I bought his leadership book, My Share of the Task: A Memoir, at the conference store. Numerous times since then I’ve drawn upon General McChyrstal’s leadership expertise shared in that book, which I would not have been exposed to had I not been at ATD’s conference that day. Life came full circle this year when General McChrystal was the keynote speaker at my employer’s annual leadership conference. Much has happened in the world and career-wise in the intervening years, but there has been one constant: My membership with ATD and my CPTD credential are the winning formula that have steadfastly granted me access to top-notch resources and networked professionals. These have guided my journey and consistently helped me adapt to changing times personally and professionally. Becoming—and staying—an ATD member and CPTD credential holder is the best decision I ever made.Would you like to be our ATD Member of the Week? Share your story with us!

"Becoming—and staying—an ATD member and CPTD credential holder is the best decision I ever made. "

Three years ago, I left my job as a high school English teacher to return to the corporate arena. I accepted a position as a trainer for a technology company supporting the financial services industry. During my first few weeks on the job, I kept hearing my teammates discussing studying for the Certified Professional in Learning and Performance (CPLP) credential. When I asked about it, however, my manager told me I didn’t have to worry about the CPLP because it was for senior team members only. Yet a year later, I decided to obtain my certification as part of my professional development goals. Although I was excited to start this journey, I was also apprehensive—no one else on my team had successfully completed the Knowledge Exam or submitted a Work Product. I thought that if the veterans on my team had not been able to complete their CPLP certification, then my chances were slim at best.Nevertheless, I still wanted to give it a try. I wanted the distinction that comes with this industry-recognized certification. Additionally, obtaining this certification would complement my master’s degree in adult education and training, and really make my credentials stand out from the crowd. Unfortunately, I knew I would not be able to handle preparing for the CPLP while taking grad school classes, so I decided to take a four-month break from school and focus solely on the certification.I consider myself a good test taker, so I was fairly certain I would be able to pass the Knowledge Exam with the right amount of preparation. I studied for about two months, setting aside one to two hours a day, and I used a combination of resources. One of the most essential was the CPLP Certification Handbook. I wanted to make sure I was focusing my attention on the right things as I studied, so the handbook was a constant reference. I used the ATD Learning System as well, along with the flash cards. I also took the practice CPLP exam to gauge my comfort level with the test structure and content. I must admit, I did not do as well as I expected to on my first try.On testing day I felt pretty confident, but was still nervous. As I progressed through the test, I began to relax a little because I was familiar with most of the content. When I pressed enter to submit my last response, I said a little prayer and waited anxiously for my results. I almost jumped out of my seat and let out a squeal of joy when I saw the word pass on the screen!With the Knowledge Exam under my belt, I turned my attention to the Work Product. My first thought was to focus on training delivery because it seemed to be the natural choice—I am a trainer, after all. After some internal deliberation, however, I realized I enjoyed instructional design more.My first Work Product submission did not score high enough to earn me certification, unfortunately. I was very disappointed, but determined to see this journey to a successful completion. As I prepared my second submission, I went back the handbook numerous times to see where I had erred in my first attempt. I discovered I had failed to include a thorough needs analysis, communication documents, and a sustainable evaluation plan, among other key elements.Knowing I had time before the August 22 deadline to review and finalize my Work Product, the procrastinator in me waited until the last minute to mail my submission. This proved to be a big mistake. I had a last-minute client training request that required me to be on-site in a different state. Preparing for the training session and finalizing my Work Product at the same time pushed my stress level to an all-time high. For a brief moment I considered not sending in my submission because I didn’t feel confident in my final product. I brushed that thought away and got to the UPS store just in time for the final pick-up of the day. After handing over my package to the clerk, I let out a sigh of relief and began the waiting period until the scores were emailed.When the email came, I hesitated before opening it. I didn’t think I could handle another disappointing score, but to my relief I had passed! I was officially CPLP certified. This time I did jump out of my seat and let out a squeal of happiness. It was one of the best feelings I have experienced in my career. I am proud and honored to be part of the distinguished community of CPLP credential holders.Learn more about the CPLP Certification.

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