Ideas and Insights

A little over a month ago, Kathleen Sedwick (pictured, right) filled out ASTD-OC's online Volunteer Interest Form.  "I am a mid-life career changer (former teacher with an M.Ed.) and have been in graduate school earning an MBA with an HR concentration since last June, 2010." she shared.  "I had lunch with Janet DiVicenzo a few weeks ago ... and she suggested getting more involved with ASTD-OC and volunteering to work with the chapter." Kathie and I subsequently exchanged emails in an attempt to connect, with little success until we both attended a Career Management SIG Meetup.

We took the opportunity to meet right then and there. I learned that as a teacher, it was the areas of instructional design and educational technology that Kathie found most interesting and satisfying. During that time, she saw the need for more well-designed, engaging, effective, research-based instruction utilizing today's technology in both education and training and development. Recognizing that this is the direction she wanted to take her career, Kathie sought out opportunities to develop those skills. Along the way, she found ASTD-Orange County.

"ASTD-OC has provided invaluable benefits to me through its SIG groups, Learning Events, and networking opportunities," Kathie shared with me. "I decided I wanted to be more involved in the organization for the opportunities in my own personal and professional development, to further develop my skills in communications and social media, and to expand my network."

One member benefit that Kathie has taken great advantage of: our Special Interest Groups (SIGs).  At the time of our meeting, she had been to both OD SIG and Career Management SIG Meetups for the month. She was looking forward to the Technology and Training SIG Meetup the following week.

The role of SIG Liaison seemed tailor-made for her.

This role interacts with Special Interest Group leaders to identify what they'll be doing in upcoming months, and ensures that the information is:

• placed on the website
• published in our eNewsletter, SIGnificant Information
• spread through our social media sites

Kathie's position will ensure that she collaborates with the SIG, Communications, and CTO functions, and sometimes Marketing.

This position appealed to Kathie for a few reasons:

• It's relatively low-impact -- the busy work involves little time out of the month.
• It networks her with a broad group of individuals.
• It allows her to develop her skills in communications and social media.
• It plays to her strengths while allowing her to identify what further positions are available within the Chapter in which she could develop further.

Kathie sees herself assuming a leadership role within the organization and contributing to ASTD-OC's growth and presence in our local communities.
"I believe that, as an organization, ASTD-OC must continue to promote T&D as an integral and essential component of strategic planning for businesses and support the professional development of its members."

Welcome, Kathie Sedwick! We look forward to great things!

Training Program Sustainability
Interview conducted by L'Oreal Battistelli, OS Online Editor

Training veteran Anthony Harmetz said in a recent interview that training program sustainability “is the holy grail of many training departments.”   “What does he mean by sustainability?” one might ask.  “The term sustainability refers to a training program’s ability to survive over time,” the 18 year training veteran said.  “Many corporate training programs are provided only once, and then are never offered again.” ASTD past President Harmetz is a training professional who has been mentoring and coaching people since he was a child, long before he had heard of the training and instructional design fields.  “There are different ways to  think about your program’s potential sustainability,” Harmetz said, “One way to start would be by asking yourself three questions:”  1.      Will the training program survive past its initial offering? 2.      Will it outlast the people who created it? 3.      Will it outlast the initial sponsors who requested and championed it?

Anthony Harmetz is a Training Consultant based in Orange County, CA.   Currently specializing in train-the-trainer, presentation skills coaching, and improving workplace communication, Anthony has extensive experience designing, developing, delivering and implementing comprehensive curricula.  Prior to initiating his own consultancy in 2006, Anthony established and for 13 years led the training function for Bally Total Fitness, a major services sector corporation operating out of more than 400 retail and administrative facilities in 30 states, where he was responsible for the training of Bally’s 25,000 employees.

People are looking for skilled Training and Development professionals -- for us.  You need to make every effort to help them find you.

I speak of ASTD-OC's Find-A-Trainer feature, which has suffered quite a bit from our website transitions.  Not only has our functionality profile changed, your own profile content may have changed as well.

Here's how Find-A-Trainer can work today.    

• You can search by name.
  Let's say you want to contact me.  In the search field, type "Venderley," and my profile will appear. It's an active search, so my profile actually appears by the time you type "vend."
  
• You can search by Company.
  Let's say you want to reach out to any trainers at Corinthian Colleges. In the search field, type "Corinthian."  You'll find three people, one of whom I know has moved on to a different company. I'll make a mental note to urge everyone to update their profiles.
  
• You can search by skill.
  Let's say you want to find a designer who knows Captivate.  Type "Captivate" in the search field.  Anyone who has included that word in their profile, even in the sense of "I captivate learners with my winning facilitation skills." will appear in the search feature.

Once you find the member you're looking for, click on their photo. If there's no photo, click the View Details link.  The member's complete profile appears, along with a link to send a message to that member through our website.

This is a cool, fully functioning resource that will work for you if you work with it. My recommendations:

• Keep your profile updated.  The "Send Message" button will send a message to the email address on file.  If it's wrong, then whoever's trying to reach you, won't.
• Include your skillset in your profile.  Powerpoint guru? Type that in. Captivate? Camtasia? Flash? Make sure those words exist in your profile, even as keywords.  This is how people will find you.
• Include a photo with your profile.  The photos will catch the eyes of those wanting to find a trainer. The words "View Details," not so much.

To update your profile:

1. Log in to astdoc.org.
2. In the upper right hand corner of the screen, you'll see a link: View Profile.  Click that to see what's in your profile.
3. From there, you can click "Edit Profile" to make sure that you're visible in our community.

Fall brings us the start of school, the changing of seasons (although, given our recent heat wave, you wouldn’t know it in Southern California), and the ASTD-OC elections.  Elections will conclude September 30^th and the 2012 ASTD-OC Board of Directors will be announced in October.  The slate of candidates is impressive and I hope you take a moment to learn more about the potential leaders of our chapter.

The current Board of Directors have laid great track for the coming years.  We’ll be able to advance on the strategic imperatives of 2011 with several current board members up for re-election leading the way.  A quick update on those who are up for re-election who have served on the board in 2011:

• ·         Kathleen Ashelford has been our technology guide (with Past-President Paul Venderley by her side) and her experience and skills will help us meet the ever-changing technology demands.
• ·         Damion Donaldson has been the Co-VP of Programs (with Emily Newton) and will be overseeing all learning programs in 2012. He is adding the Special Interest Groups area and the Continuing Education programs.
• ·         Kathy Randle is continuing on in her role as VP of Finance.  Kathy has helped the chapter work toward a balanced budget and her experience in 2011 will provide valuable insights to the chapter’s financial health.
• ·         Linda Huey returns to the board in a different role.  Linda has been the VP of Volunteers and will be assisting the board in 2012 as the Secretary.  Linda’s knowledge of the chapter will be an asset to providing the process and document detail.

We are fortunate to round out the board with Jolynn Atkins as the VP of Marketing candidate and Carol Adams as the VP of Membership candidate.  Both women bring skills, passion, and experiences that will benefit the chapter greatly.  I encourage you to take time to learn more about them and meet them at the Chapter Learning Event on September 28^th.

As with all types of elections, this is your time to let your voice be heard.  I encourage you to learn about the candidates, submit additional nominations of people (you included) you know would be an asset to our team and to our chapter.  You will find election links on the home page.  Thank you in advance for a few minutes of your time to vote!

 

Rhonda Askeland

President-Elect

"May I ask a question?" asked a Board member. "Was this a big deal? Did a lot of people express disappointment that the Picnic didn't happen this year? Why would we share this?"

The Board member was talking about a "lessons learned" article written by Damion Donaldson after the cancellation of this year's ASTD Southern California Family Picnic.  Damion had taken on the responsibility of coordinating the event with the ASTD-LA chapter, and had found the coordination spin out of control.  In response, Damion offered to share with the Board the lessons he learned from the experience. When he completed his introspective study, he opted to share his findings with the Chapter membership.
 
In doing so, Damion captures the spirit of ASTD-Orange County.  I've often shared that this is a community of practice, an organization in which all those who participate get the chance to experience new things, successes and failures, and to learn from them.  By taking part in this "lessons learned" exercise, Damion shows us all that there is no such thing as a complete failure, if one is willing to learn from it.

This brings to mind a quote from Al Franken:
"Mistakes are a part of being human. Appreciate your mistakes for what they are: precious life lessons that can only be learned the hard way. Unless it's a fatal mistake, which, at least, others can learn from."

Damion's findings are applicable to any individual planning an event, be it a pilot training session or an all-hands meeting. Learn more in this month's OrangeSpiel Online.

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Please go to http://astdoc.org/ChapterEvents to register.

Career Management SIG: Building your Training Portfolio
When:  Sept 10, 2011 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM
Location: Brandman University, 16355 Laguna Canyon Rd., Irvine, CA, Room 120
Contact : Christine Kelly, kellycm@uci.edu

This meetup will help training professionals who are looking to polish their portfolio and skills as well as those in transition and looking for their next opportunity.

Training and Technology SIG: Training in the Electronic Age
When: Sep 13, 2011  4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Location: Escoe Bliss Professional Resources, 16520 Bake Parkway, Suite #155, Irvine, CA 92618.   **If you can't make the session live, register to attend virtually.
Contact : Pamela Coca, pcoca@compressus.com

Speaker: Michael Hamilton - VP, Product Management- Madcap Software
In this presentation Mr. Hamilton will identify the equipment necessary to produce a professional broadcast experience or recording. The benefits, drawbacks, and differences between live screen-casting / web conferencing vs. recorded electronic training will be explored. Mike will share a collection of “lessons learned” and best practices to help the new online instructor avoid the typical beginner mistakes and look like a screen-casting professional right from the start.
 
When SMART Goals Aren't Enough -- OD SIG Meetup
When: Sep 13, 2011 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM
Location: Brandman University, 16355 Laguna Canyon Rd., Irvine

We are pleased to announce Tom Porter, Director of Human Resources for Kawasaki.  The title of his presentation is "When Smart Goals Aren't Enough".  You will find out how Tom and his team improved the goal setting process to ensure alignment across the organization.

It is with great sadness that we share that Rich Wong died on Sunday evening of stage 3 cancer, while surrounded by his family. He was 72.

 

Rich was a long-time member and active supporter of the ASTD-Orange County Chapter, and held several board positions, including President in 2006. He was a regular attendee at meetings until he moved to Northern California last year.

 

We received the following funeral details from his children, Nicole & Scott: 

 

Dad will be laid to rest with his family in Los Angeles. Please feel free to pass this along to any friends or family. 

 

 

If you attend only one training event this year, it should be The Total Trainer Program!  I am speaking both as a previous participant and as the Program Manager last year.  I first attended the Total Trainer Program in 1992 (yes, it’s been around at least that long!) early in my career as a Trainer.  It was the best gift I gave to myself!  Then, in 2010, as a new member of ASTD-OC, I volunteered my time as Program Manager.  While the content has evolved over time to ensure it keeps pace with industry best practices, the program has the same high-quality instructors as it did 19 years ago.  This highly interactive program gives participants hands-on experience in designing, developing, and delivering a training module in the topic of their choice.  The delivery of the team project is the capstone session, and it's very fun to participate in each team’s module.  Whether a new or seasoned trainer, you'll walk away with new skills and experiences that make a difference in your career, not to mention the networking, friendships, and new colleagues that enhance your life.