RESEARCH AND SUBMIT ONE TREND!

READ ASSIGNED PAGES. RESEARCH AND SUBMIT ONE TREND! Read that portion of the Chapter and do a bit of internet research. Find some other trends that will affect the future of training. The SHRM website would be a good place to start. Meet with your Group and decide on the three trends found in your individual research that the Group feels will be the most important or disruptive. Training for Sustainability Sustainability refers to a company’s ability to make a profit without sacrificing the resources of its employees, the community, or the environment. A growing number of companies have made sustainability an important part of their business strategy. Training and development can contribute to companies sustainability initiatives by providing learning opportunities for employees in organizations in developing countries that lack the resources, providing development experiences for employees in poor and emerging countries that benefit the local community, and teaching employers to protect the environment. Consider how training at Novartis, DHL Express Europe, and Gilbane Building Company is helping these companies reach their sustainability goals.1 For example, the pharmaceutical company Novartis supports the Regional Psychosocial Support Initiative (REPSSI), an African-based philanthropic organization that provides emotional and psychological support to children affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The company’s trainers provide REPSSI’s employees with leadership development training. To help meet the organization’s goal of helping children and youth so that they can live with hope and dignity, REPSSI managers need training in communication skills, providing feedback, intercultural skills, and project management. Novartis has transformed its corporate training programs into a form useful for REPSSI. The training content is delivered through instructor-led courses and e-learning. Novartis and training vendor partners, including business schools, send speakers at their own expense to Africa. Instructors are also available for follow-up after each course is completed. DHL Express Europe has launched GoGreen, a carbon-neutral product line. After GoGreen shipments are delivered, their environmental impact—including truck transport, sorting, long-distance flights, and distribution—is calculated using software that accounts for all of the carbon emissions released during the shipments. Customers are charged a fee to offset the emissions. The fee is then used to fund carbon reduction projects, such as the development of alternative fuel vehicles and solar cells and the planting of trees. DHL Express Europe uses e-learning to help its sales force understand the facts about global warming, why it is a concern for the company, and the company programs in place to reduce its impact on global warming. The company also has an environmental training program for all employees, including the GoGreen Academy, which includes numerous assignments on global business practices. Gilbane Building Company is a family-owned construction business headquartered in Rhode Island. Concerns about building in an environmentally friendly way have been an important part of the company culture for many years, and recently customers have been showing more interest in “green buildings.” Green buildings are buildings that have been designed so that construction wastes fewer materials and uses less electricity. Gilbane’s customers enjoy the energy cost savings and the available tax breaks for choosing to build green buildings. As a result of adopting environmentally friendly building practices, Gilbane can be both socially responsible and profitable. Training plays an important role in helping Gilbane exceed customer expectations and provide the greener buildings that customers desire. Gilbane University includes instructorled and online courses, as well as distance learning and a virtual classroom. Gilbane offers certification and training for employees in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system. LEED is a set of standards for constructing buildings in an environmentally responsible way with minimal waste. The standards were developed by the U.S. Building Green Council, which consists of building product managers, owners, utilities, and government agencies in the construction trade. Buildings that are built according to the LEED standards become LEED-certified. One course at Gilbane University helps employees prepare for the LEED exam. The course covers the LEED scorecard, reviews design decisions, and explains the documentation that a builder must keep for the building to be LEED-certified. Course participants can also use Gilbane’s green portal, a page on the company’s intranet that includes course resources such as study guides and practice exams. Another course offered by Gilbane University, New Construction Success, teaches construction managers how to work with all departments (such as purchasing) to produce a LEED-certified building. For example, if a builder wants to use a high level of recycled material in a building, steel may be the choice. However, it is important to know that steel takes longer to deliver, and the manager needs to be sure that the building schedule takes into account the longer lead time. Besides offering training, Gilbane positions green teams in each of the company’s nine operating regions to help the region develop and use sustainable business practices and to keep the region up-to-date on the latest green construction methods and materials. Dow Corning is among a number of large companies that are sending small teams of employees to developing countries such as India, Ghana, Brazil, and Nigeria to provide free consulting services to nonprofit organizations.2 These experiences benefit the local communities, as well as the company and employee participants. The programs are good for internal and external public relations, help recruit and retain talented employees, provide training for future leaders, generating new ideas, and helping companies gain name recognition needed to sell their products and services in emerging markets. Dow Corning employees continue to receive their regular salaries during the assignments, which usually last between two and four weeks. Employee demand for the assignments exceed available openings because the assignments help them develop new skills and meet personal needs to donate time and expertise to those in need. For example, a customs and trade coordinator for Dow Corning spent four weeks in rural India helping women examine stitchery and help set process for garments sold in local markets. She found the experience worthwhile despite working nine-hour days and sleeeping in a lodge that had limited access to electricity and hot water. Dow Corning is currently evaluating fifteen new business-related ideas related to affordable housing and energy which were generated by the twenty employees sent to India since 2010.