The way corporate training programmes have traditionally been conducted to usher in change, are not working anymore. It has been found out through business analysis that over 70% of such change management programmes fail primarily due to reluctance on the part of employees. These same programmes on the other hand, succeed 30% more when employees themselves are interested in the same. Thus it is important to create a sense of empathy and shared purpose among the trainees. Also just in time feedback must be implemented for these trainings. The programme must be personalized looking into various staff segments. Also hierarchy prevalent must not dominate during such programmes as that inhibits effective employee engagement. Most crucially, the employee must be able to see tangible change and progress during the sessions itself.

In order to succeed at business innovation, mobility at workplace is a known success mantra. A Forrester anchored business research recently showed that employees feel sense of motivation when their role at work diversifies away from routine tasks only. The struggle to manage the number of online applications must not be seen as obstacle but instead as opportunity. Also the world is progressing towards future inclined towards mobile and cloud based technologies. This will allow far greater mobility for employees at workplace.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is truly revolutionizing the way digital marketing is conducted these days. The power of location tracking is being used by beacons. These are wireless devices which track mobile phones within the location and deliver specific personalized content based on buyer behaviour. As per market research conducted by Adobe, about a third of marketers in the USA will be using such devices in the year 2015. Three new media vistas are now being used. They include connected digital signage, wearables and connected Point-of-Sale terminals. Target is one of the biggest retail chains already fully utilizing the power of IoT. 

Business research has identified five stages within the HR life cycle that requires enhancement. Recruitment needs greater alignment with overall corporate strategy and the specific goals. Employee education andmanagement training are often delayed but they must start the instant a new recruit joins up. Motivation levels of employees fluctuates maximum within the first three months, and that is the time turnover gets highest in case this aspect is not taken care of properly. Evaluation of employees must be a constant holistic method rather than purely hierarchy based. At the end of the cycle, celebrations must be undertaken as a group effort. 

Advertising is particularly crucial to the travel and tourism industry and thus a tourism consulting industry forum has provided us a list of the best of these advertisements from across the world. The top one features the Belgian rail network which is trying to wean people away from personal cars. The message comes out to make traffic jams in Belgium heritage which will only happen if the majority travel using the trains. Railways in the UK have made a similar attempt and showcase the benefits of using trains to save time, effort and money for office travel. Advertisements on Hiroshima’s ‘cat street’, the Copper Mountain area in the USA and the creativity on show at various Accor group hotels complete the list.

Learning and development are critical to organizations’ long term sustainability as it fortifies company culture. The same culture boosts employee confidence which helps them better fulfill the corporate strategy. Culture also helps in collaboration within the firm. This includes common goals which are beneficial for all the verticals. Business innovation gets a boost in the right work cultures as creativity depends a lot on mutual trust. Corporate trainingalso helps the firm get competitive advantage over rivals and peers.

Retention of quality employees has taken top priority in today’s highly mobile workplace. A management consulting publication has provided us certain pointers which if followed can reduce the attrition rates substantially. Hiring to senior levels from outside the firm must be reduced to less than fifty percent. Instead internal promotions must be implemented. Employees must be clearly communicated about their growth prospects within the firm. During pay raise, clear demarcation must be made between payments based on actual performance versus potential. Proper talent management requires an appreciation of the fact that the employment market is highly mobile for the right people. The pay scale for employees must be able to match market average as much as is possible.