The following executive summary case illustrates how one global chemical company tied its training system to company strategy.

Competitive edge within the chemical industry now comes from smarter, quicker applications of knowledge and skill to the creation and delivery of products and services rather than from technological innovation. Therefore, continuous training and skill development are essential for companies to succeed.

With this understanding, Miller Consultants developed a unique training system for the Rohm & Haas Company that expanded individual and organizational capacities to perform in alignment with the company strategy. Based on instructional systems design, the system provides a multi-phase process for analyzing, designing, delivering, and evaluating training.

Like many new systems, this one required employees to learn new skills. However, this system also required the training community to shift roles -- from the deliverers or brokers of training to performance consultants. Consequently, the strategy for achieving the future vision centered on carrying out this transformation.

The Rohm and Haas Training System Tool Kit -- a compendium of tools, job aids, resources, and worksheets -- became the linchpin, supporting the transformation of people in the training community to strategic performance consultants. Because each person had a different timeframe and distinct needs, the training process was designed into a structured, self-paced learning system supported by a set of instructional materials including readings, exercises, and "fax-back" worksheets. In addition to the basic training, the strategy for building training system expertise included a structured coaching process build on a shared drop-file located on the company’s wide area network.

Numerous conclusions were drawn from the project:

• Learning systems must be closely linked to other performance systems. Instead of addressing competency and systems recommendations sequentially, they should be addressed simultaneously.

• Coaches need to truly assist the participants with the action learning mode and serve in a clear expert role. The coaching should be done by a few true experts whose primary role is to coach. They should serve as the experts and the brokers of expertise for the process.

• There is a need for increased emphasis on partnerships between those implementing the learning systems and their managers. This is especially important for the linkage of human resource development (HRD) to strategy, since managers hold the information and other keys to the linkages. Ideally, managers would not only support the linkage but would provide the necessary support for value-added linkage and would hold those who are to carry out training activities and roles accountable for the development of the appropriate skills and knowledge to do so, maybe through the performance analysis process.

In short, if the initiative has been designed appropriately, the system will be embedded into the fabric of the way the company does business and will last as long as the systems are flexible enough to adapt and continue to add value to the company’s achieving its strategic vision -- no matter who are the caretakers of the system.

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Phone: (502) 895-0625  |  Fax: (502) 895-0675
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