People Process Technology Blog

Why We Sold Our Building and Went Totally Virtual

Posted by: Jonena Relth, President and Leadership Evangelist

 

Ok so that was fun!  I’ll let you know when the podcast is available.  If you ever have the opportunity to record a podcast while in Second Life, give it a shot.  Caleb Booker and Tweet.tv were great.  They helped me feel comfortable and set the stage. 

To view the presentation: http://api.treet.tv/media/vwk_001_15feb10_169c.mp4

 

So here's a plug for the program, “Virtual Worlds Keynote” with Caleb Booker. http://www.calebbooker.com/blog/  This young man has potential and I know he can help you with your Second Life needs.  I’m hooked!  Jonena

 

What Books do you intend to Read in 2010?

Posted by:  Jonena Relth, President and Leadership Evangelist

 

As we say goodbye to 2009 and move into 2010, I hope we’re all building a “must read” list of books to help us grow professionally and personally. For some of us, reading one type of book or another is more of a chore than a way to relax and stretch our mind.  

 

Our granddaughter is 16 months old and gleefully jumps up onto our lap at the mention of reading to her. She doesn’t care if it’s Dr. Seuss or the sports stats, she just enjoys the time hearing new words and looking at the pictures.  

 

My wish for my staff, our customers, family and friends is that we reach back to the days when we couldn’t wait to sit down and devour a book.  

 

Please let us know what books we should add to our lists.

 

Happy New Year!  Jonena

How to Conduct a Successful Online Workshop

Posted by:  Jonena Relth, President and Leadership Evangelist

Isn't it interesting that when we say online learning, we automatically think of WBT? Coming from the "old school," I'm a firm believer in face-to-face learning; however I've become an advocate of blended learning over the years. And the blend doesn't always have to be one size fits all (WBT +ILT).

 

For the past year, we've been facilitating our "COREformance Advanced Coaching for Leaders" workshop using four interactive webinar sessions instead of one day of ILT. What we've found is that our participants learn more and are able to apply the skills and knowledge more effectively because they have the opportunity between sessions to complete homework which includes actual coaching sessions. And one eye-opener: People prefer actual practice instead of role play, which has been one of our only options in a one-day ILT class.

 

To conduct a successful online workshop, you might want to take these things into account:

· Email or Corporate Communication Tool:

o     Send session invitations should be sent more than once and followed up.

o     Send a Welcome Communication 

· Webinar Tool (There are many such as Live Meeting and GoToWebinar):

o     Take advantage of the online tools such as: Hand raising, Polls, White Board, Text Mark-up and Chat.

o     To make sure everyone participates, tell them that you will be calling on people.  To help you remember, jot down who participates in each activity.   

· Conference Line Tool (You can choose from free or paid services.):

o     Be sure to take advantage of breakout room within the system so participants can actively be involved in smaller groups that allow everyone to be involved.

· Online Collaboration Tool (Corporate Website, SharePoint, Blog):

o     Post homework assignments, participant materials, handouts, etc.

To learn more about this COREformance class and others, please download the promo sheets on our website: http://www.tbdconsulting.com.  To reach us directly, call 602-263-1961.

Happy Holidays! Jonena

2009 Report: Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning

Posted by: Jonena Relth, President and Leadership Evangelist

 

For our readers looking for empirical evidence for the value of online learning, you might want to read the US Department of Education 2009 report: Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning, A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies

 

At TBD we are sold on blended learning and the advantages it has for individuals and organizations alike.  Learners of all ages desire options to meet their learning styles and busy schedules. The organizations who are going to succeed in the today's marketplace must embrace online learning and the many benefits it has to offer.

 

Please take a few minutes to read the report.  Its contents include:

·   Introduction

·   Methodology

·  Findings

·   Narrative Synthesis of Studies Comparing Variants of Online Learning

·   Discussion and Implications

·   References and

·   Exhibits

 

Here is the Abstract from page 8:

 

“A systematic search of the research literature from 1996 through July 2008 identified more than a thousand empirical studies of online learning. Analysts screened these studies to find those that (a) contrasted an online to a face-to-face condition, (b) measured student learning outcomes, (c) used a rigorous research design, and (d) provided adequate information to calculate an effect size.

 

As a result of this screening, 51 independent effects were identified that could be subjected to meta-analysis. The meta-analysis found that, on average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction. [bold added for emphasis] The difference between student outcomes for online and face-to-face classes—measured as the difference between treatment and control means, divided by the pooled standard deviation—was larger in those studies contrasting conditions that blended elements of online and face-to-face instruction with conditions taught entirely face-to-face. Analysts noted that these blended conditions often included additional learning time and instructional elements not received by students in control conditions.

 

This finding suggests that the positive effects associated with blended learning should not be attributed to the media, per se. An unexpected finding was the small number of rigorous published studies contrasting online and face-to-face learning conditions for K–12 students. In light of this small corpus, caution is required in generalizing to the K–12 population because the results are derived for the most part from studies in other settings (e.g., medical training, higher education).”

 

To read the entire report: Download Finalreport

 

CER and EHR: The Acronyms for Rationing? Or are they?

Posted by: Peggy Salvatore

Fear mongering is usually the fodder of the political campaign season. Not this year. The US is so politically divided that the campaigning (read: fear-mongering) doesn’t stop as both political camps stake out their territory on all the issues – carbon cap-and-trade, bank bailouts, car company bailouts and, of course, the ever-popular nationalization of healthcare.

The bogeyman of opponents of nationalized healthcare is the specter of rationing. Just like all very complex and expensive issues, healthcare rationing is not easy to explain or execute.  Making rationing work requires a well-funded item in the Congressional budget called Comparative Effectiveness Research, known as CER.  Valid CER is not possible without another acronym, EHR. We need fully implemented and interoperable electronic health records to get good CER. I’ll tell you why.

Comparative Effectiveness Research really just means that we know which treatments, therapies and procedures work best for whom and at what cost. Then we decide how much to pay for them based on that knowledge. To get the answer to the question what works best for whom and at what cost, we need to have the results of everyone’s experience.

1. I mean everyone, not just a select population -  fully documented over time.
2. I mean a lot of time and what it costs – I mean really costs taking into consideration all that time.

Then people can make supportable decisions about choosing the very best treatment, therapy or procedure the first time for the correct patients.

To get truly valid data about what works, we have to collect everyone’s experience with every encounter with every provider, organization, product, and service over about a generation.

What we do with that information might be called rationing to fear mongers. It might be called verifiable best practices to others, resulting in cost-effective and efficient, quality care.

Rationing has to do with letting the payer decide whether to pay for the best practices we learn from the information we get from EHR. The payer, not the patient, decides what to do with the  information we learn from CER. In that light, perhaps the idea of a one-payer system, especially if that system is the government, needs a closer look.

[Blogger’s note: Most researchers and statisticians will tell you that my conditions for valid CER – everybody, all experiences, over lots of time – are rubbish. To understand my position, I refer you to one of my favorite expressions that I sent my three children off to college with: There are lies, damned lies, and statistics. Question everything, then cut the cards, or something like that. Give me lots of good data, over lots of time, involving lots of people, and I’ll give you lots of good information.]

Peggy Salvatore has been developing managed care and healthcare reimbursement web-based training programs for the healthcare industry for 10 years. She also writes eLearning programs on general business topics such as time management, project management and leadership. Prior to that, her background includes extensive research, analysis and writing for professional journal articles, white papers and executive background briefings on a broad range of health policy issues. She was a political reporter and columnist and covered the 1988 Republican National Convention before leaving daily journalism for the business world. She holds an MBA with a concentration in strategy and economics.

Healthcare Talent Management: Your People are Still Your Biggest Asset

These days you can’t look at an industry magazine, cable business news channel, tweet, or blog without bumping into an opinion about electronic medical records (EMR). Without question, a well-implemented health information technology system will help reduce human error, make it easier to access information, and increase efficiency. But your people are still your biggest asset. The decision to automate processes is but one aspect of a well-planned talent management strategy.

 

Talent management is a never-ending process. Your people differentiate your organizational quality culture and establish your competitive advantage. As the healthcare industry continues to grow and seasoned talent concurrently reach retirement, most hospitals and healthcare providers recognize the need for analysis and direction from outside consultants to ensure they’re prepared to achieve their strategic business objectives.

 

TBD Consulting, Inc. is known for its holistic approach to employee performance improvement. Our organizational development experts help you develop a talent management strategy that fosters organization-wide accountability, consistency from leaders, and increased productivity by addressing your:

• Change management strategies: Our process helps you to prepare for, manage and reinforce change. Clinical and ancillary staff are prepared for changes in workflows and are fully readied to integrate the new technology in their every day work tasks.
• Training/coaching: Research shows training is most effective when it happens in short, “just-in-time” snippets when the employee needs to apply the information. Time away from clinical duties is significantly reduced through the improved use of blended learning, online reference and workflow task training.
• Performance management: The quality of patient care is enhanced by a learning reinforcement and metrics tool that identifies needs for coaching. Low performers are addressed before quality metrics are impacted and the most valuable employees are given the opportunity for continuously learning.
• Leadership coaching and development:  Programs customized for your organization foster improved decision-making and identify potentials for promotion to senior management roles. Our executive coaching model and use of the DiSC behavioral style assessment instruments build the emotional intelligence necessary for leaders to achieve the most out of themselves and others.
• New hire training: Learner-centered training that engages new employees and helps them align their talents with the organization’s vision and mission enables employees to do what they do best: provide quality patient care. Our programs increase new employees' satisfaction and success. The client benefits from increased productivity and a healthier bottom line. 

Whether you’re just starting the process of selecting an EMR/EHR system or you’re a year or two into the integration process, it’s never too early or too late to bring in the experts to help you harness your change initiatives.

EMR Implementation: Do I need an outside consultant?

Posted by: Lynnda Joyce, Manager of Business Development

 

My main objective here at TBD Consulting, Inc. is new business development. Since 1991, TBD has been called upon to smooth the way in organizational development initiatives for companies small and large in various vertical markets.

 

Recently, I have been reaching out to healthcare organizations about their clinical transformation strategies and EMR implementations. Frequently, I catch leaders by surprise. Many were successful at strong-arming the board to authorize budget dollars for new hardware and software, but when it came to getting the new system up and running; they were left to their own devices. My offer of assistance is often met with a worn-out chorus of “I don’t need your services, we don’t hire outside consultants.” It’s an amazement to me that after all the analysis and strategic planning is complete and they’ve decided that the current processes indeed need improvement, they attempt to trim expenses by applying their existing old knowledge to the new and different system. There are a number of distinct and specific skills that are needed to properly implement an EMR system. Seldom are all of the necessary skills found among existing staff.

 

Thankfully, most major EMR systems come with a certain amount of support from a team that is knowledgeable in the product to perform the physical installation of the software. Sometimes, they partner with the client organization for several years, designing numerous versions to meet the needs of distinct departments and locations. The hard part is getting the associates on-board. Resistance to change is an innate human characteristic. The transition from paper to automation is often intimidating and met with extreme reluctance. Are they actually supposed to take precious time away from saving lives to learn how to use a PC or new fangled mobile device? Who’s going to provide the efficient and successful training they require?

 

There is a school of thought that believes that within the organization there are subject matter experts with many years of experience. Surely, they can train their peers and direct reports. I’ll share what my clients have confided in me. “Knowing the information that is to be taught does not necessarily qualify you to be an instructor.” The trainer must not only know the product but must understand: a) how different people learn; and b) how the specific solution module will impact their everyday lives.

 

With a process of this magnitude and vital importance, it makes sense to bring in the experts. TBD has partnered with our clients to drive innovative business and culture change with great results. Our grateful clients realize that our expertise encompasses aspects they had never even anticipated:

• Change and communications management
• Process management and reference systems
• Staff “buy-in” and adoption of EMR
• New application rollout, training and integration
• Increased new hire and regulatory training

At the end of the day, true cost savings is achieved by relying on experienced experts who know how to get it right the first time. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Allow us the honor of doing what we do best; helping you to achieve your goals on time and within budget

No Adult Left Behind

Posted by: Lynnda Joyce, Manager of Business Development

 

It all started about ten months ago when I kept bumping into all this chatter about virtual worlds. There seemed to be a growing interest in Second Life®. I began pondering such questions as: What the heck is Second Life®? Followed by: Why should I care? It turns out that Second Life® is an online 3D virtual world used by business people worldwide to communicate, network and learn. I discovered that many academic and corporate universities use Second Life® because it’s much more personal and interactive than traditional distance learning.

 

Inasmuch as I have the luxury of working for a full-service consulting firm specializing in employee performance improvement, I was afforded significant mentoring by my VP of Learning Technology in getting situated in Second Life® and acquiring the skills and comfort-level I needed to use it to my advantage. Once I started networking, I met many business professionals, mostly in the training and development space, who all seemed to have a common perspective. They got into Second Life®  because: a) it's free; b) it saves significant budget dollars in reaching geographically dispersed learners; and c) it’s so much more engaging than web-based training or online meeting products (GoToMeeting; WebEx).

 

The good news? Help is available to you too! Allow me to retrace my steps. I started by attending a free webinar called “Get Virtual! Second Life® for Newbies”. This webinar, offered every month, is a guided tour of why Second Life® has become the fastest growing virtual world. It’s where I learned why businesses are jumping into this new medium to improve their communications, launch innovative strategies, reduce costs, and create new growth opportunities. The next session is scheduled on March 3 at 10:00 am PST. Register here.  

 

Totally jazzed with this newfound knowledge, I went to http://secondlife.com/ and clicked on “get started” for the free download and created an avatar. Second Life® provides an orientation at no cost. Personally, I found it to be a bit confusing. I wound up attending our “Second Life® Series: Orientation 101 - Your First Steps” session where I was taught step-by-step how to navigate and explore in Second Life®. The next session is scheduled for March 11 at 1:00 pm PST. Register here.

 

After a total investment of about 3-hours ramp-up time, I was steady on my virtual feet and ready to get down to business. I started attending our bi-weekly “Learning Innovation Meetup in Second Life®” meeting held at our virtual conference facility for Human Resource, Organizational Development, Learning, and Business Executives as well as professional training designers. The next session will be held on March 18 at 8:15am PST. Register here. These brainstorming sessions have given me the opportunity to meet people all over the US and Europe who freely share their experiences and expertise. 

 

I rounded out my education with a "Workshop: Second Life® Facilitation" where I honed the skills to facilitate a presentation, large and small group discussions, and engage an audience for full participation in the virtual environment.  The next session is scheduled for March 25 at 1:00 pm PST. Register here.  

 

The journey has been fun and has prepared me to keep pace with my peers who have embraced new technologies to stay effective and competitive. My advice? You’ve got to come and check out Second Life® for yourself. Then comment on this blog so others can benefit from your experience. For more information, please email me at lynnda.joyce@tbdconsulting.com or call (480) 755-2252.

Being Virtual Without Being a Recluse

Posted by:  Lynnda Joyce, Manager of Business Development, TBD Consulting, Inc.

Many of my readers may not know what a forward-thinking company TBD Consulting, Inc. is. We are completely virtual. That’s right; no bricks or mortar here. Some of us live in the same city. Some are scattered throughout the US.

 

Being a full-service, consulting firm specializing in employee performance improvement: performance management; employee engagement and process effectiveness, our internal communication style and team work ethics are commendable. Minute-by-minute outreaches on Windows Live Messenger and frequent GoToMeeting sessions keep us in-sync and current.

It’s our passion to assist colleagues and clients to increase efficiency and reduce costs through use of Web 2.0 and virtual technologies. I was thinking this morning as I attended one of Mike Abrams' monthly “Blogs, Wikis and Social Networking, Oh My! Which Do I Choose for My Training?” webinars (yes Mike, I was multi-tasking) how far I’ve come. It’s fascinating to me that a person like myself, articulate to a fault (don’t call me “chatty”) can spend so much time home alone with the dog and concurrently have so many productive exchanges each day.

As a frequent participant in Mike’s webinars, I’ve “partaken from our own purple Kool-Aid.” Not a day goes by that I don’t reach out to friends and family on Facebook. I have a growing list of more than 100 contacts in LinkedIn and keep up to date with industry trends via discussions in the 34 LinkedIn groups I joined. I post Twitters and follow other Twitter comments. And needless to say, I blog.

 

Some days I never quite make it out of my jammies, but thanks to the Internet, I discover new business opportunities (Google? Please, that’s so five minutes ago), meet potential clients, and network with industry colleagues. It’s a new millennium way of life.

 

Not only are Mike’s “Blogs, Wikis…” webinars highly informative, they’re free. If you haven’t done so already, I encourage you to attend. Check this link for the next session: http://www.tbdconsulting.com/EventsTable.aspx. I look forward to “seeing” you there!

Technology is Not a 4-letter Word

Posted by: Lynnda Joyce, Manager of Business Development

 

I was born shortly after the “baby boomers” and long before the “millenniums.” When I was in college, the latest technology available to me was a portable, manual typewriter with erasable bond paper!

 

Fast forward to 2008 and here are a few of the many things I’ve learned:

·         Technology doesn’t have to be expensive.

·         Technology doesn’t automatically put you in danger of identity theft or hacking of your intellectual property.

·         Technology doesn’t have to be difficult to learn.

·         Technology does help you to communicate with a broader audience, meet new business partners, and manage every aspect of your personal and professional life more efficiently.

·         Technology does help you to be well-informed of the new trends and competitive challenges in your industry.

·         And, most rewardingly, as a professional development consultant, technology makes training more affordable and considerably more interesting and productive to learners.

 

Years ago, we professional development folks used to ponder such questions as “how can you really measure the ROI of your training programs?” Now we have tools for that, with robust, real-time reporting of vital metrics (see Solutions). We used to fret over best practices to keep learners engaged and stimulated in training. Now we have WebEx, GoToMeeting, interactive webinars and Second Life^TM sessions that keep the message interesting and drive home new information with crystal clarity.

 

Many of us “more seasoned” individuals need help to break through our resistance to new technology. We need to be reassured that it’s safe and that we'll be able to figure out how to use it to meet our objectives. I am not one to just “play around with it and figure it out.” If you’re of the same mind, you need to read my mentor’s blog, Mike Abrams. 

 

Today I embrace the perspective of Steve Ballmer, Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft Corporation, “The number one benefit of information technology is that it empowers people to do what they want to do. It lets people be creative. It lets people be productive. It lets people learn things they didn't think they could learn before, and so in a sense it is all about potential.”

 

So the next time you consider cussing at technology that you don’t understand, I encourage you to reach out to a mentor like I did and get some training.  Once you’re over the hesitancy phase, you’re likely to become as excited to embrace technology as am!