Chief Learning Officers (CLOs) Based on Profiling A New Breed of Learning Executive, by Brenda Sugrue and Doug Lynch, in TD, Feb. 2006, p.

Transcription

1 Chief Learning Officers (CLOs) Based on Profiling A New Breed of Learning Executive, by Brenda Sugrue and Doug Lynch, in TD, Feb. 2006, p

2 Introduction

3 CLO General Electric the first company to use the title Becoming more popular, if not yet ubiquitous Irrespective of the title used, the role of the most senior learning executive in an organization have broadened in scope

4 2000 Timothy Baldwin and Camden Danielson published a report of their interviews with the first wave of 10 CLOs in Business Horizon Identified similarities and differences in terms of their charge, mission, priorities, key initiatives and performance measures Concluded that the role of CLO was largely strategic, linking learning priorities and initiatives to the strategic direction of the firm Reported increased pressures on the CLOs to produce tangible value from learning investments

5 ASDT and the University of Pennsylvania In June 2005 carried out a survey on the CLOs Received responses from 153 heads of learning, 92 who had learning budgets greater than US$1 million in companies with more than 100 employees. 92 of them were selected for analysis Learning budgets ranged from US$ 1 million to more than US$100 million; number of employees ranged from 100 to more than 50,000; annual revenues ranged from US$10 million to more than US$200 billion; most companies were based on the US, but many are global operators The following slides present the results of the survey

6 Position and span of control

7 14% of learning executives in the sample using the title CLO Almost 80% used either director or vice-president of learning and training as their title Average tenure in the position was 5 years 65% reported to the vice president or senior vice president of human resources; the rest reported to the CEO or non-hr executive Average learning staff in the 92 organizations was 583, with a maximum of 6,000

8 In 1/3 rd of cases, the entire learning staff reported to the CLO; in another 1/3 rd more than 50%, but less than 100% reported to the CLO In 1/3 rd of cases, the CLO managed the entire learning budget, with approximately 1/3 rd managing less than 50%, and another 1/3 rd managing more than 50% but less than 100% of the entire learning budget Elements of learning which were centralized: strategy, technology infrastructure, and content design and development Elements of learning which were decentralized: content delivery, performance improvement, and budgeting and planning 58% (53 out of 92) of the organizations had corporate universities and 50% were virtual universities

9 Prototypical CLO Age Gender Ethnicity Education Areas of concentration Years in position Years with organization Years in industry sector Reports to Span of control Primary job tasks 89% over 40; 50% over 50 54% male; 46% female 91% Caucasian Master s degree (90%); Doctorate (30%) Business, Social sciences, & Psychology % to head of HR; 35% to non-hr executive Direct control of at least 50% of all learning staff and budget; 58% run a corporate university Strategy Planning Communication with executives and lines of business management of learning staff Source: ASDT/University of Pennsylvania, CLO Profile Research Report, 2006

10 Prototypical CLO Evaluation criteria Interest in further learning Greatest challenge Recent accomplishments Career aspiration Alignment with and contribution to business Efficiency/productivity of the learning function Career Combination of learning, human resources, organizational development & business management Measurement & evaluation Human performance improvement Learning technology infrastructure Strategic planning Communicating value, resource constraints Expanding the scope and reach of the learning function CLO in a larger organization Source: ASDT/University of Pennsylvania, CLO Profile Research Report, 2006

11 Tasks, challenges and accomplishments

12 Chart 1: Tasks of CLOs CLOs were spending most of their time on strategy development and planning, communication with corporate executives and lines of businesses and management of learning staff Would like to spend less time managing learning staff and more time on performance improvement Would like to spend more time on knowledge management

13 Chart 1: Tasks of CLOs Strategy development and planning Communication with corporate executives Management of learning staff Communication with lines of business Performance improvement Budget management 2 11 Workforce management 6 11 Knowledge management Process developmenmt 7 10 Management of external suppliers 0 8 Design, development & delivery 0 3 Measuring & reporting 3 6 Professional community involvement 2 5 Succession planning/management Currently devote the greatest amount of time Would like to devote the greatest amount of time Source: ASDT/University of Pennsylvania, CLO Profile Research Report, 2006

14 Chart 2: Number one challenge of CLOs Communicating and measuring value was most frequently mentioned challenge One wrote, My biggest challenge is convincing senior executives of the strategic value of learning Another wrote, The number one challenge we face is ensuring that we can achieve compelling clarity about the value we are delivering through learning, with effective measurements for all our learning initiatives Resource constraints were the second most frequently cited challenge for the CLOs Other frequently mentioned challenges were responding to organizational changes such as globalization and ensuring that learning is aligned with business goals and integrated with other aspects of HR and performance measurement

15 Chart 2: Number one challenge of CLOs Communicating & measuring value 31 Resource constraints 28 Responding to organizational change 11 Alignment & integration 10 Learning governance 6 Leadership development 4 Content consistency & delivery 4 Learning staff Source: ASDT/University of Pennsylvania, CLO Profile Research Report, 2006

16 Chart 3: Criteria for evaluating CLOs performance CLOs were evaluated mostly based on alignment with business, strategy, contribution to business value and efficiency of the learning function

17 Chart 3: Criteria for evaluating CLOs performance Alignment with business strategy 71 Contribution to business value 69 Efficiency of the learning function 45 Budget management 37 Employee performance improvement 28 Thought leadership 24 Courseware production 1 Technology implementation Source: ASDT/University of Pennsylvania, CLO Profile Research Report, 2006

18 Chart 4: Accomplishment or success of CLOs Expansion of the scope, output or reach of the learning function, such as creation of new programmes, increased global; audiences, talent management and performance management were mentioned by CLOs as their success or accomplishment Other frequently mentioned accomplishments related to the implementation of key initiatives such as leadership development programmes and increased perception and demonstration of the value of learning

19 Chart 4: Accomplishment or success of CLOs Expansion of scope, output & reach 38 Implementationof key learning initiatives 29 Increased perception/demonstration of value 27 E-learning (management & content) 9 Alignment w ith business strategy Source: ASDT/University of Pennsylvania, CLO Profile Research Report, 2006

20 Career history and aspirations Average number of years the CLOs spent in their current organization = 10 Average number of years spent in the industry sector of their current organization = 13 Job areas in which the largest number of CLOs had worked prior to their current positions corporate learning, human resources, organizational development and business management An area where fewer had worked but which had a high usefulness rating customer service Areas where many had worked but which had lower usefulness ratings were teaching and sales Within the learning field, area where CLOs had the most experience training management and teaching The next anticipated positions selected most frequently CLO of a larger organization, vice president of HR, and consultant 30% had doctorates Subject areas studied most in college business, social sciences and psychology Subjected areas rated most useful instructional design, organizational development, human resources development and adult education

21 Chart 5: Competencies most critical for success Leadership, articulating the value of learning in business terms, business acumen and strategic planning Areas in which CLOs are most interested in further learning measurement and evaluation, human performance improvement, strategic planning and learning technology infrastructure Areas of greatest gap between the competencies they think are critical and those they are interested in learning more about leadership, measurement and evaluation and learning technology infrastructure See leadership as key to their success but are not interested in learning more about it See measurement and evaluation, and learning technology infrastructure as less critical to their success but are very interested to learn more about them

22 Figure 5: Competencies of CLOs Leadership Articulating the value of learning in business terms Business acumen Strategic planning Knowledge of the business of your company Communication Relationship management Adaptability Human performance improvement Management (people, process, budget) Change management Political savvy Measurement & evaluation Learning science Learning technology infrastructure Research/analytical skills Instructional design Outsourcing relationship management Most critical for success Source: ASDT/University of Pennsylvania, CLO Profile Research Report, 2006 Most interested in further learning

23 Conclusion CLOs spend most of their time on strategy and communications up and down their organizations to align learning requirement with business goals and t provide learning opportunities in the most efficient mannar Regards experience and education in both the fields of learning and business as valuable preparation Multiple career paths lead to the position of a CLO Key competencies required are leadership and ability to articulate the value of learning in business terms Business areas CLOs are most interested in learning more about strategic planning and change management Learning-related topics they are most interested in learning more about human performance improvement, measurement and evaluation asnd learning technologies The new breed of learning executives has or want dual competency in learning and business and a dual mandate to improve the performance of the business and the productivity of the learning function The X-factor that distinguishes great CLOs from good CLOs is the ability to gain the trust of their organization s executive team and business unit leaders