When Russia launched the world’s first space satellite in the late 1950s, America entered one of its many paranoid fits. According to the thinking of the times, Sputnik was a sign that the United States had lost its technological superiority — with a tin can spinning in heaven, Russia seemed to be running circles around us.

And so it is with China today. The fear is that China, armed with 1.3 billion people and a fistful of American dollars in its treasury, like Russia in the ’50s, is beating us at our own game.

By Robert Ubell, CLO Magazine, September 2007

Recent conversations with learning executives, conducted through Expertusí Learning Intelligence Forums, revealed that attitudes about learning measurements are changing for the better.

By Mohana Radhakrishnan, Expertus Inc., August 2007

Many organizations invest in some form of leadership development for their top talent — they see it as a way to gain or maintain a competitive advantage.

Competency-based approaches to assess, mentor/coach, plan for succession and even promote leaders are the most common mechanisms for expending those training dollars.
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By David Peck, Talent Management magazine, August 2007

When TrainingOutsourcing.com and Expertus began the Training Challenges Survey Series a year ago, the goal was to explore the critical operational areas of training to find out what areas of corporate training are most painful, expensive, and difficult to manage. In other words, we wanted to know what are the biggest headaches in training.

Summary of Survey Results on 6 Key Topics - Research Conducted by Expertus/TrainingOutsourcing.com, July 2007

Employees at Homewood Suites by Hilton are taking charge of their own learning opportunities with video iPods.

The 5,000 to 6,000 employees at all 204 properties in the United States and Canada will be able to reinforce training content using the devices, which were introduced with the residential-style hotel chain’s mobile training program.

CLO Magazine, August 2007

It’s not easy for businesses to survive. Over half of this year’s start up businesses will fold within three years. What about the other half? What secrets do they know? What do they do differently? What suggestions can they share?

In a survey conducted nationally, 100 successful (in business for 3-5 years) small business owners were asked to name ten things they did that attributed to the survival and success of their businesses. Here are The Top Ten (Plus One) most common responses in the form of questions the owners said they asked themselves daily.

By Cynthia Francis, Francis Group, LLC, August 2007

Increasingly, globalization influences everything around us as the ideas and cultures of others become more integral to day-to-day existence. Companies and learning organizations are revisiting the way they approach customers and markets, how they communicate with one another and the way they structure and manage the workforce to be more effective and successful across boundaries and diverse cultures.

By Lyn C. Maize and Joseph Daniel McCool, CLO Magazine, August 2007

The iceberg analogy (you can see only 10 percent above the surface, and the danger lies in the 90 percent hidden below the water) plays into a common CLO challenge for leadership development: How do you develop competencies in that hidden 90 percent?

Most leaders’ 10 percent that is visible to the CLO — technical knowledge and skill, basic intelligence and competence —often are used to gauge whether leaders are effective in their roles because they are easier to measure. But many leaders’ cache of skills that set them apart is tucked away in that elusive 90 percent, which is much harder to develop and assess.

By Kellye Whitney, CLO Magazine, August 2007

Imagine yourself on the bow of a ship. It’s nighttime. A thick fog fills the air. You can barely see your hand in front of your face. But you have no worries — you know exactly where you are, where you’re heading and what obstacles lie in front of you. That’s because the ship’s radar system and auto-navigation devices are looking 360 degrees around your vessel, warning you of unforeseen risks and giving you information to adapt accordingly and in plenty of time.

As a chief learning officer, wouldn’t you like to have something similar that indicates risks and opportunities for your business initiatives? Well, the possibility isn’t too far-fetched, if you consider the concepts of business intelligence and apply them to learning.

By Chris Moore, CLO Magazine, August 2007

It's a no-brainer. In order to improve an organization's performance, the performance of the workers who make up that organization must first be improved. Typically organizations address improving the performance of their workers by providing them with training programs. The simple mathematics of business however dictates that if the cost to improve the performance (of the workers) is more than the financial benefit of the improvement itself, then the cost of the improvement cannot be justified. Thus the competing components of any training program becomes the improvement gained as a result of the training, we'll call this the "training component" versus the cost to the business which we will call the “financial component”

Written exclusively for Training Industry, Inc. by Kaliym Islam, July 2007

Over the last five years, outsourcing has proven itself to be an integral part of most corporate training strategies. Recent research from Bersin & Associates finds that approximately 30 percent of all training expenditures go to outside suppliers or consultants. In some sectors, such as business services and government agencies, approximately 80 percent of budget dollars go to third parties.

By Mohana Radhakrishnan, Learning Circuits, June 2007

The final survey in the Training Challenges Survey Series, conducted by Expertus and TrainingOutsourcing.com, focused on the challenges related to learning measurement. The survey was launched in April 2007; more than 300 survey responses were collected. Approximately 37% of respondents were from companies with more than 5,000 employees; 22% were from companies with 1,000 to 5,000 employees, and about 40% of respondents were from companies with fewer than 1,000 employees.

Survey Results from Expertus/TrainingOutsourcing.com Study, June 2007

I have a favorite lamp that works fine if I coil its cord in exactly the right direction and plug it in a little off center. Technically, it's not broken, but if I move it one inch, the light won't come on.

Many corporate learning organizations are like my lamp — they work fine if they're not disturbed.

By Fran Morton, Talent Management magazine, May 2007

Typically, when a person mentions training, what comes to mind is a course, electronic or classroom-based, with lessons, assessments, activities, etc. When the audience is one of adults, however, traditional training can be a big burden, and the reasons can be anything from training being too tedious to lack of time.

By SM Nafay Kumail and Bhupendra Bahadur Singh, CLO Magazine, June 2007

There has been a great deal of discussion and debate in recent years around the aging public sector workforce. Numerous articles depict the aging baby boomer generation as a looming crisis for public sector organizations while others believe the increased speculation around mass retirements is an exaggeration of the situation. The purpose of this study, the third in a series of four by IPMA-HR, is to explore what efforts organizations are undertaking to understand and monitor their workforce. Further, how do organizations anticipate their workforces and even jurisdictions may change due to a potential increase in employee retirement? How will these changes impact the organizations’ operations and abilities to achieve their overall missions or to deliver vital services? Will critical institutional knowledge be lost as workers retire and will key positions remain vacant due to dwindling applicant pools? This study examines these and other important questions related to the impact of the aging workforce.

Study Sponsored by Convergys, Conducted by EquaTerra, February 2007

In the financial services (and, increasingly, the corporate) world, compliance is a way of life. Governance, risk management and compliance (GRC) are the name of the game if companies are to abide by the law and avoid penalties and fines or both.

Beth Murphy, president and CEO of CFM Partners Inc., a regulatory compliance and training firm, outlined several actionable items the CLO and/or learning organization might want to consider to facilitate creating and implementing a successful, long-term GRC strategy.

By Kellye Whitney, CLO Magazone, June 2007

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Software as a Service (SaaS) is quickly catching on as the preferred way for organizations to acquire access to business applications because it eliminates all the headaches, hassles and risks associated with traditional "on-premises" software.  For example, the adoption rate for on-demand Learning Management Systems is skyrocketing.  Compared to traditional on-premises LMS software, the SaaS delivery model is appealing to HR and training professionals for several reasons, including its lower start-up costs, reduced total cost of ownership and rapid deployment.

By Will Hipwell, GeoLearning, May 2007

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According to Larry Israelite, author of “Lies About Learning: Leading Executives Separate Truth from Fiction in a $100 Billion Industry,” there might be some, shall we say, untruths floating about in the learning and development realm.

By Kellye Whitney, CLO Magazine, May 2007

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In the great conversation about the coming talent shortage in the United States, much of the discussion has revolved around the 80 million or so baby boomers and their impending retirement. But as a few pundits have pointed out, the far lower numbers of Generation X professionals available to replace them is the other part of this equation. (Indeed, if there were an equivalent number of Gen Xers, this essentially would not be an issue.) Given this situation, it’s important for enterprises to understand the mindset of Gen Xers so they can recruit, develop and retain them.

By Brian Summerfield, CLO Magazine, May 2007

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While the stress on business efficiency is driving organizations to implement ERP, SCM, and CRM applications, deploying these applications and realizing their benefits is a complicated task fraught with a number of risks. Quite often, an enterprise-wide rollout is a global rollout.

By Vandana Pancham, Genpact, April 2007

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Four trends are shaping today's learning industry: a convergence around talent management, value demonstration and optimization, the need for speed, and the dramatic growth of training outsourcing.  Understanding these trends is the first step in making sure you're ready to take advantage of them as you develop, adjust and execute your organization's learning and development strategies.

By Will Hipwell, GeoLearning, Spring 2007

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Some of the surveys conducted by trainingoutsourcing.com would go a long way in establishing the outsourcing of learning to be the need of the hour for many organizations that are not getting the value from the investment they make in training. There are compelling reasons for these organizations—both big and small—to consider outsourcing learning for the problem they face vis-à-vis employee learning, a distinct competitive advantage in the global knowledge economy.

By SM Nafay Kumail & Bhupendra Bahadur Singh, Genpact, March 2007

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Research indicates the average 21-year-old has played about 10,000 hours of video games. Other studies show adults learn and retain more in courses that incorporate game elements such as competitive scoring, increasingly difficult player levels and fantasy role-playing. With this in mind, Cisco Systems, a worldwide leader in Internet networking, in 2005 introduced its online Learning Game Trilogy: Rockin’ Retailer, Network Defenders and SAN Rover.

By Kellye Whitney, CLO Magazine, March 2007

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Are you constantly looking for innovative methods and techniques to encourage audience participation? Are you worried your training may not impact participants to change behaviors? Do you feel constrained by traditional pedagogical training methods? If you answered yes to any of these questions, using board games in your training is for you.

By The Learning Key, March 2007

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The fifth survey in the Training Challenges Survey Series, conducted by Expertus and TrainingOutsourcing.com, focused on training administration and operations challenges. The survey was launched in February 2007; 234 survey responses were received. Approximately 30% of respondents were from companies with more than 5,000 employees; 29% were from companies with 1,000 to 5,000 employees, and about 41% of respondents were from companies with fewer than 1,000 employees.

Survey Results from Expertus/TrainingOutsourcing.com Study, March 2007

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The task of ranking the top companies of employee-sponsored workforce training and development is no easy feat. This year, Training’s sixth annual report, adds 25 more companies to the list…Training Top 125.

Training Magazine March 2007

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The learning outsourcing market is exploding at such a fast pace, it might be more a question of “when,” not “if,” your organization will be outsourcing some aspect of the learning function. Whether you are already there, or you are new to the idea, you have a big advantage over the earliest adopters: the ability to learn from the experiences of organizations that have gone before you.

By Richard Klingshirn, CLO Magazine, March 2007

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For our first feature on the top players in training and development (T&D), we contacted 35 learning providers to gather some key data and facts about themselves and major competitors, which led to the determination of the final 13. They not only administer but also deliver training services to many of the largest companies. Some vendors use their own learning courseware to train a variety of employees, some implement learning software and programs developed by other companies, and others incorporate outside services. Besides administering training, providers track employees for data on attrition, completion, and results.

HRO Today, February 2007

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Top learning analysts predict talent management will be the next “killer”  application. They also maintain learning management system (LMS) vendors are leading the way in providing talent management solutions that integrate the processes for performance management, staffing, competency management and learning management.

By Chris Moore, Talent Management magazine, February 2007

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Mobile technologies are everywhere today — more than 1.5 billion of them, according to a recent report by Strategy Analytics with 10 percent year-over-year adoption expected through 2008. Cell phones, PDAs, iPods and handheld game consoles are just a few examples of the devices that have become common, everyday accessories.

By Ellen Wagner, Ph.D., CLO Magazine, February 2007

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The fourth survey in the Training Challenges Survey Series, conducted by Expertus and TrainingOutsourcing.com, was focused on LMS implementation and maintenance. The survey was launched in December 2006 and 202 survey responses were collected. Approximately 50% of respondents were from companies with more than 5,000 employees; 20% were from mpanies with 1,000 to 5,000 employees, and about 30% of respondents were from companies with fewer than 1,000 employees.

Survey Results from Expertus/TrainingOutsourcing.com Study, January 2007

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Modern, global business practices and interactions between employees and employers, as well as customers and the organizations that serve them, demand a concentrated focus on collaboration and cost-efficiency. The learning and development industry found a viable solution to the latter in outsourcing. Yet, collaboration remains an issue, one that can guarantee the success or failure of outsourced initiatives and consume any cost savings that an organization might have enjoyed otherwise.

By Kellye Whitney, CLO Magazine, January 2007

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The concept of "running training like a business" was first seriously discussed by Ed Trolley and David van Adelsberg in their 1999 book with the same title. Since that time, there have been numerous magazine articles, discussions, blogs, and books that basically addressed this same subject in some shape or form. As the years have passed, this topic continues to be popular, and discussions on how to achieve a business approach to training and development persist.

Written exclusively for Training Industry, Inc. by Kaliym Islam, January 2007

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What does Digitas, a digital and direct marketing company, have in common with Caterpillar, the manufacturer of heavy construction equipment? What about GM and Bellevue University? While these companies vary widely in size and industry sector, all have demonstrated innovation and excellence in corporate learning. They are among America’s 14 Learning Leaders for 2006.

By Linda Galloway, ELearning! Magazine, January 2007

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With the war for talent in full swing, today’s CLOs find themselves thrust into a more strategic role, as company leaders look to them to help address a wide range of talent management issues. Learning no longer is just about “training,” but it is now seen as a strategic function that can transform a company into a high-performance organization.

By Peter McStravick, CLO Magazine, January 2007

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Outsourcing design and development of e-learning has become a key strategic initiative for many organizations because of the obvious benefits of receiving specialized services, which might not be available in-house, in a cost-effective manner. But how does one select the “right” outsourcing partner when there are numerous options from which to choose?

By S.M. Nafay Kumail & Anupma Bakshi, CLO Magazine, January 2007

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1. Explain the top three competitive advantages Ohio provides to companies currently in Ohio that are planning on expansion and that are considering Ohio for that expansion. “The biggest advantage to any company looking to locate or expand in Ohio is our people. As is the case with any successful state’s economy, entrepreneurs and a skilled workforce drive Ohio’s growth. With a nearly 50 percent increase in need-based financial aid for Ohio college students over the past seven years and incentives designed to assist businesses in employee job training, Ohio continues to build upon a skilled and prepared workforce of over 5.4 million.

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Alignment: It’s the term that describes the continuous process of mobilizing enterprise resources to execute company objectives. For several years, organizations have grappled with how to align their most critical enterprise resource—the workforce. Thus far, most organizations have charged the human resources department with building an alignment strategy. Although HR is an important stakeholder, the development and execution of optimal workforce alignment will never occur without equal participation of the corporate strategy and learning organizations.

By James Harvey, CLO Magazine, May 2006

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This article reviews the top factors that executives look at when choosing a new facility site.  The data is based on a survey conducted by Area Development Magazine (January 2006).

The IM Group, Inc., April 2006

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Few VPs of sales use their own, differentiated sales methodology and strategic, ongoing sales training as a strategy to gain and maintain competitive advantage.  There are a host of reasons for that, as you will see. You will also notice that the responsibility for employing this strategy effectively lies with both the companies seeking help as well as those providing it.

By ES Research Group, April 2006

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You probably wish you didn’t have to spend any of your training budget on marketing. Wouldn’t you rather focus your resources on developing top-quality learning? The reality is that if you don’t have marketing, you don’t get heard at all.

Written exclusively for TrainingOutsourcing.com
By Gordon L. Johnson
April 2006

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Much has been said about the pros and cons of learning outsourcing. Corporate decision makers are rapidly adopting the practice, hoping to fulfill the promise of "faster, better, and cheaper" performance. However, I believe the business case is better illustrated by a more detailed equation that goes way beyond just direct costs:

The Outsourcing Value Equation 

Lower Costs + Lower Risk + Strong Standards + Better Control + Deeper Strategic Value = Net Benefits To You

Written exclusively for TrainingOutsourcing.com
By Mohana Radhakrishnan
March 2006

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Interpersonal Effectiveness Training (IET) has become a staple in today’s business environment as organizations look to improve productivity without increasing headcount. Interpersonal effectiveness is the ability to create productive interactions and maintain positive working relationships. Companies of all sizes and industries now offer stand-alone IET or build it into their overall development efforts. The TRACOM Group, an industry leader in interpersonal effectiveness training, sought to quantify organizational use of IET and attitudes toward this increasingly popular development tool.

Research Study - The TRACOM Group, February 2006

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For our first feature on the top players in training and development (T&D), we contacted 35 learning providers to gather some key data and facts about themselves and major competitors, which led to the determination of the final 13. They not only administer but also deliver training services to many of the largest companies. Some vendors use their own learning courseware to train a variety of employees, some implement learning software and programs developed by other companies, and others incorporate outside services. Besides administering training, providers track employees for data on attrition, completion, and results.

HRO Today, February 2007

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On behalf of TechLearn, ELBD Services conducted this market analysis to develop quantitative data pertaining to the Learning, Training and Workforce Performance (LTW) community. Specifically, the focus in performing this analysis was to:

• Understand and quantify the LTW community's most significant challenges and initiatives
• Understand and quantify our community's expectations and perspectives on the value of attending a learning & training conference

TechLearn Research Study, ELBD Services, Inc., February 2006

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The U.S. IT job market has been comparable to a pendulum—swinging freely under the force of the economy and technological advancements. However, as India and China steadily climb the high-tech ladder, the U.S. IT job market continues to narrow as talent competition grows. It is common knowledge that offshoring and outsourcing are widespread in today’s IT industry—and most importantly, that this trend is not expected to change any time soon.

Carl McLean, Certification Magazine, February 2006

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At TrainingOutsourcing.com, we are frequently asked by training buyers to recommend companies they should send a Request for Proposal (RFP) to bid contracts for outsourced learning services. To best help them, first we seek information about their critical business drivers.

Written exclusively for TrainingOutsourcing.com
By Doug Harward
January 2006

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Your company (an accounting firm) is considering creating a new revenue stream. The company has a 90% market share in the accounting software space, and management believes that it can leverage this position by charging its customers to become certified as power users of its suite of applications. The conventional thinking is that the internal service desk employees should also be certified so that they are better able to handle the calls that come in. Management wants the program up and running when the latest version of the software is released in nine months. Naturally the next step in the process is to call in the training department and have them use their training expertise to lead the development of the certification program, right?

By Kaliym Islam, LTI Magazine, December 2005

Employee and customer focused training organizations, whether they serve corporations or government agencies, vary considerably in size and complexity. Some are large and sophisticated organizations with many employees spread out geographically and using various technologies to assist in the administration, development, and delivery of learning.

By TrainingOutsourcing.com editorial staff, November 2005

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This article reviews the upward financial health of most states.  The article is based on a report of the National Governors Association, and the National Association of State Budget Officers.

The IM Group, Inc., November 2005

To conduct a successful outsourcing engagement, learning organizations must devote considerable time and energy to pre- and post-planning. Jim Hanlin, Ph.D, chief operating officer of TrainingOutsourcing.com, describes the relationship between the learning organization and its outsourcing provider like dating. “You’re learning about each other through examination, questioning, documentation, further clarification. You need to get that dating out of the way before you get married,” he said.

By Kellye Whitney, CLO Executive Briefing, November 2005

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From ATMs to do-it-yourself grocery check-out lanes to “pay-at-the-pump” gas stations, Americans are increasingly confronted with new gadgets that encourage a self-serve lifestyle. Hot new products combine functionality of older products in new ways: the office copier is becoming the office copier/scanner/fax machine and the cell phone is morphing into the cell phone/camera/PDA.

By Holly Behr, Vice President of eLearning Solutions, MindCrossings, 2005

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Organizations struggle with the costs, benefits and return on investment of learning. But evolving tools and technology now enable organizations to apply business analytics to understand the effectiveness and impact of training. The goal of any analytics solution is to help an organization understand what’s going on in its training operation. The solution should answer basic business questions: How much did something cost? What were the components of the cost? Who completed a learning offering? What can we do to improve it?

By Will Hipwell, CLO Magazine, October 2005

During the last few years, both the size and scope of outsourcing in the learning marketplace have increased. A recent study from IDC estimates the U.S. learning outsourcing marketplace to be approximately US $1.3 billion in 2005, which represents seven percent of the entire learning marketplace.ⁱ In addition, this number is expected to increase over the next four years to US $3.3 billion, or just under 13 percent of the total learning marketplace.

By Jill Kidwell, Vice President, Business Transformation Outsourcing, IBM Business Consulting Services

Experts agree that when launching a training outsourcing initiative, companies should follow a structured process that anticipates growth in the training mission and change in the vendor relationship.

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Each year, we check the pulse of the e-learning market, from what's new to what's not to what's next. And each year, some things stay the same. Analyst after analyst talks about the same issues that have been bandied about for some time, such as the need for better interoperability and the demand for "end-to-end" solutions.

By Sarah Boehle, Training Magazine, October 2005

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For starters, they must determine whether outsourcing makes sense for their organization from cultural and strategic standpoints. Outsourcing any aspect of the training function makes sense if-and only if-it helps the organization solve its business problems, says Doug Harward, a training outsourcing consultant based in Cary, N.C.

By Paul Harris, T+D Magazine, October 2005

The most recent marketing exercise seems to be deep knee bends in preparation for leaping over those annoying managers and directors to get directly to the CLO.

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Consulting Magazine, August 2005

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Most people in business view government as a morass of bureaucracy and taxes. What isn't so obvious is that state, county and local governments truly would like to see your business prosper.  States provide about $25 billion each year in incentives to induce businesses to take certai actions such as worker training.

By Marty Abbott, The IM Group, Inc., September 2005

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A Productivity Point International Q&A with Doug Harward

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As businesses expand into other countries and examine the pitfalls and benefits of outsourcing, the long fingers of this controversial phenomenon have reached out to touch business coffers as well as the lives of many American workers. Outsourcing of the learning function - whether unique processes or the entire department itself - has been touted as a way for organizations to increase efficiency and save learning dollars.

By Kellye Whitney, CLO Executive Briefing, September 2005

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Training outsourcing is one of the hottest topics in learning and development today. In the past year, almost every industry publication and conference has included an article or session on the topic. With so much being said about this phenomenon, now is an appropriate time to gauge the extent to which companies are actually employing a training outsourcing strategy.

By Peter McStravick, CLO Magazine, September 2005

“In ten or twelve years, China will be the second largest economy on the face the earth. Only the United States will have a bigger economy.” – Former US Secretary of Commerce, Mickey Kantor

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When it comes to gauging achievement, we should all take heed of the marketing slogan of Morgan Stanley: "We measure success, one investor at a time."

To Morgan Stanley, measuring success means understanding the individual goals of the investor and ensuring that all efforts are made to provide the knowledge, resources and environment to lead each investor to his or her goals. Furthermore, periodic monitoring of key measurements like portfolio diversification, net gains and losses, as well as mentoring and reevaluation keep goals on track and realign activities to new goals when needed. Can a similar model be employed to measure the success of workforce and performance initiatives?

By Chris Moore, Workforce Performance Solutions Magazine, August 2005

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Executive Survey: The Outsourcing Institute's Annual Survey of Outsourcing End Users

The Outsourcing Institute

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Most companies are taking an incremental selective approach toward the outsourcing of their human resources functions, according to a new survey by Watson Wyatt, a human capital consulting firm.  While the majority of respondents say they expect to outsource more in the future, they also report they are disinclined toward consolidating their outsourcing activities with a single vendor, and that they are far less willing to outsource the more strategic components of their HR function.

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There's a way to talk to the senior executives in the boardroom that gets results -- and there's a way to get asked to leave. The CEO and members of the board aren't likely to clue the inexperienced in on the proper way to handle them in a conference, but there are a few tricks one can employ to better enable communication sccess during these all-important, and frequently brief, meetings.

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Businesses throughout China are hungry for a wide range of workforce and customer training expertise, and will provide an important market for U.S. training outsourcing suppliers, predicts Doug Harward, founder and CEO of TrainingOutsourcing.com.  Harward's assessment follows a four-day visit to Shenzhen, China in June to attend the China Outsourcing Fair, an event aimed at promoting the outsourcing capabilities of Chinese businesses.

By TrainingOutsourcing.com editorial staff, June 2005

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Most learning executives find it frustratingly hard to determine how much a learning event benefits their organization.  After all, the direct results sit inside employee's heads, where you can't see them. The business benefits then unfold over time, in the midst of many other forces that also influence end results. Because of this indirectness, the business impact of training is rarely evaluated.  

By Chip Cleary, CLO Magazine, June 2005

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According to a study conducted in April 2004 by the Conference Board, only 9 percent of companies "are entirely against outsourcing some or all of their major human resources functions," compared to 23 percent in the 2003 survey. Clearly, companies are increasingly willing to outsource HR functions like performance management.  

By Sam S. Adkins, Workforce Performance Solutions Magazine, June 2005

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AchieveGlobal recently completed a global, two year study on the challenges facing today's sales organizations. One common theme emerged in this study time and time again: The urgent need to generate new business more proactively.  

AchieveGlobal Study Results by Anne E.P. Smith and Seleste Lunsford, June 2005. 

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BETTER – FASTER – CHEAPER! In its simplest form, these are the three business drivers that corporate executives apply when determining the potential value of outsourcing particular processes or components of their company operations. In other words, can a person or organization outside of the company provide products or services critical to the business better, faster, or cheaper than it can be accomplished inside the organization? If the answer is “yes,” then the prudent strategy is usually to outsource that part of the business to a reputable external provider.

By Jim Hanlin, Ph.D., Focus Magazine, Spring 2005

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Organizations increasingly seek trusted collaborators to help them achieve high performance through their learning function. The greatest opportunities, especially for businesses, will come from total enterprise learning outsourcing strategies that have the potential to transform a company—supporting growth, innovation and competitive differentiation.

By Harry (Hap) Brakeley, President of Accenture Learning - Originally appeared in CLO Magazine, April 2005, in a Special Report sponsored by Accenture Learning

The many benefits of outsourcing workforce and customer training were showcased in New York City in April during NY HR Week, one of the year's largest gatherings of HR executives. The three-day event April 12-14 was held at the New York Hilton Hotel and attracted 3700+ registered participants.

A TrainingOutsourcing.com Exclusive by Paul Harris, June 2005

The term "learning analytics" has been thrown around the training and development industry by everyone from technology heavyweights to analysts, consultants and practitioners.  But what does it mean, how does it work, and where's the value? 

By Chris Moore, CLO Magazine, May 2005

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Intrepid Learning Solution's recent announcement of a major customer education outsourcing deal with AutoDesk demonstrates the  company's foothold in the critical and highly competitive training outsourcing market.

By TrainingOutsourcing.com editorial staff, April 2005

Recently, there has been a lot of conversation about the rising trend of outsourcing in the training industry, however; few of these deliberations have focused on the topic of offshore outsourcing.  The purpose of this article is present some thoughts on potential benefits and real concerns associated with offshore training outsourcing and to describe some of the emerging models that are being us