August 19, 2011
Here is a great article on the economics of e-learning classes versus instructor led classes from the former President of Caterpillar University!
http://blog.clomedia.com/2011/07/what-is-the-value-of-e-learning/
August 4, 2011
According to a recent article on CNN.com, there are 5 Billion Pounds of Turkey consumed in the United States each year. That averages out to about 16-18 pounds of Turkey for every man, woman, and child in the country! That is a lot of turkey – and a lot of people to consider when building HACCP plans, and general food safety regimen. Each company that processes food is, of course, required to have proper HACCP plans in place – taking special care of every critical control point along the way. This is an important example of why not only having plans and processes in place is important – but also training employees on how to properly carry them out! Whether you are a food processor, food preparer, or food server – training is always of the utmost importance. That is why Russell Associates carries a full line of HACCP manager, and employee training resources. We’re committed to helping the industries we care about, take care of the people they are serving.
News Article: Cargill Recalls 36 Million Pounds of Ground Turkey
July 21, 2011
Latham Hi-Tech Seeds does a fantastic job of putting relevant content on their company blog, “The Field Position.” Today, I was intrigued by the topic, as I had actually been considering this myself. Much of the corn across the country is in the pollination phase. The recent heat wave has been relentless both day and night. Last year, USDA attributed a 10% decrease in corn yield to this same type of event. In today’s Field Position post, you get the low down on whether we can expect yield reduction or not. Link to full article:http://bit.ly/mU5ZNT
November 16th, 2011
Mark Jewell to Speak at ASTD Regional Conference
No Comments, Uncategorized, by admin.July 18, 2011
Russell Associates is excited to announce that Agribusiness Market Leader, Mark Jewell was recently selected by ASTD to speak at the Regional Conference in Minneapolis, MN, held on November 14 & 15, 2011. Mark recently completed his Master’s Degree program through Colorado State University – Global Campus. His degree program was Organizational Leadership, and his key focus was Change Management. During the ASTD Regional Conference, Mark will be presenting the topic of his Master’s Capstone Project which focuses on new ways to capture Informal Learning in the workplace.
Mark’s words on the topic:
“As I was choosing a topic for my Capstone Project, required to complete the Master’s program, I became enthralled by the statistic which states 70-80% of workplace learning happens informally. I was convinced that there must be something available with today’s technology that would help harness more of the informal knowledge transfer. What I came across were a number of communications services known as Social Business Solutions. Basically they are communications platforms that allow an organization to become more social, more connected, and more open across the organization.
Take for instance the time knowledge workers spend looking for information. A knowledge worker spends 25% of their time just looking for info – and they find it successfully only 50% of the time. That means, if on average, employees earn $56,000 per year, an employer spends $14,000 per year having employees look for information that they only find half the time. Social Business Solutions enable the organization to improve that figure dramatically.
In my talk at ASTD, I’ll be presenting some information on Social Business Solutions, but also, and perhaps more importantly a decision making model that helps organizations justify the use, and decide which solution is right for them based on culture, technology needs, and themes pulled from communications and learning theories.”
If you would like more information about Social Business Solutions you can contact Mark via email at mark.jewell@intratrain.com. To register for ASTD 2011 Regional Conference & Expo simply follow this link: http://bit.ly/astdregionalconf
We look forward to seeing you in November at ASTD Regional Conference in St. Paul, MN!
November 16th, 2011
Leveraging the Social Nature of Your Company
No Comments, Uncategorized, by admin.June 7, 2011
It is in our human nature to form groups, committees, teams, and the like. We are social creatures. Some of us are extremely social, while others are not as socially interactive – but in the end, we all need each other.
I find this presents challenges in the workplace today. Email has done wonders for reducing paper consumption, but have you considered what it does for your time? How much time do you spend looking down at your blackberry, or closing a working window to look at our Outlook every time it chimes?
Probably more than you’d care to admit! The fact is, our social nature, as beautiful and useful a creation as it is, is amplified through technology.
Each day, I am “courtesy copied” or “blind courtesy copied” on dozens of emails. How many of those conversations do I need to be involved with? Do I read each of the emails, or do I need to read each one? When I find out that I do need to read them, can I dig back into my email and find it? That might be a problem for those less organized! What happens if my email fails one day, and all those conversations are lost? BIG Loss!
Today, there are many new software products on the market that enable our companies to leverage the social nature of our companies. Enterprise solutions – that allow us to engage with co-workers, or even clients, and help us to reduce the clutter. Sounds pretty powerful right? You bet! We’ll be bringing more information about those tools over the coming weeks. However, in the meantime, I am interested in what your stories are about too much information clutter in your inbox…in your life. Please leave stories in the comments!
October 4, 2011
Recently, I came across an article highlighting how we can use a good Performance Management approach, to better enable us to build individual development plans. If you follow this link, you will find a great little paper on PM that will help you as you think about why you might put a performance management approach in place. It is obvious that with the employees of today, a “Comand and Control” environment doesn’t work. As a result, one thing is clear: We need to transform our employees – and part of that equals understanding more about them. One way Russell Associates helps organizations with that, is through a 360 degree feedback survey. What do you see being used by other organizations or consulting groups?
Link to Performance Management Article:
GAP Analysis
Do you ever question the results of an employee survey? Or, wonder what your employees consider important? Or, what a response to a question means? A survey tool that makes understanding survey results easier and gives management a better idea of what employees deem to be important is the GAP Analysis.
The survey, a Gap Analysis or Dual Scale, asks the respondent to answer each question twice. The first response is the individual’s opinion of the current performance or status while the second response is what the individual believes the level of performance or status should be. The difference, “Gap,” indicates the individual’s perception of how well/poor the subject is doing in regard to the topic.
For more information on Russell Associates and the GAP analysis, visit Russell Associates’ website at www.intRAtrain.com.
inspectiTRAC
news release/blog/linkedin/etc.
Russell Associates, Le Sueur, MN, recently launched the newest in their line of business-enhancing products – inspectiTRAC. inspectiTRAC is automated inspection software delivered on a tablet computer. The technology incorporated in the inspectiTRAC system automates and mobilizes the process for inspections, audits and observations.
inspectiTRAC expedites corrective actions, eliminates errors and saves time and money. And, it’s customizable to meet a broad base of businesses and situations.
When you hear “inspectiTRAC”, think inspections, audits and observations related to safety, quality, and job skills.
When you hear “Russell Associates”, think innovation, enhanced technology, and state-of-the-art, green products and systems to meet the needs of business and industry.
For more information on Russell Associates and inspectiTRAC, visit Russell Associates’ website at www.intRAtrain.com and click on inspeciTRAC.