Training in a Recession, Memory, & Pacing

The Crystal Ball: Predicting Stock Prices - McBassi & Company

Over the years, we have consistently found strong evidence that training expenditures are a predictor of future stock market returns for publicly-traded companies. (See, for example, "How's Your Return on People?", Harvard Business Review, March 2004.)

Note that McBassi found in the original study that a series of portfolios of firms that made the largest per capita investments in training subsequently returned 16.3% per year, compared with 10.7% for the S&P 500 index. As to causality, McBassi noted, ""While the performance controls in the regression above should prevent a spurious correlation between training and stock returns, we also show that training expenditures are not driven by past returns. This supports the thesis that training investments help to determine stock price performance, and not the opposite."

Following the financial cataclysm of 2008, we explored how well the relationship between training investments and stock market performance had held up. Did the relationship still exist or had it even vanished entirely, swamped by larger forces at play in the financial world? The Answer? Yes, the relationship still exists.

Progression in recession: why training is still crucial in a slump - The Guardian

If a recession does not mean an end to staff development, it does mean changes. Hyde Housing has begun to bring more training and education in-house rather than use outside contractors. Olsen-Haveland is moving Hyde towards what she calls the 70/20/10 model in which 70% of learning takes place on the job, 20% in coaching and 10% in the classroom or through e-learning.

Improving Brain Processing Speed Helps Memory - Science Daily

Results indicate that aging adults may be able to make better-informed decisions about ways to improve memory. "Brain processing speed slows as we age," says Dr. Smith. "The study indicates that choosing a memory-enhancing approach that focuses on improving brain processing speed and accuracy, rather than memory retention, may be helpful."

Pacing - Clark Quinn in Learnlets

I've gone off before about slow learning, and I think this is another facet. Not only are we're rushing too much in our performance, our development processes, and the amount of time we devote to learning, we're not properly setting the stage. I've been quick myself, but some of the best speakers seem to take their time getting to the point.

For another view on pacing see the first two book reviews on Leaving Microsoft to Change the World and Biography of a Bird Dog.

Training is still happening during the recession & Emphasizing listening skills - The Boggs e-Learning Chronicle

Few companies have dropped programs completely, but many are delaying custom program enrollment by six months or so as they watch expenses. But leadership coaches say they're still in demand. Author and consultant Paul Hellman has been expecting a slowdown, but says December was his busiest December ever. Mr. Hellman, president of Express Potential, says employers know employees are less likely to jump ship during the recession, and are exhibiting a "let's make sure people are developed" mentality. He says he sees companies cutting costs by using more Web training than in past years.