976 - Texas Flood Readiness, Graying of Learners, 1,000th Participant
August 28, 2017 Elliott Masie’s Learning TRENDS - August 28, 2017.
#976 - Updates on Learning, Business & Technology Since 1997.
57,698 Readers - www.masie.com - The MASIE Center.
Host of Learning 2017 - Oct 22 to 25 - Orlando - 1,017 Registered Already
1. Crisis Readiness Perspectives: Texas Floods.
2. Graying of our Learners?
3. 1,000th Participant: Shelley Moss.
1. Crisis Readiness Perspectives - Texas Floods: As you may know, The MASIE Center has been focusing on the Readiness of our Workplaces and Workforces for Cyber, Terror & Emergency Disruptions. It will be a major focus at Learning 2017 and the current tragic weather in Texas is a deep reminder of preparing for the “worst”.
This morning, I was communicating with several learning leaders in the Houston and nearby regions about the impact of the Hurricane/Flood on their workplaces and the nature of readiness planning that was already (or not) in place to prepare for this type of emergency.
Clearly, organizations have Crisis Reaction plans in place to strategically deal with weather intense shutdowns. However, the readiness does not always extend to the entire workforce and many are working hard to stay on top of the impact of the storms and rising waters.
Readiness must extend and include:
- Employee safety.
- Employee anxiety about family/neighbors and property.
- Clear communication systems and Code Red status when communication systems are down.
- Multiple ways of reaching and communicating with employees, colleagues and management.
- Access to limited corporate networks (eg. Sharepoint) from remote locations without a firewall.
- Ability to work from home or remotely.
- Systems to communicate status and readiness with external customers, including a Code Red website.
- Coaching and intervention for employees facing significant loss.
- Volunteering and service mechanisms for staff to support each other.
These are just a few of the elements that we MUST put in place, practice and keep up to date, with the entire workforce PRIOR to a Weather, Cyber, Terror or other Emergency.
I am traveling to Japan on October 6th, to visit their Emergency Readiness and Simulation centers, which provide realistic and VR sims of hurricanes, earthquakes, radiation and other disasters. We will be videotaping myself and others going through these Centers in both Tokyo and Kobe, in anticipation of providing a Learning Award to the program at Learning 2017 in October.
2. Graying of our Learners? While much of the “age” conversation about shifts in the workforce has focused on the youngest folks in our organizations, there is a larger story.
We have a significant “Graying” of the Workforce and also a “Graying of our Learners!”
Many organizations are experiencing delayed retirement from workers in their 60’s and 70’s - due to either economic issues or an employee totally not ready to be “done”.
Other organizations are consciously hiring more senior employees, often in a flex schedule model, to expand and extend the workforce. And, many of these employees bring deep and wide skills, experiences and capacities.
So, what does a “Graying of our Learners” trend imply for Learning & Development? How do our learners learn differently as they grow older? How should our learning assumptions and designs shift or be personalized as our learners age? And, how can we leverage the best of the mature learner as a vehicle for innovation in the world of learning?
If you have some perspectives, I would love to hear from you. Send an email to emasie@masie.com And, you don’t have to be “gray” to contribute your perspectives.
3. 1,000th Participant - Shelley Moss: We are honored to recognize Shelley Moss as our 1,000th Registered Participant for Learning 2017. Shelley is a learning leader at Boeing in Seattle. And, it will be her first time at our event.
Since regulations prohibit us awarding any gifts to Shelley, we will give her a big cheer and hello in Orlando in October. Check out her smiles at: http://tinyurl.com/masie1000
Yours in learning,
Elliott Masie
Email: emasie@masie.com
Twitter: @emasie
MASIE Center Seminars, Events and Services:
- Learning 2017 - October 22 to 25 Orlando, Florida USA - Over 1,017 Colleagues Registered Already!
- Membership in The Learning CONSORTIUM
Details and Online Registration: http://www.masie.com
Learning TRENDS is produced by The MASIE Center. 95 Washington Street, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866