Today marks the 100^th Anniversary of International Women’s Day.  This day is celebrated to inspire and celebrate women’s achievements around the world.  It is an official holiday in many countries across the globe, and today on the centennial, people around the world are gathering on bridges to show support for women’s causes. If you go here (also accessible by clicking the Google logo on Google’s home page) you can find one of the bridges nearest to you, or if you can’t get to one of them, you can log in virtually to participate.

There are a variety of causes that are being celebrated today including empowerment, economic security, education, equality & leadership, health, and safety & security. You can support these causes by donating to various charities and organizations, or if you want to take a more personal approach, we are doing our part by providing training courses that will help the cause. Check out titles like our Leadership Skills for Women Course and our Men and Women Working Together Course. Or if you really want to empower yourself and make a presence in a typically “guy’s world”, go for an IT certification! See all LearnKey products

Whether you are an employer or employee, think of your workplace – you probably have computer programs that make your job much easier. Maybe you use Microsoft Word to create letters and proposals, or maybe you use Google Docs to collaborate and share documents between your various offices. Technology is often implemented to make work more efficient, but what about decreasing the time between the hiring and starting work? What about the training?

Training can be difficult to find time to do in the workplace. When you get hired at a new job, they hired you because there was a position that needed to be filled, which means often times they need you to start right away. This can sometimes make it difficult to find time for training. That’s where a flexible, training program that is available 24/7 comes in.

(By the way, LearnKey’s online training platform is being implemented in businesses and schools all over the world – check out learnkey.com to see what we have to offer!)

In an article by Margery Weinstein “Technology Keeps Training on Track” she discusses the challenges a retail store faced with training employees. The main challenge was the amount of time available to train. This was solved by implementing a training program that was available online all the time, and the lessons were divided into short modules of 5-10 minutes. This new program proved to be more successful for the retail company.

So, think of your workplace again – you’re currently using various technologies to make your work easier. Where else could changes be made? Could your business benefit from an online training program?

Companies are having to be creative these days in order to keep employees engaged and excited about doing their jobs. One way to accomplish this is to move employees around laterally. For example you discover that one of your sales representatives has a passion for and past experience in marketing and would like to move to that department when an opening becomes available. This kind of movement can be benficial for both employee and employer; employees feel greater satisfaction for what they are doing and employers retain their talent.

In an article Lattice vs. Ladder in Human Resource Executive author Maura C. Ciccarelli points out that “It’s all about retention and engagement. Lateral moves have become the new ladder to success.” Here are some suggestions if your organization wants to implement a “lattice” model.

• Help employees build profiles that include their interests, hobbies, experience, and education.
• Keep an ongoing conversation going with employees about their goals professionally and personally.
• Look at the technology that is available to help develop these programs.
• Make sure the managers and employees work together for the greater good of the organization as a whole and not just their departments.
• Help employees build an individualized career plan that fits their goals and meets their needs.
• Work to change your companies culture from ‘moving up’ to ‘moving around’.
• Direct employees to resources available to them to meet their goals.
• Be patient. This kind of change will take time.

Do you like this idea of moving around as a way to feel successful? Think about your workplace – are there other departments you would be interested in working in?