• Question:

  I have just taken over as the leader of a fairly traditional learning organization. I want to change the perception of our learning function from being seen as a reactive staff function to one that is a proactive business partner focused on delivering results. What can I do to change our image?

• Answer:

  Great question. What you are talking about is your “Learning Brand.” At our Client Best Practice Conference last fall, Sue Todd, President of Corporate University Exchange, led a session on how to brand learning in a corporate setting. Additional information is available in CorpU’s white paper on branding learning

  Sue began by talking about the value of brands. A brand comprises the attributes that people associate with your company, product, or unit. A brand encapsulates the value promise. Your brand communicates “If you do business with me, here’s what you can expect.” People want to buy products from well-known and trusted brands and avoid products from unknown brands or poor reputations.

  It is important to understand that learning has a brand in your company whether you choose to manage it or not. The place to start is for you and your team to decide what you want to be known for. In your case it sounds like that is “delivering business impact.” Your challenge then is to deliver a consistent message, both in how the brand is presented as well as how your offerings fulfill on the brand’s promise, every time.

  A brand is much more than a cool logo or clever tagline. In branding, actions speak louder than words! If your learning brand promise is improve on-the-job business performance, then you need to consistently measure, deliver, and market evidence of business impact, not just how many courses you offer or people you train.

  If you want to build a reputation for understanding, aligning, and delivering on business needs, then you need a robust process for doing so; you can’t just wait to be asked to deliver training. A growing number of great companies, like Exxon and Kaiser Permanente, are using The 6Ds of Breakthrough Learning to build the value of their learning brand through common language and processes across their enterprises.

  Use the 6Ds Scorecard to test the readiness of your organization to deliver results and to identify your greatest opportunities for improvement.
  The real test of your success in building a new and improved brand for your learning function will come a year from now when you ask your line leaders to tell you what comes to mind when they hear the name of your department. In reality, your brand is whatever is in their heads. If you have delivered on your promise and communicated it well, then you will be pleased with what you hear.

  Building a strong positive learning brand will pay dividends in terms of management’s willingness to work with you and to provide resources and time for training. Building and maintaining a strong brand takes effort, focus, and consistent performance, but the rewards are well worth it.

  Cal Wick

How about the rest of you? Join the discussion at: The 6Ds LinkedIn Group and the FHC Blog

One Response to “How Do You Create A Learning Brand?”

1. Creating a learning brand « Don't Compromise! says:

   April 22, 2010 at 9:47 pm

   [...] Cal Wick of ASK’s evaluation partner company, Fort Hill, pointed out in a recent LearningAlert: It is important to understand that learning has a brand in your company whether you choose to [...]