Training Tools, Tips & Resources

Training resources blog by Corexcel. Your connection to everything related to training.

Ann Taylor CEO On Women Leadership:

“Nobody can have it all! Men or women. But you can have what you want if you focus on it and figure it out.”

Forbes Writer Jenna Goudreau sat down with Kay Krill, CEO of Ann, Inc. This is such an inspiring interview that touches on women leadership: pursing the ideal work/life balance and helping young girls become the future of women leadership.

Women Leadership Ann Taylor CEO Kay Krill

Krill sat down with me to discuss the latest at Ann, what it’s like leading a company of 20,000 women, the truth behind the “having it all” paradox and the one piece of career advice that changed her life.In 1999, veteran retailer Kay Krill gave birth to triplets: Twin boys and women’s casual clothing store the LOFT, which she launched as the little sister brand of up-market chain Ann Taylor. Today she is CEO of parent company Ann Inc., and LOFT is a billion-dollar business. The 57-year-old is also a mom of teenage boys who always makes it home for dinner.

Jenna Goudreau: You’ve been with Ann Taylor for 18 years, and CEO for seven. How has professional women’s fashion evolved over that time?

Kay Krill: It used to be that women thought they needed to wear a suit to look professional. Those days are gone. Women are dressing in versatile separates rather than matchy-matchy jackets and pants. Color has also been trending. A year ago it was more about colorful tops, and now it’s colorful bottoms. We’re also selling more dresses and skirts.

Click here to read the full article:

Ann Taylor CEO – Work, Life and Women Leadership

 

eLearning Benefits – eLearning helps organizations of all sizes reach learners quickly and effectively.

Just as you would diversify your investment portfolio, a company should offer a variety of training options to learners. While in-person meetings and conferences may align well with your company’s goals, you shouldn’t forget about eLearning either.

We have all attended an in-person event. They can be fun, right? You can shake the presenters’ hands and network with colleagues. Sometimes you can even feel positive energy as soon as you walk in the classroom.

However, when it comes to reaching more learners in less time, eLearning has proven itself to be the most effective and inexpensive option.

eLearning is Less Expensive

eLearning is a lot less expensive to produce than instructor led courses or conferences. Previously, an organization may have needed an LMS, company intranet or server in order to present online material to customers or employees. Fortunately, the software you need is readily available at half the cost. You can simply create an account with an eLearning webinar platform like WebEx and in a matter of clicks, present your material to anyone in the world. Think of it this way: some web-based platform fees are as little as $39.99 a month. One night in a hotel for an on-site facilitator may cost $200 or more.

eLearning Saves Time

eLearning saves time! Once you are familiar with your platform and material, these web-based programs require very little maintenance. Think of how much time and money is spent on planning one live, instructor led event. We dedicate so much time to planning the event and coordinating schedules, and then poof! It’s over. With eLearning, you’ll spend less time planning, more time presenting, and you can even record previous sessions and host them on your website.

eLearning Helps You Reach More Learners

Computers are smaller and sleeker than ever. Tablets, smart phones and other devices help make online training materials even MORE available to learners. There’s the iPad, iPad mini, Galaxy Tab: all of these devices (and more!) give you the opportunity to reach learners on the go and/or on a budget. A small company may not be able to afford sending out a company representative to attend your conference, but they can afford to attend a 1-hour webinar for half the price! Offering some web-based courses will help you reach the learners you may have normally missed.

eLearning = Happy Learners

Some of your customers may not be able to attend a live meeting due to conflicting schedules or budget restraints. But, they would be delighted to hear that you recorded the meeting and put it on the website for anyone who missed it! Offering eLearning training programs allow participants to learn the information they need on their own time. Learners love having that power and will certainly be grateful for it. And, since producing and maintaining web-based courses are inexpensive, you can charge participants less for attending. Hey, you may even offer free web-based courses!

eLearning Statistics:

eLearning truly is a wonderful thing! A colleague recently sent me an interesting article highlighting some surprising statistics on eLearning over the past few years.

Here are a few of my favorites:

  • The eLearning market is now more than 13 years old (the word “eLearning” was coined in 1998).
  • eLearning is the second most important training method within organizations, with companies increasingly moving towards blended learning and eLearning, rather than instructor led training sessions.
  • eLearning is generally shorter than classroom training on the same subject by up to 25-60%.
  • eLearning is proven to increase knowledge retention by 25% to 60%.

Interesting in eLearning? How about self-paced eLearning courses and professional certificate programs?

It’s National Distance Learning Week!

Distance learning has become an inexpensive alternative to in-person training programs and conferences. From your very own computer, you can use the power of the Internet to access the material you need, WHEN you need it. Distance learning allows adult learners to find exactly what they are looking for in a course and learn the material when it is convenient to them.

To celebrate National Distance Learning Week, we’re offering 20% off ALL of our online business skills courses!

Our self-paced, fully accredited online business skills courses cover topics like:

Upon successful course completion, you will able to print your certificate directly from your computer. Corexcel’s online business skill courses are:

  • Fully Accredited
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  • Self-paced
  • Based on sound instructional design
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Discount Code:

When purchasing online business skills courses, use discount code: Learning20 to save 20% now through 11/11/12.