Mergers and acquisitions and their impact on the training departments

The case of Scitex-CreoScitex-Creo-Kodak

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Agenda

Mergers and acquisitions – their impact on training

Constant change – the organizational reality

Tips for training departments in a global and changing environment

The five stages of change – how to cope in each stage

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Documentation and Training / Knowledge Management/ Content Development group

Today the group of about 60 people consists of the following teams:

Technical Writing Instructional Design Editing Localization Multimedia

Global group located in Canada and Israel

Reports to the Service Organization today, previously to Marketing and to Customer Support

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Technical Writing Main Deliverables

User documentation:

User guides

Online help

Visual reference guides

Quick reference cards

Service documentation:

Procedures

Field change orders

Installation guides

Troubleshooting

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Training Main Deliverables

Classroom TrainingOnsite TrainingOnline Classroom Training

(Webex)Self-study Guide Activity GuidePowerPoint slidesExercisesJob Aids Customer Training ChecklistAssessments Coaching Kits Web Based Training (WBT)

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Mergers and Acquisitions

M&As - commonplace business trend in the past decades

Training departments may become regional departments of large companies

Globalization trends and outsourcing

Cultural differences account for about 70% of M&As failures

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Constant Change – the Organizational Reality

Change management – a nice business theory seldom implemented properly

Reporting structure of the training department may change and impact on its functioning

Budget for training depends on the team’s standing in the new company

Typical situation: lack of a single vision and consistency

Typical scenario: branding and rebranding take up development effort

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Tips for Training Departments in a Changing Environment

Before the M&A – in case you know in advance:

Find out about the acquiring company culture, power structure, and training counterparts

Start communicating with counterparts immediately

Share your knowledge (standards, technologies, etc.)

Find areas for sharing, collaboration and alignment

Create forums

Communicate, communicate, communicate

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Tips for Training Departments in a Changing Environment

After the M&A

Find an effective corporate sponsor

Focus on realistic goals – less gradual improvements, more bang for the buck

Public relations to increase the training department profile

Make the business cases for training - talk with numbers

Get feedback – bottom-up and top-down

Communicate, communicate, communicate

Change is a process – your team needs reassurance throughout it all

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The Five Stages of Change - DABDA

Denial

Anger

Bargaining

Depression

Acceptance

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How to Cope with Change

The key to seeing change as an opportunity instead of a threat

Five characteristics of resilient people Positive Focused Flexible Organized Proactive

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Training Solutions Development Main Deliverables

Classroom TrainingOnsite TrainingOnline Classroom Training

(Webex)Self-study Guide Activity GuidePowerPoint slidesExercisesJob Aids Customer Training ChecklistAssessments Coaching Kits Web Based Training (WBT)