June 2014 Quarterly Release

Corporate University

Table of Contents

Letter from the Editor .......................................................................................................... 1

What is a Corporate University? ............................................................................................ 2

How to Get Started .............................................................................................................. 3

Who is using a Corporate University? .................................................................................... 4

What is in a Name? ............................................................................................................. 5

How to Promote Your University ............................................................................................ 6

Invista Staff Profile .............................................................................................................. 7

Client Profile: Simpson Lumber, LLC. ..................................................................................... 8

Credits ............................................................................................................................. 10

1INVISTA PERFORMANCE SOLUTIONS • QUARTERLY REPORT • AUGUST 2014

Lisa Edwards

Dear Reader,

Welcome to our new quarterly magazine. This inaugural issue covers many aspects of the corporate university, including how to create and promote an employee learning and development program. We are excited to share the ideas and knowledge of our team who contributed articles. Additionally, we have included two new profiles that you will enjoy reading: Malika Godo, our program assistant, who keeps things humming in our offices, as well as a new profile of Simpson Holdings and the work that we have done to help them launch their corporate university.

At Invista Performance Solutions, we support and actively promote learning and development. For us, it’s part of our culture and what makes us different from other learning providers. We are continuously seeking new ideas and information so that we can bring the best resources available to our clients. We have our equivalent of the O’ Book Club. Now, we may not be sitting down with the author in comfy chairs on a California ranch. However, we do enjoy lively discussions and exchanging ideas.

We hope that you will enjoy reading this magazine as much as we enjoyed creating it.

Dr. Lisa EdwardsGlobal Solutions Officer

Letter from the Editor

2 INVISTA PERFORMANCE SOLUTIONS • QUARTERLY REPORT • AUGUST 2014

Alexandra Vlaming

Simply put, a corporate university is a function or department of a business that is strategically oriented toward integrating the development of people as individuals within the organization, as well as facilitating organizational learning as a means to achieve and sustain competitive advantage (SHRM, 2007). Creating a corporate university is a way to house all training and development offerings under one umbrella, and also works as a way to organize development efforts.

Typical goals of corporate universities are to bring a common culture or loyalty to training efforts. When employees view all training efforts under one common name, it is easier to support new efforts, and see what the overall picture is. Corporate universities can also help to organize training efforts. Creating a web-page for your corporate university is a way to make all information and offerings available company wide, and also helps create a main contact point for employees who are interested in additional training and development.

Corporate universities can also help start and support other changes in the company. Changes to company vision and mission statements can be supported through the corporate university, either by hosting classes or informational sessions, or by simply lending legitimacy to corporate change efforts. An alternative is to use a corporate university to initiate change, by slowly implementing new processes through courses and programs supported by the corporate university.

First steps to starting a corporate university are to conduct a complete learning audit and assessment to find out where to start from. Next steps include meeting with senior executives and team leaders to find out what programs would be most beneficial to start with. Once you have an idea of what direction to move in, you can then begin planning to promote your new university and start planning and laying the groundwork for new coursework.

Corporate universities are a great way to formalize learning, and create a culture of development and improvement. Corporate universities make the company stand out, and create a point of differentiation when pursuing new candidates, and retaining current employees. To get your foot in the door, explore what is currently being done, and see if that can be adapted to a university structure. Corporate universities can help you and senior management prove the value of training to all parties involved.

What is a Corporate University?

3INVISTA PERFORMANCE SOLUTIONS • QUARTERLY REPORT • AUGUST 2014

Emily Barnett

Creating the university is more than creating a training department – it involves the entire organization, its future, and even its perceptions of training and development. There are several best practices that you can follow in order to set up your corporate university effectively.

1. Needs Assessment - Does your organization need a corporate university? How important is cross-training and succession planning to your organization? How is your organization planning to retain new employees and more specifically millennials?

2. Analysis of Results

3. Form an Employee Advisory Group and include Key Stakeholders from throughout the organization

4. Craft vision or strategic plan for the corporate university

5. Funding strategy – who will provide the funding? Is the training department solely responsible or will individual departments provide funding to train their personnel?

6. Departmental Surveys – Determine what training is necessary for each department. Is there any cross-over?

However you decide to do it, the key and best practice to the assessment and analysis stage is to start before you build your corporate university and to keep it consistent even after the build out is complete. By involving key stakeholders at the beginning of the process and throughout, you increase buy-in and create a group in your organization who will ‘sell’ the idea to others.

How to Get Started

4 INVISTA PERFORMANCE SOLUTIONS • QUARTERLY REPORT • AUGUST 2014

Amy Palo

Organizations that use corporate universities are those that want to create programs to increase their internal learning and training initiatives. There are many reasons that a firm would consider using a corporate university. Chief among these reasons are dealing with an aging workforce and a young workforce with goals and values that bring new challenges to employers, creating effective customer service programs and handling succession planning and retention issue. These issues are some of the topics that employers face that can be addressed with training initiatives that are implemented as part of a corporate university strategy that addresses company and human capital issues.

As part of a strategy to engage and retain workers, companies can leverage the corporate university as a tool to both develop workers and grow them in order to keep them at the company, instead of having employees seek employment opportunities elsewhere. The trainings through such a program are usually offered at very little to no cost, and can include certificate programs or credit courses that can lead to degree completion. As part of the corporate university program, employers may offer other opportunities, such as tuition reimbursement or payment, and apprenticeship or interning opportunities to train within the company on the job to prepare for advances in position.

Every organization type imaginable is taking advantage of the opportunities that exist within a corporate university. Aerospace, machining, medical, retail and tribal entities are among some of the various types of industry that have implemented and rely on the type of training that corporate universities can provide. Corporate universities provide an umbrella for all training, and can actually help create a unique brand for development efforts. Companies of all sizes, large and small are utilizing corporate universities, for example a company as large as Motorola has its own “Motorola University.”

Corporate Universities don’t need to be large. Many companies are starting small, and simply taking inventory of all current training and development efforts, and simply rebranding them under the same name. Starting a corporate university can seem daunting, but remember start small, and move from the ground up. By gradually adding additional elements, a university can grow over time into making a real difference.

Who is Using Corporate Universities?

5INVISTA PERFORMANCE SOLUTIONS • QUARTERLY REPORT • AUGUST 2014

Leda Hayes

It’s probably not the first thing you think about when you decide to establish a corporate university or continuing education/ professional development department within your company; but, maybe it should be. In Shakespeare’s oft quoted open musing a name dances between the refutable and the absolute. In a modern web 2.0 world, a name is a brand and an identity. The forgettable is lost and the clever transformative. With this knowledge corporate and personal branding has become a craft.

The name you choose for your corporate university will influence its’ initial employee reception and perhaps even its’ long term success. In The New Yorker article “The Power of Names” author Adam Alter asserts that his research “suggests a sort of linguistic Heisenberg principle: as soon as you label a concept, you change how people perceive it. It’s difficult to imagine a truly neutral label, because words evoke images..., are associated with other concepts..., and vary in complexity....”

A formal name like Smith University will resonate with traditionally minded employees. This name will send a message that affirms the time an employee spends in courses is a constructive and noble investment. This name exploits deep cultural values and truths that see education as the ultimate key to long term personal and financial success. Ultimately however, the success of this approach relies on the company’s own branding and is well suited only to a brand that is already identified as reliable.

Corporate universities might instead choose a memorable name or a name that offers them the opportunity to play on an insider’s joke. This choice allows management to offer warmth and humility to their employees. It sets up the corporate university as part of an organization’s daily culture and resonates well with a workforce that might have less comfort or experience with traditional higher education. McDonald’s Hamburger University invites employees to allow themselves to enter into activities that might make them feel vulnerable by presenting the process and management as accessible, willing to laugh along with employees about the public perceptions the company might struggle with, and down up.

Disney’s Disney Institute combines both of these approaches and draws upon both the family fun Disney brand and innovative public perception of formal public institutions. The name invites employees into a culture of practical education and yet leaves space to recall the power of the art theory studies that created a foundation for the genius of the company’s early days.

When you brand your corporate university you should weigh the corporate culture, the students who will fill your courses, and the ultimate objectives you hope to achieve. Additionally, you’ll want to use your knowledge of company management to insure the choices you make will resonate with their values and objectives. The right name will build a corporate university that will thrive from the moment of inception- and the wrong one? Its’ fate might be as sealed as those of the poorly surnamed star crossed lovers we began with.

What’s in a Name?Naming a Corporate University

6 INVISTA PERFORMANCE SOLUTIONS • QUARTERLY REPORT • AUGUST 2014

Alexandra Vlaming

Once you have your Corporate University either in the progress of being built, or fully built, the next step is to promote it. Promotion needs to be pointed at your employees, as well as the executive suite. Buy in is critical for the success of any company wide venture, and this is especially true for corporate universities.

Start early in the process of creating your corporate university, and start planning the basics. What colors, logos and other branding elements will you require? Symbols are shown to create powerful feelings, so a logo is key to getting support form staff. Options are to play off of your corporate logo, and use a variation of that to brand your university. This can keep the connection to the company in the forefront with staff. Another option is to create something wholly new, and unique to your university. You will want to use your logo on all training and promotional materials, so choose carefully. Logo is important, as your logo will let people know they are accessing your company knowledge base.

After nailing down your basic branding elements, you will need to start planning a marketing plan for your university. Some things to consider are your budget, and also the best ways of reaching your staff. Some companies are very digitally oriented, so email or SharePoint postings might be effective; while in some companies staff are more paper and pen oriented, making flyers and other promotional efforts a better fit. You should have multiple elements to your plan, don’t rely on one element. Email should be supported by flyers, staff meetings, and even a social media component. Once you have launched your university, make sure to collect testimonials from satisfied participants for use in future promotional materials.

Promoting your Corporate University is one of the most important things you will do. Without proper promotion your staff will not know what the university is, and will have a difficult time supporting its mission. Buy in is key, and properly promoting your university to both lower level staff and executive level staff is key to the success of any corporate university.

How to Promote Your University

7INVISTA PERFORMANCE SOLUTIONS • QUARTERLY REPORT • AUGUST 2014

Alexandra Vlaming

Program Assistant: Malika Godo

As a Program Assistant, Malika provides support for corporate training operations, as well as support to Project Manager, Amy Palo. Malika performs a variety of assignments such as monitoring financial records, preparing reports, establishing record keeping systems, processing registrations and responding to inquiries regarding college policies and procedures.

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Ivory Coast (West Africa) where I had a great childhood influenced by a French and Ivorian culture.

How did you make your way to the US?

After I graduated from Laval University in Quebec, Canada, my childhood sweetheart asked me to marry him and move to Maryland. We got married that same summer of 2005 and I’ve been here since then.

What is your educational background?

I have a Bachelor’s in Public Communications with a major in Advertisement. I also studied French Literature for three years in Reims, France.

What is your professional background before Invista?

I worked for a government contracting agency in Maryland, where I provided meeting planning support for different government entities such as the Department of Education and the State Department.

What do you like about working at Invista?

The team spirit is amazing. We constantly help each other learn and grow. Each week, we all sit together to stay in touch with what everyone is working on and to help the company improve in every aspects.

What do you want others to know about you?

I’m learning to live life fully (ask questions, meet new people, discover new places, rediscover my surroundings, learn a new skill, the possibilities are endless!) and to be grateful for the many blessings I’ve been given.

Invista Staff Profile

8 INVISTA PERFORMANCE SOLUTIONS • QUARTERLY REPORT • AUGUST 2014

Customized Employee Development Program

The Need: Simpson Lumber was looking for a comprehensive learning partner to provide training and consultative services for Simpson employees. Tanya Dierick, HR Manager, contacted IPS as a one-stop-solution to her diverse training and development needs, as well to help her secure outside funding for the projects. According to Dierick, “Before IPS, I had to go out and find service providers for every project and that was time consuming.”

The Solution: IPS worked with Simpson Lumber to create customized curriculum and training programs that met Simpson’s needs. Projects included an update to the new hire orientation, creating the architecture for Simpson University, strategic planning, and executive coaching. IPS also worked with Simpson to secure $35,000 in state funding through the Job Skills Program Grant. The grant funds supported the development of a customized onboarding program, including courses to help managers and supervisors better integrate new hires into the company.

According to Dierick, “What IPS brings is that it is a one-stop-shop and they have the ability to duplicate services outside of Washington State, at multiple locations. They have a large pool of consultants and service providers for us to use. IPS can tap into grants where appropriate and they have a large curriculum library to draw from so we don’t have to create things from scratch. We can easily customize content for our organization.”

Dierick is very positive about working with IPS and utilizing its relationship with community colleges, “I view IPS as very business centric. I think most colleges don’t understand how important this is when interacting with a business . What IPS does well is they navigate both world’s quite well- business and higher education. They get it and they are able to help me complete my thoughts.”

CLIENT PROFILE: SIMPSON LUMBER

9INVISTA PERFORMANCE SOLUTIONS • QUARTERLY REPORT • AUGUST 2014

Dierick said the following of working with Invista to create a custom program. “I don’t have to worry about going out and doing a search for training resources. IPS takes care of it. It is a very strong partnership. Early on we identified Leadership Development, the creation of Simpson University, new hire orientation and technical skill building as projects that we would need to implement.“

The Results: Simpson is already seeing an impact from working with IPS. Tanya says, “One of the things that we have seen is greater involvement throughout the organization. Invista helped us to create the format and process for soliciting feedback and they made it easier for us to do program development. Now, there is much more inclusion at Simpson. There is greater receptivity overall for what we are trying to accomplish.” Tanya is already looking to future projects, saying, “I am looking forward to an ongoing relationship with IPS and I have already actively recommended them to other organizations and will continue to actively do so.”

Future projects include performance management training system that will be rolled out in August, and Simpson University will follow in 4th quarter of this year. A new mission and strategy will be rolled out in September to Simpson leadership in general. Simpson will work with IPS to create interactive activities for the team to introduce the new mission and strategy.

About Customized Employee Development Program

IPS offered:

•Strategic Planning for Executives

•Employee Focus Groups Simpson University

•Performance Management System Analysis

•Performance Management System Upgrade

•Generations in the Workplace Training

•Executive Coaching

•Change Management Training

The custom Job Skills Program grant work included the following courses:

•Goal Setting

•Essential Interviewing Skills

•Master Interviewer

•Building Trust

CLIENT PROFILE: SIMPSON LUMBER

10 INVISTA PERFORMANCE SOLUTIONS • QUARTERLY REPORT • AUGUST 2014

1. Letter from the Editora. Author Lisa Edwards

2. What is a Corporate Universitya. Author Alexandra Vlamingb. Various. “Corporate Universities.” Society for Human Resources. Web. 16 July 2014.

www.shrm.org/Research/Articles/Articles/Pages/CorporateUniversities.aspxc. Wikipedia. “Corporate University.” Wikipedia. Web. 16 July 2014.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_university

3. How to Get Starteda. Author Emily Barnettb. Regalbuto, Gloria A. PHD. “First steps in designing a corporate university: Issues

and options.” 7 Feb 2007.

4. Who is Using a Corporate Universitya. Author Amy Palo

5. How to Promote Your Universitya. Author Alexandra Vlamingb. Nielson, Bryant. “Building a Corporate University: Marketing and Promotion.”

Your Training Edge. 21 April 2011. Web. 16 July 2014. www.yourtrainingedge.com/tag/promoting-corporate-university/feed

6. What is in a Name? (Naming Corporate Universities)a. Author Leda Hayesb. Alter, Adam. “The Power of Names.” The New Yorker. Web. 3 June 2013.

www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/elements/2013/06/psychology-language-power-of-names.html

7. Invista Staff Profilea. Author Alexandra Vlamingb. Interview with Malika Godo

8. Client Profilea. Author Alexandra Vlamingb. Interview with Tanya Dierick

Design Credit: Muller Design Studio, LLC

Credits A World of Difference in Corporate Education Successful training takes experts, infrastructure, and resources that many companies do not have. Global Corporate College is the

solution to this dilemma, providing access to the largest body of subject matter experts, professional trainers and educators, non-

proprietary intellectual property, and technology available today. When working with Global Corporate College, we guarantee

satisfaction. What do you get? People who really care about your business. Direct access to a single point of contact. Complete

project management. Collaboration with training development and delivery experts. And learning outcomes guaranteed to close the

talent gap. Enjoy the convenience of doing business with us.

Who We Are Thousands of companies do training, but nobody does it like Global

Corporate College. As a trusted business partner, and in collaboration with

you, we transform ordinary corporate training into a sound business

investment, not another training initiative to be enjoyed yet forgotten.

What We Do Our core offering is a customized training experience that is designed and

developed to meet specific learning outcomes. We address your specific

business requirements in practical ways, so training is applicable the moment

your employees return to work. When you work with Global Corporate

College, you get training that sticks. Guaranteed.

How We Do It We understand how people learn and combine that science of learning with

the art of training delivery, resulting in true behavior change and skill

mastery. In today's complex world, technical skills and soft skills can no

longer be separated, and one type of training doesn't fit all needs. We don't

distinguish our solutions by content areas and modalities. Instead, we

develop training using the best content and technology that makes sense for

your organization.

Where We Are We are where you are - literally!

We know local implementation and

contextualization is important, and

that's why we have a college and

partner network for delivery and

support within 30 minutes of every

place you do business, worldwide.

who

what

how

where

• Food & Beverage

• Government

• Logistics

• Manufacturing

• Non-Profit

• Professional Services

• Retail Trade

Since 2007 we have been helping

companies like yours meet their

learning priorities. Serving some of

the world’s most respected and

successful organizations, our work

with clients around the globe keeps

us in touch with relevant business

issues and enduring best practices.

Whether you are experiencing rapid

growth, resource restrictions, a need

for speed, or specific challenges due

to the nature of your business and

industry, we are able to leverage our

experience and quickly mobilize our

worldwide resources to meet your

immediate and long-term priorities.

Who We Serve

253.583.8863| www.invistaperforms.com

Your Single Source for Solutions that Stick 661.388.8839 | www.globalcorporatecollege.com

11INVISTA PERFORMANCE SOLUTIONS • QUARTERLY REPORT • AUGUST 2014

A World of Difference in Corporate Education Successful training takes experts, infrastructure, and resources that many companies do not have. Global Corporate College is the

solution to this dilemma, providing access to the largest body of subject matter experts, professional trainers and educators, non-

proprietary intellectual property, and technology available today. When working with Global Corporate College, we guarantee

satisfaction. What do you get? People who really care about your business. Direct access to a single point of contact. Complete

project management. Collaboration with training development and delivery experts. And learning outcomes guaranteed to close the

talent gap. Enjoy the convenience of doing business with us.

Who We Are Thousands of companies do training, but nobody does it like Global

Corporate College. As a trusted business partner, and in collaboration with

you, we transform ordinary corporate training into a sound business

investment, not another training initiative to be enjoyed yet forgotten.

What We Do Our core offering is a customized training experience that is designed and

developed to meet specific learning outcomes. We address your specific

business requirements in practical ways, so training is applicable the moment

your employees return to work. When you work with Global Corporate

College, you get training that sticks. Guaranteed.

How We Do It We understand how people learn and combine that science of learning with

the art of training delivery, resulting in true behavior change and skill

mastery. In today's complex world, technical skills and soft skills can no

longer be separated, and one type of training doesn't fit all needs. We don't

distinguish our solutions by content areas and modalities. Instead, we

develop training using the best content and technology that makes sense for

your organization.

Where We Are We are where you are - literally!

We know local implementation and

contextualization is important, and

that's why we have a college and

partner network for delivery and

support within 30 minutes of every

place you do business, worldwide.

who

what

how

where

• Food & Beverage

• Government

• Logistics

• Manufacturing

• Non-Profit

• Professional Services

• Retail Trade

Since 2007 we have been helping

companies like yours meet their

learning priorities. Serving some of

the world’s most respected and

successful organizations, our work

with clients around the globe keeps

us in touch with relevant business

issues and enduring best practices.

Whether you are experiencing rapid

growth, resource restrictions, a need

for speed, or specific challenges due

to the nature of your business and

industry, we are able to leverage our

experience and quickly mobilize our

worldwide resources to meet your

immediate and long-term priorities.

Who We Serve

253.583.8863| www.invistaperforms.com

Your Single Source for Solutions that Stick 661.388.8839 | www.globalcorporatecollege.com

4500 Steilacoom Blvd. SW • Bldg 19 • Lakewood, WA • 98499 • 253.583.8863www.invistaperforms.org