ATD International Conference and Expo

Association for Talent Development International Conference and Exposition

May 17-20, 2015

The ATD conference is for training and development practitioners at all levels.  Attendees come from all over the world to share best practices, learn about current and future trends, and listen to industry leaders.  This year there were 9600 participants from 92 countries.  Since the discussions were focused on training, I thought I'd share some random ideas that I picked up at the conference, either in sessions or in discussions.  

• The day after an employee attends a training program the manager should ask “what did you learn” to boost retention of information and thwart the forgetting curve.

• There is a difference between being productive and being busy (or, if you like, between being busy and being productive).

• Communicate your value to your supervisor and leadership.  Up to 93% of the messages you are sending are non-verbal (dress, posture, attitude) verses what you actually say and do.

• Dressing for work?  Consider this -- if the CEO came in and invited you to a lunch meeting with a potential partner/board member could you go as you are?

• There is a great shift to video in our culture; people now go to YouTube for repair information rather than looking in a handbook.

• Most organizations experience at least 3 major changes per year.

• Communication is different from connecting, message sent does not equal message received.

• The richest form of communication is face-to-face; if it’s important have a meeting, don’t call or email.
• Just because an email is sent doesn’t mean it was read. (Especially if it comes from SD&T)

• Email is not an instant messaging tool!

• Employee engagement (emotionally connected and psychologically committed) leads to employees who are productive and provide better service.

• Organizational diversity generates more profits/better service, and diverse teams perform better.

• False consensus is the belief that other people know what you know.

• Everything we learn in the first four years of our life we learn by playing.

• Training is a process not an event.

If you are interested, check out the Twitter feed for the conference -- you don't need a Twitter account to view the feed, just go to the website and enter the hashtag #ATD2015.

Lisa R. Kenyon
Staff Development and Training Coordinator