Who isn't familiar with McDonald's? Its golden arches are among the most recognizable brand icons in the U.S. What many are less familiar with is the methodical and distinguished learning and development that supports that brand. Training that begins by preparing employees to serve customers at the counter, and extends to programs that help…

While a main goal for corporate trainers traditionally has been to train employees to reach organizational goals, many trainers may find their roles expanding. With companies cutting back on staffing and consolidating multiple job roles into single positions, career development has taken on a much larger significance. At forward-thinking…

Microsoft Corporation and SCC Soft Computer are the newest inductees into the Training Top 10 Hall of Fame, joining the ranks of the 11 companies named to the hall since its inception in 2008 (Wyeth Pharmaceuticals subsequently was acquired by Pfizer Inc. in 2009). These 11 companies held Top 10 spots in the Training Top 50, Top 100, and now Top…

Creating the perfect governing body to power talent development and learning is a balancing act between centralized control and enough delegation to lines of business to keep content relevant. In this article, a handful of 2012 Training Top 125 winners describe how their companies effectively govern talent and learning development.

"Training" magazine taps 2012 Training Top 125 winners and Top 10 Hall of Famers to provide their learning and development best practices in each issue. In this article Robin Connolly (The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.), Michael Pico (Caesars Entertainment Corporation), Krishawna Henderson (Caesars Entertainment Corporation), Tara Bodine…

Employee engagement is not just HR's responsibility. While HR is responsible for the process of measuring and driving engagement, improving it is actually everyone's responsibility. And that means reducing the barriers to productivity to drive business performance. Training departments can play a pivotal role. Their job is to enhance curriculum or…

Professional connections cannot only win a person a job, they can also win employees a top-notch learning organization. In this article, four Training Top 125 winners--CareSource University, Coldwell Banker, inVentiv Health Inc., and Kendle International--describe how they are using Web 2.0 social networking features to facilitate their employee…

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is giving the Chicago Bulls a run for their money when it comes to three-peats. The professional services firm scored the top spot on the Training Top 125 for a record third year in a row. So, just how did PwC nail No. 1 again? For starters, it met and exceeded a hefty challenge in fiscal year 2009: cutting training…

"TGIM" (Thank God, It's Monday) is phrase rarely heard from employees. But most organizations wish it were. Research continues to show that engaged employees are productive employees. And productive employees mean a bigger bottom line. The top three factors critical to employee engagement relate to recognition, career development, and the direct…

One may be the loneliest number, but Verizon isn't complaining. After appearing five times in the Top 10 over the last six years, the telecommunications company captured the No. 1 spot on the Training Top 125 for the first time in 2012. Despite a relatively flat training budget and a work stoppage that resulted from the expiration of union…

Farmers Insurance claims the No. 2 spot on the Training Top 125 with a forward-thinking training strategy linked to its primary mission: FarmersFuture 2020. It's not surprising an insurance company would have an insurance policy for the future. But Farmers takes that strategy one step further, setting its sights on 2020 with a far-reaching plan to…

Preparing employees for the immediate work in front of them is a challenge. While most companies are still mastering effectively training their own workforce, some, such as "Training" magazine Top 10 Hall of Famer The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, have set up for-profit academies open to the public. When Ritz-Carlton won the national Malcolm…

If money is the root of all evil, is it also the root of all motivation? When talking about workplace performance and training, the experts' consensus is a resounding "No." This article discusses why cash doesn't motivate everyone all the time when it comes to workplace performance and training and takes a look at what does.

When a company's core competence is processing data, it is sometimes easy to lose sight of the obvious--the information right under its nose. In the case of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP), a business outsourcing company specializing in human resources, payroll, tax, and benefits administrations solutions, that is not a problem. Through…

Even in an industry where rapid change is the status quo, it takes a special kind of company to handle the training challenges posed by a major corporate acquisition and massive product rollout. No one has ever accused Verizon of thinking small-scale when it comes to training initiatives, but over the last year, the telecommunications giant…