Out with the flip-flops, in with the rain boots—and if you’re lucky enough to be inside, the comfy slippers. It’s a great time of year to cozy up inside and get some of that work done that you might have been tempted not to do in summer. Why not redouble your motivation with a free webinar or two? October has plenty to choose from—we hope they will inspire and motivate you.

Thursday, October 2, 2014, 9AM – 10AM PST: Social Learning: Get Started

Although it seems that social and collaborative technology tools for learning have been around for quite some time, many organizations are truly just beginning to understand how to leverage them. According to Brandon Hall Group’s Social and Collaborative Learning 2014 survey, the majority of organizations are still in the emerging/developing stages of social learning.

Join David Wentworth, Senior Learning Analyst with Brandon Hall Group, and Kelly Young, Learning Program Manager at Humana, as they explore where the market is (and where you are) on the social learning spectrum. They will also share Humana’s journey into social and collaborative learning and what it takes to get started. Discussion topics:

• Social Learning Maturity.

• The importance of getting started.

• A focus on engagement, alignment, and adoption.

• Humana’s experience with “Buzz” and more.

Thursday, October 2, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: Mastering Difficult Conversations

Nobody likes to deliver bad news, discuss a sensitive subject, or talk about a project or meeting that's gone wrong. The mere thought of these conversations can fill you with anxiety and distract you from your work. Because you can't always avoid these type of topics, you've got to be ready. You've got to take control and talk through them effectively. But how? Join Dr. Mark Goulston, international best-selling author and former FBI hostage negotiation trainer, as he shares practical, hands-on techniques for taking the stress out of toughest employee discussions. Attend this interactive webinar to learn how to:

• Handle difficult discussions about behaviour, performance, or pay.

• Keep the conversation calm when emotions run high.

• Decrease your fear of confrontations.

• Respond properly to employee pushback.

Friday, October 3, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: The Journey to Sustainable Leadership: Creating a Leading-Edge Leadership Plan (Free for ATD members)

It’s no secret that public-sector organizations have a reputation for being process-oriented, with a more conservative culture and traditional hierarchical structure. Some might say this perception can create limitations when it comes to innovation and thinking outside the box in certain business areas, including training and development. Erin Mahoney, commissioner of the environmental services department at York Region, is taking this notion and tossing it in the trash—or closest recycling bin. Through a more progressive and strategic approach, Erin and her team have created, and are in the midst of rolling out, a new leadership plan that is unlike most existing in the public sector today, proving that when it comes to leadership development, there is plenty of room for innovation.

Monday, October 6, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: End the New Hire Blues: Get the Critical Information You Need to Prevent Disengagement and Turnover (Free for ATD members)

The cost of ineffective onboarding goes beyond the cost of disengagement and turnover. As anyone who remembers their own new employee experience can attest, ineffective onboarding extends the amount of time it takes to become a productive contributor. Thus, better onboarding means your new employees provide value sooner. To prevent the engagement decline that occurs after the honeymoon phase of the new-hire experience is over, you need to know how you can improve your company’s onboarding process, the new-hire experience, and your new hires’ relationships with their managers. In this webcast, you will learn:

• Why your new hires probably aren’t telling you the truth—and the price you (and they) pay for it.

• Language managers you can use to help engage new hires in constructive conversations that help them gather important information and promote engagement.

• Processes you can use—from informal to more structured—that will enable you to gather key information and foster ongoing, open, unguarded conversations between new hires and their hiring managers.

Tuesday, October 7, 2014, 11AM – 12PM PST: High Impact Sales Coaching (Free for ATD members)

Research shows that effective sales coaching can dramatically improve the performance of sales teams—in some cases driving up revenues by 20 percent or more. However, all too often sales organizations find it challenging to develop a sales coaching program that's embedded in a coaching culture.

This webinar offers best practices and strategies for developing an effective sales coaching program for your sales organization. You will learn to:

• Create a coaching culture that empowers your sales force.

• Use key performance indicators to maximize sales-coaching ROI.

• Transform sales managers into highly effective coaches.

Wednesday, October 8, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: Learning Analytics as a Game Changer

Manage learning and development like a business by gathering the right metrics, driving continuous improvement, and reporting results up to the executive level.

This session will provide you with tangible recommendations and real-world examples for advancing your learning measurement maturity with a focus on the following key areas:

• Scrap Learning: what is it and what should I do about it?

• How to use business impact and ROI the right way.

• Actionable reports for each role.

• Quarterly executive reporting.

• Establishing a sustainable approach to measurement.

Wednesday, October 8, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: Why Web Meetings Stink and What to Do About It (Free for ATD members)

Join internationally recognized communication expert Wayne Turmel to learn why about two-thirds of online time is wasted, and what we all can do about it. In this high-energy, candid, and informative interview you’ll learn:

• Why web meetings are painful for the same reasons regular meetings are.

• Why technology makes things worse.

• Five tips for getting people to participate fully.

• Four tips to stop getting silence when you ask if there are any questions at the end of the meeting.

At the end of this session, you’ll leave with the ability to save time, money, and brain cells by assessing your current virtual meetings, and identifying easy ways to make them better. And two lucky participants will receive a signed copy of Wayne Turmel’s book, Meet Like You Mean It: A Leader’s Guide to Painless and Productive Virtual Meetings.

Thursday, October 9, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: Extend the Shelf Life of Your Training: Lessons You Can Implement from the Flipped Classroom

We’re sure you’ll echo our sentiment when we say that lecture-style training sessions can be quite the bore. Maybe even to the point of your business experiencing a case of “death by PowerPoint” (think rolling eyes and uncontrollable yawns). Since that’s no way to keep employees pleasant and productive, let’s see what we can do to switch things up in the boardroom.

Turn to education for a bit of inspiration and use an instructional method that’s giving the traditional model a run for its money: flipped learning. In the typical flipped classroom model, students review short video lectures at home before class, while in-class time is devoted to hands-on projects and exercises. Our discussion will address the following to help you get started:

• Why the flipped model works in education, and how it’s an effective method for professional development.

• How to implement video/visuals in your training.

• Typical time savings for trainers and participants.

• Ways to create video for your next training, including tech tips and best practices.

Thursday, October 9, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: Finding Your Inner Confidence When You Need It (Free for ATD members)

Has a lack of confidence ever kept you from pursuing your goals? Have you ever experienced self-doubt to the point where you talked yourself out of pursuing a job, a promotion, or a relationship? Have you ever gotten feedback that sounded anything like this?

• “You always sound like you’re asking a question.”

• “If only you could command the room.”

• “You need to speak up more.”

If you answered yes to any of these questions, this session is for you. The above quotes are from bosses of female professionals who were passed over for a promotion. All three women were grappling with self-doubt, and it showed. You don't have to feel so uncertain or hesitant when the stakes get higher and the situation calls for some risk-taking. Nothing gets you closer to achieving your goals than a healthy dose of self-reflection and new-found awareness of your strengths and capabilities. After participating in this webinar, you will see how hesitancy and uncertainty are speed-bumps to be stepped over, and be willing and able to take considerable action toward advancing your career.

Thursday, October 9, 2014, 10AM – 1PM PST: Online Workshop: Creating Highly Effective Virtual Teams (Free for CSTD members)

Can a virtual team be as effective as a co-located team?  This is a question that organizations are debating, and the arguments on both sides are very compelling.  Factors like work-life balance and organizational savings need to be balanced with the value of face-to-face collaboration and managerial oversight.  Whether you personally embrace the concept or not, chances are you will participate as a virtual team member during your career.

After discussing the arguments for and against establishing a virtual team, this interactive workshop will use real-life examples to address six key enablers for success:

• How to form the virtual team: Identifying the profile of an effective virtual team and its players, and how to engage existing team members in selecting new team members.

• How to enable the virtual team: Ensuring the right technologies and processes are in place to ensure success.

• How to maintain the virtual team: Creating inter-reliability, trust, and teamwork.

• How to protect the virtual team: Identifying and managing issues before they become destructive.

• How to lead the virtual team: Establishing credibility while maintaining the right balance of oversight and empowerment.

• How to reward the virtual team: Creating team-building opportunities across the distance.

For each step in the process, tools and worksheets will be provided.

Monday, October 13, 2014, 11AM – 12PM PST: BEST Webcast Series: IBM – The Adaptive Learner: Making Every IBMer an Innovator (Free for ATD members)

IBM Learning has researched the behaviours that drive innovation. Hear how practical and simple promoting innovation through learning can be. This webcast will be sure to spark ideas about how your organization can be even more innovative.

Key takeaways include:

• How to drive innovation through learning.

• How new ideas are generated.

• Practical learning design approaches.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: Finding the Return on Investment in Blended Learning

Developing a blend takes investments in hardware, software, content development, and program design.  Implementing a blend requires investments in managing the program, marketing the program, and maintaining motivation through what might be a multiple-week (or month!) program for participants.

When we develop a face-to-face program, we know immediately after delivery what needs to change and we can adapt before we teach again. With blended programs, it might take six weeks to figure it out.

After all this, how do we know if the blended learning program was worth the investment?  Sure, we can tell if people enjoyed the content using Level 1 evaluations, and if people LEARNED the content using Level 2 evaluations, but how do we evaluate at Level 3 (are they using what they learned on the job?) and ultimately Level 4 (was it worth the investment?)? During this session we will discuss:

• The pros and cons of virtual, on-demand and face-to-face learning.

• How evaluation levels 1, 2, 3, and 4 relate to ROI.

• Applying a five-step process to calculate ROI of a blended learning initiative.

Wednesday, October 15, 2014, 8AM – 9AM PST: ATD Human Capital Virtual Summit: Leadership For Today's Workplace (Free for ATD members)

Developing leaders in your organization starts with knowing your workforce. Implementing the wrong leadership strategy can mean losing time, resources, or even your employees.

The Human Capital Virtual Summit: Leadership for Today's Workforce is the second annual event hosted by ATD to take a deeper dive into leadership's role in developing talent. This event is focused on the different strategies available to today's leaders, and how each can best align with their unique workforce to drive results. During this summit, you will learn:

• Strategies for leadership development from thought leaders in the human capital field.

• Leadership tactics and how they work in various organizational environments, including virtual/remote employees, self-management, and "flat" organizations.

• The pros and cons of different leadership styles, and how to dynamically change between them to fit your organization's current situation.

Wednesday, October 15, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: Three Keys to Making Your Internal Coaching Program a Success

For many years, costly coaching programs were reserved for senior executives and emerging leaders. Organizations now offer coaching beyond the executive suite. The difference is that these new coaching programs and services are provided by internal coaches: individuals who may not be certified in coaching, but are trained in a set of coaching skills to support a specific business need and produce monetary business impact. Attend this session and learn how to create a successful internal coaching program.

Learn about:

• Internal Coaching: What it is and why is it important today.

• Three examples of Internal Coaching Case Studies.

• Three things to begin today.

Thursday, October 16, 2014, 10AM – 10:30AM PST: ATD Research Presents: Change Management Research (Free for ATD members)

This webcast is based on the recently released research report from ATD and the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp), titled Change Agents: The Role of Organizational Learning in Change Management. The report aims to provide learning professionals with insight into the learning practices most likely to make a positive difference in an organization’s change-related capabilities. Join Patrick Murray, Vice President of Employee Surveys at i4cp, as he explores the findings of the report and how organizations

Thursday, October 16, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: Wake up to the Digital Skills Gap! Update Your Employees' Competence in a Fast-Changing Cloud World

Technology is constantly evolving and learning materials are not keeping pace. The irreversible path towards Cloud-based applications is deeply impacting businesses of all sizes and from every sector. But most companies have yet to realize that their workers need now more than ever to adapt their digital skills to these rapid changes. The skills gap, accompanied by the fact that learners are changing their own behaviour, is urging their L&D teams to embrace a new era of online training: open to everyone, Cloud-based, fully localized, and always up-to-date. 

The session will cover:

• Why is digital transformation launching a new era for L&D management?

• Why should you take care of the digital skills gap now?

• How to innovate with a global, multi-lingual solution for your worldwide workforce.

Thursday, October 16, 2014, 9AM – 10AM PST: Drive an Accountable Collaborative Culture in a Virtual World

Two of the enemies of productive teamwork are tension and conflict. Many employees have yet to develop the skills to navigate these tensions when they arise, either face-to-face or in virtual teams. The result may be breakdowns in communication and productivity that, over time, diminish trusting relationships. How can you increase the capacity of groups within your organization’s virtual teams to be accountable to each other and to their common goals? It starts by showing employees how to resolve conflict directly, contribute constructively, and build relational capital in every interaction.

Join us in this one-hour webinar to learn how to build accountability and collaboration in your organization. This webinar introduces the practical, proven methods contained in Peer Power: Transforming Workplace Relationships, by Cynthia Clay and Ray Olitt, applied to work in a virtual world.

Friday, October 17, 2014, 10AM – 10:30AM PST: 7 Best Practices To Boost Employee Engagement (Free for ATD members)

In the average organization three out of 10 employees are engaged, while in the best organizations the number climbs to six or more. The low rate of engagement hasn't budged in more than a decade. Why? Employee engagement surveys and programs are not enough. Higher engagement is rooted in a culture whose language, attitudes, and behaviours make people feel connected to one another, rather than unsupported, left out, or alone. Employees in an organization with a high degree of connection are more productive, engaged, collaborative, and less likely to leave. In fact, research demonstrates that there is a set of learnable leadership behaviours that can ignite the workforce so individuals do more than survive—they thrive.

Sharing knowledge integrated from multiple fields, including neuroscience, organizational behaviour, psychology, sociology, history, and proprietary research, Michael Lee Stallard, president of E Pluribus Partners, describes the “connection culture” that every organization needs to boost employee engagement and to thrive for sustained periods of time.

Monday, October 20, 2014, 6AM – 7AM PST: BEST Webcast Series: Teknosa – A Career Road in Retail (Free for ATD members)

The Career Road in Retail program was designed in consideration of the strategic goals and route map of Teknosa, a Turkish retail chain. Consisting of interchangeable modules, this program was structured with targets to enhance performance and affect the Teknosa Key Performance Indicator. Career Road in Retail is carried out through processes such as performance management, talent acquisition, succession planning, and career planning.

During this session, you will learn:

• How to make a competitive career plan in the retail industry.

• Ways to create a common culture among employees and managers.

• How to quickly implement large-scale movement with blended learning methods.

Tuesday, October 21, 9AM – 10AM PST: Ally or Adversary? Navigating Professional Relationships (Free for ATD members)

"Difficult to manage relationships sabotage more business than anything else." – John Kotter, Harvard Business School.

For most of us, our early careers are spent developing technical expertise—and that's typically how we assess our value. Yet research and experience show that, as you progress through your career, it is the quality of your working relationships that has a greater impact on your success. This webcast draws ideas from the bestselling book Cultivate: The Power of Winning Relationships by Morag Barrett.

After this webcast you will be able to:

• Articulate why quality working relationships matter—the business and personal impact.

• Apply the Relationship Ecosystem to diagnose the health and quality of your professional relationships.

• Determine the next steps to develop ally relationships and learn to manage adversarial

Tuesday, October 21, 9AM – 10AM PST: Building Leadership Skills and a Coaching Culture (Free for CSTD members)

Learn how developing leaders and creating a coaching culture can address:

• Succession planning.

• Strengthening leadership bench strength.

• Cultivating teamwork.

• Recruiting top talent.

• Increasing retention and engagement.

• Improving customer service, safety, and wellness.

• Higher sales and higher profits.

Extraordinary leaders and coaches don't have to be rare—they can be developed by building on just 3 to 5 existing strengths, and following a proven process. In this learning-rich and fast-paced 60 minute webinar Jim Clemmer will outline how to build a culture of exceptional leadership and coaching in your organization.

Wednesday, October 22, 11AM – 12PM PST: Virtual Strategies for Social Learning (Free for ATD members)

Learning has always been a social process: It is human nature to learn from one another. What’s changed, however, is how social media and virtual learning technologies have made it possible for workers to collaborate in ways that were almost unimaginable a decade ago. Companies are now rethinking their approaches to corporate training, and are beginning to harness social technologies to increase learning outcomes.

In this webcast, you will learn to:

• Create interactive employee networks.

• Connect novices with coaches and mentors.

• Foster greater interaction with subject matter experts.

• Share knowledge through communities of practice.

Thursday, October 23, 10AM – 11AM PST: Enabling Virtual Learning by Design (Free for ATD members)

We all know that the use of virtual classrooms, eLearning, and blended learning has gone beyond a trend to become an accepted and permanent part of the learning mix. It’s hard to find a subject that isn’t, in some form and at some level, taught online. With so much content and technology readily available, why don’t people seem to be learning more? And why do so many people feel like they’re being forced to learn online?

Join Jennifer Hofmann, president of InSync Training—the leading source for blended learning and virtual training design and delivery—as she looks closely at implementing five critical elements that set our learners up for success.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: Bite Size Is the Right Size: How Microlearning Shrinks the Skills Gap (Free for ATD members)

We’re in the midst of a learning crisis. Rapid technological change has led to a skills half-life of just 2.5 years, according to Deloitte. At the same time, the way people consume information, and thus how they learn, has changed as well. Attention is a diminishing resource in the digital age. To defeat these twin challenges, we learning professionals must lead a revolution. Our secret weapon? Microlearning. Through case studies, anecdotes, step-by-step instructions, and group discussions, you will learn:

• What microlearning is, and the science behind its effectiveness.

• How to quickly create engaging microlearning that covers everything a learner needs to know.

• How organizations of various sizes are putting microlearning into practice.

• How to ensure that microlearning is addressing skills gaps in your organization, and driving your development and performance goals.

Wednesday, October 29, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: How to Use Coaching to Make Training Stick (Free for ATD members)

The unfortunate truth is that many training and development programs don’t “stick.” Even if the classroom instruction is outstanding, what’s taught often doesn’t translate to improved performance on the job. For people to turn what they’ve learned into positive work habits, the brain has to “rewire” itself for the new skill. That means applying it repeatedly on the job. And because of the pace and stress of a typical workplace, it’s hard to get this kind of reinforcement without support. Along the way they need tips, reminders, encouragement, feedback, and accountability—in other words, coaching to stay on track. But there’s a problem: it’s not economically feasible for organizations to hire a coach for every person who participates in a learning program.

In this webcast, you’ll learn about a cost-effective solution to this conundrum: helping people who care about the learner’s success find out how to serve as “support coaches.” By offering encouragement, feedback, and accountability, these individuals can play a critical role to help participants stay on track and apply what they learn. You will get complimentary access to nine videos and an e-book on “Support Coaching” that they can share with others in their organization.

Wednesday, October 29, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: What's Your Story? How to Lead With a Good Story

It is widely understood that stories are a great vehicle to communicate essential lessons and enhance learning—especially when used to influence, motivate, and lead others. For most people, however, the understanding stops there and key questions remain unanswered. What stories are most important? How do you stand out in a sea of sameness? How do you write, tell, and publish a good story?

In this practical, hands-on webinar, Dave Carroll, master storyteller, musician, and celebrated creator of United Breaks Guitars will:

• Discuss his real-life experience with United Breaks Guitars and the impact this customer-experience story, viewed by some 15 million people, had on an entire airline.

• Share the five stories every leader needs to know.

• Provide an in-depth insight into one key story that can benefit every organization looking to increase personal meaning and engagement in the workplace.

Thursday, October 30, 2014, 10AM – 11AM PST: Three Mysterious Keys to Interactive Learning: Game-Thinking, Game-Elements & Gamification (Free for CSTD members)

The terms game-thinking, game-elements, and gamification have all entered into the vocabulary of trainers, eLearning developers, and instructional designers in the past few years. But what do these terms really mean and how can you apply them to create interactive learning events that change behaviour and improve performance? How can you make your instruction more game-like without the cost and effort of creating a large-scale game?

Based on the bestselling book The Gamification of Learning and Instruction, this interactive session includes many examples of using game-elements, game-thinking, and gamification to promote learning for performance improvement, and highlights how organizations have added game-thinking to their toolkit. And, yes, you will play a polling game in this session. Discover how research-based practices and game-thinking fit in with today's fast-paced need for quick, effective instruction.

• Apply three principles of game-thinking to the creation of a curriculum.

• Explore how gamification has helped companies reduce training times and improve performance.

• Use game-elements to create an accelerated learning curve.

Thursday, October 30, 2014, 11AM – 12PM PST: Don't Let Compliance Audits Take You by Surprise

According to Brandon Hall Group’s 2014 Compliance Survey, 90 percent of companies say it is important they are able to demonstrate learning compliance to an external agency, and about half of those say it is critical to their business. The ever-changing labyrinth of regulations facing organizations around the world presents unique challenges to the learning function. How are companies meeting these challenges, especially those in regulation-heavy industries, as well as ensuring readiness for compliance training audits at any time?

In this webinar, join David Wentworth, Senior Learning Analyst with Brandon Hall Group and Steve Young, General Manager of NetDimensions Asia Pacific, as they walk through some of the results of Brandon Hall Group’s 2014 Compliance Survey, identifying global trends, challenges and strategies.

Discussion topics include:

• Audit cycles and readiness.

• Different drivers for compliance by industry.

• Differences in compliance strategies by industry.

• Different methods for assessing compliance.

• Accountability, budgets, development, and delivery.

• Compliance training content development.

Thursday, October 30, 2014, 11AM – 12PM PST: Use LOLAs to Increase Interactivity in Your Virtual Classroom (free for ATD members)

In this walk-the-talk webcast, Sivasailam "Thiagi" Thiagarajan will help you explore six different LOLAs to keep your participants engaged in your webinar and help them apply what they have learned. At the end of the session, you will be able to use Thiagi’s templates to rapidly design your own webcasts that immerse and impress your participants in interactive learning.