According to a recent Aberdeen Group study sponsored in part by SilkRoad technology, inc., the leading provider of talent management solutions, organizations targeting learning and development for managers improve performance, customer retention, and revenue, with 51 percent of the top organizations linking learning and development initiatives directly to changes in profitability and revenue.

The report outlines the key learning and development topics used by top performing companies, discusses the most widely used types of learning technologies, and addresses key learning measurement and management strategies.

Aberdeen interviewed executives from more than 525 organizations (189 of which had formal learning and development strategies) for the report, "Learning and Development: Arming Front-line and Mid-level Managers to Deliver People and Performance Results."

The study found companies with the strongest emphasis on learning and development for front-line and mid-level managers improved employee performance by a 2-to-1 margin over all other organizations and improved customer satisfaction by almost 3-to-1. 

The research also showed 67 percent of the "Best-in-Class" companies, as defined by Aberdeen, found the need to align development programs with business priorities as one of the most important strategies for developing front-line and mid-level managers to enable organizational success. 

Learning Management Systems (LMS) and Learning Content Management Systems (LCMS) solutions were found to be the most frequently used systems to manage the logistics of learning programs.

"Organizations utilizing an LMS or LCMS are showing cost improvements and lessening the administrative burden," said Mollie Lombardi, research analyst, Human Capital Management at Aberdeen Group. "But top performing organizations are also impacting broader strategic goals by integrating their learning efforts for management talent with performance and succession processes."

A complimentary copy of the Aberdeen report has been made available in part by SilkRoad technology here.

"Informed, active managers are critical to the success of a company, and can provide a range of value-add services - everything from ensuring teams are engaged and knowledgeable to succession planning," said SilkRoad technology CEO Andrew J. "Flip" Filipowski.  "This report makes a clear case for learning and development programs, and draws a direct link between such programs and company profitability."  

SilkRoad provides its clients - which include more than 60 of the Fortune 500 group of companies - with comprehensive talent management solutions.  These integrated solutions manage the entire employee life cycle, cutting millions of dollars in human resources costs. With its award-winning Life Suite, SilkRoad assists companies to attract best-fit talent, manage onboarding & employee transitions, maximize employee performance, provide a centralized learning management system, deliver accurate information with employee intranets and content management systems, and provide on-demand core HR solutions.  

About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company

Aberdeen provides fact-based research and market intelligence that delivers demonstrable results.  Having queried more than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is positioned to educate users to action: driving market awareness, creating demand, enabling sales, and delivering meaningful return-on-investment analysis.  As the trusted advisor to the global technology markets, corporations turn to Aberdeen for insights that drive decisions.

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