GREENLIGHT communications

GREENLIGHT communications specializes in printing for the training industry. We worry about all the details in managing your next training program so you can focus on Training Content and Delivery.

[greenlightprint]

Improve Your Training Materials Today!

We all know training is important especially for new hires, but how can you make sure you are effectively communicating with your new employees. Human beings only remember 10% of what we read, 20% of what we hear, 30% of what we see, and 50% of what we both hear and see. In fact 83% of human learning occurs visually. If these are the facts, then it is important for you to use visuals in your presentations and training kits. After all, your new hires will be using this information everyday on the job. Below are seven tips to improve your introductory training material.

Use more visuals. As we’ve stated most of human learning occurs visually and the main way we absorb information today is visually as well. Use more videos, diagrams and colorful illustrations in your material. Avoid trying to make all your training material text based. If your training material is boring or heavy then your new hire may tune you out. If you have to have text- based training material then try to be as concise as possible. Instead of a paragraph try to highlight key points with bullet points.

Tell Stories. Story telling has become a huge avenue of marketing as sponsor stories and commercials have become more like movies than just advertisements. People like to connect and relate to human beings through stories. It helps them to connect emotionally and your new employees are no different. This is also a perfect opportunity to showcase exemplary behavior and workplace expectations.

Lead with your values. From day one make your mission statement or core values known. Let everyone who works with you know so that there is no mystery behind what everyone is working for. It also is a great way to align everyone’s vision. When everyone on the team knows the plays they work back together.

Be Positive. Remove all negative language or material. Set the standard with expected behavior and show examples of what is expected while working for you. People respond well to positive reinforcement and poorly to negative reinforcement.

Involve your senior management. Senior management is often the cornerstone of your company culture and how everyone behaves. Plus seeing the boss or who you’re working under can be a huge boost for morale. Having a personal connection or relationship and fostering a family culture can really increase productivity and make the work place shine.

Be Concise. Remove any complicated language and big words. Keep it short and sweet. Try to say less and not bore your new hire to death. Training will probably take all day so try to ease the burden a little.

Ask more why questions. Teaching people why they are doing something or why they need to do it can help work get done. Starting with why will motivate people to figure out the how.

So as you write or rework your training material, remember to keep these tips in mind for your new hires or clients. Being concise, using more visuals, and connecting with people will make your training more effective.

If you have any comments or questions, we’d love to hear from you. Leave them below and see you next time.

[greenlightprint]

GREENLIGHT: Diverse Suppliers and Woman Owned

Working with Diverse Suppliers

It is great that companies are embracing Diversity inside and out.  As Human Resource & Training Professionals, you have probably become experts in teaching and respecting all lines of Diversity within your company.   There are also ways to embrace Diversity in suppliers that you work with.  Working through suppliers authorized by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council is a great way to support your organization’s Diversity initiatives.

  About WBENC

The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council is the nation’s largest third party certifier of businesses owned and operated by women in the United States. WBENC is a resource for the more than 700 US companies and government agencies that rely on WBENC’s certification as an integral part of their supplier diversity programs.

WBENC’s national standard of certification implemented by the Greater Women’s Business Council is a meticulous process including an in-depth review of the business and site inspection. The certification process is designed to confirm the business is at least 51% owned, operated and controlled by a woman or women.

By including women-owned businesses among their vendors, corporations, and government agencies demonstrate their commitment to fostering diversity and the continued development of their supplier/vendor diversity programs.

To learn more about WBENC., please visit  http://www.wbenc.org.

Audrey Frey is President of Greenlight Communications Inc., a business specializing in, printing services for the Training & Human Resource professional exclusively.   Greenlight received national certification as a Women’s Business Enterprise by the Greater Women’s Business Council, a regional certifying partner of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).  Greenlight is a Silver Sponser of the SHRM Atlanta’s HR Conference and can be visited at Booth 211.

[greenlightprint]

GREENLIGHT's Social Media Goal

Greenlight is seeing more and more phone calls that start with questions like “do you have any customers that have done something like….?”  

At the recent 2012 Training Conference at the Georgia World Congress Center many trainers told us that they have less classroom sessions but the ones that they do have are highly visible.  They need new concepts, new ideas and attractive content.  When a customer asks us for advice, we take that as the ultimate compliment.  It is the chance to deliver value beyond the paid relationship so we are going to take it to the next level.  Greenlight is launching a variety of social media avenues with the ultimate goal of giving our customers value beyond what they pay for.  Here’s what you can expect to see.

Posts on key Training Industry topics such as LMS, best practices and success stories

Posts on unique ides directly from our clients. 

Opportunities to share best practices.

Updates on Greenlight such as new equipment photos and our facility expansion.

Greenlight Promotions

If it does not add value, it will not be posted. We deeply value every relationship that we have and look to grow them all while making a few new ones.  We are always open for ideas and suggestions.  Stay tuned.  It is only the beginning….

[greenlightprint]

Training 2012 Conference and Expo at GWCC in Atlanta

[greenlightprint]

My Thoughts: Training 2012 Conference and Expo

The 2012 Training Conference at the Georgia World Congress Center was time well spent for Greenlight Communications.  We started great new relationships and were very happy to see many from our existing family of clients.

We heard around the Expo that LMS was the hottest topic of the conference.   Obviously this is a topic near and dear to our hearts as we are regularly asked if LMS is causing a decline in printed / classroom training curriculum.  The fact of the matter is Greenlight is growing year over year with no indication of a slowdown.   My suspicions on why we continue to grow were confirmed by many show attendees.   Here is what we heard at the 2012 Training Conference. 

 Everyone seems to be embracing some form of LMS but not to the total elimination of the classroom-- most use a combination of efforts to best relay their information.

Training related to procedure, regulations, policies, human resources (and the like) are very much LMS based now.  However, sales training, coaching, leadership and organizational development still require the value that comes from collaboration in the classroom. 

The significance of the classroom is rising and trainers are under the spotlight.   An unstable economy, tighter training budgets and the high travel costs all demand immediate payoff.

I found the third bullet to be very interesting when I review our top clients from 2011.   Technical Publications, Sales Training and Management Training were the theme from our top three customers.  Our clients also began asking for our opinion and consultation more than ever before.  Far more color was used in manuals and many added high end graphic arts to their content.    We even introduced some of our clients to each other so they could share ideas. 

The industry changes seem to have worked in Greenlight’s favor.  The more significant the class and the more crucial the content becomes, the more trainers demand a print relationship that is consultative.  That is where we shine.  Give us your feedback!  There’s more to come…

Dan Frey, Vice President of Sales

[greenlightprint]

A glimpse at a few of our resources.

[greenlightprint]

Printing for the Training Professional

This is our first foray into blogging in the social sphere.  After years of providing first class communication via telephone and email to our clients, we decided to share our wisdom across a broader spectrum.

At GREENLIGHT communications, we specialize in printing for the training professional.  It isn't a subset of a variety of services we offer, but our focus.  We are focused on understanding your industry and our relationship. Our company's have to be right for each other to work together.

We hope that you enjoy our posts. Some will be printer related, but most will serve to engage and interact with our current and future customers.