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The 2020 Corona pandemic has underscored the utility of on line education.  It offers a connection to people that normally would be unreachable for organizations focused only on in-class training.  It is cost effective and can be highly focused, resulting in actionable results and improvements.  It’s not a simple as sending employees to Coursera or EdX and telling them to take a class, but with some corporate oversight it can easily result in the development of a learning organization and improved financial performance.  Established residential universities, which have rejected on line education, are now struggling to master the technology.  Professors that once dismissed on line education as inadequate are now embracing the technology to reach students quarantined at home.  Those of us in the corporate world embrace that effort.  As the VP Global HR with thousands of employees around the world, and a limited budget, finding a training solution that had reach and scope and was cost effective was a priority.  On line education was a solution.  The result is students and employees with broader access to flexible educational opportunities, reduced costs, top and bottom line cost improvements.

On line education is not the solution for all corporate education activities.  For new employees traveling to corporate headquarters and learning about the company is a an excellent way to both orient people and establish strong, collegiate bonds.  For senior leaders executive courses that test their thinking and management skills can work very well.  But for the majority of training and education in a company online courses can work and work well.  Especially if they are coupled with an internal professional to put them into context.

McKinsey’s excellent article discusses this and other future insights as a result of the pandemic.  Our current research on education and business financial performance aligns with this report.

For more information on how Birchtree Global trains and educates the global workforce, contact us at information@birchtreeglobal.com.

https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/leadership/the-future-is-not-what-it-used-to-be-thoughts-on-the-shape-of-the-next-normal

Staying connected to furloughed workers is an organizational imperative. Not only is it the right thing to do for your employees, but it also makes top and bottom line sense financially. Join Dr. Janet Walsh, Birchtree Global, LLC President and CEO as she suggests infrastructure and HR specific techniques to stay connected. You’ll learn how staying connected helps employees in a time of crisis, but also helps your business quickly become more competitive when the crisis ends.

Please register for Staying Connected to Furloughed Workers on Apr 10, 2020 12:00 PM EDT at:

https://lnkd.in/dH63VMA

This webinar provides 1 SHRM-CP and 1 HRCI recertification credit.

Watch and be inspired by Tom Collella, as he talks about developing a global talent retention strategy. Tom’s experience spans executive leadership in global talent acquisition at Walmart, Korn Ferry, and the US Government. This will be helpful as you create a rebuilding strategy after the pandemic.

Ask questions of Tom on this post and he’ll be glad to respond. See you there…

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/recording/1824663031623689997

To help through these tough times, Birchtree Global is opening their library of HRCI/SHRM certified courses to our colleagues. There is no charge for these programs. We’ve focused on those critical issues you’ll need to manage your workforce during the pandemic, plan for reopening, and increasing your knowledge of HR and global business.   All Birchtree Global programs are based on research and backed up by executive experience applying these strategies in a wide variety of industries. As experts in using online technologies to grow business operations we’ll share our award-winning expertise with you to help you, your employees, and business grow beyond these challenging times.

Join us from 12:00-1:15 PM each Friday for the Birchtree Global Lunch and Learn.

April 3: Developing a Global Talent Retention Strategy with Thomas Colella

April 10: Staying Connected to Furloughed Workers with Dr. Janet Walsh

April 17:  Medical Risks for Global Business and Expatriates with Dr. David Clyde

April 24: Global Workforce Risks and Challenges with Dr. Janet Walsh

There is an art to working remotely.  The Society for Human Resources Management has some tips and techniques for working remotely that can be useful as you organize different modes of communications with your workforce.  I thought these to be the most important…

Consider what telework means for your organization. May employees work from somewhere other than home? May they use their own electronic devices? What form will meetings take—online, by video or phone? If using video, make sure your Internet speed is fast enough to accommodate such a call.

Limit security risks. One option is to create cloud-based “application gateways” that limit corporate network access to the select needs of employees. This creates a secure, behind-the-firewall access to on-premise applications.

Overcommunicate using e-mail, Slack or a similar tool and document everything. “When people are remote it’s easier for messages to get lost,” said Rachel Ernst, vice president of employee success at Reflektive, a San Francisco-based performance-management platform. Documenting everything helps make work shareable so colleagues can more easily be informed of co-workers’ projects.

For more tips from SHRM read the full article here:

https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-news/Pages/Coronavirus-and-Teleworking-Tips-for-Preparing-Your-Workforce.aspx

Birchtree Global, LLC, Manhattanville College, and the University of Denver are conducting research on the links between learning and company financial performance.  We invite you to join in the research by taking this two minute, survey.  We will share the research results with you.  You can see how well your perspective matches with the results.  Thanks!

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2S5V6MW

Richard Garriott, my Explorers Club colleague. Richard was kind enough to stop and talk to Birchtree’s first NYC “Eat and Greet” at the
Explorers Club and share his perspective on being an astronaut and gaming. We were all in awe of his experience. Here’s his story from the BBC.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50757073

#virtualreality #gamers #computergames #gaming #birchtreeglobal #spacetravel #globalbusiness #bbcnews

Dear Globalizers,

Are you curious about the most dynamic market in the world right now? Are you familiar with the newest Chinese policies, opportunities, and risks of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)? As we are stepping into a new decade, here are some information and changes I sorted out that can help you make a wiser decision when considering entering the Chinese market.

• Higher Credibility: In March 2019, Italy joined the One Belt One Road project, marking the first ever supporting nation of the initiative from the Group of Seven. BRI no longer equals to “developing countries.” Because of the newly gain higher credibility, more and more advanced economies are eyeing on the project.
• Promoting High-Quality Projects: Moving towards the new era, the Chinese government published a new document in November 2019, aiming to promote the high-quality development of trade. The new emphasis on quality requires smarter strategies for foreign businesses to enter the market.
• Expanding Geographic Scope: Since the original initiative in 2013, the geographic scope has expanded from Europe, Asia, Africa to Latin America. Now, there are already 19 countries/regions signed up to the project. New opportunities also opened up for Latin American businesses in China.
• Cross-Boarder E-Commerce (CBEC): CBEC is and will continue to be one of the fastest growing industry under the influence of BRI. The market for CBEC is maturing with the increasing variety of products, higher frequency of transaction, and expanding geographic scope. Transaction volume between China and One Belt One Road cooperating countries is increasing at a rate of 20%.
• Alternative Destinations for Investment: If Chinese economy’s slowdown or the rapid growth of CBEC, media, and technology industries are signs of risk to you, try thinking of other potential alternative destination for investment. There might be surprising opportunities in the One Belt One Road cooperating countries in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Do you find any of the information interesting? Share it with your colleagues and friends through Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, WeChat, or Twitter.

Please contact me with any questions.

January, 2019

Best regards,

Katherine(Shangyan) Pan

https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-shangyan-pan-139011180/

Bucknell University 2022, Mathematical Economics + Linguistics Major

Sources:

1. China’s Belt and Road Initiative. (2019, August 15). Retrieved January 8, 2020, from https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/economy/asia-pacific/china-belt-and-road-initiative-update.html.
2. “一带一路”经贸合作，新方向，跨境电商. (2019, August 15). Retrieved January 8, 2020, from http://www.sohu.com/a/333902085_120225867.
3. 电商平台助力 京东发布《2019“一带一路”跨境电商消费报告》. (2019, April 22). Retrieved January 8, 2020, from https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1631504600716281615&wfr=spider&for=pc.
4. 中国与”一带一路”相关国家的跨境电商交易额增速超20%. (2019, December 25). Retrieved January 8, 2020, from http://news.ifeng.com/c/7sgqKstS0kC.
5. 中共中央 国务院关于推进贸易高质量发展的指导意见. (2019, November 29). Retrieved January 8, 2020, from http://tradeinservices.mofcom.gov.cn/article/zhengce/flfg/201911/95061.html.
6. 已同中国签订共建“一带一路”合作文件的国家一览. (2019, April 12). Retrieved January 8, 2020, from https://www.yidaiyilu.gov.cn/gbjg/gbgk/77073.htm.
7. “一带一路”与拉美十国调研报告. (2019, October 19). Retrieved January 8, 2020, from https://www.yidaiyilu.gov.cn/xwzx/gnxw/106783.htm.

As a small business, sometimes you need specialized help and support and a community of business people with whom to brainstorm. Consider the benefits of engaging with an “innovation center”. Innovation Centers are communities of best practice where business people can incubate their growing and evolving companies.

This Brookings Institute Research on the benefits to business and the community of innovation centers aligns with our experience. Birchtree Global leaders are frequent speakers and supporters of innovation centers, domestically and globally. Here is the Innovation Center in Santiago, Chile: https://lnkd.in/d3JePBt

The case for growth centers: How to spread tech innovation across America https://brook.gs/2OORaWm via @BrookingsInst