ALIGN 2016 has concluded, and not only was it the biggest client conference BizLibrary has ever hosted – it was by far the most productive, engaging ALIGN, and full of serious conversations and discussions! 25% of BizLibrary’s client base was represented, but this means that 75% missed out! I thought I’d share with you my observations and critical take-away items for both BizLibrary and our clients.

Training Reinforcement

This was the hottest topic of the conference. Training reinforcement was introduced on Monday as a new product, and enforced through the President’s Address and Keynote presentation by Dr. Art Kohn.

Many training professionals have held the view that the primary functions of their job are offering training, promoting utilization, and reporting on activity. However, we’ve learned that what you do after training is more important than what you do during training. The goal of training is ensuring that behaviors have changed, and that skills are being applied. BizLibrary is revolutionizing the way that employees learn through Booster Programs. Conference attendees were able to experience Booster Programs for themselves after the Keynote presentations.

If you’d like to find out more or experience it yourself, your BizLibrary Client Success Consultant would be happy to help!

Check out our Facebook Page to see photos of the conference! Visit our page here.

Focus on Training Content

In almost every client conversation, it was continuously reiterated that the reason partnerships are formed with BizLibrary is because of the flexibility, depth, and breadth of the BizLibrary Collection. The focus of client conversations took a notable shift to talking about content this year instead of primarily focused on technology.

There were also many discussions around enhancement requests for subtitles, localized content, and continued content organization. We took away some great ideas and will be further exploring next steps in continuing to enhance the award-winning BizLibrary Collection.

Curated Playlists & Curriculum Building

Many of our primary contacts or program managers are also in HR, wearing many hats and handling a variety of priorities. I overheard many discussions around the best ways to build curriculums. This is a need that is continuing to grow with urgency. BizLibrary is ready to provide the tools to more easily facilitate this process.

During the Product Roadmap presentation, we highlighted the upcoming addition of “playlists” and a “curriculum builder.” These tools will be available within the next 12 months and will assuredly assist the process and delivery of curriculums to employees.

Another part of curriculum building is competency alignment. One of our most highly attended and highest rated client breakout sessions was on career mapping and competency alignment. This past year, all content in the BizLibrary Collection was aligned to business competencies for easy filtering. We’d love to hear your success stories and experiences in creating these programs!

“We are just scratching the surface”

I love standing in the halls after sessions and during networking breaks to get feedback. A common response I would overhear: “Oh boy, I am just scratching the surface…” This is so exciting to me. For all the successful programs that are currently in place, there is always room to grow. There are always things that can be done bigger and better.

Clients that attend ALIGN are aligned with a core value of BizLibrary – Smarter Everyday – taking the time to continue to learn and grow. Constant improvement speaks to innovation and forward movement. Every client leaving the conference was energized, had new ideas to incorporate and was appreciative of the information that they received.

Marketing & Communication

Program communication is always a fun topic to discuss and explore. This year, there were several sessions that discussed a variety of marketing strategies.

Among the key strategies discussed were how to effectively build audience personas, develop an ongoing plan, along with lots of examples from our most successful clients.

It’s always fun to see the creative ideas and best practices that are shared. If you’re looking for new marketing and communication ideas, please take time to talk with your Client Success Consultant. They see so many different programs and strategies that they will be excited to share ideas with you!

Administrative Interface Update

During BizLibrary’s Solutions Training on Monday, administrative training was provided to all client admins, unveiling new product enhancements that will be available later this month. During this session, we allowed clients to temporarily migrate their IDs to experience the new interface.

Several items to be released include: Libraries, Content Management Changes, Tagging, and Cloud Searching. We received positive feedback on the ease of use and simple design, and can’t wait to get access!

Be on the lookout for communication over the next several weeks, including documentation and a timeline.

Performance Management

In looking ahead to what’s next strategically… We spent some time with the Client Advisory Board during ALIGN to discuss Performance Management.

The BizLibrary mission is to improve the way employees learn – but we’re working to continue that circle of learning. By adding BoosterLearn, we can see the reinforcement of training begin to show behavior changes. Linking training to on the job performance completes the circle.

BizLibrary is in the process of evaluating Performance Management processes and strategically working with organizations that are moving in that direction. Definitely more to come on this topic!

Client Success

I continue to be amazed at the praise clients share about the Client Success Team. Clients truly appreciate the partnership, communication, engagement and strategic views of their Client Success Consultants.

The high-touch communication model that BizLibrary has built reinforces the entire BizLibrary Experience and continues to ensure our clients have successful programs.

One thing I have challenged clients to provide me with is more direct feedback on their relationships. Let me know what BizLibrary can do to further enhance our partnership. I want to hear from you!

Feedback

As BizLibrary transitioned to a Client Success model, client feedback has become more important than ever. BizLibrary is committed to listening closely.

Announced during the Product Roadmap meetings, we’ve created a feedback portal allowing you, the client, to provide direct feedback specific to all BizLibrary products. Visit the portal here.

By entering your feedback, BizLibrary can better understand business needs and prioritize items that are important to you.

Overall, ALIGN 2016 was a great success. It’s wonderful to see clients return year after year, along with new faces. My hope is that we don’t let the energy and excitement slip away too quickly. I encourage you to talk with your Client Success Consultants about the new ideas you heard and liked, and make a plan to start implementing them. I am already looking forward to next year!