Toshiba’s electronic‐imaging division (EID) is a business in transition. Yesterday, it seemed, all photocopiers and fax machines were simply standalone pieces of kit. Today they are just as likely to be sitting on a network and will be seen as part of the IT infrastructure rather than simply...

The East Midlands factory of K. Stevens (Leicester) Ltd has become the first in the UK to introduce a brightly‐coloured “pod”, which could transform learning in the workplace. The pod which houses the Learning Works system brings online learning into the workplace for employees of the...

Economic downturns often see a reduction in training budgets. In some cases, they are axed altogether. But mentoring can help organizations and, in particular, information‐technology (IT) departments, to protect the investment they have made in technical personnel, and continue to develop the...

From 2002:A high proportion of the 50 or 60 graduates recruited each year by a leading management, systems and technology consulting firm were leaving the company within three or four years. This was 2002, and to combat the problem, PA Consulting Group researched a number of training options. It...

Techniques based on popular television game‐show culture and online gaming psychology were used to train car dealers around the world in the features of the new Jaguar X‐Type. The CD‐ROM‐based training, designed to appeal to the competitive spirit of the Jaguar dealer, was commissioned...

Faced with declining revenues and significant business losses in the early 1990s, IBM reviewed its products, services, infrastructure, operations and functions. As part of this process, HR processes, policies and practices were either reformed or eliminated. Bob Gonzales, vice‐president of HR...

A US supplier of networking information technology (IT) has only 5 percent annual turnover of IT staff, compared with an industry average of 15 percent. SoftwareCo’s success in attracting, developing and retaining these key employees is based on understanding that they need a challenging and...

Whenever groups of workers are made the subject of research, it should not come as any surprise when they start saying things like “We like to feel appreciated”, “We want management to listen to our views”, or “If we’re doing a good job we want someone to tell us so”. But...

Purpose – This paper aims to details how e‐learning is being used to impart training at two UK media companies. Design/methodology/approach – The paper explains the reasons for the two sets of training, the form they took and the results they have achieved. Findings – The paper describes...

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the role of human‐resource (HR) specialists as change agents and the competencies they need in order to execute this role. Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on the HR literature, the paper enumerates the skills that HR specialists should seek to...