Getting Better at Making the Business Case for Training
with Panel Presentation

March 16, 2005

Note:  Senior Training Directors' Forums are targeted for training and development professionals who have a minimum of 10 years of training and development (or equivalent) experience and are responsible for developing training and development strategy. Director level professionals are also responsible for decision making in their organizations. These programs are designed to offer strategic insight and time for round table interaction with peers.

Overview

In an environment of battered budgets, training is more vulnerable than ever. Making an effective business case is imperative. Learn from three experienced professionals about what it takes to succeed - from how to position training strategically to tactical lessons learned.

Some questions that every training manager needs to ask and develop answers to include:

• What skills and competencies are needed to help make the business case?
• How do you structure a business case?
• Should you include measures of success?
• How do you build support for your initiative?
• Is making the case for elearning different?
• What are some practical do's and don'ts?

The panel members include backgrounds as diverse as healthcare, high tech, insurance and banking. Each will present strategies and lessons derived from their unique perspective and set of experiences.

Panel

Roberta Mansfield
Regional Director, Providence Academy
Providence Health System
roberta.mansfield@providence.org

Roberta Mansfield is Regional Director of Providence Academy Oregon, a department providing training and consultation for Providence Health System in Oregon’s managers regarding leadership skills, teambuilding, and employee non-technical skills training. She is responsible for the overall vision, direction and operation of the Academy. Roberta has worked for Providence Health System for 15 years. She has a MS in Health Education from Portland State University and a Certificate in Organizational Development from Linkage Incorporated/DePaul University. Her key strengths include team leadership and program management under conditions of uncertainty and change. Her areas of knowledge, skills, experience and demonstrated ability include facilitating change and transition, fostering diversity and inclusion, mentoring and coaching, internal consulting and custom curriculum development. Roberta provides coaching and direction to 3 adolescent daughters in her other full-time role.

Cari Bacon-Flick
Director, Corporate Training
Standard Insurance
cbaconfl@standard.com

Cari's current role is as the head of Corporate Training and Development with Standard Insurance in Portland, where she is in charge of creating a development plan for its leaders and is an active member of The Standard's OD Council. In her prior position with Electric Lightwave in Vancouver, a competitive telecommunications company, she held a number of management positions in Employee Training and Development, Sales Support and Organizational Development. Prior to that, Cari spent several years with Pacific Learning Systems in Portland as a performance improvement consultant and account/client service manager, consulting with her peers in the utility and healthcare industries. Cari also served on the Board of the Cascadia chapter and has been a member of the chapter since 1991.

Jean Avison
Team Lead, eLearning
Wells Fargo
avisonj@wellsfargo.com

Jean Avison is Vice President, Learning and Development Manager of an eLearning development and cross-sell learning team within Treasury Management University, a learning organization within Wells Fargo. Jean has over 19 years of experience in the financial services learning and development arena. Her experience spans retail, small business and commercial financial services. For over a decade she has provided learning solutions within the Wholesale Banking Group. Most recently, her responsibilities encompass the management of a major eLearning initiative for the Wholesale Financial Services team of Wells Fargo. The focus of this initiative is to provide “just in time” learning to a nationally disbursed sales force.

Details

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