Imagine a ballroom packed some of the most forward-thinking leaders in the talent development industry, changing their organizations for good. Financial institutions, automotive, sports apparel, hospitality, healthcare--all gathered to receive recognition for their innovations in twelve distinct categories, such as Change Management, Diversity & Inclusion, Design & Delivery, Learning Technology…. This is the AXIS Awards, hosted by ATD Dallas. It's the prestigious learning awards gala that celebrates companies and ATD Dallas volunteers all in one exciting night.
Last year, I sat, amazed as twenty-two awards were given to some of the most impressive solutions, impacting employees, clients and society.
In the Strategic Planning category, Marriott International won second place for rethinking its recruiting and onboarding strategy. The Dallas Market Human Resources Manager began by identifying and piloting strategies that would appeal to a younger generation of workers, including the opportunity for flexible part-time roles and the implementation of text communication with potential candidates. Texting potential candidates! When's the last time a recruiter took time to text you from their cell phone? Now, positions are filled quicker and local General Managers can focus on running their individual properties instead of filling positions. The program has been so successful, that it is now being rolled out in 5 additional markets.
While Marriott found ways to reach young workers, Parkland Health & Hospital System found a solution that benefited high school students. One of their five AXIS Awards last year was 1st place in Talent Mobility. Statistics indicate that less than 5% of the current Dallas Independent School District (DISD) ninth grade students will earn a college degree by their mid-20s. In 2015, Parkland initiated The Rise to Success program to create a pipeline of future health care professionals among high school graduates from low income areas through a structured development path leading to a health care career. They experienced an increase in retention of PCAs by almost 200%, which has dramatically reduced the number of job vacancies and allowed the team to focus on sustainably growing to meet the region’s future healthcare needs.
With the dramatic increase in suicide rates among children in recent years, Children’s Health System of Texas identified the need to refine their process for identifying and caring for patients who may be at risk for suicide or self-harm, resulting in the implementation of suicide and self-harm screenings in their inpatient units and emergency department. The Children’s Health Learning Institute team designed a blended learning approach which included spaced learning, online micro-learning modules / videos and quick reference tools to ensure all physicians, clinical staff and ancillary staff were prepared to execute new screenings. Their Design and Delivery solution won first place and best of show. What a privilege to design learning that literally saves the lives of children.
It made me proud to see the impact of talent development upon Dallas organizations and their communities. And as we honored our volunteers of the year, it made me proud that so many people give so much of themselves to make sure ATD Dallas serves its purpose of empowering the people in that room to change their organizations for good. Several past-Presidents of ATD Dallas, including Susan Brookshire, the winner of the Dee Dick Lifetime Achievement Award, were sitting at my table at the AXIS Awards. Each of them had invested at least a year of leadership, building upon the work of their predecessors.
This year, we'll gather again. We'll celebrate Dallas's talent development community again. We'll toast our successes and honor those who have given. I hope you'll be one of those people!
Please, share your success story with us and apply for an AXIS Award. Last year, 22 awards were given.
This could be your year.
Last month, over 400 of you joined ATD Dallas at the Plano Event Center for Southwest Learning Summit (SWLS). Throughout the rest of the year, I'm going to share stories with you from those who attended. The first one is from Duncan Welder of RISC, Inc. He and Art Werkenthin were first-time attendees and presenters. Many of you attended their session on xAPI. Here's what they had to say about the conference:
As a first-time attendee and presenter at the 2019 Southwest Learning Summit I was simply blown away. The Summit kicked off with an engaging and energizing keynote from Lee Derryberry and Dr. Laura Hume from the Ernst & Young on the state of the industry and the future of workplace learning. The Plano Event Center provided a fantastic venue that allowed attendees to network with each other and meet show sponsors in the expo area. During our session on The Fundamentals of xAPI, the audience was highly involved and asked probing questions on the use of new learning technologies within their organizations. I look forward to next year and certainly see the SWLS as a benchmark for regional (and national) conferences to strive for.
A benchmarking conference is exactly what should be expected by the talent development capital of the world.
A special thanks to the SWLS committee, lead by Steff Allison and her co-chair, Lara Azcona, for making SWLS a sold-out, wildly successful day of development. 93% of attendees plan on returning to SWLS 2020. And with talent development superstar, Karl Kapp, keynoting, seats are going to go quickly. During September, you can register for SWLS 2020 at a big discount and guarantee your spot!
We spend so much time developing others. ATD Dallas develops us. Here are some more opportunities to develop yourself this month.
If you are new to our community, I invite you to join me, our Membership team and fellow-TD professionals at our next New Member Meetup on November 13 at I Love Pho on Forest Ln and 75 in Dallas. You don't have to wait until then to get plugged in though. Volunteer! Or contact us to learn more about the community and how you can get more involved.
I look forward to seeing you at an upcoming event or connecting on Degreed!
#dallasknowstalent
Rance Greene
ATD Dallas, President
September 1, 2019
