We’re doing what you’re thinking
Edward P. Salek, CAE, Executive Director | TLT Headquarters Report April 2016
A new survey points to effective workforce development programs as the key to making organizations like STLE more valuable.
Replacing experienced technical staff is one of the most prevalent concerns facing STLE members and their organizations.
© Can Stock Photo Inc. / jirsak
STLE’S STRATEGIC PLAN emphasizes the organization’s role as a workforce-development partner. That’s not surprising, given our reputation for excellence in technical education. What will present a challenge, however, is delivering on that commitment in ways that meet the changing expectations of our customers.
Insight into those expectations comes through the 2016 Environmental Scanning Project, conducted by Association Laboratory Inc. (ALI), a leader in the field of association research and strategy. A total of 293 senior executives from the association community identified the key trends across a range of five topics from the perspective of their organizations’ members.
Regarding workforce development, one of the five areas, more than two-thirds of senior association executives are concerned about growing demand for online and virtual training opportunities. And an increasing percentage are concerned about configuring and pricing education and credentialing products—reflecting a growing need to find affordable and convenient means of ensuring a well-trained workforce. Work/life balance and supporting members’ career-development goals also are concerns of a substantial portion of association executives.
Late last year, ALI also surveyed STLE members about their expectations and outlook and came up with very similar results. Workforce issues, such as replacing experienced technical staff with younger workers, remain one of the most prevalent internal concerns facing STLE members and their organizations. Consistent with the 2016 Outlook Survey results, time and budgetary restrictions continue to be leading professional development concerns.
Affordability and ease of access are hallmarks of projects STLE is emphasizing in response to the clear message sent via these surveys. The highly regarded technical education Webinar program is the first of three initiatives that are in line with this need. These one-hour Webinars are normally held twice a month and cover a variety of topics in the field. All online presentations are conducted live but are also recorded for viewing at your convenience. Webinars are priced at $39 members/$59 non-members.
If you prefer live education and interaction, STLE Local Sections offer another cost-effective option. Many groups conduct at least one full-day education program each year as well as monthly meetings with a technical speaker. New or revitalized sections are operating in a number of areas in the U.S., including Minneapolis-St. Paul, Virginia and Louisiana.
A third option is the TLT Best Practices series. These compilations of past TLT articles are organized around such technical areas as Lubrication Fundamentals, Oil Analysis and Metalworking Fluids, with more on the way. Best of all, they are available as a free download at
www.stle.org, where you’ll also find details on the Webinar series and section activities.
To support longer-range career development, another concern cited in the ALI survey, STLE has launched a project known as Education 2.0. This initiative is intended to identify the technical areas that a lubrication industry professional needs to know and to offer a consensus guide to the most authoritative sources available to acquire that knowledge. Watch for more news about this robust new education initiative at the 2016 STLE Annual Meeting and in periodic announcements starting mid-2016.
This effort by STLE is consistent with current thinking about best practices in continuing professional education. Speaking at a meeting of association executives recently, ALI president Dean West emphasized, “We need to evolve our organizations to be successful in this anticipated future, or else associations will be relegated to the sidelines of professional and industry life. They will be out of date and irrelevant.”
STLE’s leadership and staff have accepted this relevancy challenge. The refreshed version of our strategic plan puts education front and center during the next three years. For members and prospective members, it will mean that you can count on STLE to deliver on the learning portion of our Connect/Learn/Achieve value proposition.
You can reach Certified Association Executive Ed Salek at esalek@stle.org.