Back to basics.(training and development)

This past February, I attended ASTD's Tech-Knowledge conference in California. Because the conference focuses on emerging learning tools and strategies, I expected to see a lot of whiz-bang new gadgets and innovative learning approaches. I did see a few of both, but I also saw something that surprised me: a back-to-basics mindset.

Was that a result of the past months of economic struggle, a backlash against the hype of glitzy learning tools, or a reevaluation of what makes a business successful in the wake of corporate scandals? Perhaps the answer is some combination of those reasons, or made up of other reasons entirely. It doesn't really matter. What's important is the result: Companies are going back to the basics of improving workers, leaders, and organizations. That theory is held up by some studies and best practices that have come across the Intelligence desk recently.

Here's a sampling.

Workers. Top companies empower workers. A dissertation study by ASTD member Sylvester Fadal found that among Fortune 500 HR and operations professionals who responded to his survey,

* 98 percent see training and development as a key empowerment tool

* 98 percent see the effect of t&d on profit

* 94 percent consider t&d a business optimization technique.