Schneider National recently announced that it has received an Excellence in Practice Citation from the American Society for Training and Development. This is the second consecutive year that Schneider National has been recognized by ASTD for results achieved through learning and performance practices and interventions. One of 31 companies worldwide to be so honored this year, Schneider National was recognized in the Training Management category for its Learning Styles Match Program.
ASTD is the world’s largest association dedicated to workplace learning and performance professionals. Its 70,000 members and associates come from more than 100 countries and thousands of organizations. The ASTD Excellence in Practice Awards program recognizes companies that achieve measurable results through the use of practices and interventions in workplace learning and performance.
“We are especially honored to be recognized two years in a row by the world’s foremost organization for training and development professionals,” says Don Osterberg, vice president of safety and driver training for Green Bay, Wis.-based Schneider National. “Schneider’s driver training is known as the gold standard within its industry, and the achievement of this distinguished honor acknowledges our efforts toward continuous improvement.”
In 2006, Schneider’s driver training team implemented a new train-the-trainer curriculum to refresh trainers’ knowledge of adult learning styles and assess trainers’ styles. The goal: match trainers to students of similar styles. By focusing on communication and working with people’s natural learning styles, rather than trying to change them, the company says it drew out the strengths of all the participants. The results have been clear and demonstrable, according to Schneider: In the first four months of the program, the student drivers’ dropout rate was improved by 8 percent, saving the company hundreds of thousands in recruiting and training costs.
“We are passionate about providing our drivers with the very best training possible to protect both their safety and the safety of the motoring public,” Osterberg says. “For Schneider, more effective training translates directly to a safer, more productive driver force.”
Submissions to ASTD’s Excellence in Practice program go through a blind review process conducted by a panel of experts from the workplace learning and performance field. Programs were recognized in eight areas: career development, learning technologies, managing change, organizational learning, performance improvement, technical training, training management, and workplace learning and development. Among the 30 other organizations honored for Excellence in Practice this year were AT&T, Bank of America, Caterpillar, Farmers Insurance Co., FedEx Kinko’s, Hewlett-Packard and IBM.
