Education and training activities will remain front burner issues as long as companies empower their employees. A decentralized, "flattened-out" organization needs better-trained employees and a continuous commitment to learning. Because authority is decentralized, it's imperative that managers are expertly trained.
Senior managers are well aware of the additional skills required of their employees. Most are supportive of training efforts that help them meet strategic goals. Some CEOs are so supportive of learning activities that they see themselves as the "public face" of their corporate university or company-sponsored learning program. They believe their. role is to embody their organization's learning principles personally. Essentially they evolve to become the chief marketing agent for learning.
CEO level support doesn't just occur internally, within the organization. A survey by Corporate University Xchange of 175 corporate university deans revealed that 57 percent of the publicly traded companies talk about the contribution of their education and training strategy in the company annual report. CEOs also discuss the contribution of companysponsored education programs in annual shareholder meetings and in meetings with securities analysts. Figure 8-1 shows three examples of how the company's commitment to learning is profiled in the annual report.