The Fall and Rise of Academies

Over the past year we have seen a rise in focus on Corporate Academies.

What is interesting is that this appears to be being generated from a couple of different sources.

On the one hand it appears to be fueled by corporates wanting to provide a platform for corporate social networking, and on the other hand, they seem to have grown from "Capability" based Organisational Development (OD) strategies, where an academy provides a focus for introducing organisational competencies.

The power and opportunity of Social Media and collaborative tools is self evident. You only have to look at Neilsenwire's article on web-brands for Jan 2011 to see the comparative importance of Facebook. When combined with the impetus behind Organisational Development (OD) in HR, it looks, at face value, to be an irresistible force.

But, the history of Corporate Academies has seldom been littered with success stories. Of the academies Elearnity researched 5 years ago, none are still operating today.

So, will the power of social media and OD make things different now?

Perhaps they will, but more importantly there are lessons to be learnt by looking back. Why did they fail in the past and what do you need to do differently if you are to make Corporate Academies succeed in the future?

Our latest Viewpoint Paper called "The Fall and Raise of Academies" will provide you with some insights into our view of the critical factors that are needed to help them bloom.

Naturally, the next chapter in how Academies are growing, evolving, whithering or flourishing is still being written, so if you'd like to share your story, please get in touch.

David