Kite flies into new territory

A groundbreaking not-for-profit think-tank launched a new initiative on 1st June that unites corporate social responsibility and charitable giving with learning and development, providing businesses with a long-term solution to the major issues of learning transfer and wasted training budgets.

The Kite Foundation (Kite™) is an original concept that uses the latest app technology and is designed to engage and motivate employees at all levels, cut training budget wastage, and generate sizeable donations to charity. With a fundraising target of £300 million, Kite™ aims to support good causes at home and abroad through partner charities nominated by its patrons.

Despite global expenditure on training in excess of £420 billion, only 5%-20% of what is learned in the classroom is transferred and applied to the workplace, leaving behaviour virtually unchanged and performance unimproved. As a result, businesses are losing more than three quarters of their investment in training each year.

Kite enables a personal development dialogue through a bespoke in-built app, and powerfully supports learners in applying newly acquired capabilities within the workplace. Learners are motivated to transfer their skills and take part in a sustained nine-month learning programme through the pledge of donations in their name to a good cause, funded by their organisation. Donations can also be 'earned' by line managers, who are known to play a pivotal role in the learning transfer process, creating an open environment where learner and manager are jointly inspired. Their progress and donations are logged in a personal 'passport' as a record of their achievements.

Commenting on the potential of the initiative to boost CSR within the workplace and the subsequent impact on learning transfer, Kite founder, Robert Terry (MBA 1988), said: "Through Kite, organisations can demonstrate their commitment to CSR in a manner that enhances their corporate and brand reputation. Over time their workforce will re-energise, performance will improve, managers will reconnect with teams and significant cost savings will be made. To date the initiative has had a tremendous response with 100% take-up across the board and I predict that it will revolutionise the way that businesses participate in CSR programmes in the future."

For more information on how to take part, please visit http://www.kite-foundation.com.