National Adult Literacy Database

This report looks at how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can improve productivity and performance by developing their human resources. The Conference Board of Canada interviewed key personnel from 65 SMEs – including public, private and not-for-profit organizations – in 10 countries in order to understand the environment that best fosters effective learning programs.

Key findings indicate that successful SMEs find an approach to learning that fits with their business model and organizational culture; successful SMEs ensure that their learning activities are aligned with the needs of individual employees and current and future goals of the organization; and successful SMEs measure the effectiveness of performance, not the amount of learning or training completed.