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Your 2013 Bucket List
As Thanksgiving has come and gone and Christmas songs begin to play on the radio, I begin to reflect on my accomplishments this year. Even though I am proud of what I have achieved and grateful for my experiences, there are a few things that I absolutely wish to scratch off my list of to do’s before the ball drops and we welcome 2014.
Bucket List
Traditionally the “bucket list” is a term used where individuals create a check list of wonderful things to experience before they kick the bucket on God’s green earth! I chose to use the same term but in a different way. Each year begins with refreshed minds and eager spirits excited to embark on a new goal, but what if you could have a jump start on those goals! Here are three easy ways to get you started!
1. End Game vs. Low Hanging Fruit
There are two ways to go about getting started! First, you can go after what I call ” low hanging fruit”, which are small tasks that have been luring around for you to complete for sometime. These tasks were either placed on the back burner due to competing priorities or didn’t make the cut because you just didn’t have the time. The second approach is to get your Olivia Pope hat on ( only those who watch Scandal will get the reference) and ask yourself what is your end game. With this approach, you are going to really think about what you want to accomplish overall and then start mapping out what it will take for you to get there. Once you have compiled the list of tasks , you will begin circling the smaller items that you know you can accomplish in the amount of time we have for the remainder of this year.
2.Time is of the Essence
You made your list, now get your butt into motion and start blazing the trail right into 2014. If you are starting off step one with the low hanging fruit approach these items have remained unchecked tasks on your list for far too long. Stop creating a barrier for yourself and spend a few moments imagining how relieved and accomplished you will feel once you have completed the list. With only 4 weeks til the ball drops, who has time to delay? Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.
3.Happy New Year
Anyone who knows me or who has heard me speak publicly knows, that I am someone who believes in celebrating small wins. Living in a world where instant gratification is king, we yearn to know that our efforts are not in vain. The best way to avoid the feeling of “I’m never going to accomplish my dreams” , is to take baby steps and celebrate each step of the way! As you move through your 2013 bucket list, keep in mind that on December 31st when the clock strikes 12 you will raise your glass and revel in the fact that you have just jump started your life into greatness in preparation for the year 2014…. Watch out… Awesome things are headed your way! Get Ready!
How to Empower the New Corporate Entrepreneur
In the world of movers and shakers you may find that you have individuals on your team that make things happen. They meet deadlines, come up with new ideas, take the lead on projects and initiatives, and always strive to go above and beyond. In business we identify these individuals as star performers and in human resources we call them high potentials ( aka hi-po’s).
These talented employees are also known as corporate entrepreneurs. Ryan May describes these individuals as employees who, generate ” new ideas and opportunities within large or established businesses, directly leading to the improvement of organizational profitability and an enhancement of competitive position or the strategic renewal of an existing business” (2013).
With managers being asked to consistently prove their value to the organization while thinking inside ,outside , and all around the box, what leader couldn’t use a corporate entrepreneur on their team. What I find when facilitating leadership workshops is that leaders have an idea of what and who they want in their departments but aren’t always sure how to keep from burning out their hi-po’s or retain them from exciting opportunities such as stepping out on their own. Most leaders hope that these individuals don’t get swooped up by the next company promising the same or more opportunities at a higher salary, and pray that employees are too scared to risk starting their own business’s. So wake up and stop holding on by a thread. Instead, be that empowering leader that I know you are and take the appropriate steps to build an environment for these individuals to flourish and grow. And who knows you may even attract more to join your flock.
1. Get to know what your team is passionate about and start building projects around it.
The daily grind of tasks and responsibilities may become boring to your innovative team. Take a moment to get to know what excites your corporate entrepreneurs and provide a platform ( or even better challenge them to identify opportunities) where their passions can be leveraged to catapult your team to accomplish extraordinary things. This may do more wonders than you can imagine. Don’t believe… schedule a 1:1 meeting with your employee and provide this opportunity and watch how excited they become with the opportunity.
2. Encourage employees to see boundless opportunities to accomplish remarkable things.
Being that corporate entrepreneurs are always thinking along these lines, there may be times when they feel stagnant. Encourage team players by reassuring them that you as a manager are aware of this and want them to find opportunities that stir their true passion while adding value to their work on your team.
3. Reward them for their innovation and willingness to take vision into an executed plan.
Being a dreamer is one thing but having the ability to take a concept and mold it into reality is another. For those who can do this, they should be rewarded. This will be the deposit in their emotional piggy bank that will keep them engaged and ready to do more.
4. Change your culture within your department so people are able to take risks.
If you say you want people to come with ideas but yet you shoot down every idea presented you will have a team that will no longer present ideas. Same thing goes for those who need to be innovative and think outside of the box. If you create an environment where risks are seen as potential failure, no one will feel comfortable taking risks. Which will result in an un-innovative team. This environment suffocates corporate entrepreneurs and ultimately leaves them running for the hills
5. Share your story with others.
If you see valuable outcomes from your corporate entrepreneurs, share the story with stakeholders. This will help drive innovation throughout the organization but remember use the language that appeals to your audience. If you are speaking to executives, then talk about the amount of money these talented individuals are saving or generating.
Overall when you take the time to appreciate these valuable individuals, you will recognize a team of employees who are excited about adding value to their work. Keep in mind, every employee is not a corporate entrepreneur only a small sub set of people on your team. Recognize those who are and create a platform for them to generate great work. Send me flowers later!
Women as Leaders: How to Begin
The writing was on the wall. At the age of 21 I graduated from Douglas College (the all girls college at Rutgers University). At the age of 25 I co-founded a female owned marketing company geared towards employing women interested in marketing, promotions, and entertainment. But yet I didn’t see it. I didn’t see the day that I would feel obligated to push women leaders to push themselves. I didn’t know that I would one day get the yearning to be a role model and blaze a trail to clear the path for younger leaders. It wasn’t until recently that I realized how inspired I have become to encourage women everywhere to challenge the rules of the game and dare to accomplish their dreams. Why is this so risky? Why does the thought of even trying to accomplish EVERYTHING your heart desires cause tiny beads of sweat to form on your forehead and anxiety to come over you? It’s simple , we correlate wanting it ALL to sacrificing some. I challenge you today to think differently and begin paying it forward by participating in the movement of supporting the development of risk takers and fearless women leaders. How do we do this? I have 5 steps that will allow us to make small strides that have the potential of making meaningful impacts on women leaders directly or indirectly in our networks. Before we begin, keep in mind that being a leader does not mean that you must obtain a particular title. Effective, strong leaders have the natural ability to inspire, influence, and motivate others. You can be a twenty something working in an entry level position and still have the characteristics of a leader. So let’s begin!
1. I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples. –Mother Teresa
Do not underestimate your impact on the world around you. Get the confidence to make many great and valuable ripples! If being and/or cultivating leaders is important to you, then show the world your true genuine self and embrace the empowerment of influential leadership.
2. Define your end game.
Too often we define success by the measurement of others. Define what you want out of life, make a plan, and accomplish it! By taking action in achieving your success, you are paving the way for someone else. When I go to panel discussions where female leaders talk about their journey and how they have obtained their success, there is always a moment during their presentation when I feel inspired. I hear fellow participants share how their story in some way has resonated with them and as a result inspired them as well. Never while they were on their journey did they think how they will inspire me specifically ( they don’t even know who I am) but yet they have. Blaze your own path with crystalized focus and inspire someone. You never know who is watching and being inspired by your journey. Leaders take a vision and turn it into action. So defining your endgame gives you the opportunity to build your blueprint so you can begin to journey towards success.
3. Celebrate Milestones.
As you define your end game and create a blueprint for yourself, create checkpoints along the way. Think of your end game as your overarching goal and the checkpoints as smaller goals that get you closer to where you want to be in life. In our society of instant gratification, setting small milestones allow you the opportunity to celebrate tasks you have achieved ,which raises your levels of anabolic energy , and motivates you to accomplish more!
4. Watch the Company You Keep
If you find that you truly believe the sky is the limit, or that life is filled with unlimited opportunities, you should keep a circle of friends or a close network of individuals nearby who share a similar philosophy. Keeping a network of individuals who can inspire and motivate you will be key as you progress in leadership. No truly effective leader is arrogant enough to believe they know everything about leadership. Influential leaders have a network of fellow leaders they are able to converse, collaborate, and learn from. If you do not have a network of leaders in your circle of colleagues, it’s easy to acquire one. Use meet up groups as a platform to meet like minded individuals who may have similar interests as yourself!
5. Be a Mentor
Somewhere on your path, you decided that you wanted to be like someone. You desired to take on the characteristics, style, and mannerisms of a person who inspired you to be a better version of who you are. For me, when I first thought of female leaders, I thought you had to be firm but fair. I was under the impression that if I remained cold, and harsh, then I would gain the respect of my male counterparts and move quickly up the ladder. What I realized is that noone thrived under the females who believed this was an effective management style. In one of my first corporate jobs after graduation, I remembered thinking of going to our bosses office as the equivalent of going to the principal’s office. We complained about the micro management of one’s style, and even at the young ripe age of 20 something, fresh out of college and early in our career, my team and I were able to see that the manner in which our female leader led was a defense mechanism to hide the fact that she too was afraid, unconfident, and unsure of how successful she could be in her position. Instead of empowering her teams to aspire to great things and be innovative, she made the team feel like worker bees with no promise for development or growth. So when in a later life, I worked for a different company, I was surprised when I saw this same leader working there but not surprised when I found out she was working at a far lower position. The breath of fresh air arrived when I met the woman who was to be my manager. She taught me the importance of building relationships within the company, the art of persuasion and influence, gave me projects that challenged me while providing support that allowed me to arrive at my own discovery of how to work out difficult solutions, and all the while provided opportunities for me to develop and grow. What I appreciated about the experience was that she had no clue that I thought of her as a mentor then nor ten years later. I know she underestimates her influence in my career but yet I always reference her leadership style in all of my leadership workshops. Paying it forward is an important process towards one’s success. If you truly want to be a powerful leader, take every opportunity to learn from others but you must reciprocate by sharing knowledge with others as well. Whether you participate in a formal mentoring program, or informally take someone under your wing, take the time to inspire a future leader , that alone will start you on your journey in becoming the powerful, influential leader you wish to become.
Don’t doubt yourself, start today!
Small Biz Needs Love Too!
I love the passion, desire, and motivation entrepreneurs exude and demonstrate. I admire their ability to live life every day devoted to what they really want to do, not what they HAVE to do. As one wonderful consultant explained to me, entrepreneurs have the freedom and ability to live in a space that is creative, forcing them to constantly think outside of the box. Even though this may be, I can’t stop wondering why do so many business owners struggle with their people. What do I mean by “people”? It’s really a simple definition: Your customers … your employees. My opinion, entrepreneurs are usually great at their craft and skill but aren’t so great at managing human capital.
Big businesses get it. They have Human Resource departments that are focused on hiring “high po’s” (High Potentials) and keeping them in the organization. They spend hours in meetings discussing the best way to do this. ” We should use social media to recruit high performing talent!”, “Hey what about career pathing, we have to make sure our folks know how they can climb the corporate ladder here!”, “Hey when was our last salary analysis done to make sure we are remaining competitive in our market so we don’t lose our people!”. Big companies also spend money on departments such as Learning and Organizational Development and these individuals spend just as much time in meetings trying to figure out how to make sure the organization’s employees are developing professionally, maintaining desired behaviors, and finding ways to effectively drive performance. “Hey with that career pathing model HR just rolled out, when are we going to identify the competencies and education needed on each level so that we can identify opportunities for training to help bridge skill gaps and help our people be successful in the company?” “Hey did anyone evaluate the results of our last training program to gauge whether knowledge was transferred from training to workplace?”. “Hey I did that and I was able to evaluate the impact on the business and how performance has improved. The C-Suite will be really happy… this all equals dollars and cents for them!” So as big businesses hash out these discussions, I find that small businesses don’t have these discussions at all.
Now let’s take a trip to our town’s local mom and pop hair salon/ coffee shop/ graphic design studio. You won’t find a human resources or learning and development department. I used to frequent one local business that had constant turnover, slow service, and only the owner was phenomenal at her job. No one trusted the other technicians to deliver services, and technicians changed all the time. As I began to encounter numerous local businesses, I realized how the lack of human capital management impacted me as a customer as well as their employees.
Now of course, I’m not delusional. I understand that small companies do not have the same workforce ratio, needs, or budgets as larger companies but there are things you can do. This is the age of Consultants R’ Us, take a few moments and peruse the internet. See if any HR consultants are willing to come in and give you tips around behavioral based interviewing or possibly help out with employee engagement. Strategic human resource consultants are able to correlate the importance of making sure you have the right people in the right positions to the financial impacts of your business. They even may be able to give you ideas of how to translate possible growth within your business so that your employees can look at their jobs as careers and opportunity to add value to your company. ( Imagine how awesome your day would become if you knew that what you were doing everyday brings you closer to being in a position you truly desire instead of waking up every morning to go to a job that is filled with 8 hours of tedious work.)
So I end this by saying no fear my wonderful small business owners. There are answers but you have to start working on it now. Your employees impact your customers and your customers impact your business. Treat both of these parties like gold and your business will great returns. Choose to ignore and you will find yourself and your business in an undesirable rut! So carryon and leave a legacy of greatness! If you need help you can find it…. There are consultants lurking everywhere!
Making The Case for Employee Devevlopment
Making The Case For Employee Development
Employee development is an important piece to building a workforce that is knowledgable, motivated to grow, productive, and effective. When employees know that their employers take a vested interest in their development and success, employees are committed to adding value to their organization.
If I were to make the case for my own personal growth and development, it would be in the following areas:
Formal Education:
Most organizations invests in a tuition reimbursement or assistance plan, but asess your workforce and identify the skills and competencies that make your employees great at what they do! Bringing those programs on site or creating home-grown programs will give your employees the opportunity to develop in their current positions.
Enlargen Current Job:
” Job enlargement refers to adding challenges or new responsibilities to an employee’s current job.” ( Noe p. 366).
Adding challenges allow employees to break out of the mundane of the same responsibilities and spark interest in what they do on a daily basis. If you’re thinking that you are not quite sure how to liven up their routine, I have the easiest remedy. Just ask them. You will be surprised at the creative suggestions you hear.
Job Rotation:
Being able to sit in different positions throughout the organization broadens an employee’s perception of the organization. In my case, I would love to rotate with other members of the learning and development throughout the organization. I believe it would allow us to view great opportunities to bridge gaps and implement programs that could better benefit the entire organization not just the silos we currently support.
Coaching:
Coaching is essential to the development process. Learning through feedback is an important component of experiential feedback. I would love an opportunity to receive coaching but I also think it is imperative for those who take on coaching roles have the right training/ certification to ensure they are coaching effectively.
Seeing which programs I would personally like to participate in, I’m sure you are also starting to think of employee development programs you, yourself would like as well as programs your organization should implement for its employees.
Once you do some research as to which programs would work best for your organization you may be ready to present a case to your stakeholders. In the link below, I provided a mock presentation you can use as a template to help you make the case for your organization’s employee development.
Making The Case for Employee Development
References:
Noe, R. A. (2010). Employee training and development (5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.
High Tech Training
Technology has impacted the world of training and development and played a part in professional development among today’s workforce. But yet, it seems that many organizations do not take full advantage of what different technologies have to offer. As technology continues to influence formal and informal platforms for learning, let us explore different formats used and how they may impact the learning occurring in your organization.
Five Types of Technology Used in Workplace
Computer based Training
Raymond A. Noe describes computer based training (CBT) as, “an interactive training experience in which the computer provides the learning stimulus, the trainee must respond, and the computer analyzes the responses and provides feedback to the trainee” (2010 p. 303). In speaking with a fellow trainer last week, he explained that his company conducted this type of training to their new hires for pre service training. Trainers, are able to go into the learning management system where the computer based training resides, to see how well ( or not so well) the trainee has done in the training.
For training departments who only utilize an in classroom approach, this platform allows you to trainees to interact with trainees, and test learning to ensure participants are retaining information.
The Wonderful World of the Web
In training and development, most departments look to create and facilitate formal training only. Imagine the amount of time it will take an instructional designer to perform a needs assessment analysis, create a training, schedule classes on a topic surrounding the latest information on FASB that a staff accountant is curious about. Now imagine, the amount of time it will take for that same staff accountant to go onto Google and look up the same topic? Employees in the workforce utilize the world wide web to gather information quickly and have the ability to apply what was learned to their jobs pretty quick too. Depending on your organizations, IT security, surfing the web for quick learning opportunities may or may not be an option. But for those of you who have to ability to access information on the web quickly tools that are available through Web 2.0 have helped employees to collect information they need to know quickly. With social media and virtual communities, employees have the ability to learn from a vast group of people who may share the same experiences.
If you are in the field of training and development and you may not understand how tools in Web 2.0 may help you, think of this blog you are reading right now. Think of the community of readers who may leave a post or answer another person’s question. To really experience the sense of virtual community, I encourage you to get involved with sites like Yammer. ASTD has a group just of Instructional Designers. If you have any questions, want feedback on a course creation, or want a group to give you feedback on a particular vendor, this virtual community is full with active participants who will provide you with information that will allow you to learn and grow.
Online Learning
Online learning can be done either in an asynchronous or synchronous environment. Using platforms such as WebEx, GoToMeeting, or Vyew.com give the facilitator the ability to host live online learning. Once taboo and thought of as not interactive, vendors have added features to their sites that help make the online experience more interactive. WebEx has features that allow you to break large groups into smaller breakout groups to work on a group exercise, the facilitator has the ability to go into each breakout group and to check on each group’s progress. Vyew.com allows groups to access their webcam for web conferencing.
In the world of asynchronous learning, simulations and demonstrations have become interactive and allow learners to apply skills learned in a safe learning environment. Nursing students are able to use Second Life to conduct clinical rounds in a virtual setting before doing their rounds in real life, the use of avatars and story branching help sales staff and customer service reps handle difficult situations before being placed in their positions to ensure they are confident and prepared.
Mobile Learning
Mobile learning has become one of my favorite platforms for learning. I have yet to publish online modules that can be viewed on devices such as one’s iPhone but as an owner of an iPad, I use apps to learn on a continuous basis. My favorite app is ASTD’s magazine T+D. Each page is more than just an online version of the magazine, each page is designed as an online training. Graphics on the page are animated and are effective. Each graphic grabs your attention and is not overwhelming. Certain articles are narrated and give you the option to listen to the podcast instead of reading if you choose. Being able to access information quickly and when needed is not just important when sitting at your desk, but it is also the case when you are out in the field. IBM’s learning and development team created a mobile learning solution for their employees and found, “Finally, the study’s findings strongly suggest a direct, positive relationship between employee confidence level and self-perception of job performance” (Ahmad 2010 p. 50).
Cloud Computing
As an avid user of Apple products, I have become a fan of the iCloud. When researching what forms of technology is being used in learning, I was intrigued and wanted to learn more about how cloud computing was being used. Educloud , provides types on how different schools use cloud computing to enhance the learning experience for students. One example of cloud computing is being used is in Springfield Massachusetts. English classes at West Springfield High are using Adobe Buzzword. This application allows students to review other students work and have the ability to pro
vide feedback to their peers. ( Smith , Haywood)
References:
Noe, R. A. (2010). Employee training and development (5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.
Johnson, L., Smith, R., Levine, A., and Haywood, K., (2010). The 2010 Horizon Report: K-12 Edition.
Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium
The Wonderful world of Needs Assessment!
This week, I’m going to thrill you all with talking about the wonderful world of Needs Assessment. It’s one of those things that we know is necessary to ensure we are creating the right solution to satisfy a problem but yet it is a process that is often left out in the cold. Usually bullied to the back burner by its rivals Money and Time. The ironic thing is that most often organizations spend more money applying the wrong solution to a problem and even more time trying multiple solutions due to the first one not working. I can’t tell you how many times I have suggested the necessity of conducting a needs analysis and of course the age old response is ” We don’t have time. We have to roll out training NOW.” Then once training is completed, I follow up with stakeholders and revisit how we decided to roll out evaluations and collect data to see if the training really solved the problem. As I press the send button I can imagine the director or executive reading my message, yawning, and kindly pressing delete. So being that companies think it is just a tedious task that training and development departments use to deeem ourselves important or waste precious time, I wanted to explore what actually happens during a needs assessment. To help us explore this topic we are going to take one of my favorite airlines to demonstrate how to conduct an analysis and identify opportunities for training, so that you are comfortable doing the same in your own organization when making the case for training.
The Organization of Southwest Airlines
When conducting a needs assessment analysis, its important for you to know who the organization’s stakeholders are and which one these stakeholders you will have to make your allies for training and development. I would identify all levels of management, shareholders, and employees as stakeholders for Southwest. When trying to gain buy-in during the needs assessment stage, I would want to get buy-in from the highest level of management, the person who has access to the budget, and the person that employees may see as the leader who impacts them directly. It is imperative to get the buy-in from the managers, their attitude towards training activities sets the tone for employees regarding how important or valuable the activities are and where on their list of priorities the training activity should be. This is the first step to building employee support and possibly (but not always) enthusiasm for the training or training activities that may require employee participation during the needs assessment analysis (i.e. surveys, questionnaires, or focus groups). “The key factors for success are a positive attitude among peers, managers, and employees about participation in training activities…”(Noe, 2010, p.111) So roll up your sleeves, clear your calendar, and start meeting with all levels of management to gauge how they feel about training and development currently.
Organizational Analysis
There are three sets of activities that should be conducted when performing a needs assessment which include an organization, person, and task analysis. When conducting an organizational analysis, you are “identifying whether training supports the company’s strategic direction; whether managers, peers, and employees support training activities, and what training resources are available” (Noe; 2010; p. 110). We are going to start this needs assessment by first conducting an organizational analysis. To get a feel for the organization’s goals we are going to start with the company’s mission statement.
To Their Customers
The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedication to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spirit.
To Their Employees
We are committed to provide our Employees a stable work environment with equal opportunity for learning and personal growth. Creativity and innovation are encouraged for improving the effectiveness of Southwest Airlines. Above all, Employees will be provided the same concern, respect, and caring attitude within the organization that they are expected to share externally with every Southwest Customer.
By looking at the mission statement, I am able to tell that Southwest holds the following values in high regard:
- External and Internal Customer Service
- Employees Growth
- Stable Work Environment
So now comes the fun part! You now have to analyze to see if these items are really taking place and what types of training is currently happening to support these values. If there are any gaps you have now identified training opportunities. You can collect data by sending out questionnaires, surveys, hold interviews , or focus groups. The importance is to look at all levels within the organization. You are sure to find some gaps in perceptions so just taping one targeted audience for data will give you narrow perspective on the big picture.
Person Anaylsis
This where you ,”identify employees who need training, that is, whether employees’ current performance or expected performance indicates a need for training.” ( Noe 2010, p.113)
You can use the information that you received from the organization analysis to identify if there is a particular targeted audience who you should focus on when it comes to suggested training. Once you have selected the targeted audience, look to see if specific individuals have any skill or performance gaps. Remember your alliances at this point will be management. If I were a training professional for Southwest, I would see if there are any gaps as an organization that hinder them from meeting their goals that are mentioned in their mission statement. So let’s say I gather information that states that due to customer service surveys, we are not meeting our goal of providing quality customer service, I would then see which groups are not meeting their metrics. If it’s the baggage handlers, I would then go to that group and sit with management to discuss if they have noticed any particular issues. Being that I have built an alliance, I would then ask if I could look at the specific individuals performance reviews, sit with the specific individual and gather feedback as well. Getting different perspectives will allow me to identify whether or not training is necessary for the person during the analysis.
Task Analysis
Once you have completed a person analysis you then want to look at the set of activities an individual has to complete to perform their job. While analyzing the individuals I would also look at their job and what tasks are assigned to them to evaluate if there is anything in the process that hinders them from performing at the expected levels.
Once you have gathered all of your information, you are able to report back to the stakeholders your case for the need for training, in which areas, the business implications if not implemented, the targeted audience, and vendors selected for training if necessary.
You will now be armed with enough information that will seem substantial to your stakeholders. Now look at that, the very process that seems so tedious to others outside of training has the ability to give those same individuals a different perspective on training where they can appreciate the efforts and the results!
Noe, Raymond A. ;2010;Employee traiing and Development; 5th ed p.cm.
The Truth About Training
If you were given the opportunity to provide a 90 second elevator speech to convert a non-believer into a loyal advocate for your training and development department, what would you say? How would you be able to convince this person in such a short time?
If you are a training professional who has been in the field , you may have already experienced this scenario. When ever organizations go through cost saving initiatives, training seems to be dispensable and training leaders find themselves in a position where they have to prove the value of training to the organization. Start thinking about how your departments add value to the organization and become the training champion in your organization.
The Background
Let’s set the stage. We have a manager of training and development standing in an elevator with a VP of Operations who has a business unit that could really use the help of training and development. But the VP of Ops thinks that the training department is only really good for conducting orientation and customer service training. The manager of training and development decides to take this short amount of time to educate the VP of Ops on the “Truth About Training”.
The Speech
Hi Bill,
I thought I saw in a recent email that you were working on two really big initiatives within your division. If there is anyway you may want to leverage my training and development department, please feel free to let me know. In case you aren’t quite sure how my department may be able to assist I would love to share a few key points. First, “strategic training and development initiatives are learning related actions that a company should take to help it achieve its business strategy” ( Noe, 2010, p.62). We would be able to coordinate/ design/create learning events with objectives that are in alignment with your business goals. I’m sure just as with any new initiative there are aspirational goals you have created. It takes people, your people, to get you there. Ask your self does everyone on your team have the skills, knowledge, and competencies to get there? Does everyone understand their role and the expectations with the changes that have occurred. If you can answer no to any of these questions, let’s grab lunch, my treat and we can discuss further how to leverage my department to support your division and get you the results you are looking for with this new initiative.
Audio Version
Scope Creep
The last few blog posts have been around instructional design project management. My last post around IDPM will be focused on scope creep. The project team’s or client’s efforts to improve the end product of the project.
As instructional designers who have either lead a project or participated on a project, I’m sure you have all encountered scope creep sometime during your journey in training and development. Today, I will share my experience in this phenomenon in hopes that my experiences can help those who will have projects impacted by this common occurence in project management.
Just a Little Bit of History
In working for a previous employer, there was an identified need for the employees to optimize their customer service skills. I was asked to create the leaders version of the training and a grant would cover the design of our individual contributors. As the project approached kickoff, a meeting was held and it was decided that this project should be more than just training. The executives decided that there should a culture change and the training should support it. So now, let’s welcome the scope creep. The stake holders wanted to improve the ending result of the project. They wanted the results to be long-lasting and thought instituting a campaign around this initiative would be the answer.
The Impact
What did this all mean? How would this impact the project? Well, now that this is a campaign there was more than just training involved. We had to join forces with the communications department, have buttons made to support the campaign, figure out how to roll out different activities to support the training. The laundry list began to grow and with all of the additional items being added, the true goals of the project began to be lost. Our original goal was to provide employees with the tools to better communicate with our customers and enable them to provide exceptional service.
If I Had a Magic Wand
If I had a magic wand and could lead the project, I would have stopped the campaign turned propaganda immediately. The real barrier was that employee morale was at an all time low, employee relations were stressed, and trust between management and staff were barely in existence. Creating a training program and a support system to ensure skills and concepts learned in the classroom would be practiced and supported once participants returned to the workplace was already a great challenge. Creating a campaign around it gave it a cheesy feel that I knew would not be received well by the staff.( A message extremely hard to sell to a room full of executives who choose to believe that none of the items mentioned above were happening).
Overall, non-value added activities that at the moment seem like a great idea should be assessed to ensure that scope creep does not occur.
Prestige Diaries 