by Julia Rowan.Principal Consultant with Performance Matters Ltd
Training courses and programmes get a bad press – and rightly so. The learning attrition rate is scary, the cost is high, the time commitment is significant – and often the required behaviour change does not happen.
And yet, it can be pure magic to sit with your colleagues (or even a room full of strangers), having the time to breathe and reflect. Listening to people being honest and realising that you are not the only one to find it difficult. Seeing that – actually there are ways to face into challenges that appeared insurmountable. Building a network of colleagues who can support you.
HR professionals – whose brief extends way beyond learning and development – are often faced with requests from teams across the whole organisation, looking for a variety of training and other developmental inputs (not to mention support with recruitment, compensation, engagement and the myriad of miscellaneous issues that often end up on the HR lap). Organising training can seem like just another task on a long list.
At its most basic, getting people together in a room should provide a space where they can be open to learning (in the broadest sense), where they learn and where they plan how to use what they have learned. The first factor, where people can be open to learning, is critical – but often overlooked. I’ve been a self-employed training consultant for almost 20 years – and maybe I’m getting cranky and impatient – but I’ve started interrogating my clients about the interventions that they want to run and handing out unasked for advice which often involves my contacts in reassessing what was needed (not always to my fee-earning advantage – but generally leading to better outcomes!).
Here are some things I have learned:
Make sure that what you are offering is what the organisation wants:
Some time ago, the HR team in a global organisation asked me to provide training for the senior leadership team as a mentoring programme was being introduced, with senior management acting as mentors. The deadline for the session was tight but adequate, so I immediately started digging around and looking for information that would help me design the appropriate intervention. I didn’t get much response. Then, my main contact suddenly went on compassionate leave and nobody else seemed able to help. He returned just before the training session and I felt obliged to deliver. At the session, it was clear that the senior management team (a) knew little or nothing about the programme, (b) were not particularly interested in it and (c) felt that they did not have the time to take on mentees. It turned out that there was a push at HR level globally to implement the programme. So the training box was ticked. But at what cost to the credibility of HR (and mentoring) in that organisation?
Ensure that there is genuine top level organisational support:
This can be a tough place for HR professionals who are often faced with demands like “our engagement scores are low – can you get that sorted”. If your senior team wants it – but doesn’t want to model it – then save your money. We all know that culture eats strategy for breakfast. HR cannot change the culture – but they can meaningfully support culture change. Training people to have great conversations (for example), goes nowhere if the participants have never had a great conversation with their own boss.
If it’s a training issue, make sure it’s the right training issue:
Having written a book on time management, I often get calls from prospective clients telling me that they want time management training for a team. When I delve deeper, it turns out that the issue is not time management, it’s something else – often team motivation. Providing a time management course could have resulted in an even more demotivated team. Ask your internal customers: “if, in a year’s time, you could describe your team as “a better team”, what would be different?” Write the answers down. These are your starting point to work out what is needed – that could be training, a team intervention or coaching for the manager.
Use psychometrics to serve – not lead – the intervention:
I am a huge psychometrics fan and love working with them, but they need to be used appropriately. I was recently asked by a manager to run a day for her team using a particular psychometric. When I asked what change she wanted to see in her team, she told me that she wanted them to be more strategic – not something necessarily coming out of this psychometric. I am now coaching her to build a more strategic team.
Interrogate the consultant:
Almost anyone can present a programme. But that’s not enough. You want somebody in the room who can create an environment within which participants can be open to change. Find out whether the consultant has real business experience, leadership/management experience, their own approach? Listen carefully to the conversation that you have. Does this consultant just want to take an order, deliver a product, and “teach”, or do they want to provide an experience that will lead to the best solution? Get references and talk to referees.
Give them access to the business owner:
Your training provider should be pushing to talk to the manager/potential participants, gaining first-hand experience of what is needed.
Get a room!
Hire a nice off-site venue. Get a big room with space for the tables/formal input and space for discussion, small group work, reflection, etc. Be generous with hospitality. I know that these go under the ‘hygiene factor’ umbrella, but not being in the office (and nipping back to the desk during breaks) makes such a difference to the conversations that people have. A meeting room is not a training room, so even if you have lots of them – organise the training off-site.
Back to the magic – you know what it’s like when something just comes together? A participant in a leadership programme that I ran a few years ago asked me to do some time management training with her very overstretched team, which comprised some very experienced and some very inexperienced members. We both invested a lot in the preparation and she agreed to do a two-day programme which, as well as time management, included exercises to help team members to bond, build self-awareness and confidence and look at team effectiveness. This environment facilitated great discussion in the room. At the back of my mind was one thing that the manager had shared with me: she wanted the inexperienced members to take on more responsibility. After coffee break on the 2nd afternoon, I felt that there was a shift in the room. I went off my agenda and asked each participant to write down ‘the biggest single thing that will move this team forward’. Almost everybody gave the same answer: individuals taking on more responsibility. I split the team and asked the inexperienced group “what do you need from senior team members” and the experienced group “what support can you offer newer team members?”. They then presented back and agreed powerful new ways of working. This team has transformed.
Investing in training and development uses up valuable resources – hopefully my unasked for advice can help you get more bang for your buck.
About the author
Julia Rowan (LinkedIn Profile) supports leadership development in individuals, team and organisations through coaching, training and facilitation. She previously worked in a range of areas including banking, public affairs and marketing. She is Principal Consultant with Performance Matters Ltd.
