How to Achieve Greater Training Results @ Lower Costs (based on
Real Cases)
You are receiving this email because of your relationship with
Directions Consulting. If you do not wish to receive any more
emails, you can unsubscribe at the bottom of this e-mail
Hi!
It's
the time of the
season to review and map out the Annual Training Plans
(again), and some Training Managers may be required to
justify how effective are the training programmes that
had been rolled out year after year.
In
terms of the economy, while we expect some economic
recovery in the US as well as in Asia, companies are
still prudent with their expenditure. As a result,
Training Managers will be hard-pressed yet again to
justify training effectiveness, with very limited
resources.
Hence, this
month's topics:
-
How to Achieve Greater Training Results @ Lower Costs
& Little Resources; and
-
What Makes Great Listening So Difficult?
This issue's
main article is on "How to Achieve Greater Training Results @ Lower Costs & Limited Resources", and we
will share with you some insights and case studies of how
some Training Managers manage to achieve greater
training results at lower costs.
In brief:
To read the rest of this newsletter, pls.
click here (http://www.psycheselling.com/page4.html).
If case you are facing budget-cuts in your
leadership and soft-skills training, we have 40 highly
affordable eLearning modules that you can offer to your
staff and colleagues. Click
here to find out more, or
e-mail
info@directions-consulting.com
for more details.
Also, if you're exploring ways on
how you can polish your facilitation skills, check out
this
Facilitating Learning from
Experience workshop by
Roger Greenaway (the
trainer who trained
IWNC, a pioneer in
Experiential Learning) from 14-17 May 2013 in Shanghai,
China. Contact
info@directions-consulting.com
to get special early-bird offers.
How to Achieve Greater Training Results @ Lower Costs & Limited Resources
by c.j. Ng
Stefanie received some good news, and some bad ones from
her boss.
Being the Training Manager of an international company,
Stefanie is generally in charge of the administration of
training plans, which she then outsourced the training
to external training providers to implement the
training. At the same time, Stefanie also conducts
some of those training herself.
Now, Stefanie's company is allocating
her some budget to arrange for
some "advanced training programmes" for
her company's high-potential employees, or Hi-Pos.
The said objective of these advanced training programmes
is to provide "advanced topics" that will adequately
prepare the hi-pos for their future jobs. Since
the company places substantial emphasis on Hi-Pos, the
management expects the training to be effective, and
would like Stefanie be responsible for training
effectiveness.
While Stefanie is happy that her company
is allocating more budgets for her department, she found
herself caught in a kind of dilemma in the following
ways:
-
The current training programmes are already quite
comprehensive covering topics such as Communication
Skills, Emotional Intelligence, Management Skills etc.,
and hence putting together a series of "Advanced
Training Topics" that do not overlap with the existing
programmes will not be easy;
-
While there is additional budget, it
may not be sufficient to cover the expected number of
training hours required by the Hi-Pos' programme.
Nevertheless, Stefanie would have to
figure out how best she can balance and fulfil the needs
of her management and the Hi-Pos, with limited budget
and resources. She will also have to make sure
that the Hi-Pos find the new training useful to their
work, and not be bored with rehashes of the existing
training programmes.
The Purpose of Training
- Reaction - what participants thought and felt about
the training (training satisfaction)
- Learning - the resulting increase in knowledge
and/or skills, and change in attitudes. This
evaluation occurs during the training in the form of
either a knowledge demonstration or test.
- Behaviour - transfer of knowledge, skills, and/or
attitudes from classroom to the job (change in job behaviour due to training programme). Evaluation
usually occurs through observation.
- Results - the final results that occurred because of
attendance and participation in a training program (can
be monetary, performance-based, etc.)
Hence,
before deciding on what topic is required for a training
programme, perhaps the Training Manager could find out
what behaviours need to be changed, and what behaviours
they need to change into. The Training Manager
could get inputs by asking what are the strengths as
well as areas of improvements from their trainees and
their supervisors.
Like many
other Training Managers, Stefanie made a survey with her
targeted trainees to assess their training needs.
Unlike other Training Managers though, instead of asking
what training topics they would like to be trained, she
asked them what new skills they need to have in order to
do a better job in the near future.
Reducing the Costs of Training
Training fees are not cheap. In any case, most
companies wouldn't just want to buy training, just
because the training is the lowest priced in the market.
However, the biggest
component of training costs is NOT
the training fee.
Rather, it is the Opportunity Costs of the trainees that
could make up the the biggest cost component in
training. With some research claiming that as high
as
87% of the training will be
forgotten or lost after 1 month from the
training, this Opportunity Cost can be extremely high.
In Stefanie's case,
let's assume that each Hi-Po is currently paid
US$4,000 per month. The company would be
expecting a productivity contribution of 3 times
that salary, i.e. the company would like the
employee to contribute US$12,000 of productivity
each month.
If each Hi-Po spend 2
days training, he is depriving the company US$1,200
in productive contribution for those 2 days
(assuming a 20-day work week). If a class has
20 of such trainees, the Opportunity Costs to the
company can be as high as US$24,000. The
training fees of a 2-day
training workshop may not even be half of
this Opportunity Cost.
While there could be
positive side effects of training such as
creating
a sense of community,
improved employee engagement
and
motivation, such trade-on benefits may still not
be sufficient to justify the high Opportunity Costs.
Hence, if trainees
don't find the training practical, or don't apply
what was learnt, then it could lead to massive
wastages for the company. On the other hand,
if the adult learners could apply the training to
their work, they will be motivated to learn and
apply.
In Stefanie's case, she
knows that adult learners are most motivated to
learn and apply IF the training is going to help
them solve problems they encounter at work. In
the case of the suggested training fo the Hi-Pos,
she made sure that the training provider was able to
customise case studies based on actual work
challenges. Such case studies would then be
used in discussions, role plays and other activities
during the training, which will then motivate the
trainees to use the training help them solve
day-to-day work challenges.
In addition, Stefanie
also implemented a series of tests or assessments
one month after each training session. These
tests will reinforce the training content, so that
the trainees can recall more of those contents.
To make the training even
livelier, Stefanie got more
participation from her Hi-Pos as some of the role
plays and demos are acted out as skits, and then video-recorded
(using modified
video cameras such
as the iPhones and iPads),
edited and finally posted onto the company's internal
web site. It was a way for the trainees to
laugh at themselves, while also making sure they
learnt something as well.
Are You Having Too Much Training?
Surprisingly,
some companies are actually suffering from too much
training. For instance, some companies spend a
whole month in closed-door orientation training for new
hires, away from the office. Some other companies
force-feed their managers 1 day of training for every 4
working days.
Some of the reasons for
over-training could be:
-
Training Managers wanting to spend all the
allocated training budget;
-
Training Managers being asked to clock a certain
number of training days or training hours per
month; and/ or
-
Training Managers simply filling in the training
programmes based on the feedback from trainees
about what training topics they want, as opposed
to what skill areas they need to improve upon.
Given the
current uncertain economic outlook, many
Training Managers will be put under pressure to
do more with less.
So here's the rule about training for Training
Managers: It's much better to have 1 programme that is well-implemented
and trainees actually get to implement most of
what is taught, rather than have 10 programmes
just for the sake of clocking the required
training hours.
In Stefanie's case, no doubt the Hi-Pos will feel
appreciated if they were to be given regular
training sessions that will somehow help them in
their work. After all, Stefanie is working
in a company that could still afford such
"luxury". However, Stefanie will have to
make a prioritised list of what are the
must-haves and
nice-to-haves, just in case budgets
get cut in future.
Need help in ensuring that you achieve greater
training results @ lower costs and limited
resources? Simply e-mail
info@directions-consulting.comm or
call +86-136 7190 2505 or Skype:
cydj001
Power Breakfast Hour: 5 Mar 2013
How to Achieve Greater Training Results @ Lower Costs & Limited Resources
-
Despite having conducted
numerous trainings, why 87% of the learning will
still be forgotten after 1 month;
-
Avoid the mistakes made in
gathering training needs, and how you can achieve
greater training needs in simple yet practical ways;
-
How to achieve the same or
greater level of training effectiveness with shorter
or lesser training;
-
How to implement training
plans that will guarantee your success; and
-
How to gain buy-in from all
department heads that will ensure a smooth
implementation for your training plan
VENUE: Crowne Plaza Shanghai • 400 Panyu
Road (near Fahuazhen Road) • 上海银星皇冠酒店 •
番禺路 400 号 (靠法华镇路)
DATE: Wednesday, 20 Feb 20133
TIME: 08:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
PRICE: RMB 200 ONLY!
To make this a more conducive
discussion, we are expecting a small
group of about 15 people only. The room
can only take in 18, so please register
early to avoid disappointments. Please
e-mail your registrations too
sales@directions-consulting.com
Pls. check out our web sites
www.directions-consulting.com
and
www.psycheselling.com/page4.html for
more inspiration.
Tips for Managers:
What Makes Great Listening So Difficult?
Q&A with Mark Murphy
Founder and CEO,
Leadership IQ
Q: Listening seems like it should be so simple, yet the average person retains only 10% of what they hear. What makes great listening so hard?
MM: Great listening requires a lot more than nodding your head and going “Uh huh. Wow, that’s interesting.” There’s actually a whole way of thinking we need to embrace about the information that’s coming at us. And that involves how we can parse it all out, dissect it into its component parts and then probe for more information. Also, we need to make sure we’re not getting fixated on unimportant information; that we’re not letting our emotional buttons get pushed such that we can’t hear the real kernel of the message that is coming at us.
In the world of management and work, not everything we hear has equal importance, so we need to know what we are listening for. Because there are some things we hear, certain words, for example, that can set us off and cause us to miss some of the really important stuff that we do need to hear.
The challenges of great listening are plenty. But if we gain the skills, and a deeper understanding of how it all works, so we can then identify and key into what is absolutely important and relevant for us to hear, great listening is absolutely possible. Anyone can do it, but you have to want to do it.
Q: What do you mean when you say we need to key into the important parts of a conversation?
MM: Here’s one example of how it works. Let’s say we’re in a situation where an employee is uncorking on us a little bit. Maybe they want to talk about a project we assigned them that’s not going well and maybe they are little (or a lot) upset. They are using emotional language and it’s subjective, and even a little negative. Other than letting them unload, we think there’s not a ton of value in listening to what’s being said. But the thing is, as difficult as that may be to listen to, there may be a really important nugget of information that we really do need to hear. Something that is going to clue us in to what this person needs so they can go fix the error, or avoid having it happen again. And yet, we’re not hearing it because we’re fixated on all of the other stuff; the distraction. So we need to have a listening model that allows us to separate the stuff we do need to hear from all the rest. We need a way to remove the emotional element and just get to the facts in order to help this person find the right solution.
At Leadership IQ we teach the FIRE model which allows us to separate the Facts from the Interpretations, Reactions and Ends. Because it’s in the facts that we are going to find that one nugget of really good information we need. The FIRE model allows us to compartmentalize all these other pieces and say, “I just got some tough feedback, but there are some good facts here. There are things I need to listen to, so I need to compartmentalize some of this other stuff I’m hearing so what I am really focusing in on is the facts.” And until we have a listening model that lets us separate it all appropriately, great listening is very hard to do.
Q: How can we know if we got all the facts?
MM: First we need to know how to probe deep to get past all the superficial stuff so we are only focused on the facts we need. And there different kinds of probes, like factual and direct probes or emotional and indirect probes. The situation and the comfort level that’s present basically directs the kind of probe you use.
For example, indirect probes are best in helping circumvent defenses when you think someone’s guard is up. But once you probe down to the facts, and you are no longer dealing with interpretations, reactions and ends, there’s actually a very simple checklist you can mentally run through to make sure you are collecting adequate facts. It’s the same basic checklist used for all information gathering: Who, What, When, Where, Why and How.
The first step is to get the conversation focused on just the facts and you can do this by doing the “Who, What, When, Where, Why and How” assessment in your mind where you say: “Okay, well, first, who: do I know who was involved. Okay, yup. I got that. Do I know what they were talking about? What actually happened? Okay, got that. Do I know when it happened? Do I know where it happened? And then, am I making assumptions based on these things or do I actually know why it happened? Do I know what precipitated this? And do I know how it happened?” It takes a bit of practice, but after a while it just happens naturally so you are always thinking about the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How of your conversations and that alone will make you a much better listener.
To learn how to keep your own emotions in check when listening to someone is making you agitated, attend our webinar
Lead by Listening.
To find out how you be a great listener and 39 other
eLearning topics by
Leadership IQ,
you can e-mail
info@directions-consulting.com
or call +86-136 7190 2505 or Skype:
cydj001
About
Directions Management Consulting
Directions Management Consulting is the
partner of
LeadershipIQ in China and
Asia.
LeadershipIQ helps more than
125,000 leaders every year through the
facts drawn from one of the largest
ongoing leadership studies ever
conducted is used to help companies
apply resources where the best possible
results be achieved.
In addition, Directions Management
Consulting is a leading provider of
sales performance, innovation and
experiential learning solutions in China
and many parts of Asia.
Psycheselling.com
is the sales performance arm of Directions
Management Consulting specialising in
conducting training, research and
consulting services for sales managers
and their team.
Raybattle is the strategic
partner of Directions Management
Consulting specialising in experiential
learning events and management retreats.
Currently, Directions Management Consulting
has served clients such as
InterContinental Hotels Group, Unilever,
Bristol-Myers Squibb, Roche, Philips
Lighting, Carrier, Ingersoll Rand,
Freudenberg etc.
Through collaboration with consultancies
such as
Forum Corporation,
MTI,
de Bono China,
ProWay
etc., the consultants in Directions
Management Consulting have served
clients such as PwC, Air Products,
Evonik, Wacker, Epson amongst others.
Directions Management Consulting will
increase its efforts to conduct
leadership studies in China and other
parts of Asia, so that more companies
apply resources where the best possible
results be achieved in this part of the
world.
Enquiries and suggestions, pls. e-mail
info@directions-consulting.com or visit
www.directions-consulting.com
|
|
Mailing Address: Shui
Cheng Nan Road 51 Lane No. 9 Suite 202 Shanghai
201103 China |
|