‘Training won’t solve your companies problems’

‘Training won’t solve your companies’ problems’ is probably not what you expected from the first line of a blog from a business which builds innovative solutions around people development!

This is just one of the misconceptions organisations without a high-development culture will often incorrectly propagate.

In our newsletter this month we are looking at some of the other misconceptions around the importance of valuing the growth of your employees and what can be done about it:

1. You can’t measure the tangible results that learning & development delivers for businesses:

• Gallup found that organisations which make a strategic investment in employee development regularly report more than 11% greater profitability and are twice as likely to retain employees
• Both the CIPD and the ONS reports that ‘management practices (and people management practices in particular) are some of the most positively correlated with productivity.

2. What managers & leaders feel their teams need, in terms of learning & development, are different from the company’s key objectives.

Whilst this may have been true in the past, PWC data shows:

• Employee engagement statistics are now incorporated into 69% of corporate strategies and 34% of companies now link the results directly to the CEO’s bonus and incentive plans.
• The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs report that the top 5 sought-after soft-skills in 2022 are:
  a) Analytical thinking and innovation
  b) Active learning and learning strategies
  c) Complex problem-solving
  d) Critical thinking and analysis
  e) Creativity, originality, and initiative

3. Training isn’t modern or digital enough:

With stats showing that in 2020, 70% of the UK workforce were either Millennials or Gen Z and that 68% of Gen Z welcome AI and other technology at work, the requirement for training must evolve in line with delegates needs.

Successful online, interactive training gets the best results when these features are included:

• Social learning through online platforms. Encouraging collaboration, insight and support through class-wide chat rooms and file-sharing.
• Video learning covers all key types of learners; visual, auditory and kinaesthetic resulting in higher skills development and engagement
  Microlearning.
• It has been recognised that shorter sessions allow learners to absorb and practice new skills in manageable chunks. Learners are far more likely to apply skills learned in this style.

Before you engage in any training, it’s vital to get the support of managers. If training is not a priority for them, it’s unlikely to be a priority for their team either. Managers must be part of the process, especially after training takes place and the conversations must, of course, include applying the learning, but also revolve around career development.

If it’s not a training issue, then training won’t solve the organisations problems, no matter how extraordinary the training is. This failure will only reinforce the misconception that training is ineffective. To ensure success, it’s vital to offer solutions that give you ROI, rather than the same rinse-and-repeat training course.

Sources:
https://www.gallup.com/workplace/269405/high-performance-workplaces-differently.aspx
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/tips-for-the-future/workforce/
https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-future-of-jobs-report-2020/digest
https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/ceo-agenda/ceosurvey/2022.html