Training Industry Quarterly - Spring 2009 - (Page 20)

to help lead book clubs and “lunch and learns” featuring senior executives who facilitate discussions of articles or books. The training group should encourage employees to develop customized reading plans, and offer ways to capture key takeaways in the LMS. Somehow, reading needs to be made relevant again in the corporate learning space. Writing If reading is becoming a lost art, what does that say about writing? Talk about a rare experience—we’ve gotten so specialized in today’s world that most of the great writing in companies is confined to the Communications department. This is a mistake, and training departments can and should do something about it. Almost every employee has to string together a series of cogent thoughts at some point, in one form or another. It may be a white paper or a PowerPoint presentation, or a research proposal, client letter or contract. At the very least, we all communicate via e-mail. Some companies don’t settle for letting only a few people master the skill of writing. They conduct home-grown courses on effective writing skills, and may even coach specific departments on writing techniques that fit their world. I worked for a company once that held very structured “deck writing” courses, to help managers write efficient and productive PowerPoint presentations. And it definitely made a difference—everyone who took the class improved their writing skills, which helped us move ideas and initiatives through the company faster, with greater clarity (not to mention fewer slides!). Employees can also make writing work for them in another, more personal way through journaling. If every training course included reinforcement of the art of journaling, we could take the practice of self-reflection to a new level across the company. Learning has to include reflection, and one of the best ways to capture what you’re learning, and how it applies to your job and career, is by keeping a journal of your thoughts and ideas. Think about seeding the concept of journaling into every aspect of your training curriculum, and set a stretch goal of making every employee a little better at absorbing what they’re learning. 2 Listening Can listening really be taught? Yes, it can. Better yet, it can be role-modeled. This is one area where leaders and managers need to be “deputized” as stewards of a simple but effective development technique. The better employees get at listening, the better the dialogue in the organization as a whole. The better the organization gets at listening, the more innovation, creativity and collaboration can occur throughout the company. And it starts with management listening to employees, demonstrating what active listening feels like. It also involves sending clear feedback through regular coaching sessions or the formal performance management process about how well employees are listening, and where they can become even more effective. Being known as a good listener is a virtue in any organization—and employees can definitely take on the personal challenge of improving their listening ability. Encourage employees to buddy up and coach each other after staff meetings, etc. Offering to be a peer coach or accepting feedback from others is a great way to work on your listening skills. Talk about a skill you can develop without a budget—but it needs to be brought to people’s attention as a key area of improvement that one can work on, any time, anywhere. 3 dor to build new tools. Whatever it is, training groups should be expanding employees’ thinking about what constitutes learning and development—and sometimes, the best learning opportunities are right in your own back yard. The other way employees can develop through experiences is by documenting what they’re learning. Create a way for employees to build an online portfolio of key learnings from their ancillary contributions. Incorporate this document into the performance management process, and make it clear that capturing your key takeaways from these experiences is favorably viewed by management. Give “extra credit” for employees who are trying new things. Just as companies can raise the level of volunteerism in their organization, so to can training professionals make it cool (and rewarding) for employees to take on new challenges and document what they’re taking away from the experience. Sharing This strategy involves teaching. Employees should be encouraged to “give back” as they move through their careers, teaching in formal or informal settings to share the knowledge and skills they’ve accumulated. As every trainer knows, one of the best ways to learn a subject is to teach it. The discipline and command of the material that you have to master is a great way to develop your knowledge of the content and your standup presentation and facilitation skills. Corporate learning centers need to embrace the concepts of subject-matter experts and leaders as teachers, and make them an integral part of their learning process. Set up a certification program for internal “teachers” and teach them to be strong facilitators. Make it a badge of honor to be invited into the classroom by celebrating your internal cadre of instructors. Build a tiered “faculty” structure to further recognize your longtenured and best instructors. The key is to find ways to incorporate your own talent in the learning curriculum. They might teach a course by themselves, co-teach with a third-party vendor or simply add value as a drop-in guest speaker. Whatever the method, adding your own employees to your corporate university 5 New Experiences This category of self-development has two applications to an employee’s personal learning agenda. First, employees should be encouraged to seek out new experiences and stretch themselves in their current roles. Just about everyone can find ways to contribute beyond their current scope of work. Again, training professionals can document and market all of the ways that employees can expand their skills and get involved throughout the company. Raise the profile of task forces, committees, research panels, etc., and make it easy for employees to join and experience something different. Publish a “top 10” list of ideas for expanding your current role. Maybe it’s mentoring new recruits or volunteering to write a users guide for a new process or system. It might involve working on a new venture or partnering with a ven- 4 20 Training Industry Quarterly, Spring 2009 / A Training Industry, Inc. ezine / www.trainingindustry.com/TIQ http://www.trainingindustry.com/TIQ

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Quarterly - Spring 2009

Training Industry Quarterly - Spring 2009
The American Heart Association: Learn and Live
Contents
Index
Winning Organizations Through People
The Business of Learning
Learning Technologies
Best Practices for Certification Training
7 Strategies for Employee Self-Development
Learning Today: Collaborative, Social and Learner-Driven
Driving Corporate Performance through Learning Partnerships
Meet Dale Towery
Meet Milynda Weis
The American Heart Association: Learn and Live
Closing Arguments

Training Industry Quarterly - Spring 2009