Hey Stan, I hear that you’ve made a significant investment in products and integration in the organization. And you (as the Manager) want to ensure your staff learn how to use the tools to their fullest potential.
Yup, that’s’ right Howard, I got the CIO to buy into this new process.
Stan that’s great. Oh, but wait, when will they have the time to do the training? I mean you are in the midst of a huge project that is deadline centric and I don’t see how you can spare the team.
Well, Howard, of course it’s obvious, I won’t train all of them. My idea is that I’ll save money by only sending one employee to get the training and they will come back and be responsible for training the rest of the team.
Great idea! Stan.
Or, I could send them one at a time.
Yes, that’ll work too Stan.
Or, I could do a remote training where everyone is on the call with an expert trainer.
Sure, Stan yes that’s good too.
Well, hmmm. Listen Stan, I just read somewhere that the vast majority of learning and development takes place on the job through new challenges and developmental assignments, developmental feedback, conversations and mentoring. So, Stan you should put the responsibility back on your employees. Right?
After all Stan, facilitating employee learning and development is not your job, you have a department to run, and you do have that looming deadline. Really what are the shortcomings if you don’t train the employees?
Good question Howard. Retention and turnover can be an issue. Nahhh, how can I personally be responsible for retention and turnover costs. Really, no one is gonna put that on me.
I suppose you are right Stan. However, isn’t it true that employee learning, in turn strengthens employee commitment? It wouldn’t hurt to ask them how they can contribute. For starters, you could ask your team what they would like to learn. Maybe you can have a meeting where they propose ways to incorporate on-the-job learning.
Howard, that might just work, and then I can have them report back on what they have been learning and how they are using new skills and knowledge.
Take a tip from Howard, not training your employee is like saying “How should we not solve the problem? When it comes to training, you are responsible for employee turnover.
I invite you to share your experiences or thoughts, or comments. You can email or call me for more information on soft skills/interpersonal skills workshops that can transform employees.