The outcome of this type of merger? Employees at all levels of the newly merged organization will be experiencing a big challenge in assimilating. This presents the merging Training & Development teams with the opportunity to combine resources, help to manage the integration process, and hopefully soften the blow that productivity and customer service levels may experience.

Put the T&D Department in Order

A place for every one and everyone in their place! Change Management must start with the Training Department. As T&D probably will be responsible for leading the change at all other levels in the organization, we need to be at the front of the line in managing the changes that will come when T&D teams merge.

One of the first issues that the newly formed T&D department needs to address will be how both T&D teams will fit under the new organizational chart, which team members will assume which responsibilities, and how they can all operate as a team.

Next, the newly formed T&D department should probably assess the existing operational plans and/or curriculums that both companies brought to the table so the new department can determine which courses and offerings to continue as is, which to merge or revise, and which ones to eliminate altogether. For example: Does one company use a Learning Management System while the other still employs manual records? Do customer service courses complement or crash with each other? Which best practices will be adopted and from which company?

Helping the Organization

Once T&D’s house has been put in order, it can turn its attention to helping the organization. While it is common at this stage of the merger that the movers and shakers have probably already addressed managerial needs, it is not unrealistic for middle and upper management to be the ones needing the most help with the cultural assimilation. This is because they probably hold the highest level of responsibility in meeting expectations and demands from managing directors and above. Helping to identify and integrate managerial styles is key to the success of any merger. We are seeing an increased need for executive and managerial coaching in areas like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, DISC, Strategic Planning, Project Management, and Performance Scorecarding; areas where the T&D department can offer assistance to its management group.

Finally, it should not come as a surprise that some associates may find themselves without a job in the newly merged corporation. Many organizations have adopted the practice of offering Resume Writing Skills workshops, techniques for successful job interviews, and other similar processes to help people manage the sense of identity crisis they experience when they are “no longer needed.” This is a role that perhaps the newly defined T&D department can fill.

So, tell us…what is your experience with Mergers & Acquisitions and the way it impacts training? How has your training role evolved as a result of a merger? What best practices have you put in place to assist the organization as well as the individual associates who have been impacted? Based on your comments we can expand on any specific angles you wish to.

I look forward to hearing from you and sharing your experiences with our readers.

José

Whether we are conducting a training needs analysis, directing a performance consulting process, or managing subordinates, we need to make sure we are not only hearing what is being said, but we are truly listening as well. The difference, according to Webster, is that hearing is the act or process of perceiving sound or of receiving information whereas listening is the act of hearing attentively and paying attention to the person speaking.

Verbal communication has four forms: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The average person spends 70 to 80% of their active hours (11 to 12 hrs per day) communicating with others. The two forms of verbal communication we use most often are listening and speaking. Is it any surprise that these are the areas where we have the most difficulty?

Whenever we are involved with a training needs analysis, a performance consulting process, or managing subordinates, we really must communicate clearly and be prepared to be non-judgmental. Some things we can do to help with communication are:

Establish Rapport

Greet the person by name and clearly state the purpose of the meeting. Use clear, concise, and common language, and solicit any questions before you start.

Have Empathy

Put yourself in the other person’s place or position. The issue you are discussing is real to them – and may be quite different from your own.

Don’t Interrupt

Be patient. Sometimes a little rambling reveals a big reward. We know what we want to accomplish and while the other person may not take the same road, we can usually get to the same destination.

Don’t Jump to Conclusions

Until we have all the facts from the speaker and can validate our suspicions, all we have is basic information with no clear path to an immediate destination.

Don’t Judge the Speaker

Just because the person isn’t providing the answers that we expect, doesn’t consider him or her to be out of touch, misinformed, or a loser. The speaker may be giving you all the information he or she has and this can be an indication that other problems may exist.

Ask Questions

Let them see the list of questions prior to the session, use more open questions than closed. We want them to talk.

Pay Attention to Your Non-Verbal Behavior

Make eye contact. Look at them for a while then glance at your notes then look back at them. Remember, you’re not trying to make them feel uncomfortable – just engaged. Maintain a pleasant and relaxed facial expression. Try to mirror the demeanor of the person you are talking to. Be aware of your posture – lean toward the person when they are responding but avoid violating their personal space.

Don’t Forget Active Listening Skills

Paraphrasing, reflection of feelings, use of encouragers, and summarizing.

One of my favorite quotes (by the prolific author, ‘anonymous’) is, “The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said.” This is true for the messages we are sending as well as those we are receiving during the communication process. By practicing some, or all, of the tips in this blog, you may find you never have to ask the question, “Are you listening to me?” again because you will know that the answer is “YES”.

Martha

Because I also love the training field, I end up on a lot of discussion boards and forums for training professionals. I thought I’d share some of my observations about the trends in the business, based on what training professionals are saying to each other. To be fair to those who have shared great ideas (or conversely, not-so-great ideas) I won’t be referring to any particular forum or group in my following comments:

Knowledge and Skill

To begin, there is definitely widespread use of the words “knowledge and skill” out there when it comes to training. I find that encouraging. But, when you dig a little, it seems training professionals often focus more on the knowledge part than the skill part when you get knee-deep in the details. We could benefit from putting more emphasis on the skill aspect of training: leaving out nice-to-know content, including more how-to material, and building in more exercises for our learners.

Technology in Training

I’ve noticed trainers are always looking for new ways to use technology in training. From sharing opinions on e-learning authoring/delivery tools, to posting discoveries of emerging technologies that may someday provide new training modes, trainers are combing the web for technological advantages. Even nicer, many trainers are staying clear-headed, not getting caught up in the whiz-bang coolness of the technology, and keeping a focus on sound training principles. I hope this trend continues and even rises. Sadly, there are still a few people out there who think e-learning should solve all training needs, although they appear to be the minority.

Helpful Trainers

Trainers are a helpful bunch. Maybe it’s due to all our dealings with managers on the front end, and with learners on the back end, but I’ve noticed a huge tendency to be very diplomatic in expressing our thoughts about training in general. Even strong differences of opinion posted online have been tempered with disclaimers of possible exceptions, adaptations, and professionalism. Well done, trainers! No flame wars for us!

Front-End Analysis

There seems to be a lot of focus on how to design or deliver training with efficiency and effectiveness, but I’ve noticed an absence of front-end analysis thought. Perhaps we are resigned to defer to managers’ judgment, have given up on needs analysis, or simply don’t know enough about it to implement it more prevalently in the training world. I’ve simply seen too many posts about training programs that are telltale signs of knee-jerk reactions by management or common misconceptions that training can solve any performance issue. When put to the question, most trainers would say, “No, training is not the solution to every performance issue.” But I’ve seen too much evidence of trainers failing to consider that question at the start of new training projects, and feel we’re still letting “bound-to-fail” projects creep into our project plans.

Trainers Agree…

Finally, if there’s one thing trainers agree on, it’s that there isn’t just one correct way to handle training. It looks like we really get it: We’re helping human beings do their jobs better. And if there’s one thing we know for sure about human beings, it’s that not everything will work equally well for everyone. I’m very grateful to see how adaptable and open-minded we are as professionals. Not only are we open to new ideas, but we are ready and even eager to consider adaptations to best practices, all in the name of maximum benefit for our respective organizations.

If you want to form your own opinions about what trainers are discussing online, just Google the following words: “training forum discussion board” Just be prepared to weed out the results that lead to animal training or personal training.

Alan

Traditionally, we use a sales approach to market a particular course, series of courses, or even our Training Departments to the organizations we serve. By this I mean we focus on communicating to our clients the features and characteristics of that course.

We then expect that all that information will secure the necessary buy-in from the organization’s managers and supervisors who will end up sending their employees to attend that course. And, more often than we’d like to admit, we end up with last-minute cancellations, participants who are suddenly asked to leave the course “just for five minutes” and never return, or we find out that learners are not encouraged to used their newly acquired skills as they return to their jobs. Why? Because in reality, we really do not have the necessary management buy-in.

This, to great extent, happens as a result of marketing efforts that don’t really provide our target clients with the information they truly require to:

1. See the post-attendance value to their department.
2. Schedule their team members to attend the right courses.
3. Identify how each course is geared to help that department achieve their objectives under their current strategic plan.

So Let’s Market - marketing goes deeper than selling. It focuses on what will be necessary to build, maintain, and grow the relationship with our clients, rather than on getting the seats filled in the training classroom. If we are to market effectively, it’s crucial that we understand several elements that need to be “mixed” in our marketing efforts: Product, People, Promotion, Relationships, and Planning.

Product

First we must define the value of our PRODUCT so that our clients can see not only the features, but also the benefits and long-term performance improvements that will result from our courses and services. In other words, we need to show our clients how our product will satisfy their needs.

People

Next we need to dig a little deeper and identify the needs of the PEOPLE to whom we will be targeting. This way we can target our marketing strategy to that specific group of people. We would not necessarily apply the same marketing strategy to the managers and supervisors that we would apply to the people that will be attending our courses.

Promotion

When PROMOTING our courses and services, we need to get creative and stretch beyond our comfort zones so we can appeal to the proper tier of the organization, using the most effective promotional techniques. Managers and Supervisors are not going to necessarily respond to a training marketing brochure the same way their employees will.

Relationships

The aim of any marketing program is to solidify the RELATIONSHIPS that exist between the Training Department and the organization it serves. How do we want our clients to talk about our courses, staff and services, and what are we doing to assure repeat business from them? These are questions we should ponder carefully. The answers to these questions should be at the forefront of all marketing efforts.

Planning

Finally, putting all these in perspective requires careful and strategic PLANNING so that our marketing efforts yield the results we hoped for.

One of the misunderstandings we in training tend to have about marketing is to believe that if we are constantly promoting our courses and services we will secure attendance and support from the organization. Unfortunately for us, training is not a “Field of Dreams” – just because we build the training does not mean they (the learners, etc.) will come. Having a well-thought-out marketing plan that we can put into action, however, can make the difference.

What marketing efforts are you engaging in? What processes do you have in place to secure the success of your department’s products and services? I look forward to your ideas and success stories.

José

Why

Why are we doing this program? To address this critical question we must conduct a Training Needs Analysis to determine it training is really needed. If the answer is yes, we must then ask if training will produce the necessary change in the learners’ behavior or skill? If the learners leave the session without achieving the benefit of the training we have wasted their time and ours, no matter how great or dynamic the training program.

What

What decisions have been made? When training is requested the requestor often has “ideas” about how long the training should be, the method to be used for delivery, the budget, etc. Our task is to determine whether the “ideas” make sense and can we create effective training given these restraints. Based on the constraints we must then determine how we can use the principles of ISD to create effective training.

Who

Who are the participants? Identifying the characteristics of our audience will significantly impact our design. We need to look at generation, education, previous training, job experience, etc. and then determine whether our learners will be prisoners, vacationers, or explorers. Once we know these details, we can create a training program that contains examples and features that will help to connect with our audience. Connecting with our audience greatly increases the chances of transferring the learning back to the job.

What

What do our learners need to learn so that they will be successful back on the job after the training? This is critical to make the course content relevant to the learners and to the company. By determining the answer to this question, we can define the expected outcome of the training.

How

How are the learners’ tasks done? Once we know what tasks the participants need to learn, we need to know the level of detail to include in the step-by-step process we will be teaching. Other how questions to ask are:

• How will the training be delivered (instructor-lead, job aids, e-learning)?
• How will the activities (tests and practices) reinforce the learning?
• How will success be measured (reaction, learning, performance, or results)?

By following Langevin’s Instructional Design Cycle you will learn how to ask all of these questions, plus many more, so you can create training that will be effective and fun, and your learners will learn how to do their jobs better. What more can you ask than that?

Martha

Transitioning to performance consulting has become a necessity in today’s turbulent economy which means initiating a cultural shift on how the training department is perceived and valued. We can no longer be a “yes” person whenever someone requests training. Put on an investigator’s hat by asking the most powerful question  – WHY???

Next, you need to ask, “What does success look like, and how will we measure it?” The answer to this two-part question will give you a clear indication whether it’s a training issue or not.

Over $62 billion dollars is spent on training in North America annually, while up to 75% of that training is for the wrong reason. Wow! You do the math, and you will quickly realize how much money is wasted. And nobody can afford to waste money these days. With these numbers in mind, you can see how important it is to you and the credibility of your training department to determine whether a performance problem is training-related or not.

You may be wondering why anyone would train an employee who does not need it. The root causes of employee performance problems are often never looked into, because sending them to a training class becomes a painless “quick-fix.” By investigating a little further, you may find that an employee is not performing because of a lack of job standards or measurement. Another reason could be the lack of tools/equipment needed to do a job. Perhaps the employee has never received constructive feedback on how to improve. Or maybe they do not have the correct incentive to perform.

So what are you to do? Don’t despair – we have a solution. Come join us at our Consulting Skills for Trainers workshop where you will learn a simple, yet powerful step-by-step process to identify and resolve job performance gaps. This workshop just might be one of the wisest investments you will ever make.

See you at our workshop and happy training!

Ron

Howard Aiken, a computing pioneer, had some insight on this problem. He once said, “Don’t worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, you’ll have to ram them down people’s throats.” Here are a few techniques that can help you to help your organization.

Adjust Your Expectations

We’ve seen too many movies where someone presents a rousing, heartfelt speech. The inspirational music cues up, and the camera angles show the depth of the interaction. In the end, the good guy wins the day. That just ain’t real life. Don’t expect to win someone over in one conversation. Plan a series of chats revolving around your idea. It may take weeks or even months to work up to your actual pitch. People need time to warm up to a new way of doing things.

Leave Ownership of the Idea Open

Don’t present your suggestions as your ideas. People often find themselves having to abandon their point of view or defend it in those cases. Open with where you first came across the new process. Share what you’ve read or heard about it. Don’t give them the impression this is your idea. This is an industry idea. Just leave it at that. Don’t even ask for a response. Just work it into the conversation and leave it at that for now.

Present Options

This is an old persuasion trick. If you present your idea on its own, people have two choices: accept it or reject it. But if you present multiple ways to implement your idea, the choices become: accept option one, option two, option three, or none of the above. You just increased your odds of acceptance from fifty percent to seventy-five percent. Many people argue that you actually double your chance of success with this little trick.

Present Outside Evidence

If the idea you’re pitching really is a good one, there must be some material written about it. Find articles in magazines or posts on the web. Find anything written down that supports this new approach. Print or photocopy them and pass them along. You can stick notes to them with something like, “This reminded me of what we talked about last week.” Spread these over time rather than one big pile of “evidence.” The point is to subtly show how that idea is embraced by others, not just you.

Socialize Your Idea

Don’t just build your plan around convincing the decision-maker. Use the ideas above on other people who work with that person. While it’s still just a harmless train of thought, people will hopefully chat about it when it’s relevant. The best case secenario would be for them to end up talking about your idea even when you’re not around.

Present Your Idea Backwards

At some point you’ve got to “make the pitch.” This means presenting your idea, explaining its benefits, and trying to seal the deal. A better order is to explain the benefits first. Relate the benefits to business goals. Connect them to the things that matter to the decision-maker. Then bring up the process they’ve already heard about from you and hopefully from others. Be ready to make very clear links between this new process and the business outcomes and benefits it will produce.

Reduce the Risk

Now for the closer. Make it easier to say yes. Pitch your idea on a small training project as a pilot of the new process. Explain that this is a chance to “try it on for size.” If your decision-maker has the impression that this isn’t a permanent commitment, the element of risk may be less intimidating. Then give everyone involved a chance to make the ideas their own. Close with something like, “Can we adapt this process to our way of doing things?” If they answer, “Yes…” then you’ve just closed the deal!

Closing Thoughts

If managers have ever said something like, “We already did our own needs analysis, just design the course for us please,” it may mean one of two things: They are expert training needs analysts, and really have a handle on the situation, or they just brushed you off. If it’s the second option, you need to walk the long path of persuasion. The ideas above require patience, planning, and research. For the really important things trainers should be doing, they can make a huge difference to the organization. Here’s one last suggestion: Take heart. Don’t give up after the first rejection. Keep at it. As Mark Twain put it: “A crank is someone with a new idea, until it catches on.”

Alan

Soft Skills

When I researched the term “soft skills” I discovered it no longer means what it once did.  Years ago it was assumed that “soft skills” referred to skills that were more or less intangible – person-to person.  However, the current definition in Wikipedia states: “Soft skills” is a sociological term for a person’s EQ (Emotional Intelligence Quotient), which refers to the cluster of personality traits, social graces, communication, language, personal habits, friendliness, and optimism that mark us. Soft skills complement hard skills (part of a person’s IQ), which are the technical requirements of a job.

Is this what most trainers think of when they hear this term?  Should trainers continue to use a term that does not adequately describe the training taking place?  Perhaps calling them “interpersonal skills” is more accurate.  Wikipedia provides the following definition: “Interpersonal skills” refers to mental and communicative algorithms applied during social communications and interactions in order to reach certain effects or results.  The term “interpersonal skills” is used often in business contexts to refer to the measure of a person’s ability to operate within business organizations through social communication and interactions.  Interpersonal skills are how people relate to one another.

Smiley Sheets

Another term that may minimize the validity of our training is “smiley sheet.”  The term suggests a light, happy, or fluffy evaluation of a course.  When we use the term “smiley sheet” do we unconsciously devalue the importance and effectiveness of a “Level One Eval?”  The information gained in these evaluations shows us the areas for improvement that will make the courses more meaningful for our clients and ultimately increase their satisfaction.  Perhaps we should be using the more accurate and descriptive term like “Level One Evaluation” or “Course Evaluation” rather than “Smiley Sheet.”

As trainers, we sell ideas to our learners in the classroom as well to those in management who fund our training initiatives.  Shouldn’t we be aware of what these terms are saying about the quality and effectiveness of training? Can you think of any other words that minimize our effectiveness and the validity of our training?  Let me know.

Langevin Team