This week’s Secret L&D manager is Hungarian and is a Learning & Development Specialist for a global chemical company. In this post, he talks about the journey and the challenges of building and encouraging a learning culture in a large organization.
You were the first L&D manager in the organization. What sort of training budget were you expecting to have to work with when you joined?
Before I came here, I was working in a huge worldwide corporation where learning and development had a lot of money working – close to about €400,000 per year. Looking back, we were definitely spoiled, and I was expecting something similar when I came here. That was my expectation. When I arrived, I was given a budget of €10,000 and most of this was already allocated to translation work!
I wanted to be able to build a learning culture (see this post for more information). One of the things I have been doing (and haven’t yet finished) is to build a large library of free learning. This does take time but there are a lot of free, good quality things on the internet. You just need to be able to invest the time to find and assess them. I used our skills and competency models as the basis to build this and then I just matched these skills and competencies with an index of releavnt e-learnings, learning nuggets, MOOCS, e-books and podcasts.
I have also created internal webinars. My first step was to establish subject matter expert groups within our company and then we started to create something like internal TED Talks. People could learn about and from the different groups and different fields within the company. For example we would have one subject expert talking about dealing with difficult customers. It was a 1 ½ hour session and it was advertised, and people could join via Zoom.
How did you raise awareness of these learning opportunities and events?
Here I used 2 types of advertising; one is definitely the usual and very boring e-mail communication. I’m not sure it was very helpful but people did join as a result of this kind of communication channel. The other was creating and printing leaflets and brochures and placing them around the corridors and also in the canteen. This was definitely more helpful and effective. I based them on a silly cartoon that was going around on Facebook a couple of years ago.
These initiatives have helped to prove the worth of learning. Now I’ve got the management to actually spend and dedicate a real budget for learning this year, although with the coronavirus crisis who knows what will happen? But I’m pretty sure that this time I will be able to spend more and I’ve very concrete ideas of what I want to do. So for example I want to still further develop these internal webinars and I also want to continue with e-learning creation and creating the content internally.
The other thing that I’ve been planning on doing for a long time is implementing virtual learning and actually this is also a very timely thing. As you know I have been in talks with you regarding implementing this. When you think of the flu symptoms and all the sickness that are going around the world right now I think one of the best tools, let’s call it a tool not a method, is to use e-learning and virtual learning. Virtual learning, and it is not to be confused with e-learning, is when you go for an interactive training session but you don’t have to go anywhere. You can do it from your home or you can do it from your office. It fits our company and the situation.
The “secret L&D manager” is actually a group of L&D managers. They are real people who would prefer not to mention their name or company – but do want to write anonymously so they can openly and directly share their ideas and experience with their peers.
Popular training topics
https://www.targettraining.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/office-work.jpg9061630Guest Authorhttps://www.targettraining.eu/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/logoWP.pngGuest Author2020-08-05 10:47:402020-08-05 10:49:22The Secret L&D Manager: Encouraging a learning culture when budgets are tight
This week’s Secret L&D manager is Hungarian and is a Learning & Development Specialist for a global chemical company . In this post, he talks about the journey and the challenges of building a learning culture in a large organization.
When you joined the company, what kind of learning culture did you find?
I think it’s really easy to answer this question, because when I joined my company, I can say that there was no learning culture. If I can take a step back, people have different understandings and definitions of the term “learning culture” . For me “learning culture” means there are people who like learning, there are learning resources and opportunities that people are encouraged to access whenever they need something or expect to need something going forward, and managers enable and encourage learning . Here, in all cases, there was nothing, so people were not, really empowered to learn. The second thing is that there were not a lot of resources available for learning. One of my priorities, and it’s also one of the reasons I was hired, is to create this kind of learning environment and then along with this also create a learning culture.
How were managers and the leaders in your organization seeing learning before you arrived?
I think, and this is only my perspective, that the management was saying, “Learning is very much needed” but when it came to the point where they had to invest they said, “We don’t have the budget for that”. On the one hand they definitely like the idea of learning. They talk a lot about learning and do want to enhance, improve and develop their employees. But actually, when an employee comes to them and says “OK we agreed that I need negotiations training” and they say, “OK go, have fun”, the employee has to find the seminar or resources. Employees would just Google something and then went come back with a course they had found that cost €20,000. For me this was the first problem because nobody knew if it was a good course quality-wise, who the provider was and if they were a fit, whether the investment was reasonable or if the training was needed. And then usually 99% of the managers said “sorry but we don’t have the budget for that”.
So how have you gone about building a learning culture?
What I did first was convincing management that learning and development really matters to our success as an organization. I used storytelling approaches to help them see why it is good to invest in learning, and how a company actually benefits from having a learning culture. Then I showed them that, even if they don’t want to spend a lot of money, using informal or on-the-job learning is still going to create a lot of benefits for the company. For example, using job rotation or on-the-job development does work and can make a tangible difference. Approaches like mentoring and internal coaching can and should be done. The managers in my company really bought into this idea. The first 2 or 3 things that I managed to do were ideas which didn’t cost a lot of money but were still very beneficial.
Another example where I actually created value and showed the management why learning helps an organization is when we set up the first e-learnings. We built these internally using a tool called EdApp https://www.edapp.com/. It’s a very good and intuitive tool and easy to use. There were a lot of templates that we could instantly just choose and work with. I worked with our technical experts and together we created e-learning activities on areas such as regulation, process management and . tendering, and product management. We then rolled the e-learnings out to 200 people and the feedback from the participants has been really great. Because of this tool we’ve been able to gamify the learning too.
What else have you done to continue building a culture since?
Communication is key. Whenever we have a new product or new system (e.g recruiting, performance management) we connect it to the learning. For example, in our performance management you have an annual meeting about your performance with your manager, and you have to talk about your development. Of course most people consider meeting a mandatory step and find it boring. I have worked with the managers to help them individually use this moment to create a better dialog with their employees, be more confident when giving feedback, setting goals etc etc. This combination of building a catalogue of recommended training providers and training courses, building e-learning, leveraging managers and looking for single moments where we can connect learning to the business process shows why learning is important in a company and is the first steps of building a learning culture.
The “secret L&D manager” is actually a group of L&D managers. They are real people who would prefer not to mention their name or company – but do want to write anonymously so they can openly and directly share their ideas and experience with their peers.
https://www.targettraining.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/tablet.jpg8901671Guest Authorhttps://www.targettraining.eu/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/logoWP.pngGuest Author2020-05-13 09:29:402020-07-01 10:43:29The Secret L&D Manager: Building a learning culture in a global organization
In the 2020 State of Remote Work survey, respondents identified loneliness as their top struggle with working from home. Even among experienced home-workers, loneliness and isolation are challenges. This year, millions of workers are suddenly sent home to work, indefinitely and with no preparation. Only a select few will be able to thrive in perpetual solitude; the rest will probably need a little help. This post offers seven exercises you can do to overcome loneliness and isolation when you are working from home. Think of these as your ‘daily to-do list’. In fact, this list is a good practice for looking after your mental health in normal circumstances; in present circumstances it has become a lot more relevant.
#1 Talk to someone
Loneliness is a cycle. The more alone we feel the more we think that other people don’t want to talk to us, and so we don’t reach out. Break the cycle by having at least one conversation a day, with anyone. Talking about how we feel can help see that other people are feeling exactly the same and that we are not alone.
#2 Talk to yourself
We are all doing this most of the time, but we don’t realise it. Psychologists call this our ‘inner dialogue’ made up of recurring thoughts and emotions whirling inside our heads. If we don’t listen to this dialogue, we won’t be able to control it. Luckily, there are some proven techniques to help us listen more intently to ourselves; daily journal writing, labelling the emotions we are feeling, writing a letter to our third person self. These techniques allow us to view ourselves as an outside observer in order to tackle negative thoughts and emotions before they become actions and behaviours.
#3 Keep fit
‘Healthy body – healthy mind’ is not just an expression. Science has shown that physical exercise has a positive effect on our mental state. Intense physical activity releases mood-lifting chemicals called endorphins into our blood stream. Even just going for a walk can make us feel better, due to the fresh air, change of scenery and being around people (at an appropriate distance!). If you can’t, or don’t want to go outside, there are lots of free videos on the internet offering live fitness routines!
#4 Tune out
News channels and social media are full of one story at the moment and while it is good to be informed and in touch with what’s happening on the outside, the noise this makes can be over-whelming and reinforce negative feelings. Tuning-out from news and media can help us to tune-in to ourselves, find some peace and quiet from the noise and focus on doing something that makes us feel good. This is an example of a term that has become highly popularised in recent years – ‘mindfulness’.
#5 Take charge
Get a piece of paper and draw a circle. On the outside of the circle write the things that worry or bother you. This could be anything from becoming ill to a noisy neighbour. Now work in the inside of the circle and write all the things in your life that you can directly control. For example, you can’t control your neighbour, but you can ignore the noise. You can’t control events, but you can definitely control your reactions to them. The area inside the circle is your zone of control. This is the area you should work on and put your energy into because being in control of things gives us positive feelings, compared to worrying about things we can’t control or influence. When you start using any of the exercises in this post you have actually started to take control already!
#6 Do something for someone
Human brains are reward-driven, which means our senses become heightened when we enjoy things. Recognition and gratitude from other people are among the most common types of reward which our brains seek. A good way of doing this is to offer a kind act to someone else. For example, giving a compliment, holding a door open, giving a nice smile. It makes no difference if these things are reciprocated or not; just the act of doing them makes us feel better about ourselves and more connected to others, lighting up those important reward centres in our brains.
#7 Do something for yourself
Acts of kindness also extend to yourself. Being isolated can be a struggle but it’s also a potential gift. Is there a book you’ve been meaning to read, a recipe you haven’t had time to try, a new hobby you’ve been interested in but not had the time? Doing something new can help take your mind away from feeling lonely and build purpose and self-esteem.
We hope you enjoyed reading this post. If you did, and it helped you, you could choose to ‘pay it forward’ by sharing it with someone else – a little act of kindness that could make a difference. You can also share your tips and advice for dealing with working at home, in the comments section below.If you would like to know more about our experience of helping teams with remote working, feel free to contact us. We also offer training on managing your focus, energy and impact when working from home and leading peoplewhen they are working from home.
https://www.targettraining.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/homeoffice.jpg8891367Scott Leveyhttps://www.targettraining.eu/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/logoWP.pngScott Levey2020-04-20 10:17:552020-05-13 15:31:22Seven Exercises for Overcoming Loneliness and Isolation when Working from Home
When workers are suddenly sent home to work they will face plenty of challenges, especially if they’ve never done it before. Team leaders will face an additional challenge: Leading a team that is working from home. In this post we offer a range of tips and advice for how you can do that. To keep it simple and easy to implement we’ve stuck to a 3-step approach:
Start by understanding the challenges
Keep the team working together
Lead your team as they work from home
What are the challenges?
Technical
An immediate priority for leading a team that is working from home is to ensure that team members have the tools to do their jobs remotely. This includes both productivity and communication tools. As a leader you can approach this with the whole team by checking they have what they need and discussing which kinds of communication technologies work well for them. Not everything will work as it did in the office and as a team you may need to decide to use ad-hoc technologies as a temporary solution.
Emotional
Some team members may feel isolated and this can have a serious impact on motivation. This is best discussed in a one-to-one setting. Individuals will all have different emotional and psychological challenges and you need to know what these are in order to help them. A simple question like, “How are you looking after yourself?” can open up a discussion and go a long way to making team members feel supported individually. Read more on this topic in our post Dealing with Loneliness and Isolation when Working from Home.
Personal
Don’t forget to also look after your own needs and work through your own personal and logistical challenges. If you don’t address these, you won’t be as effective at helping other people with their issues. Get advice on how to do this in our post Three Steps to Adapt to Home Working.
How do I keep the team working together?
In the 1970s, MIT Professor Thomas Allen discovered that team cohesion is strongest when employees are physically closer. His ideas have been taken forward by some of the most successful companies who engineer ‘collisions’ between employees to strengthen bonding and group affiliation; simple things like coffee-machine conversations, team social events, sharing stories, etc. So, how can you do this with a team that works in physical isolation from each other? Here are some ideas we have seen that work:
Set up daily check-ins or ‘stand-up meetings’ at the start of each day where the team shares their priorities for the day and any impediments they face. This can give team members a reassuring routine which is both work and socially focused and help to overcome feelings of isolation. It also gives you a helicopter-view of what’s happening each day.
In team meetings always add an agenda item with a question like, “How is this arrangement working for us?” This helps to address emotional/psychological issues of individuals and build trust. Avoid closed questions (asking “Is everyone ok?” won’t give you much information) and use “us” and “we” to reinforce team togetherness.
Monitor team communication patterns to pick up on problems, side issues and tone that team members are using with each other. This doesn’t mean using spyware! You just need to go over conversations that are happening on Slack, Teams and other conversation channels.
Use video in team communications; humans bond much better to faces than to voices and non-verbal communication sends powerful signals of belonging and empathy. Seeing faces also puts more energy into calls, which helps to overcome feelings of isolation.
Create and manage social interaction to replicate what normally happens in the office; have a virtual lunch together, share internet memes, play games together, just get people laughing and having fun. Social interaction is the base of creating trust in a team; you just need to do it a bit differently in a virtual work setting.
Which skills do I need for leading a team that is working from home?
You don’t need new skills to become an effective leader of a home-working team, but you will need to use some of them more. Here is a short list of where to focus your leadership skills:
Be available
You may have an open door policy in the office but that won’t work in a remote team. So, be explicit about when and how team members can contact you. If you haven’t heard from someone in a while, check in with them and ask how they are. At the same time be careful that you also ring-fence the time you need for yourself and your own tasks.
Solve problems
This is probably the biggest thing your team will need from you, at least at the start. You may need to be flexible and change processes if necessary, for example lifting constraints on how and where data is stored and shared. Focusing on outputs rather than processes will help push the team towards purposeful activity and away from missing their old physical environment.
Make rules and hold people accountable to them
It’s important to establish some ground rules with the team, for example on which communication tools to use for different tasks, how and when to contact each other. You then need to monitor that the team is sticking to those rules and jump in when they are not.
Continue to manage performance
Research shows that employees value their performance being managed and they rate managers highly when it’s done well. This is still true in a home-working environment, but it will take more communication and more regular, smaller steps to address the distance and isolation. A practical start is to set some short term performance goals on adjusting to home-working at the beginning.
https://www.targettraining.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/leading-from-home.jpg8991368Scott Leveyhttps://www.targettraining.eu/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/logoWP.pngScott Levey2020-04-13 11:10:262020-07-01 13:57:52Leading a team that is working from home
In March 2020 it is estimated that a quarter of the world’s population is confined to their homes in some form or other. For millions of workers this means having to adapt to working from home. In this post you will read about the 3-step approach to make that change a bit smoother and a little less painful. Even after this current crisis has ended, there may be times in the future where we need to make a radical and sudden shift in the way we work due to external circumstances. This could be anything ranging from unemployment or re-location, to geo-political events. So, we have put together the advice and approach in this post to be helpful in any situation where we need to change the way we work.
Step 1 – Acknowledge
The first step to dealing with any big change is to acknowledge what is happening. If we don’t do this, we may get stuck in a little bit of denial, which will prevent us from dealing with the present situation effectively. Here are examples of what you can acknowledge in the current situation:
For a lot of people right now, being asked to work at home full time is not voluntary. This is a decision made for us, not by us.
This situation may last a long time. At the moment, authorities and businesses are talking about isolation as ‘indefinite’.
‘Working from home’ is not the same as ‘being at home’. There will be obstacles you will need to overcome, from dealing with family members to the state of your home internet connection.
You will need to adapt by making changes to both home and work life. Put another way; you will need a new set of rules for both.
There will be other things you need to acknowledge – everybody’s situation is different. Spending a little time considering what is different or missing from your new home working situation is a good way to prepare to make some changes, which is our next step.
Remember that difficult periods can also be
personally rewarding. As someone once said, “the worst that
can happen is that you might learn something about yourself”.
Step 2 – Make Changes
Now that you have acknowledged the situation, you’re ready to make the changes you need in order to adapt to it. A good way to approach this is to make a list of difficulties/things you miss and then come up with counter-measures to each one. We did this exercise recently in our own team, and we discovered that although our team is made up of experienced remote/home workers, they still have challenges that they need to work on. Here are some of the things from their lists:
Difficulties I Face/Things I Miss:
Making a mental and physical separation of work and home life
Knowing how to organise my day
Being able to stop and tune-out from work
Seeing and socialising with colleagues
Little routines e.g. morning coffee with a croissant in the canteen!
Interruptions and distractions from family members
Feeling like I’m at work rather than at home
Team huddles and bouncing ideas off each other
Counter-Measures:
Find a dedicated space to work (can be anywhere) and put on work clothes in the morning
Start the day with a ‘stand up’ team meeting on Skype – hearing others’ priorities can help us shape our own priorities and organise our days
Set up rules for family members e.g. knock on your home office door if they want something, put a sign up ‘Can talk/In a meeting/Busy until 11.’ etc.
Stick to your old routines where you can e.g. schedule a coffee break to go grab a coffee somewhere local
Use technology to connect to colleagues and agree how to use them, e.g. WhatApp group for idea bouncing, Zoom for team meetings
Make time for fun with colleagues to relieve boredom and lift your mood (e.g. sharing internet memes, funny videos, doing online challenges)
Talk often to colleagues about feelings on working at home
Fix a daily schedule and stick to it (share it with family members and colleague so that they can help you)
Step 3 – Look After Yourself
Sudden changes to our lives can be traumatic. In Step 1 we advised spending time acknowledging the change. Step 3 is all about managing your mental and physical health through a period of sudden change. Here are some practical ways you can do this:
Get some exercise
Even if you don’t wear a fitness gadget on your wrist, you will soon realise that working from home means moving much less compared to being in the office. So, plan some exercise into your daily routine, even just a 30 minute walk at lunchtime can help. Research shows that lack of exercise and fresh air has a real impact on our mental capabilities.
Ask for help
From colleagues and especially your manager. This could be asking for solutions to technical problems, or for a bit of slack if the home/work balance is getting overwhelming. We are all in the same boat and asking for and giving help and support is what we need to do now. You can read our tips and advice for managers in the post How to Lead a Team that is Working from Home.
Be kind to yourself
You are not going to make this change successfully in one day or even one month. It’s ok to be frustrated, angry, impatient and it’s healthy to consider the emotions you are feeling and where they come from. It’s also important to understand the emotions of those around us – whether family or colleagues – and be kind and understanding of those people too. You can find tips and advice on dealing with the emotional side of home-working in the post Dealing with Loneliness and Isolation When Working from Home.
https://www.targettraining.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/homeoffice3.jpg8591380Scott Leveyhttps://www.targettraining.eu/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/logoWP.pngScott Levey2020-04-07 10:37:092020-05-13 15:45:01Three steps to adapt to working from home
At Target Training we’ve been delivering “train-the-trainer” solutions for over 20 years to a broad range of clients across industries. Without fail, one of the most common personal training goals we see is “I want to learn to deal with difficult participants”. No matter whether you are delivering on-boarding, technical, safety or skills training, training starts and ends with your participants. As a trainer you want to deliver training which is engaging and useful … and as all experienced trainers know, a single difficult participant can impact this. This blog post shares our advice and experience, so you are better prepared to deal with difficult participants in the training room.
What do we mean by a “difficult participant” and how common are they really?
Training is about adding value to your participants and organization, by developing their knowledge, skills and behaviours. You want your participants to have a rewarding learning experience – and you have designed your training to achieve this. You’ve identified and considered the learning goals, you’ve considered the flow so it is smooth and ties together, and you’ve designed varied activities to keep the training engaging and rewarding. A “difficult participant, is a participant who hinders or prevents the above – intentionally or not. Difficult participants diminish the impact of the training for the other participants and reduce your organizations return on investment.
All participants have the potential of being difficult, and this depends upon a variety of factors – ranging from the context of the training to the training design, and from personalities to an individual’s situational circumstances. We all have bad days. However, truly destructive participants are thankfully rare. I’ve been involved in delivering training for over 23 years, and looking back I can only think of a handful of “difficult” individuals. Unfortunately, I remember them clearer than the rest. So, what can you do? Before the training starts, you can minimize the risk of participants becoming difficult before the training even starts, through some simple steps.
Know who the participants are
If you are delivering internally, then get a list of the participants in advance and make the time to speak with their line managers. By doing this you can learn more about the “perceived” context for the training, and the participants knowledge, experience, needs and attitudes. If somebody is cynical, silent or a talker, then the line manager may flag this. Alternatively, just ask straight out “Are there any participants I should keep an eye on?”. You can also encourage the manager to speak with her participants and reinforce that they value training and have expectations. Line manager involvement is key to successful training (Clemmer 2008) and ensures your organization makes the most of its training investment.
If you have a chance to meet the participants before the session, you should take it. Give them an impression of who you are. Build rapport before they enter the training room. Introduce yourself, find out what they expect from the training and set their expectations (“yes, unfortunately, there will be some role-plays”), or just make small talk for a few minutes. For you, the trainer, it makes a huge difference to walk into a room with ten strangers (not knowing what they want), or to walk into a room with five strangers and five people you already know (whose expectations you’ve already set).
Design the training so it respects and engages everyone
Use what you’ve learned from speaking with the line managers to ensure your training content is appropriate, relevant and challenging. By doing this you can minimize the likelihood of a wide range of difficult or disruptive behaviours – from boredom to frustration to challenging. You also want to ensure that your training respects the range of personalities and learning styles. Give your participants the opportunity to reflect, consider and contribute both as individuals and in groups. Plan “loud” and “quiet” times so both extroverts and introverts get what they need– not everyone enjoys brainstorming and discussions. Do consider the flow of energy within the training day and consciously design your training around this e.g. after lunch will you energize the group, or give them some reflection time to look back on the morning?
Anticipate tough questions, difficult learning points and likely areas of resistance
If this is a new training solution, then take the time to play “what if”. Write down all the questions that you hope they will ask, know they will ask, don’t want them to ask, and dread they ask. Then think about your answers. Practice your responses out loud and ensure your answers are brief, to the point and authentic. As the trainer you have a lot of knowledge and experience – and synthesizing all this into a clear and brief response can be tough.
If you’ve delivered the training before than you’ve already spotted the areas which raise questions or provoke discussions. Again, step back and consider what you want to say, how you want to say, and how much time you want to invest in which topics.
If there’s an elephant in your training room, then know how you want to tackle it
Keep your training human and keep it real. The circumstances surrounding the training can and will influence behaviours. If the organization is going through change, restructuring, laying off staff, or merging then you can expect this to impact attitudes and behaviours. You probably cannot influence these circumstances, but you can acknowledge them and prepare for possible resistance, push back or disassociation.
I remember delivering a 2-day leadership program to an automotive company where everyone knew that at the end of day 1 a major announcement would be made on the future of some plants. The training content was fixed and “motivating and driving performance “was a major part of the first day. We spoke about the circumstances openly, acknowledged that the topic was awkwardly timed to say the least, and agreed to reframe the training as practical management skills for the future, wherever they may be. Keeping the pace fast, the energy high and the themes as “archetypical” helped the training make a personal impact.
Reframe how you see difficult participants
Embrace the challenge of difficult participants. At its heart, training is about people, and we learn more about working with people from difficult situations than from “everything going to plan”. You want participants to be engaged and challenging you is actually a good thing. You want your participants to let you know if something isn’t going right for them during the training and not afterwards. And you want your participants to be themselves. I’ve only ever met one participant who I couldn’t work with at any level whatsoever, and even this was a learning moment – I learned that was ok, to accept the situation, and to focus on the other participants who clearly wanted to be there.
Always open the training in a way that sets out mutual expectations
Creating and agreeing on ground rules and shared expectations is essential. This then gives you and others the framework to hold each other accountable and have difficult conversations with difficult participants about difficult situations. Experienced trainers do this naturally and each trainer has their own style, but the core you need to agree on is
Timing (start, finish, breaks and length of breaks). Even the most experienced trainers can forget this, and participants want and need to know what to expect. You don’t need to lock yourself in to a schedule if you don’t want to but telling them you’ll break for lunch “around 12.30” helps.
Laptops open, closed, or even in bags. Phones are the bane of a trainer’s life, and when one person takes a call during the training everyone is impacted. Possible approaches could be
at the front on a desk
must be on silent
in bags and only check in breaks
take calls but leave the room before start speaking
Effective approaches to managing the pull of phone calls that I’ve seen/heard/ done have included:
make a joke of it e.g. “Is anybody expecting a child to be born they know about? No, well in that case do we really need our phones on?”
be direct e.g “Put your mobiles on silent and in your bags (not your pockets). You can check them during breaks, and if something is truly urgent your colleagues know where you are and how to find you. And if they can’t be bothered to come to the training room it can’t be truly urgent!”
charity box “Everything you take your phone out you put X in the bowl up front”
choosing a venue with no phone reception
And if none of the above are acceptable, then at least get agreement that people respectfully leave the training room when on the phone.
Communication. If the training topic is likely to be contentious or difficult then it is worth taking time to agree on expected communication styles. e.g. try not to interrupt, ask question to learn and not to show what you know, ask if something isn’t clear, close the loop by asking clarifying questions back etc.
Agreeing on ground rules allows you as the trainer to refer back to the agreed expectations and have awkward conversations safely. And of course, all of the above approaches are much more powerful when the training participants build them themselves! This allows the participants to hold each other accountable and take responsibility for ensuring the dynamics are healthy. You can expect that colleagues can self-regulate behaviours to some extent!
Start the training by keeping it real and keeping things human
The final tip is that positioning yourself above your participants will create unnecessary resistance and provoke difficult behaviours as participants try to prove something wrong, reject messages because they reject your credibility, or fight to show they know more. You are the trainer and you are human. Use this to build authenticity, credibility and trust from the outset and reduce the risk of difficult behaviours derailing the training. Share your experience, build your credibility and also show that you know how it can be challenging at first to get to grips with the specifics (“ I remember when ..”).
If you are delivering soft skills, customer service or leadership training, then avoid presenting yourself as the example to be followed. Tap into meaningful stories, share experiences and connect with the participants on a human level. My own approach is to open our Practical toolbox for managers program with “ I strongly believe in the value of everything we’ll be covering in the next 2 days, and many of your colleagues have fed back that they found it practical. Saying that, as a manager, I do not do everything we’ll be covering myself. I’m human and I have my strengths and my weaknesses”. I then see the participant’ physically relax and open up.
https://www.targettraining.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/woman-explaining.jpg9001515Scott Leveyhttps://www.targettraining.eu/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/logoWP.pngScott Levey2019-12-12 10:50:082019-12-09 13:10:20Train the Trainer: Dealing with ‘difficult’ participants – part 1
This week’s Secret L&D manager is German and has been working for one of the big management consulting firms for 13 years. She is part of a virtual L&D team responsible for internal training solutions for a global group of analysts, specialists, and managers across multiple time zones. In our previous interviews she has shared how and why her organization got started with live virtual training solutions, and what they have learned along the way. In this post she shares more of her experience and looks forward to the future of virtual delivery.
Which topics have you learned work well virtually and which haven’t taken off?
As I mentioned earlier, we first used the live virtual delivery format for what we could call hard skills. This included technical skills and software training. Training on Excel, PowerPoint etc. We then used virtual delivery formats for training where there were a lot of tips, dos and don’ts. For example, how to build effective slides and engage your audience. If the training is about showing something directly and then facilitating a conversation about this, then virtual training actually works very well.
We have also had really good experiences with softer topics too. Many of our leadership programs are now delivered virtually. For example one of our management development programs has a kick-off webinar, two one-one-one coaching sessions and a wrap-up webinar —all facilitated virtual—as standard elements, plus during this journey the participants meet for a two-day residential workshop. The feedback from our managers is that this is one of our most popular and successful programs. We also have a lot of softer topics where working virtually is part of the training goals. For example, “Presenting in a virtual environment” or “Leading virtual teams”.
One big challenge or obstacle in a virtual space is how to build up trust. You have so many things which are lacking in a virtual space which are usually vital to building up trust with someone, right? This could be the immediate reaction to the other’s physical presence – smiles, body language, eye contact, even smell – anything. We’re all humans and we react to one another’s presence. But what happens when there isn’t a physical presence? Tackling this kind of virtual training topic in a virtual training environment makes absolute sense.
Are there some topics that you’d never wanted to go virtual with?
That’s actually a good question. Some training concepts are not at first glance suitable, but over the years I have learned that it is really a question of design. The technology does have limitations, but this is continually improving. I would say the obvious ones that don’t transfer as easily to a virtual deliver format easily are those programs where there are a lot of role-plays required. It’s difficult when the softer expressions, body language etc. are important training elements. But even these can be approached in different ways.
It depends on the situation, the participants’ situations and our training goals. When I want to adapt communication, soft skills, leadership training, etc. for a virtual context I think it’s possible to do that training or program also in a virtual setting. In fact, I will say that it makes a lot of sense to do it virtually as this is the manager’s reality! Yes, it can be difficult with topics like assertiveness, difficult conversations, giving feedback etc. On a tiny little screen, their body language is not really visible. I don’t know what their legs are doing, but I can see what their shoulders are doing, and maybe their arms, hands and face – and this is reality. If it’s leadership in a virtual environment or difficult conversations in a virtual environment, the virtual training setting works perfectly.
If you’re trying to practice something you only ever do face-to-face with people, then it’s not as strong but it still can work. I can only think of a couple of our programs which maybe aren’t so suitable for virtual delivery, but it’s really only a few.
Do you see a change in the way you’ll be using live virtual training in the future?
Yes and no. I think there’ll be a shift in L&D generally, and also inside our firm. On the one hand, we don’t want to fully give up on the residential trainings because it’s still a very different experience and people really do like them. You are spending maybe three days with each other, rather than three hours online. It is completely different – you get to know people, you have a different level of peer exchange, you establish defined accountability partners etc. If you are meeting in person you also talk more broadly about things which are happening in the business and topics which are very sensitive things. Often this is outside of the training, too. In these longer residential trainings, you often build friendships with colleagues that are important for the rest of their working life. It’s a different experience.
On the other hand, the internationalization of our people and company means we are finding that the people who require a certain skill and want to develop it are not actually based in the same location. Bringing people together for classical face-to-face training is certainly a cost question – but also a time and environmental one, too! I think virtual training will expand because of these factors. There is of course an additional benefit – it is also good that people from different countries, with different work styles and different backgrounds have more chances and opportunities to exchange ideas and approaches.
So, from the human side we certainly still want that people meet each other in person – but really it’s a question of the topic and taking everything into account. I expect virtual training will increase because of the benefits it offers when done well. It makes a lot of sense when you have a topic which can be actually broken down into modules, and where it doesn’t matter if you have a week in between modules (or maybe a week in between really helps!).
Today, virtual delivery is being integrated into all of our approaches. All stand-alone residential training events will also have maybe a virtual kick-off call, some exercises in between, virtual coaching calls afterwards, and virtual wrap-up meetings afterwards etc. This leads to a blended learning journey so people can integrate training into their work life and transfer what they have learned. It is easier to incorporate virtual delivery into our everyday work life. I believe it will become more and more usual.
https://www.targettraining.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Capture2.jpg8951459Guest Authorhttps://www.targettraining.eu/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/logoWP.pngGuest Author2019-10-16 11:11:492019-10-08 11:18:10Which topics are most suited for the live virtual training format
This week’s Secret L&D manager is German and has been working for one of the management consulting firms for 13 years. She is part of a virtual L&D team responsible for internal training solutions for a global group of analysts, specialists, and managers across multiple time zones. In our previous interview she shared how and why her organization got started with live virtual training solutions. In this post she shares more of her experience on how to deliver virtual training solutions well.
Based on your experience over the last five years, what advice would you give a fellow L&D manager who hasn’t organized virtual delivery before and is planning on trying it?
If this is your very first move into live virtual training, I would suggest you start with a hard skill. Something which is more about skills than behaviours, for example software tools, processes etc. I would then search for a pilot group. For me a good pilot group is a group who will give you clear and balanced feedback. You should invest some time in preparing the pilot group. See it like setting the scene in terms of change management. People will probably be very sceptical and may even complain. You want to help them build an open mindset and help them understand why this move to virtual delivery is a good idea for them and the organization.
If this is the very first time you’re trying live virtual training then make the time to go and talk with people one-on-one and win them over. People don’t understand actually how “live”, interactive and fun, live virtual training can be. They might be thinking about e-learning or webinars where they just listen for half an hour. You want them to appreciate that this is live and that they will be expected to contribute in the same way as if they were in the same room as the facilitator. Tell them it’s not going to be a passive and boring experience, just pick up the phone and say “Hey John, you’re suggested for this training, we have this really cool format on WebEx, and it will be working like this and we’ll get you a really good headset and this will be really fun. You’ll meet people from Brazil and from Russia and ….”. Then see what you can do to help them be comfortable with the technology. Think about setting up a WebEx call with them beforehand and show them what WebEx looks like, how it works, how you’re going to use—and a few tips on making it a good experience, like finding a quiet place for the training session without people listening in, without background noise etc.
You want to light a fire in them. You want them to talk about the pilot session to other people and say at the very least, “Hey, actually that was not too bad!”
What advice can you share on designing and delivering live virtual training?
First of all, I would also invest in finding a fantastic and experienced virtual facilitator. You want the participants to connect with them and the training and leave with a positive experience. You can either look for an external vendor or learn-as-you go internally.
If you are going external you want to find an external partner who knows what they are doing and can guide you. If I use our example of working with you at Target Training, when we first spoke, and you asked me “Do you want a producer or not?” I knew that you knew what you were talking about.
Why do you feel a technical producer is so important in virtual training?
There are many people who don’t know what a producer is and what a producer’s role is. For me the technical producer is actually a key part of virtual facilitation and this is often forgotten.
The producer takes care of the technical part and if you use a producer, you can leverage all the functionality available in the virtual training tools, like breakout rooms, polls, whiteboards, combining whiteboards and summarizing them, letting people share output from the breakout rooms, managing technical glitches, etc. There are so many things that can be leveraged so easily. When this is covered by a producer then the facilitator can actually focus on facilitating – the human part of it!
Using a trainer and a producer works very well and everyone knows exactly know who is responsible for what when they have glitches. A producer means fewer distractions. It’s really a key thing for me to have a seamless experience and I wish that producers would be standard. I am a big fan of that.
What do you think makes an effective virtual trainer?
Being an effective trainer virtually requires different approaches. Let me share our first experiences. Prior to deciding to make this jump to virtual delivery, we had of course built up over the years a large pool of trainers and training companies who we worked with company-wide. This pool had a lot of experience with us and there were also a lot of alumni amongst them. We decided to invest in them and their development and help them learn to deliver live training virtually. They knew our company, they knew our people and they knew what our firm is all about. This key learning part was completely covered.
We decided to invest in them and their development in three ways – training them, learning by doing, and giving them constant feedback about really excelling in the virtual space. When we started with live virtual delivery, we said, “Just give it a try andlet’s talk after 1 or 2 sessions about how they were delivered”. Our experience was that not every trainer can or wants to make the jump, and that is ok.
When I think about the better experiences I have had with facilitators, like your colleagues, what they all had in common was their ability to do a remarkable job in really building up trust quickly. They knew how to engage others and help people open up. I have also seen them play a lot with the pace which is so important. Generally, in the virtual training environment, people (myself included) tend to be talking much faster than they would in a classic residential training. Slowing the speed down really helps a lot, but if you are the facilitator it can at first feel kind of awkward and unnatural. The virtual facilitator can’t always see the other person and then there’s a delay and you feel as if you are talking into a black hole. But talking too fast is far worse as the participants feel they can’t contribute and are being pushed through the training as quickly as possible. For me an effective virtual trainer can adapt their pace and play around with it. And the supreme discipline for me personally is when a facilitator can use humor in a virtual setting and makes participants laugh.
How much virtual training is delivered by your own trainers and how much by external partners?
I would today it is 60 – 70% by externals and the remainder by internal trainers. We have developed our own internal train-the-trainer programs for virtual delivery. This is delivered by those pioneers who were basically there at the beginning. We offer a “train the virtual trainer” program to our internal trainers. Our experts benefit from the experience, tips, tricks and advice the facilitators themselves learnt over time. They learn about designing and delivering virtual training.
Do you see a difference regarding training design in virtual training?
Yes, it’s absolutely different! Make sure you think carefully about the training set-up and format. For virtual training, the training design and the training materials need to be approached differently. In terms of training design, ask yourself what actually makes a face-to-face training successful and how can I apply this to the virtual training design? You certainly still want a lot of exercises, so the training is engaging. And, as the learners’ attention span is much shorter virtually, you might need to play more with timing and move fluidly between trainer inputting to discussions and then to exercises.
And a final question – how large would you recommend the groups should be for live virtual training?
It very much depends on the topic. For topics which require interchange of more sensitive things, for example soft skills or anything about teams or leadership, we say five to six people per group with seven being our absolute maximum. For what we call” technical trainings” I think we can accept a few more because the exchanges, discussions and conversations aren’t as important. For these kinds of topics our maximum is 15.
In the 3rd and final part of the interview the Secret L&D manager shares her views on which topics are best suited for virtual delivery and how she sees the future of virtual training.
https://www.targettraining.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/blendedlearning.jpg8811352Guest Authorhttps://www.targettraining.eu/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/logoWP.pngGuest Author2019-10-08 11:10:382019-10-08 11:10:38Lessons learned: making live virtual training work for our business
This week’s Secret L&D manager is German and has been working for one of the big management consulting firms for 13 years. She is part of a virtual L&D team responsible for internal training solutions for a global group of analysts, specialists, and managers across multiple time zones. In this post, she talks about the need for virtual delivery, the challenges, and the lessons they’ve learned along the way.
When did your organization start delivering training virtually?
When I joined our L&D team four years ago, our department had already been offering live virtual training for about a year. Not everyone in the company was actively using it yet so we were kind of pioneers. The background behind our decision to introduce virtual delivery was that we had, and have, a big group of people who are spread across the world in different countries on different continents. There are people in hub locations, and these hubs are also spread across the world, and there are people who may belong to the same department but are located in some very remote locations.
The training challenge here was that if we used the classical way of offering what we call “residential” face-to-face training to all these people, we would have exceeded our budgets by far. And still we wanted to offer everyone a fair chance of having the same training options as their colleagues. We were actively looking at which trainings could be held in a virtual space and this is clearly linked to which trainings are actually most suited, or most easily converted, to virtual delivery.
We started with so-called hard skills like slide writing, using PowerPoint, Excel etc. but we then also quickly moved into other soft areas too. We were keen to make this move as the virtual approach allowed us to make a continuous learning journey out of a “one-off training” and enabled implementing learning into every-day life – this is clearly the biggest advantage.
So how quickly did you move into delivering live virtual training solutions for soft skills training, leadership development, etc.?
I think fairly quickly actually. Until about six years ago there weren’t any soft skills or leadership training programs for my global group at all because the group was just being established. The first training initiatives were the classical format – residential trainings of one to three days. However, within a year, a live virtual delivery format had been established and then it moved forwards fairly quickly. Nowadays we have a 50/50 split – half is virtual, and half is residential.
What have you learned along the way about organizing live virtual training?
We should split this question into the organizational part and the delivery and facilitating part — but we have learned a lot in both areas! Starting with the organizational side, as with residential training, too, we learned we need to block time with people, and in virtual training these time slots need to be convenient for multiple time zones. Then we needed to find a suitable and reliable tool of course. WebEx was rolled out globally in our company around this time, and we were very happy – it works well with only a few exceptions when people have a poor internet connection. Everyone has the same technology; everyone has the same starting point. This is actually a really big help.
We also learned that there is a difference between delivering the classic virtual training session and what we call a blended virtual format. Let me explain; we had training where everybody was in a different place behind their desks. What we also successfully tried is, for example, having ten people in Boston who wanted to do the slide writing training, and we also had four people in Munich, and three people in Madrid. In some locations we have dedicated video rooms—this means people are sitting on one table and in one corner of the room there is a TV screen and camera. The group in Boston sees the other groups in Munich and Madrid and the other way, too. The facilitator is live in Boston, so one of the locations does have the advantage of having a live facilitator in the same room – but the participants in the other locations have colleagues with them, too – and everyone can see everyone. So when it comes to exercises this “being in a room with colleagues” does have a really big advantage. Colleagues are motivating and challenging each other, and of course we shouldn’t ignore the benefit of group pressure when it comes to participation and focus. People are not checking emails or multi-tasking because there are other people sitting in the room in the same training. And we could offer training to locations where there were too few people to have a face-to-face training.
We did something similar for a “writing proposals” project with a sales team in the Far East. The trainer was in one room and everybody else was in another room. It can work really well.
Absolutely! If the room is set up properly, this comes close to recreating a live residential training. Of course, logistics-wise there can be some difficulties because you first of all have to have a certain number of learners in each office and then people of course change plans last minute etc. But this is similar to the challenges of classical residential training. We also had to book all those video rooms, so they were free at the same time etc. Then an important client meeting comes, and the team is thrown out; so logistics-wise that’s a little bit hard, but we found solutions. In general, the approach worked very well, and the learners said they had a really positive group learning experience.
When you made your first moves into live virtual delivery was there any resistance from people? For example, did you have people wanting to stick with the classic face-to-face training approach?
Of course – and to be quite honest there still is! Often people still frankly ask “Hey I’ve been invited to this virtual training. Is there a live residential training instead?” This is natural because many people prefer to go somewhere else to be really focused, meet people, limit interruptions etc. It’s a much more intense experience, let’s be honest. There was a lot of resistance at the beginning and we still get it sometimes. However, I would say it quickly became accepted – mainly because people have had very positive experiences with virtual training, and they have then shared their experience with others.
This is where we come to the absolute need for good virtual facilitation skills. When we started moving into live virtual delivery, we already had a strong pool of trusted facilitators. Many of them were external vendors who were brilliant in the residential live facilitation, but facilitating virtually is so different. I’m thinking back to a workshop I attended myself on “Virtual Facilitation” run by the American Talent Development Association. This trainer was a radio moderator and he gave tips and tricks on using your voice to make virtual training more engaging. One thing he said—that I have never forgotten—was that facilitating in a virtual environment feels completely awkward. It’s really like being a radio moderator. It feels like you are talking to yourself and you aren’t getting any feedback. He said you need to embrace this, and to accept the silence. You will feel super awkward at first. But people need you to act as a guide. When you ask a question, you have to wait until an answer comes, and you still have to smile into the camera—even if there is no one immediately responding. This is a big change and challenge for many facilitators. And just as with face-to-face training, space and time to think is important. It is just that the time feels longer and different in a virtual training world.
In the early days we invested in our internal facilitators. They got training on how to really adapt to this virtual training context because it requires very different tools and very different styles of facilitation. We also had to train long-term and trusted external vendors on what we needed.
Not every trainer can or wants to make that change – it’s a question of personal preferences. And of course, some trainers are much better delivering training face-to-face than virtually. It’s really a totally different skill.
In our next blog post this Secret L&D manager share more of her experience and advice on making virtual training a success
https://www.targettraining.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Capture.jpg9011355Guest Authorhttps://www.targettraining.eu/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/logoWP.pngGuest Author2019-09-12 09:36:192019-12-09 10:48:58How and why we got started with live virtual training in our global firm
Before I read the book “The Happy Mind”, by Kevin Horsley and Louis Fourie, I already knew that happiness comes from the self and that the building blocks of happiness are things that have no physical form. Things like love, acceptance and beliefs are what give or take away happiness – ultimately. Subtitled “A simple guide to living a happier life starting today”, this book is not the type of book you would expect us to review. But, when trainers talk amongst each other at Target, about how the training went, we sometimes talk about the person(s) on the verge of a burnout – one of the clearest signs of unhappiness. The phrases “the doctor told me to take it easy” and “if only I could switch my head off on Friday” are often uttered during our stress- and self-management training sessions. A happy mind is a wonderful thing and we all deserve happiness. At home, at work and everywhere else. For that reason, this book is exactly the type of book that deserves our attention.
The first three chapters
With “The Happy Mind”, the authors want to “present you with valuable insights and create the private intellectual space for you to consider the subject of personal happiness, and of course to try and convince you that it is within your reach.” Throughout the book there are lots of questions for the reader to answer. Even if you read only half of it, you will have enough material to help you examine your personal happiness, to define what it looks / should look like and lots of things you can do to get your mind happy.
The search for happiness
The general perception is that most people view happiness as the result of something exceptional that should happen to them. They believe happiness is an external phenomenon that crosses your path and changes your life for the better, Kevin and Louis state in the first chapter. Some people rely on an if-then chain reaction (if this happens, I will be happy) to obtain happiness. This leaves them searching for secret doors to happiness, time travelling their way through the day to a happier time and place, and looking at others to give them the happiness they deserve.
Happiness is…
Genuine happiness is a ‘now and here’ skill, the authors write in chapter 2. Happiness exists in the present, not as an accumulation of highs, but as a by-product of how you live your life. According to the authors (they mention research several times in the book but leave it unsourced), happy people share nine common qualities:
They think in a different way
They assume full accountability for their circumstances
They enjoy simple things more
They own up to their future
They are passionately engaged in what they do for a living
They invest in their overall wellness
They have constructive relationships
They harness an optimistic world view
They accept that happiness is a day-to-day effort
From asking “what can I do about this?”, instead of “why does this always happen to me?” to being constructive and decisive, to remaining positive, the chapter goes into more detail for each of the qualities.
The origin of unhappiness
On the other side of the scale, there are the unhappy people. Being unhappy is “not about having more downs than ups. It is about going through life forever desiring something else. It’s a state of lasting discontentment, for different reasons at different times.” Unhappy people have developed destructive thinking patterns, they place blame and are passive bystanders in their own lives. The list goes on – think the exact opposite of the above list to begin with.
‘Why are some of us unhappy?’ It’s our old brain, sociologists claim. We’re unable to control primitive instincts. When we are faced with rejection (not being enough) and scarcity (not having enough), we could be excluded – our old brain tells us. Our “present-day” brain is not in charge when we are faced with such fears. The primitive brain takes over, and it’s fight or flight.
Chapter 4
The next 60+ pages are “a bouquet of hints” for the reader. There are short, individual chapters with tips and advice and if you ask me, the old farmer (p.62) is a smart man. It’s thorough enough though sometimes repetitive. This part of the book is clearly intended for you to take what you want from it – whatever works for you. If you want to have a happy mind and you want to work on that, then here are some ingredients. It’s an important part of the book. However, I found that the pages are difficult to work with for a reader. Luckily, my mind is happy pretty much all the time.
In conclusion
As a passionate happiness practitioner, I was looking forward to reading this book. My ‘search’ for happiness took me along a completely different path, and I was interested to learn more about the thoughts and ideas of the authors. “This book was not meant to be a scientific masterpiece nor an empirical research document. It had a simple aim – to draw your attention to the dynamics of personal happiness”, are the opening words of the final chapter. Even so, for me, the book didn’t go deep enough into its own subject matter but I found there was interesting food for thought on a large number of pages. As I mentioned before, there is no list of sources to refer to when they mention research (pity).
Then again, I don’t really care about that when the book is clearly a very positive contribution to the creation of more happiness. We all deserve to have a happy mind. With a happy mind, we can achieve more. A happy mind is not stressed all the time. A happy mind is forgiving, a happy mind accepts. Sharing happiness creates happiness. Where there is happiness, there is love. Where there is love, there’s no hate. I like the sound of that. Don’t you?
https://www.targettraining.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/forumsevents.jpg841991Brenda Vansetershttps://www.targettraining.eu/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/logoWP.pngBrenda Vanseters2019-04-30 12:21:542019-04-30 12:25:49Book review: The happy mind
Seit 2015 sind wir stark an einem Management Development Programm für eine der großen 4 Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaften in Luxemburg beteiligt. Einer der vielen lohnenden Aspekte der Beteiligung an so großen Vorzeigeprojekten ist die Möglichkeit, mit anderen Management-Trainern zusammenzuarbeiten und voneinander zu lernen. Dank Alexandra D. entdeckte ich 2017 John Gottmans Arbeit und seitdem habe ich gesehen, wie seine Methoden Menschen in und außerhalb der Arbeit bei den Beziehungen helfen, die für sie am wichtigsten sind. Wenn Sie (wie ich) noch nichts von ihm gehört haben: John Gottman ist ein hoch angesehener Psychologe und Beziehungsexperte, der mit seiner Frau Julie das Gottman Institute (https://www.gottman.com) leitet. Gottman studierte über zwei Jahrzehnte lang die Beziehungen zwischen Ehepartnern und Paaren und entdeckte Verhaltensmuster, mit denen er – mit einer Genauigkeit von über 90% – vorhersagen konnte, welche Beziehungen nicht überleben würden. Obwohl sich seine Forschung und Berufung ausschließlich auf Paare konzentriert, übertragen sich seine Gedanken und Methoden leicht auf unser Berufsleben und auch auf unsere Arbeitsbeziehungen!
Die 4 Reiter (oder die 4 Teamtoxine)
Gottman glaubt, dass es 4 negative Verhaltensweisen gibt, die Beziehungen zerstören können. Dieses 2-minütige Video stellt sie gelungen vor.
Die vier destruktiven Verhaltensweisen sind:
Schuldzuweisung und Kritik – Angriff auf den Charakter, das Verhalten oder die Persönlichkeit des Partners.
Defensivität – sich selbst als Opfer zu sehen, um Angriffe zu verhindern oder abzuwehren und andere für sein Versagen zu beschuldigen..
Verachtung – das Selbstgefühl seines Partners mit Sarkasmus oder Zynismus angreifen, um ihn zu beleidigen oder zu missbrauchen.
Einmauern – Rückzug aus der Beziehung und jeder sinnvollen Verbindung.
Gottman nennt diese 4 destruktiven Verhaltensweisen “die vier Reiter der Apokalypse”. Ich habe auch gehört, dass Coaches und Trainer sie in “die 4 Teamtoxine” (engl. The Four Team Toxins) umbenennen, um sie geschäftsrelevanter erscheinen zu lassen.
Warum die 4 Reiter der Apokalypse am Arbeitsplatz anzutreffen sind?
Wenn wir ehrlich sind, haben wir diese 4 toxischen Verhaltensweisen vermutlich auch schon gezeigt und uns irgendwann einmal toxisch verhalten. Wir sind menschlich. Und ob man sie nun “die 4 Reiter” oder “die 4 Teamtoxine” nennen will, diese Verhaltensweisen sind am Arbeitsplatz von Bedeutung – und das auf sehr greifbare Weise.
Diese Verhaltensweisen sind Gift für einen effektiven, respektvollen und bereichernden Arbeitsplatz. Wenn zwischenmenschliche Beziehungen zusammenbrechen, können Sie erwarten, dass sich die Qualität der Kommunikation verschlechtert. Aufgaben und Projekte dauern länger, die Arbeit wird unvollständig oder unter den erwarteten Standards sein, und da das Verhalten die Produktivität beeinträchtigt, können Sie mit schlechten Ergebnissen rechnen. Motivation, Engagement und Teamgeist werden alle leiden, und destruktive Konflikte werden zunehmen. Und im schlimmsten Fall sieht man Stress, Krankheit und fähige Menschen, die kündigen, weil “es ihnen reicht”. Wenn Sie Leistung also steigern wollen, müssen Sie diese Probleme direkt angehen.
Also, was können Manager gegen die 4 Reitern der Apokalypse machen?
“Ok, einige Leute sind nicht so nett wie andere, so ist das Leben… aber was soll ich als Auditmanager tun? Ich bin Manager, nicht Berater.”
– Marcel, Manager im Bereich Audit & Assurance
Jeder Profi, der sich um seine Beziehungen zu anderen kümmert, wird von der Erforschung der 4 Reiter profitieren…
indem er in der Lage ist, zu erkennen, wann er sich negativ verhält.
indem er lernt, seine Denkweise bei Bedarf bewusst zu ändern
Egal ob toxisches Verhalten ein häufiges Ereignis oder ein glücklicherweise seltenes Phänomen ist, gute Manager müssen…
in der Lage sein, zu erkennen, wann sich andere negativ verhalten.
lernen, anderen zu helfen, ihr Verhalten und die Auswirkungen zu verstehen.
in der Lage sein, schwierige Gespräche mit Einzelpersonen und Teams anzugehen.
lernen, anderen zu helfen, negative Spiralen zu stoppen und toxische Beziehungen umzukehren.
In den Teilen 2 und 3 dieses Blogs werden wir untersuchen, wie dies erreicht werden kann, aber zum Schluss folgen 5 praktische Tipps für den Einstieg…
And when you do see toxic behaviours between team members, tackle them.
Übernehmen Sie die Verantwortung für Ihre eigenen Gefühle. Das fängt damit an, dass Sie konsequent Selbstwahrnehmung und Reflexion in Ihrem Handeln aufbauen. Konzentrieren Sie sich darauf, wer Sie sein wollen und wie Sie sein wollen… unabhängig davon, was die andere Person tut oder sagt. Das ist hart, aber enorm wirksam.
Die Neugierde der Praxis – fragen Sie sich “Was passiert hier eigentlich”, “Was fehlt mir”, “Wie habe ich zu dieser Situation beigetragen” und “Was wird uns dabei helfen”
Machen Sie keine Annahmen und überprüfen Sie Ihre Ergebnisse offen. Dies wird dazu beitragen, die Bereitschaft anderer zu erhöhen, zuzuhören und sich auf einen gesunden Konflikt einzulassen.
Gehen Sie auf andere Menschen ein und speisen Sie Positivität in Ihre Beziehungen ein: Führen Sie regelmäßig anerkennende Gespräche und versuchen Sie, Anerkennung zu zeigen.
Und wenn Sie toxische Verhaltensweisen zwischen Teammitgliedern sehen, gehen Sie sie an.
https://www.targettraining.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/blog.jpg7971334Scott Leveyhttps://www.targettraining.eu/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/logoWP.pngScott Levey2019-03-31 17:15:352019-11-06 09:28:06Lernen Sie die “Vier Reiter der Apokalypse” kennen – Was bewirken Sie an Ihrem Arbeitsplatz?
This month’s Secret L&D manager is German, based in Germany and works for a global automotive supply company. She has worked in training and development for over 7 years.
Why are you using 70-20-10?
We introduced the 70-20-10 model in 2016, mainly because too many people were thinking that “development” is just about training, and that if our company wasn’t providing “training” the company wasn’t developing people. The 70-20-10 model helped us show that learning and development is more than just training. Training is one tool, but you can develop yourself all the time. The 70-20-10 model is rolled out globally to our whole organisation. There are also individual initiatives that I have developed which are only rolled out in a specific business area in Europe and for specific development programs like our talent development program.
How did people react?
I would say the majority of the people in our company did not really understand at first. Only those people who joined the sessions where we explained and showed what 70-20-10 is really about – they understood the sense behind it. Learning and development is not such a big topic in our company and is not the highest priority, so many people read about it and ignored it.
So how have you brought 70-20-10 to life in the organization?
I created an individual development plan, built around 70-20-10, specifically for participants in our training programmes.
Which kind of programmes?
A development programme for our most talented young professionals. First of all, I introduced the 70-20-10 model a little bit to them, and I explained what 70-20-10 is about – and what it is not about too. Mainly that 70% of everything they learn is learning by doing, 20% is learning from others and only 10% is learning by “training”. I must say people were quite surprised about this when I started talking to them about it, but they quickly related to it. They saw it reflected how they had learned their technical skills, and also their softer skills.
I then introduced a new individual development plan, which I have here in front of me. I structured it in different levels. First of all, people were asked to define an overall individual development goal. Strictly speaking they weren’t all SMART goals – some were closer to a vision for where do I want to be and by when. As most of the goals were very general, I asked them to explain a little bit about what they meant with this goal. Where they are now, where they want to be and what they think would change when they achieve this goal. These were the key questions we asked them to think about.
Then they had to define three key development areas that they need to work on in order to achieve that very goal. These areas had to be really, really specific. They have to be SMART.
Once they had defined key development areas, they had to define development actions. On the tool I gave them, these actions are actually structured using 70-20-10. They need to define mostly “learning by doing” actions, then partly “learning through others” actions and the smallest part is the “learning in training” actions.
And then, last but not least, for the individual development areas they were asked to define key performance indicators where they can measure the success of their development. Using KPIs is very characteristic for our automotive supply company because everything is measured in KPIs here. This is a step they understand easily, and I didn’t have to explain to them what a KPI is. Everything they do is measured.
How do you get a KPI from a soft skill?
Well, that’s tricky. Let’s take the simple example of improving presentation skills. So development actions can be “I will present my project four times in front of my boss or my team, and one of these will need to be delivered virtually”. The KPI could be the number of presentations you have done.
So you are just tracking that it’s happening?
Yes. Another example for management training is if you give or receive positive feedback – yes or no – it can be measured. It just helps a little bit, like you said, to track it, to know that they have to document their status. It really helps them to be motivated or to stay motivated.
Have you integrated the 70-20-10 into your senior management programs?
We have. I think the 70 is really covered by the business simulations we use. In these simulations people lead their own company, competing against each other and most of it is really learning by doing. They have to work with the numbers, they have to work with the reports, they have to make their own decisions. They have the chance to contact their trainers for example, or their colleagues, and ask them for advice, so that’s learning by others maybe, but mostly it’s the learning by doing.
How do senior managers respond to being asked to build KPIs for their own development?
I must say I only really push the KPIs with the young professionals. They need the orientation to have this measured and their development areas are way simpler than the ones from the very experienced senior leaders that we’re training. I don’t push measuring of the senior managers and leaders. I think at their level they should be capable of measuring themselves and knowing how far they have come with their development.
What advice would you give to another training manager who wants to try and introduce this 70-20-10 approach to their organisation?
Firstly, I would say it’s a very rational approach to learning and development. You have to look a little bit at your target training audience and at your people. I mean in our automotive world there are a lot of engineers, and a lot of very structured thinking. They need tools that fit into their rational world and I think 70-20-10 does this for them. Learning is quite abstract and 70-20-10 gives them a framework to put it into numbers. So if you would like to apply this in your company you should really look at what is your target group.
And I see that structure is reflected in the way you have built your tools. I mean you’ve got boxes that need filling in which fits with your target audience, tick boxes, % etc.
Exactly, I’ve got KPIs. As I mentioned, everything is measured here and that’s their way of working. It is what people are used to and comfortable with. I think if you are trying to implement this in a more “creative” or “service” company you might see much more pushback to the way my tools are designed and the use of KPIs
Thanks for your time and for sharing!
You’re welcome!
Who is the Secret L&D manager?
The Secret L&D manager is actually many L&D managers. They are real people who would prefer not to mention their name or company – but do want to write anonymously so they can openly and directly share their ideas and experience with peers.
https://www.targettraining.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/ict2.jpg9121375Guest Authorhttps://www.targettraining.eu/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/logoWP.pngGuest Author2019-02-25 08:37:182020-02-20 08:18:50Implementing the 70-20-10 model- insights from a secret L&D manager
As a training company we invest in internal training with a passion. We can cover many of the soft skill and leadership topics internally, but when we are lacking the insider knowledge we carefully qualify and source external providers. One of the questions we ask a potential provider is their experience in training trainers. Training trainers can be daunting as you know that your participants are evaluating the training and you as the trainer with a insider’s eye (much like a chef cooking for another chef who is watching them work in their own kitchen!). When trainers become participants, they also go through an internal process which can be every bit as uncomfortable. We recently organized a seminar for a small group of our management team. Bringing in an external trainer changed the dynamics, and as experienced trainers we were now in the passenger seat. Over the 2 days we asked ourselves “what could we as participants do to get the very most from our training?”. Here are our tips for getting the very most from your training experience.
Engage with the training and trainer before you start
Make sure you know why the training has been organized. What is the context for the training? And what does your organization / your manager hope you’ll take from the training? Ideally your manager will have shared this with you, but if not then seek it out. And if for some reason you can’t get an answer before the training stats then get it during or after the training! If you want to make the most of your training investment, understanding the what’s and why before the training starts is a must [Making most of your TI ebook]
Build clear goals. What would you like to leave with? What questions do you have? What would you like to learn? practice? reflect on? And discuss these with your colleagues too!
Is there anything you as the participants can do before the training to help the trainer/training really go to plan? Is there any information that you’d like to share? Or want them to be aware of?
Choose your attitude
Suspend judgement. You, your manager or your organization has qualified and selected this training (and maybe this particular trainer) so trust that they know what they are doing and let them do it.
Connected to this, the trainer and training is already paid, so adopt a “what can I take from this?” mentality and not a “prove yourself to me” Be curious and be open to learn what you expect and what you may not expect too!
Share your thoughts and feedback with the trainer before it is too late. Don’t wait until the end to tell the trainer you would like them to have done something differently. Don’t adopt a “I don’t want to rock the boat” or “why bother approach”. It could be that the trainer or training can’t give you what you want – but wouldn’t you rather want to know sooner than later rather than sitting there thinking “when will we ..?”
Reinforce the positive – feedback forms have a place, but like anyone trainers like to hear positive feedback as they work. If you find something useful, interesting or enjoyable then openly share this.
Help yourself during the training so you can help yourself later
Organize and write your notes from the outset in a way that will help you make sense of them when you refer back afterwards.
Find and use tools that will help you during the training. If something interests you proactively ask for suggestions for books, websites etc so you can go deeper later
Be honest and open about your problems. Don’t hesitate to ask you trainer to repeat something, explain something again or share more examples. If you are struggling there’s a good chance one of your colleagues is too!
Look to bring in examples from your day to day life during the training. This helps to make the training more relevant and transferable. It will also help the other participants and the trainer to connect learning to reality.
Ask all your questions. I mean, why wouldn’t you?
Use your breaks to reset and recharge. Don’t try and work for 10 minutes, but instead stretch, get some fresh air, talk to the others. Network, reflect or recharge.
See the training as the start of something
Review your notes at the end of each day and in a few weeks, to help with transfer and long-term memory. Consider setting up a calendar reminder a month later to revisit the training
Take one concrete action immediately after the training.
Catch up with your colleagues back at the office. Maybe you want t0 schedule lunch with a colleague who was also in the training and review both content and actions since the training.
Commit to one or two transfer steps you will do after the training. Make these concrete and share them with others.
So whether you have an internal or external trainer, you also have a big role to play in getting the very most from your training day. Let us know if you have any other tips too!
https://www.targettraining.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/group-training2.jpg7771275Martin Wheelerhttps://www.targettraining.eu/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/logoWP.pngMartin Wheeler2019-02-18 15:08:372019-02-18 15:09:55When trainers become participants: 17 tips for getting the most from your training
Im vergangenen Jahr haben wir an 3 Führungsprojekten mit Werksleitern in ganz Europa und den USA gearbeitet. In diesen Projekten wurden talentierte operative Führungskräfte am Rande der Beförderung auf eine strategischere Ebene gecoacht. Für viele dieser Manager ist dies ein überraschend schwieriger Sprung. Sie sind nun nicht mehr der einzige “Go-to”-Entscheidungsträger für ihre Teams. Jetzt müssen sie den Input ihrer Vorgesetzten und Kollegen bekommen, um ihre Arbeit zu erledigen. …. sie müssen andere beeinflussen.Fragen anstatt sagen: der richtige Ansatz beim Beeinflussen
Für Manager mit einem bestimmenden Führungsstil stellt dieser Übergang eine besondere Herausforderung dar, da sie von einem “sagenden” zu einem “fragendem” Ansatz übergehen müssen, um andere zu beeinflussen. Diejenigen, die es gewohnt sind, anderen zu sagen, was sie tun sollen, sind in der Regel mit schnellen Entscheidungen und Sofortmaßnahmen vertraut. Bislang haben sie sich auf ihre “Macht” verlassen…. und waren in ihrer Karriere bisher relativ erfolgreich! Ihre Macht stammt von/aus:
Organisationsbefugnis (“Ich bin der Betriebsleiter”)
Expertenstatus (“Ich habe 15 Jahre Erfahrung in diesem Bereich”)
Informationskraft (“Ich war von Anfang an dabei”)
Ausstrahlung (“Ich weiß, dass du mir folgen wirst”)
Tatsächlich ist ein Manager oft so sehr an die Ausübung von Macht gewöhnt, dass er den Unterschied zwischen Macht und Beeinflussung nicht kennt. Ein Teil unserer Rolle im Training besteht darin, Ihnen zu helfen, die greifbaren Unterschiede zwischen “Ich möchte, dass du X machst und du tust es. Was du darüber denkst, ist zweitrangig.” (Macht) und “Ich weiß, dass du tun wirst, was getan werden muss, weil du es tun willst und glaubst, dass es das Richtige ist.” (Beeinflussen).
Wenn Bullen aneinander geraten und warum die Beeinflussung durch Macht aufhört, effektiv zu sein.
Stellen Sie sich zwei Stierbullen vor, die aneinander geraten und ihre Hörner wetzen. So ist es auch, wenn zwei Führungskräfte mit bestimmenden Stilen versuchen, den gleichen operativen Raum zu teilen – es können Probleme auftreten. Während Trainings und Coachings haben wir folgende Ausdrücke öfters gehört: “Er hört mir nicht zu”, “Sie untergräbt meine Expertise” und “Es ist sein Weg oder kein Weg”. Nachdem wir tiefer gebohrt und nachgefragt haben, wie sie versucht haben, andere zu beeinflussen, stellten wir oft fest, dass sie sich nur auf einen bestimmenden oder einen überzeugenden Stil der Beeinflussung (push styles) verlassen – im Gegensatz zu einem kollaborativen oder visionären Stil (pull styles).
Warum verschiedene Beeinflussungsstile wichtig sind
Im Rahmen unseres Training “Beeinflussen und Überzeugen” arbeiten wir mit Kunden zusammen, um ihnen zu helfen, verschiedene “Beeinfluss-Stile” zu verstehen und anzuwenden. Kein Stil ist besser oder schlechter als ein anderer – jeder hat seine Stärken und Schwächen, und jeder findet seinen Platz. Wie Dale Carnegie jedoch so visuell in How to win friends and influence people beschreibt, ein Stil für jede Situation zu verwenden, ist wie “mit Erdbeeren zu fischen”…. mit anderen Worten ineffektiv und letztlich sinnlos. Da Manager sich auf eine strategischere Rolle zubewegen und in Zusammenarbeit mit anderen Führungskräften Ergebnisse liefern müssen, müssen sie verschiedene Überzeugungs-Stile entwickeln. Sie müssen manchmal “fragen” und nicht nur “sagen” – pull not push. Sie müssen davon loslassen Dinge durch ihre “Macht” allein erledigen zu wollen. Also, was soll man tun?
Hören Sie auf zu “sagen”, fangen Sie an zu “fragen” – 5 praktische Schritte, um andere Führungskräfte zu beeinflussen
Wie Marshall Goldsmith sagte: “Was dich hierher gebracht hat, wird dich nicht dorthin bringen”. Sich nur auf Macht zu verlassen, wird nicht das Engagement liefern, das für den individuellen und organisatorischen Erfolg erforderlich ist. Führungskräfte müssen das Beeinflussen und Überzeugen auf Ihrem Weg nach oben beherrschen.
Zu erkennen, dass der Stil und die Methoden, die Sie gewohnt sind, nicht funktionieren, ist ein erster großer Schritt. Diese Erkenntnis kann sich unangenehm anfühlen und manchmal länger auf sich warten lassen!
Die Bereitschaft, etwas anderes auszuprobieren, ist der zweite Schritt. Ein einfacher Tipp ist es, immer mehr als eine gute Option zu präsentieren. Wenn Sie versuchen, jemanden zu beeinflussen, der ebenfalls ein bestimmender Typ ist, denken Sie daran, dass er (wie Sie) es nicht schätzt, mit nur einer Option eingekesselt zu werden. Eine einzige Option fühlt sich wie ein Befehl an. Wenn Sie sich selbst sagen hören “Wir müssen…” oder “Unsere einzige wirkliche Option ist…“, bedeutet das, dass Sie sich wahrscheinlich immer noch auf Ihre Macht verlassen.
Versetzen Sie sich in die Lage des Anderen und versuchen Sie herauszufinden, was für Ihr Gegenüber wichtig ist, und beziehen Sie es in Ihre Überlegungen ein. Lassen Sie die andere Person wissen, dass Sie versuchen, deren Bezugsrahmen zu verwenden. Wenn Sie deren Interessen nicht kennen und nicht wissen, was sie schätzen, ist es wichtig, es herauszufinden. Lassen Sie ihr Gegenüber wissen, dass dessen Erfolg auch für Sie von Bedeutung ist.
Finden Sie heraus, was Sie kontrollieren, beeinflussen und akzeptieren können. Erweitern Sie Ihren Einfluss, indem Sie mehr Überzeugungs-Methoden entwickeln.
Und dann überlegen Sie, was Sie sagen und wie Sie es sagen.
Wenn Sie mehr darüber erfahren möchten, wie wir erfolgreich Präsenztrainings und Trainings in virtuellen Vortragsformaten in ganz Europa und darüber hinaus durchgeführt haben, dann zögern Sie nicht, uns zu kontaktieren.
On-the-job (OTJ) training has been a cornerstone in our approach to in-house Business English training since our first InCorporate Trainers started their jobs (one of them was Scott Levey). When we explain the concept of on-the-job training to potential clients, they “understand” what we’re saying … BUT …they don’t really “get” how effective and beneficial on-the-job training is until they have seen it in action. This post aims to explain what it is, how it works, and how participants benefit, using some non-specific examples of on-the-job training.
The benefits of on-the-job training
OTJ training is highly effective because the training takes place alongside and as part of your daily work. The trainer uses your work situations (your emails, your virtual meetings, your plant tours) as the basis for your learning. On-the-job training takes place at work, while you are working. This brings two huge benefits.
You maximize your time because you are benefiting from training while you are working.
You can directly transfer what you learn to your job. Your training is completely based on a real and concrete task. Everything you learn is relevant.
If you are familiar with the 70-20-10 model, you’ll know that 70% of learning comes through “doing” and from “experience”. Learning while you work is highly effective and this is the heart of on-the-job training.
“I helped Hans to de-escalate a situation in Supply Chain Management. Hans felt that the American party was wound-up and overly difficult. Hans brainstormed phrases with my help and he wrote a draft email. I helped him improve the structure and tone of the email and suggested he rewrote some of his sentences in plain English. A few hours later, the American party positively replied and the whole thing was solved by the time Hans went home.”
What exactly is on-the-job training and how does it work?
With on-the-job training, the trainer is there when you need assistance in preparing emails, specifications, manuals, reports, slides and other documentation. The trainer can support you in the planning, writing and reviewing stage. The trainer is also available to you for preparing meetings, phone calls, web meetings, teleconferences, presentations and negotiations. They can then shadow you in action and provide personalized and situationally-based feedback.
On-the-job training focuses on your priorities at work and on you improving your business English in those areas. It can be
reactive where you ask the trainer for help “Can you help me improve these slides?”
proactive where the trainer encourages you to share work you have done/are doing in English “I heard you are involved in writing the R-Spec for the new project. How can I support you?”
“One of my participants, a product manager, had to deliver two presentations in English. It was basically the same presentation, but for two different audiences. Observing her in our first practice session, I made a note of language points to work on. We worked on these, and a few other things (key messages, adapting messages to different audiences, Q&A session) over the next week. She delivered the presentations to me again, already with much more confidence and fluency – and then she practised with a few colleagues in a weekly group session and benefitted from both their positive feedback and the confidence boost. Finally, I watched her deliver from the back and she did great. After the presentations we debriefed and I shared my feedback (what went really well, what would she like to focus more on next time etc) . She was too critical of her performance and I helped her to be realistic about what she needs to focus on.”
What on-the-job training isn’t
What the trainer does not do is write the email/document for you (where’s the learning in that?). One common misconception is that on-the-job trainers are translators or proof readers. They’re not, in the same way that translators and proof readers aren’t trainers. Collaborative proof reading and translation can be an option, but the ownership needs to stay with the learner.
Another misconception is that on-the-job training is traditional “classroom training” during work time. The trainer will certainly use the “insider” view and what they have seen on-the-job to tailor traditional “off the job” training. This means your group training, coaching, 1-1 training, and seminars are closer to your workplace and that the transfer of learning is smoother. But “on the job” training is learning while actually doing. There’s a good example of how this looks in action in an R&D department here.
“Three of my participants had written a 300-page instruction manual and they came to me with the request to help them improve it. Nobody in their department understood it enough to successfully use the system that it was meant to explain. I told them I would read it. Oh boy. We worked on writing with the reader in mind, structuring documents to make them scannable and writing in plain English. Visuals replaced paragraphs and we even created a few video tutorials too. Four weeks later, they produced a second manual. Over one hundred pages lighter, it was clear, comprehensive, mistake free, and written in a style that everyone could understand, even me. As a result, the system that was supposed to make everyone’s job easier made everyone’s job easier.”
Bringing on-the-job training to life
We sign confidentiality agreements with our clients. Even when we don’t, we wouldn’t use their actual documentation online, so these examples are non-specific and Hans is not really called Hans … she’s called XXXX.
https://www.targettraining.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/business-english.jpg9331557Jonny Westhttps://www.targettraining.eu/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/logoWP.pngJonny West2018-12-19 10:56:442019-03-05 10:48:00Business English training: on-the-job training (for the job)
Der geheime Manager für Lernen & Entwicklung dieses Monats ist Australier mit Sitz in Deutschland und arbeitet für ein amerikanisches Unternehmen, das Bildverarbeitungssysteme und Software produziert. Seit über 18 Jahren ist er in der Aus- und Weiterbildung tätig: als L&E-Manager, Inhouse-Trainer und als externer Trainingsanbieter.
Was erwarten Sie von einem Trainingsangebot?
In erster Linie möchte ich sehen, ob der Anbieter mir tatsächlich zugehört hat. Ich möchte Nachweise dafür sehen, dass sie aufgenommen haben, was ich gesagt habe, und dass sie meine Erwartungen klar verstanden haben. Was ich damit meine, ist, dass das Angebot meine Bedürfnisse und die Informationen widerspiegeln muss, die ich ihnen zu Beginn gegeben habe. Als nächstes möchte ich auch einen Mehrwert sehen. Ja, ich möchte sicher sein, dass sie mir zugehört haben, aber ich möchte auch, dass sie etwas mehr an den Tisch bringen. Ich schätze, ich erwarte von ihnen, dass sie mir zeigen, dass sie etwas von ihrem Fachwissen und ihrer Erfahrung teilen, indem sie mir eine neue Idee oder eine Lösung für ein Problem anbieten, an das ich nicht gedacht habe.
Um ehrlich zu sein, will oder brauche ich nicht wirklich ein super detailliertes Angebotsdokument. In der Tat, je mehr ich darüber nachdenke, desto unwahrscheinlicher ist es, dass ich von einem 50-seitigen ausführlichen Bericht beeindruckt bin. Seien wir ehrlich, wir sind alle sehr beschäftigt, also möchte ich ein Dokument sehen, in dem sie es in Teile zerlegen, so dass ich einen klaren Blick darauf werfen kann, was passieren wird und wie sie es erreichen werden. Oh und nicht zu vergessen, das erwartete Ergebnis am Ende des Trainings. Also das, was Menschen nach dem Training besser können sollten als vorher. Deshalb schicken wir sie schließlich auf eine Schulung.
Natürlich möchte ich ein klares Verständnis dafür, wie viel mich die Trainingslösung kosten wird. Ja, ich weiß, dass es nicht immer möglich ist, alle möglichen Kosten zu identifizieren, aber was ich nicht will, sind böse Überraschungen später im Prozess. So als ob man plötzlich herausfindet, dass man für ein Business Class Ticket bezahlt. Das wäre ein Problem.
Wenn es das erste Angebot eines neuen Anbieters ist, welche Extras benötigen Sie dann?
Die Dinge sind ein wenig anders, wenn es jemand ist, den man noch nicht kennt. Wenn es das erste Mal ist, möchte ich wirklich ein Beispiel dafür sehen, wie das Trainingsmaterial aussieht. Dieses Aussehen und Gefühl ist mir sehr wichtig. Ich möchte sichergehen, dass das Material professionell aussieht und nicht z.B. voller Cartoons oder handgezeichneter Bilder ist. Am ersten Tag, wenn unsere Mitarbeiter in die Trainingseinheit gehen und das Material zum ersten Mal abholen, möchte ich, dass sie beeindruckt sind. Der erste Eindruck ist wichtig.
Ebenso möchte ich wissen, was sie am Ende des Trainings bekommen werden. Werden sie ein ganzes Folienpaket, PDF-Dokumente mit Notizen und Fotos von Flipcharts erhalten? Sie wissen, was ich meine. Was auch immer es ist, ich möchte das im Voraus wissen. Muster sind also immer eine gute Idee.
Benötigen Sie Informationen über die Anbieter im Angebot?
Generell nicht, ich mache gerne meine Hausaufgaben, bevor jemand mit mir zur Angebotsphase kommt. Ich möchte mich einigermaßen sicher fühlen, dass der Anbieter dem Job gewachsen ist, egal um welchen Job es sich handelt. Bevor ich also um ein Angebot bitte, habe ich selbst ein wenig recherchiert und das schließt Referenzen von den vorhergehenden Kunden und solche Dinge mit ein. So etwas sollte vor einem Angebot gehandhabt werden, nicht während oder nach dem Prozess.
Wie viele Angebote sehen Sie sich für eine Sitzung an?
Im Allgemeinen will ich 2 oder 3. Mehr, und ich verschwende meine Zeit damit, herumzustochern und mache dann eigentlich keine gute Arbeit dabei, die guten Angebote überhaupt herauszufiltern. Es gibt Zeiten, in denen ich genau weiß, wonach ich suche, und dann reicht wahrscheinlich ein Anbieter schon aus. Sicher, für mich als internen Trainingsanbieter ist es wichtig, mehrere Anbieter zu haben. Aber wenn es Kurse gibt, bei denen wir nur einen bestimmten Anbieter verwenden, habe ich damit kein Problem.
Welche Angebote frustrieren Sie?
Ich denke, die Sache, die mich mehr als alles andere frustriert, ist, wenn man das Gefühl hat, dass man gerade das Gleiche bekommt, was sie an alle schicken. Es macht mich verrückt! Warum habe ich 2 Stunden damit verbracht, meine Situation zu erklären und bekomme trotzdem ein allgemeines Angebot zugeschickt? Das gibt mir das Gefühl, dass ich meine Zeit verschwendet habe. Ich habe nie die Absicht und werde wahrscheinlich nie (oder sehr selten) ein Produkt von der Stange kaufen.
Und da ist noch eine Sache. Angebote, die keinerlei Erwähnung über das beabsichtigte Ergebnis erhalten und das, was wir eigentlich erreichen wollen. Ich würde sagen, das sind die beiden frustrierendsten Dinge.
Wer ist der geheime Manager für Lernen & Entwicklung?
Der geheime L&E Manager ist in Wirklichkeit eine Vielzahl von L&E Managern. Es sind echte Menschen, die es vorziehen würden, ihren Namen oder ihr Unternehmen nicht zu erwähnen – aber anonym schreiben wollen, damit sie ihre Ideen und Erfahrungen offen und direkt mit Kollegen teilen können.
https://www.targettraining.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Fotolia_140130591_M.jpg11251688Guest Authorhttps://www.targettraining.eu/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/logoWP.pngGuest Author2018-09-26 10:10:252018-09-26 11:50:31Der geheime Manager für Lernen & Entwicklung: Wonach suchen L&E-Manager in einem Trainingsangebot?
Möchten Sie etwas effektiver, angenehmer und einfacher lernen? Dann merken Sie sich jeden einzelnen Buchstaben des Satzes im Dreieck und verinnerlichen die folgenden 9 Wege, genau das zu tun:
1. I Can – glaube es oder glaube es nicht!
Wie Henry Ford einmal sagte: “Ob Sie glauben, dass Sie etwas tun können oder ob Sie glauben, dass Sie es nicht können, Sie haben Recht!” Entscheiden Sie sich dafür, an sich selbst zu glauben – Ihr Potenzial ist unendlich und Ihr Bestes steht noch vor Ihnen!
2. Creativity – sie ist unendlich groß – lassen Sie ihr freien Lauf!
Wir sind kreativ geboren! Auch wenn wir unsere Kreativität noch lange nicht genutzt haben, so wartet sie doch darauf, entfesselt zu werden! Wie der Blechmann im Zauberer von Oz, braucht sie vielleicht einen Tropfen Öl! Machen Sie heute etwas ganz Neues oder etwas Altes auf eine ganz neue Art und Weise. Ihre kreative Fähigkeit ist unendlich. Beobachten Sie spielende Kinder und Sie werden unendliche Kreativität in vollem Gange sehen! Lassen Sie sich von ihnen inspirieren!
3. Attention/Mindfulness – Lernen Sie zu fokussieren und zu entspannen.
Lernen Sie, Ihre Aufmerksamkeit dort hin zu lenken, wo sie am meisten gebraucht wird und auf das, was im gegenwärtigen Moment wirklich wichtig ist. Während unsere Gesellschaft immer schneller und schneller wird, besteht die Tendenz darin, einen Geist zu entwickeln, der immer “rast” und anfällig für Ablenkung ist. Wir müssen lernen, unseren Geist zu entspannen. Lernen Sie Meditation, Entspannung, Yoga, Achtsamkeit, Tai Chi oder ähnliche Formen der Bewegung, die Ihren Geist beruhigen und Ihre Aufmerksamkeit verbessern.
4. Newness – Ihr Gehirn liebt Neues!
Als Sie zum ersten Mal diesen Planeten erblickten, war alles neu und in den ersten Jahren haben Sie gelernt zu gehen, zu reden, zu erkennen, zu essen und vieles mehr! In Zeiten großer Veränderungen lernen wir viel! Denken Sie also daran, wenn wir uns dem Wandel widersetzen, widersetzen wir uns auch dem Lernen! Also reisen Sie in eine ganz andere Kultur, lernen Sie etwas, von dem Sie dachten, dass Sie es nicht lernen könnten und probiere Sie ständig neue Wege aus, um alte Dinge zu tun. Wenn es nicht funktioniert, was soll’s, lernen Sie daraus und versuchen Sie stattdessen etwas anderes!
5. Learning Growth – Streben Sie kontinuierlich danach, die Art und Weise, wie Sie lernen, zu verbessern.
Vor dem Lernen sollten Sie sich ein Ziel setzen – das Wer, Was, Wann, Wo, Warum, Wie von dem, was Sie lernen möchten. Fragen Sie sich selbst – woher weiß ich, dass ich es gelernt habe – wie wollen Sie sich selbst testen? Verschaffen Sie sich einen Überblick darüber, was gelernt werden muss. Benutzen Sie die linke und rechte Hälfte Ihres Gehirns – die logische und die kreative. Verwenden Sie zum Beispiel Farbe, Wörter, Bilder, Struktur, Bewegung, Rhythmus, Aufregung, Humor. Machen Sie es vor allem zu einem angenehmen Erlebnis! Nachdem Sie Ihr Lernziel erreicht haben, fragen Sie sich – was hat funktioniert und was könnte beim nächsten Mal besser gemacht werden?
6. Exercise – Den Körper trainieren
Recent research in Japan showed that people who exercise three times a week for half an hour have mental abilities 30% greater than those who don’t. It really stands to reason – do you think you learn more effectively if you physically exercise regularly? Test it and see – take time to exercise. The exercise can be gentle like walking, swimming, cycling or whatever type of exercise you like.
Neuere Untersuchungen in Japan haben gezeigt, dass Menschen, die dreimal pro Woche eine halbe Stunde lang Sport machen, sind geistig 30% leistungsfähiger als diejenigen, die dies nicht tun. Denken Sie, dass Sie effektiver lernen, wenn Sie regelmäßig körperlich trainieren? Testen Sie es und sehen Sie selbst – nehmen Sie sich Zeit für den Sport. Das Training kann so einfach sein, wie z.B. Gehen, Schwimmen, Radfahren oder jede andere Art von Übung, die Sie mögen.
7. Age – Den Geist trainieren
Egal wie viel Sie von Ihrem Gehirnpotenzial bisher genutzt haben, es gibt immer mehr zu nutzen – Sie habenn mindestens 100 Milliarden Gehirnzellen. Der Grund, warum wir glauben, dass sich ‘geistige Fähigkeiten mit dem Alter verschlechtern’, liegt darin, dass die meisten Menschen es glauben! Es gab auch eine Zeit, in der wir alle dachten, die Welt sei flach! Wir lagen alle falsch! Beginnen Sie daran zu glauben, dass Ihre mentalen Fähigkeiten mit dem Alter steigen können…. trainiere sie. Use it or lose it.
8. Reinforce – Beobachten Sie was funktioniert: Das Gesetz der Verstärkung
Jedes Verhalten, das bekräftigt wird, wird sich in der Regel wiederholen – also beobachten Sie weiter, was funktioniert und feiern Sie es! Stärken Sie weiterhin die Dinge im Leben von denen Sie mehr haben möchten. Denken Sie an alles, was funktioniert, und fragen Sie dich dann – wie kann ich den Rest verbessern?
9. Never give up learning to learn – Lernen Sie das Lernen: Hören Sie nicht damit auf.
Lernen ist Wachstum. Wachstum ist Lernen. Hören Sie nie auf zu lernen, zu erforschen. Ihre Leinwand wartet auf Ihr kreatives Meisterwerk. Geben Sie Das Lernen nie auf! Geben Sie das Erlernen des Lernens nie auf!
Nun, wenn Sie so weit gelesen haben, Gratulation. Wie Einstein einmal sagte: “Die wahre Kraft des Wissens liegt in seiner Anwendung”. Entscheide Sie sich, mindestens eine Handlung zu ergreifen, nachdem Sie diesen Artikel gelesen haben, und lernen Sie mehr…. effektiv, angenehm und einfach! Lasst uns wissen, wie es voran geht!
Über den Autor
Sean ist ein führender Experte dafür, wie Sie mehr von Ihrem unendlichen, geistigen Potenzial nutzen können. Er trainiert und coacht Organisationen und Einzelpersonen weltweit, um dieses unerschlossene unendliche geistige Potenzial zu erschließen. Mit über 25 Jahren Erfahrung in der Trainingsbranche hat Sean Schulungen für viele Unternehmen und Organisationen weltweit durchgeführt. Sie erfahren mehr über ihn unter: www.MindTraining.biz
https://www.targettraining.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/shutterstock_465742940.jpg6301702Guest Authorhttps://www.targettraining.eu/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/logoWP.pngGuest Author2018-09-25 15:31:462018-11-28 19:03:51Neun Wege mehr zu lernen… effektiv, angenehm und einfach!
Immer mehr unserer Kunden setzen auf die virtuelle Durchführung von Schulungen. Viele streben nach einer globalen Trainingslösung, bei der jeder Zugang zu der gleichen hohen Qualität der Ausbildung hat, unabhängig davon, wo sie sich befinden. Andere müssen die Reisekosten senken. Einige bewegen sich in Richtung mundgerechtes Lernen und bieten Training in kleineren Einheiten an. Dieses wachsende Interesse hat dazu geführt, dass wir bei Target Training häufig eine beratende Funktion bei Kunden übernehmen, die wenig oder gar keine Erfahrung im virtuellen Training haben. Nachfolgend finden Sie einige der Schlüsselfragen, die wir unseren Kunden nahegelegt haben, sich selbst zu stellen.
F1. Wie viel Erfahrung haben Ihre Teilnehmer im Umgang mit virtuellen Plattformen?
Es ist wichtig, die virtuelle Plattform, die Sie für die Durchführung von Schulungen verwenden, mit den Erlebnis- und Komfortzonen Ihrer Mitarbeiter abzustimmen. Wie vertraut sind die Teilnehmer des virtuellen Trainings mit der virtuellen Kommunikation im Allgemeinen? Was können sie bereits tun? Und welche Systeme nutzen sie regelmäßig für z.B. virtuelle Meetings? Einige Teilnehmer nutzen täglich Videokonferenz-Tools für ihre regelmäßigen Check-Ins mit ihren virtuellen Kollegen. In einer solchen Umgebung sollten Sie ihre Fähigkeiten nutzen und Schulungen auf einer umfangreichen virtuellen Plattform mit vielfältigen und nützlichen Funktionalitäten durchführen. Webex Training Center und Adobe Connect sind gute Beispiele.
Wenn Ihre Mitarbeiter jedoch völlig neu in dieser Art von Arbeit und neu auf diesen Plattformen sind, dann machen Sie sich keine Sorgen. Geben Sie nicht viel Geld für eine hochwertige virtuelle Trainingsplattform aus, wenn die Benutzer die Tools nicht nutzen können. Es gibt eine Menge einfacher, aber effektiver Plattformen, die für Ihre Mitarbeiter funktionieren könnten, und ihre Einfachheit bedeutet, dass es leichter ist damit zu arbeiten und es daher öfter genutzt wird. Erwägen Sie daher Skype für Unternehmen, Polycom oder BlueJeans.
Target Tipp – Wählen Sie eine virtuelle Trainingsplattform aus, die der Erlebnis- und Komfortzone Ihrer Mitarbeiter entspricht.
Q2. Was ist der kleinste gemeinsame Nenner, wenn es um Ihre technische Infrastruktur geht?
Viele unserer Kunden sind auf der Suche nach globalen Trainingslösungen für ihre Mitarbeiter auf der ganzen Welt – jeder sollte von dem gleichen Training profitieren können. Wenn jedoch in bestimmten Teilen der Welt die verfügbare Bandbreite sehr langsam ist, Kameras deaktiviert sind, Soundkarten nicht Standard sind usw., wird dies unweigerlich Probleme verursachen und das Training negativ beeinflussen. Entweder wird diese Person echte Schwierigkeiten haben, voll am Training teilzunehmen, und/oder es wird zu Verzögerungen für alle anderen kommen.
Sie haben 2 Möglichkeiten – entweder arbeiten Sie mit dem kleinsten gemeinsamen Nenner, wenn es um Ihre technische Infrastruktur geht, und passen Sie dann die Ausbildung an dieses Niveau an ODER entscheiden Sie sich dafür, die Trainingsgruppe nach technischen Fähigkeiten aufzuteilen.
Target Tipp – Respektieren und passen Sie sich dem kleinsten gemeinsamen Nenner an, wenn es um Ihre technische Infrastruktur geht.
F3. Wie viel Erfahrung haben Ihre Mitarbeiter mit virtuellem Training?
Wenn Sie einen virtuellen Trainingsansatz für Menschen einrichten wollen, die bisher wenig oder gar keine Erfahrung mit dem Erhalt von virtuellem Training hatten, müssen Sie rechtzeitig planen, um ihnen beizubringen, wie sie das Beste aus der virtuellen Trainingsumgebung machen können. Ihr Trainingsanbieter sollte dies für Sie tun können. Ein Teil dieser Zeit wird damit verbracht, die Teilnehmer in der Anwendung der Technologie zu schulen UND Sie müssen Ihren Teilnehmern auch helfen, mehr darüber zu erfahren, wie virtuelles Training anders aussehen und sich anders anfühlen kann. Der Vergleich mit einem klassischen Präsenzseminar wird nicht helfen.
Wenn Sie sich das virtuelle Training für Ihre virtuellen Teams ansehen, dann können Sie hier 2 Fliegen mit einer Klappe schlagen – as Team wird seine virtuellen Kommunikationsfähigkeiten entwickeln und gleichzeitig ihr Team stärken!
Target tip – Investieren Sie ein wenig Zeit in das Training der Personen. Damit diese sich in einer virtuellen Trainingsumgebung zurechtfinden und sich weiterentwickeln. Dies kann Teil der ersten Sitzung oder eine separate Veranstaltung sein.
F4. Wie viele Personen planen Sie zu den einzelnen virtuellen Trainingseinheit einzuladen?
Wenn es um klassische Präsenzseminare geht, sind sich die meisten Menschen bewusst, dass, wenn Sie das Training interaktiv und relevant für jeden Einzelnen halten wollen, Sie die Gruppengröße begrenzen müssen. Gruppen von 10- 14 Personen sind üblich.
Beim virtuellen Training gehen viele Kunden davon aus, dass viel größere Gruppen möglich sind. Meistens ist dies auf die Verwechslung von E-Learning und Webinaren mit virtuellem Training zurückzuführen. Die maximale Anzahl von Personen, die wir zu einer virtuellen Trainingseinheit einladen möchten, wird von zwei Faktoren beeinflusst:
Die Anzahl der Personen ist in einigen Fällen durch die Bandbreite begrenzt, die Ihnen und den Teilnehmern zur Verfügung steht. (siehe F2)
Zweitens hängt es davon ab, wie einfach Sie die Gruppe leiten und das Training interaktiv und relevant für die einzelnen Teilnehmer halten können. Wir empfehlen dringend kleinere Gruppen – sechs ist die magische Zahl. Größere Gruppen von bis zu 16 Personen können funktionieren, wenn Sie einen “Produzenten” zur Unterstützung des Trainers einsetzen. Der Produzent hilft dem Trainer, die Funktionalitäten und Werkzeuge innerhalb der Plattform zu managen und die Interaktion und Fragen im Auge zu behalten. Sie werden auch dann eingreifen, wenn die Technologie Probleme verursacht.
Target Tipp – Halten Sie die Trainingsgruppen kleiner, als Sie es normalerweise bei einem Präsenztraining tun würden. Investieren Sie in einen Produzenten, wenn Sie größere Gruppen wünschen, da es so günstiger ist, als Sitzungen zweimal durchzuführen.
F5. Was tun wir vor oder nach dem virtuellen Training, um das Lernen zu fördern und den Transfer zu unserem Arbeitsplatz voranzutreiben?
Think about how you can make this a more enriched learning environment, and how you can help your staff apply what they learn to their workplace. An example of pre- and/or post-training could be using your in-house learning management system. Maybe a “flipped classroom” work where a lot of the learning is inputted before the virtual training itself (meaning the virtual training session focuses on application)? How about individual accountability calls with the trainer after the training? Or on-the-job coaching delivered virtually as in our Presenting in a virtual environment training?
Denken Sie darüber nach, wie Sie das Training zu einer bereicherten Lernerfahrung machen können und wie Sie Ihren Mitarbeitern helfen können, das Gelernte auf ihren Arbeitsplatz anzuwenden. Ein Beispiel für Pre- und/oder Post-Training könnte die Verwendung Ihres internen Learning Management Systems sein. Vielleicht ein “umgedrehter Unterricht” (flipped classroom), in dem ein Großteil des Lernens vor dem virtuellen Training selbst behandelt wird (d.h. die virtuelle Trainingseinheit konzentriert sich nur auf die Anwendung)? Wie sieht es mit individuellen Verantwortlichkeitsgesprächen mit dem Trainer nach dem Training aus? Oder on-the-job Coaching, dass virtuell durchgeführt wird, wie in unserem Training Präsentieren in einem virtuellen Umfeld?
Target Tipp – Positionieren Sie das virtuelle Training als Teil einer Lernreise. Unterstützen Sie Führungskräfte und Mitarbeiter dabei, die Rolle zu verstehen, die sie bei der Maximierung der Rendite der Trainingsinvestitionen spielen. Dieses eBook kann Ihnen helfen.
Wenn Sie mehr über virtuelles Training erfahren möchten, kontaktieren Sie uns einfach. Wir helfen Ihnen gerne weiter.
https://www.targettraining.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/virtualICT.jpg9001756James Culverhttps://www.targettraining.eu/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/logoWP.pngJames Culver2018-09-25 12:41:542018-09-25 15:22:235 Fragen, die Sie unbedingt stellen müssen, wenn Sie ein virtuelles Trainingsprogramm einrichten
Obwohl viele Fachleute, Manager und Trainingsmanager von Virtual Delivery wissen, gibt es immer noch einige Unklarheiten darüber, was es ist und wie es funktioniert. Hier sind einige häufige Fragen, die uns gestellt werden, wenn wir unsere Kunden bei der Integration von virtuellem Training in ihre Lernstrategien unterstützen.
Was meinen wir, wenn wir über virtuelles Training oder virtuelle Vortragsweise sprechen?
Virtuelles Training ist ein Training, bei dem sich einer oder mehrere der Teilnehmer nicht im selben Raum wie der Trainer befinden. Die Schulung erfolgt über eine der vielen “Unified Communication Plattformen”. Dieser Begriff umfasst Webkonferenz-Tools wie WebEx Training Center, Adobe Connect, Go Meeting oder Skype for Business sowie Videokonferenzdienste wie BlueJeans oder Polycom.
Virtuelles Training wird oft als eine internationale Lösung angesehen. So haben wir beispielsweise eine virtuelle Sitzung mit einem Trainer aus Frankfurt am Main und Teilnehmern aus Hawaii, Boston, Luxemburg und Singapur durchgeführt. Wenn Sie jedoch einen Trainer an einem Standort haben und Teilnehmer am selben Ort/im selben Land, aber in verschiedenen Räumen sind – dann ist das auch virtuelles Training.
Inwiefern unterscheidet sich virtuelles Training von E-Learning oder Webinaren?
Diese Begriffe werden oft von der Marketingabteilung eines Trainingsanbieters definiert, aber normalerweise stimmen die meisten Fachleute für Lernen & Entwicklung folgendem zu:
E-Learning wird vom Lernenden geleitet und es gibt keinen Live-Trainer. Das Lernen erfolgt im Selbststudium durch die Interaktion mit einem computergestützten Lernprogramm. Ein einfaches Beispiel ist Duolingo als App für das Sprachenlernen. SkillSoft ist ein Beispiel für E-Learning zur Entwicklung Ihrer Soft Skills.
Ein Webinar wird von einem Sprecher geleitet und hat wahrscheinlich etwa 50 Zuhörer – obwohl einige Webinare Hunderte im Publikum haben. Das Webinar wird über Video oder eine Videokonferenzplattform online durchgeführt und der Referent spricht die meiste Zeit. Am Ende hat er oder sie die Möglichkeit, Fragen zu beantworten, und wenn sie einen Moderator beauftragen, können interaktive Momente gestalten werden, z.B. um Input über eine Umfrage während des Webinars zu erlangen.
Virtuelles Training ist ein Trainer plus Teilnehmer. Im Idealfall ist das Training interaktiv, engagiert und an die Bedürfnisse der Teilnehmer angepasst.
Was bietet Ihnen das virtuelle Training, was ein Webinar nicht bietet?
Einfach ausgedrückt, geht es beim virtuellen Training um Lernen durch Interaktion, Engagement und Personalisierung – es ist aktives Lernen. Dazu gehört das Lernen vom Trainer, das Lernen aus persönlichen Erfahrungen und das Lernen voneinander z.B. über Diskussionen und Erfahrungsaustausch. Webinare sind vergleichbar mit Vorträgen oder Online-Präsentationen – das Lernen ist passiv und basiert ausschließlich auf dem Sprecher und den Inhalten, die er teilt.
Wie viele Teilnehmer können Sie virtuell zur gleichen Zeit trainieren?
Überraschenderweise gehen viele Personen davon aus, dass ‘virtuell’ auch mehr Teilnehmer bedeutet. Dies basiert oft auf Erfahrungen in Webinaren mit mehr als 50 Personen. In einem Präsenztraining würden wir nie versuchen, 50 Teilnehmer im selben Raum zu schulen. Typischerweise empfehlen wir 8-12 Teilnehmer, wobei 14 ein Maximum ist. Jahrelange Erfahrung hat uns gezeigt, dass eine ideale Zahl für interaktives virtuelles Training etwa 6-8 Personen sind. Mit einer kleinen Gruppe wie dieser können Sie sicherstellen, dass Menschen die Möglichkeit haben, auf eine intimere Art und Weise miteinander zu interagieren, indem Sie Optionen wie ‘Breakout-Rooms’ nutzen, die in den funktionelleren Plattformen wie WebEx Training Center oder Adobe Connect zu finden sind. Diese Pausenräume bieten die gleichen Vorteile wie die Integration von Kleingruppenaktivitäten in einen Schulungsraum. Diese Interaktion ist wirklich wichtig, denn ein Großteil des Wertes des Trainings, ob virtuell oder persönlich, ist die Interaktion, die die Teilnehmer miteinander haben. Sie lernen nicht nur vom Trainer, sondern auch voneinander!
Was ist ein Produzent und warum brauchen wir einen?
Ein Produzent sorgt für einen reibungslosen Ablauf des virtuellen Trainings und unterstützt den virtuellen Trainer dabei, ein interaktives, personalisiertes und vor allem reibungsloses Trainingserlebnis zu bieten. Dies ermöglicht es dem Trainer, bis zu 50% größere Trainingsgruppen zu verwalten, z.B. 8-12 Teilnehmer. Zu ihren Aufgaben gehören:
technische Unterstützung der Teilnehmer vor, während und nach dem Training
Einrichtung von Breakout-Räumen, Umfragen etc.
Monitoring von Engagement und Beiträgen in Chats und Break-Out-Räumen
Aktivitäten gestalten
Zeitkontrollen mit dem Trainer und den Teilnehmern
James Culver ist Partner der Target Training Gmbh und verfügt über 25 Jahre Erfahrung in der Entwicklung maßgeschneiderter Trainingslösungen. Er war in seinen beruflichen Stationen ein HR Training Manager, ein Major der US Army National Guard und ein Dozent an der International School of Management. Er ist auch ein talentierter Perkussionist und Geschichtenerzähler. Im letzten Teil dieser Serie von Blog-Posts über die Durchführung von virutellem Training beantwortete er die folgenden Fragen…
Sie verfügen über 25 Jahre Erfahrung in der Durchführung von Schulungen. Seit wann bieten Sie virtuelles Training an?
James Seit den 90er Jahren. In den Vereinigten Staaten haben wir sehr früh mit der virtuellen Vortragsweise im Community College-System begonnen. Wir hatten oft kleine Gruppen von Studenten an abgelegeneren Standorten, die dennoch die Vorteile von Kursen nutzen wollten, die wir auf dem Hauptcampus anbieten würden, also begannen wir, virtuelle Schulungen anzubieten. Als ich anfing, mit virtuellem Training zu arbeiten, war es extrem teuer, einen Teil dieser Arbeit zu erledigen. Unser System war im Grunde genommen eine Kameraeinrichtung und der Professor oder der Trainer sprach nur mit der Kamera. Es gab nur sehr wenig Interaktion mit den anderen Standorten und es war wie eine Art TV- Schule.
Wie sehen Sie den Vergleich von virtuellem Training zu fact-to-face Training?
James Es gibt wahrscheinlich zwei Dinge, über die man nachdenken sollte. Eines ist der Inhalt, den man vorträgt und das andere ist der Kontext. Mit Kontext meine ich alles, was den Inhalt umgibt. Wie die Dinge gemacht werden, wer mit wem interagiert und wie sie interagieren – das Gros der Kommunikation. Was den Inhalt betrifft, so sind das behandelte Thema und die geteilten Informationen auf virtueller und persönlicher Ebene gut zu vergleichen. Tatsächlich sind die virtuellen Plattformen, die wir bei Target Training einsetzen, maßgeschneidert für die Bereitstellung vieler Inhalte auf interessante Weise. Es ist sehr einfach, Videos, Aufnahmen, Whiteboards usw. hinzuzufügen. Wenn wir zum Beispiel Inhalte haben, die auf einem Slide vorbereitet und den Leuten zur Verfügung gestellt werden, können sie diese kommentieren, Fragen stellen usw. Das ist auf einer virtuellen Plattform wirklich sehr einfach..
Was meistens schwieriger ist, ist alles, was damit zu tun hat, im selben Raum wie jemand anderes zu sein: Gesichtsausdruck ändern, Körpersprache ändern. Wir sehen oder bekommen das oft nicht in einer virtuellen Umgebung mit, selbst mit den marktführenden Systemen. Die Herausforderung als Trainer besteht darin, einen großen Teil der Informationen zu verlieren, die wir von den Teilnehmern eines klassischen Präsenztrainings erhalten würden. Das ist eine harte Nuss. Als Trainer im Präsenztraining habe ich ein Gefühl dafür, wie es läuft, weil ich im Raum bin. Es ist viel schwieriger, ein Gefühl dafür zu haben, wie es läuft, wenn man sich in einer virtuellen Umgebung befindet. Und du brauchst dieses “Gefühl”, damit du dich anpassen und den Teilnehmern die bestmögliche Lernerfahrung bieten kannst..
Welche Workaround-Strategien gibt es dafür?
James Es gibt Workaround-Strategien und durch externe und interne Schulungen und On-the-job-Erfahrungen nutzen unsere Trainer diese. Eine Strategie ist, dass man viele offene und geschlossene “Check-Fragen” stellen muss. Fragen wie “Bist du bei mir”, “Ist das klar?”, “Was sind also die Kernpunkte, die du daraus ableitest”, “Was sind deine bisherigen Fragen?” Erfahrene virtuelle Trainer werden diese Art von Fragen alle 2 bis 3 Minuten stellen. Im Wesentlichen hat ein Trainer ein Zeitlimit von 2 bis 3 Minuten für seinen Input, bevor er eine Check-Frage stellen sollte. Die Check-Fragen sollten sowohl offen für die Gruppe als auch für eine Einzelperson bestimmt sein.
Welche Schulungsthemen eignen sich am besten für die virtuelle Vortragsweise und welche nicht?
James Die Themen, die sich am besten für die virtuelle Vortragsweise eignen, sind diejenigen, die stärker auf Inhalte ausgerichtet sind – zum Beispiel klassische Präsentationsfähigkeiten oder virtuell ausgeführte Präsentationen. Diese Art von Trainingslösungen konzentrieren sich auf Input, Tipps, Do’s und Don’ts, Best Practice Sharing und dann Praxis – Feedback – Praxis – Feedback etc..
Another theme that works very well for us when delivered virtually is virtual team training, whether it be working in virtual teams or leading virtual teams. By their very nature, virtual teams are dispersed so the virtual delivery format fits naturally. Plus, you are training them using the tools they need to master themselves. And of course, another benefit is if the training is for a specific virtual team the shared training experience strengthens the team itself.
Ein weiteres Thema, das für uns virtuell sehr gut funktioniert, ist das virtuelle Teamtraining, sei es in virtuellen Teams oder bei der Leitung virtueller Teams. Virtuelle Teams sind naturgemäß so verteilt, dass das virtuelle Übertragungsformat auf natürliche Weise passt. Außerdem trainieren Sie sie mit den Werkzeugen, die sie später selbst beherrschen sollten. Und natürlich ist ein weiterer Vorteil: Das Training für ein bestimmtes virtuelles Team, stärkt die gemeinsame Trainingserfahrung des Teams.
Die Arten von Trainingslösungen, die virtuell eine größere Herausforderung darstellen, sind diejenigen, bei denen wir versuchen, uns selbst oder andere zu verändern. Themen wie Durchsetzungsfähigkeit oder effektiveres Arbeiten müssen sorgfältig durchdacht und entwickelt werden, wenn sie mehr als ein Informationsdepot sein sollen. Hier ist der Coaching-Aspekt weitaus wichtiger.
Schließlich, und vielleicht überraschenderweise, kann das Management- und Führungstraining wirklich gut funktionieren, wenn es virtuell durchgeführt wird. Unsere Lösung Hochleistung zu erzielen ist ein gutes Beispiel dafür. Das Geheimnis dabei ist, das kleine Lernen zu betonen, zusätzliche Ressourcen außerhalb der Sitzung bereitzustellen, z.B. umgedrehter Unterricht (flipped classroom) mit relevanten Videos und Artikeln, und auch Möglichkeiten für Einzelgespräche zu bieten.
https://www.targettraining.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Fotolia_141439964_M.jpg11941592ian taylorhttps://www.targettraining.eu/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/logoWP.pngian taylor2018-09-19 11:17:452018-09-20 12:17:15Virtuelles Training vs. Präsenztraining: Wie sieht es im Vergleich aus?