Four Tips For Rethinking the Way You Approach Workplace Training
A recent conference got me thinking about the limitations we often work within when approaching workplace training.
The Institute for Performance and Learning
I recently attended the Institute for Performance and Learning (I4PL) 2024 conference, where the theme for the event was ‘Shake It Up!’.
The conference theme got me thinking about the limitations we often work within when approaching workplace training, not only from a content standpoint but from an implementation, maintenance and future-proofing standpoint as well. That inspired me to share some proven outside-of-the-box strategies and techniques we’ve developed over the years. This approach not only ensures training is effective but also helps break free from restrictive mindsets, transforming how you design and implement training programs in your organization.
The foundations of effective workplace training don’t change
Before we dive into our list, I want to make something clear. The foundations of good workplace training will not change. The most important starting point for any organizational training is to properly and accurately identify the changes an organization wants to make through its training investment.
However, a great intake process includes not only discovering the goals of the training but also the goals of the larger program itself. This includes asking some critical questions, like:
- What is your plan for this training?
- How is it going to be used today?
- How is it going to be used tomorrow and in the future?
- Who’s responsible for implementing and updating the training?
- Where is this training going to sit in the larger organizational matrix?
The answers to these questions will allow you to determine all of the other ‘stuff’ you should be considering during development and implementation.
For example, knowing how long of a shelf-life this program will have will change your approach to development.
Once you’ve established the problem you’re solving with your training and answered the questions above, you can best determine the who, how, when and where of your entire program solution. Here are our most-used and most-proven recommendations that become part of the full training solution.
1Run a workplace training 'pilot'
Launching a pilot program for workplace training is a great way to kick things off and gather valuable feedback from participants without needing the program to be perfect from the start.
A pilot training program allows leaders to introduce training on a smaller scale and refine it through iterative improvements before rolling it out organization-wide. This approach helps address any issues early on, ensuring a well-developed and effective training strategy that supports your organization’s long-term success.
Pilots are most effective when they run with a designated group of participants focused on evaluating the content. This group should include key learners from the target audience as well as subject matter experts to provide valuable feedback during the trial run.
A pilot program is still a training event, meaning participants will gain knowledge they can apply to their daily work. However, it also serves as an opportunity for others to evaluate the content and delivery and get an outside perspective on the material. Feedback is essential during this phase, and surveys (that include questions like: Was the training valuable? What was missing? Was there too much or too little information?) play a crucial role.
This feedback allows you to fine-tune the strategy and materials before finalizing them. Without a pilot program, you can waste time perfecting presentations and training guides that need to be reworked later.
Bonus: By making the pilot program part of your communications package, it allows you to give a shout-out to the pilot group and provide ‘street-cred’ to your updated program.
2Assign an internal skills trendspotting team
Organizations often struggle with being too inward-looking and operating inside a bubble. With tight budgets and limited resources, many teams today are narrowly focused on just getting things done.
But taking a broader view of what’s happening in your market, especially when it comes to skills development, is crucial if you want to remain competitive. Creating a team of skills trendspotters allows you to keep your finger on the pulse of developments in your industry.
Whether it’s hard skills like data literacy or AI prompting or soft skills like collaborating in hybrid and remote work environments, there are so many new competencies that are quickly becoming essential in modern workplaces.
3Invest in cross-departmental mentorship
We know how effective on-the-job (OTJ) training is. However, rather than getting stuck implementing a specific OTJ solution, many leaders aren’t aware of the capacity they have within their own organization for informal cross-training and upskilling. You don’t always need to send people outside the organization for training to get results. Rather, this training involves employees from different teams sharing their skills and perspectives to help each other grow and build a stronger, more connected organization.
The best way to get started with cross-departmental mentorship is to conduct a skills assessment within your organization and pair team members with others who can help them develop and grow in new areas. This should be a formal arrangement to share insights, assign special assignments, and even discuss succession planning.
This approach has the added benefit of helping to break down silos and build connections, especially in teams that may not often overlap. It allows team members from different departments to engage with one another, including those from varying backgrounds and age groups.
This kind of cross-pollination can be incredibly beneficial for workplace culture within an organization as well. Team members can be mentors as well as mentees, allowing them to both learn from and teach other team members within the organization.
3Implement 'calibration check-ins'
A calibration check-in is a simple, informal way to ensure your team is on the same page. These meetings involve running through a hypothetical scenario to see how each team member would handle a challenging situation. If you have six to eight people in the same role across different locations, everyone can share their input and learn from each other’s approaches. It’s not a formal test but more of a relaxed discussion that keeps things low-pressure and collaborative.
A calibration check-in gives leaders insight into how team members interpret company policies. Including a subject matter expert in the discussion can add value by confirming what’s working and suggesting some alternative approaches, such as, “You’re on the right track with ABC, but you might also try XYZ for consistency.” These sessions have also proven to be an effective way to implement behaviour change within teams and organizations.
A new approach to future-proof your workplace training
If leaders want to ensure their operations and teams are prepared for a changing future, they must be willing to change their approach to training. These tips help leaders reframe their view of traditional workplace training so that they are better equipped to lead their organization into the future.
If you’re ready to take a new approach to workplace training and get the most out of your investment, book a discovery call to learn how to get started.
About TouchPoints Learning & Innovation
We are an enthusiastic team of experts in learning, change and innovation. We help organizations solve business problems through facilitated creative problem-solving, team development services, outcome-driven innovation, and custom training development and delivery.
