It’s Friday afternoon and the fires are burning at the office. Mary, your new Caseworker, tearfully resigns after only 10 months on the job. Ivan, recently promoted to Manager, Program Development is making unexplainable mistakes. Your new funder insists on installing a different reporting system. Suddenly, you are thinking about canceling that much needed vacation booked for next week!
Could this happen at your workplace? Is there a way to prepare, manage the issues, and still go on vacation? The answer is “yes“. And the answer to many management problems is often employee training and development.
Skilled and knowledgeable employees have always been an organization’s greatest asset but training and retaining them can be a challenge. Many nonprofit organizations experience the pressure of cutting costs, and unfortunately, training dollars are often the first to go. Yet employees find themselves confronted with increasing responsibilities, changing systems and procedures, but sometimes lack the knowledge, experience and skills to do what is expected of them.
At the same time, today’s employees or “knowledge workers” realize that the responsibility for their careers lies in the ability to maintain and develop critical skills, technology, and knowledge. They seek employers who will provide this for them or else they move on. Sadly, statistics tell us that one of three employees changes jobs annually in some industries.
So how do organizations with minimal or nonexistent training budgets find ways to develop staff, improve productivity, offer a rewarding career, and conquer the overwhelming complexity of training and retraining employees? Sometimes, creative and practical on-the-job training and development solutions are required to meet these micro and macro training needs.
A new employee, a promotion, a transfer, career and succession planning, and performance management issues create a need for micro training. These everyday events require immediate learning on the job. It is important to recognize that there is no end to the micro training and development needs in your organization.
What about macro training? Most employers recognize obvious reasons to train – new products, programs or services are introduced, new technology, changes in standards, special needs or trends. Did you know that one third of all training dollars are dedicated to computer training? “Knowledge workers” will continue to require macro training every time a significant change occurs within your organization.
Hence, tight budgets call for innovative training ideas that will produce effective results and make the best use of limited time and resources. The following examples of learning opportunities and activities are sorted into 4 major areas: practical skills, intrapersonal skills, interpersonal or soft skills, and cultural awareness skills. While the list is not intended to replace formal learning such as classroom, distance learning, or accreditation, it provides concrete ideas about developmental activities, which can be easily implemented in your workplace with minimal expense.
Practical Skills – The first and obvious training that takes place most frequently for occasions such as new, transferred, or promoted employees. These include job specific, technical competence skills, and product or service knowledge and safety issues.
Learning Opportunities and Activities:
- On-the-job training, which can include self-study, reading assignments, books, video, computer-based training and observation
- Shadowing another employee in the workforce
- Job rotation and cross-training
- Working with and learning from a designated mentor
- Creating useful form letters, spreadsheets, business tools or standards
- Periodically filling in as the Supervisor on a temporary basis or during an absence
With all of these items, it is essential that there be discussion with the Supervisor to ensure that learning has been successfully transferred.
Intrapersonal Skills – Difficult to measure but very important, these skills include problem-solving, critical thinking, self-esteem, stress management, and time management.
Learning Opportunities and Activities:
- Organizing meetings and facilitating them
- Working on a specific project on a team
- Participating on a committee or task force
- Visiting clients and customers with a peer to observe behaviours
- Backing up other positions with additional responsibilities
- Assuming a mentorship or buddy role with juniors
- Maintaining a journal for personal reflections
- Researching for best practices
- Working with a team on an improvement process
Interpersonal Skills – Often called soft skills and or emotional IQ, these skills can take time to learn and embrace naturally. These include effective communication with peer-to-peer and subordinate to manager, formal presentation skills, teamwork dynamics, and conflict resolution.
Learning Opportunities and Activities:
- Completing a Train the Trainer course and then bringing it back to the workplace
- Serving on cross-functional teams to provide specialized expertise
- Attending conferences, teleconferences and networking events
- Representing the organization with outside associations or institutions
- Writing a newsletter, article, policy or procedure
- Speaking on a particular topic at a department meeting
- Learning PowerPoint and creating professional presentations
- Mentoring new employees or managing a co-op student placement
- Organizing a “Take your kids to work” day or speaking at a local high school or college
Cultural Awareness – Every organization has its own unique “culture” and this competency assists employees in understanding the “big picture”, the social norms, company goals, strategic plan, quality and quantity standards. It fosters organizational commitment and provides a clear sense of the issues and problems within the organization while developing this awareness through observation of peers and supervisors.
Learning Opportunities and Activities:
- Observation of peers and supervisors through participation at various functions
- Participating on a panel interview
- Assisting with orientation of new employees
- One-on-one coaching sessions
- Organizing a social event such as a picnic, pot luck lunch or a fundraising event
- Being provided with information such as Annual Reports, client proposals or submissions
- Presenting a Lunch and Learn on a topic such as customer service or business goals
- Starting up a Reference Library
- Sourcing and circulating useful workplace articles or those specific to the sector
- Attending part of a board meeting
Looking back at the opening “office” scenario, what could have been prevented or managed differently if training and development had been considered? Perhaps Mary, the new Caseworker is frustrated because she did not have proper training and does not fully understand her duties and responsibilities? Further discussion may reveal a need for job shadowing. Ivan is usually very capable but may feel temporarily overwhelmed and need mentoring and working closely with a peer. The new reporting system represents a macro training need; system training for rotating departments can be organized by the I.T Manager. And you are still heading for the airport because your bright Assistant and Senior Manager are jointly ready to fill in for you as part of their career and development plans. Go ahead. Take that vacation!
Source: Center for Workforce Development, Newton Massachusetts
Source: Canadaone.com October 1999 – Productivity
Teresa Howe, CHRP, is an independent HR consultant and writer. As an HR executive with 15 years of generalist experience, she has contributed to several successful organizations being recognized as Canadaâs Top 100 Employers and created meaningful change. As a long-standing member of the HRPAO, she also serves as president of the Board of Directors for Jobstart, a not-for-profit organization, speaks at conferences and creates workshops on HR related issues. Teresa can be reached at tandthowe@yahoo.ca.
