Courses that go horribly wrong
You’ve heard the horror stories.
Not the ones that were intended to shock, but the unintentional ones.
Like the story of the business that routinely sends managers on costly, time consuming and ineffective training courses. And they return having learned little and not motivated to change behaviour?
In the real shockers, their people are effectively being paid to sit around looking at their phones. Or to drink coffee and make cynical faces at trusted colleagues – only the financial damage goes way beyond the price of the coffee. Not only are indispensable managers taken off the job for crucial hours and days, but their companies pay dearly for the privilege.
We all know the drill. Dull-as-dishwater presentations, PowerPoint slides that have barely been updated since they were created years ago, and equally outdated management theories. They all mean staff switch off and zone out until that long-awaited coffee break. And don’t get me wrong. Sometimes the one useful outcome of the day comes over coffee, when a couple of bored junior managers hit it off and connect on LinkedIn. Then maybe they’ll share real-life experiences that actually lead to insights and improved ways of working.
But sending staff on tired, formulaic training days in the hope that a serendipitous meeting might actually lead somewhere, is a bit like spending a bunch of cash on a whole book of raffle tickets just so you can win a box of chocolates. I do like a chocolate biscuit with my coffee though, and that brings me back to the point. There’s nothing wrong with coffee breaks, but there’s more than one way to get that caffeine hit.
Turn that coffee break into training with measurable outcomes
When we’re on our own time, coffee (tea, water, name your favourite in here) is more often an excuse to catch up and spend time with friends than a simple matter of enjoying a pick-me-up. We can order a cappuccino, perhaps with a nice biscotti on the side, and take our time, sipping slowly as we chat. And who knows? Maybe a casual exchange of news and views will lead to a great idea we can take to work the next day. But that would be a bonus. It’s not the point. We’re off the meter!
Call me a ruthless capitalist if you will, but that’s not how I see learning for business! I like to see time used efficiently and to a particular end. And I like the outcomes to be measurable. Effective online management courses offer assessments mapped to competency and skills, allowing you to track progress and see the impact.
Effective upskilling should be more like a shot of espresso grabbed during a busy day. Enjoyable, sure. But also, something with immediate impact. A gentle but unmistakeable head rush that helps us lift our day, and in time our career, to the next level.
So, rather than seeing learning as something that happens away from the business, in soulless seminar rooms or long-winded online webinars, where yesterday’s good ideas go to die, why not insist on something better? It should give staff a measurable lift, leaving them more confident and more productive, so the business benefits as much as they do. And that need not take all day or cost the earth. Often the best stuff really is like an espresso hit: short and to the point, but with real impact.
Time to get management courses that get results
Thanks to modern technology, ‘espresso learning’ can be made available 24/7, on demand and ‘just in time’ to meet the particular needs of the moment. Personalised learning using online materials, and supplemented by support from a manager or coach, as and when it’s needed, is far more efficient than traditional style teaching to a group of people with different needs and different levels of experience and skill.
That’s where even the most innovative and creative management development programmes tend to fall down. If the outcome is not accurately measured, it’s impossible to say whether these programmes are offering good value or not, and where to improve them. But the good news is that there is absolutely no need for state-of-the art, espresso-style learning to cost any more than the failing models of the past. If anything, it should cost less, and be far more effective.
This is where online management courses come into play, find a great one (more about that shortly) and you can leave the horror stories to Netflix. How’s that for a pick-me-up?
Ready to improve your new manager online training?
I know how busy you are, and how much information you are asked to absorb. It’s so easy to push it to one side. But I really hope this small investment of your time in reading this has got you thinking. It addresses a few issues holding back many organisations, that we can work on and make people’s lives better, and that’s a very good thing indeed.
The kind of online management courses and assessments we offer will help your managers build strong practical skills they can put to good use. Sound good? Get in touch today, and I’ll share with you how we’ve upskilled managers just like yours and made a real difference.
Here’s another quick thought-provoking read for you, Retention – moving on up.
Best, Pete