How do you choose the best type of learning intervention for your team's needs and goals?

When you slow down to let employees learn and develop the skills your organization needs, the investment of time and money in formal training is well worth it. Time to get the foundational knowledge and time to apply it on the job are both essential to success. The thing about formal training is that it’s not a vacation from work, a checkbox, and it’s certainly not Vegas. What happens in the classroom shouldn’t just stay in the classroom!

I like to start by assessing the real need(s) through a combination of data collection methods. Clearly defining agreed-upon, viable, and relevant objectives is critical. I also account for diverse learning styles of team members and select appropriate formats (workshops, online courses, on-the-job training, etc.). It’s also important to ensure the intervention aligns with organizational goals and involves key stakeholders in the decision-making process. When possible, I like to pilot the intervention, gather feedback, adjust as needed, and then fully implement and continuously evaluate its effectiveness based on pre-defined metrics. I have found that this structured approach ensures the intervention is tailored to a team's needs and goals.

Start by conducting a thorough skills gap analysis to identify areas requiring development. Align these needs with the team's short-term goals and long-term objectives. Evaluate various learning methods—such as workshops, online courses, mentoring, or on-the-job training—and consider their effectiveness for the specific skills needed. Consult with team members for their input on preferred learning styles to enhance engagement. Consider the practicality, such as time constraints and budget. Implement pilot programs to gauge effectiveness, and adjust based on feedback and results. This tailored approach ensures that the chosen interventions are both relevant and impactful.

We are always learning. The idea that there should be a direct co-relation to every learning is a fallacy. Sometimes the learning takes a while to meld, to mesh, to meld, to be discerned, to materialize into the behaviours desired. Bruno Cuccinelli, the famous clothing designer, believes that all learning is related to the organization, because knowledge gives us perspectives to determine how we think about problems and make sense of situations.

We think coaching is reserved for those in the middle or upper echelons of the organization. Not so, everyone needs coaching. Even experts or those blessed with natural talent, like singers and actors, have coaches.

I’m an advocate of coaching, but I’m also a proponent of coaching-plus. I met with organization members on an individual basis. Each also would attend a two-day workshop with people from different backgrounds and companies. The curriculum included surprise development and/or emergencies. The attendees would address these specific challenges from their departmental perspective: operations people from a manufacturing perspective, sales from the challenge of moving product, etc. The exercises demanded compromise, short and long-term planning, problem solving, passion, etc. It provided an opportunity to grow individually and be a more valuable contributor, overall.

Different forms of learning can be provided to a team based on the growth life cycle. For new hires, on-the-job training is beneficial because it helps them grasp the work before they can begin producing results. Culture is essential to comprehend in order to make an impact, but for those getting ready for a challenging role in the future, they must attend leadership workshops, courses, or whatever else is required. A culture should be adaptable enough to encourage learning while also providing opportunities to deliver the content. This calls for a great deal of patience and flexibility.

For mentor-mentee relationships to work, the mentee must come prepared with questions or ideas for discussion. The mentor needs to resist giving advice or passing judgment. You are being tapped for your experience and expertise. It’s up to the mentee to take this and decide how to use it. In the end, both parties gain/sharpen skills

The best needs assessment and the best learning design experience will be undermined if leaders and organizations simply give lip service to learning. A culture of learning is essential in today’s VUCA environment, but without leadership support to make time and money for learning, to find ways to adjust workloads, to allow trial and error in applying the training, then learners are being set up to fail.

If learning is essential for success in the rapidly-changing 21st century, why don’t we prioritize it? We need new skills, new abilities, and the re-sharpening of our existing skills and abilities.