How can you encourage participation in training and development?

Involving employees in needs assessment is crucial. If we do not listen carefully to them at this first stage, we run a serious risk that training and development programs will not achieve the desired results. Training all stakeholders to carry out an effective training needs assessment can help combat this resistance. If we can buy in stakeholders into this demand, they will be able to communicate the importance and benefits of training and help make decisions aligned with individual, operational and organizational needs.

Employees needs to make sense of it all when it comes to training and development. It is not the Terminology used (training, development, growth, capability building...etc...etc..) that should attract them but rather the actual in house investing in people strategy and its implementation in the organization to showcase in front of the employees. They do not need any convincing if the working environment endorses their growth as a key driver behind the organization growth. Training & Development should be the Pillar for any Organization that aims to grow its: 1) Business 2) People's Capability - Upskilling 3) Loyalty & Retention - Promotion from Within 4) Consistency for growth - Connection to the Future. Gets their buy-in and engagement!

I absolutely agree that employees don't see how training is relevant to their work. This is because their work is chaotic and does not align with the mission, vision, values (culture). Their objectives and projects are ad-hoc sometimes and they don't see where they add value or where they could negatively impact the data value and put it at risk. Employees are not trained in risk management which should be the basic fundamental training for every organization in this day and age where digital commerce is the only way to conduct business for the majority of organizations.

One thing I found helpful is involving the candidates in identifying training needs and it can be done by having frequent discussion between the team leads and the candidate in the presence of L&D team member. This way L&D team will understand the exact requirement of the candidate . Secondly training sessions can be made effective by correlating it to the workplace. Inviting the trainers who are familiar with workplace challenges and skill sets required not merely a professional who knows to deliver the content.

In my experience when onboarding employees it is important to create safe spaces to comment and share ideas. The presenter can share personal stories and show vulnerability as they cover the necessary material. Asking for others to add and allowing what is sometimes uncomfortable silence helps set the pace that there is time to share and that information will coming at such force that people can’t share.

Learning departments need to get comfortable with meeting learners where they are versus bringing them into the department's space. When you show this flexibility in your approach to learning, there's going to be more engagement from the learner! Easy wins in this space include letting the learner choose the vendor (subject to approval, of course), providing blended learning experiences, and just in time access to content as well.

I’ve seen the value of online learning as part of the overall learning experience. Learning at your own pace and through different means is crucial. I never revisited handbooks I was given at a training. I do however revisit content which I can access on my mobile

Encouraging choice and flexibility in employee training and development is pivotal. It personalizes learning to cater to individual preferences, learning styles, and career goals. This approach boosts engagement as employees take ownership of their learning. It also makes learning accessible by offering diverse resources, including online courses, webinars, podcasts, videos, books, and mentorship. Allowing self-pacing accommodates different learning speeds, and on-demand access caters to varied schedules. Structured learning paths provide guidance, while feedback mechanisms improve training quality. Mentorship programs enhance career development. Recognizing and rewarding employees for their learning achievements further motivates them.

Employers need to recognize that employees have a wide variety of interests and skills. This may mean that the topics they are interested in learning more about may not immediately contribute to the learner’s current job responsibilities. The exciting thing is that by allowing learners to choose their topics, you instantly bring in a more diverse skill set within your current team. There is nothing wrong with developing an employees skills for their next job—rather than viewing this as a loss, view it as supporting your employees to grow and develop as a whole person.

People learn differently and companies need to recognise this, it’s important that recaps are done throughout the employee lifecycle to ensure it’s still relevant and up to date

As a Business English Coach, I'd like to emphasize the role of clear and effective communication in the process of providing feedback and recognition. Here are some additional insights: - Cultural Sensitivity - Regular Check-Ins - Tailored Recognition - Feedback Loop Incorporating these aspects into your approach to feedback and recognition will not only improve the effectiveness of your initiatives but also contribute to a positive, inclusive, and growth-oriented work environment.

Great answers from others, already! My 10 steps to discourage employee participation in the learning & development plan! ?? 1. Trust the crystal ball revealing what’s best for your employees. Don’t ask them! 2. Set unattainable and ambiguous goals. 3. Keep it mysterious: let them guess the schedule, objectives and content. 4. Make attendance compulsory! 5. Ensure content is irrelevant, outdated but fun. 6. Ensure delivery is world class (the most beautiful slides). 7. Interaction? Keep it to the minimum & stick to the agenda. Who needs dialogue when we have slides! 8. End on a high note: cue in the cat videos! 9. Once done: let them sink or swim. 10. Rinse and repeat the quarterly cycle! Perhaps it’s time to ‘FLIP’ the script.

I took a training once that only gave me feedback when I got a question right. While I appreciated the support and recognition for getting the answer correct, the more helpful feedback happened when I found out why the answer I gave was "wrong". Another reason why having situational learning is so important is because it provides feedback in the process. People need to see the results of their answers and be provided time to reflect on the outcomes.

In our current fast evolving world, focusing on the future by providing feedforward could help employees become more engaged and motivated. Instead of emphasizing on past achievements, have a constructive conversation about their aspirations and how to accomplish those - or tackle possible obstacles on the way. This approach asks for different conversation (coaching) techniques than before.

How can we know we are learning well if we don't receive feedback from trainers, superiors, or even customers? The feedback itself is a learning process that is crucial for behavior change. Management must set up a feedback system in learning for better results.

Creating a non-judgmental environment where sharing ideas and learning is valued and rewarded is essential. Involving everyone in all stages of the learning cycle is also important to make employees feel valued and engaged. This involvement with retroactive feedback allows for permanent iteration that enhances the improvement of training programs and the experience of each employee.

This is a big one, and a lot of learning departments that are attached to HR will want to make note of this point. Learning experiences need to be safe spaces for people to fail without consequence, judgement, and repercussions. If there is any level of distrust in your organization between the people and the HR function, learning experiences need to explicitly show and state how they are separate from HR. Simply stating that they are in a psychologically safe environment and some of the things this means will help, but don't betray that trust or else you'll never have engagement with your learning experiences.

Here I follow one of the best practices- one methodology called Pizza making, to enhance a supportive environment. 1. You have an topic that you must present 2. Knead the idea into one message key factor- audience analysis 3. Structure the messages in a logical and easy to follow manner- Consider the ingredients based on the all the learning styles of the audience 4.Add narrative elements for flavour- Story telling, GD, Quiz, process which align with the topic 5.Top this with visual, verbal, and vocal delivery tools- Videos, presentation etc 6.Bake your presentation in the oven of practice- Give opportunity to experience the same & reflect upon the learning. 7.Serve it hot- Come up with action plan to implement it in our next project.

Here’s how I encourage participation: 1. Let participants make contributions: This will help them feel valued and engaged in the learning process. 2. Compliment and thank for the contribution: This will help build their confidence and encourage them to participate more. 3. Point out the value of their participation: Highlight the importance of the contributions made by participants. to help them understand the relevance of the training program. 4. Ask a question to the class and request they think about their responses for a minute before sharing: This helps the often overlooked introverts in the room answer on their own terms. It also helps to create a safe environment where everyone feels comfortable sharing their thoughts.

Training should extend beyond the classroom; the shared information and tools should remain easily accessible. Trainees should never feel abandoned; they should have confidence that if they need any information to complete a task, someone will be available to shadow or provide assistance. Resources hold significance both during and after training. The importance of support ie coaching or mentoring is just as evident as that of information.

In my experience, the fun factor, the gamified way of learning always works, regardless of how senior and respected the audience is - people do enjoy a bit of excitement, curiosity and perhaps even competition. So engaging, interactive features in a training, like quiz questions after sections, mini-simulations linked to stories, some games of persona or avatars, where participants can test their skills and share in a neutral manner their solution/proposed approach can be much more impactful than a presentation-like training.

Who said learning has to be all serious? In fact, research shows that when we enjoy the process, we're more likely to remember what we learn. But having fun doesn't mean just bringing pizza and playing fun but useless games (though these too have their place when balanced properly). When the learning process is enjoyable yet relevant and meaningful, magic happens. In my teaching and instructional design practice, both at the post-secondary level and in the corporate environment, I have observed time and again that positive emotions during learning improve memory and performance. This makes the experience more engaging and turns learning into a lifelong passion.

Absolutely! Creating engaging learning and development opportunities is key to fostering continuous growth and motivation in the workplace. Incorporating fun and interactive elements like games, simulations, and storytelling not only enhances knowledge retention but also fuels a genuine passion for learning among employees. ?? #ProfessionalGrowth #EngagementMatters

This is a key component of any training program but this component carries a lot of individuality and specification of its own. High engagement comes with association and identification, both of which are stimulated neurologically by emotive awakening. Creating peer opportunities that encourage creative friction in a safe space will encourage increased levels of personal and collective motivation. Can be very rewarding on many levels of the organisation and for an individual.

I found that asking questions in lots of different ways helps. The sophisticated questions create a sense of wonder, intrigue and develops learner ingenuity. It then supports their begin to work out how to apply what they've learned in their own context.

Help people understand what's in it for them! That's what most people care about for any activity in life, and it's a marketing lesson L&D can definitely borrow. Understand what motivates that person, which skills they want to develop, the challenges they face in their day to day role and try to pitch learning in a way that resonates with that. The ideal scenario, however, is that we find this out first and deliver relevant learning... As opposed to creating something, distributing it and trying to retro-fit motivation. Doing it 'the right way around' also means you can create compelling messaging on why learning matters.

Selecting the appropriate speakers, along with tailoring training to specific needs, has presented numerous challenges when conducting learning sessions across various departments. Moreover, gaining managerial support and engaging them in the training topics is vital to encourage them to send their employees for training and to ensure the effective implementation of the addressed topics immediately following the sessions.

The absence of gender-inclusive policies, limited financial support for childcare, and organizations typically covering only travel, boarding, and lodging costs for employees can disproportionately affect early-career women with childcare responsibilities. Their lower income often makes it financially challenging for them to cover the additional expenses required for their child, to attend training sessions. This situation not only hinders their participation but also perpetuates gender disparities in skill development and career advancement. Implementing policies that offer childcare subsidies or assistance for such employees could significantly alleviate this barrier and promote equal access to training opportunities.

I am firm believer that no one wakes up thinking "how mediocre can I be today?" People want to grow and development and even if they are at the end of their careers, they want to pass their knowledge on to know that they left things better than they found them. It is basic human nature. When people resist participating in learning activities it is almost 100% because time - if a manager doesn't explicitly address development, and worse, discourage "time away" for development activities, then that goes a long way in crushing enthusiasm. I love it when I see "inspiring and motivating" in both leadership programs and core competencies. Sadly, I do not see it enough. If leaders do not communicate the value of L&D, employees won't either.