Considering Your Approach to Training

Change is a constant, in business and in life.?Economic, social and political sands shift, risks which were hitherto remote crystallise and new opportunities reveal themselves.?In the turmoil of change we navigate by the compass of the rules of engagement.?Be they the contracts we sign, the standards we operate by or the laws to which we adhere, this framework anchors business as change moves within and around it.?The framework allows business to test the art of the possible and to define the “how” initiatives and risks can be assessed, managed or delivered.

Understanding the framework is a foundation, and it is here that legal functions play.?On-board the proverbial ship, we are the navigator, monitoring the shipping route for obstacles or dangers.?It is a role we cannot do alone; we need to create effective awareness throughout the organisation.?One of the most obvious ways to build awareness is through training, both to inform and to reinforce.?Where people understand the framework they identify pitfalls, are able to see cause and effect of a course of action and, as a result, make informed decisions.?In short we start to build legally, ethically and commercially astute organisations.

Our years of professional training and working within the framework hold high one key truth:?the framework is complex and interpreting it often even more so.?Within that complexity lies a challenge –how do we arm the organisation with the right level of knowledge to be effectively aware, and how do we distil the complexity of the framework to build training which supports that aim?

We’ve all been in (or delivered) those training sessions where we have seen the eyes glaze over, the fidgeting start, the emails being checked, the disengagement palpable.?The reasons can be many and of those many outside our control, but all of us will have an example where the content didn’t hit the mark.?While it was comprehensive, it was too complex; while it was accurate, it was too granular; while it was pertinent, it was not accessible. ?

We get the balance between the right level of knowledge and the need for awareness wrong at our peril.?Hours of detailed training may feel effective for the delivery team (and a stronger tick in the awareness box), but that may not be the audience experience who have struggled to grasp the “so what” for them, or feel like we are passing on a burden under the guise of “awareness” without considering their needs and operational realities.??So when approaching any training and awareness programme there are three key tenants I like to bear in mind: (1) people are in different roles for a reason – they have differing experiences and specialisms – and the training needs to find the complement between those roles; (2) no role is an empty vessel – everyone is busy delivering against their role – and training must demonstrate a benefit for the audience accretive to their busy working lives; and (3) we co-exist within an organisation and own its success and failure jointly, training should emphasise that togetherness.

For me when conceptualising training – the tenants manifest in simple questions we should ask ourselves before we even think about opening up power-point:

·??????Do we understand our audience??What are their roles, drivers, needs and wants?

·??????Are we clear on the objective of the training – is it achievable and proportionate?

·??????Is the objective shared equally by the delivery team and the audience?

·??????Does the content translate into the day-to-day reality of the audience’s roles and environment – is it situationally and practically driven?

·??????Is the take-away clear and memorable?

·??????Have we recognised practical gaps and the leave-behind (tools, engagement process, data) which benefits the audience and the delivery team?

·??????What is the audience optimal style – is it visual, based on real life examples, written text based, data driven??Consider which medium will create an impact.

None of this is rocket science – but it is a good excuse to sit back and breathe before embarking on the path. ??Effective training has balance at its core.?It creates awareness not experts.?It creates mutual support without seeming to pass the buck.?Those balances are achieved through simplicity of message, putting yourself in the audience's shoes, being clear about the expectation and driving from benefit for the audience.

The ship cannot have too many navigators, but the safety of the journey can be helped by everyone On-board understanding the obstacles the navigator is looking out for while performing their own specific roles, whatever the winds of change bring our way as they blow.?Those extra eyes and ears act as a alert system and horizon scan, part of the tapestry that builds legal, ethical and commercial astuteness in a sustainable way.