How to Enable Rapid Skill Development for Your Employees
Mark Zides ??
CEO and Board Member @ Luminoso Technologies | Entrepreneur, Investor, Growth Leader | Best Selling Author & TEDx Speaker | Ai Innovator & Thought Leader | Leadership Consultant & Human Capital Expert
As modern industries continually evolve, they require their workers to do so as well. Modern employees in just about every industry–communications, finance, healthcare, etc.–must keep pace with this evolution and update their skillsets. How can your employees master the skills they need in as little time as possible? Josh Kaufman, author and business coach, has devised a method for teaching yourself any skill in just a few steps. Today, we will apply the advice given by his book, The First 20 Hours: How to Learn Anything…Fast!, to the corporate world.
1. Focus on Learning One Skill at a Time
While your employees might need to learn several new skills, the best way to go about learning them all is to focus on only one skill at a time. This also applies to general skills. For example, if your goal is for employees to learn the new operating system, focus on only one program at a time. You must prioritize the subject matter of your training course. Consult with management or human resources to determine the skills that take precedence in the current training program.
2. Define the Target Performance Level
You need to set goals if you want to achieve anything. Do your employees need to master this skill or just brush-up on the topic? Will they need to only grasp the basics of a new software program or will working with this software require more in-depth knowledge? Are they trying to attain a professional certification or just required to participate in the training? Again, you should consult with management (and possibly each department) to determine the goals for the training course.
3. Break Down the Skill into Smaller Skills (Sub-Skills)
Instead of getting overwhelmed by seemingly huge task, break each skill into smaller components. Think of this in terms of an essay outline: you have the overarching skill (I), then the supporting skills (A, B, C), which have supporting skills of their own (1, 2, 3). Instead of focusing on the overall skill that needs to be learned ....