Why training is your friend in an era of hybrid working
We’ve been out and about doing a lot of training in recent months. Tech consultancies, events companies, Cambridge University departments.
And I’m noticing a pattern starting to develop. What used to be simply a workshop where people would learn about?social media or writing for the web for example...is now a hugely valuable mechanism for bringing people together.
With so many companies being fully hybrid now – no longer in the office 5 days a week – training has become a handy hook to get people on site.
From there, you can add on a quarterly planning session or a senior leadership meeting. You can use it as an opportunity for team building that feels natural, not forced.
So for us…we went from always in person to doing everything over Zoom, and quickly having to find ways to keep attendees engaged (and awake!)
This meant?encouraging?people to put their questions in chat rather than shout out. Or breaking it up loads so no one gets?screen fatigue.
But now we’re back in person again! And I love it – you see people reaching across to scribble on each other’s worksheets, or giggling together at an in-joke. Lots of banter. I keep being served lunch too so I am definitely in favour.
It’s all made me realise we need to refresh the approach again…I mean our sessions have always been fun and interactive with lots of laughter…but I’m thinking how can we get people up and moving more? What props can we use? How can we get them drawing, constructing or sticking? How can we tie the content in with everything else going on that day?
The end goal in Sookio training has always been to help people understand and retain what they learned, but I think now more than ever, it's about building lasting bonds with teammates you may only see a few times a year.
Communication Untangled hits the top ten
So our new podcast series launched last month, and went straight into Apple's top ten for marketing podcasts. That's not bad, is it?
I think I’d been so busy getting my head down and getting it made – in and around the 1001 other things that are always going on – that I hadn’t put any thought to the fact that people would actually listen to it! And enjoy it! Madness.
So far we've covered brand guidelines, menu design, and how we capture information through online forms.?With guests including Harry Pearce Pentagram Sean Willard Menu Engineers Adam Robertson Iain Boyd Government Digital Service and covering NASA, Netflix and dodgy dark patterns along the way, it's all really interesting stuff. Shout out to Rob Birnie for most excellent production too.
Coming up, we’ll be Untangling Colour, then Reviews, then closing series one with Signs. Do?subscribe now ?so you don't miss an episode
Now's a good time to
Curiosity, sparked
Smile at sculptor Sean Henry’s installation in Ely Cathedral, Am I My Brother’s Keeper. Too many reclining marble?bishops in that place - time to mix it up a bit!
Observe Victoria Shi, the AI-powered digital persona from the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs that will comment on consular information for social media and journalists.?
Solve the social media 2024 conundrum. Read our blog post following our most recent Untangler session for clients (and come work with us if you’d like an invite to the next one!)