'more for less'

Speaking to Liz Goddard L & D Manager at North Hertfordshire District Council at the end of last year, she mentioned that the theme for 2009 in learning and development is ‘more for less’! This appears to be true for local authority learning & development teams across the country and also for many private sector organisations too.

Liz also said this has had an impact on the way learning and development is now organised at North Herts. Many people just don’t have the time to attend traditional workshops; there is now much more emphasis on flexible learning solutions such as e-learning and open learning sessions. It is also becoming increasingly important to be able to demonstrate the value learning and development has for the organisation in terms of time and resources.

So thinking about ‘more for less’ and particularly open learning sessions, I think I’ve come across an idea that might be of interest. It is called ‘In-Step Learning’.

In-Step Learning is a blended learning concept that uses action learning sets, co-coaching and other forms of open or self managed learning to drive your business critical projects.

How does it work? Well, it starts at the heart of the organisation with the essential priorities that have been identified as vital to its continued success. Now consider the projects that will make these priorities happen. How would you like to implement these crucial projects and build the competence of people within your organisation? This is what In-Step Learning is all about.

Those involved get the opportunity to learn while they achieve a real time objective that makes a difference to their organisation. They learn auxiliary skills such as research and project management as well as the core skills needed to complete the task.

Over the next few months this blog will explore In-Step Learning in more detail. This will include guidance on how to make it work with your learners and practical suggestions for making it the learning ethos of your organisation.

In the meantime if you want to know more then contact your training consultants in Northampton, Crystal Learning.

Beat the credit crunch - take control of your environment and release your creativity!

The New Year has seen me make a commitment to de-clutter my office, clear my head of all that is not helping me to be creative, motivated and energised in 2009.

I’ve talked about it for ages. Every time I go in to the office after an absence, I’m hit afresh with the sensation that I’m drowning in paper and disorder. Unfortunately, working in this environment was having an effect on working practises when I’m in the office. It’s hard to complete tasks without getting distracted with others stuff and it’s much more difficult to be creative when constantly re-producing material that you know you already have but you don’t know where it is! Deadlines are more likely to be missed and mistakes happen.

So I called in the expert: Judith Morris from Organised Chaos. What an inspiration! It’s not ‘rocket science’ she just asked me questions that I would never ask myself and helped me see how it could be different.

The experience has made a huge difference to my office (and my local recycling centre). And even more importantly it’s made a difference to me! Working in chaos is draining of time, energy and inspiration. De-cluttering clears the mind and generates the feeling of vivacity, motivation and focus that sets you up for all the challenges of the New Year ahead.

So thanks to Judith, the theme for the Crystal Learning blog to start 2009 is beat the credit crunch by taking control of your environment. Release your creativity, make the most of all those opportunities and be inspired. If you want to know more or want help in getting started then get in touch.

The role of Learning & Development at Christmas!

How does your business view the learning and development specialists in your organisation?

Here we are just about to embark on the Christmas festivities and move stealthily in to 2009. It’s difficult to believe we are already at the end of yet another year! Isn’t it a time to review our successes of the past and to plan for those to come?

For learning and development teams it is often a time when the usual business of designing and delivering training tends to ease off. In its place we are persistently asked to entertain our fellow employees at the annual end of year conference, the Christmas party or the festive team meeting. As we move through December are you constantly looking for games and activities that are fun and suitable for a group of 30+? Do your colleagues have an expectation that you will be able to fill that ‘fun spot’ at the next office get together?

This is certainly an experience I’ve had throughout my career and it can become a difficult balancing act to provide the business with what they want and keep your own professional integrity in tact.

That doesn’t mean to say that learning and development people are party poopers, they will be the first to get involved. It’s just that sometimes it can be hard to meet people’s expectations year after year with variety, novelty and ingenuity.

Well, here are some suggestions as to where you might find a helping hand.

www.partygamecentral.com
www.partyplan.co.uk
www.party411.com
www.bluepinapple.com
www.centrinet.com/christmas/party_games.htm

and of course there is always that old favourite

www.businessballs.com

So maybe it is a time for reviewing the past and planning for the future. It certainly aught to be! But before we get the opportunity to do that let’s see 2008 out with a bang! And come back in 2009 raring to go!

Wishing all those of you that have followed this blog throughout 2008 seasonal greetings and every success for 2009 and don’t forget to join us again after the festivities.

Developing Flexibility

The blog posted back in September suggested three ideas to beat the credit crunch. This is the last of those ideas.

What does the credit crunch and recession mean to you and your business? For many it means that any thoughts of changing how things are done around here are quashed and it becomes important to hold on to how things have always been.

Not an unreasonable reaction given the economic climate and the potential challenges that organisations are facing. There is, however an alternative approach and those who are prepared to take it are brave, forward thinking and giving their business every chance of success.

So what is this alternative? Well, it is to encourage, maintain and grow flexibility within your business. All sounds a bit far fetched? Well consider it for a moment.

Flexibility means looking for new customers in places that you might not have contemplated before.

Flexibility means developing new products and services that compliment your present portfolio and open up new markets.

Or flexibility means you need your people to do different and more diverse activities than you have every expected them to do before!

So, how do you create the opportunities to meet new customers? You need to do some research. What are your competitors doing? What is likely to work and what are you prepared to try? What resources have you available and how will you maintain it long term? One way of helping you to answer some of these questions is to find someone who specialises in marketing and increasing your customer base.

Similarly, how do you create new products and services that fit with your present range and demonstrate the ethos and aims of your business? Again there are experts out there that can guide you in diversification. You might employ an innovative and imaginative business development manager. Or an ingenious and resourceful research and development person might be waiting in the wings!

And what about your people? Have they got the diverse and flexible skill set you need them to have to help you to support your business? Are they prepared to try out new things, to learn new skills and experience the highs and lows of trying things out for the first time? Or are they set in their ways, unable to see the value and benefit of changing what and how they do things? Or are scared to admit that they might not have the competence or the confidence that you need?

There are two areas of concern in creating a more flexible workforce; one is providing the opportunities to develop their skills and knowledge and the second is generating a culture within your organisation that will support your people in becoming your flexible workforce of the future.

Like increasing your customer base and diversifying your products and services, you might also need help in creating a flexible workforce. It’s not something that can be constructed over night and will take time and patience to get right. What it will mean is that your people will be in a position in the future where flexibility is something that is valued and craved for and as an organisation you will be better equipped to face the challenges of a difficult economic climate ahead.

If you want to know more about how you can develop flexibility within your workforce then call Crystal Learning on 01604 696469 or email enquiries@crystallearning.co.uk for further information

Train it in, don't buy it in!

A while ago now a blog was posted here about three distinct cost cutting ideas for beating the credit crunch. This month’s blog considers one of those ideas, how your people can learn the basic skills needed to pass on the expertise of expensive consultants. The idea is simple! Use those consultants to build up the skill set of your people, so your people can pass on expertise within your business in the future.

With the need to continually keep your business up-to-date with technology and changing markets there are skills needed that your people don’t necessary have. This means you have to buy in the skill through external consultancy with all the cost, inconvenience and time that this will entail. You buy it in. It’s used to fulfil a particular purpose and then it moves out of the business until it’s needed again.

Wouldn’t you like to have someone within your business that has the skills you need, when you need them? Then if you are buying in the skills at some point, increase your return on investment by taking the opportunity for your staff to work alongside the consultant and learn from their experience.

Just imagine all the extra skills that can be built in this way. For example, the marketing guru teaches your PA the fundamentals of building a marketing campaign. The sales trainer develops your sales manager to deliver basic sales training to their team. Think of the potential that each of these people display each time they practise their new skill. And often the skill set is very generic. At its most basic level its project management, training or facilitation. So in the future the PA will be able to project manage the next ad campaign and the Sales Manager will be able to train coaches to deliver process training in the call centre.

The trick is to have people in your business that are flexible and willing to develop. The consultant resource you buy in needs to be able to work alongside your people. Having hands on mentoring from an expert is a great way to gain knowledge, skills and experience. Through this form of learning and development, watch your people grow in confidence and show their commitment through taking on the job at hand.

Many external providers today value being employed as a coach and mentor as well as an expert. The people they work alongside provide the organisational context so that the skills that they bring are a compliment to the way things work around here.

If you want to know more about how to broaden the skills of your team through coaching and mentoring from external providers then please get in touch, or see how this can be done through our website.

Are your managers ready for what lies ahead?

Following on from last months theme .....

The media is full of the impending recession and the affects of the credit crunch. Everyday there are new stories of beleaguered organisations that are struggling to survive. If you do not feel it directly then you are feeling it indirectly through customers, suppliers and competitors.

So what do the managers in your organisation need to be doing to support your people through these changing times?

Often it is assumed that managers have all the skills needed to support people in times of change. This isn’t always the case. It is not a set of skills that management teams automatically have because they have been given the title ‘Manager’! And it is a healthy practise to be asking at times like this; do your management team know how to prepare themselves for what ever the future might hold?

How well informed are your people about what is really happening to your organisation at this time? If managers do not provide clear and unambiguous communications on a regular basis – people will make it up for themselves. They will see or interpret significance in everything that the management team do and say. From whether they buy new cars through to changing the brand of toilet paper in the wash rooms.

You need your people to see a positive approach from the management team. One that tells them about new initiatives that the management team are implementing that will increase productivity or will increase sales. Make it clear why they are being introduced and the part they play. Try not to emphasis merely the cost cutting initiatives and the reason for a reduction in your output.

If it is foreseen that redundancies will happen then make sure that people understand what that actually means within your organisation. For example, what is the redundancy policy? What support can they expect from the management team? The greater clarity you can provide the more able people are to cope successfully what ever the changing environment may bring.

If redundancies happen, the management team need to understand the effect it will have on those that are left behind. Survivors need to be ready and motivated to take your business forward as soon as any restructures are complete. This means managers need to understand the support and challenge that their teams will need from them in the days ahead.

When things get tough, managers look for quick cost cutting exercises such as stopping free vend in the drinks machine. It will produce a cost saving now at the risk of causing morale, motivation and responsibility to drop. Productivity and service quality will fall when you really need stability most. In the long term it is imperative that you build a loyal and committed workforce that understand the predicaments of the business and are prepared to support your business in the future

Managers need to be able to inform and support their teams during uncertain times. More than ever before managers need to work as managers and provide direction and support so that teams are prepared to continue to deliver your product and service within the most challenging markets.

So the message here is simple. During this period of economic turmoil make sure your managers know how to maintain commitment through keeping communication channels open and working. Remain positive, realistic and honest and above all encourage your teams to work together in keeping your business viable during the year ahead.

Beating the Credit Crunch

It has been a while since the last blog was posted by Crystal Learning. And it has been the credit crunch that has prompted me to share this with you now.

Every time you turn on the TV or the radio there is something about the credit crunch and it has compelled this short piece. If you want to know more or to make your own point on the thoughts expressed here then get in touch or leave your comments.

With the economic climate looking decidedly chilly, the reaction from most of us is to batten down the hatches and trim any excess spending. When we are told that we are on the brink of a recession, any activities that are not directly related to producing our product or service are dispensed with. As the credit crunch starts to bite us and those around us, we reduce investment and keep a tight rein on the budget available. And rightly so!

Here are three cost saving ideas for you to think about at this time.

The first is that when the skills we need to compete in our chosen market are not readily available within the business we need to find them from outside. Have you thought about training them in rather than buying them in so that they will be available to you time and again without any extra cost?

Secondly, difficult economic environments evoke a need for flexibility. That might be to adapt to new markets, diversification of product and service or the need for a multi-skilled workforce. Do the people in your organisation have the flexibility that you need?

Thirdly, companies that are able to adapt and change with the commitment and understanding of its workforce are more likely to survive a recession. It is those that stop communicating, withdraw responsibility and reduce motivation that are most likely to fail. Are you still communicating, expecting your workforce to be responsible for what they deliver and continuing to motivate them?

Consider your own organisation; are you able to answer 'yes' to all these questions? If so then tell us know about it so that others can understand how to make it work for them. If not maybe you want to know more about how you can apply these cost saving ideas.

Sometimes to make a measured investment now means your organisation is able to continue to grow and flourish in the future.