'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.