You have a lot of content that requires a lot of practice and application before you build on it. Your content is well structured, and you need the best way to deliver it. That’s the strength of the Flipped Classroom! Best served in the cohort model, consider flipping your classroom if you need to teach for more than 24 delivery hours (3 business days) in a row.
Author: Jeremy Robb
You find that you have just too much content to be covered and your learners are unable to process it all without burning out. What do you do? Extend the learning, or take it online through self-paced? Web-enhanced or blended/hybrid learning is a method of using online content to supplement the training you are giving. Is it right for you?
Have you wondered why more classroom training and/or classes point the learners to additional content online, beyond the lecture? Hybrid learning continues to subtly change the learning landscape. Let’s talk about why it’s impacting the traditional classroom, and why it’s a good thing!
You know you have a problem: users aren’t using the training you purchased, and Management wants to cut it. What can you do? How can you bridge the gap and show the value of training to Managers, while also encouraging your employees to use the courses available? Here are 5 ways:
1. Do your job task analyses
2. Centralize your learning in one place
3. Build job-based learning paths for every role
4. Include a budget for industry certifications
5. Have the Management Champion learning
You are a training professional, and your company has finally invested in a large learning library with curated content that covers just about every possible skill under the sun. You are thrilled because your co-workers in all departments can up-skill themselves and grow. And yet, it doesn’t get used, and management start asking why they even invested in the first place. Below we talk about why there’s a disconnect between management and employees regarding training.
In my previous role, our company had invested in a large, curated online training library for use by our employees. It was amazing, massive, and a little difficult to use if you didn’t know what you needed. Still, it was an amazing investment in the growth of individuals: but no one knew it was there. I would like to say this was an exception to the rule, but at nearly every job I’ve ever had, this has been the standard. Companies will invest in training libraries and make them available to their employees, and yet they are rarely utilized. This has two impacts:
- Management feels that training is a waste of money
- Employees feel like they are on their own when it comes to advancing their career
Both are right, in a way, which is concerning, and yet it has management and employees at odds. Managers will point out that training isn’t being used when it’s available, and employees point out that they didn’t know it was there and couldn’t navigate the massive library.
Let’s talk about the Management position first, to understand their concerns. When they see an investment not being used, they see a waste of resources that could go to hiring another Sales executive or Engineer. Why are we paying for something that is standing idle? It’s not in the best interest of the business to have that program on the books when we can use those resources elsewhere to better grow the business. And, from a certain point of view, they are right. Any resource not used within a company is a wasted resource.
This prompts the first question from management: Why did we invest in this learning library in the first place? And any HR rep or L&D team member can quickly reply: to invest in up-skilling of our employee base and build a resilient organization. That should be obvious. But no one seems to ask the next question, or rather, don’t like the answer: Then why aren’t employees using it?
This goes to the Employee point of view. Employees want to grow in their careers, earn better pay, become more knowledgeable, and respected within their circles of influence. This comes from experience and learning. Training can help with this, and often a diverse, liberal training library can help fill gaps that otherwise are tough to pick up on the job. This is where those large, curated libraries of training topics are so valuable: they have such a diverse collection that employees can find just about any skill to learn and develop. It’s also their curse: there’s SO MUCH THERE that it’s tough to get started. Even if you have a general idea, often there are 5-10 difference courses on the same topic, which is right? Employees need guidance when navigating these large libraries to use them effectively.
So, why are the libraries not being used? Employees don’t know they are there, and/or they don’t know where to start. They need content to be organized in a logical manner that makes sense for their role.
We have all been there at some point in our lives; trying to do something that seems so pointless. It may be filling out a timecard with multiple activities, or answering phones only to redirect them to someone else. The tasks seem pointless in themselves, and regardless of the value the task has to someone else, it makes it less of a priority to get done. We often ask ourselves, what is the purpose?
A purpose is a powerful motivator. Nations have gone to war because of a sense of purpose, civilizations have been created and extinguished through purpose. A purpose will guide decisions, justify actions, and inform strategy. It has brought products to market, businesses rise and fall by it, and new technologies discovered every day come and go based on finding a purpose. It’s safe to say that humanity needs to find a purpose to have an impact. In the workplace, there are layers of purpose to be found, though I’d like to focus on three: enterprise purpose, team purpose, and personal purpose.
Enterprise Purpose
Enterprise purpose, at least by my definition, is the reason and driving force for the company’s existence. It can be as simple as, “Safeguard your Savings” for a bank, or “Streamline your Work” for process automation. Growing up in the ’80s the media often portrayed the purpose of many a faceless corporate giant as “making more money,” and often “making more money for executives.” Needless to say, it was easy to vilify these entities in various workplace comedies with the little guy having to fight against the big corporate money machine.
Around the 2000s there was a shift, starting with tech companies (at least then the global marketplace) and quickly spreading to other organizations: defining a positive, socially impactful purpose. Google began with “Don’t be evil” as their purpose, and though vague it resonated with employees. Other corporate entities began to see the benefits of sharing their purpose as well: both customers and employees could get behind them. It drove adoption, profits, hiring, and retention. I will honestly say that if I am ever reached out to by another company, I always ask about the company’s purpose. I need to know where they are and what drives them.
Team Purpose
The team purpose is very similar to corporate or enterprise purpose but at the team level. It’s all well and good to have a corporate purpose of “End Cyber Bullying,” but where does your accounting team fit into that purpose? Break it down further, how does your internal billing team relate to that purpose? By defining a purpose, decisions are informed by clear guidelines. Teams know what they are doing, and how it impacts the company and customers, and are empowered to make decisions based on that purpose.
Personal Purpose
It’s difficult to talk about personal purpose without talking about a moral compass. To me, they seem the same. A personal purpose is what you, and you alone, value and desire. It will impact the career you strive for, the length of time you are at a company, and the effort you put in while at a company. If you value titles over opportunity, that will impact job growth moving forward. If your values match well with a company, you are likely to remain longer than if your values are in direct contrast.
For instance, my purpose is to provide future security to my two boys with autism, while inclusively building career opportunities through training and development. I value the importance of family, and I value the importance of allowing everyone to be successful.
When the Stars Align (or Not)
In a perfect world, all three levels of purpose will align. When that happens you see happy customers and employees, successful teams and companies. Everyone is driven by the same goals because they know what they want, what the team wants, and what the company wants. It’s truly magical when that happens.
And when it doesn’t, that’s when you have issues. Employees without purpose or who lack the understanding of their purpose become frustrated. It’s much like being tested on unknown criteria and not knowing the expected results. If you feel that you do not have a purpose for your team or organization, sit down with your manager and work out that purpose. If your manager isn’t sure either, then it’s a good time for both of you to work out clear-cut expectations and how you can meet those expectations. Then you both will be more satisfied with the work and results!
Several years ago, shortly after I became a manager, my Senior Director lent me a book. The book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni, takes the reader through the journey of a new CEO tasked with fixing the dysfunction of their C-Suite. The CEO outlines the five common dysfunctions in any team, starting with Trust. Trust, in this sense, isn’t “I trust that you will get the job done,” but rather “I trust your character enough to be vulnerable.” It’s a problem I’ve seen in several organizations, particularly when you have folks who are ambitious. There’s a general feeling that motivations cannot be trusted because you don’t know if they are genuine.
In my own career, I’ve found it difficult to trust. As Bill McDermott, ServiceNow’s CEO, always says, “You gain trust in drops, but lose trust in buckets.” I’ve had situations at work where leaders have offered their support, only to turn on me during a meeting. They tell me one thing, then quickly say something else to their leadership. They’ve turned peers against each other by saying they are the only ones that can help them. It’s a technique that serves in the short term but damages organizations for years afterward.
Why Do You Need to Build Trust?
Trust is the foundation of constructive discussion. If you trust those in the room, you feel free to voice your concerns without fear of retribution or poisoning your career. If you don’t feel comfortable sharing your concerns and you don’t trust the decision-makers, you won’t buy into the decision. That means it won’t be held accountable, won’t have the support it needs to succeed, and in the end, will fail as so many good ideas do in poorly run companies. That, in turn, will lead to a once-promising organization falling into mediocrity; a death knell to any organization in any company.
How Do You Build Trust?
Companies have tried to build trust through team-building events by having competitions, falling backward into waiting arms, and even going on expensive retreats with team-building experts. Lencioni’s method, as outlined in his book, was pretty basic: Get to know each other personally. This can be as simple as sharing something personal that no one else in the room knows. I’ve had the opportunity to share this experience with many colleagues, even those considerably senior to me, and it’s helped me understand their motivations and values, and in turn, enabled me to place some trust in them. The key to building trust is to place everyone in a safe but vulnerable state at the same time. Being vulnerable together generates a sense of community: We are all in the same situation with the same risks.
Now, it doesn’t always go as planned, and Lencioni points that out in his story. Some people will refuse to be vulnerable or will use that opportunity to humiliate someone else. How you, as a leader, handle the situation is very important. The example in the book tells of the CEO’s first experience when she had a dysfunctional team where a high performer was very rude and condescending to the team. She made the mistake of promoting the high performer because of her performance and lost three members of the team because of that action. Shortly after she was fired for the decision, someone else took over. The high performer left the team, and the remaining folks not only compensated for his loss but for the three others who left. Supporting the team’s trust is far more important than looking at simple performance numbers.
Where Should I Start?
Start with observation, particularly in meetings. Do you have folks who are always quiet? Do you have team members who, once they voice concerns, are quickly shouted down by others? Do you have an “Us versus Them” mentality on your team? Do you (or your team) make mistakes but not own up to them? And finally, do you have a team that just can’t make decisions because they are too worried about their own teams? If you do, you have a dysfunctional team. Your next step is to look at where the dysfunction lies: Most often it is at the fundamental level of Trust.
Trust is the foundation of any and all business transactions. If you cannot trust each other, the entire organization suffers. If the organization suffers, then the company suffers, and ultimately, the customer suffers. If you have a lack of trust in the team, address it immediately! The longer you wait, the worse it will get. Trust doesn’t fix itself on its own, because no matter how many drops you put in, you won’t fill a bucket that’s missing a bottom.
For my family, traveling is quite an ordeal. Having two boys with autism means I need to do a lot to get them to overcome their fears of going to someplace new. That means finding an incentive that will excite them enough to leave the comforts of Southern California and brave the more temperate, ancient world that is my second home: Germany. For my youngest son, that means going to Disneyland Paris at the end of the trip. For my oldest son, it means having Spaghettieis every day. Both these perks aligned with the values of my boys, and my family, and communicated the type of culture we have: fun, family, and good food (or in this case, treats).
The beginning of the year is a time of stress for managers, and one often looked forward with anticipation by employees. It’s that time when the Company shares its values with the employee. You might be thinking of mission statements, the company All Hands meetings, or new company visions being shared in meetings around the globe. And yes, while that does share the company purpose, vision, and goals, that doesn’t tell your employees what the Company, Organization, and ultimately each individual manager values. That is communicated by compensation reviews or raises and promotions.
Employers take the time to sit each employee down and outline their performance, and what has and has not qualified them for an increase, promotion, and/or bonus. Human Resource departments diligently outline to each manager the company values, the ways to express and approach those values, and how to best target the high performers on the team. Numbers, charts, spreadsheets, databases, etc. are being generated to best identify how allocations should be made. Performance and potential are weighed, market adjustments are made, and compensation is calculated. Managers, directors, and so on look to find ways to make allowances and stretch resources to try and keep things as human as possible. But in the end, when all is said and done, the results of this process outline the values of the company.
This is important to note because the annual compensation review should not be a surprise for anyone, whether or not they received a raise or promotion. If, as a manager, you have been diligent in regular (at least quarterly, if not monthly) performance reviews with your direct reports, and outlined the values of the company and those expectations, then nothing should be a surprise unless it’s a pleasant surprise that was unexpected. The problem that I’ve often seen is a lack of clarity. I’m not talking about your Key Performance Indicators, which are hard numbers and are the foundation of all performance reviews, but rather the how of your performance review. How, as in how those key performance indicators are reached, how your team performs, and how they treat each other.
When I started as a manager a few years ago, my director, Jon Lloyd, lent me a book entitled The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable, which shared a story that I have always kept with me: promotions communicate what you value. The story is found on page 370 of the ebook version and was told by the main character, the CEO trying to fix a dysfunctional C-Suite team, about her first promotion as a manager. She had one top performer on the team that had a really bad attitude. In spite of his being the top performer, his attitude and methods of accomplishing the work impacted the culture of the team. Instead of firing him, she promoted him. Instantly three members of the team quit, and the department fell into chaos. She made the mistake that so many other managers have made before and valued individual performance over culture, and as such damaged the team and overall performance.
Performance is valuable because it’s through a long history of performance that drives business success. But long histories of performance don’t happen unless you have a culture of respect, gratitude, and trust. So while working through compensation adjustments, bonuses, and promotions, please keep in mind the long-term impacts of your actions. It communicates volumes to your employees about what you and your organization truly value, and that value will dictate the culture you wish to foster a lot more than Free Food Fridays, Margarita Mondays, or pep rallies every quarter. Celebrate your wins and cultural contributions, and you will see an organization that will thrive.
2021, much like its predecessor, was a difficult year. When the world should have been returning to a sense of normalcy, the Delta and then Omicron variants reared their head. Opportunities hoped for were lost, long-anticipated plans and events changed, and life-changing events continued to happen. 2021 was the year I lost my dad. Many others have lost parents, siblings, grandparents, or children. And those with that feeling of loss and grief are coming into the workplace. I’d like to focus on what we can do to help others with their feelings of grief and loss, regardless of the cause. I’ll be referencing two articles that I highly recommend: Coping with Grief and Loss, and Workplace Grief and Loss: Coping with the Death of a Coworker. Please read through both of these excellent articles for a more comprehensive understanding. Also please note: I am not a mental health professional and this information is given as a general reference. If you are dealing with serious trauma, grief, or depression, please seek out appropriate medical help.
Causes of Grief: And trying not to judge
Any type of loss can cause grief. In Coping with Grief and Loss, the list is pretty comprehensive, and yet just a small list of examples:
- Divorce or relationship breakup
- Loss of health
- Losing a job
- Loss of financial stability
- A miscarriage
- Retirement
- Death of a pet
- Loss of a cherished dream
- A loved one’s serious illness
- Loss of a friendship
- Loss of safety after a trauma
- Selling the family home
Any type of loss, real or perceived, can cause grief. It’s a tendency of humans to pass judgment on the level of grief expected to be felt, generally based on one’s own experiences. The best thing anyone can do for someone else is to accept their feelings of loss and grief as real and justified, regardless of the cause. Emotionally, the feelings and impact are the same and should be treated equally. Everyone needs understanding during their times of grief, not a judgment on whether or not their level of pain is justifiable based on someone else’s scale.
Understand the Grieving Process
In order to best help others, it is necessary to understand the grieving process and help others work through their pain by being present for them. Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross introduced the 5 stages of grief, which gives a good guideline on how it’s processed.
- Denial: I don’t believe this is happening, because it can’t happen – Often someone in denial will just continue on with the job, unwilling to accept that their loss and grief impact their ability to do the job.
- Anger: Why is this happening, and who is to blame?! – Anger can boil over at the littlest things, and at any moment. It may not be controllable, or understandable. Taking a break and talking it through can get to the real cause of the anger.
- Bargaining: Please, stop this from happening and I’ll do _____
- Depression: I’m too sad to do anything – A sudden loss in productivity or engagement, failing to be present, or just simply not showing up at all are clear signs of depression. It’s not always easy to be self-aware about your own depression, so it helps to have co-workers and family members who can see those behavior patterns.
- Acceptance: I’m okay with what’s happened – The last stage is one where individuals will often try to rush to, and with variable degrees of success. Know that someone can be okay with things one minute, and have the weight of grief hit them the next. Be patient, understanding, and willing to take what you can.
It should be noted that these stages do not necessarily happen in order, and there is no time frame for how long each stage can last. People all process their grief in their own way and in their own time. To help your co-workers through their pain, it’s important to observe, communicate, and be available. But much more than that, know that while someone is grieving, little things can overwhelm them very quickly. Often the person grieving isn’t aware of what could overwhelm, them until they are overwhelmed. Be sensitive specifically to otherwise unexplained drops in productivity.
Help Others Cope
You can help others through their grief by being sympathetic and available, and doing what you can to help ease the challenges that can compound grief. Often co-workers in the workplace will try to rationalize, avoid, or push their pain away in order to appear “normal” and avoid the stigma of grief. These behaviors might temporarily help avoid the pain of loss but can create more feelings of shame, fear, and isolation around that loss. Be conscious of loss and grief around you, and be clear and open with your expectations. As a leader, do what you can to mitigate expectations and allow people to grieve. The more someone pushes, or is forced to push, their pain away, the longer it will take for someone to move through the grieving process.
It’s also very important to be sure that any mental health services provided by the company are available and that your co-workers are aware. While you can be understanding, you are not expected to be a mental health expert (unless of course, that is your actual job). Encourage those who are grieving to take time to work with someone in order to process their grief and pain in a healthy way.
Taking Action
When my father died, my mother was devastated, and yet still working. Having already been on extended Family leave, she had already burned through her PTO prior to my father’s passing, and now she felt obligated to return to work before even the funeral was held. Her supervisor, in a complete and total expression of compassion, told her to take all the time she needed, and it would be worked out with HR. Her team then contacted her to let her know that the work she would have done was being handled by them, and they would step in to make sure she didn’t feel overwhelmed when she came back to the office. What an excellent expression of compassion and sympathy by the team, leading them to an action that supported my mother at her most vulnerable.
Empathy is understanding someone’s circumstances, but sympathy is acting on that understanding. While empathy has been a buzzword in the business world for a long time, just understanding, or trying to understand, someone’s plight isn’t enough. There are times when action is far more important, showing your support by doing what you can in order to help someone else. It doesn’t have to be huge, just enough to lift someone’s burden.
2021 was a rough year, and every year is rough for someone. Understand, be sympathetic, and be there and support your teammates when they struggle. That is the best part of being human.