One of the most important and yet least appreciated departments in companies is the Human Resource (HR) and Training department. In fact, some organisations have them subsumed under the Admin division or even simply omit such a team altogether. The reason? Cost Center. Nothing is further than the truth. Fortunately, there are increasing number of enlightened leaders and bosses who know the great returns training can bring. With tremendous support from the Singapore government through the various scheme, there is probably no better time than now throughout history to develop staff through training.
With the financial burden of training being taken care of by the government, the next challenge for many is being able to generate interest among staff towards training. There are valid reasons why many employees dislike attending training. We have highlighted seven of these reasons and how you can reverse them. Read here. As a well loved distant relative of HR and training departments of various organisations, Luminaries Lab has successfully helped change the mindset of staff towards training.
The moment you can unlock the fundamentals of what drive people, you are ready to be the catalyst to help them fulfill their potential and reach new heights for themselves and the organisation. It is worth reiterating two of the three principles that Luminaries Lab abides by when it comes to staff training. (For full write up, read here)
Principle #1 – There Must Be Holistic Engagements (3H) in Training
Human beings are entities with a mind, soul and body. Unless and until we engage all these three elements during training, the result is likely to be less than desirable. Far too often employees dread training because they are bored by the rattling and information overload from the “lecturers”. The other extreme are the instructional and hands on training where staff are expected to do as they are told and their opinions do not matter. The third common type are the motivational workshops where their passion gets fired up but very little is covered on practical strategies and relevant applications relating to their work environment.
To ensure holistic engagements in every training session, Luminaries Lab carefully and skillfully puts together various components to engage Heads, Hearts and Hands.
- Heads
Engaging their minds through information feeding and knowledge sharing such as findings from researches, statistics, theories and reports. The aim is to satisfy the logical mind with firm principles and rationale. - Hearts
Engaging their emotions through relevant stories, illustrations and experiential activities. The aim is to instil a passion and motivation on top of the knowledge they have acquired. - Hands
Engaging their act through reflection, audit, assessment, planning, practice and commitment. The aim is to maximise the probability of them implementing what they have learned.
Through the years, Luminaries Lab has discovered that this holistic approach has received most affirmations and re-invitations as the staff are significantly impacted by the end of each session. It definitely requires a lot more preparation as it takes time to understand the existing culture as well as gaps before the training can be customised. This leads to the next important principle.
Principle #2 – Every Training Session Must Be Customised
There are a thousand and one configurations of organisation models, cultures and climates out there. This explains why many off-the-shelves training programmes produce poor or unsustainable results even though in itself, they can be a good programme. The reason is because standalone programmes often do not readily fit in seamlessly with organisations of different colours and sizes. Here are five common mistakes causing the training to yield poor results and, at times, even backfire:
- Mistake #1
Implementing 1-1 mentoring system in organisations that have matrix reporting structure i.e. the staff reports to more than one superior who are from different departments or sections. - Mistake #2
Embarking on 360-degree feedback appraisal system in conservative cultures where protocols are expected and rank distinctions are high. - Mistake #3
Organising teambuilding activities without first having the vision, mission and core values in place. - Mistake #4
Sending a department suffering from poor morale for skills training. - Mistake #5
Conducting B to C sales training for staff who are taking care of B to B sales.
There is simply no shortcut when it comes to planning for training. Every training must take into account the organisation model, culture and climate. For this reason, for every confirmed training booking, Luminaries Lab always insists on a Training Needs Analysis (TNA) or what is now preferably known as Learning Needs Analysis (LNA). It has worked so well that we no longer provide training proposals upon requests unless the training reservations are confirmed and the TNA are first carried out. For taking the narrow way, Luminaries Lab has earned the reputation of being an essential staff development plug-in for top organisations. A plug-in essentially enhances existing systems appropriately. It is outsourcing at its best.
A training company without consultancy as one of its core competencies is severely impaired in its ability to deliver real value in training. Call us a doctor, psychologist or coach for organisations, our goals are the same – healthy and stronger individuals, teams and organisations.
