Where We Are.
Have you seen the chaos and uncertainty going on in the world right now? I am guessing, yes. It would be hard to miss. COVID-19 has rocked our universe. Businesses are reeling, downsizing, adjusting, trying to stay viable and quite frankly, just trying to stay open. Employees are working from home, learning new ways of doing business, at the same time they are home schooling kids, trying to pay the bills, and hoping to keep their job.
It is no wonder why companies are saying “Training is NOT a priority right now.”
I would suggest the opposite.
I think right now is the most important time to train your team.
Here is why.
1. It’s about the business.
Bottom line, business as usual is not business as usual anymore. Companies need a more creative, solution oriented, and innovative approach during times of economic downturn and crisis. It probably feels like every day is something new—you are just trying to keep up with the new rules, the new numbers, the new restrictions, who has time to even think about training right now? You are running a business, here!
I would encourage you to consider why you do employee training in the first place? Probably because we – as individuals and as companies – value growth and development. We expect them to learn and grow as the company learns and grows. We understand that the skills that got them where they are, that made them successful to this point, may not be the skills that will keep them moving forward and keep them successful where we are headed. We train so they can grow through change.
And aren’t these times of change? We need to be training now more than ever!
2. It’s about them.
We are asking our teams to do more than ever before. They are expected to change where they work, how they work, and in some cases, even what they are working on. And even being asked to pick up the slack for their coworkers who have been laid off, downsized, or furloughed. This creates overwhelm and stress. So many employees right now are struggling. We need to show them we are there to help and support them. The more we ask of them, the more support we want to show them. That is what effective training does.
► Training arms your team with the skills to do whatever is necessary to be successful in this “Next Normal.”
► Training gives them tools to be a more effective, innovative, and motivated worker. When we are working differently, we need our team to learn the skills to work differently and also do it effectively.
► Training (including virtual training) gives your team a chance to engage and connect, not just with you-- but with their fellow team members. Especially when they are working remotely. This is when they can feel the most disconnected.
► Training gives them something positive and fun to focus on—even if just for an hour. It can turn around their whole week!
► And remember, overwhelmed and stressed out employees are less healthy and more likely to get sick and miss work. When we need them the most!
What do we do about it?
To start with, it must be done economically. Let’s face it, Budget Matters! This is actually a great time to get the training for your team you are looking for and spend less money doing it. Training is at a discount right now. One of the best ways to get budget friendly training is to look to Virtual Training! (Oh, I heard you. You just said to yourself, **ugh** virtual training? Boo. Hiss. Oh yeah, I hear you.)
Trust me, I do them ALL the time and they can be so effective. I know, there are plenty of skeptics out there—people that think virtual training is boring and doesn’t work. That is not true! It can be educational, interactive, engaging and FUN!
There are 3 keys to effective, budget friendly virtual training.
First, do short sessions. We want to be able to keep their attention and engaged in the learning process, so we want to do it in smaller chunks. I suggest 1-2 hours at a time maximum without a nice break to give them a chance to refocus.
Second, make it fun! We have all sat in live training sessions that bored us to tears. We felt like we could barely stay awake. Imagine if it is boring and virtual? Holy smokes. We must keep it entertaining and relevant. I have discovered the more my audiences laugh the more they learn, so I like to keep them laughing.
Third, work with a trainer you can trust. You want training that accomplishes all the things we have just addressed—skill building, motivating, and engaging— don’t trust that to just anyone. I have discovered there are always people who will do it for less and there are always people who will do it for more—you want someone who will do it right.
The most common reasons we don’t train during times like these are don’t see it as a priority, budget constraints, and management is not on board. I hope this changes your opinion.
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