Is training a waste of your time?
At a recent Learning and Development Show I was engaged in conversation with a visitor to the stand. A CEO of a medium sized company, we were discussing the role of training – specifically GDPR.
He was adamant that in his company there could not possibly be any no data breaches – after all, nobody else has access to the data! When I challenged this point of view he said, “Employers donʼt like training, itʼs un-measurable and therefore costly. Any training we need I can get for free via a Google search.”
I considered his comments for a moment — and began to reflect on the his interpretation of the word “Training.”
For most of us “Training” happens on the job and conjures up images of uninspiring conference rooms, droning voices and awful buffet lunches.
Training is not exactly the most exhilarating of words is it?
But what if we were to substitute the word training for learning? We have been taught all our lives, I said to him. We understand the process. The roles of teacher and student, Mentor and Mentee, Mr Miyagi and Daniel San. Teaching provides the theoretical skills and training is putting those skills into practice. One simply cannot and should not exist without the other.
We believe that the purpose of teaching people new skills is so they use them. But, people will only use those skills if they remember them. And the only way they will retain that knowledge is if they are engaged when theyʼre learning!
So here comes the real question — are you giving the right training to the right people?
If you deal with learning and development of the employees in your company it is crucial you identify which employee needs training and what kind of training will best suit them. Consider their learning style, their hours of work, their ability to set aside time for online training or if a classroom based approach is best.
Decide too how the organisation as a whole will benefit – get a balance between the personal and professional development of the employees.
If you get this right — the engagement and retention will follow!
Download our Training Needs Analysis document — it will give you some ideas and is a practical way to start the process of introducing learning into your organisation. Perhaps I should send my CEO friend a copy?
Tags: Award Winning, eLearning, GDPR Training