By Dave Saben
Hello, HR Directors, team leaders, learning officers. A month ago, I did not expect to be here. I’m guessing you probably didn’t either. The “here” is really no place and everywhere; the stark reality of the workplace now — empty offices and a fully distributed workforce. Since we’re “here,” I understand you may be thinking about options for training and education, remote upskilling or refreshing team talents during this unrequested interruption. If that’s the case, as a leader of what’s probably the world’s largest independent provider of workforce skills training, I’d like to offer some suggestions.
If that’s you, if you are thinking about filling your team’s time with training, here are three tips that I hope will make those considerations easier.
First, Slow Down
I understand that the past week or two has been a scramble of unprecedented scale, that you’ve had to do things you’d never even thought about. It’s likely that the speed and severity of those recent demands is carrying over to your interest in remote training and upskilling. That’s normal. And unnecessary.
This looks as though it could be a long displacement and so, slow down. If you rush everything to start now, what will you do in six weeks? Ten? Moreover, your teams will need time to adjust to their realities. Dropping training schedules on them right away may not be the best strategy. They probably need time too.
One of the beauties of going online, being remote is that training can start later, when you’re ready. Unlike a few other things we’ve noticed recently, online training is not going to sell out. No one is hoarding it. It will be there when you and your team are ready for it. No need to rush. Take a beat, gather your breath, think strategically.
Encourage Learning
If you can, avoid the temptation to pipeline training based on job duty or level.
Your team is likely to feel, at some point, as though they have time to fill. They may seek ways to feel stimulated, engaged, like they are making progress. So, don’t limit what they can learn. If your CEO wants to take a basic course on Excel, good. If your IT folks want to dive into organizational theory, that’s good too. Let your marketing folks take a coding course, or two. Be encouraging of their inquiry.
At the same time, if you can, try to encourage training, not require it. If learning is rewarding, fun, enriching, your team will do it more and get more out of it. Congratulate, don’t mandate.
Keep the Team Together
Prolonged remote work can be emotionally and psychologically taxing. It can foster feelings of depression and isolation.
To help combat these feelings, you can encourage your team to train together. Online, instructor-led courses are great for whole teams and provide a real classroom experience. Employees can see the instructor and engage with them and their peers in real-time. For teams that need more flexibility, pre-recorded online tutorials are a great resource. To keep it collaborative, schedule time for your team to talk about the training after everyone completes it, and ask for their input on how their new training can improve current processes.
Experts have shown that creating a sense of common purpose and shared goals makes learning more effective. And, they may have important benefits for your remote teams that could be struggling with the new, although temporary, norm.
There’s no question that this is an unusual and stressful time. Working in collaboration, creating a shared goal environment can be motivating. And if this was helpful, I’m glad. If I can help further, please let me know. After all, one blessing of being “here,” is that all of us have so many more neighbors now.
Dave Saben is the Chief Experience Officer and Executive Vice President at New Horizons Computer Learning Centers, the largest independent technology and career training provider in the world and an official training partner with Microsoft, Cisco and other leading IT companies.
