Set learning expectations

If you are a regular reader of this column, you know that prior to getting into publishing I worked with several Fortune 100 companies, helping managers train and develop their employees, and helping employees learn how to be productive and effective.

I often interviewed employees who were leaving the company to identify organizational problems. Often employees said, “My boss has me pigeonholed into the job I’m doing now and won’t let me try anything else.”

These managers didn’t train or encourage learning. As a consequence, they experienced high turnover as their employees left for jobs that allowed them to grow.

Training and learning are similar but different.

Managers have the responsibility to provide employees with opportunities and resources to learn. That’s the essence of training.

Employees then have the responsibility to use those opportunities and resources to learn.

You can provide training opportunities by sending your employees to offsite seminars, by conducting seminars onsite or online, by talking to and teaching your employees, and by allowing them to learn from one another.

What resources do they need to learn? Time (to attend seminars, sit through and work online courses of study, and work with other employees or professionals), money (to pay for tuition, online courses, or books, newsletters, and professional memberships), tools (online access, adequate computing power, and software, for example) — and you.

As a corporate trainer, I observed that successful managers with employees who were content, well trained, and productive did three things to help their employees learn:

• They set expectations about training outcomes. For example, before sending staff to a seminar (such as a chiropractic conference), they sat down and planned which sessions employees would attend and what they might expect to learn.

• They followed up with their employees after the training occurred. They asked, “What did you learn? Was it what we expected?”

• They reinforced the training. The managers met with each employee and planned how to apply what was learned.

When both you and your employees fulfill your learning responsibilities, the outcome you can expect is a more productive and stable staff.

I hope you enjoy this issue, which focuses on training and development.

Until next time,

Linda Segall, Editor-in-Chief