Training is a big and important investment. In order to get the most return from your training money, it's important that your programs are well planned. Your plan should come from carefully identified needs. In this post, my is goal to share my thoughts on where to look and how to identify those training needs.
Where to look:
The first and best place to look is in your organization's strategic and operational plans. I will tell you why later. The next is at the results of your company's performance appraisal reports if you have one. Lastly, you can also identify your employees' training needs by asking the employees themselves.
How to look
Abraham Maslow said "I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail". This applies to training and identifying training needs. First, i hope you agree with me that training is not the solution to all performance problems. poor performance is not always caused by lack of training. It could be a result of poor recruitment, lack of effective tools, undesirable work environment, bad strategy and other extraneous factors. it is therefore important to separate the real need for training and the needs for other interventions. It also helps to employ various ways of identifying your training needs.
Let me now go to how I think training should be identified through the methods I identified at the beginning of this post:
Extract it from your organizational plans.
As I said, this should be your first and best stop towards identifying your employees training needs. Why, because the needs you will identify here shows a line of sight with your organization's goals and strategic direction. Here are the questions that will extract the answers you need:
1. If X is the company's goal and Y is it's strategy, how many people are needed to carry out that strategy and with what kind of knowledge, attitude, skills and habits (KASH)?
2. Are those KASH available to you now?
3. Which of those should you hire and which should be developed (through training)?
If you are using the balanced scorecard framework, all these questions are much easier to answer and the answer clearly links back to the organization's goals. For the sake of illustration, I came up with a simplified BSC set of goals and initiatives to show you how I think it should work.
Extract it from your regular performance appraisal reports
This is provided that your performance appraisal tool has a feature for appraising the "lead" indicators (desired behaviors or competencies) that affect delivery of results. If your appraisal only focuses on results, then there's not much to talk about except the desired results being met or not met. Your performance appraisal system can be a powerful tool for identifying training needs if it has all the necessary features. One would be behavioral or competency assessment, the other one is an (this is known by many names) employee development plan. This is the form managers and employees use to discuss the steps to take in order to improve employee performance. This form often contain the identification of needed training to improve the incumbent's performance. HR should collate all these and extract pertinent data that will be considered in drawing the training plan.
Going back to the behavior or competency-based appraisal, if you put all the appraisal results together, you should see trends in terms of strengths and weaknesses(see above table). If you play with the numbers, you will be able to see how many of your employees need to improve their presentation skills, for example or problem solving and decision making. Be forewarned though that as i said earlier, not all performance gaps are training needs. You need to investigate if this problem can be addressed through other means. See related topic here.
Ask the employees themselves
This is where you utilize your training needs analysis survey questionnaires. For me this is the least effective because it is the most subjective. To ask employees' what their training needs are is akin to asking them what their ideal man or woman are. They, more often than not fall in love with the complete opposite of what they say they like. So, the question you might have now is, is this worth doing at all? My answer is if you don't have organizational plans to refer to and your existing performance appraisal tool does not provide you with the necessary information, then this is your only recourse (aside from finally deciding to have an organizational plan and a performance management system that gives you the information you need of course!).
Is there a way to reduce the subjectivity of the responses to your questionnaire? My answer is yes. This is by asking your questions 360 degrees, meaning ask the incumbent, the boss, the subordinate and the peer. It can be a logistical nightmare to do this ( imagine asking 4 people the same set of questions for each incumbent instead of just one) but this is the best way i know to reduce subjectivity. One other consideration in using TNA questionnaires, is making sure that people are in the right frame of mind when they respond to your questions. I mean, they should completely understand and accept the purpose of the exercise and the role they play. If people are under or overstating the need, you'll have a poor basis for your training plan. This is why I always prefer to sit people in one room and discuss what we are trying to do before letting them answer the questionnaires instead of just emailing it to them. The face-to-face conversation gives me more confidence that i have explained well and all questions are answered.
Want to know more? Attend my Trainer's Training workshop on February 11, 12 and 18, 2010. See the details here.
I like to think that my job as a trainer is somewhat similar to that of doctors. They treat people in one way, I treat them in another. There are various solutions for various problems, but the intervention has to be right for the problem, or else the problem will just worsen. Some of their patients come dead on arrival; some of mine come dead on arrival too! Well, that is in a manner of speaking. They are of course alive but their state of mind sometimes makes me feel that they are as hopeless as those who come to hospitals dead! I wish too that there are clear signs that they are among those hopeless like no pulse or no heart beat, or no head… so that we don’t have to waste our time reviving them, but they hide under the veil of false interest. I hope they’d say at introduction that they are likely not going to learn anything so that I can focus more on those who are likely to benefit from the course… I suspect that if they do tell me they are dead on arrival this is how they will introduce themselves:
“Hi, my name is Brian, Brian Dead. I’m Irritated to be here. Leadership training right? I am here not because I want to, but because my boss wants me to! I clearly stated in the training needs analysis questionnaire that I am such an expert in leadership and yet there he went, enrolling me in this program. I mean what more can this program offer? I’ve attended so many programs in leadership and have known of so many theories and concepts about leadership that I think I can teach leadership myself. I think the reason why my boss sent me here is because he thinks I'm such a lousy leader. He probably asked my staff how well I'm doing and the traitors told him they're not happy with my leadership."
“Hi, my name is Chloe, Chloe Less. I’m NOT happy to be here! I was the best sales person in the company. They promoted me to leadership position and that's when everything started to crumble. I know this training will not help me, you know why? I don't want this job. I want to go back to selling where I'm really able to use my talent right."
“Hi My name is Kent, Kent Relate. I love to attend training programs like this. Its stimulating and self enriching, you get to learn about stuff such as leadership. You get to realize what you have been doing wrong all these time. It’s both a fulfilling and humbling experience… You know what my problem is? I can already see that I won't be able to apply most of what I learned here because my boss won't allow it. My staff will think I'm acting weird if I start behaving differently. So, as much as I will most likely appreciate what I will learn from this course, I'm too much of a wimp to make some personal changes."
“Hi, I’m Dead Tired. Of course that’s not my name! but that’s what I am right now… I had night duty and before that I had to do something else. I like so much to attend this training and know more about leadership but please if I fall asleep, wake me up. If you can’t wake me up, please tone down your voice so I can… I can… (snore)…”
“Hi, I shouldn’t be here! I have tons of work waiting on my table, is this a three-day training? May I be excused once in a while to check on my stuff? I haven’t taken any of my leave credits and I think I forgot to turn off the stove this morning! Hold on…(phone call) Of course, I’m on it. I just had to attend this training! What do you mean what am I doing here? Didn’t I just tell you? Hold your line! (another call)Yes ma’am? I am here in the training program you enrolled me in. What? I have to go back to the office after the session? I have to finish my report? But, but, but? Ok, yes ma’am I’ll go there right after the training… (to the trainer) Do you have training on stress management?”
I’m trying to be funny here but I hope you realize that these circumstances surface during training. I’ve seen too many of them! . Training is an investment of time money and effort from all those who have a stake in it, the participant included. To send people who are not training ready – those who do not recognize the need, those who are not right for the job, those who are not given enough chance to learn, is a waste of those precious investment.
I believe that those responsible for sending people to training has this difficult but necessary responsibility. In the case of my character “Brian Dead”, they need to determine if training is the right intervention for the person. In order to prevent cases similar to “Chloe Less”, they need to device a strategy for appointing the right person for the job. Interventions won’t make the wrong persons good at what they do. In the case of “Kent Relate”, a good support mechanism is necessary because training is a lot about change, when there’s none of it, there will be more people who appreciate a training program but will be afraid to apply the knowledge at work. In the case of my “dead-tired, and stressed out participant, managers must realize that the mental condition ideal for learning is one that is not too tired or too occupied with so many other things. After all, training is all about learning and not just attending. Some managers think that sending their employees to training will automatically equip them with the skills that they need, if they don’t get that they blame the program or the facilitator.
Let me get a bit more serious here… Covey said in his book 7 Habits of highly effective people that there is a gate of change in every one of us that opens from the inside. The training facilitator no matter how good in all his effort won’t be able to open it without our consent. It takes the right mindset and the right state of mind to learn anything… as they say…”when the student is ready, the teacher will appear…
Note: Many thanks to Eric Ingrum for the zombie photo.
I have been conducting training for 14 years and facilitating team building workshops for more than 10 years. I have done all sorts of team building approaches. I facilitated indoor and outdoor activities, ropes course, paintball, amazing race types and a mix of everything. I followed most of the teams I worked with to see if they succeeded in building teamwork or not. And just like not all those who buy self-help books really get to help themselves, not all of those who go to team building workshops help themselves to become effective teams.
What differentiates those who succeed from those who fail to fully harness their team strength?
Two things; leadership and execution (although the latter also boils down to the former)
Leaders area able to follow through, relentlessly on whatever is needed to build the team.
I've always said that going through a team building workshop and then not following through is worse than not going at all. Why? Because it erodes trust to a much lower level than before you did your team building activity. That's definitely not a good thing.
If you are an HR Manager or a Team Leader and you want to build a high performing team, I have five suggestions you might want to add to your to do list:
First, understand the role you play as a leader in building your team. Some managers send their teams to team building workshops expecting that it would turn them into droids who will follow every command without complaining. Some think team building workshops are attitude adjustment events suitable only to their staffs and not to them. They go to the workshop, give an opening remarks then leave or stay in the sidelines. All these come from lack of understanding of the nature of teamwork. As far as I am concerned, it is the leaders who need to make the biggest attitude adjustment if they want better teamwork. If you need help in equipping your managers and supervisors for building high performance teams, click here. I'll be more than happy to help.
Second, pick a team building intervention that is not only fun but one that allows your team to agree on a set of norms to build trust, manage conflicts, demonstrate commitment, be accountable for their actions, and focus on results (Patrick Lencioni, 5 Dysfunctions of a Team). A good team building workshop will not only help participants learn about team working principles, it should help them take specific actions after the workshop to work more effectively as a team. Check out ExeQserve's team building workshop design based on this framework.
Third, follow through on whatever action items were committed during the team building workshop. Managers should meet their team at least a week after the workshop and talk about implementation of norms. Setup a number of review meetings to assess execution of commitments. I believe that team work is not achieved overnight. It takes some painstaking nurturing and shaping from the leader to make it happen. As John Maxwell said. Everything rises and falls on leadership, hence, the leader must actively pursue this.
Fourth: In my experience, particularly with Filipino teams, having norms for open communication is not always enough. Our culture have a very different definition of respect for authority.( See my post on creating a culture of candor and assertiveness in the Filipino Workplace) To be assertive in a Filipino workplace is to risk being branded as disrespectful, griper or too radical for one's own good. To increase the amount of productive collaboration in the team, it helps for every team member ( yes, including the leader) to learn assertive communication skills. If you see your team as having the need to communicate more effectively, please check out this link.
Last but not the least, it helps to have systems and processes that harness the power of teamwork. Programs like Kaizen, Quality Circles and the likes help teams put more structure and regularity to team collaboration. It also helps teams focus their energy towards improvements. If you like this idea, please see our program for implementing the 8D approach to team problem solving and decision making.
Let me reemphasize that everything rises and falls on leadership. The success in building a high performing team depends on the leader's ability to lead. Kouzes and Posner ably encapsulated leadership as inspiring a shared vision, modeling the way, enabling others to act, challenging the process and encouraging the heart. These are all learned skills. Have your leaders learn them.
You may download ExeQserve's complete Team Culture Building Program here.
This is the fourth and last of the series on transitioning to strategic HR but definitely not the last time I'm going to write about it. Please read the three previous posts to appreciate this proposal in its totality.
So, aside from the usual HR skills, what other competencies should a strategic HR have? Let me share with you what I think are core. If you think I'm missing some, please feel free to contribute by adding a comment below.
Here's my list.
Strategic Planning
HR should devote some amount of time on learning strategic planning specially from an HR's vantage point. HR should be able to participate in company-wide planning sessions by creating its own plan that responds to and align with the organization's strategic direction. If the company is taking a particulars strategy to achieve it's growth goal, HR should be able to respond to questions like, how many people is needed to perform that strategy? How many of them are here? How many are not? What kind of skills are available? What can we develop, what can we buy from outside? What kind of HR programs should be put in place to ensure consistent alignment with the goals?
Business Savvy
HR cannot continue to think of and implement all sorts of programs and be oblivious of business realities. Every HR action has a corresponding cost attach to it. HR then should always consider returns for every HR-related investments it makes or proposes. HR should learn the language of the business and use it to communicate with management. This is the only way for both parties to fully appreciate HR strategies vis-a-vis organizational strategies.
Mindfulness
In order for the strategic partnership to prosper, HR should be seen as a trusted ally by all, and by all I mean management and employees. HR should be seen as "pro-what's-right" rather than pro-management or pro-labor. If everyone is clear about what HR stands for, they should be able to appreciate HR's action more. In order for HR to successfully demonstrate this, HR needs to communicate a lot. It should be able to explain the wisdom of all it's action. It's not hard when HR is clear about it's values and is able to demonstrate that value with integrity.
Relationship Building
I believe that HR (or any leader for that matter) should operate from a position of influence rather than authority. If HR is to build good working relationship with other managers and the rest of the organization, it cannot throw it's weight around by being impervious to feedback or criticism. HR has to be consultative and attuned to how the rest of the organization is feeling. Propose and sell HR programs and policies, do not impose them. Welcome comments most importantly complaints because that is the best way to improve how things are done within the department. Make friends, don't be distant. I personally propose that you let people call you by your first name rather than ma'am or sir as a lot Filipinos are accustomed to. It will break down invisible barriers like you never imagined.
Change Management
A strategic HR is accustomed to change. The organization that a Strategic HR supports goes through whatever HR related changes smoothly because HR knows change management. I personally recommend that HR looks at all the changes it is implementing using John Kotter's Change Management model as a guide. People are naturally resistant to change they do not understand and have no skill to apply with. Communicate heavily and equip people with the necessary skills. I wrote about the role of this model in my last post, please take time to read it.
Risk Management
A strategic HR is not risk averse, neither is it careless and hasty. Use a methodology for identifying the risks of all your HR actions and incorporate it in your change management plan.
Project Management
Guilty! is my plea and I'm sure a lot of other HR practitioners too on the accusation that our HR programs are almost always behind schedule. There is a lot of reasons (eherm! excuses) for the delay and a lot of them, we will point out to be external. A good project manager identifies all these and work on an implementation plan with all the variables in mind. We should really learn better project management folks!
Technology Savvy
The world of HR is very dynamic. A lot of changes and technological breakthroughs are happening. However, not a lot of them are fully appreciated and applied because a lot of us (I speak from experience) are uninterested. How many of us are using Balanced Score Card? 360 Degrees feedback, sounds familiar? HRIS, Intranet, paperless transactions, telecommuting, blogging, social networking,Online learning or webinars, CBT, blended learning... I can go on and on with new technologies for HR to manage human resources better. A lot of these information are available on the web, most of them free but there only few takers. Take them, run away with them.
If you are serious about giving relevant contribution to the success of your organization, keep all these in mind. And as I said if you have any additional competencies in mind, fire away! I'd like to hear it.
This is a third of a series. Please read my two previous posts so you can appreciate this one more.
"Where do we begin?" I heard this question right after I went down from the stage during the 3rd HR Philippines Convention where I was asked to speak about how to transition from transactional to strategic HR. Right there and then I realized I missed talking about something very important. That is my main motivation for writing this post.
Where is ground zero? How do we make the first step? and the next? HR can't suddenly wake up one day and say to the boss, "Boss, we've decided to go strategic so we expect you to support a lot of changes that are going to happen from now on." Let me share with you an actual experience I had helping one HR Department play a more strategic role in their organization.
It of course all started with a decision. The HR Department said they want to play a more strategic role and realized they needed help. They called a team of HR Consultants to help them. That team included me.
As consultants, our first step was to determine how far they've gone with their HR work and found that they are in fact doing mostly transactional activities with a sporadic instances of doing more strategic work as they were allowed to do. we designed a sort of a crash course on developing a strategic HRD plan that ran for five days. After the workshop we guided the HR team in the process of actually developing and implementing their strategic HRD Plan. We followed Kotter's 8-step change management process to ensure that all the necessary changes are identified and fall into place. From here on, I will tell my story using Kotter's model.
Step 1:Create Urgency - HRD talked to management. They said that they are doing mostly transactional work. With management's support and the cooperation of the rest of the organization, HR can play the role of a strategic partner that can help the company get the most out of its human capital. They laid out the transition plan to management that looks like this:
- They will conduct focus group discussion with managers to determine their perception of HR's roles and to find out what they expect if HR is to play a more strategic role in the organization.
- The expectations will be presented to mancom together with a strategic plan that details how these expectations will be met.
- they will craft a set of HR Philosophy, Principles and goals in partnership with line management to ensure that all these are aligned with the organizational goals and strategic direction.
- They will carry out a well studied change management plan to ensure that all changes are acceptable and doable.
Step 2: Form powerful coalition - When HR presented to the whole management team its strategic plan, they can't help but agree because a lot of the things HR said need to be done came straight from them. HR made sure that the line managers are with them all the way so HR said that all the policies and procedures born out of the new plan will be done in collaboration with the line managers and in consultation with representatives from various sectors of the organization. In a nut shell, the approach was both iterative and collaborative. The line managers liked the idea.
Step 3: Create a vision for change - Everyone wants goal clarity. HR devised a set of HR philosophy, principles and vision to vividly describe the results of the new strategic partnership between HR and the line. These exercise made it clear to everyone in the management team that HR Management is not the sole province of the HR Department but a shared function between them and the line managers.
Step 4: Communicate the change - HR presented to management a plan on how it will communicate the changes before and as they happen to make sure that everyone is on the same page, understands and appreciates what HR is doing and the role the line plays in each stage. They used all possible channels including, office memos, emails, discussion forums, bulletin boards and focus group discussions.
Step 5: Remove obstacles - HR realized that any obstacle to their plans are born out of misunderstanding and lack of capability, either theirs or those of the recipients of HR services. HR came up with avenues for feedback mechanism and engaged people in dialogues. They made it easy for people to raise their concerns and their reason for whatever unwillingness they have so HR can better understand them. HR also made training an important component of each change to make sure that line managers are not only appreciative of the change but are also equipped to play their role. For example, HR made sure that managers don't only have full appreciation of the new Performance Management System but are equipped to take on a performance manager's role. They taught the Managers how to do behavioral interviews so managers can put their traditional questions to rest and start being more strategic in their screening of candidates. These strategies helped HR relieve managers and employees of worries about the new HR actions.
Step 6: Create Short-term wins - Because HR's strategic plan was so clearly drawn, everyone knows when a milestone is achieved. They celebrated each milestone, recognizing not only the people in HR who made it happen but everyone in the line who contributed. This helped strengthen line championing of HR strategic actions.
Step 7: Build on the change - We realized how important it is to build continuous improvement into the systems and procedures HR created. They made sure that multi-sectoral evaluation of the newly implemented programs were done. This helped ensure that policies and procedures are changed before they become obsolete.
Step 8:Institutionalize the change in the culture - HR included the changes in the company orientations and on boarding programs. The needed HR skills to help line managers play their HR roles were made part of the company's management development program. Newly promoted supervisors and managers undergo HR briefing so they know at the very onset that HR is not a department and that HR Management is a shared role between them and the HR Department.
The steps towards becoming a more strategic partner is not cast in stone. There are no hard and fast rules. You can come up with your own strategy or borrow from what I shared here, it doesn't matter. What matters is you take the first step and never stop until you are able to achieve your goal. You will face a lot of discouraging barriers like doubts and resistance, you should not let these things stop you. Playing a strategic HR partner role will sometimes feel like you are leading from the middle. It's true, get used to it.
Next post: From Transactional to Strategic HR, The Needed Competencies.
Watch out for it!
