You think you’re safe. You attend training with your employees. You want to flatten out the organization-eliminate the feeling that we are different-that our levels are barriers. You have good intentions.

Everyone learns a lot. You are inspired to do better, to use new skills to make a difference.

Then you go back to work. Tasks overcome you. You are busy.

And…you notice that those darn employees who attended the training are not using those skills they learned. And you were there-you know that they know how to use them. They got a certificate of completion and credit for attending in their personnel file.

You make a mental note to give some specific individuals feedback on how they should be using those skills. Darn employees.

And, don’t you know, those same employees are making mental notes about your behavior. You learned the same skills. Where is the role modeling? Oh, you are busy? Your employees aren’t?

So, if you are not going to model the skills, stay in the shadows. Don’t attend training with them. Pretend you know already. They’ll never know.

And they won’t have the high expectations…..that you will actually use the training.

They won’t either.

© 2010 Linda M. Farley LMF@onr.com

Don’t you just love telemarketers?  You sit down to eat dinner and the phone rings with someone you don’t want to talk to, offering a product you don’t need.  My thoughts exactly.  But I must confess that I one of my most profound experiences occurred while training telemarketers to do exactly what we all dread that they will do right at dinnertime.

 Snow was piling up in Iowa as I drove to the Holiday Inn, where I was teaching sales training the next day.  Who knew that Iowa was a mecca of telemarketers?  In many of the small Iowa towns, among the grain mills and the corn fields, telemarketing firms were filling in the growing employment gap.

 They were a eclectic group of folks, to say the least.   Displaced from the ravages of corporate farming, high school dropouts, married too soon, divorced too soon, stuck in night and weekend shifts in jobs that didn’t exactly bolster the self esteem.  I had one short day to teach them how to be superstar telephone sellers, to some of the toughest customers any sales person could face.

 We sped through the day with activities that involved establishing a rapport with the customer, focusing on product benefits, overcoming objections and closing the sale all while staying within the allotted time limit that would create numbers on the end of day report that would make their bosses happy.

 At the end of the day, we had a “graduation ceremony,” complete with Pomp and Circumstance.  As they walked to the front of the room, I presented each person with a just-off-the-printer certificate with their name handwritten in my best penmanship. 

 One young woman, probably not much over 18 years old, accepted the certificate with tears in her eyes.  “I never completed high school.  I never completed anything.  I never got a certificate.  Thank you!  I am so proud of this.”

 In one magical moment the spark of accomplishment was ignited, a glimmer of self confidence, a seed of hope that something different was possible.

 Why does training matter?  It is an investment in something bigger than we can ever imagine.

 ©  Linda M. Farley  www.LMFarley.com  LMF@onr.com 

Follow Me on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/LindaFarley

The employees are not performing.  Supervisors are not developing employees.  We have too much gossip in the workplace.  Objectives are not being met.  We have inconsistency.

 Let’s have a training class.  But we don’t have much time.  And money is an issue.  Can we do it in 30 minutes?  We could put it in a list on a handout.  Better yet, just send an email and remind everyone.    But just a very brief email.  Better yet, just put it in the subject line of the email so they don’t have to read the whole thing.  Maybe we could just wave a magic wand and sprinkle stardust on them while they sleep-multitasking at its best.

 Yes, we can do all those things.  (Well, maybe not the last one.)  But employees are not appliances that you take to the repair shop to be fixed.  They are, rather, humans that need and deserve nurturing. 

My friend Anne sent me a Zig Ziglar quote today, “The only thing worse than training your employees and losing them is not training your employees and keeping them.”

So true, Zig!

 Investments  that we make in our employees have a big payoff:  behavior change that supports organizational goals.  But that investment cannot be just a training class.  Training is the beginning – a learning event.  Behavior change rests on a foundation that includes procedures, behavioral modeling and feedback as well as learning events. 

 Learning events can be training workshops, group meetings, or even instantly accessible reference material or instructions. Effective learning events match the need.  Some learning can be put in an email.  Others take 8 hours, or 10, or a week.

 Procedures are the policies, guidelines and instructions.  They must be in place to guide workers and set expectations.  Clear, concise, available procedures are the structure of the operation.

 Actions speak louder than words.  Supervisors, Managers and Staff must model behavior that they want exhibited.  (Who expects employees to not gossip or to treat customers well, when leaders do just the opposite?)

 People deserve feedback.  Surprises at the end of year evaluation are not fair.  When people don’t perform as expected, immediate, professional, supportive feedback must be provided.  Read the “One Minute Manager” for the best advice on feedback.

 This continuum works.  Which components do you have in place?  Which components need improvement. 

 Looking for a quick fix?

 Do you have employees or appliances? 

 © 2009 Linda M. Farley  www.LMFarley.com   LMF@onr.com

Follow Me On Twitter  www.Twitter.com/LindaFarley

Last night at ASTD (American Society for Training and Development)Jon Morse with the Center for Success, presented a great session on Trust in organizations.  He used 3 books as the basis of the session and the melding made sense:  “5 Dysfunctions of a Team,” “the Speed of Trust” and “Emotional Intelligence.” 

This was a great session for me, since I am in the middle of re-developing my workshop on Trust Based Teams. 

I loved the comparison!  Think about it.  The 5 dysfunctions of a team are:

1. Absence of Trust (foundational)
2. Fear of Conflict
3. Lack of Commitment
4. Avoidance of Accountability
5. Inattention to Results

 In “the Speed of Trust,” Covey states that there are 13 behaviors that people must demonstrate to build trust:

1. Talk Straight
2. Demonstrate Respect
3. Create Transparency
4. Right Wrongs
5. Show Loyalty
6. Deliver Results
7. Get Better
8. Confront Reality
9. Clarify Expectations
10. Practice Accountability
11. Listen First
12. Keep Commitments
13. Extend Trust 

 What this said to me was that core issues around trust create team dysfunctions.  If we work on creating behaviors that improve trust, we begin to eliminate team dysfunctions.

 How do you see the correlation?