Glen CatheyM.V.P. Kforce

Effective Sourcing Training

Sourcing Training

How many of you have had formal sourcing training?

…a little about me

What do I know and how did I learn it?

Do or Do Not…

"For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.“

– Aristotle, 384-322 BC

Debate

Sourcing: Art or Science?

Sourcing Debate

Definition of ART

1 : skill acquired by experience, study, or observation <the art of making friends>

Source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Sourcing Debate

Definition of SCIENCE

2 a : a department of systematized knowledge as an object of study <the science of theology>b : something (as a SPORT or technique) that may be studied or learned like systematized knowledge <have it down to a science>

3 a : knowledge or a system of knowledge covering general truths or the operation of general laws especially as obtained and tested through scientific method

Source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Sourcing Debate

Definition of SYSTEM

: an organized or established procedure <the touch system of typing>

Definition of SCIENTIFIC METHOD

: principles and procedures for the systematic pursuit of knowledge involving the recognition and formulation of a problem, the collection of data through observation and experiment, and the formulation and testing of hypotheses

Source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Sourcing Science

No matter how complex a task or process may seem, a good percentage are comprised of simple, definable and teachable elements

It is extremely difficult to teach a job or function that is not standardized and does not have a defined method for performing the work

You Can’t Teach Art

What most people call an “art” are things they cannot adequately explain or describe, and thus they are unable to teach others how to do it

I believe what most people refer to as an “art” is reflective of “unconscious competence”

Four Stages of Learning/Competence

Conscious Competence theory is another name for the “Four Stages of Learning” posited by Abraham Maslow

The Four Stages of Learning describes how a person learns, progressing from Stage 1

Source: Wikipedia

Stage 1

Unconscious Incompetence

The individual neither understands nor knows how to do something, nor recognizes the deficit, nor has a desire to address it

Source: Wikipedia

Stage 2

Conscious Incompetence

Though the individual does not understand or know how to do something, he or she does recognize the deficit, without yet addressing it

Source: Wikipedia

Stage 3

Conscious Competence

The individual understands or knows how to do something. However, demonstrating the skill or knowledge requires a great deal of consciousness or concentration

Source: Wikipedia

Stage 4

Unconscious Competence

The individual has had so much practice with a skill that it becomes "second nature" and can be performed easily (often without concentrating too deeply). He or she may or may not be able to teach it to others, depending upon how and when it was learned.

Source: Wikipedia

Stage 5?

David Baume, PhD

“As a fifth level, I like what I call 'reflective competence'. As a teacher, I thought "If unconscious competence is the top level, then how on earth can I teach things I'm unconsciously competent at?’ Conscious of my own unconscious competence…looking at my unconscious competence from the outside, digging to find and understand the theories and models and beliefs that clearly, based on looking at what I do, now inform what I do and how I do it. These won't be the exact same theories and models and beliefs that I learned consciously and then became unconscious of. They'll include new ones, the ones that comprise my particular expertise. And when I've surfaced them, I can talk about them and test them.”

Source:   Ikujiro Nonaka "A Dynamic Theory of Organizational Knowledge Creation." Organization Science 5: 14-37.

Stage 5

Hypercompetence

This individual is both aware of and able to deconstruct their own unconscious competence. In doing so, he or she is able to identify the critical aspects of doing something well, can explain how and why those aspects are important to the success of the work, and can develop a standard methodology and process for others to implement as best practices.

Source: Glen Cathey

Goal?

What’s the point of training people anyway?

Sourcing Training Available

WebinarsOnline VideoDVD’sCheatsheetsInteractive OnlineLive Classroom/conferenceOTJ

How Do We Learn?

Research in occupational training shows that people retain about:

10% of what they read 20% of what they hear 30% of what they see 50% of what they hear and use 70% of that they say 90% of what they say and do

Is Content King?

Any training that only involves reading, listening, and watching has about a 30% retention rate.

Would you say that’s a good return on investment?

Is Content King?

No!

Great training content is worthless if there is no knowledge retention

How Do We Learn?

"Tell me, and I will forget. Show me, and I may remember. Involve me, and I will understand."

– Confucius, 551-479 BC

How Do We Learn?

Regardless of medium, the most critical component of training and knowledge transfer is…

involvement

Retention vs. Ability

Retaining information is critical

However…

Knowledge retention does not guarantee ability

Effective Training

The most effective short-term sourcing training I’ve done…

Effective?

(Santa or "Santa Claus" or "St. Nick" or "Kris Kingle" or "St. Nicolaus" or "Mr. Claus") and (Reindeer or Dasher or Dancer or Prancer or Vixen or Comet or Cupid or Donner or Blitzen or Rudolph) and Grandma and ("hit and run" or "run over" or "trampled" or "Walking home from my house Christmas eve") and ("Winter Wonderland" or "Snow Street" or "North Pole") near Adventure* w/6 ("Team 6" or "Team Six" or "Online Sourcing Team")

Involve, Identify, Verify

Certification Programs

Sourcing Special Interest Groups e.g. SourceMasters

Global Sourcing Challenges

Source Jam

Example challenge

Diagnose any limitations and issues with the following search string - modify, improve, and show the results:

(Director or "Project Manager*" or "Program Manager" or PMO* or PM*) w/250 xfirstword and (transport*:40 or logisti*:20) w/10 project* and PMP* and (“Deloitte Touche” or “Deloitte*” or “PwC*” or “PricewaterhouseCoopers*” or “Ernst & Young*” or “Ernst and Young*” or “E&Y*” or “EY*” or KPMG*)

Source Jam

Example challenge

Find a LinkedIn profile of someone who has Ruby on Rails experience, but does not mention Ruby, Ruby on Rails, or RoR in their profile, and show with a screenshot how you know they have Ruby experience

Source Jam

Example challenge

Using Google or Bing, find a list of people including those with manager in their titles, at least 2 Maryland area codes and phone numbers, 1 Virginia area code and phone number, as well as corporate email addresses for CSC and General Dynamics. Show your search string and a link to the results solving this challenge or a screenshot

Source Jam

Example challenge

Write down as many ways as you can think of/find that a person could possibly use to express having some kind of cancer related work on their resume

Source Jam

Example challenge

Analyze this job description and develop search strings to find well qualified candidates. Take a screenshot of a result or two of the best matches you can find.

Most Effective Training

The most effective training I’ve ever done:

On-The-Job!

Continuous feedback, learning and improvement Real-time application, real-world verification via results

Training Effectiveness

Non-interactive training of any kind - is like trying to learn how to play golf by watching a video

Classroom training - is like going to a 3 day golf camp

On-The-Job training - is like having one of the best golfers in the world coach you every time you play

Recommendations

1. Hire right

2. Do not be dependent upon 3rd party training

3. Demand more from your training

4. Implement deliberate practice

5. Develop a culture of learning and development

Hire Right

Resist valuing any specific educational background, practical skills, specialized knowledge, or work experience

Place a high value on creativity, critical thinking ability, and problem solving capability – people can develop specific capabilities after they are hired

Critical Thinking is……Critical!

Critical thinking is the ability to: Recognize problems, to find workable means for meeting those problems Understand the importance of prioritization and order of precedence in

problem solving Gather and marshal pertinent (relevant) information Recognize unstated assumptions and values Comprehend and use language with accuracy, clarity, and discernment Interpret data, to appraise evidence and evaluate arguments

Critical Thinking is……Critical!

Critical thinking is the ability to: Recognize the existence (or non-existence) of logical relationships between

propositions Draw warranted conclusions and generalizations Test the conclusions and generalizations at which one arrives Reconstruct one's patterns of beliefs on the basis of wider experience Render accurate judgments about specific things and qualities in everyday

life

Hire Right

Hire people who have:

The capacity and the desire to learn A questioning nature (the “why,” not just the “how” or “what”) The right character attributes, such as persistence, work ethic, a

dedication to fulfilling commitments, etc. An interest in games or hobbies that require/involve analytical

problem solving ability

Hire Right

Seek to identify people who have fluid reasoning

The capacity to think logically and solve problems in novel situations, independent of acquired knowledge. It is the ability to analyze novel problems, identify patterns and relationships that underpin these problems and the extrapolation of these using logic

In contrast, crystallized intelligence is the ability to use acquired skills, knowledge, and experience

Source: Raymond Cattell , Wikipedia

Training Excellence

Do not be dependent upon 3rd party training

Identify, develop and/or hire associates with Stage 5 sourcing competence

Verify Ability of Trainers

Know how to do something (Stage 3)

vs.

Able to do something well (Stage 4)

vs.

Able to teach others to do something well (Stage 5)

Effective Trainers

The most effective trainers are Stage 5 - Hypercompetent

They are able to identify and develop unconscious competence in others

They are able to break down their unconscious competence (their “art”) into standardized approaches, methodologies and thought processes that others can understand and apply to novel scenarios

Training Excellence

Demand/implement training that: Goes beyond the “how to use” and into “how to find more of the

right people more quickly”

Goes beyond Boolean syntax and into Talent Mining1. Keyword/title search

2. Conceptual search

3. Implicit search

4. Natural language/semantic search

5. Indirect search

Training Excellence

Demand/Implement training that:

Goes beyond the “what” and the “how,” and dives deep into the “why”

▪ Being able to repeat a technique vs. being able to explain why you’re doing it and what it will accomplish, and what to do if it doesn’t work!

Emphasizes a standardized critical thought process

▪ Effective sourcing is 95% thought, 5% syntax

Training Excellence

Demand/implement training that involves verification of knowledge transfer and ability

If you don’t, you have no way to know if the training was effective or not, nor if you will see any benefit

Deliberate Practice

"The object of all work is production or accomplishment and to either of these ends there must be forethought, system, planning, intelligence, and honest purpose, as well as perspiration." – Thomas Edison, 1847-1931

Practice Makes Perfect

Deliberate practice Improves performance by design Requires high repetition Involves continuous feedback Is mentally challenging, not mindless repetition Is hard work, targeting what you’re not already good at Focuses on the process, not the end result Requires metacognition Involves continuous improvement

Source: Talent is Overrated, by Geoff Colvin

Talent is Overrated

"Natural talent" (what you’re born with) accounts for perhaps 10% of your skills and abilities

Majority of “talent” can be developed through effective training and disciplined deliberate practice

Develop Exceptional People

If you want one year of prosperity, grow seeds.

If you want ten years of prosperity, grow trees.

If you want one hundred years of prosperity, grow people.

– Chinese proverb

Competitive Advantage

A company’s only sustainable competitive advantage is the exceptional people they hire

…and develop

Developing Talent

The most important job a manager has isn’t managing people …it’s developing people

Effective OTJ training requires talented, experienced and capable managers/mentors

Without capable mentors, training is essentially "I showed you how, now go do it."

Culture of Learning

Develop a culture of learning, improvement and excellence

“At Toyota, teaching is considered the central part of any manager’s job. If the manager does not foster a teaching environment, the group’s performance will surely suffer. Toyota has worked to create a culture in which teaching others is highly valued and viewed as the key to long-term success.”

– Liker & Meier, Toyota Talent

Culture of Learning

Establish your own world-class training program and curriculum!

Create a sourcing center of excellence!

Find Me and Connect!

Recommended Reading

Talent is Overrated – Geoff Colvin

Toyota Talent – Jeffrey Liker & David Meier