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training&learningvolume 2 • issue 3
the adventure beginsa special report on ITOL’s first National Convention
performance managementhow organisations can find ‘real’ development needs
coaching & mentoringDavid Clutterbuck on making use of humour
trainingin fashion:how Stellabecame a star of style
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is published by Hargill House Ltdin association with the Institute of Training and Occupational Learning. Distribution of 12 issues per year is by direct mail to named training practitioners and others involved in the profession.
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04 we say/they say our opinion on a current training
topic . . . and a few words of wisdom
05-07 news from ITOL special report on the institute’s first
ever National Convention which was held in Edinburgh
09 global report our monthly round-up of the top
training related stories from around the world
10-11 performance management the second in a series of six articles
providing solutions and ideas for training managers, trainers and consultants
12-13 performance management how coaching underpins best
practice in the development of individual and organisational performance
14 marketing skills are you making the most of the
new opportunities presented by the growth of the internet?
16-17 coaching & mentoring David Clutterbuck on why the use of
humour and fun can be so important in coaching or mentoring
18-19 case study report on a new system for
improving the effectiveness and quality of CPD currently being piloted in Aberdeen
21-23 training in fashion where will the next Karl Lagerfelds,
Gianni Versaces or Jean Paul Gaultiers come from . . . and what training do they need
24-26 eLearning back to basics . . . Renée Raper
identifies issues that organisations should consider if they are introducing eLearning initiatives
27 testing, testing they often strike fear into the hearts
of many who undertake them, but what exactly are psychometric tests?
29 5-minute factfile action learning defined . . . another
concise explanation of a training topic by Graham O’Connell
30-31 no need to dread the F word
business performance will show tangible improvements if training managers and their operational colleagues better understand finance
33-34 reviewing activity Roger Greenaway concludes his
article about using old climbing ropes, washing lines or even brightly coloured nylon line for reviewing
35 training tips managing disruptive learners . . .
the second part of David Gibson’s article offering useful hints and tips
36 influential thinkers this month’s subject is Dr Peter
Honey, best known for producing, jointly with Alan Mumford, the Learning Styles Questionnaire
37 powerpointers continuing our series for users of
PowerPoint, probably the world’s most popular presentation program
37 icebreakers job mime . . . another exercise for
“warming up” participants in your training seminar or workshop
39 backbite our monthly soapbox in which
a guest writer takes a sideways look (and swipe!) at the training profession
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03
training&learning
volume 2 • issue 3
FRONT COVER: Picture of Stella McCartney by Richard Young / Rex Features
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not done, yet
There is nothing so easy to learn as experience and nothing so hard to apply.
Josh Billings
One of the many lessons
one learns in prison is, that
things are what they are
and will be what they will be.
Oscar Wilde
Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other.
Benjamin Franklin
Spoon feeding in the long run teaches us nothing but the shape of the spoon.
E. M Forster
Prosperity is a great teacher; adversity a greater.
Wiliam Hazlitt
The whole art of teaching is only the art of awakening the natural curiosity of young minds for the purpose of satisfying it afterwards.
Anatole France
we sayThe hugely successful ITOL
National Convention held in
Edinburgh last month is perhaps
the clearest evidence yet (if, indeed,
proof was ever needed) that trainers both
desire – and deserve to have – their own,
dedicated institute
About one-third of the delegates who
attended the National Convention were
members of ITOL. The others were
attracted to the event not only by the high
quality of the presentations, but also to
discover more about the institute and its
growing relevance in the world of training.
Harry Bundred, the new and dynamic
Director, is spot-on when he declares
that he detects a resurgent “appetite for
change” within the training profession
as more and more practitioners choose to
sign-up to ITOL.
In its new promotional literature
ITOL says: “The Institute of Training
and Occupational Learning is now the
professional body of first choice for all
those specialising in training, development
and occupational learning. We truly are
the natural home for everyone involved in
the world of learning.”
This is a proud claim indeed – and
one which should have a resonance with
trainers of all levels up and down the
country who have long felt they were
“playing second fiddle” as members of
other organisations less focused on their
needs and aspirations.
ITOL is the only institute in the
UK solely committed to occupational
trainers and development practitioners.
Coincidentally (or perhaps not!) it is now
also the country’s fastest-growing network
for trainers.
So, if you work directly within
the profession, either corporately or
independently, or if you are involved in
training and learning in other ways, then
ITOL is for you.
Joining the institute will amply reward
itself through the many benefits members
can enjoy. Not only that, but as the
membership grows you will be helping
to strengthen even further ITOL’s role
as a significant force for change and an
effective vehicle for driving up standards
in the industry.
training&learning04
they say‘‘ ‘‘ No other job in the world
could possibly dispossess one so completely as this job of teaching. You could stand all day in a laundry, for instance, still in possession of your mind. But this teaching utterly obliterates you. It cuts into your being: essentially, it takes over your spirit. It drags it out from where it would hide.
Sylvia Ashton-Warner
The years teach much which the days never knew.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Training is a profession which seems to thrive on pithy comments and wise
sayings. Here’s a selection of quotations you can use in your everyday
training sessions – or just take comfort from yourself if you wish!
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A resounding success . . . that was
the verdict from both delegates
and presenters alike on the first
ITOL National Convention which was
held at the Edinburgh Capital Hotel on
Wednesday, February 22.
With the theme of The Adventure Begins
– chosen to mark the institute’s move
into the next phase of its development
programme – the event attracted nearly
100 trainers and others involved in the
profession, not only from Scotland but
throughout the UK.
Delegates were welcomed by Harry
Bundred, Director of ITOL, who said:
“In terms of numbers, this has exceeded
our expectations. We are already
planning our next convention in London
in September and we may also return to
Scotland soon.”
In his opening address to the
convention, Ian Heywood, Director
of Skills & Learning for Scottish
Enterprise Grampian, said that business
development was about training people
in strategic thinking.
“Everything that goes on in your
organisation is dependant on you. If
you don’t have training then nothing will
happen. A lot of trainers have lost sight of
how important they are and the influence
they can have on an organisation.
“My challenge to you is to think
outside the box and train some people
with techniques that you are not currently
using.”
He said that today’s learners were
different from previous generations and
described people born before the Eighties
as “digital immigrants” and those born
afterwards who were brought up with new
technologies as “digital natives”.
The next speaker, Dr John Wilson of
the University of Sheffield Institute of
Work Psychology, said he was presenting
a theory which had been in his mind for
about six years – future learning as an
alternative way of thinking.
“We look at the past and present but
the adventure has begun!
The Institute of Training and Occupational Learning (ITOL) held its
first-ever National Convention in Scotland last month.
Delegates at the ITOL National Convention in Edinburgh heard a rallying cry
on behalf of trainers from the institute’s Director, Harry Bundred. “We need
to have more belief in ourselves,” he said. “I want to see training feature as an
important element in companies’ annual reports and get trainers onto the boards.
“As people who develop other people we need to seize our identity. We need to shape
the future of our profession. ITOL can help you do that, for it is exactly what we are
about.
“ITOL is an organisation that knows where it came from and where it is going. It
is the only institute which focuses entirely on the world of the trainer and the needs of
trainers. This is the natural home for trainers and everyone involved in occupational
learning.
“It is difficult to believe that we are still only six years old and a great deal has been
achieved in that time. We have been getting things in place as a professional institute
and now we are ready to shape the future for trainers.
“Some of the lessons we are learning is that we need to be more pro-active, to be
innovative and to be in control of our own profession once again. ITOL will achieve
this for you.”
itol: the way forward
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we don’t tend to learn from the future,”
he said. “We say it hasn’t happened
yet but we spend a lot of time thinking
about where we are going next. We
don’t have the language structure to
look at the future.”
He talked about the chronological
perspective of experiential learning
to include the future and quoted the
Canadian writer Malcolm Gladwell who
said “people are experience rich and
theory poor”.
Dr Wilson also referred to the
Commission Report into September
11th which stated: “There were failures
of imagination, policy, capabilities and
management. The most important failure
was one of imagination.”
He used examples of the ways in
which the links between brain cells were
strengthened and able to react more
quickly to challenges through practice
and he ended by showing a DVD which
suggested that the England football team’s
five-one victory over Germany was the
result of positive thinking.
The next talk by Alan Cattell, Course
Director and Senior University Teacher
on the MEd Training and Development
at the University of Bradford, focused
on the research among MEd students he
carried out when writing an HRD book
and his personal approaches to continuing
professional development.
Research topics included resource based
value, strategic HRD, high performance
work organisations, knowledge
management, intellectual capital, human
capital and social capital.
He then asked delegates to participate
in an experiment by placing previously
distributed self-adhesive coloured paper
dots on flip chart sheets around the
room to indicate whether they worked
at strategic level or operational level and
also the three research topics they knew
most about.
The results showed that most present
worked at operational level, a lot knew
what was meant by a high performance
work organisation but only three
understood resource based value.
After the lunch break it was the turn of
CragRats, an action training group which
uses theatre to introduce behavioural,
attitudinal and cultural change in
organisations.
Their presentation was introduced by
Matt Cleve, Senior Facilitator, who told
delegates that the company’s role was to
encourage people to think differently and
find solutions to their own challenges.
Using three actors, a number of
scenarios about attitudes in a local
authority social housing setting were then
presented and delegates were asked to get
together in groups and comment on how
the “employees” were behaving and what
problems they faced in their dealings with
each and the public.
The final session was what he called
“forum theatre”, a form which dated
back to Ancient Greece, and encouraged
delegates to interact with the performers
to suggest ways they could resolve their
attitudinal and behavioural difficulties.
CragRats were followed by Dr Roger
Greenaway, a renowned expert in dynamic
approaches to the transfer of learning.
His talk, on “sticky” learning, focused
on the spectrum of learning, or the transfer
continuum, which ranged from near
transfer (copying and repeating), through
translating (adapting) to transforming
(using the learning in new ways in
unanticipated situations).
“Near transfer involves applying what
has already been learned,” he said. “Far
transfer also involves translating and
transforming the original learning. Far
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transfer is a creative process that requires
further learning. By making the original
learning more available and usable it
becomes more sticky.”
He quoted from Robert Haskell’s
Transfer Of Learning which listed 11
principles of transfer. The final one was
the most fascinating: “Poets are masters
of transfer.”
Dr Greenaway then went on to list
comparisons between poems and plans
identified during debates on the topic.
He concluded by challenging delegates
to write poems based on their personal
assessments of sticky learning, several of
which were read aloud.
The final speaker of the day was Dr
Peter Honey, one of the best-known and
most influential figures in the world of
training. His talk centred on three main
topics which related to his own long-
held beliefs:
• If something is simple (not simplistic)
then it makes it likely that it will be
used. If it gets used then it is likely
to make a difference. This underpins
everything I do.
• What someone does, ie the job
functions they carry out, are based
on three key needs, and they all
needed to be aligned with each
other. They are firstly having the
ability to do the job plus their want
or motivation and then, crucially,
the environment which creates them
the opportunity to do it.
• The formula P=L+B where P is
Performance, L is Learning and B
is Behaviour.
Dr Honey then asked delegates to
throw a softball around the room and the
person who caught it was invited to give
an example of something they would be
taking away from the day’s event.
He ended the convention on a high note
with a reading of a “ditty” he had written,
The eLearner’s Lament, with delegates
joining-in the rousing chorus which
went: “Oh it’s a shame, and eLearning’s
to blame!”
newsfromitol
The ITOL National Convention in
Edinburgh also saw the launch of
the institute’s new image and branding.
A new logo, which can be used in a variety
of subtle colours, is based on a “dotted” T
in ITOL to represent a human being with
welcoming arms outstretched ready to
embrace new members as well as fresh
concepts and opportunities.
“The convention was the first chance that
our members had the chance to see the new
branding and we were delighted with the
positive response it received,” said Diane
McCormack, Operations Director.
“Our design consultancy came up with
a range of exciting options and after very
careful consideration we decided that this strong symbol was the right one for the
new logo.
“It perfectly fulfils all our new marketing criteria. It’s a striking and instantly
recognisable image, while at the same time offering total flexibility. We think it’s great!
“This is just one of the many ways in which we are demonstrating that as far as ITOL
is concerned the adventure into the future has only just started! Watch out for further
developments soon.”
The institute has also launched a new
web site (www.itol.org) which now features
a members-only forum as well as general
discussion boards open to the public.
For the first time, prospective members
can apply to join online and existing ones can
pay their subscription fees through a secure
site and also upgrade their memberships.
new logo suits to a T
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WASHINGTON DC, USA - Blackboard Inc., a leading provider of technology to educational institutions, has announced a new Blackboard instructor certification series, Teaching and Learning Online.
Comprising three facilitated asynchronous courses, provides an introduction to the pedagogy of online learning and presents best practices for teaching in both web-enhanced and distance education environments.
Participants who complete all three courses in the series receive Certified Blackboard Instructor status - a standard helpful to both schools and higher education institutions to determine if instructors are prepared to deliver online courses.
“The Teaching and Learning Online course was excellent,” said Dr. Barbara A. Harper, a professor at Berkeley College who completed the series this month.
“The course activities focused simultaneously on the student’s point-of-view and learning style while, at the same time, demonstrating the most highly effective and innovative teaching methods available today.
“I have not only incorporated these new techniques into my online courses but am also able to utilize some of this new material in my traditional classroom courses as well.”
IRISH REPUBLIC - The Engineers Skillnet, a new network training initiative funded by Skillnets, and companies involved in a wide range of engineering disciplines, has announced a �400,000 training initiative. More than 800 employees from 36 companies are expected to receive training in 2006-2007.
Skillnets, the Irish state-sponsored body dedicated to the promotion and facilitation of enterprise-led training networks, has approved 238,000 in funding to the newly formed Engineers Skillnet in support of its training programme.
The Engineers Skillnet comprises a network of companies from a wide range of engineering disciplines including construction, consultancy, project management, manufacturing, pharmaceutical and ICT.
These companies have come together with the support of Skillnets to address common training needs.
“The Engineers Skillnet is aiming to address the soft skills gap in the engineering profession in Ireland, enhancing the already strong technical capabilities with business management skills,” said Patrick Foley, Engineers Skillnet Network manager.
“To this end the Skillnet will focus on non-traditional engineering training including management, supervisory, leadership, interpersonal, sales/marketing, accounting and finance.
MALYASIA - The Securities Commission (SC) is calling on graduates to participate in the sixth intake of its Capital Market Graduate Training Scheme (CMGTS).
The scheme is an effort to increase the pool of local graduates equipped with skills and knowledge of the capital market.
Successful applicants are provided with an avenue to acquire basic knowledge on how the capital market operates while experiencing practical exposure in the various sectors of the capital market by undergoing a 12-month internship programme.
The full-time programme comprises a one-month workshop at the SC and 11-month internship with participating stockbroking companies, investment banks, accounting firms, public-listed companies and selected organisations.
Since its launch in April 2003, a total of 462 graduates have completed the scheme, the SC said. The scheme is offered once a year and open to all Malaysian graduates aged 21 to 29 years old.
Every month, Training & Learning brings you the latest training news
stories from around the world . . .
global report
LAS VEGAS, USA - A $1.1 million federal grant program to train lower-skilled and non-English speaking workers for Red Rock Resort and other casinos has come under criticism.
Concerns include few people taking classes, little to no hires among graduates, a curriculum that cost $50,000 in taxpayer funds but couldn’t be seen by the agency handing out the money, and a back-and-forth about whether Nevada Partners, a non-profit agency with Culinary Union ties, could be part of the program.
Station Casinos, which is a partner in the program, is a non-union company.
Chester Richardson, vice chairman of the Southern Nevada Workforce Investment Board - the agency that channels the federal money to Community College of Southern Nevada - said he may recommend cutting the grant, mainly, he said, because Station Casinos has not hired any of the 300 or so people who have completed the training since December.
The grant pays for a series of free 40-hour classes to people seeking work in any one of 17 job titles, from porter to bartender.
SIBERIA, RUSSIA - Training exercises on preventing the spread of bird flu started in the Altai territory on Thursday, in which servicemen from Emergency Situations Ministry departments from neighbouring regions are talking part.
Altai Governor Alexander Karlin said they were aimed at training practical skills in assessing the situation, preparing proposals, making decisions, and organizing interaction between executive agencies, local self-government bodies, Emergency Situations Ministry departments, and other agencies.
Similar exercises have also been conducted in Moscow.
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how to find
The challenge for organisations is to get the best possible return on any investment in the development or
training of its people.Return on investment can only happen
when the development or training intervention improves productivity through any of:
• increased skill levels• changes in individual workplace
behaviour• changes in work practices, or• better motivation of the workforceTo achieve this return, the development
and training interventions must be closely aligned to the workforce capability needed to achieve the organisation’s business objectives.
There must be a clear process in place that:
• identifies the capability required to meet the business needs
• evaluates the capability of individuals both individually and collectively
• can identify the gap in capability between need and available resource
• identifies if the gap can be met through development or training of current resource, or if there is a need to recruit new resource
• distils the gap into a development and training plan for the current human resource pool
This process is traditionally called a training needs analysis. However, with the ever increasing complexity of the modern organisation, coupled with global competitive forces challenging the cost of labour, there is a need for far more precision in the process than has been applied in the past.
The second in a series of six articles about managing performance examines aspects of development and training needs as components of the process of performance management.
training&learning10
The most accurate analysis can only be achieved through an integrated measurement system that:
• defines the skills, knowledge and behaviours required to effectively perform each job
• assesses the skills, knowledge and behavioural patterns of the existing incumbents, using the same measures
• determines the gap in requirements and current assessment
• assesses the capacity of individuals to be developed or trained to close the gap, and
• can do all of this at an individual and organisational level within variable time frames
Real v imagined development needs
There are organisations that merely “ask their staff” what development or training they think they need – the “tick-the-box” approach.
Oftentimes, this approach equates to loosely justified items being added to a wish list and, when critically evaluated, being determined not to be “real needs” that will contribute to tangible gains for the organisation.
A “real” need is one that can be accurately aligned to a job function, whether that is current or future.
Establishing what is present need v what is desired
Firstly, it is necessary to determine those needs that have a critical impact on productivity as opposed to “nice to have” skills that will help, but are not critical to
current performance.Secondly it is important to consider
the organisation’s longer-term career and succession planning needs. By definition these are not immediate and some time can be taken in defining what they are, but, if neglected for too long, they can become critical problems that threaten the organisation’s capability to do what it needs to do.
Defining the gap for the organisation and its people
We need to be careful of what we mean by Gap to ensure that we are measuring effectively.
There is a definite need to identify the gap between current need and current performance. We will call this the “current gap”. But, there is also a need to be able to determine what the future needs of the organisation will be and determine the gap between that need and the current capability of the workforce. We will refer to this as the “future gap”.
The current gap must be very narrow if the organisation is to perform adequately to meet its objectives. This is a reactionary strategy, a ‘fix-it’ mentality. The focus here is on individual performance and the skills knowledge and behaviours required to reach a desired performance level.
The future gap is as essential to measure as the current gap, so that a skilled and willing workforce is available to meet the needs of the organisation as they become necessary. This is a proactive approach and is a sound risk-management strategy.
The future gap includes identification of latent talent, unused resource, and whether the organisation can either develop the current pool of people or needs to recruit
‘real’ development needs
performancemanagement
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others with different capability.The future focus is a combination of
succession planning, career planning, and recruitment planning, all of which should have clear development plans as their central foundation.
Connecting with the individual
An important part of this process is ensuring that the individual employee is the focus of the analysis of needs, and of the compilation of the development and training plan.
Remember, that the organisation is the sum of its people. Address the problem at the individual level and the organisational needs are automatically addressed. This means that each job function must be defined and assessed so that the organisational needs can be determined through aggregation of that data.
There is, however, another important issue in connecting with people.
Behavioural change will only take place when the individual acknowledges that they need to change and accept that now is the time to make the change. To engage the individual they must have both ownership of their own performance and motivation to change.
Development plans must be constructed in dialogue with the individual for this to happen. The only way to ensure that they are engaged is to ensure that the performance gaps that are identified are done through a structured performance management system in which the individual features prominently in identification of current performance levels.
The “annual appraisal” is not a sound forum for this, as the performance being assessed is, on average, six to seven months old. There is no current memory of many things that happened and so any decisions become subjective.
The only valid mechanism, is to have performance appraisal as a progressive scoring of outcomes and the process of achieving those outcomes, so that the individual, and their Manager can recall everything about the event being assessed. By doing this, individuals can identify behaviours or targets they need to remedy and have time to
11training&learning
correct anything that appears to be a performance issue.
Combine this with the progressive identification of training and development needs as workplace goals are set, and the plan is automatically aligned to the organisation’s objectives and the individual is engaged because they identified the need.
How to get beneath the surface of the “problem”
Let’s make no secret of this moving beyond the surface of the project is not a small task.
The only way to get this task achieved well is to:
• start with a clear definition of the organisation’s goals and objectives
• break these goals into workplace functions that need to be carried out in order to reach the organisational goals and objectives
• now break those workplace functions into skills, knowledge and behaviours that are needed to conduct those workplace functions (the combination of skill, knowledge and behaviour is also referred to as competence)
So now we need to apply some quantification to these items. This is a very important step as comparisons work well when they are numeric, and are very, very difficult when they are qualitative.
If you find that you are drifting towards qualitative statements, make sure they can be measured or you will have a very difficult time determining the gap. The use of standards is very helpful when you are faced with measuring qualitative items.
Gaining individual commitment and responsibility
It is an essential element of a development and training plan, that the staff are engaged in the process, are committed to learning, and will take personal responsibility for the transfer of learning to workplace productivity.
To achieve this outcome there are a few basic steps that must be followed:
• the needs must be determined as a by-product of the performance management system for each job
• the employees must have input into what they can, and cannot do
• the development or training that an individual is to undertake must not stretch them beyond their personal capability
• the development or training must add value to the employee’s skill or knowledge-base thereby making them more employable
• there must be recognition for what they are currently capable of delivering and what increments they make as a result of the development and training
In summary, to give your Performance Management process the best foundation for success begin by:
• defining real development needs: needs for the short term and for the long term; must haves and like-to-haves
• follow this with a process of defining the gap between how and what we do now and what we need to be doing
• ensure the individual is engaged in the planning process and committed to improving workplace performance
• maintain a solid link to organisational goals and
• select the appropriate development methodology for the need
The next article in this series will
consider the effect of measurement on behaviour positive and negative and what this means for successful performance management. The question we will address is, do you get what you measure?
Article by Scott Chambers, CEO of
HRworkbench (Europe). HRworkbench
Europe have developed an online software
system which combined with the right
training and consultancy input is set,
to revolutionise how performance is
managed in the future.
If you are interested in finding out more
please call 01189 880275 or visit their
website at www.hrworkbench.com
development needs
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the spirit of coaching
Business magazines from Harvard
Business Review to Charity
People describe coaching as
the management style of choice and the
answer to many kinds of organisation ills.
It is about making sense of complex
experience and “unlocking a persons
potential to solve their own problems”
(John Whitmore, Coaching for
Performance, 1996) and is more often
about asking good questions than giving
right answers. If you want a commitment
culture rather than simple compliance,
coaching may provide a lot of the keys.
There is a poignant scene in Alice in
Wonderland when Alice finds herself lost
In their second bi-monthly article on performance management, Richard Marshall and Nick Wright describe
how coaching underpins best practice in the development of individual and organisational performance, with
particular reference to World Vision UK.
training&learning12
and alone in a frightening forest. She is
immediately comforted at the sight of
a cat sitting smugly in a tree whom she
determines must have the solution. “Can
you please tell me which way I should go
from here,” she asks, pleading for certainty
and direction.
“Well”, says the cat with an air of
mischief, “that’s depends a great deal
on where you want to get to”. There are
parallels in performance management and
coaching.
At World Vision UK, our challenge has
been to develop a performance culture
that puts equal emphasis on learning
and results at both individual and
organisational levels.
Learning, because we recognise the need
to develop our capacity for change and, for
instance, to help new staff get to grips with
organisational practices. Results, because
we have a strong purpose-orientation and
no organisation can survive long without
showing a good return on investment for
its stakeholders.
In our performance development
system, we identified coaching as a key
component alongside goal setting, regular
reviews and reward. We provided training
in questioning, active listening, giving and
receiving feedback, generating options
and implementing action plans.
We used the GROW model, having had
experience with one of its originators who
developed this model from the world of
sport and found it relevant in the world of
business.
The model provides a framework of
questions which starts by unpacking the
nature of the issue or concern in light of
its desired end point (Goal, Reality) and
moves to possible solutions (Options) and
a way forward (Will). The coach poses
focused questions in a structured way and
enables the coachee to develop a positive
action plan.
We believe that coaching skills alone
are, however, insufficient to engender
and support change at individual and
organisational levels.
The spirit of coaching is about
establishing a special quality of relationship
and conversation that engenders
awareness-raising, learning, responsibility
and commitment that extends well beyond figure 1.
• In order to practice and embed the spirit of coaching, we suggest the following:
• Engage in personal development to understand and address your own motivations,
anxieties, hot spots etc. so they don’t impinge negatively on the coaching process.
• Establish a coaching relationship that is underpinned by positive intention, empathy
and genuine commitment to the coachee’s development.
• Encourage the coachee to take responsibility for his or her own learning and
performance, albeit with your support alongside.
• Agree goals and standards together, giving the coachee first opportunity to scope out
requirements, explore issues, work out solutions etc.
• Challenge coachees to grow in awareness of how they are learning and performing,
e.g. by seeking feedback from stakeholders and developing the practice of reflection.
• Review the organisation’s culture as a whole to ensure consistency with a coaching
spirit.
Key Recommendations
performancemanagement
&
simple task achievement.
It demands conscious attention to
personal intention, ethos, empathy and
relational climate, reminiscent of Carl
Roger’s ‘unconditional positive regard’
(On Becoming a Person, 1961).
Without the safe environment of a
genuine and positive relationship, it is
hard for people to address fears or weak
areas that may be blocking personal
effectiveness, even when highly-refined
coaching skills are deployed.
In this respect, coaching is at its
best when informed by psychological,
emotional and spiritual insights reflected
in other related fields such as counselling,
supervision and mentoring.
Change is most sustainable individually
and organisationally when the spirit
of coaching is a pervasive feature of
organisational culture. This ensures
that developments achieved in a 1-1
coaching relationship are reinforced and
not undermined by defensive or other
reactionary aspects of organisational
experience.
In World Vision UK, we have
worked to achieve this form of cultural
transformation by a number of means
including weekly facilitated groups
where staff are encouraged to reflect
on the implications of agreed values
(e.g. unity, integrity, collaboration) for
organisational practice.
This type of process maintains on-
13training&learning
going reflection, authenticity and action at
the forefront of individual and corporate
consciousness.
Stephen Covey’s popular work (Seven
Habits of Highly Effective People, 1989)
describes transformation as starting with
an inner private victory (be proactive, first
things first, begin with the end in mind)
before seeking a more public victory
or change (think win/win, seek first to
understand, synergise etc.)
This theme of inner transformation
finds a strong connection with spirituality
at personal and social levels and can be
released by a coaching approach.
In World Vision UK, our underlying
Christian beliefs compel us naturally to
explore questions of identity, meaning
and purpose – ‘who am I’, ‘why am I
here’ and ‘what is my vocation’. Such
questions unlock powerful emotion and
significant energy that motivates us to find
new ways of being and doing. Individual
reflection spills over into consideration of
our relationships with each other – ‘how
then should we behave together?’
The spirituality at work movement
suggests that other organisations are
exploring similar issues in their own
specific environments.
In a related field, Owen Harrison
(Open Space Technology, 1997)
developed a facilitative approach
that creates space for individuals to
identify and engage their passion and
responsibility for the topic at hand.
‘What’s most important to you?’ and
‘what are you willing to be responsible
for?” are two simple questions that unlock
participants’ commitment and energy.
Appreciative Inquiry (e.g. Diana
Whitney, 2003) has explored similar
avenues by focusing on positive
experience as a means to engender vision
and commitment. We believe these
approaches can be deployed through
coaching as an effective tap into spirit
and aspiration.
By fostering a genuine spirit of
coaching, developing a deeper level of
inquiry and ensuring individuals have
the space to find their own solutions, we
have found that managers and coaches can
make a significant change to the culture of
an organization.
Individuals will typically experience
greater personal satisfaction at work,
grow in their ability to deal with
complexity, ambiguity and change
and develop spiritual and emotional
intelligence alongside practical skills
and enhanced performance.
The next article in this series being
published in May (Volume 2 Issue 5)
will focus on setting task, capability and
development goals.
Richard Marshall BA C.Psych Dip.App
Psych and Nick Wright BA MSc FITOL
and are responsible for organisation
development at World Vision UK, a non-
governmental organisation working in 96
countries (www.worldvision.org.uk)
performancemanagement
& training&learning14
The buzz words of the internet age
have now slipped into common
usage, and there can be few
businesses that have not dipped a toe into
some form of online marketing.
The internet can open up whole new
markets, reaching an unprecedented
number of potential customers at the
click of a button. It offers an unrivalled
opportunity to get up close and personal
with each and every person who takes an
interest in a company.
It can put the small business on the
same level playing field as its multi-
national competitors. It can be cheap, it
can be quick, and a web site means that a
business can be open 24 hours even if the
office isn’t.
While online advertising did not
appear on many marketers budget lines
as recently as 2000, it now accounts for
2.6% of marketing spend in the UK, and
The Chartered Institute of Marketing’s
last Marketing Trends Survey found that it
was the fastest growing area of marketing
expenditure.
Technologies may come and go, but the
fundamental rules of marketing still apply.
A company that fails to promote the right
product to the right market at the right time
and with the right messages is destined for
failure, no matter how sophisticated the
media it uses.
Online marketing is not an excuse for
laziness. An e-mail database must be just
as carefully prepared as a mailing list for
a traditional mail-shot. The content of any
electronic communication must be just
as well considered, and the objectives for
sending an e-communication must be clear.
It is now a very long time ago that an
e-mail communication was a novelty.
Therefore creativity is just as important
when sending an e-mail communication
as it is when designing a 30 second TV
commercial.
However, while a heavy hard sell will
have recipients dashing to ‘unsubscribe’,
messages that are too subtle may fail
to meet the business objectives of the
campaign.
While it is tempting to show off with
the latest flash and video downloads, this
is a waste of time and money if those
targeted do not have the right software and
therefore it is a often a good idea to stick
to less complex technologies.
Timing is also important, and it is best
to avoid sending an e-mail on a Monday
or a Friday, when in-boxes will be
overflowing. Studies show that a follow
up can increase success by up to 40%, and
therefore picking up the trusty telephone
after the e-mail has been sent can rescue a
communication from the fatal blow of the
‘delete’ button.
And it goes without saying that any
campaign must comply with laws such
as the Data Protection Act, offering
recipients the right protection of privacy
and the option of removing their names
from a mailing list.
To get the best out of e-marketing any
campaign must complement, rather than
clash with any other marketing activities,
and it must reinforce the values of a
company brand.
Online marketing should be regarded as
part of the wider marketing plan. It should
support traditional marketing tools such
as trade press advertising, and these in
turn should promote a business’s online
activities.
Careful measurement of results is
essential. It is important to ensure that any
investment in online marketing is money
well spent. Keeping track on who visited
a web site, who clicked through from
which search engines and who responded
to e-mails is not costly and requires only
simple technology.
Once this analysis is complete, it is
easy to spot the initiatives that work and
those that don’t, and the campaign can be
adjusted accordingly.
While not everyone can become a
technical expert, it is important that those
responsible for e-marketing are at least
familiar with the terminology so that they
are confident about briefing a web design
agency or discussing the statistics needed
from a web hosting service.
Web sites that look sumptuous but don’t
work and those that are technically perfect
but dull as ditch-water are equally as useless
and it is important to remember that design
is a balance between art and science.
The ability to communicate effectively
with customers and to understand their
needs is vital. The company that can use
the latest methods to do this successfully
will be the company that thrives, whatever
exciting technologies the future may bring.
For further information about The
Chartered Institute of Marketing visit
www.cim.co.uk
getting in line, on-line
Are you taking advantage of the opportunities presented by the internet? Christine Cryne of The Chartered
Institute of Marketing on how to make the most of online marketing.
marketingskills
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The Interactive Learning Company& training&learning14
The buzz words of the internet age
have now slipped into common
usage, and there can be few
businesses that have not dipped a toe into
some form of online marketing.
The internet can open up whole new
markets, reaching an unprecedented
number of potential customers at the
click of a button. It offers an unrivalled
opportunity to get up close and personal
with each and every person who takes an
interest in a company.
It can put the small business on the
same level playing field as its multi-
national competitors. It can be cheap, it
can be quick, and a web site means that a
business can be open 24 hours even if the
office isn’t.
While online advertising did not
appear on many marketers budget lines
as recently as 2000, it now accounts for
2.6% of marketing spend in the UK, and
The Chartered Institute of Marketing’s
last Marketing Trends Survey found that it
was the fastest growing area of marketing
expenditure.
Technologies may come and go, but the
fundamental rules of marketing still apply.
A company that fails to promote the right
product to the right market at the right time
and with the right messages is destined for
failure, no matter how sophisticated the
media it uses.
Online marketing is not an excuse for
laziness. An e-mail database must be just
as carefully prepared as a mailing list for
a traditional mail-shot. The content of any
electronic communication must be just
as well considered, and the objectives for
sending an e-communication must be clear.
It is now a very long time ago that an
e-mail communication was a novelty.
Therefore creativity is just as important
when sending an e-mail communication
as it is when designing a 30 second TV
commercial.
However, while a heavy hard sell will
have recipients dashing to ‘unsubscribe’,
messages that are too subtle may fail
to meet the business objectives of the
campaign.
While it is tempting to show off with
the latest flash and video downloads, this
is a waste of time and money if those
targeted do not have the right software and
therefore it is a often a good idea to stick
to less complex technologies.
Timing is also important, and it is best
to avoid sending an e-mail on a Monday
or a Friday, when in-boxes will be
overflowing. Studies show that a follow
up can increase success by up to 40%, and
therefore picking up the trusty telephone
after the e-mail has been sent can rescue a
communication from the fatal blow of the
‘delete’ button.
And it goes without saying that any
campaign must comply with laws such
as the Data Protection Act, offering
recipients the right protection of privacy
and the option of removing their names
from a mailing list.
To get the best out of e-marketing any
campaign must complement, rather than
clash with any other marketing activities,
and it must reinforce the values of a
company brand.
Online marketing should be regarded as
part of the wider marketing plan. It should
support traditional marketing tools such
as trade press advertising, and these in
turn should promote a business’s online
activities.
Careful measurement of results is
essential. It is important to ensure that any
investment in online marketing is money
well spent. Keeping track on who visited
a web site, who clicked through from
which search engines and who responded
to e-mails is not costly and requires only
simple technology.
Once this analysis is complete, it is
easy to spot the initiatives that work and
those that don’t, and the campaign can be
adjusted accordingly.
While not everyone can become a
technical expert, it is important that those
responsible for e-marketing are at least
familiar with the terminology so that they
are confident about briefing a web design
agency or discussing the statistics needed
from a web hosting service.
Web sites that look sumptuous but don’t
work and those that are technically perfect
but dull as ditch-water are equally as useless
and it is important to remember that design
is a balance between art and science.
The ability to communicate effectively
with customers and to understand their
needs is vital. The company that can use
the latest methods to do this successfully
will be the company that thrives, whatever
exciting technologies the future may bring.
For further information about The
Chartered Institute of Marketing visit
www.cim.co.uk
getting in line, on-line
Are you taking advantage of the opportunities presented by the internet? Christine Cryne of The Chartered
Institute of Marketing on how to make the most of online marketing.
marketingskills
&
making use of humour
When asked to describe the
coach or mentor they would
dread, learners typically
refer at some point to the person without
a sense of humour. Not surprisingly,
coaches and mentors have similar feelings
about developmental relationships with
humourless learners. The person who
is too intense, too focused, too serious-
minded can be very hard work on both
sides.
By contrast, when describing their
ideal partner for learning dialogue,
people typically talk about someone who
stimulates them in a positive, light-hearted
manner, who empathises while maintaining
a positive sense of detachment, and who
is able to use humour to break cycles of
negative or over-introspection.
So what is it about humour and a sense
of fun that is so important to the coaching
or mentoring process? One aspect is the
link with creativity thinking, which is
This month we welcome a new regular contributor to Training & Learning . . . Professor David Clutterbuck,
probably the world’s leading authority on the processes of one-to-one development, particularly coaching and
mentoring.
training&learning16
coachingandmentoring
arguably at the core of developmental
dialogue.
Humour and creativity are very closely
aligned processes – both depend on the
unexpected juxtaposition of concepts,
visions or language. Consider the
following quotation from Arthur Koestler
(The Act of Creation, 1964):
“The creative act is not an
act of creation in the sense of
the Old Testament. It does not
create something out of nothing;
it uncovers, selects, reshuffles,
combines, synthesises already
existing facts, ideas, faculties,
skills. The more familiar the parts,
the more striking the new whole.”
The dialogue on coaching and mentoring
picks apart the elements of the coachee’s/
mentee’s experience and recombines them
in similar insightful ways.
It’s not surprising, then, that it typically
generates good humour and occasional
laughter. Seeing oneself and others in
new lights is like walking through the
hall of mirrors – the strange delight of the
incongruous and sometimes grotesque.
Yet humour is much more than a by-
product of coaching and mentoring. It is
also an essential component. It contributes
to the building of rapport – it is hard to
trust someone you cannot laugh with.
It provides a means of giving critical
feedback or coaxing the mentee to discuss
issues that are otherwise too painful to
address. And it enables the coaching or
mentoring pair to place issues in a wider
context.
Among the ways effective coaches and
mentors bring laughter into their practice
are:
• Making it part of the contract/
expectations for the relationship
• Sharing humorous things that have
happened to them recently, to relax
the mentee
&
• Looking for the lighter side in
difficult situations
• Exploring incongruities
• Developing visual images that
introduce an element of the
ridiculous into situations, where the
mentee/ coachee experiences fear
or anxiety
• Giving the mentee/coachee
permission to access their inner
child, when it will help them
understand their motivations
Of course, humour needs to be used
with a light touch, to ensure that mentor
and mentee really do address the important
issues in sufficient depth. Yet getting to
that depth may sometimes be difficult or
impossible to do without the lubricating
influence of humour.
Effective mentors and coaches need the
tools to work within the mentee’s humour
comfort zone – and that takes sensitivity,
flexibility and a willingness to work
with the mentee to lead the dialogue into
unknown territory.
Some of those tools include:
• Knowing how to detach from the
emotion of the moment and consider
what alternative emotions might be
more helpful – this reframing is at
the heart of coaching
• Being able to point out illogicalities
and incongruities with a light
touch – raising awareness of them
without causing the learner to feel
embarrassed or threatened – a
crucial skill for the effective coach/
mentor
• Gradually raising the humour
stakes by exposing more of the
illogicality/incongruity, or by
applying metaphors, which have
multiple layers of meaning (for
making use of humour
17training&learning
coachingandmentoring
example, “So he thinks he’s the
ugly duckling, then?”)
• Using direct questions, such as
“Can you see a lighter side to this
situation?”
• Encouraging the mentee/coachee,
through Socratic dialogue, to take
beliefs and assumptions to their
logical, but extreme, conclusions.
Almost invariably, this will trigger
an excursion into the ridiculous
There has, to my knowledge, been no
study (serious or otherwise!) into the
role of humour in the developmental
relationship. Perhaps it has seemed too
trivial a topic, when in reality, it may
be a critical catalyst for achieving the
relationship purpose. Perhaps a useful
analogy is the spice in a meal.
It doesn’t take a great deal of spice to
turn a bland experience into a gustatory
delight. Too much and the dish cloys.
Pitching correctly the balance of humour
in the relationship – like creating a great
recipe – is often a process of trial and
error, with frequent sampling.
Watching an effective
coach at work
recently, I
winced when
he countered
a morose
statement by
the coachee with
an apparently
flippant comment,
which clearly didn’t
find favour with the
coachee.
Deftly, he turned the
situation around, saying:
“You are obviously treating
this issue much more seriously
than I had assumed. What makes
you feel it is so serious?”
Ten minutes later, the situation
was reversed, as the coach responded
to a disparaging remark made by the
coachee about a colleague, not with an
expression of disapproval, but one that
was quizzical. “How true do you believe
that comment to be?” he asked.
What this coach was doing was
experimenting with humour – both his own
and the coachee’s – to maintain a dialogue
that was always close to creativity’s edge.
It’s a lesson all coaches can benefit from!
Next month: David looks at developing
a systems approach to coaching and
mentoring.
David Clutterbuck is visiting professor
at Sheffield Hallam and Oxford Brookes
Universities and chair of the research
committee of the European Mentoring
and Coaching Council. He is the author of
approaching 50 books and senior partner
of international consultancy Clutterbuck
Associates (www.clutterbuckassociates.
com), which specialises in helping
companies design and implement
sustainable mentoring programmes.
&
thinking more about cpd
Lecturer Moira Bailey and Fiona Beddoes-Jones, author of Thinking Styles, describe the system to improve
the effectiveness and quality of CPD they are piloting in the Human Resource Management Department of the
Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen.
training&learning18
casestudy
Although it is generally accepted
by experts that there is a
perceived value attached to
reflective Continuing Professional
Development (CPD) among HR students
and professionals, this does not frequently
translate into comparably high levels of
participation.
The main benefit, according to
advocates of CPD, would appear to be that
of improving personal performance. As a
result of improved personal performance,
career progression should be enhanced.
As tutors involved in the delivery of the
MSc in Human Resource Management we
are anxious to help our students become
effective and efficient practitioners.
We believe that by encouraging and
supporting them to record and reflect upon
their CPD we will give them a mechanism
to keep their knowledge and skills up to
date, resulting in their becoming, and
continuing to be throughout their career,
effective and efficient practitioners.
For some time we have been concerned
that students are not recording and
reflecting on their CPD as well as
they might. As a result, their personal
performance and future career progression
might be compromised. We thought there
may be two possible reasons for this:
Firstly, people may not be making
effective links between the relevance of
planned and reflective CPD and improving
personal performance; and secondly, that HR
students require a ‘blueprint for success’.
A tutor-led, supportive and effective
framework would therefore make the CPD
process ‘easier’ for the students to engage
in and could potentially lead to higher
levels of CPD participation.
Over the past year, one way in which
we have tried to help our students in terms
of CPD has been to develop and introduce
a portfolio based system for recording and
storing CPD.
We decided on a portfolio based system
because we thought it would help students
find how easy and accessible it could be
to record and retrieve the learning from
their CPD. All students were allocated
a personal tutor whose function it was to
support and guide them through the whole
CPD process.
Students met with their personal tutors
at regular intervals throughout their course
to discuss their progress. By introducing
the portfolio system, we have provided a
tutor led, supportive framework for the
purpose of the CPD process.
While all this has gone some way to
make the process more ‘user friendly’,
concerns remained that students were:
• not fully appreciating the links
between the relevance of planned
and reflective CPD and improving
their personal performance
• not finding the reflection element
particularly easy
This being the case we were still
concerned that our students were
potentially not deriving as much benefit
from the CPD process as they might. We
were left with two questions:
1. How could we get the students to
more fully appreciate the links?
2. How could we help them to reflect
effectively on their CPD?
After much deliberation and
investigation, we decided to pilot the use
of the psychometric tool Thinking Styles®
in relation to CPD. Thinking Styles is an
occupational psychometric instrument
which helps individuals understand how
their thinking relates to their personality
and their behaviour.
Thinking Styles identifies and
measures cognitive preferences,
cognitive flexibility and thinking
strategies, encouraging individuals to
use ‘whole brain thinking’ which in turn
will help them learn more quickly.
It seemed to us that giving students this
information would enable them not only
to see the link between reflective CPD
and improved personal performance but
to introduce them to ways which should
enable them to carry out more effective
reflective CPD.
It appeared that cognitive flexibility
in particular was relevant in two ways in
terms of improved personal performance:
• Today’s organisations which are far
less hierarchical than previously
now expect their employees to
be utterly flexible. Surely it
must follow then, that to help our
students to be able to think more
flexibly must help them improve
their performance.
• By encouraging students to be more
cognitively flexible, this should
make the reflection of CPD more
straightforward.
We decided to commence the study
during the induction period at the start of
the current academic year. During their
&
thinking more about cpd
19training&learning
consuming entries. This meant that she
would avoid making any entries until
she had the time to complete them in full
and to her satisfaction. Consequently she
would become stressed and frustrated
and tend to fall behind in the reflective
recording of her CPD.
Anecdotally in group discussion,
students reported a clearer understanding
of the implications and relevance of
increased cognitive flexibility to help
them become effective and efficient
practitioners. Course tutors noted an
increase in the quality of thinking that went
into students’ PDP objectives compared to
previous years cohorts.
Two students in particular, independently
of each other and both of whom are rated
by their RGU lecturers as ‘good students’,
used their Thinking Styles reports to
explain their learning and study styles
to their personal tutors and to explore
their progress on the course through their
cognitive style preferences.
Some students experienced a degree
of difficulty in beginning their CPD
portfolios, but found that by group
discussion regarding other students’
strategies for planning, recording
and reflecting upon their CPD they
were able to overcome their initial
difficulties to develop a CPD strategy
that worked for them.
We believe that there are three potential
benefits from this study:
• to provide a tutor led supportive
and effective framework for CPD
that may encourage higher levels of
participation
• it highlights the relevance of
tailoring CPD strategies to the
thinking style preferences of
students to help them engage more
actively with the CPD process
• it may go some way towards
addressing researchers’ findings
regarding poor levels of CPD
participation amongst HR as
well as professionals from other
disciplines
There seems to be a clear link between
CPD, enhanced competence and better
performance. Comprehensive and reflective
CPD may be a key factor in achieving
improved personal performance. We hope
that our research will offer a ‘blueprint’ for
other providers of HRM courses in relation
to the CPD provision for their students.
We will be looking at several issues
over the next few months:
• Has the process of CPD been made
‘easier’ for students?
• What difficulties did students
experience with regard to their
CPD activities and how did they
overcome them?
• To what extent do students predict
that they will continue to use their
CPD strategies in future?
• How can the process be refined and
improved?
We hope the answers to these questions
will be of interest to a wide range of HR
and other discipline professionals.
For further information contact Moira
Bailey MSc, MITOL, Chartered MCIPD,
The Human Resource Management
Department, The Robert Gordon University,
Aberdeen ([email protected]) and
Fiona Beddoes-Jones, author of Thinking
Styles ([email protected])
induction period, a group of HRM students
were introduced to the CPD requirements
as well as completing the Thinking Styles
Questionnaire and receiving their own
personal Thinking Styles profile.
Students received group feedback on the
relevance of thinking style preferences,
and the role of cognitive flexibility in
achieving enhanced performance. This
information was used by the students to
assist them in the identification of their
objectives for inclusion in their Personal
Development Plans (PDPs) for the
forthcoming academic year.
This process formed the first part of
planning, recording and reflecting upon
their CPD which will continue for the
duration of the course and beyond as
they become HR practitioners. Students
subsequently continued with their CPD
portfolios in their own ways, adjusting
their strategies as appropriate with the
support of their personal tutors.
Students have said that they noticed a
marked increase in their understanding
of how their personal thinking style
preferences manifested themselves within
the organisation of their CPD portfolios.
For example, one student noted how
her high preference for detailed thinking
and low preference for strategic thinking
contributed to very lengthy and time-
bibliographyBeddoes-Jones F. (1999) Thinking Styles - Relationship Strategies
that Work! BJA Associates, Stainby
Jones N. and Fear N. (1994) Continuing Professional Development:
Perspectives from Human Resource Professionals.
Personnel Review, Vol. 23 (8) pp 49-60
Messick S. (1984) The Nature of Cognitive Styles: Problems
and Promise in Educational Practice. Educational
Psychologist, 19 (2), 59-74
Rothwell A. & Arnold J. (2005) How HR Professionals rate continuing
professional development. Human Resource
Management Journal, Vol. 15 (3) pp 18-32
Sadler-Smith E, Allinson & Hayes J. (2000) Learning Preferences and Cognitive Style:some
implications for continuing professional development.
Management Learning, Vol. 31(2) pp 239-256
Using an innovative approach,the resourceprovides a flexible answerto meet both individual andteam development needs.
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k
training&learning 21
You’ve seen them strutting their
stuff on the catwalks of London,
Paris, Milan and New York.
Top models adorned in the latest – and
sometimes most bizarre – fashions created
by leading designers.
The reality, however, is that only a
small minority of designers produce
their own collections, or work for those
haute couture firms which design one-
off garments for individual, usually very
wealthy, customers.
Most work as commercial designers
for clothing manufacturers, producing
designs for the mass market, often to a
strict regime working on styles for two
seasons ahead.
Fashion designers usually work in
small studios or workshops, either alone
or with a small group of designers. They
attend meetings with textile designers,
fashion buyers and customers, and visit
fabric houses, exhibitions and fashion
shows to gain information on colour and
fabric trends.
The design process involves sketching
ideas by hand or on a computer, developing
a pattern, cutting and sewing a sample
garment, and overseeing the production
process.
In smaller companies the designer
may carry out all of these stages. In
larger companies they will often focus
on the design aspects - the preparation of
patterns and samples will be undertaken
by other staff.
According to post-16 education
provider learndirect, the skills required to
be a fashion designer include:
• to be artistic and creative with an
eye for colour, texture and pattern
• good drawing skills
• a good understanding of the
properties of different fabrics
• practical skills for producing
clothes, for creating designs and for
making up sample garments
training in fashionThere can be few more glamorous careers than that of top fashion designer, but where will the next Karl
Lagerfelds, Gianni Versaces or Jean Paul Gaultiers come from, and what training do they need to even get on
the first rungs of the ladder?
Emiko Veronika Yamada, 23, got her degree in fashion design at the Surrey Institute
of Art and Design. She talks about work experience and the future:
“I was born in Tokyo and lived in Japan and Russia when I was young. I dreamt of
coming to study in the UK, and when I was 12, I decided it was time to move.
“One of my biggest achievements is graduating in fashion design. I have always
been interested in art, and fashion is my main interest. My strength is designing on
computers. On my course, I learnt to be creative, to work with a team, to use different
computer programs, and to present my work to a high standard.
“Work experience was incredibly valuable. During my final year, I worked for a
fashion company in London called Naughty, where I worked with two designers. It was
a real insight to see first-hand what the job was like.
“My job was to design accessories and garments for the Christmas collection 2003. My
drawings had to be clear and accurate as they were used at factories to make samples to
our specifications. Naughty would then review the finished items. Any mistakes in my
drawings meant the samples would come back wrong!
“By working for Naughty, I now realise how important it is to communicate with all
departments and outworkers, not just the department you work in. In the future, I
want to work as a designer in a UK fashion company.”
case study: the graduate
& training&learning22
k• skills in pattern-cutting and sewing
• to be able to communicate ideas
through sketches or computer-
manipulated images
• the ability to budget and cost out
work
• to be able to market your own work,
negotiate with clients and buyers
and organise the administrative
and financial side of the business if
freelance
Most fashion designers have a BA
(Hons) degree in a fashion-related
subject.
The London College of Fashion’s Foundation Degree
in Fashion Design and Marketing is for students who
wish to take the study of design in the field of fashion
through the product development and marketing stages.
The two-year course is delivered using a range of work based
teaching and learning techniques to ensure students gain a
practical, strategic and operational understanding of fashion
design and marketing skills.
In the first year students are introduced to basic principles
and the inter-relationship between subject areas, which
include: fashion marketing, design and technology, the
fashion design process, cultural studies, and information and
communications.
At the end of the first year and over the summer period,
students are supported and encouraged to gain work experience
within industry, in preparation for further study in Year Two.
This period of learning will help students to form links with
potential employers.
In the second year, increased emphasis is placed on the
industrial context of units through simulated work based
learning, briefs set by, and presentations to, the industry.
This stage of the course builds on existing knowledge and
further explores the synthesis between the various subject
areas: fashion brand development, marketing and range
planning, trend forecasting and a range of electives from which
the student selects one.
To complete the second year, students produce a personal
developmental project which provides an opportunity to
demonstrate the range of knowledge and skills acquired on
the course, prepare a portfolio of work that reflects career
aspirations, and can be used to present at interview for work or
progression to an Honours degree.
Assessment is continuous and project based with tutorial
support and interim critiques. Additional methods include
written reports, case studies, presentations, time constrained
assignments and integrated projects.
Graduates from this course are well placed to find employment
within the fashion design and marketing industry as trainees or
assistants in areas that include: design, product development,
market research/forecasting, marketing and communications,
buying and merchandising.
To be considered for entry to the course, the college says that
prospective students should:
• be at least 18 by 1 September in the year of entry
• have 1 A level pass plus passes in 4 other subjects at GCSE
Grade C or above
• or BTEC National Diploma in a fashion related subject;
• or NVQ level 3 in a related subject
• or AVCE, single award in a related subject
• or the successful completion of a 1 year foundation course
in Art and Design plus the equivalent of 5 GCSE passes at
grade C or above
• or the successful completion of a relevant Access course,
16 credits at level 3
• or equivalent qualification
• or equivalent work experience
• have IELTS level 6.0 or equivalent if English is not the
first language
case study: foundation degree
In England and Wales a recognised Art
and Design foundation course is often
required for entry to degree courses,
but one of the following may also be
accepted:
• two subjects at A level/three H
grades
• another level 3 qualification, such
as an AVCE in Art and Design or a
BTEC/SQA National Diploma in a
relevant subject area
Entry to foundation courses usually
requires 5 GCSEs (A-C)/S grades (1-3),
and 1 A level/2 H grades.
In Scotland degree courses last for four
years, with an initial year which is similar
to the Art and Design foundation courses
in England and Wales.
Young people between the ages of
16 and 24 may be able to undertake a
clothing industry apprenticeship in order
to develop skills including manufacturing
sewn products, garment technology,
pattern cutting and grading and handcraft
garment making.
Newly qualified designers usually need
to begin at a junior level in order to build
up experience. Training in computer
&23training&learning
aided design (CAD) and in business (for
freelance work) can also be useful.
They may first be employed as design
room assistants, then progress to assistant
designers, with responsibilities such as
drawing up technical specifications for
manufacturers, making up mood boards,
and possibly taking responsibility for a
small area of a range. It can take up to
five years to progress to the position of
designer.
Most employment opportunities
are with clothing manufacturing or
retailing companies. It may also be
possible to find employment with
design studios which produce designs
for a number of manufacturers. There
are comparatively few opportunities
with top design houses.
Dozens of universities and colleges
throughout the UK offer undergraduate
and postgraduate courses in fashion design
and related subjects.
However, the London College of
Fashion is the only college in the UK to
specialise in fashion education, research
and consultancy. The college has an intake
of around 1,500 students a year.
With opportunities for study at all levels
from access and first diploma to Foundation
and Honours degree, Postgraduate
Certificate, Masters degree and PhD, its
portfolio of courses range from fashion
design and technology, management and
marketing to communication, promotion
and image creation.
Many of its tutors combine teaching
with careers within the industry which
allows them to pass on invaluable ‘insider’
knowledge to students, on the latest
technologies, techniques and trends.
UK and European students are
encouraged to study their subject with
a global perspective. To help aid them
in this approach exchange programmes
have been set up in New York, Madrid,
Budapest, Florence, Berlin and
Amsterdam. Students are also offered
the opportunity to undertake work
experience abroad.
case study: foundation degreeHer dad may be one of the world’s best-known rock superstars, but Stella McCartney is
earning fame and fortune for herself as a leading fashion designer.
Born in 1972, the daughter of ex-Beatle Sir Paul and Linda McCartney, she first hit the
headlines herself in 1995, when she graduated from London’s Central St Martins College of
Art & Design. Her graduation show featured pals Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss modelling
her clothes on the catwalk.
Unsurprisingly, the student show became front page news around the world and the entire
collection was snapped up by London boutique Tokyo. Stella launched her eponymous label
the same year.
Despite her newfound celebrity, she had already served a long apprenticeship in fashion. At
15, she worked with Christian Lacroix on his first couture collection and later spent several
years learning her craft on Savile Row.
A style combination of sharp tailoring, irreverence and sexy femininity was immediately
apparent in her first collection. After only two collections, in 1997, she was appointed the
creative director of the house of Chloe in Paris.
Chloe’s commercial success was stratospheric during Stella McCartney’s tenure and her
collections and advertising campaigns for the house of Chloe were universally praised by
both buyers and press.
In April 2001, Stella launched her own fashion house under her name in a joint venture
with Gucci Group. Her first collection, Spring/ Summer 2002, was shown in Paris in
October2001. A strict vegetarian, Stella does not use leather or fur in her designs.
Her brand includes women’s ready-to-wear, accessories, and eyewear. Her first fragrance,
‘Stella’ launched successfully on her birthday, the 13th of September 2003.
Stella has opened three flagship stores worldwide. The first boutique in Manhattan’s
Meatpacking district opened in September 2002, followed by a store in Mayfair, London
in April 2003 and in LA’s West Hollywood in September 2003. Her collection is now
distributed in over 40 countries.
In 2004, she designed specially made costumes for Madonna’s “Reinvention Tour,” Annie
Lennox’s summer concert tour as well as the wardrobe for Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law
for the film “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.”
The following awards have recognized Stella McCartney’s achievement in fashion and
social awareness:
VH1 / Vogue Fashion and Music 2000 Designer of the Year award (2000, NY), the Woman
of Courage Award for work against cancer at the prestigious Unforgettable Evening event
(2003, LA), the Glamour Award for best Designer of the Year (2004, London), the Star
honouree at the Fashion Group International Night of Stars (2004, NY), the Organic Style
Woman of the Year Award (2005, NY).
how stella becamea star
&
Today, more than ever, businesses
need to keep their staff up-to-date
to stay ahead – knowledge and
information concerning procedures and
products, and skills development needs
to be available immediately, regularly and
effectively.
eLearning can provide this facility -
learning at a time, pace, place and style that
suits the modern business environment.
In fact, eLearning is one of the fastest
growing areas of training provision, so
if you haven’t already been involved in
eLearning, then it is only a matter of time.
But what is eLearning?
It’s a term that’s used to cover any
learning and training that uses electronic
media, for example: using computers,
internet, intranet, and increasingly tools
such as mobile phones, PDAs and MP3
players (for podcasts) so let’s just say
eLearning is
“anything delivered, enabled or
mediated by electronic technology
for the explicit purpose of learning”
(CIPD, ASTD).
In principle, eLearning is a kind of
distance learning; learning materials can
be accessed from the web or CD via a
computer, and tutors and learners can
communicate with each other using e-mail
or discussion forums.
eLearning can be used as the main
method of delivery of training or as a
combined approach with classroom-based
back to basics training – this is known as a blended
approach.
What are the business benefits?
eLearning brings proven benefits to your
business, providing quality training with
savings in both time and cost. As training
and HRD is a major requirement for all
businesses, effectiveness and efficiency are
significant factors.
The early driver for eLearning was cost
reduction but now there is more concern
with the effectiveness of the learning,
but value-for money and costs are still
significant factors.
Effectiveness
Training can be given at the right time
to staff so they are thoroughly prepared
when they need to be - whether it is new
information and procedures, or refresher
training.
Each member of staff gets a consistent
message and their understanding and
performance can be tested and recorded
through quizzes, activities, exams and
portfolios. And learning at workplace is
more relevant as it is in context and often
in the relevant environment.
Tracking systems can provide
businesses with a better management of
learning, for example, dynamic records
of regulatory training with automatic
reminders when refresher training is
required. Tracking of training also
provides records for audit that these
issues are being addressed.
Efficiency
eLearning at the workplace, obviously,
saves time that would be lost by travelling
to courses and the cost of travel. It has
been estimated that as much as 60% of
the training budget can be eaten up by
travel and accommodation to traditional
courses.
Time (and time is money!) is also saved
over traditional face-to-face courses as
learners only study what they need and
at their own pace. Managers must ensure,
however, that staff are allowed time to
study otherwise there could be resentment
if they are expected to study in their own
time. Reduced training time also saves
‘off-the-job’ salary costs.
Another benefit of eLearning is that is
can be easily and quickly updated to reflect
changes in legislation and procedures.
There is only one electronic master copy
so there are no publishing or printing or
distribution costs
And as eLearning moves into main
stream, there any more examples of best
practice so businesses new to eLearning
can learn from them and not replicate the
mistakes of the past.
Learner benefits
Encouraging staff to take responsibility
for their own learning will also benefit
your business. Even with regulatory
training, if it is flexible and delivered to
suit individual circumstances staff are
training&learning24
eLearning
In this month’s article, Renée Raper returns to the basic benefits and issues that organisations
should consider if they are introducing eLearning initiatives.
&25training&learning
Asynchronous
Not time bound. Participants in asynchronous communication do not need to engage at the
same time, instead contributions are stored electronically so participants can access and
respond to them at times that are convenient to them.
Blended learningA learning event that contains aspects of online and face-to-face delivery.
eLearning Anything delivered, enabled or mediated by electronic technology for the explicit purpose
of learning.
IM (instant messaging) Lets you create a contact list of people you would like to communicate with online and
allows you to exchange messages with them in real time. The IM system alerts you
whenever somebody on your “buddy list” is online and trying to contact you via your
computer; you can then initiate a chat session.
Online chat Synchronous communication via the Internet. Allows participants to see contributions
as they are typed allowing for dialogue that approximates a face-to-face conversation.
Increasingly online chat is being replaced by technologies that allow telephone-like voice
conferencing.
Online conference Asynchronous communication via the Internet. This is an area where messages can be
posted to a group, rather than send individual emails. Discussions can take place at times
to suit participants.
Online forumAnother term for online conference.
Podcast An audio recording such as a news bulletin, speech, talk, that users can download onto
their computers and then transfer to their portable music players (it does not have to be an
iPod) and listen to at their convenience.
SynchronousCommunication takes place in real time.
Video-conference A conference between two or more participants at different locations, using computer
networks or the Internet to transmit audio and video data. Systems vary from a dedicated
suite in organisations to desk-top cameras (webcam).
more motivated to learn.
It is ideal for a geographical dispersed
work force and for those working shifts
or part-time as eLearning gives options
for training at a place, time, pace and
style to meet both business and learner
needs.
Blended learning
A popular approach is to use ‘blended’
provision. This uses the advantages of
electronic means of delivery alongside
traditional methods to achieve the most
effective training for your staff. For
example this could mean:
• delivering all the content by
electronic means (for example,
internet, intranet, or CD)
• just part of a course, say the support
element (using e-mail or online
discussion forums)
Choosing eLearning
Your business can engage in eLearning
at various levels depending on your
business requirements and your budget
- from short off-the-shelf modules for
specifics to bespoke programmes for
whole company initiatives.
Before implementing eLearning you
will need to consider:
• Technology
• Environment
• Materials
• Learning support
Technology
Obviously, you need to consider
computer hardware, software and IT skills
before introducing eLearning - but usually
these are not such big issues as you might
imagine.
Research indicates that when
implementing eLearning, only 20% of the
issues relate to the technology, the other
80% are softer people issues – yet it is
often the classic 80/20 rule with most of
some useful terms
k
& training&learning26
kour energies spent in the 20% IT.
One issue to consider is connectivity.
This is the ease and speed that learners
will be able to access the courses. If
the course is on the internet what is
the connection speed – broadband or
56k modem? If trainees are using a
telephone line and modem at home than
the courses may run slowly.
If you have a significant number
of staff and need to track and record
training access and progress, you
may need to put in place a Learning
Management System (LMS) to
administer the provision. There are
many LMSs on the market with varying
degrees of functionality.
Most learning systems conform
to SCORM standards which ensure
compatibility of software and learning
content. Many include authoring
tools which your own trainers can
use to develop and publish their own
courses which can be geared to specific
company needs.
Staff will need basic computer skills to
undertake eLearning, otherwise their fear
of the technology will act as a barrier to
their learning. Many courses include a
brief tutorial, otherwise basic web-wise
courses are available free on the internet
(see www.bbc.co.uk/webwise)
Environment
You need to provide an environment
that is conducive to learning. Try to install
computers near to the work area or on the
desktop as most learning occurs naturally
in the context of work.
Most people can’t learn if it is noisy
or if they are frequently interrupted,
so encourage learners to divert their
telephone calls and let colleagues know
they are training.
Some businesses provide learning
centres or quiet areas to minimise
distractions, but research supports ‘the
desktop’ as the preferred option for
learners.
Materials
Once you know your training needs
you can focus on the search for learning
materials. You can buy generic off the
shelf courses (often on CDs), buy licenses
to access courses (often for web-based
courses) or you may need to develop
bespoke content.
If you are buying courses or licenses
there are quality benchmarking standards
are being developed for eLearning
materials, and guides are available on
the internet (see www.iitt.org.uk/public/
standards/e-learningmatsstand.asp).
Before you buy an eLearning course
make a checklist of the features you require,
such as ‘tutor support’ or ‘accreditation’
and evaluate against your checklist.
And don’t forget to check if it works on
your IT equipment. Ask if you can pilot
the materials before purchase, and get the
views of end-users before spending large
sums.
If you can’t find suitable material
off-the-shelf, then you will need to
consider developing a bespoke course
or customising an existing package. If
you have the expertise in-house then you
can develop your own materials, but if
not then you can commission one of the
learning content developers to build your
course.
Upfront development costs can be
expensive, especially if you are including
video, but the reduced cost of delivery
and updating and the benefits of a quickly
trained workforce mean that eLearning
does give good value-for-money when
compared with other forms of training.
Learning support
Most eLearning programmes are easy
to use, but some support may be required.
This might be subject expert/tutor support
or technical support.
There are many ways to provide
support to learners, for example, email,
synchronous online chat rooms, instant
messaging, online discussion forums,
video-conferencing, podcasts, and not
forgetting the telephone and face-2-face
sessions (see panel for explanations).
If this is the first time your in-house
trainers have supported eLearning
then make sure they have the relevant
skills for communicating and tutoring
online so the quality of the training is
not compromised. There are courses
available to train the trainers for
eLearning (see www.london-learning.
com/section/prod_online_prof_etutor.
htm and www.iitt.org.uk/public/
standards/etutorcomp.asp).
Introducing eLearning into a business
needs commitment at all levels, including
senior management. You may find initially
there is resistance, for example:
• cultural resistance - “we always do
it this way!”
• resistance to using technology
• resistance from managers who are
unsure how to support eLearning
To gain commitment, identify a
‘champion’ or set up a project team and
use internal marketing to raise awareness.
Explain the benefits and reasons to
particular groups and don’t just use a
general ‘better’ for the organisation.
Don’t assume everyone knows what you
are talking about, so make the message
clear and memorable. Internal marketing
channels include; emails, posters, flyers,
newsletters, promotion and meetings.
I hope this has given you a brief
overview, and the motivation, to introduce
eLearning into your business.
It provides a flexible way to get
consistent quality training to a
geographically dispersed workforce or to
staff with varying working hours. You can
use it alone or ‘blended’ with traditional
face-2-face training whichever works best
for your company.
Renée Raper MSc, Chartered FCIPD, FITOL
Director of Learning, Lighthouse
www.lighthousethinking.com
&
same thing as tests of attainment.
Tests of attainment assess specifically
what people have learned e.g. mathematical
ability or computer skills. Of course what
people have learned does depend on their
ability in that domain in the first place
so the scores on the two types of test are
conceptually linked.
General ability is usually divided up into
specific abilities, reflecting the hierarchical
structure of intelligence that is generally
accepted by most workers in the field.
So a general ability test might be
composed of specific numerical, verbal
and spatial ability scales brought together
as a test battery. They can then be scored
and interpreted individually as a specific
ability or aptitude measure, or together as
part of a general ability measure.
Aptitude testingThere is no widely accepted definition
of the difference between ability and
aptitude. Most people would agree that
to some extent the two terms refer to the
same thing: aptitude referring to specific
ability, and ability referring to general
aptitude.
We could probably view ability as
underlying aptitude, and aptitude as being
more job related then ability. For instance,
a computer programmer might score
highly on a verbal ability test and highly
on a programmer aptitude test but not the
other way around.
Aptitude tests tend to be job related
and have names that include job titles
such as the Programmers Aptitude Series
(SHL). Ability tests on the other hand
are designed to measure the abilities or
mental processes that underlie aptitude
and are named after them e.g. Spatial
Many organisations use some form of psychometric assessment as a part of their selection process. For some
people this is a prospect about which there is a natural and understandable wariness of the unknown.
training&learning 27
Attempts to measure differences
between the psychological
characteristics of individuals can
be traced back to 400 BC when Hippocrates
defined four basic temperament types
each of which could be accounted for by a
predominant body fluid or humour.
These were: blood - sanguine
(optimistic), black bile - melancholic
(depressed), yellow bile - choleric
(irritable) and phlegm - phlegmatic
(listless and sluggish).
The first attempt to scientifically measure
the differences between individual mental
abilities was made by Sir Francis Galton
in the 19th Century who tried to show that
the human mind could be systematically
mapped into different dimensions.
These days, the basic tenet of testing
is based upon the principle of measuring
human mental performance under different
conditions and then making comparisons
between people.
Of course, the statistical rigour with
which this is done now is much greater
than was generally applied in Galton’s
day. There is a bewildering array of
tests available to us measuring anything
form hand-eye co-ordination to high
level cognitive operations such as spatial
reasoning.
Psychometric testing falls into three
main types:
• Ability testing
• Aptitude testing
• Personality testing
Ability testingAbility tests measure a person’s potential,
for instance to learn the skills needed for
a new job or to cope with the demands of
a training course. Ability tests are not the
Ability - GAT (ASE).
There are tests which measure only
general ability such as the Standard
Progressive Matrices (which is one of
the purest measures of general ability
available) and there are tests which only
measure specific abilities such as the
ACER Mechanical Reasoning Test.
Personality testingPersonality is a term which is commonly
used in everyday language but which has
been given a particular technical meaning
by psychologists.
When we discuss personality we must
remember that it is not a single independent
mechanism but closely related to other
human cognitive and emotional systems.
The way that a person performs in a job
does not depend solely upon ability; their
personality also plays an important part.
Used in conjunction with other
measures and assessments personality
measures can provide a useful insight into
an individual’s style and how they see
themselves in terms of their fundamental
characteristics.
This information is generally derived
from the answers to a series of multiple
choice questions administered using either
paper and pencil or a computer.
It is worth remembering that there is
nothing miraculous about personality
measures - what comes out is determined
by what you put in - it is a structured way
of getting you to describe yourself.
In line with best practice if you are
required to complete some form of
psychometric assessment you should
receive some feedback during which you
will have the opportunity to discuss and
understand the results.
testing, testing
&
sometimes senior managers don’t like
the solutions and sometimes the task
dominates the learning.
When it does work it can be very
powerful but Action Learning is rarely a
quick, easy or cheap option.
It is now quite common for universities
to use Action Learning for management
qualification studies. The real growth area,
however, is with in-company leadership
development programmes where Action
Learning techniques are being blended
with mentoring, courses and events, e-
learning and other development activities.
Even if you don’t use full-blown Action
Learning, I suspect that some of the
underlying principles may have already
permeated your training such as focusing
on real life examples, having a climate of
equality, using facilitative questions and
learning from experience.
Maybe there is still more we can learn
from Revan’s pioneering techniques.
“An idea that is developed and
put into action is more important
than an idea that exists only as
an idea.”
Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta,
the founder of Buddhism, 563-483
BC
Graham O’Connell Chartered FCIPD
FITOL FInstCPD ACIM is Head of
Organisational Learning and Standards
at the National School of Government
(formerly CMPS). He can be contacted
at graham.oconnell@nationalschool.
gsi.gov.uk
training&learning 29
In the 1930s the late, great Reg Revans
noticed how academics in his native
discipline of astrophysics exchanged
questions, approached problems and
shared ideas. In the 1940s he joined
the Coal Board and started to introduce
similar techniques to managers.
By the 1950s Action Learning was
born, and by the 1970s it was used widely
in the health service and in industry
before falling out of fashion for a while.
In the last few years it has experienced a
welcome resurgence.
In essence, Action Learning is a
structured process to help us learn from
our actions and experiences. Mike Pedlar
describes it as “...an approach to the
development of people in organisations
which takes the task as the vehicle of
learning. It is based on the premise that
there is no learning without action and
no sober and deliberate action without
learning”. Wise words indeed.
Philosophically the concept is fairly
straightforward. In practice it can be
a good deal more complicated. Most
forms of Action Learning involve
getting small groups of people together,
as Action Learning ‘sets’ to examine
complex problems around a common
theme as equals.
A facilitator, or Set Advisor, is needed
to brief the group, keep things on track
and to encourage effective reflection,
challenge and support. The group may
call in ‘experts’ if needed but at the end of
the day they are responsible for their own
learning and for puzzling out solutions.
For Action Learning to work well it
is useful to have management support,
with each set member having a sponsor
and a clear remit. Good organisation
and facilitation is vital, but perhaps most
crucial is the ability of the group to ask the
right questions.
Like any technique, Action Learning
doesn’t always work. Sometimes
the group dynamic gets in the way,
Each month, we set training and learning expert Graham O’Connell of the National School of Government
a challenge to explain an apparently complex topic in 500 words or less. If you have a topic you would like
Graham to explain, just write or e-mail him care of the Editor.
5minutefactfile
what isaction learning?
&
Fully getting to grips with
understanding the financial
performance of their unit,
department or team is often well down the
list of priorities for busy managers.
Most will be well qualified in their
field, expert and experienced HR,
training, sales, operational or marketing
professionals, for example; some may
have studied business or included
a financial module in their higher
education, and a small number may
even have an accounting qualification.
Many, however, will when pressed
admit to little more than a superficial
understanding of the subject.
Typically, this is what I hear:
“to be honest, I pretend to understand
financial jargon, and just hope to muddle
through the monthly reports. I can talk
through the staffing numbers OK, but it’s
the financials which confuse me!” (HR &
Training Manager)
“I did a Business Module in my 2nd
year at Uni – but I honestly couldn’t read
a balance sheet now, or explain to you
what the Profit & Loss is telling me. I
can’t relate it to my day-today activities.”
(IT Systems Manager)
“I know I have a departmental budget
to run, but I don’t really understand all
the spreadsheets so try to keep as quiet
as possible at review meetings and just
concentrate on sales figures.” (Area Sales
Team Leader)
Business performance will show tangible improvements if training managers and their operational colleagues
have a better understanding of finance, writes David Smith.
training&learning30
traininginpractice
These comments highlight a paradox
in business – we can be comfortable
with numbers when we can relate them
to our main responsibilities, but translate
into financial terms and that clarity of
understanding seems to evaporate.
We all have a tendency to avoid areas
of our work which we least understand or
enjoy, and for many managers in training
and other disciplines, finance falls into
this category.
After the down-sizings, de-layerings
and rationalisations of the Nineties – a
trend which continues today – managers
at all organisational levels, as their
responsibilities have grown, have never
had a greater need for a broad base of
skills and attributes to enable them to
function effectively. Financial awareness
and understanding is central to all business
activity.
Financial skill – isn’t it in the manager’s blood?
I always ask managers of all disciplines
to rate themselves on a financial capability
scale (where 1 is the ability to read a bank
statement, and 10 reflects an accountancy
qualification).
Generally they will mark themselves at
3 or 4. Whilst this admittedly unscientific
ranking reflects a degree of individual
modesty, it also highlights a lack of
confidence amongst managers when
faced with making sense of financial
information.
Increasingly, they are expected to not
only to understand it, but in many cases
also are measured and rewarded on
judgements made and decisions taken,
based on financial information such as
MI, budget progress reports or capital
investment appraisals.
This applies in training and HR as
in other disciplines. For example,
executives asked to make a decision about
a recruitment drive, or implementation of
a new performance management system,
will want to understand the financial
implications, possibly assessing costs
and benefits in line with stated strategic
objectives, such as Return on Capital.
It is challenging enough for the
training manager to build a business
case, but if he/she is unclear about
how to calculate the appropriate ratios,
making sensible recommendations may
be impossible.
In many organisations, finance may be
regarded as something learned ‘on the
side’, acquired through osmosis the way
we learn to use e-mail, or is simply left to
the finance team to deal with and advise
managers who are brave enough to ask
no need todread the f-word
&31training&learning
traininginpractice
them for help.
Being as busy as everyone else, the
finance team will often be faced with no
alternative but to react to problems as they
arise, and clear up the debris left when an
unsuspecting manager has unwittingly
dropped a financial clanger.
Training can clear the financial mist
It doesn’t have to work that way.
Investing a little time in unravelling a
few financial puzzles can pay dividends
later, through turning aside unprofitable
business, or acting in a timely way
to address a sales shortfall identified
through effective analysis of management
information.
Let me give you an example set in the
sales environment.
Graeme is an outstanding performer
in his sales team, regularly topping the
monthly comparison charts for the volume
of sales achieved. He sometimes has to
compromise on price to win the sale. The
product he sells has a unit cost (materials,
production, distribution) of £1,000.
Normally, he can obtain a selling
price of £1,500 – a mark up of 50%,
or a profit margin of 33.3%. If he
were targeted to contribute £10,000 to
general overheads, he would need to
sell 20 units at this price.
If, however, competition causes him
to offer a discount of 20% to get the
sales, (£1,500 less £300 - a selling price
of £1,200), his mark up would drop to
20%, and his profit margin would halve,
to 16.7%! Hitting the same volume
target of selling 20 units, Graeme would
have contributed only £4,000 towards
overheads.
To cover the same overheads of £10,000,
because each sale now only contributes
£200, Graeme has to sell 50 units, a
volume increase of 250%, just by offering
that discount of 20%.
Understanding the relationships between
sales volume, profit and contribution
can transform the way the sales force
dread the f-wordoperates and provide information to the
HR and training team about reward and
performance management.
A reward system based on sales volume
would pay Graeme handsomely even
though he had made a negative contribution
to the business overall!
Armed with this understanding, Graeme
now has a range of choices, such as:
Is it more profitable to forego a
proportion of discounted sales or more
than double the sales effort needed to
generate the same level of contribution to
covering overheads?
• Should he target more profitable
markets?
• Might the extra volume put strain
on existing capacity?
• Might more overhead costs be
incurred as a result of trying to meet
these volumes?
• Can his production colleagues find
ways to cut their costs?
• Ought he renegotiate his reward
package to take account of sales
quality?
Raising awareness – a two-day workshop
Clarifying such financial mysteries
can be readily done with a group of
managers in a couple of days, using case
studies, group exercises and trainer-led
discussions.
Tailoring the content and focus to
specific needs helps to stimulate interest
and make the theory meaningful. Using in-
house management information is always
helpful and most clients are happy to
provide examples for training purposes.
Delegates always find it reassuring at
the outset to be told that they won’t be
spending their time creating spreadsheets
or crunching number-filled pages. In my
experience, that is neither what they want
nor what they most benefit from. Time
is best spent in stimulating discussion,
fielding questions and looking at worked
examples.
Case study work should generally be
carried out in small teams – this simple
mechanism ensures that individuals who
may be ‘numerically challenged’ are neither
exposed nor made to feel vulnerable. The
key is to provide support when required,
and to ensure that no individual learner
leaves without understanding how the
outcomes are reached.
EvaluationTraining budgets are under scrutiny
as never before, so evaluating financial
awareness training should always be taken
seriously.
It is best to clarify, at the outset, the
training objectives on which the event is
to be built. I always encourage sponsors
to think long and hard about this and try
to incorporate specific improvements in
financial performance.
These can then be used as a point of
focus throughout the training, including
when action-planning, when individual
learners can identify SMART objectives
based on their own area of responsibility,
linked into financial measures.
In conclusionFinance may never be at the top of
a learner’s wish-list for training, but
financial awareness training should always
be both enjoyable and provide a range of
new tools to help learners improve their
contribution to their business.
With clearly identified objectives and
genuine commitment from learners and
their line management, this is one training
investment which will produce real
bottom-line performance improvement.
David Smith BSc, ACIB, FITOL,
Dip T & D, is a Director of Hampson
Smith Associates Ltd. He designs and
delivers bespoke training over a range
of management and business skills,
including financial awareness, and has
amassed experience in training functional
managers across a wide range of business
and commercial sectors (david@hampson-
smith.co.uk)
&training&learning 33
INDIVIDUAL HAPPY CHARTS Recommended uses: for discovering the
diversity of experiences and for enabling
the telling of experience-rich stories
Each person makes a line graph on
the ground showing their ups and downs
(emotional highs and lows) during
the experience being reviewed. (It
may resemble a temperature chart or a
sales forecast.) Ensure that there is no
misunderstanding about which way is
up and which way is down.
This is most easily achieved if you
happen to be on the side of a hill!
Each person now tells their story to a
partner or to the whole group. ‘Happy
Chart’ is a useful communication aid
that helps people to express themselves
emotionally and that brings out the
richness of an experience.
It is much harder to learn from
experiences when they are not expressed
and shared.
Variation: Encourage participants to
add (symbolic) objects to their chart to
help them tell the story.
Variation: Each person draws their
Happy Chart on an index card (for one-to-
one sharing) or on a flipchart (for sharing
with the group).
Applications: Happy charts are useful
for bringing out individual differences
during a group activity as well as
for helping individuals talk about an
experience outside the group (e.g. an
incident at school or at work).
GROUP HAPPY CHARTS Recommended use: to discover the degree
of individual variation and to increase
empathy within a group
The group stand in a horseshoe all
holding the same rope. One end represents
the start of the group event being reviewed.
The other end represents - the end!
Each person in the group now represents
a stage in the event (e.g. planning,
preparation, first attempt, second attempt,
disaster, conflict, re-planning, bright idea,
time up). Ensure that everyone is now
standing in the order
in which things
happened.
The group now
turn the rope into
a Happy Chart. This is
the interesting bit. There will
probably be some disputes as
people learn that there was
individual variation in
feelings at some points
during the event.
Allow some conflict to develop if you
feel it will be productive, but be ready to
offer a second rope. A second rope allows
the group to draw two lines - showing
the highest highs and lowest lows at
each point. (Picture a temperature chart
with two lines showing maximum and
minimum temperatures.)
SKETCH MAP Recommended use: for reliving a journey
and discovering issues that deserve more
detailed review
After any event that has involved a
journey, ask participants to illustrate
their journey with the help of a rope (or
ropes) to trace the route taken. Add labels
with words (e.g. tie-on luggage labels)
or symbolic objects to mark out different
parts of the journey.
This is best set up as a creative project
in an area (indoors or outdoors) where
suitable symbolic objects can readily be
found. Much informal reviewing takes
Did you know that ropes and any kind of line are ideal for reviewing? Roger Greenaway concludes his article
about reviewing with ropes by suggesting some more creative methods.
k
reviewingactivity
knowing the ropes (part 2)
& training&learning34
kplace during the making of the map.
Once the map is complete it can be used
as a means of re-telling the story and/or
identifying key moments on the journey
for more detailed review.
Variation: Create a sketch map using
more conventional materials e.g. paper,
pens, paints, and materials for collage.
FORCE FIELD Recommended use: for helping groups
or individuals to get unstuck
Symbolic Tug of War. Safety Note:
discourage any real pulling because of the
risk of friction burns.
Ask the group (or an individual) to
set up two tug of war teams. One team
represents forces for change and the other
team represents forces resisting change.
Each individual represents a force
named by the group or individual setting
up the teams. This is simply an active way
of reviewing forces that are in tension. The
key question to ask (if change is wanted) is
how the forces can be changed to generate
forwards momentum - towards change.
The advantage of having individuals
representing each force is that they can
each think about solutions from the
perspective that they represent. Dialogue
between forces is also possible.
Issue and Solution: Having your
whole group standing in a straight line
is not good for eye contact between
group members nor for generating
discussion. So have each person tie one
rope onto a central rubber tyre or small
rope circle. This allows people to pull
at different angles.
It may be appropriate for some people
to pull sideways if they are representing
distracting or unknown forces rather
than being forces that are clearly for or
against change.
Variation: Start and finish with written
diagrams. Use the tug of war to bring the
diagrams alive and to encourage empathy
(seeing, feeling and being the forces) and
creative thinking.
ACTIVITY MAP Recommended use: to find out what
makes people tick (or not)
This is an active and game-like way of
sharing likes and dislikes and getting to
know each other’s values. At the beginning
of a course it can also be a useful way
of finding out participants’ experiences
of (and attitudes towards) activities or
processes that you are expecting to use in
your course.
Use two long ropes. Mark the ends of
one rope ‘Past’ and ‘Future’. Mark the
ends of the other rope ‘Happy’ and ‘Sad’.
This creates a quadrant in which the zones
represent:
• Past/Sad: Activities I’ll never do
again
• Past/Happy: Activities I like doing
• Future/Sad: Activities I’ll never try
• Future/Happy: Activities I’d like to
try
Call out the name of an activity and
ask everyone to go to the zone where
that activity would belong on their own
personal map. Keep calling out activities,
pausing now and again for comments and
questions.
To make it more of a game (and more
risky) let participants call out names of
activities. Define ‘activities’ as narrowly
or broadly as you like.
MISSING PERSON Recommended use: for helping a group
to assess its needs and priorities
Create a rope outline of a body
in the centre of the group circle.
Explain that this represents a
person who can join the group. Ask
participants to think creatively about
the kind of person they would like this
to be.
The person will probably share some
of the characteristics already in the group
(e.g. sense of humour, good looks, friendly,
enthusiastic) and may also represent some
characteristics that are missing (e.g. time-
keeping, leadership, telling decent jokes).
Try to bring the person alive by asking
for a name, their interests, their strengths
and weaknesses. Some groups so like
the idea that you will find that the rope
body reappears on the ground or that they
regularly call out the name of the missing
person when they need help. Some take it
even further.
Note: Take care with how the image
of the missing person is treated. As
in all creative work, it is better if the
creators ‘undo’ their own work in a
suitable way. An earlier version of this
article suggested that the facilitator pulls
the rope away ‘with a flourish’. Not
recommended. An abrupt and insensitive
ending could do more to punish creativity
than reward it.
Dr Roger Greenaway is the author of
numerous articles and books about the
designing and reviewing of experienced-
based programmes. He runs workshops
and seminars based on his experiences
as a development trainer and training
consultant, conducts specialist research
and publishes an authoratitive web site at
reviewing.co.uk, two free monthly e-zines
and e-mail help through AskRoger. He
can be contacted on 01786 450968 or by
e-mail to [email protected]
reviewingactivity
&training&learning 35
Use these suggestions as a template for your own workshops:
The Mobile Phone User
• Create a flip chart headed ‘housekeeping’ that outlines break times, toilet location etc and include ‘Please turn off your mobile phone now - you are entering a Mobile Free Zone. Thank you’. Place this in a prominent place that you are sure all learners will see.
• Include specific times for breaks and call them ‘mobile breaks’ ie every hour for five minutes their will be a break to make calls. That’s your part of the barging; theirs is that they will then turn off their mobiles and not make calls at any other time.
• Have HR distribute restrictive guidelines for the use of mobiles while in a workshop. This can be sent out prior to a workshop and be displayed in the training room. Any offenders can be referred to these guidelines.
• If calls are urgent and time consuming for a learner, suggest re-scheduling their participation in the workshop for a more convenient time.
The Prisoner
• Form small teams and have the teams create 7 to 10 benefits they hope to get by taking part in this workshop. As it is unlikely the whole group are prisoners this should bring the few
into line and help them see the WIIFM (what’s in it for me).
• Benefit sell every piece of content, ie keep everything relevant to the prisoners and let them see how these ideas will help them with their own work.
• If it is the whole group that are prisoners it’s key to let them vent their frustration. We don’t want them holding this in effecting their state in a negative way and eventually leading to a mood that is not conducive to learning. Create a flip chart and head it up ‘18 reasons why I don’t want to be here’. Have teams discuss and generate the reasons and then have these written onto the flip chart (it’s unlikely they will be able to generate 18 - more likely 3 to 5). If there is any you can do anything about explain what you will do, then make a promise to make the day worthwhile if they are prepared to leave these concerns on the flip chart until the end of the day. Once learners (prisoners) have got this out of their system they are more likely to open up and actively participate in the workshop.
• Ask the prisoners for their help with an activity or for their experience of a relevant situation, ie bring them into the workshop and make them feel valued.
The Social Butterfly
• Use lots of small teamwork. (This is easy if you have already set-up the room utilising small table instead of the U shape layout.)
In last month’s article, David Gibson described some ways in which learners can act in a disruptive manner
and suggested strategies for managing this behaviour and make it more productive. He now concludes with
some more examples.
trainingtips
managing disruptivelearners
• If 2 learners are constantly chatting within the same team, rotate teams eg if there are 3 teams of 5, number learners off 1,2,3,1,2,3 etc and ask the 1’s to form a team the 2’s etc. thus separating the social butterflies.
• Ask teams to create a ‘Top 5 ‘ ideas for implementing ‘xxx’ ie of the content they have just uncovered. This should get the butterfly involved and break any side conversations.
• ‘Randomly’ select a team leader for the activity ensuring that the social butterfly is randomly selected.
The Domineering
• Establish strong group and team ground rules, eg that person has a maximum of 2 minutes input into any discussion. Providing the group have agreed these ground rules they will self regulate when one learner tries to dominate a discussion/activity.
• ‘Randomly’ nominate and rotate activity/discussion leaders. Part of their task will be to ensure that everyone has the chance to contribute.
• Involve the domineering, eg have them scribe conclusions drawn from each team ie keep them physically occupied.
David Gibson (Eureka!) is an
international consultant and training facilitator with more than 24 years’ training experience working with household names such names as Coca Cola, Ricoh, Merrill Lynch, Standard Life. Visit www.eureka-tp.com or phone 0207-734-3020.
(part 2)
& training&learning36
While he was working for British Airways as an occupational psychologist Peter Honey
became involved in running training courses and he successfully applied for a job in management training.
He set up as an independent trainer and consultant in 1969 and works for many high profile organisations.
A founder member of the distinguished group that produced A Declaration On Learning, he is patron of the Campaign For Learning and a trustee of The Lifelong Learning Foundation. He has written over 100 articles and papers as well as more than 20 books, including The Manual Of Learning Styles, with Alan Mumford.
Peter Honey is best known for producing, with Alan Mumford, the Learning Styles Questionnaire. This came about from their interest in the work of David Kolb on the learning cycle.
Kolb had recognised that people were rarely fully effective in each stage of the cycle and had produced his Learning Styles Inventory to establish an individual’s relative emphasis on each of the four styles.
Honey and Mumford found the LSI unsatisfactory on various counts and developed their own questionnaire based around statements of managerial behaviour. This leads to a profile describing four styles of learning.
These are quite different from Kolb’s. Care was taken to keep the language used free of academic jargon and to produce descriptions to which people could readily relate.
Certainly in the UK, the Honey and Mumford model is used far more extensively than Kolb’s is. The four styles (with condensed descriptions) are:
ActivistActivists involve themselves fully and
without bias in new experiences. They enjoy the here and now and are happy to be dominated by immediate experiences.
They are open-minded, not sceptical, and this tends to make them enthusiastic about anything new. They tend to thrive on the challenge of new experiences but are bored with implementation and longer term consolidation.
ReflectorReflectors like to stand back to ponder
experiences and observe them from many different perspectives. They collect data, both first hand and from others, and prefer to think about it thoroughly before coming to any conclusion.
They are thoughtful people who like to consider all possible angles and implications before making a move. They enjoy observing other people in action. They listen to others to get the drift of a discussion before making their own points.
TheoristTheorists adapt and integrate
observations into complex but logically sound theories. They think problems through in a vertical step by step logical way. They are keen on basic assumptions, principles, theories, models and systems thinking.
They tend to be detached, analytical and dedicated to rational objectivity rather than anything subjective or ambiguous.
Their approach to problems is consistently logical. They prefer to maximise certainty and feel uncomfortable with subjective judgements, lateral thinking and anything flippant.
PragmatistPragmatists are keen on trying out ideas,
theories and techniques to see if they work in practice. They are the sort of people who return from management courses brimming with new ideas they want to try out in practice.
They are essentially practical, down-to-earth people who like making practical decisions and solving problems. They respond to problems and opportunities “as a challenge”. Their philosophy is: “There is always a better way” and “If it works it’s good.”
Apart from his work on learning styles, Peter Honey has also written extensively about “anything to do with people’s behaviour and its consequences”.
He is essentially behaviourist in approach (see B.F. Skinner) and, for example, his 1980 book Solving People Problems is a manual of how to use behaviour modification techniques in the workplace.
Honey specialises in taking concepts such as this from the academic world of psychology and making them accessible to the practising manager or trainer. He has also worked on a number of well-known training films.
With thanks to Steve Truelove BSc,
FCIPD, FITOL, for granting permission
for publication of this extract from his
book Influential Thinkers On Training
– An Introduction For The Intelligent
Practitioner published by the Institute
of Training & Occupational Learning.
2003 (ISBN 0-9539790-2-4). A5
paperback. Price £9.99 (free to ITOL
members on second membership
renewal).
defining stylesWho are the theorists that have most influenced the training profession during
the past fifty or so years? This month we look at Dr Peter Honey, a chartered
psychologist, founder of peterhoney.com, consultant and author.
influentialthinkers
&training&learning 37
powerpointers
Description The participants mime to each other their job or role.Purpose This activity is an energetic ice breaker that
incorporates some creativity.Materials A whistle. If you do not have a whistle use some other
‘time out’ mechanism.Duration About 20 –30 minutes, depending on the size of the
group.Procedure 1. Ask participants to think of a mime that describes
their job or role. Allow three minutes for this phase. 2. Ask participants to walk round the room and, as they
meet someone, to shake hands and exchange names. 3. This continues for three or four exchanges and
then the leader blows the whistle. 4. On hearing the whistle each pair not only
exchanges names but also mimes the role. They will have to decide who mimes first.
5. The person not miming has to guess the job or role of the other. They may ask questions to help them
guess the other person’s role. 6. The person miming must only answer ‘Yes’ or
‘No’ to the questions. 7. After 90 seconds blow the whistle. If the role has
not been guessed the person miming tells their partner what their job or role is.
8. After 30 seconds blow the whistle and the other member of the pair mimes their role. Steps 5 to 7 are then repeated.
9. After both have mimed their role each moves on to find a new partner. Steps 2 to 8 are repeated.
10. The exercise continues for about 20 minutes or until everybody has mimed to one another. It is best to let the energy levels determine the timings.
Review Discuss precision questioning techniques used to help identify the mimed role.
Variations Individual mimes are made to the whole group, which is allowed 10 questions to guess the role.
Reproduced from Another 75 Ways To Liven Up Your Training by
Martin Orridge. Published by Gower ISBN 0 566 08152 0 Price
£45. Readers of Training & Learning can buy this book at the
special price of £35 via Bookpoint distribution (phone 01235
827730 or e-mail [email protected]) Please quote ITOL/
SW05 when ordering.
job mime icebreakers
Continuing our series of handy hints and tips for users of PowerPoint,
probably the world’s most popular presentation program.
By adding a transparent image to one or all of your slides, you can make a PowerPoint presentation
uniquely your own. Here’s how it’s done:1. Open a blank PowerPoint
presentation, or a completed presentation to which you want to add a background. Note: If your completed presentation contains master slides, you might not want to apply the background to the master slides and risk unwanted changes to your presentation. The alternative is to add the background to one slide at a time.
2. To add a background to all the slides in a blank presentation, point to Master on the View menu, click Slide Master, and perform the following steps on the slide master. To add a background to a single slide, simply select a slide and follow the same steps.
3. Choose the logo or clip art you want to use as a slide background. On the Insert menu, point to Picture, and then click Clip Art to create a background from a new picture, or click From File to use a picture you have in your files. Keep in mind that not all clip art makes an appropriate background. You might have to experiment a little.
4. Select the logo or clip art you want and insert it in the presentation. The logo or clip art appears on the slide master, but is not yet transparent.
5. Right-click the logo or clip art on the slide, and then click Format Picture.
6. On the Picture tab, click the arrow next to the Color box, click Washout (Watermark in PowerPoint 2000), and then click OK.
7. With the logo or clip art still selected,
right-click and then click Save as Picture. Save the image where you can find it. Delete the original image from the slide. You’ll replace it with the transparent version you just prepared and saved.
8. On the Format menu, click Background. In the Background dialog box, click the arrow in the box under Background fill, click Fill Effects, and on the Picture tab, click Select Picture.
9. Find and select the picture you formatted as a transparent background, click Insert, click OK, and then click Apply.
Your transparent image has been added to the master slide as a background, and the new background will appear on every new slide you add to the presentation. If you selected a single slide, the background has been added to the slide you selected.
make it your owndefining styles
&
spine and coccyx. This ensures the group
is perpetually stretching and fidgeting.
The air conditioning will - of course
- not work, and a succession of staff will
appear during the day to “fix it”. After
about half a morning some resourceful
type in the group will cry, “Let’s open the
windows!” And find they are sealed. The
lighting will be dreadful.
At the coffee break, the group will
have all become tea drinkers. This is
because although the hotel has five stars,
it apparently has not heard of coffee, and
the liquid in the white plastic thermo-jugs
is a thin grey slop, with no discernable
coffee taste.
There aren’t enough teaspoons, so
people are using the hotel pens to stir,
which is totally pointless as the sugar is
in those stone chunks that only dissolve
after you have drunk the tea. It also
means that there are no usable pens by
the end of the morning.
During the final morning session the
buffet will arrive. There will be considerable
discussion in a variety of European
languages to accompany its arrival.
As the doors are open to the
landing, the delegates will, instead of
concentrating on strategies for assessing
high performing groups, fight their
tummy-rumbles, until at about 12.40
someone realises the food is all going
cold, and calls an early break.
For the first ten minutes, until the
cutlery arrives, lunch is an experiment
in serving and eating portions of whole
poached salmon with plastic teaspoons
while balancing plates on the edge of the
BackBite is our regular soap box, a place where you can exercise your
right to free speech and criticise and aspect of the training profession.
training&learning 39
Residentials. The very word causes
a cold hand to clutch your heart.
You think back to the last one,
the relief of that journey home afterwards,
the promise you made yourself to develop
an illness next time one was mooted. Yet
it is a lucky course leader indeed who can
escape at least a couple each year. So we
go on “residentials”.
The learners are always great. These
days the usual selection will be more
women than men, a good number from
the public sector, each dealing with
almost intractable work situations. It’s
what goes on around the edges that often
ruins the residential.
A golfing hotel, for example, is designed
for golfing types, accompanied by their
loved ones, or their spouses. It will have an
expensive and coyly named bar, “The 19th
hole”, a restaurant called “The Bunker”
(cheap and chips) and a posh one called
“the Pro’s Nest” (set dinner £27.99).
It does weddings too, probably
Barmitzvahs and retirement parties, and
the occasional launch event for a sporting
related product. It should be forbidden
from hosting training courses.
What is an acceptable room for a dinner
group that has consumed a quantity
of alcohol is not acceptable for a full
morning session on “Succession Planning
Strategies in the Health Service”.
For a start, there are the chairs. You
know the ones”. Gold aluminium stacking
ones. Very slight padding on the seat and
back. And carefully designed to oblige the
occupants walk around every 30 minutes
for fear of permanent damage to their
bar and a single very low coffee table.
Which continues until “cake”. Cakes
are always served at 3.30. Cakes are an
essential part of the residential experience.
Cakes come on big trays. They are
carefully calculated to send the group into
a collective carbohydrate coma for the last
session of the day. Which they do. By 5.30
the group is mentally dead, and the tutors
call it quits.
And so it staggers on for a further 24
hours. Through “See you in the bar!”,
on to “OK, who ordered the sea-bass on
polenta?” in the “Pro’s Nest”, to “It’s OK,
it’s a company credit card!” in the bar at
midnight thirty.
On through the breakfast at £15.60
a head - “No I do NOT want a cooked
breakfast!”. Then more grey slop, more
games of hunt-the-Blutack, more buffet
lunch, another tray of “cake”. And then
the departures, as some of the learners
will only now be safe to get behind the
wheel again.
And probably some of the tutors too.
This month’s BackBiter is George
Edwards who has spent 30 years working
in Education, Management and Leadership
development (including trainer training and
new learning methodologies) across a wide
range of sectors and in several countries
(see www.thegeorgeedwards.com)
backbite
no flip charts and nasty grey coffee
Teambuilding games - Articles - Exercises - Books - Videos - Toolkits -Icebreakers - Trainers’ Talk forum - Quotations - Discounts - Stories - and more.
It all fits into place with
Trainers’ Libraryand the all new
Trainers’ Market
www.trainerslibrary.comwww.trainersmarket.com
&
spine and coccyx. This ensures the group
is perpetually stretching and fidgeting.
The air conditioning will - of course
- not work, and a succession of staff will
appear during the day to “fix it”. After
about half a morning some resourceful
type in the group will cry, “Let’s open the
windows!” And find they are sealed. The
lighting will be dreadful.
At the coffee break, the group will
have all become tea drinkers. This is
because although the hotel has five stars,
it apparently has not heard of coffee, and
the liquid in the white plastic thermo-jugs
is a thin grey slop, with no discernable
coffee taste.
There aren’t enough teaspoons, so
people are using the hotel pens to stir,
which is totally pointless as the sugar is
in those stone chunks that only dissolve
after you have drunk the tea. It also
means that there are no usable pens by
the end of the morning.
During the final morning session the
buffet will arrive. There will be considerable
discussion in a variety of European
languages to accompany its arrival.
As the doors are open to the
landing, the delegates will, instead of
concentrating on strategies for assessing
high performing groups, fight their
tummy-rumbles, until at about 12.40
someone realises the food is all going
cold, and calls an early break.
For the first ten minutes, until the
cutlery arrives, lunch is an experiment
in serving and eating portions of whole
poached salmon with plastic teaspoons
while balancing plates on the edge of the
BackBite is our regular soap box, a place where you can exercise your
right to free speech and criticise and aspect of the training profession.
training&learning 39
Residentials. The very word causes
a cold hand to clutch your heart.
You think back to the last one,
the relief of that journey home afterwards,
the promise you made yourself to develop
an illness next time one was mooted. Yet
it is a lucky course leader indeed who can
escape at least a couple each year. So we
go on “residentials”.
The learners are always great. These
days the usual selection will be more
women than men, a good number from
the public sector, each dealing with
almost intractable work situations. It’s
what goes on around the edges that often
ruins the residential.
A golfing hotel, for example, is designed
for golfing types, accompanied by their
loved ones, or their spouses. It will have an
expensive and coyly named bar, “The 19th
hole”, a restaurant called “The Bunker”
(cheap and chips) and a posh one called
“the Pro’s Nest” (set dinner £27.99).
It does weddings too, probably
Barmitzvahs and retirement parties, and
the occasional launch event for a sporting
related product. It should be forbidden
from hosting training courses.
What is an acceptable room for a dinner
group that has consumed a quantity
of alcohol is not acceptable for a full
morning session on “Succession Planning
Strategies in the Health Service”.
For a start, there are the chairs. You
know the ones”. Gold aluminium stacking
ones. Very slight padding on the seat and
back. And carefully designed to oblige the
occupants walk around every 30 minutes
for fear of permanent damage to their
bar and a single very low coffee table.
Which continues until “cake”. Cakes
are always served at 3.30. Cakes are an
essential part of the residential experience.
Cakes come on big trays. They are
carefully calculated to send the group into
a collective carbohydrate coma for the last
session of the day. Which they do. By 5.30
the group is mentally dead, and the tutors
call it quits.
And so it staggers on for a further 24
hours. Through “See you in the bar!”,
on to “OK, who ordered the sea-bass on
polenta?” in the “Pro’s Nest”, to “It’s OK,
it’s a company credit card!” in the bar at
midnight thirty.
On through the breakfast at £15.60
a head - “No I do NOT want a cooked
breakfast!”. Then more grey slop, more
games of hunt-the-Blutack, more buffet
lunch, another tray of “cake”. And then
the departures, as some of the learners
will only now be safe to get behind the
wheel again.
And probably some of the tutors too.
This month’s BackBiter is George
Edwards who has spent 30 years working
in Education, Management and Leadership
development (including trainer training and
new learning methodologies) across a wide
range of sectors and in several countries
(see www.thegeorgeedwards.com)
backbite
no flip charts and nasty grey coffee
Teambuilding games - Articles - Exercises - Books - Videos - Toolkits -Icebreakers - Trainers’ Talk forum - Quotations - Discounts - Stories - and more.
It all fits into place with
Trainers’ Libraryand the all new
Trainers’ Market
www.trainerslibrary.comwww.trainersmarket.com
&40
. . see what’s in next month’s issue!
The next issue of Training & Learning
(Volume 2 Issue 4) is being published in
April 2006. Here’s just a few of the many
interesting and useful articles you can
look forward to reading:
bobby dazzlers . . . how recruitment and
training is carried out in Britain’s police
forces today
David Clutterbuck . . . the world-
renowned expert looks at a systems
approach to coaching and mentoring
putting vitality to work . . . techniques
for employees who want to bring more
efficiency and productivity into their lives
PLUS
training in practice
influential thinkers
consultancy skills
icebreakers
power pointers
eLearning
. . . and lots more!
Only launched last year, Training &
Learning has quickly become established
as Britain’s brightest and best magazine
for training practitioners and others in
the profession.
Each issue is packed with valuable must-
have training tools and tips of the trade . . . in
fact, taking a year’s subscription can pay
for itself over and over again!
Make sure you don’t miss next month’s
issue of Training & Learning.
Take out a subscription today – 12
issues for only £99 delivered!
Phone our Subscriptions Hotline on
0151 242 0272or visit www.trainingandlearning.co.uk
next month...
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& training&learning42
recruitment... recruitment... recruitment... recruitment... recruitment... recruitment...
&
Free copy of the ITOL
Glossary of UK Training
& Occupational Learning Terms
Further information about membership, including
application form downloads, may be found on our
public website at
http://www.traininginstitute.co.uk
Come and join us...you’ll know it makes sense!
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About ITOL
The Institute of Training and Occupational Learning (ITOL) was launched in February 2000 and received approval to the title ‘Institute’ from the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in July 2000.
Our aim is to promote best practices in the development of occupational skills and knowledge to the benefit of individuals, employers and the wider community. To achieve this we intend to:
• Be the professional body of first choice for those specialising in training, development and occupational learning
• Research, develop and promote best practices in training, development and occupational learning
• Create a learning climate in which our members can develop their own learning
• Advance the status and professional standing of our members
ITOL’s membership encompasses Training Directors, Training Instructors, Training Managers, Consultants, Professors, Lecturers, Training Designers etc. We have members in every sector of industry, commerce, local and national government, not-for-profit organisations and the armed forces.
Benefits of Membership
Recognition of your professional statusMembership of the Institute of Training and Occupational Learning and the recognition of the postnominal letters after your name is a demonstration to others of your professional status and will serve as an enduring mark of achievement. ITOL is the only institute in the UK solely committed to occupational trainers and development practitioners.
British Journal of Occupational LearningOur members receive the peer-reviewed ‘British Journal of Occupational Learning’ which carries in-depth practitioner articles, academic research, conference papers and case studies.
Training & Learning MagazineAll ITOL members receive Training & Learning magazine monthly.
Access to our extensive resource libraryAccess to what is probably the best trainers resource library in the UK. Our resource library is a must-visit for members preparing new learning events or carrying out research.
Access to our members only website forumsWhere members can ask questions, seek advice or chat about training issues. Hear news from the world of training and development. Get news of tenders and contracts. Access an electronic library of hundreds of training related articles.
Access to our help-lines - A one-stop helpdesk facility
Free copy of the ITOL Glossary of UK Training & Occupational Learning Terms
Further information about membership, including application form downloads, may be found on our public website at
http://www.traininginstitute.co.uk
Come and join us...you’ll know it makes sense!