Managers guide: Make learning stick
Want to set your team up to succeed when they learn something new at work?
Download our free Managers guide here:
Make every training session a success for your team members.
This practical guide gives advice you can use to support team members attending any learning or training opportunities.
You’ll be able to frame learning to help them get the most out of it, and then you’ll be able to support them when they’re back on the job.
Even if you’re not an expert in the topic being taught, there’s lots a manager can do to help team members make the most of any learning and development opportunity.
Scenario:
A team member has been struggling to meet deadlines. So, you pay to enrol them in a course being run nearby and give them time away from the office to attend.
But then, when next month’s deadlines come around again, they still haven’t completed their work.
Does this mean the training was a bad investment?
Not necessarily!
There are plenty of ways to learn new things:
· Training
· E-Learning
· Mentoring
· YouTube
· TikTok
The list goes on and on.
Every single one of those methods has its place. You’ve probably used some yourself to learn something new recently. What makes them effective (or ineffective) is how the learning is applied.
The problem
We often view learning as a transaction and expect immediate improvement after training. This approach has two main issues:
The learner may not understand why they're learning something.
There's little opportunity or desire to practice and ask questions once they’re back on the job.
When someone doesn’t know why they’re attending training they’ve already disengaged from the process
The solution
What if, instead of viewing learning as an event, you viewed it as a process. One that you, as the manager, are in the best position to support.
There are lots of ways to make learning at work effective. But two that are relatively easy to focus on are relevance and practice.
Relevance: Conversations before training
Catch up with team members before they attend training or complete self-paced learning. The focus of this meeting is to ensure they understand how this learning is going to benefit them.
If you’ve noticed room for improvement, like in our deadlines example earlier, be clear with your expectations (they need to meet their monthly deadlines), but also that you know it’s not due to a lack of trying and that you want to provide support (in the form of training) to get them there.
Have your team member set some clear goals about what they need to learn and what they’ll be doing differently as a result. This ensures they attend training with a defined outcome in mind.
When they know it’s relevant to their role and will help them improve in an area that’s important, they’re more likely to commit to the process, and the learning experience will be much more engaging and effective.
Meeting with a team member before training, and making sure they know this is an opportunity, not a punishment, sets them up for success
Practice: Debriefs and experimentation after training
When your team member returns from training (or has completed some form of learning), have another meeting with them. This can be a simple, quick catch-up, but it’s important to do it promptly while any information is still fresh.
Ask them what their key takeaways were and how they’ll be implementing what they learned to address the problem you outlined ahead of training.
This recap process reinforces any lessons learned and gets them to commit to practicing their new skills.
Then, ask them if there’s anything they still feel they need to learn, or any questions they have at this stage.
Outline that your expectation is they try what they’ve learned, and that they ask for help if they run into difficulties.
This focus on progress, not perfection, means they’re more likely to try out something new, but are also open to asking for further support if it doesn’t fully solve the problem.
Conclusion:
In this scenario, the team member in question has gone to the same training we mentioned at the beginning of this article, but they know what behaviour they need to change and are encouraged to apply it when they’re back at work.
It’s the exact same training, but it’s much more likely to get results. It also makes learning a positive experience, which motivates your team member to look for more improvement opportunities in the future.
This is how you, as a manager, can make training a great investment for your team members!
Help is here!
If you need a training provider who delivers engaging training and provides ongoing support, reach out to Gathered Minds. We’ve got Personal and Leadership Development workshops, a Customer Service Masterclass, and customised learning strategy packages designed to meet the unique needs of your team.
Gathered Minds is your learning partner.
