Talent development is an important part of any business, but it can be time-consuming and take people out of their comfort zone. Here is a look at how you can develop your employees in a sustainable and valuable way.
Managing training
According to Stephen J. Meyer of Forbes, most managers fail as talent developers.
Managers are often happiest calling in a trainer to blast their staff with information about a particular topic and then leave them to fend for themselves when they’re trying to embed their newfound skills into their work. True leaders, in contrast, are not scared of taking on the task of doing training themselves so they can be there to continue to help their staff learn the knowledge, skills and behaviours they need to succeed.
It is okay to admit that you might find it hard to take a step back to develop the ability of your team members to carry out the same task. One way to manage training is to break it into manageable slices, which has become known as single-concept learning.
Bite-sized learning
Managers can break down a training requirement into small bites and use online resources such as videos and online training courses for businesses to teach concepts and ensure workers are confident in their knowledge of a topic before moving on to tackle another bite-sized chunk. This can be particularly useful for business such as Essex Kitchen Fitters that will have a number of different stages to their daily work. The training for new employees can be split into manageable sections based on the different requirements of the kitchen fit.
Many people are used to watching short videos on YouTube or browsing through quick articles on their tablet or smartphone in their own time, and using the same sort of resources for training can be a very smart approach to help learning at work.
For managers, single-concept learning can be easier to fit into their day at work than planning or conducting a whole formal training programme. It can also be useful to help them reframe their thinking about what they’re offering their staff, from training carried out by trainers to coaching, which is something any good manager needs to ensure is part of their own skills.