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OUTPUTS AND OUTCOMES

Before the training

Managers can often be heard saying: ‘I’ve sent staff onto courses but it’s a waste of time. They come back and carry on doing things the same as before. What’s the point?’ This is understandable in these circumstances because, after all, training is supposed to enable change and improvement at work. HAD offers training consultancy services to overcome these blockages and maximise the effectiveness and long-term impact of training.

After the training

Our innovative ‘wrap-around’ service can ensure transference of the learning into working practices. After the course, using coaching, mentoring and progress-chasing, we work with the participants and their managers to see their action plans implemented. We guide, support and progress-chase the application of what was learned, and thus see it embedded into working practices to the benefit of the individual, job, team and employer.

Consultancy Services for Organisations

Corporate Training Needs Analysis (TNA)

The ITN examines an individual’s training needs. The TNA does much the same thing but now with a focus on competence gaps and learning needs across the entire organisation. The approach will be tailored to the needs and preferences of the particular employer.

However, the analysis will typically be conducted collectively with the Board (Executives and/or perhaps Trustees), management teams and workgroups plus, one-by-one, the MD/CEO, HR Director/Manager, other leaders and individuals representing a cross-section of the whole organisation.

Organisational Development Needs Analysis (DNA)

Training is not a panacea. Employers and work teams often have issues needing other interventions as well as training. While the TNA (above) diagnoses training needs, the DNA looks more deeply and fundamentally at corporate needs.

The DNA typically proposes interventions such as team building; restructuring; changes to strategy; development via project work, job rotation, work placement, shadowing, etc.; support with particular organisational functions (e.g. communications, recruitment); coaching, etc.

Consultancy Services for Individuals

Belbin Team Inventory

A self-assessment behavioural test that identifies each team member’s preference for nine Team Roles and consequently how he or she behaves in a team environment. When applied to a whole team, the inventory can highlight gaps in essential team roles and also duplications and therefore possible clashes.

This can be carried out initially as a desktop exercise, with or without a team meeting. However, in order to generate effective feedback and ensure a full understanding of the implications of the assessments, some time with whole the team is necessary – typically half a day would suffice.

Team Development Analysis

There are key ‘building blocks’ needed for any team to be effective. When every member completes this diagnostic, it gives a very powerful assessment of the team and its functioning. Furthermore, it enables the incisive prioritisation of team areas needing remedial work.

The diagnostic can be a desktop exercise initially. However, it does subsequently need face-to-face contact with the team in a workshop in order to feedback and interpret the findings and identify the way ahead for the team. This can take half a day but often prefaces a full team building workshop.

Team Building Workshops

Teamwork needs to be worked at. Team meetings are nearly always meetings of the team, rather than meetings about the team; meetings usually focus on work matters instead of how the team works. Done well, a team building event is like a ‘boot camp’ for any workgroup, that clarifies the team’s focus, gives a better sense of direction, can alleviate conflicts, tensions and misunderstandings and generally sorts out problems that are usually overlooked in the hurly-burley of everyday workload.

Consultancy Services for Teams

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

One of the most widely used and respected psychometric instruments in the world, the MBTI, is a self-report inventory that identifies individuals as one of 16 personality types. The goal of the MBTI is to allow respondents to understand their own personalities including their likes, dislikes, strengths, weaknesses, possible career preferences, and compatibility with other people. This can be very helpful to improve team work and also to identify how to overcome any misunderstandings and personality clashes.

360⁰ Feedback

A limitation of MBTI is that it is based just on self-perception. The remedy is to collect judgements, regarding behaviour and ability, from a variety of points of view: this is 360-degree feedback. It is a process through which, as well as a self-evaluation, feedback is gathered from a line manager, colleagues & peers, subordinates, customers & suppliers.

In understanding oneself, and objectively assessing strengths & weaknesses, 360-degree feedback is invaluable for developmental purposes. It also helps to enhance work skills and behaviours.

Identification of Training Needs (ITN)

Whereas the TNA (see above) examines training needs corporately across the entire organisation, the ITN works one-by-one to analyse the training needs of individuals. It examines the requirements of the person’s job and scrutinises corporate strategy to highlight near-future requirements. Line managers and colleagues might also be interviewed to ascertain their views on the individual’s competence and learning needs.

To this mix is added the person’s preferences and career aspirations – where do they want to be in 5 years’ time? Out of this comes a recommendation for the learning needed for that individual’s immediate and near-future job needs and, to some extent, their longer-term career plans.