Are you aware that change needs to happen in your workforce, but worried about having to take people off-site for too long to do it? This is one of the main concerns I hear from many clients, but the good news is that real change doesn’t happen in the training room.
Alternatives to off-site training
It’s true that in most training programmes, there is usually a degree of off-site training. The amount of time will mostly depend on the level of change you want to see in your organisation.
However, the good news is that there are ways to ensure minimal time can be spent off-site. Some of our solutions include:
- Web-based learning; includes online materials and one-to-one coaching at a time that suits you.
- Webinars: great for bringing together employees who may be in different departments, offices or timezones, at a low-cost.
- Masterclasses: a way to get the most out of training, with short, focused sessions that can be held in-house.
- Senior leader support: this involves looking at ways to help senior leaders support managers on the job more by applying new tools and ways of working.
There are lots of ways we can work with you to come up with a tailored solution which fits you and helps to deliver real change within your organisation.
Getting the balance right
It’s absolutely essential to get the right balance between giving people time to develop their self-awareness and build new skills in a safe environment, whilst at the same time supporting people in the workplace as much as possible – after all, that’s where the change really happens.
In the past, we’ve worked with a number of organisations where we’ve combined a range of ways of learning. In my experience, I’ve found that one of the most critical elements in making the change is how much time line managers are prepared to put into supporting individuals who are learning and implementing these new skills.
We’d much rather have individuals being supported and learning new skills in the workplace than take people off-site for training sessions that they then won’t be able to apply in their current environment. In a nutshell, we’ve found people living and breathing the change to be much more beneficial than people being sent off to learn and then going back to old habits.
Invest wisely
Often people sourcing HR training and solutions say that it’s essential to have people spend a considerable time off-site, with additional expenses such as hotels and travel thrown into the bargain.
In my opinion, that’s not a critical element, and you don’t need all the bells and whistles in order to deliver effective training. Instead, invest time and budget in getting people the support they need at the point of use, which is in the workplace.
Conclusion
Want to see real change, but worried about the amount of employee downtime it’s going to cost? The good news is that it’s not absolutely crucial for employees to spend a lot of time off-site, and there are various ways an HR training provider can work with you to deliver real results that make the most effective use of everyone’s time. It’s important to discover which solutions work for you, whether that may come in the form of web-based learning, online webinars, masterclasses, workplace support, or a combination of all of these things.