To the fuddy duddys

One of the things I am enjoying about regular blog writing is the trawling for topics to write about. I go through blogs, articles, newsletters and pretty much anything else I can read and digest as inspiration for my blogs. I come across a lot of rubbish but every now and then I hit on a gem. It also gives me the opportunity to synthesize ideas, think, form topics of conversation and get into lively debate with my friends, family and work colleagues.

I do come across information that I really don’t agree with, in particular this week, one that really hit a nerve. It was specifically focused on ‘generation Y’ and, as a Gen-Yer, I found it rather condescending. It involved ‘rules’ about how Gen Ys should suck it up. Such things as “life is not divided into semesters You don’t’ get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you ‘find yourself’. Do that on your own time”. There were 11 rules in all. That was number 9. I won’t pick apart every ‘rule’, because I’d be here forever. But I had a verbal rant about this article, not because I don’t welcome debate about generational differences and work ethic, and not just because it was so blatantly closed minded, but that it came from a certain training association whom you would theoretically expect to be open to new ways of doing things. Because isn’t that what learning/training is about?

You have to question why, when there is so much L&D internet traffic about e-learning, m-learning, social learning etc etc, that they have an article such as this? Another I came across from the same publication consisted of a woman’s journey towards making pecan pie, and how that was an illustration of why one should not procrastinate. Someone tell me how that adds value to my profession?

As an L&D specialist still learning how things work, and how to best deliver learning and development strategies I turn to whatever resources I can find. These usually involve YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs, google, the local library and even IPhone games like Tiny Village (hey, I’m researching IPhone games as a learning tool!). I also look to leadership wherever I can find it, including my friends, colleagues and professional associates. But I have no respect for people who want to bag me off because of what generational category I happen to fall into.

I am a Gen-Yer, and proud of it. I value the opportunity to try new things and to innovate. I want to ‘find myself’ in my work because I am passionate about what I do. I enjoy my freedom and being able to leave work early so I can go to my yoga class. In return I will work my ass off, I will achieve things you wouldn’t expect and I will always strive to have an open mind and be at the forefront of my field.

So to those fuddy duddys who want to lament the challenges of the younger generations in the work force, I say, “get used to it”. Because the world is changing faster than you and unless you’re going to open up your minds in a radical way and soon, you’re going to need us more than we need you.

Revolutionize the way we work

I read an interesting article recently that got me thinking about flexible work arrangements and how we’re not really using them to their full potential. If you’d like to read the whole article then here is the link http://www.changeboard.com/content/4084/leadership-and-management/leadership-skills/wake-up-hr-the-future-is-here

There are two main streams of thought that this article provoked for me. The first was the use of technology to facilitate flexible work arrangements. The second was a system of objectives based, rather than 9 to 5 based, performance management. Let me explain.

The use of technology is, I think, best summed up by this quote from the article “instead of the technology liberating us from the drudgery of work, it has added to the hours we are working and introduced new stresses into our lives. We have not taken the opportunity to redesign work to take advantage of the technology, we have simply overlaid it onto conventional working practices”. I agree, technology makes us more accessible and gives us more information, but it hasn’t really changed the nature of the work, it has intensified it. We’re bombarded by contact and information.

There are more opportunities for the use of technology then what we are currently utilizing including remote working. Face-to-face contact is nice, but how many roles in your organization are ‘head down, bum up’ for most of the day? Could they be working from home instead? Connected to your servers and equipped with communication devices. Where inter-office communication is required, are there ways technology can assist with this that don’t involve traditional meetings. One of the communication avenues that is of particular interest to me at the moment is social media. What if, instead of a traditional meeting, you conducted a webinar? Or teleconferenced? Or had a bussinessy version of facebook that you all discussed things on? The amount of money you could save on office space could be invested into technology to break down communication barriers caused by working remotely.

Ok, so one of the main issues I hear about working remotely is that, if you’re a manager, you don’t know if your employee is slacking off. This brings me to my next proposal. Rather than have a working day based around sitting at your desk 9 to 5, the work is based around achievement of some very well written objectives. So who cares if you’re not working 9 to 5, as long as you’re achieving your objectives?  Workers could pick up their kids from school, go to the beach, read a novel, clean the house, or drink margaritas in the sunshine (that’s what I’d be doing) whenever suited them, as long as they were achieving their objectives. Autonomy and responsibility are awesome motivators!

This is quite a change in mindset and does require a different set of skills of managers then what they might currently be using. Again, (as I’ve mentioned in a previous blog) there is more emphasis on empowering and coaching. You also need to have a pretty robust performance measurement and review system and have more conversations about performance. There is also a significant culture shift that needs to occur. We’re still working in an industrial, punch card/time clock mindset. This needs to be revolutionized.

Whose responsibility is it to make these changes to the way we work? That is one thing in the article that I do not agree with, that it’s up to HR to instigate these changes to workplaces. I’d argue that it is up to HR to influence senior leadership to, in turn, make these changes themselves. What do you think?

The guy who wrote this article, Peter Thompson, has also authored a book called ‘Future Work’. I’ve now ordered it from Amazon and will let you know what it’s like in a future blog. 

No training budget? No problem.

This week I continue to explore learning and development. In particular, putting together learning and development plans that don’t cost much, if anything. It’s not uncommon for businesses to have little, if any, training budget, particularly in these ‘tough economic times’. I don’t like the term ‘tough economic times’ myself. It’s flouted as an excuse for why something cannot be done when it's really an opportunity to come up with better, smarter, more efficient and less costly ways of doing things. This also applies to learning and development.

Employers can support the development of their employees without sucking the budget dry. I propose a list of five options for consideration as part of anyone’s learning and development plan.

Firstly, mentoring and coaching are great ways to develop people. If you’re a manager then you can coach members of your team, or, get someone in senior management to coach one of your team members. If you don’t have a formal program in place, what is stopping you organizing something informally? Have a look at John Whitmore’s book 'Coaching for Performance' for some guidance on how to coach, and just get practicing.

Secondly, books, you tube, wikipedia, forums, just to name a few. I’ve written whole training programs using just what I can scrounge from a lot of free resources. If you don’t have a library card then get one. You’ll be surprised how many business books your local library stocks (well in New Zealand anyway). Read up on the subject that interests you, make an action plan of what you’ve learnt and what you’re going to apply. Even writing a review of the material you’ve found helps you to reflect on, and apply, what you’ve learnt.

Thirdly, get involved. Put your hand up for a project or some different work, even if it’s in a different area. It makes your workday more interesting by adding variety and challenge. You’ll also be surprised by how much you can learn from the people you work with on projects. It also shows you’re willing to help out where needed, good marks for promotion opportunities.

Fourthly, get involved in a professional group. A lot of professions these days have groups of likeminded individuals who meet on a regular basis, organize seminars and professional development opportunities. Yes, you do usually have to pay a membership fee but it is not typically onerous. Some groups you can also volunteer for their organizing committees. These groups provide great networking and knowledge sharing opportunities.

Lastly, go on a training course. Yes, these are the ones that cost money and are usually the first option that people gravitate towards with an attitude of “I’ll go on this course and it will fix all my problems”. They do add value and are worthwhile, however with conditions. If you are going to invest in a course then make sure that the return on investment (ROI) is pre-determined and realized.  What I mean by that is that whatever is being learnt on that course needs to be applied and measured in the workplace. These measurements should be set before the person goes on the course. For example, if you send someone on a project management course then what improvements do you expect to see in the work place after they’ve attended the course, and actually follow up on that. Otherwise it’s a bit of a waste of time (unless it’s for their personal development, but that’s a different story – see last weeks blog).

So don’t let ‘tough economic times’ become an excuse to not develop or be developed. You just need to think outside the box a bit and make sure that any investment into training is realized.

Take a different approach to learning and development this year

The Christmas/ New Year period is often a period of reflection, mostly around career prospects and goals (or resolutions) for the following year. The New Year often sees people looking at different career opportunities and moving on from their current role and business. Some of this is due to frustration with current roles, but a large chunk of this movement is due to development opportunities.

Business approaches to learning and development quite often focus on developing talent to retain them within the business. This is a bit short sighted and a focus on what the business wants to get out of the relationship often means that the capabilities of those employees are not fully realized.

Furthermore, as soon as employees start looking outside their current business for career opportunities then the likelihood is that they’ve switched off from being engaged and productive within that business. Too often employers try to keep them on with pseudo promotions and more money. Without real opportunity and challenge these patches are only likely to retain employees in the short term.

So how do you retain employees while providing them with learning and development opportunities that could well give them the skills to leave the business? The answer is simple really; equip them with the skills and capabilities that fit their career plan, regardless of whether they may leave the business as a result. Now you’re going to ask why on earth you’d invest all that time and money on people who could leave the business? Again, its simple, they’re probably going to be less likely to leave because you’re genuinely looking out for their interests rather than what the business wants to suck out of them. The likelihood is that they are going to be more engaged and productive for the time they are working for you. Rather than doing half-assed work and thinking about what they’d rather be doing. If they do leave the business then they’re going to feel really good about it, and tell other people. And doesn’t that do wonders for employment branding?

Now this doesn’t mean that you have to front up tens of thousands of dollars for someone to do something like a veterinary degree when they are your administrative assistant or give them copious time off work. It’s about being supportive. Think about other options like flexi-time, subsidizing it, you could even bond them.  What you’re getting from them is loyalty that you cannot buy. Businesses that I’ve experienced, or heard stories of, doing this really well (without naming names) demonstrate low turnover and higher employee commitment.

The point I’m going to leave you with is that development and career plans should focus on what the employee wants to achieve with their career rather than how they fit in with the business. It might fit, and that’s great. But don’t use ‘we don’t need more managers’, or ‘there may not be positions available’, or ‘we don’t have use for those skills’ as excuses for not developing people because they’re probably going to leave anyway if you take that approach.