Archive for September, 2009
Why traditional training fails
There has been much discussion in training circles about the effectiveness of traditional one or two day classroom training. I am one of those people who believes that this sort of training doesn’t work for a number of very good reasons.
1. People are given and expected to absorb huge quantities of information when we all know that, in reality, it is only possible to absorb two or three messages at any one time
2. Even with a lot of interactive opportunities, it is one thing learning a lesson and then having to take it into the workplace and make the same technique work – as a result the post training enthusiasm soon wanes and the old habits re-establish themselves
3. Once the training has taken place there is no opportunity to re-acquaint the trainee with the lessons learnt.
Behavioural change is most likely to work where a small number of messages are given, where the trainee can then try them out in the workplace and where they can repeatedly review those lessons until they find a way of turning the training into a reality for themselves in the workplace.
The challenge is to find that magic formula.
Time boxing
A couple of years ago I had a client who found it very difficult to manage his time. There were jobs he really hated and would avoid doing until absolutely necessary.
He was a self confessed procrastinator, but it had led him into difficulties with his boss and it was damaging his chances of promotion.
I had come across time boxing as a method for project management where meeting timelines is especially important. Then I had attended a networking event where someone else said that they used time boxing but in a different way for their personal time management.
Time boxing is a way of committing yourself to do a task by limiting the pain.
• First identify the task you have to complete
• Then allocate a time to start work on that task. Ideally the time commitment should be limited, perhaps 30 minutes up to an hour. If it is a job you really hate doing then don’t commit to more because you will never start the work
• Allocate the time when you are fresh and alert (ideally early in the morning). This has two effects, you get the time boxing completed and can enjoy the rest of your day and secondly you will feel really good with yourself and find that everything else that day goes well
• With time boxing don’t have to finish the task, although those people who do use the technique say that they often find themselves drawn into and completing the task regardless of the time box commitment
• Then set yourself a small reward for completing the time boxing.
I saw that client again recently. He has some new problems now, but these all centre on a promotion he achieved. Yes he did try out time boxing and it is now part of his routine, although thankfully not every day.
Why not give it a go and lets us know how you got on.
ASDA and future recruitment
Recently I attended a meeting of the Recruitment Society at which we received a presentation by ASDA on their new recruitment process.
Several years ago ASDA decided that they wanted to improve their own recruitment process and become less reliant on recruitment agencies (bad news for members of the Recruitment Society!!). So they brought in Euro RSCG Riley, specialist recruitment advisers to help.
Perhaps most interesting about the process they entered into was a change in the thinking pattern for recruitment. They asked themselves not what ASDA needed, i.e. new recruits, but what did the potential recruit need. Their answer was a lot more information about ASDA and the people that already work at ASDA.
Their new recruitment website (www.asda.jobs) is bright, easy to read and headlines the people working at all levels whether in their stores, at George, the pharmacy or a number of other jobs you wouldn’t automatically associate with a shop.
There are some whizzy bits such as videos to brighten the website up even further. They have also experimented with QR codes and mobile phones as well as Twitter For me the disappointment was that the site is heavily informational but very low on engagement and interactivity. I saw no evidence of a blog (although they say there is one in the graduate section), RSS feeds or a LinkedIn community. Nor could I find an area where people could ask questions other than through the traditional comments/contact us page.
In that respect the ASDA jobs website is disappointing; it remains firmly in the Web 1.0 camp. In many other respects it is innovative, fresh and enjoyable to navigate (although curiously there are no links back to the Home Page as you go deeper into the site).
Undoubtedly the ASDA approach is one that is growing amongst large employers, sidelining adverts and agencies and moving to a more direct engagement with potential recruits. They are very clear though, this is a journey they have entered into and not the final product.
Have a look at the ASDA jobs site and let us know what you think.
What every graduate should know…
I was talking to a senior manager in a public organisation who was despairing of some of the candidates who were presenting themselves for interviews.
“Surely in this hugely competitive market”, I asked, “graduates are having to work harder to be noticed at job interviews?”
“Some are”, the manager replied. “But many others are making some really basic mistakes.”
“Such as?”
Not knowing what the organisation is. One candidate enthusiastically announced how keen he was to work for the Commission for Racial Equality – only to be gently informed that this was a totally different organisation!
Assuming that a good degree is enough to get them the job. Unfortunately most candidates have a 2/1 or higher so employers are looking for something extra. So hobbies, charitable work, work experience, achievements are all very significant.
Using inappropriate examples from their private lives. By all means talk about how captaining your school hockey team taught you about leadership and team work – but avoid the story of how you developed strength of character by refusing to buy cocaine on the beach in Thailand (yes – really…)
Making it clear that you view this job as a stop-gap until you can get a much better paid and more exciting job elsewhere. Employers are looking for long-term commitment and for candidates who are wanting a career, not just a job.
In the end, it’s all about preparation. Take the time to really think through how all of your experience to date can be of interest and use to future employers.
Put yourself in their shoes. Would you give you a job? If the answer is not a resounding ‘yes’ then you still have some work to do….
Getting international business etiquette right
The other day I was having a coffee with a friend when the conversation turned to business etiquette, particularly when doing business in a foreign country.
In my friend’s office there is a Serbian staff member. He had commented that it is incorrect to go into a business meeting in Serbia and smile. He said that this could be seen as being flippant. Having visited Belgrade on a number of occasions I was surprised by this and decided to check it out. So I contacted a close friend and interpreter in Belgrade.
He responded back by saying that smiling is fine, but it would be wrong to crack a joke or be flippant at the start of a meeting. That left me wondering how much more bad advice was circulating the taverns and coffee houses of the City.
Here’s another one; if you look up business etiquette for Serbia you will find advice that people greet each other with three kisses to the cheek. That advice is correct, but my Serbian friend confirmed that it would be inappropriate for a stranger to do this and it is reserved only for close colleagues and family.
We all know the etiquette for China includes not giving clocks or handkerchiefs because they are associated with death or funerals, we also know that the number 8 is lucky, but very often other advice is unspoken or unrehearsed.
Of course the symbolic issues are important, but most businesspeople need straightforward advice about how to greet, hold meetings and negotiate in the country concerned.