Why government ministers need support
Winning an election is hard enough, but becoming a minister and getting to grips with governing is a whole other challenge.Yet there is remarkably little support and advice in place to help people manage this transition. Nehal Davison explains why this needs to urgently change. The sheer weight of responsibility, 24-hour media scrutiny and competing […]
Is virtual training the answer?
Well, is it? David Freedman isn’t sure it’s the panacea L&D make it out to be. Ever since I started talking to L&D, HR and sales directors about the virtual classroom or campus – around eight years ago – I’ve had to clarify what I meant. Surprisingly, that need to distinguish virtual training from the […]
11 top tips for good coaching
The sports world would never be without their top coaches, and neither should we. Here Gary Cattermole advises businesses of his top tips to coaching. Preparation is key The coach needs to understand what the business wants to gain from the sessions, as well as what the member of staff wants to gain. It may […]
Keeping Everyone Engaged
I've been tasked with designing a course for our new starters. The course covers things such as: – Setting Passwords & working with applications, customising Desktops – Navigating and finding what you need from the Intranet (not an easy task with our work intranet) – Working Efficiently tips and keyboard shortcuts etc – Working with laptops […]
L&D needs to learn from marketing if they want employees to show up to their courses
Following a recent webinar, Alexis Kingsbury continues his advice series about how to make sure your training sessions stay well attended. In some ways, marketing and L&D are very similar. Although many L&D professionals wouldn’t like to think of themselves as ‘marketing’ their development resources, often that’s exactly what they are doing. Like marketing, L&D have […]
How technology can boost classroom collaboration
Classroom or online? Maybe you want your training to be both. Here’s Jan Willem-Brands. The classroom is no longer an environment with a one-way flow of information; instead collaboration has become the norm and today’s classrooms are embracing technology like never before. The education sector has evolved with the influence of technology, which has brought convenience […]
What does it mean to have business skills in the 21st Century?
What does it take to embody the future of modern business? William Buist gives the community a few ideas. Changes in business Over time the structure of business has changed considerably. In the past, the lines seemed clear. There were those in the company with strategic roles who set policy, and there were those who […]
How to train staff for social media marketing
You might not need a social media department, if you train staff with a few of the basics. Jon Mowat explains. Companies across the globe are realising the impact their employees have on the company’s social media. Social media training has already become mandatory across a broad range of organisations. Companies like Pepsi, Adidas, Sprint, […]
Mentoring programs: Five tips for better employee engagement
Steve O’Brian outlines five different employee development programs that benefit from using mentoring as a learning method. Many companies offer mentoring programs. However few organisations realise how effective mentoring can be for a variety of career development programs beyond the traditional senior/junior employee pairing. Mentoring is one of the most effective methods of learning, proving true […]
Informal learning: Decoding the myths and mysteries
Those good people at GoodPractice have sent us a good infographic about informal learning. Are you doing it? You might not even know you are… For further information on the bespoke products GoodPractice offer to Learning and Development professionals, visit www.goodpractice.com Those good people at GoodPractice have sent us a good infographic about informal learning. […]
The benefits of outsourced training
Tony Willson outlines the many benefits that can be gained through outsourcing your training and offers his advice on how to get the most out of the process. During the recession businesses had no choice but to cut back on resources and one area that is often among the first of the casualties is training. […]
How to provide feedback that will develop your employees
Feedback doesn't have to be just a box-ticking exercise. Monique Rivers tells us how to turn it into a constructive experience. Let's make one thing clear – there's no improvement without feedback. If you spot an employee going about their work in a wrong way or making the same mistakes over and over again, it's […]
Harnessing the power of positive change
No-one likes change do they? Well – some people do. Gary Wyles is one of them. Change is often viewed as a negative and there are lots of statistics and market reports to back this up. There’s the oft-quoted figure that 75% of change projects fail. So it’s no wonder that business leaders, managers and […]
IDEAS PLEASE – Team event focussing on employee wellbeing, value of happiness, positive relationships and resilience
Hi there I've been asked to deliver an event for 40 people to help enourage engagement and productivity. The areas I'd like to focus on are: – employee well being – value of happiness – positive relationships (both within and outwith the workplace) – resilience These aren't areas I've focussed on before TBH and I'm […]
How Do You Get People More Involved in Learning & Development? Nudge Them!
We’re hearing a lot about Nudge at the moment. Put simply, Nudge is a book by Thaler & Sunstein on the science of how people use mental shortcuts to make decisions. The key message of the book (and the research it’s based on) is that, by following some simple design and communications techniques, we can […]
Make your course one to remember
Writer and trainer Georgina Bromwich has a few tips to make your course content stick. Think about the last course you went on, or the last presentation you watched. What do you remember about it? A couple of things, if you include the chocolate hobnobs they had at the break – or not even that? Now […]
GivebackUK: Increasing learner engagement with new technologies
GivebackUK is a new branch of the Charity Learning Consortium, centred around a programme called Clear Lessons: inspirational videos for the third sector from the best in L&D. First up, it’s Towards Maturity’s Laura Overton. Go to the GivebackUK homepage for more info GivebackUK is a new branch of the Charity Learning Consortium, centred around a […]
The rise of elearning is set to continue in 2015
Tony Willson outlines what he believes will be the key trends for the coming year in elearning. After many years in a recession, the UK is slowly starting to recover but that doesn’t mean that businesses can rest on their laurels. The majority of organisations have a lot of ground to make up in a […]
Free exercise: Why do people stay?
Susie Finch from the Charity Learning Consortium has given us a great employee retention tool from their Toolkit for Managers Visit the site for more information about the Toolkit for Managers. Susie Finch from the Charity Learning Consortium has given us a great employee retention tool from their Toolkit for Managers Visit the site […]
Triggering behavioural change with bite-size video
Bite-sized videos offer a new way to inspire people to change their behaviour, says Martin Addison. Just because you understand how you’re supposed to react in a certain situation, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll behave that way when the situation arises. This is a crucial distinction because it means that the goal of management, leadership […]