Keeping the virtual team spirit alive
Travel bans induced by the credit crunch mean that virtual teams may find it tough to meet in person these days. Pradip Gajjar considers two important strategies to ensure team alignment during these turbulent times. A real scenario: A client wants to run a team-building programme for one of their virtual teams. They want to […]
To agree, or not to agree: How to improve team decision making
Businesses are suffering from poor decision making, says Clive Lewis. He highlights the perils of allowing the loudest people to get their way, and describes how consensus decision making can harness the collective creativity of teams. Majority decisions may have the illusion that we are getting on with the job, but in reality it often […]
Remote control: Managing remote workers
With more workers wanting to run their own race rather than the rat race, and with the technology available to enable this to happen, remote working has increased exponentially. But managing employees working outside the office is a real skill for their managers, says Anton Levchuk – and the secret is in the structure. For […]
The secret to achieving goals
Lost track of the number of New Year’s resolutions you’ve made, and broken, over the years? The secret isn’t so much willpower as the ability to select goals that are important, achievable and to stay focused, says Brad Waldron. My 2009 New Year’s resolution – no resolutions! Is that what you think this […]
Best read features of 2008
It’s that time of year when we reflect on the highs and lows on TrainingZone.co.uk in 2008. Here’s the list of what grabbed your attention most on site in the last 12 months. Most of the features in our top reads have been written by our own staff – experienced feature writers Louise Druce, Verity […]
2008: That was the year that was…
2008 is a year few of us will forget in a hurry. But as the credit crunch rolls into recession, it has been interesting to hear so many voices stress the importance of investing in skills. So how has L&D fared over the past 12, turbulent, months? Rebecca Midgley asked some key industry figures about […]
The secret to getting your team engaged
Many supervisors, managers and team leaders bemoan the fact that their team is not totally engaged with what they are trying to achieve. Bob Selden suggests some solutions. A recent survey by the Corporate Leadership Council of 50,000 employees worldwide found that only 11% felt fully engaged in their current work, 76% felt neither engaged […]
A week in training: Education and Skills in the spotlight
It’s all about education and skills this week following the landmark Education and Skills Act 2008, Sir Alan Sugar signs up to back the push for apprenticeships, Universities Secretary John Denham’s University Challenge looks set for success and a new report suggests women may make better leaders than men. Almost a decade after last addressing […]
A week in training: The £65m skills booster
This week: there’s a £65m pot for boosting skills in science, manufacturing and engineering, managers show support for extending flexible working to all, learndirect launches an interactive game to boost literacy and numeracy, and staff show a lack of trust in their senior managers. £65m skills boost for science, manufacturing and engineeringSemta, the sector skills […]
Trainer’s tip: Team building activities
You’ve suddenly been asked to come up with a team building exercise at the last minute – what do you do? Trainers point to several websites that offer details of great team building exercises, and the beauty is, they’re all free! Carson Warnes asked: I’m two months into a new job & I’ve just been […]
A week in training: A vision of the C21st trainer
As an L&D professional are you firmly rooted in C21st? Find out how the CIPD would view you as it presents its vision of the modern trainer. Meanwhile the government invests millions in advertising Train to Gain and it turns out that coaching doesn’t always mean a lucrative contract. CIPD sets out its vision of […]
A week in training: Beat the bullies
This week: Studies paint a worrying picture of bullying in the workplace. The almost 50% of workers claim to be, or have been, bullied, while managers and organisations seem largely ineffective in dealing with it. Elsewhere, the government pledges yet more money for skills and MEPs vote against the UK’s EU working time directive opt […]
A week in training: The skills to survive recession
This week: More evidence that training and development is the key for companies wanting to survive the recession, the CIPD warns of redundancies to come and the CBI highlights the advantages for business of working with universities to boost skills. As the recession bites harder, a new Nurturing Talent report from Cranfield School of Management […]
A week in training: Will cash strapped councils axe training?
The collapse of the Icelandic banking system may well have some unexpected effects with warnings that, in the short term, cash-strapped councils may have to suspend their training initiatives in order to pay staff wages. Skills minister David Lammy left his post in the recent cabinet reshuffle warning employers they could still be hit by […]
A week in training: Innovation, what innovation?
This week’s round-up includes Train to Gain turns two, news of delegates compulsively consulting their smart phones, preliminary findings from a trainer rates survey and the CIPD finds that management innovation is low on the priority list for many businesses. Management innovation ‘not a business priority’A CIPD study of 500 senior managers found that organisations […]
A week in training: News round-up
This week’s stories include a survey to find the barriers of learning retention, a free presentation by Nigel Paine, a new trainer network and news of an innovative management job swap between McDonalds and John Lewis. Management buy-in key to learningLack of line management buy-in is the key barrier to learning retention, according to 40% […]
A week in training: News round-up
This week, just as TrainingZone.co.uk publishes its definitive guide to training qualifications, there’s a new kid on the block, courtesy of the Institute of IT Training. Meanwhile, a third of pharmacy staff are judged ‘poorly trained’ by Which? and a global survey finds that seven in ten workers feel under-trained. IITT offers trainer assessment and […]
In focus: Research, reports and publications
Each month Dr Andrew Dean of the Marchmont Observatory summarises the research, reports and publications that are shaping the field of learning. September’s round-up includes developing a dialogue on skills in the workplace, benefits of elearning, science skills and Facebook. It’s time to talk training: how to develop a dialogue on skills at the workplace […]
A week in training: L&D budget fears
This week, as shock-waves from the collapse of the Lehman Brothers and the take over of Merrill Lynch are felt in the UK, learning professionals in all industries fear the cuts about to hit their departments. There’s also an inquiry into apprenticeships, a CBI task force on higher education, new downloadable resources and a round […]
A week in training: Apprenticeships, awards and the credit crunch
This week’s round up of training news includes a wage rise for apprentices, positive noises about Time to Train proposals and a round up of industry awards. ApprenticeshipsThe minimum wage for apprentices is set to rise by £15 to £95 next year, Skills Secretary John Denham anounced this week. The rise, set to affect 10% […]