How to give constructive feedback
As a manager you may occasionally have to give feedback for poorly executed work. The real skill is how you handle the communication process, ensuring your criticisms are tactfully asserted and the recipient leaves feeling supported and motivated to improve. There’s a meme going around that shows the difference between leadership and management. It’s a little stick figure graphic of […]
Finding Leaders Within Your Organization
The success of your firm depends on the kind of leaders that you have. Your firm has to have a plan for current leaders and future ones. There has to be a grooming system in place so that when the current managers retire or leave, there is already someone that can replace them. Although you […]
How Personality Assessment Relates to Performance
Managers’ personalities can positively or negatively impact their direct subordinates to varying degrees. Chron notes that management strategies can directly impact the performance of staff, and in so doing can be detrimental to a company’s goals. Ideally, management’s aim is to try to align those they supervise with the mission and vision of the company, […]
Performance-based surveys: how to collect clues that forecast the impact of training
In a three-part series, L&D data detective Kevin M. Yates explores how to collect facts, evidence and data for learning’s impact on employee performance and organisational goals. Part three shows you how to collect facts and clues that forecast and predict the impact of training. Just like a detective looks for clues that solve mysteries, […]
Emotional intelligence
Using Instagram for training businesses
How many training businesses are using Instagram? What are the most effective ways you have found that help generate new leads or encourage job applications? Things I’ve found that work are: 1. Making posts and profile different 2. Making it personal 3. Encouraging interaction 4. Hashtags and location tagging 5. Using video How many training businesses are using […]
Reinventing wheels in learning and development
There will always be new approaches to age old problems and learning techniques in L&D are no different, but despite new packaging they tend to rely on the same basic principles. Every few months, a new diet comes out. Often supported by somewhere between A-list and Z-list celebrity endorsement, it promises dramatic results in ever shortening periods and quickly becomes […]
Forecasting effort: collecting facts about learning’s impact
In a three-part series, L&D data detective Kevin M. Yates explores how to collect facts, evidence and data for learning’s impact on employee performance and organisational goals. Part two looks at how to assess the amount of effort required for obtaining evidence on the impact of any given learning solution. Collecting facts for the impact […]
Tips for Training Better Sales Managers
Cold-calling. If you’re any type of salesman, then you know what the word means. It is the solicitation of business from potential customers who have had no prior contact with the salesperson conducting the call. It means that you’re contacting strangers and asking them if they need a new car. Studies show that only 2% […]
The Costliest Business Mistakes You Can Make
While it’s no secret that making mistakes are merely a part of business, some errors create significantly more damage than others. As an entrepreneur, it’s critical that you can distinguish between taking calculated risks and choosing downright foolish decisions. Hiring The Wrong People When first starting out, it’s typical for eager business owners to simply […]
What makes a “good” L&D Training Consultant?
I work for an established UK highstreet financial services provider in their L&D department and I’m researching for a potential upskill plan which will develop our training consultants to a minimum “standard level”. Currently, the quality of material, content and delivery can vary across teams, therefore more consistency is required. So, here are my […]
Why you should invest in training – even if staff decide to leave
Justifying investment in training may seem difficult if staff leave to work for a competitor, so it’s important to understand why developing a talented workforce will ultimately benefit your industry. It’s a common business problem: how can companies encourage and provide professional development programmes without the risk of making their key staff more attractive to rivals? This is a particularly prominent issue in the […]
Essential presentation skills for introverts
There are lots of ways you can make public speaking less stressful but the key to success is ensuring you’re fully prepared before, during and after your presentation. Those of us who try to go through life unnoticed will often panic at the thought of having to give a presentation. It doesn’t matter if it’s to […]
7 Reasons You Didn’t Get Hired For That Job
In the midst of looking for a new job? Are you applying, sending in resumes, and interviewing- only to be ignored by potential employers? Securing employment in competitive industries can be frustrating, especially when you aren’t sure what went wrong. Let’s get into some of the top reasons employers skip over you- and move onto your competition. […]
L&D’s Relationship with Data
This title has been taken from the Towards Maturity report published in August of this year. I was immediately drawn to the title and anyone who knows what a maths geek I am will understand why. I always loved numbers and even just playing with them, multiplying numbers by themselves repeatedly just for fun! Yes […]
Icebreakers and energisers: how useful are they to trainers?
Quick wins exercises such as ‘icebreakers’, ‘energisers’ and ‘learning reviews’ are often seen as an important tool in the arsenal of professional trainers. In 2016 we conducted a simple survey to find out trainers’ attitudes towards them and what use they made of them within training. The survey was entirely anonymous and consisted of six questions (with an opportunity […]
How to Be a Successful Coach or Trainer
If you want to discover how to become a life coach or trainer who succeeds – who actually makes it – you’re going to have to be willing to do things differently than most. Knowing how to be a trainer or coach who shines in a sea of dull, average professionals is the trick. Winners […]
Is a great salesperson born or self-made?
Companies love great salespeople! And it’s not just those in the management who appreciate their particular charisma; clients give into it as well. They know that a persuasive conversation translates to wallet operations – still, they willingly play the game. The Perfect Mix Size and scope are irrelevant; salespeople typically serve as the main connection […]
How to get your employees to be their own performance coach
With an ever-widening skills gap on the horizon, it’s imperative for businesses today to nurture a culture in which employees are motivated and committed to learning. Here are three steps to help you help your people be self-directed learners. Each and every one of us owns our own performance through the conscious choices we make […]
Converting engagement into real work passion
It’s the holy grail for HR leads and business heads in any company. A highly engaged and passionate workforce that produces incredible work, boasts excellent productivity and oozes positivity at every workstation. But whilst intrinsically linked, engagement and passion are not one and the same. So what’s the difference between the two? Engagement is a […]
