Training and Development

Development of your team members is a key element to the leadership role. As well as improving the employees skills and competencies, it demonstrates a level of trust, and values their ongoing input to the purpose of the organisation.

If the business is investing in the development of an individual, it is showing that it has a long term view for that person and showing loyalty to them. Why would a company spend money (whether direct costs of a course, or in the time that the team member is away from their normal work) on a person that isn’t valued and part of the business for the longer term.

It also demonstrates a long term view of the individual within the organisation.

As a leader, it is important to maximise this message. In many organisations, this commitment to personal development is not backed by the actions of the leader. They do not show interest in the outcome of the course the employee has attended or discussed how the development can be used in the workplace to improve it.

On a regular basis, the leader should:-

- Understand the best learning medium for each of their team members.

- Discuss what personal aspirations the individuals have.

- How they would like to develop their skills in the coming months.

Before the attendance of the training or development event, the leader should discuss with the delegate some basic objectives:

- How will this assist the work that is being done?

- How would improvements assist the purpose of the department and/or the organisation?

- What are the outcomes that the delegate would like to get from the course?

- What are the outcomes that the leader would like the delegate to get from the course?

After the event, the leader should now talk to the employee to ascertain:

- How the learnings from the course can be implemented into the work?

- What assistance does the delegate need from the leader?

- What results should they expect to see?

- By what timescales does the delegate expect to see results?

It is also worth discussing the learnings with the rest of the team so that they appreciate how these can affect the work and how they may benefit from them.

After a few weeks, the leader should talk to the team members to see if there have been any benefits from the course, and what may need to be done to optimise the lessons. Is it worth other members of the team attending the same course? Is there another course which a team member could attend that would complement these lessons?

I was lucky enough to work for Unipart Demand Chain Management in the 1990s, where people development was at the forefront of the philosophy of the business. As well as allocating 10 days a year to every employee, the managers were set targets to ensure that these training days were key to the progress of the individual, the team and the business. In that order.

Managers would discuss training needs and follow up, after the training to maximise the benefits. In addition, Unipart DCM built a “University” onsite where “experts” within the workforce could share their experience and knowledge to others, in state of the art facilities. In some cases these were classroom based, in others, they were in the workplace.

Where an employee had reached a point where it was difficult to challenge them within their current role, discussions led to new skills being acquired with a view to a new role in the future.

For me, this meant an MBA and a role in Project Management, leading to heading the Business Development and Marketing department of a new Unipart Company.

I remained at Unipart until 2002, when I emigrated to Australia with my family. I stayed there for so long, as they provided the commitment to me and ensured that I felt valued and was able to learn and develop. These things ensured that I reciprocated with loyalty to the organisation.