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change_training_at_work

Are You Ready to Master Change Training?

Posted by Change in the WorkplaceNo Comments

Coping with change has become a daily event for most people in organizations today. In recent years, even the nature of change training itself has been changing. In the past, change was episodic, with “rest periods” between changes to adjust and regroup. Change took place within a relatively stable and secure environment. Today, the rate of change is greatly accelerated. There is change upon change, with little opportunity for stability and adjustment. Additionally, change now takes place in an environment of uncertainty and insecurity. The future is largely unknown, and the old rules no longer seem to hold.

A potential consequence of the rapid change and uncertainty that currently characterizes the organizational climate is an uneasy sense that the implicit contract between the individual and the organization may be changing. Previously it was reasonable to assume that if an individual did his or her job, he or she would continue employment. Security was related to stability, get- ting the job done, and not rocking the boat. Today it is essential that an employee create his or her own security by being open to change, seeking information, and learning how to adapt. Job security now involves being a “change master” rather than a “change avoider” or victim.

Mastering the Change Curve is a tool for surfacing concerns participants have during a change, particularly when change is not of their doing. It also provides participants with a model for discussing, understanding, and mastering change.

Helping an individual or team move through change is a shared responsibility. A human resource manager, trainer, or organizational development facilitator can help a group move through a transition. Alternatively, the manager or team leader can work with an individual or the team to move through change. The facilitator guide is meant to help a facilitator in either of these roles to administer the assessment and then work with an individual or a team going through the transition.

How to get started

Learn more about this product by attending the free webinar How to Thrive Through Change. The webinar will show you how Mastering the Change Curve is appropriate for individuals at any organizational level who are experiencing continuous change.

Start training today!

21
mar
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listening_skills

Learning to Overcome Barriers to Listening Skills in the Workplace

Posted by communication skillsNo Comments

Great listening skills are a key part of learning and functioning in the workplace. Hearing the information, absorbing it, and comprehending it correctly can make a huge difference in work. Many studies suggest that even the smallest improvements in a person’s listening ability can have a noticeable impact on the overall effectiveness of communication and productivity.

According to Castleberry & Shepherd, effective listening occurs when there is a high degree of correspondence between the sender’s original message and the listener’s recreation of that message. Communication is a two-way street, but it is up to the listener to make sure they are receiving the information accurately.

Listening well is essential for nearly all work areas. These skills are crucial in teamwork, problem solving, decision making, managing, supervising, negotiating, customer service, and sales.

Listening Barriers

Unfortunately, effective listening can be held back by barriers. These barriers to listening can be grouped into two major categories: external and internal.

External barriers are easier to manage than internal barriers. They include a variety of environmental distractions that can usually be avoided or minimized with simple corrections, like removing yourself from the interfering barrier or removing the issue from the area that you are in. External barriers include:

  • Noise. Any external noise can be a barrier, like the sound of equipment running, phones ringing, or other people having conversations.
  • Visual distractions. Visual distractions can be as simple as the scene outside a window or the goings-on just beyond the glass walls of a nearby office.
  • Physical setting. An uncomfortable temperature, poor or nonexistent seating, bad odors, or distance between the listener and speaker can be an issue.
  • Objects. Items like pocket change, pens, and jewelry are often fidgeted with while listening.
  • The person speaking. The person listening may become distracted by the other person’s personal appearance, mannerisms, voice, or gestures.

Internal barriers are more difficult to manage, as they reside inside the mind of the listener. Internal barriers’ elimination relies on a high level of self-awareness and discipline on the part of the listener, like catching oneself before the mind starts to wander and bringing full attention back to the speaker. Internal barriers include:

  • Anxiety. Anxiety can take place from competing personal worries and concerns.
  • Self-centeredness. This causes the listener to focus on his or her own thoughts rather than the speaker’s words.
  • Mental laziness. Laziness creates an unwillingness to listen to complex or detailed information.
  • Boredom. Boredom stems from a lack of interest in the speaker’s subject matter.
  • Sense of superiority. This leads the listener to believe they have nothing to learn from the speaker.
  • Cognitive dissonance. The listener hears only what he or she expects or molds the speaker’s message to conform with their own beliefs.
  • Impatience. A listener can become impatient with a speaker who talks slowly or draws out the message.

Working through these barriers are crucial for better listening. If a listener can remove these barriers, they will find that they can gain better understanding of the tasks at hand, communicate more effectively, and achieve greater success in the workplace.

Learning More

To learn more about the importance of listening skills and how to perform them better, attend HRDQ’s webinar How Listening Skills Can Improve Workplace Performance. Attendees will leave the session being able to determine listening effectiveness in three dimensions, explore the visible and invisible aspects of listening, learn what it takes both physically and mentally to listen, understand common barriers to effective listening, and create a plan to put new skills into immediate action. Register here!

Evaluate current skill level, shows individuals how to take an active role in the listening process, and then provide ample opportunities for practice and development. 

Start training Learning to Listen today!

19
mar
0
trainer_mistakes

The Biggest Trainer Mistakes

Posted by Human Resource TrainingNo Comments

Everyone makes mistakes – including trainers. Training is a process, not an event, and its purpose is to produce results. People in the workplace can be trained on everything from communications to leadership to problem solving. So how do you prevent trainer mistakes?

One of the biggest trainer mistakes is they have no “transfer strategy.” A transfer strategy is where training begins long before it’s actually delivered and continues until results are seen. There are nine “moments of truth” that have an effect on the transfer strategy. They include: manager before, participant before, trainer before, manager during, participant during, trainer during, manager after, participant after, and trainer after. The behavior everyone has during the training can make all the difference. What you do before, during, and after training is very important.

The solution for a poor transfer strategy is focus and clarity. The trainer needs to have clarity on the materials in order to provide the best training possible. According to training expert Bob Pike, managers, participants, and trainers all have a great deal of impact on whether any kind of training is implemented. If managers see that what is being offered to their employees equips them to perform faster, better, and easier they’ll support training and other solutions recommended. He advises to make sure to involve managers in both the needs assessment and evaluation processes and consider creating an advisory board of managers that can lend expertise and credibility to training efforts.

The Seven Largest Mistakes

There are actually seven big mistakes trainers often make. It’s important to know what they are so you can avoid them. To learn about all of these, attend HRDQ’s webinar The 7 Greatest Mistakes Trainers Make and How to Avoid Them on March 27 at 2 p.m. EDT. Training expert Bob Pike will explore the WORST mistakes trainers make when designing and delivering training and show you how to avoid them. He will cover mistakes in:

  • Learning transfer strategies
  • Chunking content
  • Being attentive to the amount of content presented
  • Asking and answering questions
  • Going off schedule
  • Training measurement and evaluation
  • Keeping participants energized
  • Opening and closing the training program
  • Handout development

Bob Pike will then cover all of the fixes and solutions for these mistakes. This is an important webinar for anyone who has a trainer position, is an HR professional, or is a manager who delivers any type of training. Register today!

13
mar
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team_effectiveness_training

Improving Team Effectiveness

Posted by Team Building ExercisesNo Comments

Employees have to operate as a team very frequently in the workplace. But there are many areas they need to work through in order to perform at the highest level of team effectiveness. If anyone on the team has issues, the entire team suffers. Focusing on five core areas of competency will allow a team to function properly to meet goals and achieve success.

There are five areas of team effectiveness to focus on:

  • Mission, vision, and goals. The team should have a strong and unified vision of the future, while the organization should have a clearly defined and well-communicated mission statement and purpose. The group makes plans and all work is managed against the goals or objectives. 
  • Team roles. The team’s work should be organized to support the overarching goals, and each team member should have a clearly defined role and job description. If everyone knows what their own responsibilities are, the group can function well and move smoothly through complex projects. Each team member also needs to take accountability for the work they are responsible for.
  • Operating processes. Team members need to be aware of the organization’s operating processes. Policies and procedures can be used to manage the work or operations of the group, like problem solving, conflict management and decision making.
  • Interpersonal relationships. Team members must work well with each other. If they don’t, the team will likely fail. Trust is key in a team where each person is responsible for both their own tasks and the achievement of the group as a whole.
  • Inter-team relationships. Teams need to work with other teams in an organization. They must work cooperatively and collaboratively in order for an organization to succeed.

If these important categories are assessed and prioritized, then the team will likely succeed due to its strength and unity. But sometimes further help to get there is needed. Team Effectiveness Profile is a diagnostic instrument designed to assist groups in improving their output and work satisfaction. It was developed to help groups systematically identify issues and maximize the team’s productive efforts.

To learn more about team effectiveness, attend HRDQ’s webinar “Team Effectiveness: What is it Anyway?”  The webinar is based on “Team Effectiveness Profile.” Participants will learn how to identify issues that block effectiveness, reduce or eliminate problems that can drain a group’s energy, maximize the group’s productive efforts.

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