Ineffective Strategies in Corporate Training: A Look at 10 Failed Approaches
Revamped Article:
Forget the dull slog of corporate training! Working for a large company means scores of opportunities, including the chance to hone your skills at a company university. These educational events come in various forms - courses, workshops, webinars, and more. While these formats have stood the test of time, they can sometimes leave you writhing in boredom, ready to dodge participation.
Many firms grapple with the skepticism of employees towards internal education. Changing the collective's view of corporate educational practices hinges on improving them themselves, as attempts to boost enthusiasm through other means tend to fall flat.
Why Boring Training Empowers Top Managers to Flee Corp Universities
From motivational speeches by "success gurus" to team-building exercises, here are ten unsuccessful practices that fail to resonate with staff. We'll take a closer look at these pitfalls and discuss ways to revitalize each scenario.
1. Inspiring talks by self-styled "success gurus"
When it comes to motivational talks in the corporate world, the likes of motivational speakers often dominate the scene. These individuals cultivate a guru image and don't come cheap. Ranging from Shaolin monks to energy coaches, their presentations drip with clichés, with practical value taking a backseat to personal charisma.
Although esoteric methods are all the rage, relying on them as serious pedagogical tools is a quick way to erode staff trust in corporate training. Although these gurus make for great conference speakers, their credibility plummets with that first challenging question from an experienced attendee. Plus, the jubilant afterglow fades within days, leaving employees wondering "What was even useful about the training? How can I apply this to my work?"
So, are there good motivational training sessions out there? Absolutely, they do exist!
Improvement Ideas
- Clearly define the objectives of the event. Typically, these aim to inspire participants and help them learn to manage their motivation. A guru can handle the first task, but only when their speech is part of the learning process, such as a warm-up act for other experts, like psychologists or HR specialists. In this setting, the guru's role is to catch listeners' attention and divert it from their smartphones filled with work emails.
- For the second task, charm takes a backseat to real experience and professionalism. To evaluate the quality of a specialist, it's not enough to inspect their accolades and resume. Observe their audience handling skills, the foundation of their material, and the tools they use. It's also beneficial if the speaker can adjust their program mid-session when they see the audience's real needs diverge from the initial objectives.
2. Trust games and bonding exercises
Team-building exercises like hand-holds, hugs, and partner-tosses may seem likable, but they frequently elicit discomfort and displeasure. These methods often fall flat, leading to a undesired outcome – resentment rather than camaraderie.
Improvement Ideas
Strong team bonds bloom over time during joint project work. Colleagues interact, tackle challenges, and share both triumphs and downfalls. Employees forge bonds through their shared experiences. Team-building exercises lie within the purview of department and project managers, while corporate universities can provide these agents with tools to foster a trusting environment, such as teaching them communication strategies, constructive feedback techniques, and designing situations for team-building.
If workers engage in learning as a whole team, they can partially satisfy the need for shared experience. Considering the popularity of hybrid schedules, a few hours of in-person joint learning can foster camaraderie. However, without managerial support, the bonding moment will soon fade away.
3. Lectures-Webinars
With their familiarity, lectures-webinars avoid much negativity from employees. However, their effectiveness and appropriateness remain up for debate. Even when you try hard, you're unlikely to retain information from lectures on non-core subjects in university. Webinars, when brought online, lose the few advantages they had – visual contact and immediate feedback from the audience. After 10-15 minutes, most listeners' focus disperses; some even perceive these online sessions as unofficial work breaks.
Ideas for Improvement
The golden rule of distance learning: the more participants in a webinar, the wider the possibilities for communication and self-organization among students without teacher intervention. A vast difference exists between handling groups of 30 and 400 people, so these situations should be approached differently.
For online training of small groups:
- Break learning into manageable chunks – 15 minutes of theory followed by a hands-on practice exercise. A short lecture keeps attention focused, and each new task shakes things up;
- Utilize the interactive features of the platform on which the course is held, and teach students to use them. For example, a warm-up session on online learning tools should be held before the start of classes to show learners how to virtually raise a hand, write in chat, utilize reactions, work with online boards, and more;
- Require participants to keep their cameras on. In a small group, it's essential that participants can see each other, and the trainer can see them. This promotes a feeling of presence, boosts audience engagement, and discourages avoidance of learning;
- Create traditions. For instance, start lessons with a five-minute warm-up or end them with solving puzzles. Such informal events, held according to schedule, develop discipline among participants.
For online training of large groups:
- To foster educational diversity, keeping online students engaged is especially difficult, particularly in large groups. Enhancing interactivity is key: provide real-time feedback, conduct live polls and quizzes. Prepare multiple lecture plans with unexpected turns to keep the audience engaged, while alternating theory with practice and favoring group tasks over individual ones. Appoint moderators or assistant speakers to swiftly respond to learner questions, giving the lecturer the freedom to focus on the main presentation.
4. One-size-fits-all leadership training
Another failed corporate education approach involves generic leadership courses that ignore participants' varying levels of maturity. A prime example is "soft skills" development programs for all employees, regardless of their experience, position, or career aspirations.
Improvement Ideas
When organizing soft skills training, consider the situational leadership theory, which suggests that an employee's approach should depend on their motivation and capabilities. A young, eager employee may require basic team management guidance, a list of instructions or checklist, while an experienced, demotivated employee might call for a detailed explanation of the benefits of learning.
To segregate potential participants into homogeneous thinking levels, employ two methods. First, ask people to write about their plans to apply new knowledge at work, their company's future prospects, and their contribution to business development. Second, conduct an in-depth online interview to gauge an employee's motivation level. Homogeneous group training encourages quality networking and fosters safe experience sharing.
5. Business training programs lasting multiple days
Longstanding corporate education practices include multi-day business training programs. Regrettably, few managers can spare two full days for learning. Even procurement of external providers raises concerns: for employees to effectively absorb and apply the material, they require ongoing guidance from the trainer beyond the two-day session. If the trainer departs after two days, that opportunity is lost.
Ideas for Improvement
- Divide the two-day program into short training sessions lasting two to four hours and spread them across several weeks. The time in-between sessions can be dedicated to practicing specific tasks, such as conducting negotiations or interactions with subordinates using the new approach, followed by discussions at the next meeting;
6. Mandatory training for the sake of it
All corporate universities offer mandatory courses on civil defense and emergency response, workplace safety, and ethical conduct. These trainings often have a formal character, with the expectation of listener engagement lacking. This is disappointing, as understanding safety principles can help prevent accidents and consulting ethical codes can sidestep sticky situations.
Improvement Ideas
- American psychologist Benjamin Bloom argues that information is best retained when learners form a personal connection to the topic. Instead of quoting laws and regulations, students should be presented with real-life scenarios that could confront any employee;
Regarding self-study materials, creators often fall into two ineffective patterns. In one scenario, form takes precedence over content, with creators focusing on storytelling, character development, and comic illustrations to catch attention. In another case, authors plunge too deeply into details, mixing disparate content. The result is unreadable manuals or PowerPoint presentations cluttered with text and low-quality graphics. Fortunately, with minimalist design, thoughtful editing, and a user-friendly navigation system, quality educational content need not drown in an avalanche of fancy illustrations.
Ideas for Improvement
- When preparing self-study materials, adhere to two rules: simplicity is key; navigation should be user-friendly. A minimalist design always trumps one overloaded with graphics. If budget constraints exclude hiring a studio, scriptwriters, and motion designers, these elements can be omitted. Clear, well-considered content is enough to produce an effective educational product;
- When selecting materials for self-study, avoid excessive wordiness and ensure clear, concise topic headings. Large sections should be divided into smaller parts. For example, a comprehensive course on corporate finance could be transformed into three specialized programs: a reference course on a company's business indicators; an advanced course exploring indicators in relation and containing tasks; and a course for top managers with specific cases from practical management. Each of these programs will find its audience.
- Conducting tests after training often leads specialists to two unfavorable outcomes: asking easy questions without requiring much thought, or designing tests with difficult questions that lack the potential for flawless completion. Instead, employ data-driven insights, as suggested by American cognitive scientists Mark McDaniel and Henry Roediger, and use tests to stimulate memory and appraise training effectiveness through application of knowledge in practical situations, such as simulations and business case studies.
Unfortunately, facilitation and strategy sessions often slide into the wrong side of the learning spectrum, taking their place alongside obligatory, outdated training content. Facilitation and strategic sessions are essential for improving communication within teams, building unity, and developing employees' flexible skills. We'll examine the blunders corporate universities make when organizing these sessions in the sections ahead.
[1] Group training can foster quality networking and safe experience sharing.
[2] When selecting materials for self-study, strive for simplicity and user-friendly navigation systems.
[3] To improve team bonding, encourage joint project work. Provide managers the tools to create trusting environments through workshops on communication, giving feedback, designing business games, etc.
[4] Employ gamification, personalization, and skill-driven learning to boost engagement.
[5] Reinforce learning through regular feedback and continuous practice.
[6] Align hiring strategies with upskilling objectives.
[7] Utilize learning technology for data-driven insight and continuous improvement of training programs.
- To effectively implement soft skills training, customize the program according to the situational leadership theory, which considers an employee's motivation and capabilities.
- Revitalize corporate education by offering personalized learning opportunities that cater to individuals' unique needs, fostering personal growth and self-development through education.
