Training is not optional!

Training is not optional. It’s not something we do just when we have the time or the “spare” cash to do it. It is a critically important business function, just as important as sales and marketing, manufacturing, service provision, maintenance, or anything else that we do to provide a service or product to the marketplace.

Training is something that must be done to ensure that we can survive, let alone thrive, in a volatile marketplace. In times of downturn, such as the one we are all experiencing now, the temptation is to cut back on non-essentials. Sure, trim back a little, but trim back too far and you will inevitably find yourself in trouble. Too little resources put into sales and marketing will see sales and even customers fall off. Too little spent on maintenance will see the plant fail and customers let down. All too often cutting costs to save money, without thinking about what those cost really are, will leave your business in an even more vulnerable position. If what seem to be ‘costs’ are actually important investments, then cuts can have disastrous downstream consequences.

Sure we need to be careful what we spend and where we spend it, but isn’t that always the case? The interesting thing is that what we can safely trim back on in a downturn, without adversely affecting the business, are the things that could, and should, have been trimmed back, in the good times. In other words, they’re a form of waste that the business should have been trying to reduce anyway (see some of our blogs on lean production).

Training is like preventative maintenance for our people. The right training for the right people at the right time will ensure that these valuable resources (perhaps our most valuable resources) are kept finely tuned. Effective training ensures they’re able to respond to the demands that every business faces and that they are ready and capable of responding to the inevitable upswing in demand when it arrives. And it will.

The right training for the right people at the right time is all about using training strategically to equip and position your business for both the present and the future. Training is about much more than skills. As a strategic tool, it can be just as much about changing attitudes as developing skills, business processes and other systems within a business.

What I’m suggesting is that rather than treating training as it has been treated historically—that is, something that is done to individuals, and that happens to them in a classroom; try thinking of it as something that happens to your organisation, something that happens in the workplace, even while doing the work. That’s right, it’s a strategic change management tool, one that can be integrated into the workplace and even the work itself.

If you had problems with rework, errors or something else before the downturn, and the problems were hurting you then, they must be hurting now. Manage the downturn, and your response to the upturn, by taking a strategic approach to training.

Did you know that there is government funding available to support strategic training initiatives? So even if you don’t have the money to make the improvements you want, support from the government could make the impossible, possible.

Talk about workplace learning :)

How has the downturn affected your business? How can a strategic, integrated approach to training improve your business and position it to take full advantage of the economic recovery? How can training in your organisation become an investment rather than an expense? We look forward to hearing from you.

Peter Hancock
http://www.wli.com.au/


Related Articles:

• Why focus on workplace learning?
• Curing a sick workplace: Coffee and cake, or onions?
• What is Lean Manufacturing?

Curing a sick workplace: Coffee & cake, or onions?

In previous postings ('Is your workplace sick?' and 'Symptoms of sick workplace') we discussed how a workplace can become unhealthy and unproductive. We also considered various workplace ‘symptoms’, such as Occupational Health and Safety incidents, accidents and ‘near misses’; high levels of staff turn-over, or absenteeism. These symptoms can indicate that a workplace has problems.

So if we can identify the symptoms of a sick workplace can we provide the cure? Sure, but it’s important to remember that something is causing these symptoms. We need to get beyond the symptom to the cause of the problem. The right ‘medicine’ for any given workplace will depend upon the true nature of the problem.

Some time ago, one of our consultants told us about the frustrations he was having in a client’s workplace. There was constant tension and bickering within the workplace. It seemed few of the issues were really serious, but there were petty squabbles and arguments between workers almost every day. The poor communication was eroding goodwill and there was little cooperation between the work-teams. The symptoms of this workplace dis-ease were problems with product quality, failure to meet delivery deadlines and ultimately, dissatisfied customers!


Our consultant was visiting the site every week. He began to bring cake to the morning coffee breaks. He encouraged shopfloor operators and their team leaders to get together over coffee and cake and talk about their issues and concerns. Through group discussions and separate one-to-one conversations, both on and off-the-job, he identified key issues. He also began to see that the key people involved had different understandings of the production process and what was required. After several weeks of informal investigation and coffee and cake conversations, he brought all of the key players together at the same table. He explained to them what was happening, what he had learned, and how he perceived the situation. “You guys need to talk about this stuff and sort out these misunderstandings,” he said. ”I can’t keep buying cake forever!”

It would be nice if coffee and cake could cure all our workplace problems—but that’s unlikely unless the conversations get to the real cause of the problems. “What’s really going on here?” can be a useful question. Finding the cure for workplace ills involves sussing out the causes beneath the symptoms and surface appearances. What’s really going on is often quite different to what appears to be happening. Root Cause Analysis may be needed to get to the bottom of things and really understand the cause(s) of problems.

Most workplaces are a bit like onions—there are several layers, one inside the other. Peeling away the layers can reveal misunderstandings, communication difficulties, people not really listening, workers learning (but sometimes learning the wrong things), and relationships which need maintenance and/or repair. Peeling the layers can also reveal everyday work practices causing waste. There may be waste of time, materials, energy and effort. There may be all of the Seven Wastes commonly found in workplaces, but they are overlooked or accepted because they’re ‘normal’.

So finding the right approach might involve coffee, cake and peeling onions! There are multiple layers and points of view to be explored. Without proper ‘diagnosis’ and understanding of the root causes of problems, we are unlikely to come up with a permanent ‘cure’ or sustainable solutions.

Dr Peter Waterhouse
Work Doctor at Workplace Learning Initiatives Pty Ltd


Related Articles

• Is your workplace sick?
• Symptoms of a sick workplace
• Why blaming doesn’t work
• Why focus on workplace learning?   

Symptoms of a 'sick' workplace

In a previous posting we referred to the idea that a workplace can be sick—a bit like a person. Like a sick person, it is sometimes possible for the workplace not to know that it is sick; or to not appreciate fully how sick it really is. However ignorance is not protection (the way wellness is). Unless problems are identified and addressed things tend to get worse and a chronically sick workplace will ‘die’; probably sooner rather than later.

So can we identify the symptoms of a sick workplace? In our experience the indicators vary. They will depend upon the enterprise, its business and its sickness. Every business is different. However there are some things to look for:

A high level of Occupational Health and Safety incidents, accidents or ‘near misses’ may be an indication of a workplace which is not only unsafe or unhealthy for its employees, but is also not functioning effectively. This condition may be reflected in high insurance premiums for the business and costs considerably higher than they would be if effective OH&S policies, procedures and practices were implemented and followed.

A culture of blaming is another good indicator of an unhealthy work environment. Every workplace has its share of problems; things do go wrong, unexpected things do happen. However in an unhealthy workplace the problems are always someone else’s fault. Management blames the shopfloor and vice-versa; or it’s the engineer’s fault, or the supplier’s fault, or the plant and equipment is not up to scratch, or the customer is to blame! It’s always someone, or something else! Blaming others is not an effective way to solve problems. As long as we continue to blame someone else, we’ll never be able to see the real cause of the problem and nothing will get better.

High levels of absenteeism are another indicator that there may be problems in the workplace. People don’t want to be there unless they absolutely have to be, so they find ‘excuses’ to be unavailable. ‘Sickies’ become the ‘norm’ and the workplace—and everyone else who is still present—has to suffer.

High levels of staff turn-over, ‘churn’ and ‘burn-out’ can reflect a similar story. Some unhealthy workplaces find it almost impossible to attract and retain people. When they do get good people they don’t stay. Managers may complain chronically that job applicants and employees are not ‘up to standard’. However they fail to critically consider their own expectations and the extent to which the work, the workplace and the systems might be part of the problem.

Déjà vu, or the ‘here we go again’ experience, can be another indicator that things are not as they should be. Mistakes are made in strong, healthy, productive workplaces just as they are in unhealthy workplaces. The difference is that sick workplaces keep making the same or similar mistakes. They don’t learn from their mistakes. In a healthy workplace mistakes become a valued source for learning and people move on, improving their practice on the basis of their learning.

Living and working in a constant state of ‘crisis’ can be another useful indicator. Crisis conditions usually involve a high level of stress, anxiety and urgency. Sometimes, even if this is uncomfortable, it can be useful. However to be in a constant state of crisis is unhealthy, for people, and for workplaces.

Do you recognise any of these key symptoms? Can you identify other signs or symptoms of an unhealthy work environment? We are not claiming a comprehensive list here–just some points to consider. We look forward to hearing from you.

Peter Waterhouse & Peter Hancock

Work Doctors @ Workplace Learning Initiatives

Related Articles:

• Is your workplace sick?
• Why blaming doesn't work
• Curing a sick workplace: Coffee and cake, or onions? 
• Why focus on workplace learning?