How to Make Training Effective- The Saturday Matinee Syndrome

How many times have you attended or sent one of your team to a training session and heard very positive comments about the session, but somehow nothing happened back at the work place? There was a great facilitator, the topic was timely and interesting, and the interaction was engaging and fun, but once everyone got back to work (which had been waiting for your return) there didn't seem to be an opportunity to implement what you had learned.

I call this the Saturday Matinee Syndrome- because it's like going to a movie. You spend a few hours being engaged, and once it is over you say to yourself, "That was interesting/fun/boring/confusing" then come back to work and nothing changes.

Here is my philosophy on training- it should only be done if there is a benefit to the organization's performance. Don't spend the time or money unless you believe the training will help the individuals and the organization get better.

So how do you avoid the Saturday Matinee Syndrome? There are four simple steps involved, and they take minimal time to execute.

First: PRE-PLAN. Before attending the session, the participant should spend 15 minutes with their manager, talking about the topic to be presented and what learning is targeted to bring back to the organization. Make a quarter page of bullet point notes on this discussion.

Second: During the training (optional), and immediately after the training, the trainee makes a Personal Action Plan which answers the following three questions:
A. What were my most importing learnings? (No more that three)
B. What specific steps am I going to take to implement them? (What new behaviors is the trainee going to attempt to incorporate into their daily work routine?)
C. Who am I going to ask to help (hold me accountable) for implementing these new behaviors?

Third: The trainee briefs their manager on their learning, action plan, and assistance they would like in implementing the plan.

Fourth: Using Outlook tools, or a Day Planner, or some other systemic method, copy your Action Plan and have it show up on your desk/desktop weekly for the first month, then monthly for the next three months. It takes adults 27 days of practice to learn and adopt new habits, and constant reminders greatly assist you with that.

So, the next time you or one of your team attends a training session, you know how to avoid the time being "Gone with the Wind."

The 9-Box Grid-Assessing the Performance and Promotability of the Talent in your Organization

HR! Why don't we have anyone we can promote into this key, open position?

Have you ever heard this question before? Have you ever heard it and thought, "Gee, I tried to get them to plan for this eventuality!"

Whether you have heard this question, or simply believe you will hear it one day, here are some thoughts on getting started in planning for the future and developing a basic plan for Talent Development and Succession Planning.

First, don't try to plan, design, and implement the perfect program in one week. Or month. Or year. It takes time, careful thought, planning, and resources (for both the planning and resulting action.)

I suggest that the first thing you may want to consider is to identify two or three positions that, if left unfilled for a significant time, would have a negative affect on the performance of your organization. This is also a good conversation-starter for you to introduce this topic to your CEO, General Manager, etc. You must have their buy-in to have a successful talent initiative.

Second, and this will be the focus of this blog, is that you must assess your current pool of talent. One of the best ways is to show (graphically) the performance level and the growth potential of  your current pool. I like using the "9-Box Grid." The 9-Box grid should be populated during a consensus discussion with your organization's senior leaders, and is best facilitated by HR or a neutral facilitator.

Consider the following example (there are many ways to structure your 9-Box grid):

The Classic 9 Block Leadership Grid

Performance/Potential

·    Immediately Promotable – Identify Possibilities H/H	·   Provide coaching to maximize performance H/M	·   May be new to position ·   Manage Up H/L
·   Provide coaching to maximize performance M/H	·   Avoid “over stacking” in this block ·   Provide coaching to maximize performance M/M	·   Poor fit ·   Manage Up or Out M/L
·   Provide coaching to achieve acceptable performance L/H	·   Provide coaching to achieve acceptable performance L/M	·   Poor fit ·   Manage Out L/L

 The X, or horizontal axis of the matrix, measures performance, with the left being the highest performance. The Y, or vertical axis, measures potential for promotion, with the top of the matrix being the highest potential.

As you can see, this matrix provides a great visual representation of the current performance and growth potential of your talent pool. If your organization has a significant absence of names along the top row, you may want to consider internal and external resources to develop and prepare some of your talent to move up.

As a word of caution, if the majority of your talent appears in the middle box, it is very likely that your leaders who are assessing your talent pool have "wimped out" and failed to be brutally honest in their assessment of the talent pool.

As a note to the facilitator, especially the first few times that you go through this exercise: this can be very stressful for managers who, for possibly the first time, are asked to admit that some of their talent may be less effective than that in other departments.

Have fun with it- this is the "Good Work of HR." Nothing is more important than sourcing, boarding, assessing, and managing your talent!