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Soft Skills Training. The Challenge of Obtaining Management and Participant Buy-In. Are you frustrated by Managers resisting soft skills training?. “I don’t have the time” “It’s only a ‘nice to have” “I can’t see any changes” “We can’t afford it” “Other needs are more urgent”
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Soft Skills Training The Challenge of Obtaining Management and Participant Buy-In
Are you frustrated by Managers resisting soft skills training? “I don’t have the time” “It’s only a ‘nice to have” “I can’t see any changes” “We can’t afford it” “Other needs are more urgent” “I can’t spare them for that long”
How To Gain Buy-in for Soft Skills Training What core non-technical skills do you need? How do you get management support? How do you ensure return on your investment?
What are the Challenges? • Lack of management buy-in • Difficulty in evaluating effectiveness • Dislocated from the business • Cynical participants
How to Make Soft Skills Training Successful • Relate it to your customers’ needs • Link it to business requirements
Demands on Training Community • Knowledge about key business drivers • Able to talk costs and benefits • Understand process of strategy development • Able to translate requirements into practical action
1. Identifying non-technical skillsWho are our Customers? • The Company • Managers - of units, divisions or departments • Individuals
Priority Customer 1:The Company • Organisational strategy • Culture Challenges • Vision and objectives Standards • Organisational Effectiveness • Core competencies • Opinion Surveys • Succession Planning and Career Development • Re-engineering
How to Start: 7-S Framework Structure Strategy Systems Shared Values Skills Style Staff
Strategy • Strategic direction • Vision statement • Key objectives • Critical success factors • Core competencies
Structure • Issues with spans of control, reporting relationships, authority • Centralisation vs. decentralisation • Business unit organisation structures • Matrix management
Systems • Processes • Benchmarking • Total quality • Re-engineering • Internal customers • Procedures • Orientation • Systems • Technology and Roll out
Shared Values • Organisation Culture • Articulation of values • Identification of behaviours which demonstrate the values • Buy-in and implementation of values
Style • Way managers behave: • Walk the talk • Priorities and focus • Leadership style • Meeting style
Staff • Composition and development • Qualifications • Skills • Training • Appraisals • Succession
Skills • Core competencies • Job profile competencies • Assessment centres • Development centres
Priority Customer 2: Managers • Department objectives • Changes ahead • Team issues • Internal customer surveys • Standards reviews
Priority Customer 3: Individuals • Appraisals • Career Plans • Personal Development Plans • Assessment and Development Centres
2. How to Get Management Support • Get a sponsor: your key customer • Identify stakeholders: supporters and blockers • Use data to substantiate the need • Design so that work links are clear • Design to fit learner needs • Evaluate and publish effectiveness
If Management Won’t Talk to You! • If you believe an initiative is important: GET FACTUAL EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT YOUR VIEW: • focus groups • interviews • surveys or email questionnaires • performance or productivity data • relate it to a business objective or to the company’s/department’s effectiveness THEN PUBLISH IT WIDELY
3. Return on Investment: Evaluation Levels REACTIONS ‘Happiness Sheets’ Level 1 Level 2 LEARNING Level 3 BEHAVIOUR Work application Level 4 RESULTS Business
How to help workplace application • Design application support processes BEFORE launch eg.: Line Management Auditing standards involvement Action Plans Learning logs Learning Sets Mentoring Resource centres CBT Self development aids or manuals
Level 4: When is it worth the effort? • When hard data has some face validity • eg. Improved sales retention after sales training • Team productivity improvements • When the link to achieving the company’s objective is not clear • When management agree in advance to the evaluation process
Your Role in selling soft skills • Identify priority customer groups • Link Soft Skills to Strategy or Effectiveness • Use a 7-S framework to establish needs • Identify stakeholders: supporters and blockers • Use data to justify investment • Design application aids at the start • Publish evaluation results