If Your Company Won’t Help You, Do It Yourself

O.K. another post about the economic conditions and the fact that companies are cutting back.  I’ve heard, seen and experienced the pinch of what the current economy is doing to people.  I know those that have been laid off, took cuts in pay, reduce hours and had their fringe benefits slashed.  I know people are working harder and longer to make up for the fact that the company  had to let others go and they are left  to pick up the slack.  One would think that just keeping your head above all this would be enough, but wait…. let’s add that you still need to keep your primary and foundational skills sharp.

No one can remain stagnate and expect to grow.  The current economic state will change and jobs will be available once again.  You will want to either move up in your current company or move to another company.  You want to demonstrate that you have not let your skills atrophy while waiting but that you did something to take control of your own destiny.  After all your company has cut out the important programs they once had like, training & development courses, seminars, tuition reimbursement plans and other continuing educational benefits.  They have eliminated mentors and advisers.  You are left to not only work the job, but develop and grow with no help from your employer (in many cases, there still are those wise companies that realize the biggest asset they have – their employees and I salute you!)

So how do you do this?  First,  the easiest way is to read. Read topics relating to your field, read news articles, blog postings, any material you can get your hands on and with the internet it has never been easier.  If you find someone who is of great interest, subscribed to their RSS feed so that their content comes directly to your Inbox.

Next, go on-line and search for free webinars.  YouTube is a wealth of information.  People just like you are sharing their experiences as well as some experts that are sharing their seminars and workshop videos.  Did you know you can learn how to dance through YouTube, just in case you need a diversion occasionally.

Find your own mentor or adviser that who aligns with your career goals and aspirations.  I’d suggest using LinkedIn to find a connection.  With the number of people on LinkedIn you are bound to find one that matches what you are looking for.  When you do, reach out to them.  If you are concerned about how they will react, just think of how you would react if someone contacted you because of your skills, knowledge and abilities.  I bet you would feel honored.

If you are not on LinkedIn now is the time to join.  While you are setting up your profile you also want to check out the Groups and join a few so that you can follow and contribute to the ongoing conversations.  Not only can you get great advice from these groups, but you can also share your knowledge and help someone else.  If you have a question about your field of interest, or you are thinking of changing careers, this is a great place to find out more.

If you really want to push the envelope, start a group at your own company.  You could meet during a lunch hour, before or after work.  Be creative.  You could pick a topic and lead the discussion or ask for an outside expert to come in and be a guest speaker with each person paying a nominal fee if the speaker is going to charge you.   Find out who is handling the training and development in your company and ask for assistance.  They might come back and tell you they don’t have the resources at this time, but you are demonstrating that development is important to you.  Who knows, they may listen and offer support.

Traditional Classroom vs E-Learning

If companies don’t entirely cut their Training and Development budget, they are moving toward an e-learning format.  I would much rather have the e-learning to no development opportunities for employees; however, there are drawbacks that companies should be aware of.  As with any learning, reinforcement is key to changing behaviors.

For many years companies have used e-learning modules for Compliance courses.  You know those courses that most companies have their employees take every year, Harassment, HR Policies and Procedures, etc.  If you have taken these courses in this manner, how much do you remember?  I would wager not much.  The purpose, although good in concept, is to reach as many employees in a short amount of time as possible while staying within employment law.  The trouble being that employees click through these courses in a hurry to finish them and get their name off the hit list.   The courses tend to be dry and rather boring.  Regardless of the valiant attempt by the Instructional Designers to make them interactive, they still are less then desirable to take.  A chore really.

We are seeing more and more courses moving to the same type of format.  I have seen and taken many e-Learning Courses that were well done and had learning reinforcement throughout them.  However, they didn’t leave as much of an impact on me as classroom courses. I guess I truly enjoy the interaction of the other participants and their sharing of Best Practices.  I also liked the personal touch of the trainer in gauging the understanding of the class.  If there was a concept that needed more attention, more time was given, and less in others areas to level out the time allotted. There was also the element of Adult Learning Theories noting that some people are visual, others auditory and other kinesthetic learners.  The e-learning format is able to apply these concepts when a webcam and conference call abilities are added to the course.

I also like the fact when I am facilitating that I know that I have the audiences attention and that they haven’t put me on mute and are talking to their co-workers or their boss who is giving them assignments at the time when they should be in a learning environment.

Bottom line, Training and Development is for the improvement and advancement of employees regardless of whether it is done in a traditional classroom or through e-learning formats.  I just hope companies don’t spend what little money they are allotting to T & D on programs where there is no transference of knowledge that can then be applied to the job function.