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Time to Learn: The Pachyderm Principle
TIME TO LEARN? - The Pachyderm Principle – A Bitesize Approach To A Giant Size Challenge
The myriad of challenges and opportunities that face businesses may often seem like the task of eating an elephant; where do you start, how do you do it and is it worth the effort?
Some might say start at the top, others at the back; break it into small chunks or cut of one bit at a time. Some might say it’s worth the effort others, it isn’t. All of course are right answers and approaches, yet only when considered as part of the bigger picture – WHY do you want to eat the elephant in the first place? Without having answers to why, any other answer is interesting but not necessarily useful without a context.
So the first question is not how do you eat an elephant but why do you want to? i.e. what would this give you that you don’t already have which would be valuable to you in the future?
When applied to learning, the first question then, is why do you want solution X? By delivering solution X, what will that give the business and individual(s) that will be of value in the future, which they don’t have now?
For example, when a line manager asks for one of her staff to go on a 2 day presentation skills course, the first question an HR or Training manager must ask is why.
The answer to why should be in the context of 2 areas: business benefit and individual development. What will the business gain by the individual receiving the 2 day presentation skills training and what will the individual gain? Establishing the why is vital so that the best solution can be provided for business and individual. All too often the only approach to providing skills, knowledge and behavioural development opportunities is to deliver a training course usually of 1, 2 or 3 days and sometimes more. However, there are many ways to provide developmental opportunities, just like there are many ways to eat an elephant.
As time, resources, budgets and workloads add continuing pressures to achieving business results line managers, and learning and development specialists need to look at more creative ways to provide continuous development for staff and optimising resources.
One solution is to provide bitesize sessions that offer a variety of learning opportunities and approaches and are specifically tailored for each audience. The “sheep dip “ one size fits all approach is not usually the best way of optimising resources and achieving individual learning objectives.
However, by having shorter, more focused sessions that are designed to address specific business and team needs and can be linked to measurable results, greater ongoing benefit can be achieved. A great deal can be achieved in 1 to 2 hours and from a participants perspective this is about the maximum length of time anyone can stay focused in one go.
So whilst a days session may start at 0900 and finish at 1700 the amount of valuable learning time is probably only about 4 hours by the time you build in introductions, morning coffee break, lunch, afternoon coffee break and “wrap up”.
Is this the best use of time and resources for your business?
The bitesize approach can be used for wider business uses as well as training. Shared problem solving, creating new ideas and networking are all areas that can benefit from a shorter more focused approach usually with small numbers.
In true learning organisations, the ongoing formal and informal sharing of knowledge can add value by saving time, creating better internal relationships and reducing inefficiencies and therefore in effect adding value to the bottom line. Cross departmental and cross functional gatherings which allow people, at all levels, to offer experiences and learning can offer transferable benefits to other areas.
To create the right environment for people to share their experiences it is critical that everyone feels that the get value from the time spent. The provision of more regular but shorter bitesize opportunities for people to participate which are structured, focused and have a follow up process is one approach to increase cross business collaboration.
So having satisfied yourself you have an answer to why you want to eat an elephant, the next step in many cases is to get out your cutlery and start chunking it up.
To find out how you can develop a different approach to your leadership, management and employee training, learning and development call us now on 01258 817647 |
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