Learning

We all learn every day.  We learn what to do and what not to do.  We learn what or who to avoid.  We make decisions based on what we have learnt to get the best outcome.  Lifelong learning is a reality for all of us, consciously or unconsciously.  The more we are aware of what we learn or what we need to learn, the better we can plan for the future.

Conscious learning implies that we know what the purpose or goal of our learning is.  These should be short-, medium- and long-term goals.  The better we can align our personal goals, company goals and our career goals, the more value we can get out of our learning.  We need to understand the benefits of learning for the individual, the workgroup this individual is part of, and finally the benefit for the organisation, normally sponsoring this learning.

To achieve these goals and/or benefits in the most effective way, we need to harness the relationships between the different role-players.  Firstly, the person who wants to learn must fully understand the reason for the learning or development, the best way to learn, and the role-players who can facilitate this learning.

The second role-player is the manager of this person.  Many managers (sometimes directed by the company) like to ask for demonstration of return on our investment (ROI) for learning, development and training.  And yes, we do not want to waste our money.  However, is ROI the best way to determine the success of our learning?

In South Africa there is another way to be clever about the money we spend on learning, development and training.  We can access the money we had to pay as skills development levies to offset this cost.  Not a bad strategy, if applied in the right way.  So, what is the right way?

The right way is not to focus on cost only, but to focus on the people we need to train and develop.  Are they in the right position?  Are they competent for this position?  This is where we can learn much from Toyota’s philosophy about training and development.  In the book “Toyota Talent”, Liker and Meier say that a common expression in Toyota is, “We do not just build cars; we build people”.  Developing exceptional people is Toyota’s number one priority according to Liker and Meier. This is the job of managers!  In Toyota the first job of a manager is to be a teacher.

However, the manager and the learner cannot do this on their own.  The third role-player is the Learning and Development department (or whatever different name it goes by, e.g. Training or Human Resources).  They need to support managers to understand the competence and strengths of people and whether these people are in the best place to add optimal value for the organisation.  The fourth role-player is the external training, learning or development partner.

At Kersop Training and Improvement, we become a partner to understand the training needs of your people.  The role of the manager in this partnership is critical to ensure that people are developed to their full potential and to maximize their effectiveness as members of your organisation.  They need to give their full support to the learner, and guide and coach the learner during the process of learning.