One summer day after work, I got into grubby clothes, put on some work gloves, got a big pan, and went outside. I got under the car, unscrewed the oil plug, and let it drip into the pan. I was so proud of myself.

When the oil stopped flowing, I lifted the hood again, pulled out and looked at the dipstick. The engine was still full of oil!

Oh no, what did I do?

With a sinking heart, I moved over to the transmission fluid cap, unscrewed it, and pulled out the dipstick. Guess what I had drained instead: all the transmission fluid.

Now I had two new problems: I didn’t have any transmission fluid. And I was nowhere near a store.

I couldn’t drive a car that had no transmission fluid in it. That meant I had to ask for help. That was an upsetting realization because the only person who was home at three o’clock in the afternoon was my father. I really didn’t want to ask him for help. I was trying to be independent. But I had no choice.

So, I called my dad. He listened as I explained my problem. Then he said he’d be over in a half hour to take me to the store to get more transmission fluid, and would stay with me while I replaced the oil. He wanted to be available in case I needed him again.

I felt so humiliated to call him for help. I still felt that way when he drove up. But the moment that I got into the car and we started driving, I realized something. My dad was so happy to be able to help me. He was in his element. He told me he was proud of me for trying to change the oil by myself. He didn’t care that I emptied the wrong tank. He said that was part of learning.

My mistake turned into a bonding experience with my dad that I remember to this day.

An hour earlier, I wasn’t going to let that moment happen because I felt I had to be independent and do things for myself. I didn’t want to ask for help. Yet, making the effort, making the mistake, and asking for help turned into a rewarding growth experience.

Having the Confidence to Ask for Help

That memory makes me think about the conversations I have with clients who have employees that don’t want to ask for help.

Why don’t employees ask for help when they need it? They resist because they believe there is a risk of being perceived as less competent, or confident at their jobs. So instead, they take the risk of screwing up the job. Even worse, they may try to hide their mistakes.

Those mistakes cost companies money as well as customers. All this could be avoided if employees felt comfortable and confident about asking for help. In fact, there is probably someone in the workspace who would be thrilled to be able to help them and grateful for the opportunity to share their knowledge (just like my dad). If an employee doesn’t feel, they won’t ask for help. They won’t give that other teammate a chance to help solve the problem before it’s too late.

How to Encourage Employees to Ask for Help

What can managers do to help employees feel comfortable enough to ask for help as soon as they realize they need it?

1. Make sure the workplace is a safe environment, where everyone is comfortable.
2. Encourage employees to come to you with any concerns about their work.
3. Get to know the strengths and standout talents of employees on your team. You’ll know who to call on when another employee needs help with a project.
4. Put your own ego and pride aside — don’t take anything personally. Remind yourself that it is difficult for employees to show their vulnerability.
5. Help employees communicate with each other to learn more about their skill sets and to get comfortable working with each other. They will learn who the best person on the team is to ask when there is something specific, they need to know.

What can employees do to ask for the help they need at work?

1. Consider who you feel confident going to for help.
2. Build relationships with teammates that you resonate with and identify who you’d feel safe going to with a problem before you need the help.
3. Put aside pride and admit that you don’t know how to do everything. How much worse it is if you don’t ask for help and you make a mistake so grave that you lose your job or chance for a promotion?

When employees know they can ask for the help they need, their confidence — and performance — will skyrocket. That’s a win for your company, the team, and the employee.

The post How to Create A Workplace Where Employees Can Ask for Help When They Need It appeared first on Susan Fitzell.

These no-cost to low-cost employee training solutions will amp up your employees’ knowledge and boost performance

Every employee gets stuck at some point. Maybe they’re assigned to a project that needs specific documentation and they’re not turning in those documents on schedule because they’re not sure how to do it correctly. Or, there’s a software program they need to use to complete a task, but they aren’t familiar with the software.

The first step is to train them, right? It’s the best way to make sure they have the knowledge they need. Employee training boosts skills so employees can grow and eliminate the frustration associated with a new task.

Yet, many companies think they don’t have the funds to purchase software and training tools for employees. And now, we have the added challenge of remote work. Remote employees may have varying levels of access to company systems and documentation, as well as limited bandwidth, depending on their home internet subscription.

Here are some no-cost to low-cost employee training solutions you can put in place. Some of these you already have through licensed software like Microsoft 365. You can give employees the knowledge they need to complete their work, improve their skills, or learn key information so they can improve their performance in the workplace.

1. Create a “cheat sheet” with screen-captured images

Programs: Microsoft Word, most web browsers, ShareX, Nimble Screenshots, Screen Shot Pro

Let’s say you’re trying to show an employee how to add an image into a document, but you’re not able to show them in person. And, the information is something that other employees may need to know, too. Creating a one to two-page “cheat sheet” will provide a fast reference for anyone who needs to learn how to do this task.

Typing up a step-by-step cheat sheet of instructions is as old as, well, typewriters. Today, grabbing screenshots of each step in the process and adding those images to the cheat sheet is easily done with just a few keystrokes.

To capture what you’re seeing on your computer screen, hit Ctrl+PrtScr on a PC or Shift+Command+4 on a Mac.

You can use these keystrokes for almost anything you’re documenting. But, there are a variety of browser add-ons that make it easier if you’re documenting something on a web browser. Nimble Screenshots, ShareX, or Screen Shot Pro (an app for smartphones) are all integrations that will take a screenshot when you click on their icon at the top of the browser (in the menu bar). You can explore these and learn how to integrate them by Googling their names and going to their websites to view all the details.

Once you have grabbed a screenshot of what you want to add to the cheat sheet, paste it into the document next to or underneath the written instructions. Use the program’s image editing function to crop and resize the screenshot to exactly the size you want.

2. Video Capture Your On-Screen Training

Programs: Microsoft Teams, Zoom, OBS Studio, Flashback Express, ShareX, Camtasia, SnagIt

In some cases, a static image screen capture doesn’t do the best job of explaining a process. Video capture allows you to record the process on your screen in real time and save it for employees to play back when they need to reference that task.

Free or low-cost video capture services make this process easy and affordable.

If your organization has an Office 365 enterprise subscription, you likely have access to Microsoft Teams, a collaborative app that combines messaging and video conferencing. If you’re not using Teams, but are using a third-party video conferencing app like Zoom, you can still capture that live training. These apps have a “record” button and you can record a training session. For best results, start recording after all the introductions have been made and just before you begin the training.

Now, not every company uses Zoom due to security concerns. A better option, in that case, would be to record the training session using video and screen capture software like Camtasia or SnagIt. These are high-quality video capture and editing tools and involve a small investment of $100 to $300.

3. Look for Ready-to-Use LMS Tools

Programs: iTunesU, Forma LMS, Moodle

iTunesU really raised the bar in the learning management system (LMS) space and it’s a great resource for organizations. Trainers can create presentations using images or video and distribute them through the platform to anyone who needs the information, whether they use a PC or a Mac. Depending on the system your organization is using, iTunesU may already be installed.

A number of open-source LMS offerings are out there too, and organizations can create training courses for little to no cost.

4. Create a Central, Accessible Repository of Training Information

I regularly recommend that my clients create a central location to save their training documentation. Whether that’s a folder on the organization’s shared server, or a complete LMS based in the cloud. it doesn’t matter where you host this documentation, as long as employees are able to find and access training materials when they’re needed.

Having a central knowledge bank is a key element of employee training resources for many companies. There’s even a marketing term for it: knowledge-centered service (KCS). A surprising number of companies do not have a central location for their training documentation. Instructions, handbooks and training videos may be scattered around the company on individual hard drives, hidden away on defunct servers, or just plain don’t exist.

If your organization is just getting started with creating training courses or documentation for employees, make it a priority to document tasks so they can be quickly referenced by employees who either need to learn how to perform those tasks or need a refresher.

Creating a central training repository is not difficult. Designate someone to create and manage the location. Call in all training documentation held by every person in the company. Then, start filling in those knowledge gaps — using the software that your organization has already licensed.

The post Four Foolproof Employee Training Tools (Your Company May Already Have) appeared first on Susan Fitzell.

Upskill employees to close the “learning gap” and maximize talent within your company

Ready. Set. Go! The race for organizations to stay competitive has opened the gates to the market of learning solutions. Management has unlimited training choices including learning management systems (LMS), online learning platforms, and consultants that bring customized training into companies.

One would think that keeping up with the rate of change, onboarding new employees, and planning to re-skilling or upskill employees would be a trivial matter. It is not. It’s often frustrating and overwhelming.

How can managers zero in on the right learning solutions to get the best out of their people? What is the best way to provide growth opportunities to retain top performers? And how do you provide the right learning solution to upskill employees who are hardworking but seem to struggle with training?

Identifying the Learning Gap

Buying into learning solutions without understanding the learning process of your employees is wasteful. Training that is incorrectly targeted will be lost on many of the employees who sit through it.

Here’s how experts who guide training and management initiatives typically work: They look at the structure and process of current training. They advise managers to provide coaching and mentoring to employees. They assume that employees are able to learn on their own and consequently recommend formal training and online platforms.

This is fine for most employees, as the solutions these experts provide will help employees keep up with the rate of change, encourage retention by providing meaningful growth opportunities, and maximize the skill set of longstanding employees.

But they tend to miss one critical element: the learning gap.

Today’s training structure focuses on integrating knowledge between the learning platform and the information it delivers, but not so much on HOW the employee learns.

The Biggest Blind Spot in Hiring

Consultants — and managers within some organizations — are aware of the learning gap and think that by hiring agile learners, they can avoid it. That means excluding applicants who don’t fit the agile metric. That’s right: HR departments assess potential hires to derive an agility score and eliminate candidates who score low. They make the assumption that if someone isn’t currently an agile learner, they can never become one.

That’s a huge blind spot for an organization.

There could be a brilliant mind out there ready for you to hire that could develop the next innovation and give your company a competitive advantage. But if those in charge of hiring are cherry-picking the agile learners and leaving out those who may struggle with more formal learning settings,what is that costing a company?

A solid percentage of the workforce struggles or has struggled with learning. It’s not known exactly how big that percentage is because even those who know they have a learning disability are reluctant to disclose it to their employers. A 2008 survey found that only 55% of adults diagnosed with a learning disability were confident enough to reveal their struggle to employers, and only 12% requested accommodation.
(https://www.verywellfamily.com/learning-disabled-adults-in-the-workplace-2161950)

But workers who have struggled with learning in a formal environment for their entire lives have often developed strong skills in other areas. They can be resourceful, creative problem solvers. Some have higher emotional intelligence because they’ve had to look for cues from the person speaking to them to know when they need to pay attention to certain information. They may be much more empathetic to others because of their struggles.

These are things that an agile metric may not pick up on.

And remember, it’s not that an employee who has difficulty learning the traditional way can’t learn anything new. They just haven’t learned how they learn. And if they have struggled for many years — especially if they are undiagnosed — they may be telling themselves, “I’m not good at learning.”

With the right learning techniques and metacognitive strategies, that mindset can be changed to one of confidence, hope and growth, enabling the employee to learn.

Tap Into Motivation

Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton conducted 850,000 surveys in their research assessment at Culture Works, titled “What Motivates Me.” They discovered that employees who don’t seem to be motivated actually have different motivation drivers and identities. When a manager or trainer taps into their true motivation it can spur an employee to learn, to do well in their job, and to explore new skill sets.

But even Gostick and Elton missed a key piece: empowering employees to learn.

I know this because, as a teacher, I have seen this pattern through my entire career. If an employee believes they cannot learn, they won’t be motivated to do so. They may feel hopeless, that they have limits on what they’re capable of. If we cannot change that belief, they will never realize and maximize their talent.

To change an employee’s outlook, managers must:

• Stay open-minded
• Learn the employee’s true skill set
• Stop making assumptions about their capabilities based on past experiences
• Test different strategies to see what works for them and what doesn’t work

Organizations assume that students graduate from high school and college knowing how they learn. In a perfect world, students would have self-awareness, self-knowledge, and realize the individual ways that they learn. However, schools today are focused on getting students to pass tests. That means teaching them to conform and only to study what’s necessary — never beyond. They don’t learn to discover their own strengths and passions. They only do enough to pass.

Until we change that educational paradigm, organizations are stuck doing the work that was supposed to be done in the primary educational system.

A Prescription For Leaders

What does that mean for your organization? It means making a few adjustments to the training systems and consultants you use. Here’s how:

1. Work with managers to help them figure out the motivation drivers for employees on their respective teams. The best tool out there is The Motivators Assessment, developed by The Culture Works.
2. Re-evaluate the employee training consultants you’re working with. Are the consultants experienced and qualified to address varying learning rates? Are they willing to incorporate the assessment results above and adjust their training methods to meet employee needs?
3. Evaluate the LMS the company is using. Is it adjustable to the capabilities of the employee? Is there room for customization?

Leaders have the capability and the resources to help all of their employees learn and grow. They can be directly responsible for changing an individual’s mindset, confidence, and career trajectory. And they can develop motivated employees who may become true innovators for the company.

When making a plan to upskill employees, it’s worth the work involved to help them learn what kind of learners they are.

The post Don’t Leave Them Behind: Upskill and Re-Skill ALL Your Employees appeared first on Susan Fitzell.

Need your team to get up to speed fast on new regulations, procedures, protocol or product features? Are you losing money and time because those instructions you gave to your staff just did not sink in? How we learn does not change just because we are grown up and working in industry. How we learn is how we learn from birth. Consider some of the strategies below when delivering new information to your employees.

We learn through all of the intelligence styles, but we have certain learning preferences that are stronger than others. Encourage your staff to choose strategies that support their strongest learning preference. If possible, use a variety of approaches when delivering critical information to your team or have alternate options available. For example, you might have information in print for the verbal linguistic staff member, add visual images where possible for the visual learner and provide a short video as another option. Interpersonal and hands-on kinesthetic learners will learn “on the job” by shadowing another employee. Read on for more ideas. Feel free to email me if you have suggestions or questions.

For Verbal/Linguistic Learners

These learners learn by saying, hearing and seeing words. They can easily memorize names, dates, places and trivia. To help verbal/linguistic learners:

• Use descriptive language
• Have them study that procedure manual by reading, writing, telling stories, creating related wordplay and connecting the material with jokes and riddles
• Create crossword puzzles for practice at www.puzzlemaker.com

For Logical/Mathematical Learners

These learners are adept at categorizing, classifying and working with abstract patterns and relationships. They work well with reasoning, numbers, abstractions, logic, problem-solving and moving from the concrete to the abstract.

• Compare and contrast ideas
• Create a timeline or use time management apps or linear outlines available online.
• Classify concepts/objects/materials. Use online mapping software or tablet apps to facilitate categorization and pairing content.
• Read or design maps
• Use a Venn diagram to dissect the information and enhance and retain opposing information. For example, creating a Venn diagram to illustrate the differences between two competing products would be effective.
• Teach using technology

For Bodily/Kinesthetic Learners

The brain’s motor cortex, which controls bodily motion, is the key to the intelligence of bodily/kinesthetic learners. These learners process knowledge through bodily sensations and need to touch, move and interact with space.

• Create hands-on training opportunities
• Re-enact what was just learned or role-play the interaction or task.
• Job shadow, however, do more than watch, do the actual tasks. Watching someone do the task may not be enough.

For Visual/Spatial Learners

Visual/spatial learners rely on their sense of sight and the ability to visualize an object. They create mental images and learn by drawing, building and designing. Encourage the use of color in their work.
Make a visual organizer or memory model of the material being learned

• Graph the results of a survey or a course of study
• Create mini-posters and post them on the office wall.
• Create collages grouping similar items. For example, visually depict regulations or new procedures and group them in separate collages.
• Draw maps
• Color-code the process

For Musical/Rhythmic Learners

Musical/rhythmic learners recognize tonal patterns. For optimal learning, suggest that they hum or sing the information they want to grasp or have them move their bodies while they study. This strategy will probably be the most resisted idea on this list. However, it is probably the most likely to increase retention.

• Create “raps” or write new lyrics to a song so that it explains…
• Make up sounds for different  operations or processes. Use music to enhance the learning

For Interpersonal Learners

Person-to-person relationships and communication are necessary for interpersonal learners. They study and work best with others.

• Review material/concepts/books orally through team sharing or collaboration.
• Discuss/debate controversial issues
• Find relationships between objects, cultures and situations
• Role-play a conversation before having that critical dialogue.
• Solve complex problems in a group
• Mentor the employee

For Intrapersonal Learners

Almost the exact opposite of interpersonal learners, intrapersonal learners thrive when working alone. Self-paced instruction and individualized projects work best with these team members. Suggest that intrapersonal learners keep a daily journal, as their thoughts are directed inward. They have a great degree of self-understanding and they rely deeply on their instincts.

• Keep a journal to demonstrate learning
• Analyze the human factors involved in the process or job.

For Naturalist Learners

Naturalist learners observe and understand the organized patterns in the natural world. Provide them with visualization activities and hands-on activities that are based on nature. Bring the outdoors into their learning environment whenever possible. Study in ways that call on the naturalist learner’s abilities to measure, map and chart observations of plants and animals.

• Sort and classify content in relation to the natural world
• Encourage learning in natural surroundings
• Categorize facts about…

In today’s economy, companies just don’t have the  time or money to waste on getting everyone on the job where they need to be to positively impact the bottom line. So little attention is paid to how our employees learn and how that impacts our training methods. For example, new hires are often using webinars to learn regulatory information. They watch the webinar and check off the box after taking a short quiz based on what they watched. One month later, how much do they really remember? If they remember nothing, how is that affecting your bottom line?

The post My Employee is Taking Too Much Time to Learn the Job! appeared first on Susan Fitzell.