Helping the Herd-The Elephants in the Room Pt 3

If you’ve been following the first two parts of this series, you’ll know why Liam Neeson’s iconic quote in Taken, Disney’s The Lion King, and even the British reality TV show Come Dine With Me, have been referenced in relation to the ironmongery sectors workforce. 

As we reach the finale, you might wonder how themes of breaking an entry, children’s stories and the pursuit for culinary perfection can conclude in an all-encompassing fashion. 

It is particularly challenging for anyone when opening dialogue to discuss the elephants in the room, to guide the conversation in such a way to ensure it is not too hard – and not too soft. 

We can take a cue from Goldilocks, to connect the aforementioned themes, highlight the takeaway for the finale topic and draw the series to a close. 

When it comes to creating an oasis in the work environment and nurturing personal development, we want to get it ‘just right’. Unlike the example that can be found in Goldilocks, however, we don’t want to do so at the expense of disrupting others. 

There is a risk that what works for one, doesn’t work for another. And insufficient plans can be a catalyst in the pursuit of jumbo opportunities and desire to migrate to pastures new. 

Cultivating an environment that encourages professional development and a working environment to thrive in, requires both a collaborative effort, and understanding. 

Whilst Goldilocks had no business in doing so, there is a benefit in trying new things to find the best outcome. With so much specialist training available for different areas of CPD, here are some initiatives that can double up as ways to help in addressing development and creating a healthy work environment, in a new way:

 1.       Learning Effective Meeting Strategies

If Family Fortunes surveyed the top things people say when leaving a meeting, ‘that could have been an email’ must be at the top of the board. Every meeting that is perceived as ineffective or of adding little value, risks chipping away at engagement as well as morale, and sets the expectations for undesirable meeting culture. Various studies and research highlights just how much time is spent in meetings and is considered as unproductive. Investing in developments to improve meetings is a great way to change culture and ensure a nurturing, refreshing environment to be part of. 

2.     Understanding Different Learning Types

Catering to different learning styles is not only beneficial for creating great presentations and training sessions, but directly impacts the retention of new information for your staff. By being inclusive of different needs, the overall learning experience becomes diversified and much less stagnant.

When investing in education and CPD, understanding learning types can indicate where additional support or time may be required due to the course material and its delivery methods. Without considering and assessing needs, there is a risk in terms of the return on investment from the learning objectives.

3.     Cater to Different Motivating Factors

Reward schemes should be fair but that doesn’t mean they have to be a one size fits all solution. There are many initiatives on the market that support learning and development, gamification for objectives and encourage personalised rewards. This level of flexibility provides a level of autonomy and accommodates how one’s goals may change over time. 

It is important to understand motivating factors and review throughout one’s career, however there is a risk that this information will not be shared unless there are strong foundations of effective communication and validation of progression needs. 

4.       Introducing Training Mentor Opportunities

As covered in part two of this series, there are not many titles for the taking. In some cases, this may mean that career progression looks like an uplift for taking on additional responsibilities. Even within the niche of ironmongery, there are further specialisms, whether it is product specific knowledge or a skill. 

Utilising the experience of long-term employees and providing clear structures for mentoring can help to provide new opportunities for existing staff and open entry positions to a wider pool of candidates who can develop as the next generation of our workforce. 

5.     Education & Training in Specialisms

Having the appropriate learning frameworks in place will help in outlining the particular skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours required to fulfil duties in a role. With the recent adaptation to the GAI’s education programme, there is now opportunity to choose a specialist area at Level 3.

Utilising both education and learning plans, there is greater opportunity for less generic and more guided learning and engagement with the relevant and necessary CPD’s to support development of the workforce according to their needs. 

As we reflect on this series, from considering why people leave, as well as the opportunities and oasis that talent is looking for, it becomes apparent that the elephants in the room all have commonality when it comes to mitigating the associated risks.

Our ability to connect, and remain connected, is at the heart of successfully addressing these matters.

That is not to say that connections are limited to one dimension. 

Remaining connected includes being open to growth and supporting development, even when it means parting ways. Hiding away from such conversations can be counterintuitive where departure is inevitable. 

There is much to be said for a community that not only allows but encourages someone to explore a new challenge, even if only to return in a boomerang fashion. 

There is much to be said for a community that hands down knowledge and invests in the future. 

There is much to be said for companies committed to ‘help the herd’, and last but not least, address the elephants in the room.