We are really looking forward to working with you in 2019!

Our focus in this coming year is on delivering a clear ROI for the training we deliver with you. Check out our approach by clicking here.

We would like to thank you for a great 2018, many challenges and many achievements. It has been great working with you, the relationships we have formed this year have made work a real pleasure...

When managers look at their younger subordinates, they should be thinking “how can I get the best from these people?”

Unsurprisingly, as with all staff, effective communication will play a key role. Research by Neuro-Insight discovered that both genders in the millennial age group found a female digitised voice more compelling that its male equivalent. Estate Agents Hamptons has recently reported a record number of Londoners selling up & heading north. So it seems that the key to effective communication is to have a digitised female voice assistant talking to millennials with a northern accent!

Failing that we need to identify the triggers which resonate with millennials and then use them effectively. Known affectionately as the “anxious generation” (Vogue 2018), this generation more than previous generations look for affirmation of their actions.

When communicating with any individual the starting point should be “what do we want this person to think, feel, do and/or know as result of this communication?” To achieve this, effective communication is about the right communication channel at the right time in the right way with the right message. 

Annie Ives talks to a Learning & Development global leader within the pharmaceutical sector about successful PDR implementation:

What were the biggest challenges you previously had with pdr's?
"In general, it is a challenge for most businesses to have 100% buy-in towards the value of participating in PDRs. The internal argument was often around the fact that they are not pay related and there is no benefit to doing them".

The L&D business partner confirmed that within their organisation, the negativity towards the process at all levels could be grouped into to three main area:

1. It does not feel beneficial to me as I often do not get the training I would ideally like.

2. I don't feel empowered by my manager so before I even have the conversation, I know it will just be a tick box exercise.

3. I don't get the financial reward I feel I deserve so it's hard to be motivated when I know even if I achieve all my objectives, it won't make any difference!

A client recently complained to me about some of his team being a little less grateful regarding their forthcoming Christmas party for which he is footing the bill.

He is paying for a traditional sit down meal with wine on each of the tables along with the usual Christmas crackers and party poppers. He has done this every year and has organised it again for this year. For many of his staff it is one of the work highlights of their year.

Some staff wanted something very different. They wanted it to be more informal, with a casual stand-up buffet served & available throughout the evening with the opportunity to make their drink choices at the bar. This group was made up entirely of millennials within his workforce. 

Prior to running a team day or three, it's worth knowing a little bit about motivation. The psychology is very interesting as we endeavour to run motivational team events.

Daniel Pink has conducted some fascinating studies indicating that (surprise surprise) its not all about money. People are strongly motivated by three key factors: Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose. So to get a great team event going, to hold an event with a great buzz, maybe it's worth thinking about these three factors.

Successful organisations win and retain key talent. Age is not a barrier to success; however, it may be a barrier to gaining and retaining the key talent from the next generation of movers and shakers.

Many organisations have already developed their culture and employment practices to gain and retain the best on offer. For example, many working parents now gain value from employer led initiatives in ways which go far beyond the statutory minimum requirements of the law. The benefits of this accrue to both employer and employee. In the same way, organisations should look at their culture and employment practices to ensure they gain & retain millennials. Organisations need people who are ambitious, educated and technologically “savvy”. So what are some of the challenges we face in getting the best from millennials?

Have you been here as well?

I'm sure you have heard of the saying 'If you carry on doing what you are doing, you will keep on getting what you are getting'.

Behind the scenes, L&D folk are masking the resistance, working miracles with slashed budgets, doing more and more internal delivery and covering the cracks of inconsistent internal messages from senior leaders delivered to the grass root business levels.

Is ROI really that important!?!

Measuring ROI allows a business to ensure its investments are sound. It’s not rocket science to know that if expenditure provides no returns, the business can identify this and react accordingly. In an ideal world, a comprehensive financial plan would be put together to predict return on investment allowing managers to justify a case for further spending. As a previous L&D manager I often found the biggest challenge was getting the business to understand that if everyone was working at full capacity, all doing what only they could do, then that was a good starting point! People not being utilised effectively, or staff being unskilled, reduced the potential of any return because the investment was starting with an un-achievable perspective!

The difficulty lies in being able to make the training budget work and knowing how to prove that training is effective. I found the problem occurs when you try to measure L&D benefits in a purely financial model; which got me thinking - instead shouldn't we be looking at other ways of measuring ROI which can be used in the same way for similar benefits? We don’t do an ROI analysis on office furnishing spend, although furnishing an office is often a huge cost. Maybe there are other ways of looking at ROI for topics such as L&D, office infra structure and other similar areas which support the working environment as a whole.  

This lead me to ask the question, "What does ROI actually mean?"