As the range of skills that employees must have continues to grow, so does the number of employees who need training. At many organizations, however, the training budget has failed to keep pace.
But there is a way to ensure that the budget will increase to meet growing needs. It is to provide training that justifies its cost by raising productivity, and to create a culture where decision-makers in the organization value training and managers demand it for their employees.
The best way to achieve these goals is to have ongoing interactions with senior management and the managers of the various employee groups. You must meet with these people regularly, both individually and in groups. These meetings will be especially effective if you deploy team negotiation skills and strategies in your interactions. Here are four ways to do that:
Get into the other person’s head: Don’t expect others in the organization to view training the way you do. Everyone approaches decision-making with a unique set of goals, values, facts and assumptions. This affects people’s perceptions about training, as well as everything else.
What the CEO or the CFO might want most from you is a tighter focus on training skills that generate revenue or improve collaboration or create breakthroughs. The CIO might want the training to anticipate tomorrow’s IT needs, and avoid any system problems associated with online training. The sales chief might want training that produces results this quarter. The head of customer service might want higher customer satisfaction ratings, as well as faster telephone transactions with the customers.
Be sure you understand the priorities of everyone who is affected by the training program, or who influences the training budget. Those needs might have changed since the last time you checked. If you’re not sure of the facts, ask everyone what their biggest challenges are. Don’t make any assumptions about what people want based on their titles. Titles can be misleading.
Build relationships: In dialogues with training’s stakeholders, try to learn each person’s interests, goals and values. Knowing this will help you build relationships with everyone and, equally important, earn their trust. These assets might contribute more to your success as your organization’s learning chief than your skills, drive or intelligence.
Once you have established a relationship, you will find it easier to work with people to create new, more productive ways to meet employee skills challenges. The more trust builds, the more you will be able to learn about everyone’s needs, whether they’re expressed initially or not. An internal customer who trusts you is more likely to admit to an employee group’s shortfall in skills than someone who is more removed. A good relationship will also help you better deal with any disappointment in the training unit’s performance.
Be certain to avoid letting any dissatisfaction linger and fester. Listen carefully to what the other person is saying, don’t lose track of it by thinking of what to say next as the person keeps speaking, and don’t let an unfriendly comment about training’s effectiveness make you lose your equanimity.
You can build relationships by meeting all the expectations for an effective manager, whether it’s the head of training or anyone else in the organization. You have to be accessible, show respect, give of yourself (with your actions and by sharing personal information), keep an open mind when the other person disagrees with you and keep your word.
In management meetings, be a bridge-builder who encourages everyone to participate. Be someone who helps others express themselves, refuses to accept comments that disparage anyone and helps to connect disparate ideas. Try never to use the word “no.” Say “we” instead of “I.” When espousing your viewpoint, you don’t have to rebut every opposing point made.
Talk their language: The training unit may measure its results by number of classes held or employees trained, but that by itself won’t impress the stakeholders whose active support you need. It is widely recognized that friendly trainers whose curriculum is fun and easy will get the best grades.
When you report on training’s results, use Level 4 data in the Kirkpatrick training effectiveness model. Focus on how newly taught skills are generating bottom-line improvements, such as new product sales, shortened delivery dates, increased employee retention, decreased cost overruns, etc. Present your proposal with confidence. Anticipate the questions that might be asked and have credible, concise responses to them.
Be flexible: Have a backup plan ready. Don’t be so committed to your plan that you dismiss criticisms of it. Be sure you understand why the other person may not be buying it. Does that person disagree with your sense of why the budget is needed or with your implementation plans? Be open to suggestions for change. Be ready to adapt, compromise and make tradeoffs. If you claim a given part of the training program is essential, it will be difficult to pull back from it when it might be advantageous to do so later.
Successful team negotiation is not a contest. It is a process that bridges disparate needs and viewpoints to create a plan that everyone involved feels ownership of and enthusiastically supports.
