Part 5 of a 6 Part Series: Building Infrastructure Strength for Future Growth - Employee Training

Part 5 of a 6 Part Series: Building Infrastructure Strength for Future Growth Employee Training

 

Each week, we will go into details on how to address project and change management now to create a resilient and robust organization for tomorrow.

If you missed last week’s blog on Introducing Automation, you can check it out here.

This week, we will look at the 5th of 6 ways a company can use downtime to impact the greater good of the organization and position themselves to be a better, stronger company when the work picks back up.

Employee Training

When client or customer work slows, internal training can be a great way to keep employees engaged in their job and company. A key piece to internal training is gaining buy-in from employees. Some are willing to learn as much as possible, others will look at it as a chore or as something unnecessary for their job. Communication is crucial to convey the positive attributes of internal training and how an employee’s participation in the training will benefit their career path within the organization.

• Key benefits of internal training
• Improved employee performance
• Improved employee satisfaction and morale
• Addressing weaknesses
• Increased productivity and adherence to quality standards
• Increased innovation in new strategies and products
• Reduced employee turnover
• Enhanced company reputation and profile

When it comes to training, companies can think outside the box by promoting expanded skill sets and convenient delivery systems. Data analytics, new technology, presentation skills, public speaking, negotiations, crisis management, other company operations, etc., are all concentrations that increase the value of the employee.

In terms of delivery of training, there are multiple innovative methods that can keep employees engaged:

• eLearning
• Virtual instructor-led classroom
• Webinar
• Job aids
• Infographics

Specific Example: Project Management Training

Project management training can help bring into focus the larger picture of why a company does what it does. It can help to define all the complexities that go into a project and allow employees to better understand the arc of decision making.

Project management training courses provide competitive advantage for the company and the employee, including the development and success of project goals; advanced industry education; effective implementation of essential phases throughout the project’s entirety; and a realistic defining of project duration and budget. Successful development and delivery of training programs also facilitate a structured approach to project delivery and work packages, as well as effective management of changes in project objectives and scope.

Employees are able to apply newly gained knowledge to refresh company policies and procedures around clients, projects, goals, processes, etc. It’s a win-win for the organization and its people.

Additionally, there are opportunities to then dive deeper into the broader scope of project management and how its many facets can be defined for the organization. For example, distinguishing the difference between project management and change management can help to foster integration between the two.

Although project management and change management disciplines are often viewed as separate and unequal components, assimilation between the two is imperative for project success An important first step is to understand the roles of both the project manager and the change manager and where their responsibilities converge and, at times, collide.

• According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), a project manager is accountable for the success or failure of a project. They are responsible for the planning, execution, and close of the project. Further, the project manager must manage teams, ensure progress, and motivate project team members. It’s up to the project manager to make sure that project goals are in alignment with key stakeholders.
• According to Prosci, a change manager facilitates the desired outcome of projects/change initiatives by working with employees. This person focuses on meeting objectives on time and on budget by increasing employee adoption and usage, which could include changes to business processes, systems and technology, job roles, and organizational structures.

Integrated approach ensures project benefits are fully realized by utilizing the strengths of both project management and change management disciplines, including:

• Enhanced employee and leader engagement
• Increased sustainability of the change enterprise-wide
• Realization of your people ROI for the project
• Avoidance of change saturation across an enterprise
• Measurement of an organization’s change tolerance

An organization requires strong project management and change management to reinvent and grow. Both are crucial for the success of an organization. Without strong project management, organizations will not be able to release new products in the market nor bring about internal changes. Without strong change management, organizations cannot survive in the ever-changing competitive business world.

Please check back next week for a look at part 6 of this series where we will discuss how to ‘Optimize, Organize, and Design’.