Judi Clements Training & Development

2010 will continue to revolutionize training.  More and more organizations will turn to computer-based training (CBT) to round out both staff and management development programs.  Classroom training and on-the-job training will continue to thrive in combination with CBT.

The struggling economy will inspire organizations to offer a variety of management and personal development topics.  Managers will need training in how to motivate and inspire employees who are dealing with wage freezes and benefit scale backs.   Talent retention and succession planning will top the list of senior management offerings.  Senior management will need to learn how to use non-monetary methods for keeping top talent in a down economy.  They will no longer be able to ignore their best people without risking alienation, disengagement, and defection.

Today’s managers will need to develop better skills for communicating to their staff in a time of belt tightening.  They will have to know how to offer honest communication in a timely manner so that the rumor-mill doesn’t take over and poison the environment.

Management and front line staff will look for more personal development training options for dealing with the tight economy.  Programs in “Managing Everyday Pressure at Work” will replace the standard “Stress  Management” classes to help employees avoid negative self-fulfilling prophecies and learn now to “pressure proof” themselves to achieve and sustain a healthy, balanced lifestyle at work and at home.

Communication skills training will continue to be the #1 “soft-skills” training request.  As social media, the Internet, and other electronic resources erode face-to-face contact, employees will become less and less proficient in both written and verbal communication skills.  Workplaces will be forced to make up for this deficit by offering more basic skills programs in business writing, presentation, and interpersonal communication.

In the area of interpersonal communication, one of the most urgent topics will continue to be “Cross-Generational Understanding.”   With four different generations working side by side (partly because the Traditionalists and Baby Boomers are staying in the workplace longer due to the poor economy) conflict will inevitably arise.  Without the proper training, generational misunderstanding can undermine productivity.  

Cross-generational training teaches everyone to recognize, respect, and work with differences without casting judgments.
Professional appearance and attitude will be another topic of interest in 2010.  As the workplace has become more casual, some employees have started to blur the line between casual and sloppy.  Hygiene concerns have also arisen in this climate.   Although today’s trainers won’t be teaching “Dress for Success,” they will be conducting workshops that help employees distinguish what constitutes appropriate workplace dress and behavior.

Beyond behavior, more organizations will be offering classes in “Civility in the Workplace.”   Once thought a parental responsibility, organizations now realize that a baseline for civility needs to be established through workplace policies and training.  More employees will be attending classes to help them learn basic listening and speaking skills that set a respectful tone in the workplace.

The civility topic will also spill into many organizations’ customer service training.  With stiff competition for the consumer’s precious dollars, organizations will have to distinguish themselves by offering outstanding customer service.   Customer service is the single most important issue affecting organizational survival.   Today’s Internet-based generation will need training in respectful communication, how to deal with difficult customers, and how to stay cool and collected when under customer attack.

With social media becoming an ever increasing mainstay, organizations will need to address it, both from a policy and training perspective.  Organizations will have to focus on how to use social media to strengthen their employee community.  They will have to develop social media guidelines, build online employee communities, create cross-functional teams, , identify people & skills to manage social sites, and devise metrics to assess impact on the bottom line.

2010 will be an exciting and challenging year in the training and development community. Leading edge organizations will stay ahead by addressing these topics, and more, in a proactive way.