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 Frog Fact... A frog can jump more than 20 times its own body length.

A frog can jump more than 20 times its own body length (though admittedly not this fella – he has trouble getting off the ground). That is some serious leverage. It’s an outstanding performance.

But it is amazing what we can achieve when we have the right mechanism in place.

4000 years ago, using tools that we consider primitive, the ancient Egyptians managed to carve, transport and position blocks of up to 80 tonnes, to build the pyramids, the Sphinx and vast structures that blow our minds to this day. 5000 years ago, the ancient Celts constructed monumental stone circles, with stones weighing up to 30 tonnes, that were transported from hundreds of miles away. Throughout the Middle Ages, with wooden ladders and simple iron tools, builders across Europe built enormous cathedrals that dominate the landscape to this day. 

For many of us, it is too much to comprehend, and we find ourselves contemplating the single, simple question: How?  But the fact is, with the right mechanism in place, the seemingly impossible can be achieved.  Indeed, did you know that you can lift the Empire State Building with the weight of a notebook?
 

The world of corporate training is full of seeming impossibilities: 

• How do we stay compliant, when the costs of delivering compliance training to all of our staff make it unworkable? 
• How do we give opportunities to staff, for personal and professional development, when they have such busy schedules? 
• How can we track the overall growth and wellbeing of all our staff, when they are spread across different teams, and even regions? 
• How do we provide a rich programme of mandatory and optional training, for all staff, when our L&D team is so small? 
• How can we put training and development at the heart of organisational culture, when our training budget is so limited? 
• How do we manage staff inductions in such a way that every new staff member gets the right start and can hit the ground running - when they are all so different? 
• How can we be sure that temporary and voluntary staff are compliant, proficient and understand our values, when there just isn’t enough time to go around?
   

It is a headache for any HR team. Meeting all of these needs, frankly, must seem about as impossible as lifting the Empire State Building with the weight of a notebook. Or as improbable as a Frog jumping more than twenty times its own body length.
 

But it can be done.

It just needs the right mechanisms in place. Let’s look deeper into some of these impossibilities…

How do we stay compliant, when the costs of delivering compliance training to all of our staff make it unworkable?

Compliance is high on everyone’s agenda.  These days, more than ever, it is a serious business.  And if you get it wrong, it can be eye-wateringly expensive. But delivering compliance training to your staff – and making sure that the training reflects your organisation and working practises – can be logistically and financially unworkable.

The LD team at Wessex Water overcame this by using a digital platform that allowed them to deliver and track bespoke training, to all staff – whether office-based or out in the field.
 

Read Case Study

How do we give opportunities to staff, for personal and professional development, when they have such busy schedules? 

We know that the personal and professional development of our staff is good for the health of our organisation. It makes us efficient and competitive, creates a positive organisational culture and helps in the recruitment and retention of people.
 

It is a fact of working life these days, that there is limited time left over for personal and professional growth. Studies have shown it to be around 2-3% of a working year.  For the overall health of our organisation, we need to make this small amount of time count – and a blended learning approach can really help. Using online learning intelligently in conjunction with face-to-face training is a great way to maximise this time while delivering quality training for all staff.

How can we track the overall growth and wellbeing of all our staff, when they are spread across different teams, and even regions? 

With larger organisations, there are forces at work that make it hard to keep on top of staff training.  While remote working has taken on new significance in recent times, for many organisations it is nothing new.  Retail organisations often have to oversee a national or even global staff.  Organisations dealing in areas such as logistics, engineering, utilities and construction have long had to cater for a population of remote and field workers.  Charity and third-sector organisations manage volunteers and a myriad of associated challenges.

Putting the right mechanisms in place to deliver information and training (like the National Counter Terrorism Security Office did when they trained frontline workers in public arenas across the UK) not only overcomes the impossibilities but benefits the organisation and its people with useful transparency and tracking.

How do we provide a rich programme of training, for all staff, when our L&D team is so small?

L&D professionals are some of the most creative people around! In the old days, that creativity was channelled into great training programmes and engaging delivery. Whether giving 1:1 training or coaching or bringing large audiences into a “classroom” to learn, the L&D professional knew how to maximise impact. They were very much the ‘frog jumping more than twenty times its body length’, as they pushed the boundaries of their learners and imparted great wisdom!
 

With large and often remote working populations, the creativity of L&D professionals is often translated into the online delivery of training. But as any innovative creative soul will tell you, this just enlarges their canvas. With the judicious use of digital technology, training professionals can now benefit MORE people, with MORE training and even MORE opportunity for personalised learning approaches. 

You really can lift the Empire State Building with the weight of a notebook!

How can we put training and development at the heart of organisational culture, when our training budget is so limited?

So many obstacles in the way of us training and developing our staff!  A lack of staff time is a very real problem. And then we have the (always very limited!) training budget…

Using a digital platform will let you build efficiencies into your training programme. Multiple people can access the training now and into the future – forever and a day.  This leaves you free to create more and more training opportunities – all of which can be accessed by multiple people, now and into the future, forever and day.  Online training is cost effective, will support your limited training budget, while delivering great results.

How do we manage staff inductions in such a way that every new staff member gets the right start and can hit the ground running - when they are all so different?

Staff inductions are so important, to get new members of our team orientated and up to speed.  They are essential to company standards and culture; and vital for the wellbeing of any new starter.  But they take time.  They are repetitive.  And for large organisations – and particularly those dealing with temporary and voluntary staff – they can be a drain on resources.

Many organisations have discovered that by “flipping” inductions – and delivering much of the induction online – new staff onboarding can be more efficient, enjoyable and valuable for everyone.  By allowing the new starter to do certain aspects of their induction online, as part of a clear induction process, organisations can save their HR team valuable time, while ensuring that the new starter is fully supported.  The time saved can be used to help each new starter with their individual questions and issues.

How can we be sure that temporary and voluntary staff are compliant, proficient and understand our values, when there just isn’t enough time to go around?

Of course, in an ideal world your HR team would spend as much time as was needed, with every individual across the organisation.  This would be the ideal scenario, to ensure compliance, wellbeing and competency in every member of your team.

But that is impossible.

However, we know that with the right mechanism in place, the seemingly impossible can be achieved.  The pyramids are there for everyone see.

With the right online platform, you can deliver training at scale – whether this is to support compliance, role competency, personal development or organisational values.  It doesn’t matter how large, transient or widely-spread the people of your organisation are.  With the right mechanism in place – with a good online training platform – you can manage their development effectively.