Changes in training behaviour
Over the last five years, Cameron has seen several changes in the training landscape, most notably in the increased use of technology in L&D programmes. He notes that the move into e-learning or CBT platforms took shape in early 2000, but has not really progressed at the speed that people were predicting it would at that stage.
Cameron observes, “I still see a growth in the traditional training market which is the fastest part of our business in terms of growth: 100% per annum.” He adds that much of the training has been with existing clients for global-affiliate training, and that during the global financial crisis, there was a dip in demand for training, but more recently demand has started to increase again.
As a result of the rise in e-learning and blended learning platforms, Cameron has seen a significant decline in the demand for traditional face-to-face classroom instruction over the last decade. “The drop in demand was very noticeable in 2000. We had a major UK client in that year, and tried to get them to sign a six-year contract, and they refused saying there would be no such thing as instructor lead training after two years.” The client, like many others at that time, was investing their entire training budget on computer-based training.
Cameron explains that Cliftons then went to great lengths to research where the training market was, and where it was likely to go in the future. The net result of all of this research was to identify one-on-one communication as the most important aspect in training. Cameron believes, “As long as humans are humans and value face-to-face interactions, we are still going to see instructor-led courses. I think we will see more convergence with technology like the new electronic voting systems, and I see technology getting easier to use and more complementary with the training courses.”
Gen-Y and L&D
The first Gen-Y instructors will soon come into the L&D arena, and Cameron believes this will make quite a bit of a difference with them ‘owning’ this sort of environment in the future. As 50% of his company’s business is computer-based, Cameron predicts that training programmes will see fewer desktops being deployed in future, in favour of ‘blade’ or rack unit (RU) related products. The convergence of all of these different technologies will save training costs in the long run.
Variations in L&D needs around the world
L&D requirements are very similar around the world, in terms of computerisation platforms and room set-ups. The demand varies slightly from country to country, and Cameron confessed, “This is a sad indictment upon my country of origin, but it’s very difficult to get an Australian to come to an after-hours course, whereas in Asia we are actually busier in the after-hours section. Training is highly valued in Asia and people will come to classes.” In contrast, in New Zealand, he reported that companies tend to have a ‘do-it-yourself’ mentality, and would tend to favour setting up the boardroom as a training venue, before considering outsourcing—efficient and more homely, but not as professional.
Effectiveness of different communication methods
A research project run by the Australian Graduate School of Management looked at the cost and value of a whole matrix of different communication and training styles. One-on-one communications were found to be the most effective method and moderately capital intensive, while items such as general e-mails were the least expensive method, but were also the least effective. Taking HR Magazine’s one-on-one interview with him as an example to illustrate the point, Cameron noted, “This would be very expensive. There are only two of us using 100% of both of our time, there’s travel time involved, we’re taking up the conference room etc. All of these sorts of things add up—but this method is the highest value in terms of communication effectiveness. You’ve cut through all the nonsense, you’ve got to me directly, we’re talking, good eye contact, and 55% of the non-verbal communication isn’t being lost down the phone line.”
This concept is taught to staff at in-house workshops, where staff are encouraged to discuss different types of communication and fit them into a matrix to demonstrate which methods bring the greatest communication value.
Making training more interactive
Cameron states that his organisation is investing heavily in the use of technology at his training venues, which feature a ‘solution room’ that showcases current technologies and the latest tech gadgets that trainers can deploy to help make their L&D session more interactive. One such tech gadget at trainers’ disposal is Qwizdom. This enables them to go through a series of questions within a PowerPoint Presentation and let all the members of the audience answer questions posed simply by pressing the relevant buttons on a hand-held unit.
This not only makes the whole presentation more interactive, but also increases the comprehension level of the audience with immediate feedback rather than just leaving interaction to the usual end-of-presentation Q&A session. At conferences, the system also allows for instant retrieval of survey results, which can be collected anonymously, and viewed in real-time by the audience as the figures come in.
Cameron advises trainers that if they are thinking about being more proactive and moving to things like voting systems, then it is also essential to give clear instructions of how these devices work to the audience.
Cameron also advises using the right technology to meet the requirements of the course. “We’ve all seen instructors fumbling through things at the start of a training course because they haven’t properly thought out what they are going to do—and that goes for instructors from big organisations as well as the smaller ones.” In terms of technology, Cameron explains that it is often the simple things that instructors forget, related to the effective delivery of their course, such as whiteboards and projectors. He adds, “Preparing professionally makes big differences to courses.”
Cameron is also a keen proponent of controlling the use of people’s mobile phones during training courses, which at the end of the day, is down to each instructor and how strongly they are at leading the group. He shares the story of an American instructor who made everyone put their phones in a bucket that he carried around the training room.
Out-of-office training formats
Getting staff offsite and into a new environment is a very effective way of injecting life into L&D programmes. And at Cliftons every year they get staff together globally by flying them to one of their venues around the world. Even when the event is held in Hong Kong Cameron explains that staff are still sent offsite. A couple of years ago staff were sent to Lantau Island and engaged in a three-day training exercise comprising two days of formal education and one day of adventure bonding exercises. Outdoor adventures have ranged from quad bike riding and bungee jumping in New Zealand, to canyoning in Hong Kong. For those who haven’t been on an Outward Bound style adventure, canyoning involves a combination of walking/jumping/scrambling up and down boulders, climbing up and abseiling down steep rock faces, and sometimes a bit of wading/swimming thrown in for good measure. Cameron explains, “We also do tamer things too—like visiting the Night Zoo in Singapore.”
Benefits to staff of external training
Cameron explains that staff not only get ‘training’ by attending external courses, but that they also get kudos and the opportunity to forge new contacts as they develop and network. With Gen-Y coming through, he anticipates their demands of training will be higher than in any other generation. He feels that they still value the traditional classroom and facilitator-led training programme. But they love their technology and are more comfortable with their toys than Gen-X.
L&D at Cliftons
Cliftons operates training centres in ten countries globally—and Cameron foresees the next main expansion in North Asia. In 2010 the company won the Learnx Award for best training venue, and it’s easy to see why—when the management is so committed to providing quality training opportunities in the latest training environs for its own staff. In terms of in-house T&D programmes, as Cameron puts it, “I think we really live it—from my point of view we can’t afford not to.”
The organisation runs two major conferences a year in January and July for the operations and sales leads in different Cliftons’ venues around the world. The company also runs annual training events for both technical, and operations and sales staff. On top of this there is also ad hoc sales training, with the Hong Kong and Singapore venues recently sending staff on consultative sales selling methodology training programmes, which Cameron is quick to point out has a very clear ROI.
In Cameron’s view the main purpose of training is to help facilitate better staff retention and development. During the financial downturn he witnessed a general dip in training being carried out at his venues, with many companies of the mentality that if you don’t need to retain people—because you are either shedding or there’s a very valuable, highly skilled market pool out there—then you don’t need to train. Following that dip, he now observes that training programmes are coming back with a vengeance and Cliftons is actually building more facilities as their existing ones reach capacity.
The organisation also runs a ‘levy scheme’ where they allocate around HK$10,000 per staff member and say to them, “That’s yours to spend on a course which you feel will benefit us and you.” The course selected does not have to be purely vocational, and could, for example, be a work-life balance type study.
Most staff select courses such as: finance for non-financial managers, sales management, and technical programmes. Cameron points out that sales management is one of the most popular courses as it provides a stepping-stone from a sales position to a sales manager position.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
