There are a few simple strategies you can use to
build strong partnerships within your
organization.
Seek to be an integral part of every
functional area.
Every functional area your training department
supports has its own set of business processes. We want our
partners to view us as an essential resource so that we are invited
to be a principal contributor during strategic and tactical
discussions. In other words we want to be seen as an integral part
of our partners success. Two functional area business processes
that stand out as prime candidates for our involvement are
strategic planning and project development. Strategic planning
varies greatly from one organization to the next; however, every
functional area needs to set goals, lay out projects, and determine
priorities.
We can contribute to strategic planning
discussions in two main ways. First, when we have strong
relationships with our partners, we can act as trusted, unbiased
facilitators who lead the process and ensure that input from all
the stakeholders is heard and taken into account. Second, we can
articulate learning, performance, and communication activities to
support the functional areas strategic plan. Why wait until a
functional area comes to us for help? By that time it is frequently
too late, and we may have lost the opportunity to understand the
context of the challenges the area is facing. Our solutions will
inevitably be more effective when we have more time, more
information, and more influence.
Project planning is another opportunity for
training and development. Every project in a functional area can be
analyzed in terms of what role learning can play. If your
organization has some sort of project management office and its
project planning document template has a section dedicated to
learning, dont make the mistake of assuming that section will act
as a catalyst for functional areas and training to develop strong
partnerships. Its a start and it certainly helps, but its not
enough. The goal is to have functional areas turn to training staff
during the initial phases of their projects to ask for assistance
with articulating a strategy for weaving learning into all areas of
the project plan.
Our training and development mission of providing
learning and performance solutions can be best accomplished when we
are actively engaged by every functional area we support. We need
their confidence. When we are perceived as an integral part of a
functional area we cease to be a nice-to-have resource and become a
must-have resource. When we are embraced as full-fledged partners
our contributions are an indispensable part of how work is done.
We must do everything we possibly can to get to this
position.
Be proactive.
One of the fastest ways to eventually becoming an
integral part of every functional area is to be proactive. Why wait
for a request? Given your organization, how can you go out of your
way to discover what people need? Simple gestures go a long way.
For example, ask to be invited to some functional area meetings.
Then go and listen. Absorb everything you can. This is usually not
the time to offer ideas, but you will gain a wealth of insights.
Use these to go back to key stakeholders in the functional area to
ask further questions. The goal is to jump-start a dialogue and not
to spout off ready-made solutions even if you have
them.
Another good way to tactically execute the be
proactive strategy is to spend more time conversing with people
from the functional area. This seems like common sense, but ask
yourself, when was the last time you planned and budgeted time in
your schedule just to mingle with your customers with no other
goal in mind than to invest in relationships?
Being proactive takes imagination. Stop, think,
and then act. Reflect on the current state of affairs of each
customer. As you gather information stay abreast of developments in
each functional area so that you can anticipate what will be
needed. As training and development professionals we are like
waiters in a first-class restaurant where every need is met before
customers even realize they had it. As at a restaurant, when this
is done well our customers will be unaware of our presence and the
positive impact we are having on their work.
Reduce administration.
No one likes bureaucracy, but administration is
necessary. There are certain things we need to do to manage and
track our work; there really is no getting around it. However, how
much do we really need? Can we streamline the ways our customers
interface with us? And what can we do to reduce the amount of time
and effort we spend on keeping our training and development shop
running?
Learning management systems and other self-service
systems have helped us automate some of the more routine but
essential aspects of training and development. Although these are a
step in the right direction, they are not enough. We need to do
everything in our power to spend as little time on these things as
we can. Administration shelters us from doing the real work of
getting our hands messy in the unpredictable, unstable work of
supporting our partners. When given the choice between uncertainty
and predictability, theres no shame in admitting you favor work
youve done before and know how to do. Its just not the principal
way that training and development adds value.
A certain percentage of our time is already
occupied by organization-wide business processes that we cannot
control. Therefore we should scrutinize every procedure, meeting,
form, process, report, and tool that we institutionalize in
training and development. Perform regular audits of these, and ask
each department member to offer feedback on which ones might be
eliminated or simplified. Recognize that the need for such
processes changes over time. We all can do a much better job of
purging the clutter of administrative tasks by getting rid of the
ones that have out-lasted their usefulness.
Streamline standard
offerings.
In many organizations training and development
provides a core of standard offerings. Although these courses may
be necessary, they are only a small part of the value we can bring
to the organization. We need to evaluate what percentage of our
time is spent in these routine activities. Each training department
will need to take into account the size of its organization, number
of its employees, its industry, culture, and a host of other
factors. Suffice it to say, whatever percentage of time we spend on
these activities, it should not get in the way of our being
proactive, integral partners offering just-in-time learning and
performance solutions to our customers.
Start by working with your partners to assess how
many of these standard offerings are really necessary. How much
does each one cost? How do your partners prioritize these
offerings? Are there any trends or seasonal demands for these
courses? Are there any other ways of delivering the learning and
information contained in them (and Im not talking just about
turning them into e-learning courses)? Can you use outside vendors?
Answer these types of questions with input from your partners. Our
time is best used creating learning, performance, and
communication solutions tied to our partners organizational
objectives and real-time needs. Minimize broad-stroke,
cookie-cutter course offerings wherever
possible.
Get to the executive
table.
Executive-level support of training and
development facilitates our ability to effectively partner with our
customers. Its important to build relationships at all levels, but
the endorsement and commitment of executive-level management in
particular makes our job easier. Although executive-level support
is not enough in itself to build partnerships, it will open doors.
New partners are far more likely to try working with us if we have
strong, vocal allies in high places. If we do not already have
their support, we will need a combination of tenacity, patience,
and entrepreneurial spirit to acquire it. Start by identifying
highly visible, large-scale projects where training and development
does not already have a role. Do your homework. Use whatever lines
of communication are appropriate in your organization to offer
concrete ideas about the ways training will help the project
succeed. Work out your plan ahead of time, and get key people
involved in the project to be your sponsors.
Another path to the executive table is through
others. Lots of little successes with our strong partners will
generate goodwill and positive word of mouth throughout the
organization. When influencing executive-level people you do not
need to be your own spokesperson. Oftentimes its more effective to
have others be your advocate. Remember, no matter how earnest and
well intentioned your efforts may be and no matter how brilliant
your plan, there are no guarantees that you will get executives
attention. Stay the course. Eventually, with some persistence and
luck, you will earn your rightful place at the executive
table.
Note: This article excerpted from
Building Business Acumen for Trainers: Skills to Empower the
Learning Function and is used with permission by the
Publisher, Copyright 2006 John Wiley & Sons.