May 16, 2008

“My group will be, at a minimum, 100% certified.”

“And your maximum will be…?”

The times in which we live impose upon us an unprecedented amount of internal training that, however important it may or may not be, gobbles up huge amounts of productivity.  Spreadsheets, online tools, and other tracking mechanisms abound to detail the training completion records of each employee.  Even more prolific are the measures which some people employ to beat the training system.

You are likely very familiar with the training curriculum – ethics, ergonomics, sexual harassment (prevention of), personal wellness, diversity, etc. – in addition to the more individualized courses (anger management) for the chosen few.  You also know the rhythm of the training: annual, semi-annual, or bi-annual.   

In an attempt to balance impending deadlines for internal training requirements with the need to meet quarterly financial targets, a senior executive stood in front of us and suggested that our staffs needed to focus a bit more on the latest round of training.  He fully recognized that completion and certification would be measured by organization.  He also strongly suggested taking a measured approach.  He did not believe that there was time to both meet quarter end goals and complete all the training.  In his view, employees should not be made to feel compelled to drop everything they were doing and spend the next two weeks taking online courses.  His was a very reasonable and practical mind.   

Almost immediately following the executive’s plea for prudence, one of the managers in attendance spoke up, “My group will be, at a minimum, 100% certified.”

And your maximum will be…?” responded the executive.

Without missing a beat and before the now shaken manager could respond, the executive turned to the human resources representative in the room and said, “Let’s add a new course for next year.  We’ll call it ‘Effective Listening’.”

No one in the room missed that message.