Funding opportunities

 Did you know that their many opportunities to get funding to complete many training activities for both businesses and individuals in Australia and the different states? I have put together a short summary of the different schemes available that I am happy to send interested people. Just email me at Michael@t3australia.com.au and I’ll send you a copy.

 

Cheers Michael

Why Provide Effective Internal Training?

  Another great article from my coach and mentor Marty Morris. Enjoy!!!!

Cheers Michael

Why Provide Effective Internal Training

Internal training and development leaps the huge barriers that encumber external training. It reflects a solid knowledge of the organization’s culture. Internal training uses real life examples, problems and challenges that participants encounter every day at work. Successful internal training identifies the exact skills and knowledge that participants need to succeed in their jobs. It also prepares employees for success in their next job.

It is presented in the language and terminology that participants understand and can relate to. It develops the skills of employees and cements their own knowledge of the topic. I am sure you are familiar with the old adage that the best way to make sure that an employee thoroughly understands a topic is to have the employee train others.

Internal Training and Training Transfer

Another favourite topic today in training is training transfer, the transferral of the skills learned in training to the actual job employees do. Once again, internal training scores high in this category as it is easier to ensure transfer. But, with the right activities before, during, and after the training, even external training can transfer successfully to the on-the-job world.

Real employee behavioural change, based on the training content, is even harder to demonstrate in most organizations. Discouraging? You bet. So what’s an organization to do to ensure employee training transfer to the workplace?

You can create a training and development support process that will ensure that the employee training you do works. You can make training and development more effective within your organization. These ten suggestions and approaches will make your employee training more effective and transferable; their application will result in measurable differences to your bottom line performance.

 

Creating Training Stickiness Before the Employee Training Sessions

You can do the following in advance of the employee training session to increase the likelihood that the training you do will actually transfer to the workplace.

•Make sure the need is a training and development opportunity. Do thorough needs and skills analysis to determine the real need for employee training and development. Make sure the opportunity you are pursuing or the problem you are solving is a training issue.

If the employee is failing in some aspect of her job, determine whether you have provided the employee with the time and tools needed to perform the job. Does the employee clearly understand what is expected from her on the job? Ask yourself whether the employee has the temperament and talent necessary for her current position; consider whether the job is a good skill, ability, and interest fit?

•Create a context for the employee training and development. Provide information for the employee about why the new skills, skill enhancement, or information is necessary. Make certain the employee understands the link between the training and his job.

You can enhance the impact of the training even further if the employee sees the link between the training and his ability to contribute to the accomplishment of the organization’s business plan and goals.

It’s also important to provide rewards and recognition as a result of successful completion and application of the training. (People like completion certificates, for instance. One company I know lists employee names and completed training sessions in the company newsletter.)

his contextual information will help create an attitude of motivation as the employee attends the training. It will assist the employee to want to look for relevant information to apply after the session.

•Provide training and development that is really relevant to the skill you want the employee to attain or the information he needs to expand his work horizons. You may need to design an employee training session internally if nothing from training providers exactly meets your needs. Or, seek out providers who are willing to customize their offerings to match your specific needs.

It is ineffective to ask an employee to attend a training session on general communication when his immediate need is to learn how to provide feedback in a way that minimizes defensive behaviour. The employee will regard the training session as mostly a waste of time or too basic; his complaints will invalidate potential learning.

Whenever possible, connect the employee training to the employee’s job and work objectives. If you work in an organization that invests in a self-development component in the appraisal process, make sure the connection to the plan is clear.

•Favour employee training and development that has measurable objectives and specified outcomes that will transfer back to the job. Design or obtain employee training that has clearly stated objectives with measurable outcomes. Ascertain that the content leads the employee to attaining the skill or information promised in the objectives.

With this information in hand, the employee knows exactly what he can expect from the training session and is less likely to be disappointed. He will also have ways to apply the training to the accomplishment of real workplace objectives.

•Provide information for the employee about exactly what the training session will involve, prior to the training. Explain what is expected of the employee at the training session. This will help reduce the person’s normal anxiety about trying something new. If she knows what to expect, she can focus on the learning and training transfer rather than her potential discomfort with the unknown.

(When I offer a team building session, as an example, people invariably ask me if they will have to touch each other or “do group hugs.” They don’t, but this really drives home the point for me about letting people know what to expect prior to attending the session.)

•Make clear to the employee that the training is her responsibility and she needs to take the employee training seriously. She is expected to apply herself to the employee training and development process before, during, and after the session. This includes completing pre-training assignments, actively participating in the session, and applying new ideas and skills upon returning to work.

•Make sure that internal or external training providers supply pre-training assignments. Reading or thought-provoking exercises in advance of the session promote thoughtful consideration of the training content. Exercises or self-assessments, provided and scored in advance of the session, save precious training time for interaction and new information. These ideas will engage the employee in thinking about the subject of the session prior to the training day. This supplies important paybacks in terms of his interest, commitment, and involvement.

•Train supervisors and managers either first or simultaneously so they know and understand the skills and information provided in the training session. This will allow the supervisor to: model the appropriate behaviour and learning, provide an environment in which the employee can apply the training, and create the clear expectation that she expects to see different behaviour or thinking as a result of the training. An executive, who has participated in the same training as the rest of the organization, is a powerful role model when he is observed applying the training.

•Train managers and supervisors in their role in the training process. The average supervisor has rarely experienced effective training during his career. Even more rare is the supervisor who has worked in an environment that maximized transfer of training to the actual workplace. Thus it is a mistake to believe that supervisors automatically know what must happen for effective training to take place.

You can coach supervisors about their role. Provide a handy tip sheet that explains in detail the organization’s expectations of the supervisor in support of effective training. At one General Motors location, the education and training staff provided a three-hour class called, The Organization and the Training Process. The session was most effective in communicating roles and responsibilities to supervisory staff.

•Ask supervisors to meet with employees prior to the training session to accomplish all I have recommended in this article. Discuss with the individual what he hopes to learn in the session. Discuss any concerns he may have about applying the training in the work environment. Determine if key learning points are important for the organization in return for the investment of his time in the training. Identify any obstacles the employee may expect to experience as he transfers the training to the workplace.

 

 

 

Friday Funny (well maybe not so funny) - XKCD takes on the real climate threat

Reblogged from Watts Up With That?:

Sobering graphics to scale: ice sheets 21,000 years ago versus today's skylines.

Read more… 63 more words

There are a lot of things to worry about in life. Global warming is not one of them. Imagine when the next Ice Age hits sometime in the next few thousand years if the sequence of Ice Ages continues as in the past. Sobering to see how enormous the North American Ice sheet was about 21,000 years ago. Cheers Michael

Be The Little Fish! (Why It's Good To Be Around People Who Are Better Than You)

Reblogged from Gen Y Girl:

I'm kind of a failure sometimes.

Like today… I wanted to work out.

So I went to CrossFit only to remember that the class I was planning on joining had been changed to an advanced session.

For ADVANCED CrossFit athletes.

No...let me rephrase that.

For ADVANCED ninjas that can somehow lift 300 lbs and make it seem ridiculously easy.

And that's just their warm-up.

Read more… 767 more words

Another excellent piece of advice from the delightful GEN Y GIRL. Cheers Michael

Are business plans obsolete?

Great article by Tony Robbins. In a world that changes faster everyday do we need new planning tools that help us quickly adapt. Enjoy!!!!

Cheers Michael

 

The pace of change has accelerated to the point where a business plan is no longer enough to plot the future of your business with any certainty. Disruptive technologies or unexpected competitors can come along and displace your business overnight. How do you position your business in this hyper-competitive environment?

Different from a business plan, which will likely be obsolete in five years, a business map helps you close the gap between where you are and where you want to be. This is force #1 of the 7 Forces of Business Mastery: Know Where You Really Are and Create an Effective Business Map.

To create an effective business map, first ask yourself “What business am I in?”

And then drill a little deeper. For instance, what business is Starbucks in? Most people would say the coffee business. But ask Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, and he will likely tell you about his trip to Italy, where he saw people eagerly meeting in cafes before and after work. He saw the promise of a transitional meeting place between home and work, and that was the seed that grew into Starbucks. He knew his business was about creating an experience, not just delivering coffee.

The next two questions are: “What business am I really in?” and “How is business?”

How is this useful? Back in the early 1900s, if railroad companies in the U.S. realized that they were really in the transportation business, not the railroad business, they could have prevented the entire industry from going bankrupt as the trucking industry took over.

Having a business map really means framing your business in terms that enable you to see opportunities (and threats) that you might otherwise overlook. Knowing what business you’re really in means having a deep and thorough understanding of your customer and the value they gain from you.

Once you really understand how to consistently offer more value than anyone else in your market, you’re in a better position to identify where you are now, and what it will take to get to where you want to be.

You’ll have more certainty about what your business needs to grow now, and you’ll be better able to steer your organization in accordance with that vision. Most important, you’ll understand what business you need to be in to become the dominant force in your market.

A system of constant strategic innovations is the ultimate advantage.

Apple. Facebook. Tom’s Shoes. What do all of these groundbreaking companies have in common? Learn the secrets behind their effective business maps and the rest of the 7 Forces of Business Mastery.

Choices

Does life happen to you or do you make your life happen?

Joanne our CEO at T3 Australia lent me some wonderful CD’s featuring the Canadian success coach Brian Tracy. Being a big fan of Tony Robbins I really looked forward to listening to Brian as Joanne raved about how good he was.  I must say how impressed I am with the content. While having much in common with Tony’s coaching his no-nonsense style and the clarity with which he explains his ideas and concepts is impressive. Having just completed the drive (again) from Townsville to Brisbane and back some 28 hours of driving, I had plenty of time to listen to Brian’s CD’s.

What struck me is my failure (which I’m sure most of you can relate too) in letting my life drift at times.  You know the feelings. Apathy, procrastination, reaction to the latest crisis to hit your life etc. ,etc..

Brian says quite early in the dialogue “that life is not easy”. He believes accepting this central truth is critical in making things easier for yourself. It helps you to understand that you have two possible ways of conducting your life. You can:

1. Let life happen to you. Accept what comes along as your lot in life. Get up in the morning to do your “groundhog” day and then go to bed. Do this day after day until you either die of illness, boredom or worst.
2. Or you can choose your life. Carefully planning your life with specific goals, aspirations and values that enable you to live a life of comfort, joy and satisfaction.

So what do you do and more importantly what do you want out of your life?

The key word your need in your life is “choice”. You have the power to choose your life in many areas. Here are the top 7 choices that will help in making your life better:

1. Choose to be and to pursue happiness. This is easier said, then done. The key point is happiness is not something that happens to you. It is something that your create inside yourself and feel. It is a choice. One person can see a situation and feel great joy and happiness while another can see it as a disaster and painful. Choose to see the glass as half full. Look for every opportunity to make the pursuit of happiness a priority in your life and your relationships.
2. Choose to be positive. In a world of negativity and influences that promotes the negative side of life you need to choose carefully what you allow yourself to be influenced by. The media, politicians and vested interests have specific objectives to make you feel scared and negative about the world.
3. Choose how you react to situations. Avoid anger. Anger solves nothing and you must recognise that it is a choice to feel this way. Your interpretation of a situation influences how you react. Be more of an observer of situations. Ask better questions like “why is this happening?” or “ is there something else behind this situation?’
4. Choose your friends. Negative people drag you down with them. You will reflect those you hang around with. Smile with smilers, complain with complainers, gossip with gossips, achieve with achievers.
5. Choose to be proactive. Design your life. Have plans and goals. Educate yourself. Leave your crappy employer. Find a more satisfying work situation. Importantly, get rid of any situation that disempowers you and go for the life you want.
6. Choose to procrastinate about procrastination. Tell yourself you don’t have time to procrastinate anymore. There are too many things to do in your new designer life. Opportunities to pursue, troubles and challenges to head off at the pass.
7. Choose to serve and love people. Life is a two way street. What you put in will always come back in equal amounts, no more, no less. Relationships are the most important thing in life whether it is with your partner, children, friends, colleagues or business. Nothing more will make you happy than strong, passionate and interdependent relationships. Nothing.

Choose to stop wishing, complaining and waiting for the next disaster. There are so many resources available to help you start getting what you want out of life. Our organisation is in the happiness business. We strive to help people become something more than they ever imagined.

Do you want to improve your lifestyle, find a new job, be educated, become financially independent and most of all become someone who is happy?

Contact me at Michael@t3australia.com.au to begin your journey today.

I’m back

 Hi everyone,

Posts have been lacking over the last few weeks as I have been away visiting with my parents who are both very ill. Unfortunately my dear father (pictured with my mum)passed away about 2 weeks ago.

Thank you to all the wonderful messages I received during this trying time.

Thanks Michael

Being Human in the Workplace: Why It's Okay To Tell People You Ripped Your Pants

Reblogged from Gen Y Girl:

I have a big problem with the workplace. Well, I have A LOT of problems with the workplace, actually, but this happens to be rather high on my list.

I guess I'm sort of a creeper, to a certain extent, because I observe people all the time. That's my thing.

I watch and I listen and I realize how ridiculously crazy people are most of the time while they're at work.

Read more… 481 more words

Another insightful article from GEN Y girl. Always good value. Cheers Michael

Problem solving

 A wonderful story that a friend sent to me on problem solving. It is an old story but nevertheless demonstrates how thinking outside the box can find an innovative solution.

Cheers Michael

There was a father who left 17 camels as the inheritance for his three sons. When the father passed away, his sons opened up the will.

The Will of the father stated that the eldest son should get half of 17 camels while the middle son should be given 1/3rd (one-third). The youngest son should be given 1/9th (one-ninth) of the 17 camels.

As it is not possible to divide 17 into half or 17 by 3 or 17 by 9, the three sons started to fight with each other.

So, the three sons decided to go to a wise man. The wise man listened patiently about the Will. The wise man, after giving this thought, brought one camel of his own and added the same to 17. That increased the total to 18 camels.

Now, he started reading the deceased father’s will. Half of 18 = 9. So he gave the eldest son 9 camels. 1/3rd of 18 = 6. So he gave the middle son 6 camels 1/9th of 18 = 2. So he gave the youngest son 2 camels.

Now add this up: 9 plus 6 plus 2 is 17, and this leaves one camel, which the wise man took
away.

The attitude of negotiation and problem solving is to find the 18th camel i.e. the common ground. Once a person is able to find the 18th ground the issue is resolved. It is difficult at
times.

However, to reach a solution, the first step is to believe that there is a solution.

If we think that there is no solution, we won’t be able to reach any.

 

 

Climbing to success

 I am in debt to Marty Morris for sharing this wonderful inspirational story.

Cheers Michael

Stop and listen carefully to what some of the people around you are saying.

Many of them express regret because they backed off from their dream of earlier years: a career not pursued, an opportunity left unseized, a relationship allowed to wither and die.

Decades later, they come back to it and think more about it.

But for some, it’s too late. They can’t achieve their dream at any price.

For others, the dream is possible but the price is much higher. In his book,  “Put Your Dream” to the Test Dr. John Maxwell writes: ‘Going after a dream is like climbing a mountain.

We will never make it to the summit if we are carrying too much weight. As we enter each new phase of the climb, we face a decision. Do we take on more things to carry, lay down things that won’t help us climb, exchange what we have for something else, or stop climbing altogether?

Most people try to take too many things with them…when successful people climb, they let go of things or start changing them in order to reach a higher level…The payments required for reaching a dream never stop.

The journey continues only if you keep paying the price. The higher you want to go, the more you must give up.

The greater the price you pay, the greater the joy you feel when you finally reach your dream.

‘ Someone said a task without a vision is drudgery. A vision without a task is daydreaming.

But a task with a vision is the pathway to victory and achievement.