Photo by: Dmitriy Adamenko via Unsplash
I attended a wedding just over a week ago. I just LOVE weddings! They are filled with so much positive energy and excitement. To be in the presence of true love, real joy, and a shared promise for the future. Yes, I’m a hopeless romantic. That’s probably why I’ve seen every season of the Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise, but I digress.
Now, let’s also get real. Weddings can be incredibly stressful. In addition to months of planning, there are so many unknowns. What will life be like day-to-day? This is a major life change, filled with concerns, questions, and anxieties.
It got me thinking about what happens when we ask our learners to try something new. Sure, they may be excited, but they probably have concerns, questions, and anxieties as well. So, what can we do for our learners? How can we help them manage these feelings?
In our Certified Training Manager/Director program, we discuss how to transition into a performance consulting role, versus a training role. Clearly this would be a major change for your trainers and they would likely have concerns.
Here are seven tips to help manage change effectively:
1. Review the differences between the role of a trainer versus a performance consultant. Provide clarity on what their new role will be, listing tasks and setting milestones. Essentially, give them the standard for expected performance.
2. Identify the staff members who will initiate the transition based on their competency assessment. This ensures they have the capacity to take on the new role.
3. Provide your staff with incentive/motivation to want to make the transition from trainers to performance consultants. Share how the organization will benefit and how they will benefit personally. Set goals and develop rewards when they are achieved.
4. Allocate a specific amount of time per week for performance consulting tasks and stick to it. Make the time-frame flexible to allow for their learning curve. Give them the required conditions to make the transition.
5. Explain how feedback will be given to assist in ongoing professional development in their new role. Provide clear indicators of what you expect to see for success or for areas where improvement is needed.
6. Determine how success will be measured and measure your staff accordingly. Measurements could include items such as percentage of time spent designing non-training solutions or percentage of time spent collaborating with other departments.
7. Teach your staff how to create non-training solutions. Provide training to teach staff the skills/knowledge required to be a performance consultant. Pair inexperienced consultants with more experienced ones who can show them the ropes. Ask them to read books, professional magazines, or journals specializing in performance consulting.
Keep in mind, these seven tips can be tweaked to fit any scenario. I even tailored it back to our future bride and groom. Well, really, the groom—the bride is perfect!
1. Husband is expected to cook three delicious vegan meals each week as the new standard.
2. Husband has the capacity i.e. the physical and/or mental ability to perform the task.
3. Husband will receive affection and appreciation as his incentive/motivation when meals are completed according to standard.
4. Husband will be given the appropriate conditions such as a Vita Mix, Instant Pot, shopping list, and extra time to prepare and cook meals.
5. Husband will be given feedback, upon completion of each meal, about what was cooked well and where there are opportunities for improvement.
6. Husband will be measured, upon completion of each meal, with an evaluation form using scores ranging from 1-10. Anything below an 8 is unacceptable and requires a follow up discussion with coaching opportunities.
7. Husband will acquire the skills and knowledge by taking a cooking course. He will also get cookbooks and recipes of the bride’s favorite foods.
Well, there you have it. Seven principles that can be applied to any change management initiative. What strategy have you used to help manage change effectively? I can’t wait to hear from you. By the way, I’m thinking the seven tips would make an excellent wedding gift for the groom. Wouldn’t you all agree?