The Most Effective Employee Training Can Be Self-Awareness, Not Just New Theory & Models

I recently worked with a service company that wanted me to spend many hours training their managers. They called me because there were a high number of grievances and increased absenteeism. They pointed the finger at difficult staff members and wanted they fixed.

This service company was a union environment so it was more efficient and less intrusive to observe the workplace instead of conducting interviews. After my assessment and investigation, the problem was a disconnect between staff and supervisors. I witnessed a management group that was efficient at giving orders but lost effectiveness because they were not very personable or understanding in their supervision.

What I mean is there was a tendency to treat staff like robots. The instructions were crisp and clear but when spoken, there was no eye contact or and the voice was rather monotone. When questions were asked or clarification requested, there was an obvious annoyance and replies came with a sharpness and shortness.

Staff members responded to this type of communication as disrespectful, lacking in leadership and just not helpful. When employees experience this type of interaction and feel subordinate, then there is no loyalty to the supervisor or the company and they don’t need to show up to be treated this way.

Our management training focused on strategies to connect with their staff. We included communication skills such as eye contact, listening (aka be quiet) and providing clarity. These topics of training don’t sound like much, but they are the things we don’t think about yet just “do” . . . almost like habits or reflexes.Learning can be more about awareness of our self than learning models, theories or completely new methods. Sometimes it is just changing “how” we do things for better effectiveness and impact.

What are your habits and tendencies? Are they helpful or do they get in the way?

If you are looking for ways to help your employees improve their awareness to increase collaboration, culture and productivity then contact us at pam@thepossibilities.ca or 604-349-8660 to schedule a change strategy session. Do you want to make sure you have great bosses to implement these ideas? Check out our Building Better Bosses Program.