Are Your Employees Too Busy To Learn?

Are you noticing a reluctance from your leaders and managers – and their teams – to take part in training and skills development?

Don’t worry, it is a common problem.

And often, people blame it on being too busy.

A LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report revealed 49 per cent of employees don’t have time to spare on learning.

We get why learning and training can sometimes feel like a burden. Workers typically spend more than two and a half hours a day on email. Then there are phone calls, meetings, interruptions, and basic admin to squeeze into an already packed day.

Where is the time for a training course?

“This is something a lot of companies are experiencing,” Dan Boniface, our head of training, said.

“People are busy, and training can feel like being asked to squeeze something else into their workload.”

So, what’s the solution?

There are many different fixes, including looking to change the organisation’s culture, taking away pressure from line managers to get tasks done, and removing the pressure employees put on themselves by thinking what they are working on now must come first.

It is also crucial people can see how the training will benefit their role.

And, of course ‘I’m too busy’ can be a lie or a convenient excuse – something we will explore in our next blog (so keep your eyes peeled).

But the solution we want to focus on in the blog is called learning at the point of need. What does it mean?

Well, essentially, it is about people having access to easy-to-use learning tools and support they can access to help them overcome the challenges they face now. Like our new learning and management skills and coaching and mentoring online courses.

Dan said: “We operate in a fast-paced world. And people want to learn how to do things better in the moment.

“Online training programmes are great for this because you can dip in and out of them any time you want.

“Let’s say one of your team members becomes a bit demotivated. Or perhaps they are performing well and want to continue progressing their career. You can dip into our online coaching course and remind yourself of the different types of coaching questions and the way to ask them that will help you extract information from them.

“Maybe you are unsure of some of the golden rules around delegation. Dip into our leadership courses and there are sections on time management and delegation.

“You can get the learning at the moment of need. But you can also return to it later in the day, when you are commuting or sat on the sofa, and reinforce the learning.

“With online courses, it can be a two-minute learning opportunity or a 20-minute one. You can make it fit your lifestyle and commitments.”

An NHS Trust that The BCF Group has been working with is already benefiting from this approach.

“We’ve been providing leadership training for their GPs and consultants,” Dan said.

“They don’t have time to leave their work for two days. But they have a need to develop their leadership and management skills.

“Online learning is perfect for them. They can pick it up on their commute, after work or on weekends. They can engage with it as and when they can.”

Will this work for every business?

Dan said: “There are organisations - and people - who prefer face-to-face training and want a two-day course where they can collate as much information as possible.

“But we are also mindful that there are many organisations and employees who just cannot give that time to be away from the business.

“That’s understandable. Having the option to study at your own pace helps overcome that hurdle.

“It also means you don’t have to organise everyone’s diaries to get them in the same place at the same time, if you have a group of people who need training.”

Let’s take a closer look at our new online training courses.

Our online First Line Manager training course has been created to help people make the first steps into management. It is ideal for assistant managers, supervisors, office managers, foremen or shift managers – anyone who has been asked to make the leap from high performer to manager.

Have you got leaders with management responsibilities but no formal training, who are serious about developing their essential skills and abilities? Our online ILM Level 3 Leadership and Management course will help them lead people through organisational change, budget cuts and other pressures. And move up to the next level of management.

Our ILM Level 5 Certificate in Leadership and Management online training is created for senior and middle managers. It will help them develop their skills and experience, improve performance of themselves and the organisation, be able to understand and affect a positive cultural organisation, and innovate and implement change.

And our new online ILM Level 5 certificate in coaching and mentoring course is perfect for those who want to provide coaching - and mentoring - for others. A skilled coach or mentor is increasingly crucial for every organisation as work moves away from command-and-control styles.

For more information on any of these courses, or anything else that we do, get in touch with us by calling 0844 800 3295 or sending us an online contact form.

Related Blog Entries:

• Are Your Leaders Curious? A Crucial Leadership Lesson From Ted Lasso
• Are your leaders creating a culture of toxic positivity?
• How can leaders better navigate difficult conversations?
• How do you manage and coach different personalities?
• The people skills needed by managers and leaders to stay ahead of AI
• Why your leaders should no longer serve up the feedback sandwich