Surrey business consultancy pioneers workplace learning
Everyone in the office is busy, heads are down. Who could be spared for a three day management training course miles away?
Surrey based consultancy, The Learning Corporation, is pioneering a new technique which could be an attractive opportunity for organisations of all sizes. It is based on its proven learning programme, Seven Ways to Survive, Succeed and Win.
Like all the best ideas, it is beautifully simple: All you need is a telephone.
Learning by phone is well understood in the United States where it is extensively used for training but it is a new concept in Europe and could get confused with conference calls and help lines.
So how does learning by phone actually work?
Sessions lasting 55 minutes are scheduled for specific times and dates. People sign up for the classes, put the dates in their diaries and just phone up a number from their desks. They can still join the class if they are working at home or in the office. They just need to be in a quiet space with access to a phone.
Classes of 18 to 20 people are led by a facilitator. The classes can either be for managers in a large company who are scattered around the world or open to managers from different organisations. The learning in the virtual classroom is thoughtfully structured and involves the participation of everyone in the class. People spark off each other’s ideas, and the learning objectives are very focussed. At the end of each session the facilitator reviews what has been learned and might set an assignment to be completed before the next session.
Business benefits
Staff do not have to take time off from the office to travel to the class, eliminating extra costs such
as travel and accommodation. This brings costs down from, for example, £900 plus for a three day residential course, to around £60 per session.A 55 minute class does not have a serious impact on a day’s work output.
This focussed investment in staff development encourages commitment and loyalty to their organisation.
Lifelong learning is a nationally recognised priority and learning by phone increases access to workplace learning.
Staff Benefits
Better focus on the learning process. No distractions caused by travel delays, waiting for late arrivals or worrying about the day job.
Being able to fit classes around work and complete assignments without pressure.
More affordable opportunities to learn.
Ray Lamb of The Learning Corporation says the key here is flexibility. Courses can use a variety of learning techniques to suit client needs. This can involve a mix of both real workshops and virtual classrooms. “Most people who have never done a teleclass before are amazed at how powerful the learning is and the business community has not yet woken up to its potential,” he says.
“Learning by phone is a viable and effective option for business people. They can acquire effective management skills over the phone whilst sitting at their desks. Our learning techniques allow people to figure things out together, encouraging collaborative learning and working and that has a high value for me and them. Classes can be backed up with email support, worksheets and other material. Big corporates with a whole division dealing with staff training and development will also find that learning by phone is an attractive addition to their range of learning methods.
“Learning by phone allows smaller businesses to invest in their people through high impact, low cost learning and that has to be a good thing.”