Training programs - Keys to success

At the weekend I went to the reunion of a company I worked with long ago. It was one of the first big projects I ran for a client.

In those days we called it Total Quality Management (TQM). TQM predates and led to Six Sigma.

The goal of the project was mainly to stay in business.

What the project achieved

We succeeded. In fact, while all their competitors laid staff off and lost business, my client increased their market share. One of the most pleasing results was that, whilst increasing sales, they reduced the level of complaints by 50%.

How the results were achieved
Looking back there were two distinguishing features of that project.

Everyone was involved

One of the key steps that Barry, the MD of the company, insisted on was that everyone was involved. And he really did mean everyone.

We ran a series of workshops and a director attended each one. The people were mixed up so that there were representatives from each department and each level in every group.

This alone led to improved understanding in the company.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen this done so well in any other client. It wasn’t just lip service. They were there in person.

Personal introduction

The other key aspect was that Barry himself introduced the project. He introduced the start of each series of workshops and he himself attended in one of the groups and certainly contributed a great deal to it.

The difference

It wasn’t always easy, but his personal approach meant that the project was championed right at the top, people knew he really meant it and things happened quickly.

Excuses

Since then I have heard many excuses from senior people as to why they can’t attend workshops like this. Often the HR people have said it’s not even worth asking them. And I’m sure they think they have much more important things to do.

I’m not sure that’s true.