Genuine collaboration is an environment that promotes communication, learning, maximum contribution and innovation.Jane Ripley
In this topic, you will learn to support others to achieve a greater skill set, leading to benefits for both the business and the individual. This topic will give you the skills to draft training and development plans that are structured appropriately and meet the organisations, individuals and groups' needs.
By the end of this topic, you will understand:
- how to collaborate on learning plans
- how to use facilitation techniques to support learning and development
- how to prepare and develop learning plans for groups and individuals.
Workplace learning is vital to an organisation's success. Leadership involves ensuring there are policies and procedures in place to collaborate with the team on best meeting the needs of the group and individual.
Well-facilitated workplace learning can significantly improve individual and team effectiveness and, ultimately, the organisation. Developing good facilitation skills can enhance practices in many aspects of day-to-day work.
It involves:
- collaboratively developing learning plans to match the skill needs of individuals
- matching the skill needs of individuals to the competency standards relevant to the industry
- ensuring learning delivery methods are appropriate to the participants.
Questions to support collaboration
Discussions with the individual should identify their learning goals. It would be helpful to have a clear idea of roles and ways of working. Questions need to be clear and focused on their work competencies. Examples of important key questions are below.
"What areas of your role do you need more practice in?"
"Tell me three skills that you have which you feel confident about."
"Apart from these three skills, what other skills do you think you might need for your new role?"
"Which parts of your new role do you plan to focus on?"
A good leader will use facilitation techniques to support the team's growth and improvement.
This will include techniques such as:
- involving team members in planning, decision making and processes
- ensuring team members agree to their learning plans
- understanding and acknowledging different learning styles during sessions
- treating people with fairness, inclusivity and as individuals
- maintaining confidentiality
- being flexible and approachable to other ideas
- role modelling policies in practice
- using clear professional communication
- using active listening and questioning techniques.
Communicating effectively to develop learning plans
When collaborating with others, specific skills are needed to benefit from meetings and discussions. A good leader will be able to use practical communication skills to help identify learning needs and develop learning plans that are relevant to the participants.
Following are some communication techniques to consider.
Using appropriate vocabulary to establish a supportive learning environment
Use communication skills to:
- build rapport
- listen and question to confirm others' understanding
- use positive verbal and nonverbal language.
“Is it correct that you feel you need more help with the booking system?”
“What kind of support from your team would make your role more effective?”
“I agree, that is a great way to support the team; I wonder what else could be done. Do you have any more thoughts on that?”
“So, you enjoy your role's creative side, and I see you are good at this. What areas in your role could you add more of your creative skills?”
Encourage self-evaluation
You can encourage individuals to identify areas of improvement by:
- provide appropriate assistance, advice and encouragement
- facilitating the individual to find their own solutions to problems
- commenting on the individual's performance and providing encouraging feedback and positive reinforcement.
"I agree; you seem to have a good handle on the booking system. What do you think are your strengths in this area?"
“I understand. That does sound tricky. Let’s see if we can develop some solutions to make that easier. What do you think?”
“There are a few ways we could tackle that. What do you think of these ideas….?”
“Can you think of some techniques you could use to solve that issue?”
Provide mentoring assistance to an individual to facilitate their achievements within their team
- Discuss how the individual feels they are progressing with the tasks so far, how they can improve, and what they find easy and difficult.
- Provide constructive feedback and advice.
- Utilise negotiation skills to achieve agreeable outcomes, including facilitating mediation to resolve any potential issues amongst the team
- Share your knowledge willingly and encourage team members to seek help from you when they need it.
- Build rapport with each individual and support effective working relationships within the team.
“You have been going well with your role so far. I have heard great feedback. How do you feel you are doing?”
“There are courses you can do to strengthen that skill. Would you like to see what is on offer to see if anything is suitable for you?”
“When I had that task, I did it this way and used this technique. Would you like to try these ideas?”
Use listening and questioning techniques to confirm understanding of different perspectives
This includes:
- active listening techniques – paraphrasing, verbalising emotions, summarising
- clarify understanding – for example, "If I understand you correctly…."
- ask open-ended questions – open-ended questions are questions that require more than "Yes" or "No", for example, "What do you consider to be your biggest strengths and weaknesses?" or "What did you learn from your previous job experiences?"
- positive verbal language – speak clearly and directly to others, rather than mumbling, speak loud enough to be heard, but not so loud that you seem arrogant, and use humour when appropriate
- positive body language – nonverbal language includes nodding, looking someone in the eye to show interest, facing the person when speaking, and arms uncrossed in an open position.2
“How does that part of the job affect your tasks?”
“What are your ideas on this process?”
“How do you think you went today in the practice session?”
“Could I just clarify that you have a good grasp of the EFTPOS machine and booking system but are not feeling confident taking phone calls yet?”
Provide appropriate assistance, advice and encouragement
Assist appropriate to the needs of the individual – provide advice if asked for, act as a sounding board, and use your knowledge and experience. Always use positive feedback to encourage participation.
Facilitate the individual to find their own solutions to problems
- Consider appropriate conventions and protocols when communicating with individual team members.
- Identify any particular issues and encourage them to think of ways to solve them through questioning and feedback.
- Use proper conventions and protocols when communicating with your team members, such as professional language and jargon specific to their industry.
- Give constructive feedback.
- Ask open-ended questions that encourage the client to find their solutions.
- Follow the organisation's policy and procedures on communication.
Watch the following video on the basics of effective communication skills.
Further research
How to Practice Active Listening: 16 Examples & Techniques
Self-evaluation and learning plans
Various self-evaluation tools may be helpful for workers in identifying and understanding information about themselves, including their strengths and weaknesses.
Organisations will have self-evaluation forms that staff complete as part of their learning and development program. Self-evaluations help identify needs and progress once the learning plan is in progress.
- The team should always be encouraged to reflect on their performance.
- Building a supportive team culture where self-reflection is valued will support the team to thrive in developing their skills and competencies.
Identifying the individual's learning preferences can be very helpful when developing learning plans. Taking the time to find out someone's learning preferences allows you to design better their training to suit their style.3
There are three defined learning styles:
- Visual: Learn best by sight. For example, watching a person perform a task.
- Auditory: Learn best by sound. For example, hearing a person talk about a task.
- Kinesthetic: Learn best from touching and doing. For example, by being hands on with a task.
What is your learning style?
Online personality tests based on human psychology are self-evaluation personality tools used to identify strengths and weaknesses. They can be beneficial when undertaking career-planning activities, team relationship-building exercises, or when considering learning and development opportunities suited to the learning preferences of individuals.
Take the Learning Style Quiz using the link below and reflect on whether you agree with the analysis after receiving your results.
Language Learning Style Quiz | How should you learn?
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Before developing a learning and development plan, it will be helpful to understand the following.
Business goals
Business goals are critical to understanding to ensure the outcomes of the learning and development activities align with the priorities and direction of the business.
The organisation's strategic plan assists individual teams in developing their potential. It will:
- set the direction for the organisation
- define to groups their role contributing to the overall organisation
- offer a vision of where the organisation is heading.
Business policies and procedures
Policies and procedures will contain important information that guides the business on all facets of what is and is not acceptable.
Individual or group capability requirements
An individual or group's position description(s) will set out the role's requirements. They understand what skills are required to fulfil these requirements and how the individual or team rates are crucial to assigning learning and development opportunities.
Team goals
The goals of a team will filter down from the business goals. Deciphering learning and development opportunities for team goals will require consideration of individual team member capabilities and business requirements.
Competencies relevant to the industry
The industry's career path and competency standards must be considered when developing learning plans. You will need to know:
- the skills and knowledge required to do the job and work in the industry
- what competencies are relevant to an individual's job role.
For example, the skills and knowledge required to work as a Human Resources Consultant include:
- experience in project management, preferably HR related
- good working knowledge of the Fair Work Act and the Modern Award system
- in-depth understanding of HR principles, functions, methods and best practices
- solid knowledge of research methods and analysis
- computer skills
- knowledge of human resources information systems such as Employment Hero, ELMO, enableHR, Bamboo and Applicant Tracking Systems)
- excellent communication and consulting skills
- a team player.
Some of the competencies you would need to achieve to be an HR Consultant include:
- Cert IV in Human Resources, Diploma, Bachelor of Business (HRM), Bachelor of HR.
- Know how to conduct research using various techniques and methodologies.
- Know how to provide recommendations to personnel for the resolution of issues.
- Know how to formulate strategic plans to address human resource matters.
- Skills in recruiting and training staff.
- Skills to develop strategies and techniques to support learning and development programs.
- Skills in reviewing systems and processes to modify and improve HR systems and processes.
Types of training or development
Once you have identified all requirements, you will have a clear idea of what types of training or development activities a worker might need.
The next step involves selecting learning delivery methods. Always consider the preferred learning style of individuals and team participants. This will ensure they comprehend the information in learning activities to their full potential.
Following are key learning delivery methods.4
On-the-job learning
Individuals learn and develop skills by participating in their actual job tasks required. An example of this is reading policies and practising with systems and programs relevant to the job role. The employee is generally trusted to figure it out.
Shadowing
The individual will follow a more experienced employee to learn on-the-job skills. An example includes shadowing an experienced team member using a computer program or watching someone implement a procedure.
External training
It is helpful when individuals and teams need to learn a new skill required for the organisation. Examples include short and long courses, seminars and workshops or external trainers visiting the workplace to train a team. External training can also involve watching instructional guides and listening to audio-based information like podcasts.
Internal training
Internal training can be used for one on one or group learning sessions. This can be conducted by a supervisor, team leader or a team member experienced at the task the individual or group will be learning about.
Mentoring
This includes mentorship, individual and group coaching. Mentors advise or coach a less experienced or advanced mentee. They will provide expertise and professional knowledge with a more experienced perspective. A mentor is available to offer advice, provide support and answer questions.
Workplace Learning Opportunities
When considering learning and development opportunities, consider the bigger picture for the worker within the business.
Often, there will be organisational policies and procedures that set out the terms for workers' career progression in a business. It may include the following.
A workforce plan sets out the requirements of the business compared to the staff who will achieve it. A workforce plan may detail plans for career progression and capability requirements that need to be met. Different career paths require different levels of capabilities.
A workforce plan is helpful where a specific career path is defined and particular capabilities or qualifications are required to undertake the role. Proper workforce planning can identify the number of staff required to undertake specialist roles. Staff can be developed according to the competency standards of the industry ahead of time to ensure there are no skills gaps.
A progression agreement is an agreement when a worker may be able to progress through banded levels or salary bands. It is usually administered according to a performance agreement where the worker shows exceptional performance.
If a worker sees a career path ahead of them, they are more likely to want to invest their time into learning and development opportunities to achieve their goal.
Another learning opportunity many businesses provide is giving a worker autonomy for a task that will stretch them. The worker is left to their own devices and learns how to perform the task on the job. Support is offered if the worker asks for it. This can be an effective method of developing staff as it shows management how the worker is likely to perform under pressure and how they go about problem-solving.
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The learning plan will need to have goals so that you can measure the success and progress of the learner's achievements. When assigning learning and development activities, keep SMART goals in mind. The easiest way to develop goals is to follow the SMART principle.
An example of a goal and measure is below.
| Strategy | Build policy development expertise. |
|---|---|
| Goal |
Complete four modules of the policy development course in one year. Note: in the actual plan, you should be specific with the date |
| Measure |
Pass mark or above achieved for each module as provided by the learning institution. Note: in the actual plan, the learning institution would be identified explicitly to there is no ambiguity on whether the outcome has been achieved |
For learning and development goals and measures to be tangible, it is good to use baseline information and data metrics.
Baseline information is the information you will use as your starting point. Information from a specific point in time will be compared against future results to show how far the worker has come in their capabilities.
Data metrics are the information you keep on how the worker progresses with their activity. The information will allow you to compare how far they have come from the baseline.
For example, if the goal is to complete four modules of a course in one year, your data metrics might be a log of the completion dates of each module.
You compare this information against the baseline to see how the worker progresses. This includes how they are currently tracking against their deadline and how many modules are left to complete compared to the deadline.
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Identifying and managing resources and timelines
It is imperative to check you have all the resources required for the proposed learning plan for the individual and the group. Managing this process will include:
Managing resources and timelines is significant when you facilitate the learning needs of more than one person. Keeping a schedule will assist in the efficiency of this task.
The following example of a Learning schedule created by Zane shows each of the Snow Skiers learning needs and identifies group training needs. By organising a schedule of events, you will see where you can deliver group training to benefit all and keep track of everyone's individual needs and progress.
Table – Snow Skiers training arrangements
| Name | Rae Jones | Kiara Diaz | Peta Morris | Flavio Insta |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Learning session arrangements | Training Date | Training Date | Training Date | Training Date |
| Take bookings | Not required | 29/7/22 | Not required | Not required |
| Customer service | 1/8/22 | 1/8/22 | 1/8/17 | 1/8/22 |
| Upselling | 1/8/22 | 1/8/17 | Not required | 2/8/17 |
| Organisation policies | 3/8/22 | 3/8/22 | 3/8/22 | 3/8/22 |
| Take bookings | 14/8/22 | 14/8/22 | Not required | Not required |
| Customer service | Not required | Not required | 23/9/22 | Not required |
| Upselling | Not required | Not required | Not required | 23/9/22 |
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the skills and knowledge required to do the job and work in the industry
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what competencies are relevant to an individual's job role.
- Are they a worker who is likely to advance?
- Do their interests point to a specific role or skillset, or could they be moulded to fit a particular position?
- Specific — Is your goal specific regarding what, when, how, why and where?
- Measurable — Is your goal able to be measured tangibly? Do you have a baseline to measure from? What data will you use to track progress?
- Achievable — Is the goal achievable in the available means, including within your budget and timeframes?
- Realistic — Is the goal realistic, or do you need to adjust some aspects? It is excellent to set stretch targets; however, these can also be demotivating if they are unrealistic.
- Time-bound — Is the goal achievable at the optimum time, considering business needs?
- making sure the resources and timeframes are in line with the organisation's policies and procedures
- making sure the organisational requirements have been considered, e.g., knowing when the learning activities should be completed by
- monitoring the budget for learning activities
- developing training sessions for the individual and group.
Developing learning and training activities need the following considerations.
- What is the area of learning?
- Who is/are the learner/s?
- What learning styles will you need to cater for, and how will you do this?
- What resources will you need (make sure these are available to you or can be reasonably simulated)
- How will the delivery be organised (session plan)?
- How will you know that the delivery has been successful?
- Is the plan straightforward, easy to understand and uses the correct terminology?
- Are the learning activities in line with organisational requirements?
Before starting the training:
- Provide the learner with the Learning plan for feedback and assess if the timeline and date are suitable.
- Ask if there is anything else in this area they want to cover in the learning session.
- Ensure the timelines and resources are suitable for the learning activities. For example, test run the session for the time it takes.
- Seek feedback from co-workers or managers on the session plan.
Who should deliver training?
Training delivery methods are important to consider, depending on the type of training that needs to be performed.
- Will you organise an external trainer to come to the office for a group training session?
- Will you send the individual off to a workshop or organise on the job training with an experienced team member?
The best form of training needs to be decided on when developing learning plans. It is best to use a combination of methods to meet the team's learning goals. The following are examples.
- A professional in the area, for example, using external trainers who are experts in their field.
- On-the-job coaching is a training delivery method in which an employee is assigned to a more experienced employee or manager to learn the skills needed for the job. Mangers might also provide individual and group training sessions in the workplace.
- A mentor training delivery method about providing ongoing employee development.
Deliver Group training
Group training is valuable when:
- There are common needs and goals that the team need to achieve.
- You want to build team rapport and collaboration.
- There are policies and procedures that all staff need to know.
- You need to build consensus amongst the team to avoid contentious situations.
Beginning a training session with a team building game is an effective way to start group training sessions. It will help build team rapport and give team members a chance to become comfortable with each other and the trainer.
It is essential to prepare for potentially contentious situations within the team. Consider how you will negotiate with the team to achieve agreeable outcomes from the session. It is also vital to ensure you are prepared to facilitate consensus in any potentially contentious situations. Some of the ways you can do this are:
- ensure you run an organised session, being effective with the session will help avoid problems arising
- ensure that the team agree on the outcomes before and at the start of the session
- mediate any issues that arise amongst the team during the session
- offer time-out if needed to cool down any potential arguments.
CASE STUDY – Delivering shared learning needs
Zane has analysed the Learning Schedule of all the team members at the Snow Skiers Company. He has identified that customer service and organisational requirements are common learning goals for everyone.
He is planning to provide two separate training sessions, one for each of the two learning needs identified:
- Organisational requirements
- Customer service
The first training session will be on customer service skills, as it is a good base to start with.
Following is the Workplace Learning and Preparation plan Zane has developed for the Snow Skiers team.
| Area of Learning | Customer Service |
|---|---|
| Who is/are the learner/s? | Snow Skiers Company - the whole team |
| What are the learning styles of the learners? | Visual, auditory, kinesthetic |
| How will I cater for individual learning styles? | Clear written instructions, flowchart, demonstration, short video, practice sessions, discussions |
| How will I demonstrate oral communication skills to establish a supportive learning environment | Role model desired communication skills such as active listening, open ended questioning, providing feedback and practice team skills such as turn-taking. Encourage and lead open communication with all participants |
| Resources |
|
| How will I manage resources and timeline? |
|
| How will I use listening and questioning techniques to confirm or show understanding of different perspectives? |
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| How will I monitor progress and give and receive feedback during the session? |
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| Date and time | Content/key points/approx. word count | Instructional technique/approx. word count |
|---|---|---|
| 30 July 2022 9-9:30am |
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| 9:30-10:00am | Welcoming customers over phone and in-person |
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| 10-10:45am | Professional conversations with customers - how to build rapport |
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| 10:45-11:15am | Break | |
| 11:15-12:pm | The art of great customer service to sell products and services |
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| 12-12:30pm | Organisational policies on customer service |
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I have checked the timelines and resources required for the above learning activities and confirm that: the timeline is suitable and suits the needs of the learners all resources are available Leader's name: Zane O'Brien Signature: Date: 23/05/2022 |
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Further information
Read about different team building games you can incorporate into group training sessions.
Team Building Games, Training, Ideas and Tips
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Summary
In this topic, you have learnt:
- how to collaborate on learning plans with others
- how to use facilitation techniques to support learning and development
- how to prepare and develop learning plans for groups and individuals.
