Is Soft and Hard Skills Training Supposed to Be Boring?

I remember the last training I attended a few days ago to get firsthand knowledge of the latest trends in Digital Marketing.

While it’s true that it was a Zoom session, where it’s easier to lose focus for a thousand reasons, my attention evolved like this:

• Minute 0: Eager to hear what they were going to tell me.
• Minute 15: Still eager and attentive, but… the speaker continues introducing himself and his company, can you believe it?
• Minute 30: I admit I’m no longer attentive… The speaker diverges from his speech to topics unrelated to the course’s objective, and I receive an interesting email, so I decide to focus all my attention on it.
• Minute 45: I realize the course doesn’t add any value for me, and I decide to excuse myself and leave the session.

When a company addresses a training need, we must ensure that:

• It is real and verifiable through performance and competency assessments, professional development conversations, etc.
• The identified individuals are the ones who truly require that training and are fully convinced that their participation is important to enhance their skills and/or abilities.
• The purpose or objectives are in full agreement with the contents, whether theoretical or practical, that will be developed, and their duration.
• It takes place in a trusting environment to express oneself naturally.
• It facilitates people’s attendance without causing significant harm to their daily work or personal lives.
• There is a follow-up to evaluate success, measured through performance improvement.

How many courses have we attended throughout our professional lives that did not meet even half of these premises?

You’ll agree with me that you can identify those trainings in which you participated, not remembering exactly what you did or learned but recognizing how you evolved professionally, likely leading to some recognition…

If you have identified any training needs in your company, don’t hesitate to contact me. Together, we will assess what, who, and how to implement this project, making it a success for your company and, of course, for your teams!