When I was Head of L&D for a national charity, we had exactly the same internal debate, and made the decision to stop buying lunch for people on courses.  There was a lot of moaning, and a number people who were travelling from elsewhere tried to create problems ("we can't bring a packed lunch if you can't guarantee a fridge is available to put it in", "there isn't anywhere nearby to buy gluten-free sandwiches" etc etc).

This did go on for some time, despite our best efforts to communicate the reasons for and the benefits of this change, including showing people the figures of how much money we'd save and how much more we could therefore invest in their training.

However, eventually people found other changes to moan about, and bringing your own lunch to training just became part of "the way we do things here" in the same way that previously, being provided with lunch was part of "the way we do things here".  As a charity, we were always focused on getting the best possible value for money, and making this change saved us an absolute fortune which enabled us to still deliver a comprehensive training provision despite significant cuts in our training budget, so I do believe that we made the right decision at that time.

Good luck with it, whatever decision you make!

Best wishes

Nicki

Hello Frances - good luck with your pitch - I hope you get the work.

I believe that there are two strands to the CPD needs of L&D professionals:

1) Training practice: This includes developing skills and utilising latest thinking in both designing and delivering training so that it really has an impact.

2) Training management: this includes everything from TNA to training strategy to "selling" training interventions to others in the organisation etc.

I run Trainers Exchange, which is  quarterly networking and development event for people in the L&D profession and we help people develop their knowledge and skills in both these strands through workshops and speakers, and people seem to value this approach, which works for everyone whether they are a training provider or a training manager.

I hope this helps

Nicki

Hello Scott

I remember using this years ago as an alternative to GROW as part of a course on coaching skills when I was running a management development programme for a large charity, but I have to confess it was long ago and I can't remember where it came from.  If I remember rightly it's as follows:

C = Competency: Assess current level of performance. How much experience do you have? What have your tried before? How well are you doing......?

O = Outcome: Set outcomes for learning. What do you want to achieve? How will you know when you've achieved it?

A = Action: Agree tactics and action plan. What can you do/try? What steps do you need to take?

CH = Checking: Feedback and evaluate what's been learnt. How do you feel you've done? What has worked/hasn't worked?

Hope this helps

Nicki

Hello

We have Alex Simson, a storyteller and trainer from Storywell running a workshop on 30th March on using stories to aid learning at our Trainers Exchange event.  It's open to anyone in the L&D profession and is always a fabulous day with loads of learning, sharing and fun.  We also have a workshop on evaluating training, and one on mindfulness.  More details are at http://www.salt-box.co.uk/training-open-program.asp?newsID=18

Nicki

Hello Karin

I work with a brilliant drum circle facilitator called Sharon Stone, from Organic Rhythm. I think that drumming is a  really powerful activity on its own, but for team development, works best when combined with other team development activities. Drumming helps teams to:

•    Celebrate achievements and successes
•    Create a strong team spirit
•    Share a powerful sense of collective enjoyment
•    Experience a deep connection with each other
•    Promote listening, communication and co-operation
•    Reduce stress and tension
•    Feel energised and motivated

Drumming together can improve team working and social relationships through greater empowerment, better communication, increased confidence, and deeper connections with others, and actively making music together creates a strong sense of group identity and a feeling of belonging, and the sustained repetition of the steady beat acts to bring people together physically, emotionally, and mentally.

Drumming has been shown to boost the immune system, increase sensory awareness, physical dexterity and fine motor skills, and reduce the physical and emotional effects of stress - so its all really good stuff.

When combined with other team development activites, the whole event can be really powerful and transformative. I'm happy to share further information on the sorts of activites we do and how it all fits together if you'd like to contact me directly: [email protected]

I hope this is helpful

Best wishes

Nicki

Hello Karin

I work with a brilliant drum circle facilitator called Sharon Stone, from Organic Rhythm. I think that drumming is a  really powerful activity on its own, but for team development, works best when combined with other team development activities. Drumming helps teams to:

•    Celebrate achievements and successes
•    Create a strong team spirit
•    Share a powerful sense of collective enjoyment
•    Experience a deep connection with each other
•    Promote listening, communication and co-operation
•    Reduce stress and tension
•    Feel energised and motivated

Drumming together can improve team working and social relationships through greater empowerment, better communication, increased confidence, and deeper connections with others, and actively making music together creates a strong sense of group identity and a feeling of belonging, and the sustained repetition of the steady beat acts to bring people together physically, emotionally, and mentally.

Drumming has been shown to boost the immune system, increase sensory awareness, physical dexterity and fine motor skills, and reduce the physical and emotional effects of stress - so its all really good stuff.

When combined with other team development activites, the whole event can be really powerful and transformative. I'm happy to share further information on the sorts of activites we do and how it all fits together if you'd like to contact me directly: [email protected]

I hope this is helpful

Best wishes

Nicki

Oops - must have copied the link incorrectly: try going to www.salt-box.co.uk and clicking on the Events page.

If you (or anyone else) would like me to add you to the Trainers Exchange mailing list for info about future meetings, let me know by emailing [email protected]

Best wishes

Nicki

Hi  Steve

I run a quarterly event along these lines in the South West called Trainers Exchange. It's aimed at trainers, training managers, and anyone else working in L&D, and we get roughly 50/50 training providers and training managers.  The meetings are a full day and are very lively and vibrant, with lots of networking, sharing and learning going on. We aim to help members to:

Keep abreast of current best practiceLearn and try out new approaches and techniquesShare tried & tested tips, techniques and ideas with othersTest out new ideas on the group and receive constructive feedbackGain support and make connections with others

The meetings are open to all, and we welcome new members, so if anyone is interested, details are at http://www.salt-box.co.uk/events.asp  As well as 20-30 minutes slots for members to run sessions/share knowledge, we have two 1 hour workshop sessions too - in September these are on the power of storytelling in training, and on using TA in the training room.

Anyway, good luck Steve in setting up your group - do feele free to contact me if you'd like to pick my brains!

Best wishes

Nicki

Some of my pet hates are:

No natural lightAir conditioning (whatever is wrong with clean air through the windows?)Traffic noise when you open the windows!No space to move aroundNo outdoor spaceFixed tables which can't be movedBoring corporate decorHuge 3 course lunches leaving everyone full and lethargic after lunch

I'm interested to hear what others have to say as we are in the process of setting up our own training venue - one which is stimulating, friendly, comfortable, and conducive to learning - so its good to know what people like/don't like. (for example - the clock issue never occurred to me - I always wear a watch, but now I know it's important to others, we'll make sure we put a clock on the wall!)

Nicki

Hello James

I'm not aware of any questionnaire to help people identify where they are on the change curve, but in my experience people don't need to complete a questionnaire to work this out. I run lots of training to help people to understand and deal with change, and usually do the following, which works really well:

First, introduce the model and explain the curve and its different stages. Then ask people to suggest what emotions and what behaviours are likely to be experienced at each stage and flipchart these. Then put people into pairs and ask them to talk to their partner about what emotions they are experiencing and what behaviours they are displaying in relation to whatever change they are currently going through. Through this discussion with their partner they should be able to identify what stage on the curve they are at.

While they are doing this, I set out a large thick rope on the floor in the shape of the curve, and add a set of labels for the different stages. Then I get people to come up and all stand on the section of the curve which they have identified they are on. By getting everyone up to do this together, people can see where they all are in relation to each other, making it very visual. This helps people to really see and understand that different people may be at different stages, and helps them to understand and support each other better through the process. We usually have some very interesting and enlightening discussions at this stage, and depending on the group and their situation, may focus on issues such as helping people to see when they have got "stuck" and looking at why this is and what they could do to help themselves and each other etc.

I hope this is useful.

Best wishes

Nicki Davey, Saltbox Training & Events