Training managers, it's time to think about your own skills! Faced with the major trends in the corporate training function, what training courses should you be taking in 2022? Philippe Argouges, an expert in training engineering and needs analysis, takes a closer look.
The pandemic seems to be behind us... and business activity is gradually returning to normal. It's even picking up speed, with hiring on the increase. As far as vocational training is concerned, the last two years will certainly leave their mark, at least as far as the training formats.
As training managers, you've had to manage a lot of priorities. It's time to think about yourself, your skills development and your own training needs.
There are five main areas of development for the corporate training function. Here's a closer look at the training courses that can help you keep pace with these developments.
Area 1: Listening to and advising managers and employees
The aim of the law on professional training (or rather laws, I should say) is to make employees active players in their own professional development. As a result, there are an increasing number of schemes designed to achieve this: the Personal Training Account (CPF), Transition Pro, the Professional Development Council (CEP)... to name but a few.
But you don't necessarily know how to deal with employees who have questions, or with managers who are unfamiliar with these schemes.
More and more, the RF function is evolving towards an advisory role. For managers, to help them provide better support for their staff. For employees, to take better account of their expectations and desires.
How can we better advise our employees?
The first step is to listen to them. For this, the professional interview is a particularly relevant tool, when it is used properly. Be careful not to confuse it with the annual appraisal interview. It's not a question of discussing the objectives assigned to employees, but of discussing their desires for development and seeing how to support them in this process.
Training to help you listen and advise
- Conduct professional interviews
- Active listening for better communication
- Successful change management, approach and tools
Area 2: integrating new vocational training systems
The pandemic has led to the emergence of new training methods. Others have taken on a new dimension and developed beyond what was imaginable two years ago. Face-to-face, distance learning, training pathways, blended learning, on-the-job training...
All these schemes are interesting. But for which skills are they best suited? And in what situations can they make a difference to your employees?
For project managers, for example, we could imagine training courses that include :
- MOOC on generalities ;
- face-to-face or distance learning sessions on the specific methodologies used by your company.
Training to learn more about these schemes
- Integrating MOOCs into your training system
- E-learning, the essential points for successful projects
- Training differently: running a virtual classroom
3: Developing your expertise as a training manager
If you have inherited the role of training manager without necessarily knowing the ins and outs of the profession, you undoubtedly need to organise yourself better. It may also be worth reflecting on your activity, your role and your functions.
In the post-pandemic period that is just beginning, we need to be smarter and smarter. In other words, we need to find new sources of funding, make better use of vocational training schemes, put in place diversified offerings, integrate training engineering projects to adapt offerings to needs, and evaluate results.
How do you go about it?
For example, with the Co-constructed CPFsIn addition to the above, training managers can offer employees the opportunity to use their personal training account to take courses that are also of interest to the company. And they can do so during their working hours. It's a win-win situation for everyone. In effect, the employee invests part of their CPF (which they will get back fairly quickly anyway) and the company invests the employee's working time.
Training to see more clearly in your missions
- Designing and managing the skills development plan
- Build and manage a training project
- Evaluating training initiatives
Area 4: Communicating to sell your offer internally
The role of training manager is changing.
Previously seen as an accountant, they are now responsible for checking that the company is fulfilling its obligations, filling in forms to validate financing and drawing up declarations at regular intervals.
Now in the role of career guidance counsellor, the training manager becomes the advocate of skills development plans, selling them to the teams. It's no longer enough to present them to staff representative bodies: you also have to convince managers of the value of training for everyone and highlight the benefits for employees.
To achieve this, training managers need to develop their communication skills.
Training to communicate better
Priority 5: Integrate training provision with company strategy
Training is an integral part of corporate strategy. For example, at a time when recruitment is becoming more difficult, the training manager has a role to play in establishing an internal skills development strategy.
But how do you go about it?
Of course, the development of corporate strategy is not your responsibility, but that of the management committee. However, it is by understanding how it is established, how it can be integrated into the analysis of needs and how training can be used to support it, that we can build an offering that is better adapted to the needs of tomorrow.
A development strategy requires appropriate skills management upstream. This means mapping the existing situation and then drawing up an appropriate skills development plan.
Training linked to the strategic aspects of the company
- Corporate strategy: analysis, diagnosis and deployment
- Implement an effective training policy
- Analyze training needs
When training managers draw up skills development plans, they often forget their own needs. Isn't it said that the shoemaker is often the worst shod? The time has come to change the mindset around skills development within the company's RF function.
