The Scenario for Corporate Training Manjiri candidly explains that in the most cynical of scenarios, training has been perceived as a “nice to have” activity championed by HR and L&D teams and a “break” from work. There are two fundamental reasons for this flawed perception. The first is that what is taught in a training session remains confined to the classroom. If a homily is delivered to the training participant in a uni-directional manner (trainer talking at the participants), the sessions are bound to be boring and unlikely to stick. Moreover, as participants are not able to make the connection between the concepts taught in the class and their actual work, they could develop a cynical approach towards training – as a waste of time or “break from work”. Unfortunately, the approach towards training has also been in the direction of “filling up training hours” with little concern for relevance of content and quality of delivery. At the surface level, training companies tend to look just the same and offer services which are quite similar to each other. The differentiators lie in the training provider’s ability to capture the precise outcome expected as a result of the training, the ability to design unique, high quality content and deliver this content in an engaging manner. Also, important today, is to use standard training programmes and customise them to the individual learning styles and needs of participants and employers. This is best achieved through blended learning using the right mix of face-time with the trainer, individual/group coaching, online modules, pre-work and assignments. Clients and the Market There is much more to a client relationship than fulfilling a mandate and raising an invoice. To begin with, everything we do for the client must address the client’s pain point or business objective. The starting point for designing any solution for a client is to understand what it is that is keeping the leaders at the client awake at night. And when the client knows that we have attempted to understand what they want to accomplish and have left no stone unturned to make this possible, there is appreciation, continued goodwill and acceptance in the true spirit of partnership. Research and Development All the research work starts right at the clients’ place for GTT team. They design and deliver highly customized training modules to ensure that it has a high impact on the audience resulting in them growing as an individual and as a professional too. Research and development are important to understand the crux of the matter and to gauge the pulse of the audience in order to map a solution to their business challenges. Values and Ethos for all The effectiveness of the organization depends on the competence of the employees, leaders, managers, etc. A lot of [ 29 ]
people at various levels tend to lack certain skills which do not allow them to perform their jobs in the best way possible. It is important for corporates to ensure that they have development programs in place to enable the employee to gain skills and knowledge, hence becoming better at their jobs and people management leading to higher retention and profitability. Manjiri feels that it is important for all to come to work with the same passion like it was their first day, it is important to bring in passion to work because doing things or getting them done is not the sole objective. The focus should also be in bringing excellence. Manjiri further added “I am as good as my team is. This makes it all the more important for me to ensure that I provide them opportunities to work in varied areas and challenges for them to work upon. Satisfaction with the mediocre may make a person complacent dampening the zeal to bring in excellence into your work” Learning for Manjiri has always been a continuous process when asked about being inspired; she truly feels that she has learned from all the people she has met in her life. From what she should do to what she shouldn’t, everything, and all of it has helped her in growing both personally and professionally. The Hushed Feathers in the Cap On the personal front, the two causes close to her heart are- enabling senior citizens to live active and happy lives and social mobility - helping the urban underprivileged break free from historical socio-economic entrapment. Apart from work, Manjiri has authored five books with reputed publishers like McGraw Hill and Sage and writing continues to be a passion when time permits. Manjiri was among one of 12 professionals selected by LinkedIn amidst 13,000 applicants across the UK to assist Virgin Founder Sir Richard Branson to evaluate, train and mentor entrepreneurs pitching for a 1-Million-pound fund. Extremely valuable for Manjiri is precious time with family and close friends. Leisure for her is theatre and movies in English, Hindi and Marathi, swimming and reading. www.businessconnectindia.in | Vol. 1 | Special Edition | July 2019 | INDIA