Well another quiet Sunday morning – my best time to learn, reflect and share what I’ve been doing in the last week.
It’s been a while since my last blog post but that’s because my Onboarding & Role Based Learning program that I have been working on for new branch managers is being rolled out and implemented across the business – so it’s been a busy time.
In the last week, I conducted Webex sessions across Australia to all managers of branch managers to make them aware of this program and their roles and responsibilities in onboarding and training their new starters into the role.
Developed as a portal (using Sharepoint as the ‘one stop shop’ for all module activities, discussion forums, video podcasts of stories and other references), the program consists of weekly modules of blended learning activities (70-20-10) around key themes that new starters as well as an “assessment” (I have that word in inverted commas because they have to create a set of tools and interpret and analyse reports to create an action plan to close performance gaps in their people and branch).
The cost of developing this program was…zero.
Initially we sought vendor solutions for e-learning content development but I argued to the business that for what they wanted to achieve, the vendor solution as not the right solution fit for the purpose of closing performance gaps. I explained that we already had the tools in-house to create a blended learning program underpinned by the use of Yammer to build and create a peer network of branch managers who would support the new starters through their journey and beyond.
Getting ready for the Webex sessions to promote the Social Onboarding Program to the business
Of course, I will write up a full case study and blog post of this program one day soon but my focus now is influencing people to consider the use of social platforms such as Yammer in their programs. Although the concept of the blended learning approach (the “70-20-10” is part of our vernacular) is not new and understandable, I find the curiosity now comes from both business and learning teams on the use of Yammer within our programs and how building a social element pre-, during- and post- program are now considerations. But not just building these but also role modelling. Much of my time is spent coaching business managers on how to use Yammer and more importantly, why use it.
But one step at a time. My focus now is to ensure that I close off the final steps in this project and then hand it over to the business to own. My role then moves to ‘maintenance’ but I am also keenly aware of how this program is conducted so will be moving to the evaluation phase soon.
Last night, I read Luis Suarez blog post The Trials and Tribulations of an Independent Freelancer: The Path to Self Discovery and much of what he had written resonated with me. As many know, I’m down to 3 days per week at my current organisation until the contract ends on 30 June (of which I renegotiated from full-time to allow me to move into ‘freelance consulting’). Luckily the organisation I work for is quite progressive in workplace flexibility and supported me in my request. The other 2 days have been spent networking and meeting people from all around Australia and the world to prepare me for the life as a freelancer.
My To Do List – a whiteboard that sits on my desk that I can look at and then stress with the procrastination
Although I don’t know what actual work will transpire down the track, I see the opportunities will be many and varied – and it’s a lot of fun meeting people and sharing their inspirations. I have a whiteboard that sits on my desk with all my To Do items and there’s a mix of various article and case study writing and ideas for my blog.
Also my Third Place group is slowly growing and I’ve been mulling over some ideas of re-invigorating the “Field Trip” idea to include short tours of knowledge sharing and workplace learning tours in some organisations. Some potential ideas would be to see some training in action with Navy recruits or the Bureau of Metereology Vlab of Excellence…but all just ideas floating in my head…
Through my days though, I do have my “moments of concern” as things to be “mindful” so as that my life remains balanced and fair when it comes to what I devote my time and focus on.
These “moments of concern” mainly relate to the following:
- How to explain my value to organisations in simple terms when they don’t “get” social
- The quandary over contracting vs consulting (as I can both DO the work or should I guide, coach others – I prefer the latter but is this dependent on the type of business?)
- People want services for free (bartering is now a potential new area here but does it pay the bills?)
- How to manage and maintain my reputation and my own work ethic when partnering with others whose work may reflect badly on me
Overall though, it’s a positive time and I’m looking forward to the next couple of months as I wrap up my current contract and look forward to the new opportunities in whatever format they’d be.
I was chuffed to see that the Centre of Management and Organisational Effectiveness rated my blog in the Top 50 Most Socially Shared Learning blogs. (It’s my old free WordPress site but nevertheless, I transferred all the content into this new one that you’re reading today – so it’s the same content). Big thank you to people who follow and read my rambles and share it to others. I hope that it provides some tips and ideas for you in your work. Thank you!
Hi Helen, many thanks for the link love and for sharing along your insights. It looks like I am not the only one who is off to that self-exploration phase of “what next” after moving away from the traditional work environment and into the land of the unknown. Fascinating read altogether and one where I pretty much share the “moments of concern”, although, at the moment, I don’t let them take too much focus away from what I would want to do and everything, so I keep reminding myself I will tackle each and everyone of them, one at a time, when the right time comes for each of them, and if at all. And as a result of that conclusion feeling a whole lot more confident about the path ahead vs. pondering on the uncertainty of what will happen next. We shall see how it goes, but so far I’m glad I’m fully immersed on that self-discovery path as it’s helping me gain a whole lot more clarity on what I want to do, how I would want to do it and with whom. Something that perhaps in the past was not that obvious 🙂
#Onwards as they would say out there! Best of luck with the new adventures and look forward to seeing how things would unfold over time 😀
Thanks for your comment Luis, I’m honoured to have you read and respond to my blog. I’ve been reading your blog for a long time now but this last one was the one that resonated with me simply because we are both going through the same experiences. Like you, I will be leaving my organisation out of my choice – and it’s been a great organisation for me. What started out as a contract some 4 years ago resulted in other roles and with each one, I felt I have grown to learn not only about my organisation but also myself. Sure, there have been frustrating times as all companies have these but on the whole, in hindsight, it was the ‘right fit’ for me. With time however, you get to realise where your passions are and you need to stretch yourself into the unknown and it’s quite exciting. I have seen the power of the network where you can ask a question and have people around the world respond and offer suggestions and support. So thank you for your reply. All the best with your new adventure and I will follow with interest what you and your fellow Change Agents Worldwide are doing, learning and sharing!
You are most welcome, Helen, and the pleasure is all mine, for sure. It’s rather intriguing to see how we may be living two worlds apart, separated by multiple oceans, and different organisations, and, yet, we seem to be sharing plenty of similar experiences with our “new” lives, whether the excitement, the uncertainty, the unknown would kick in, we seem to be going through similar internalising processes confirming, I guess, the true nature of the power of networks as far as learning and co-working are concerned. Thanks much for sharing your experiences across and look forward to further interactions over here or elsewhere, along with other fellow CAWW members … Fancy joining us, when the time is right and you feel you may well be ready? 😉
[I think you are already, by the way hehe]
Ha! I had to smile with comments Luis. It would be such an honour to join Change Agents Worldwide and be in esteemed company! I will definitely consider it but assumed that you have to have many years experience in organisational strategy roles liasing with executive teams and/or written books in your topic area. My experience has been with learning teams and I do enjoy the work of being a practitioner as well. If I can offer value of my experiences and applications of how I have used social and collaborative tools at this middle management level then I’d definitely consider joining CAWW. Besides, the members of CAWW all provide excellent blog reading and Google + posts that make me think, reflect and consider how I could apply them (within areas I can control) in my own workplace. I think this is what I’m going to miss about going freelance – the opportunity to dabble in the workplace.
Hi Helen, oh no worries, while between all of us we are putting together over 700 years of experience, knowledge and deep expertise around several areas, including Social Business and Digital Transformation, we do have a few folks who are specialising in Learning & Development and are doing really good work on the topic. That’s one of the beauties from CAWW: that we all bring together plenty of diversity, skills and additional know-how on a wide range of areas. I think your insights around learning teams and how you have been helping them dive into the 21st century world would be very much appreciated at CAWW and I am thinking since you both are in Melbourne that perhaps you could reach out to Simon Terry (@simongterry) and get together for a coffee where you could talk about it and see how things could move along. I am sure you may know already Simon, but, if you don’t, let me know and I will make the introductions through Twitter 🙂
Let me know what you think… hehe and thanks again for the wonderful conversations!
Thanks Luis, definitely worth considering! Yes, I know Simon (we used to work for the same organisation) and he was kind enough to share his experience too over a cup of coffee and a couple of meetings. He was definitely a change agent in our organisation (and still is). We see the outcome of this at work and his posts still are referred to in Yammer. We are also now seeing with more use of Yammer and he’s still spoken of highly by many people.
What a small world, then Helen, right? I am glad you already know Simon and in touch with him. I guess the next step is to consider joining us at CAWW 😉 hehe Let Simon or myself know how we can help, for whenever you would think you are ready to make the jump. There is no rush, but it would be wonderful to see you joining us over time 🙂 I will be looking forward to that! Take good care and have a good weekend!
(Apologies I had to comment on a separate note, but it looks like we run out of “replies to replies” hehe)
Thanks again Luis, definitely worthy of consideration and something that will also aid in my own development and networking to be part of a group of leading thinkers and practitioners who can also test my assumptions on many things. The value of CAWW is not just for organisations but also to connect and discuss with others in the group too and seek support when needed. Thanks again for your support!
Thanks Helen for sharing your experience here for all.