Taking the learning from our training to the work you do and impact the bottom line.

• How do your staff take what they have learned and apply to their job?
• What outcomes do you expect to see once they have been on a programme and returned to work?
• Training is only the start of the learning journey.  Organisations spend lots of money on training but lose out on their impact as sometimes staff are not given the space to apply their learning to their job.
  

As a College that specialises in the ‘wellbeing’ of people, both mentally and physically - we can further support your organisation go from “depression” to “Enhanced performance”

CALC will work with you to maximise the learning journey to ensure you see impact.

How?

Appreciatrive Inquiry (AI)

Appreciative Inquiry is a model for change management uniquely suited to the values, beliefs and business challenges facing managers and leaders today in any sector.

Training companies or Learning & Development Managers often use a form of the ‘Training Needs Analysis’ or ‘Organisational Needs form’ to help them create bespoke ‘training solutions’.

Both have value but they are based on asking staff depreciative questions based on needs. For example, In response a staff member may answer ‘I’m not good at Excel because I can create bar charts but not do programming’   AI brings an appreciative approach where a response might be, ‘I am good at Excel as I can create bar charts, but I need to improve my programming skills’. AI brings about a different mindset.

AI offers a positive, strengths-based approach to organisational development. It values and recognises the best in people. It gives permission to ask people questions to explore their strengths and the discovery of new possibilities.

The differences in approach:

The AI Cycle:

The AI cycle can be as rapid and informal as a conversation with a friend of a colleague, or as an organisation-wide process involving every stakeholder group.

The Process:

Fig 1.1: Appreciative Inquiry 4-D Cycle

• Discovery: Engage all stakeholders in the articulation of strengths and best practices. Identifying “The best of what has been and what is’
• Dream: Creating a clear results- oriented vision in relation to discovered potential and in relation to questions of higher purpose, such as, “What is the world calling us to become?”
• Design: Creating possibility propositions of the ideal organisation, articulating an organisation design that people feel is capable of drawing upon and magnifying the positive core to realize the newly expressed dream.
• Destiny: Strengthening the affirmative capability of the whole system, enabling it to build hope and sustain momentum for ongoing positive change and high performance.
  

At the centre of the cycle is the affirming topic choice. The topic could have a clinical or non clinical theme.

This process works particularly well if there are communication issues amongst departments. Perhaps one department is performing better than another. AI addresses these issues by bringing in key stakeholders to discuss and learn from each other to take action. Staff build relationships with each other which over time enhances communication.

AIl topics become an organisations agenda for learning knowledge sharing and action.

AI and Action Learning sets

Action learning is an educational process whereby the participant study their own actions and experience (possible from our training) in order to improve performance. Learners acquire knowledge through actual actions and practice rather than through traditional instruction.

Action learning is done in conjunction with others, in small groups called action learning sets. It is proposed as particularly suitable for adults, as it enables each person to reflect on and review the action they have taken and the learning points arising. This should then guide future action and improve performance.

Working with you, we can design bespoke training for organisations and offer Appreciative Inquiry & Action Learning sets as a process to help support you articulate how your staff joint learning impacts the work they do and ultimately their bottom line.

Cost:

A day rate (6 hours) consultancy costs £1000 plus VAT per day.  We can offer a discount for those who wish to book a series of sessions.

Key Outcomes:

• Your organisation will get a sense of what was learned on our programmes and how staff can apply knowledge together in the AI and Action learning process.
  
• Regular reviews – we will start to see the changes in internal processes.
  
• The empowerment of staff to get their job done.
• Each person starts to appreciate each other’s strengths. 
• A group may produce new internal handbooks that look at new ways of doing projects better and leaner.
• Builds a culture of recognition for good work done.
  

References

Critten P & Mortimer A 2011 Contrasting business & Academic Expectations – You can’t get it 'write' right away, University of Wales Institute

Cooperrider, D & Whitney, D 2005. Appreciative Inquiry – A Positive Revolution in Change, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, San Francisco|

For more information contact the CALC & Business Development Team: Enterprise@rcpsych.ac.uk ; 0203 328 6168