6 Tips for training in a recession

This article was first published by Leaps and Bounds in their monthly Insights E-Zine in response to the question “What differences are you finding in training in this recession and what are you doing differently?”

For many of us the economic downturn has brought added pressure at work and home. For me, the economic downturn has not produced any new issues in the training room. It has perhaps magnified issues that have always been there:

• I don’t have time…
• I don’t have resources…
• My people are de-motivated…
• My boss say’s I can’t…

There is a danger that we continue the gloom by thinking this is a new thing and try to seek new
solutions – these issues are not new and the solutions that will work next week are the same
ones that worked last week!

It’s as if the mountain has got a bit bigger and steeper – but it’s still the same mountain we’ve been climbing successfully all these years! So don’t focus on the size of the mountain or how the mountain has changed, as you’ve done
before, focus on the small steps you can make to move up the mountain and help your learners do the same.

What can a facilitator do?

We are in danger of reacting to the increased resistance in the training room in the same way that some of our learners are reacting to their increased workloads.

So take a breath and focus on the small steps you can take to support your learners rather than over analysing the increased pressure that the economic downturn has placed on our learners.

• Help your learners focus on the outcomes and channel their time and energy into those things that will take them one step closer to their key objectives.
• There is a danger for people to focus on the chasm between where they are now and where they need to be, help them identify the small steps that help them move AWAY from where they are now TOWARDS their desired outcome.

Just keep doing the great things you’ve done when facing these issues in the past – I especially like Steven Covey’s “Circle of Influence” as a tool to help people focus on things they CAN CHANGE and help MINIMISE the impact of those things they can’t.

One final thing is to help your people recognise the impact that increased pressure at work can have on their home lives. If the added pressure is turning into unhealthy stress, then they need to take steps to minimise the
impact of this on their loved ones.

Tips for them could be:

• Watch diet – eat well and healthily, resist comfort foods and the extra glass of wine to unwind
• Sleep well – turn off the TV, avoid stimulant drinks, read instead. Tiredness will exaggerate your feelings of helplessness.
• Do something that blesses your soul – unwind and relax when you can
• Keep talking to your partner – don’t become isolated, let them share your load and you can share theirs

Image used with permission: Jocelyn 13

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