By Nima Singh – 15th January 2022

Capability development is (of course) MUCH more than just training and can/should include a wide range of other strategies that all align, interlink, and support each other in the overall pursuit of an L&D team’s organisational development goals (no one strategy alone will ever achieve the best rest result after all).

These days, most people are well aware of (and increasingly using, especially since Covid) the more obvious additional capability development resources/strategies we can use to support the traditional (but still extremely valid and important) face-to-face workshops as a part of a good blended learning solution aligned to the 70:20:10 model, such as e-learning, virtual learning, coaching and mentoring, etc.

But what about the more subtle strategies that support these learning initiatives and mean a workforce is truly immersed in an environment that promotes, encourages, and supports them?

This Sodastream advert is, perhaps, a good example (I don’t know about you but I’d feel a lot of pride in my company if I worked for Sodastream and watched an advert like that).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5FoXLxpFPk

But what else? In no particular order, here’s some ideas…

• Company communication channels (e.g. newsletter, intranet, etc) promoting positive messages from the SLT
• Leaders at every level (but especially at the top) embracing the need to display the values and behaviours they want the whole workforce to embrace
• Company communication channels promoting staff successfully completing major projects (and, in particular, detailing the knowledge, skills and behaviours that enabled this success)
• Company communication channels promoting staff successfully completing learning initiatives (e.g. photos from graduations) and how this will positively impact on the participants, their teams, and the organisation
• Awards for excellence in achievement, behaviour, etc
• Positive images/symbols around the workplace
• Including the whole organisation in determining the shared values, behaviours, etc so that they own them rather than being told them
• Including values and behaviours in EVERYTHING from recruiting, employment contracts, on-boarding, and training through to KPIs, performance appraisals, incentives, promotions and everything in between

And they, I’m quite sure, are just the tip of a VERY large iceberg.

If you have anything you’d add to the list, please, please share them in the comments section.

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