Why Cultural Competency is an Essential Skill for Successful Lawyers
July 11, 2021
Why is Now the Time to Invest in Training?
August 11, 2021
Professional learning and development has altered over the last 2 years (like everything else in the world) due to the effects of the covid pandemic.
Understanding how these changes might affect the future for learners, course providers and professionals is paramount to creating quality remote learning opportunities for everyone.
At Creative Word Training, we are already looking to the future and planning how we can operate courses while keeping our learners safe, improving our eLearning provision and ensuring we are still able to provide high-quality, diverse courses which offer good value for firms and are relevant to their employees.
We’ve gained some helpful insights during the pandemic into the changing nature of work and professional development which we share below, so firms can confidently plan for the future of their work-based learning, ensuring they train for maximum overall success while offering their employees the best learning opportunities.
• Leadership and Management Training
Firms have faced unprecedented changes to the usual working environments which has had a huge impact on the role of leadership within the workplace.
Managers have had to adapt to remote working conditions and leadership roles, causing issues with communication, participation, engagement, effectiveness and, of course, the usual office (or out-of-office) dynamics.
With many firms now considering long-term options for WFH possibilities and the chance of future Covid outbreaks, it seems likely that these new working conditions are here to stay.
For those in leadership roles, this means learning how to motivate, connect with and facilitate a remote team with diverse perspectives and situations.
Leaders must be confident, able and resilient – all skills which can be developed and nurtured with the appropriate training and practice.
The best leaders will, in turn, inspire and support their team through the challenging times ahead and be an asset to your firm.
• Business Development and Technology
Modern businesses all operate using huge amount of tech which are subject to constant upgrades and developments.
Employees must be confident and competent with the technology used within the firm, if they aren’t, it may significantly impact their ability to perform their job, especially when working remotely.
IT skills gaps can be filled with effective eLearning courses and upskilling opportunities for employees ensuring that firms are getting the best from their teams and the technology.
Planning for future business growth and development, through quality, targeted training courses and professional L&D, is also beneficial and will ensure that your firm is ready to take its next steps.
• Soft Skills
The pandemic has highlighted just how human we all are and how we are all subject to high levels of anxiety, stress and worry, affecting many of us on a daily basis.
Working remotely has exasperated many of the typical workplace burdens, highlighting the need for empathy, emotional intelligence and compassion within firms.
Unfortunately, these haven’t been the traditional skills that we look for in employees (previously, we have focused on the hard skills and business aptitude with little regard for additional abilities or soft skills) so, for many firms, there is particular skills gap in this area.
Training courses which focus on cultural intelligence, leadership styles, managing conflict, coaching and mentoring, or building resilience will all have a huge impact on the effectiveness of teamwork, productivity and communication, helping to ensure a more cognitive team.
• Cultural Awareness
With recent events such as, Black Lives Matter racial justice movements and the death of George Floyd there has been an increased awareness of equality, diversity and inclusion within the workplace, especially in a cultural sense.
Firms have re-examined their policies, values and cultures and adapted them in a bid to improve discrimination but for these changes to effectively filter down through the workforce, they must be followed up with company-wide strategies with quality training and education for all employees.
Unconscious bias training can help raise personal awareness and when used in conjunction with cultural intelligence courses, it is possible to encourage a diverse workplace and an inclusive company-wide ethos.
• Future Learning and Development Prospects
It is highly likely that our remote methods of working will remain in place for the foreseeable future but this shouldn’t impact opportunities for learning and development within business.
At Creative Word, we have been steadily improving our range of eLearning courses to ensure remote learning is high-quality and easily accessible.
We specialize in courses aimed at improving leadership and development, cultural awareness, finance and compliance, legal and soft skills, and we offer accredited courses which provide a benchmark for training.
Contact us today to find out how we can help your firm achieve more from its learning and development programme.
