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When to Use Training, Mentoring and Coaching At Work · Enhance.training

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Knowing what the difference is between training, mentoring, and coaching, which are all used fairly interchangeably at work, is very useful to use each in the best way and maximise your investment to improve team performance.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: Time and time again, I've witnessed firsthand the considerable performance improvement, increased motivation, and increased team loyalty you can get by investing in developing your team through training, mentoring and coaching at work.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: Today we're covering these four topics.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: Firstly, the differences between training, mentoring and coaching at work.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, when to use training at work and how to drive team performance with training.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: Thirdly, when to use mentoring at work and how to drive team performance with mentoring.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: And then fourth, when to use coaching at work and how to drive team performance with coaching.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Jess Coles and I've had a 25-year management career in corporates and household names through to SMEs.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: And as a line manager, I spent a lot of time training, mentoring, and coaching team members through my career.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: I've also coached many senior managers and directors as an external coach, particularly in leadership and management.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: If you're new to this podcast, Enhance.training shares business and people management expertise to help you improve your performance and that of your team and business.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: And do visit us at enhance.training and take a look at the courses and resources for you to improve your management skills and the outcome your team delivers.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: So let's go through the differences between training, mentoring and coaching at work.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: While training, mentoring and coaching are used very interchangeably at work to describe how to improve teams or individuals and their performance, they are all different from each other and should be used in different ways to get the most benefit for those you're seeking to help.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: In practice, particularly in one-on-one situations, you'll probably find yourself switching from one style of development to another.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: You could be in a mentoring session, for instance, and start using coaching techniques.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: This is perfectly normal and can be very, very effective.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: Knowing exactly what each approach is and why you're using it will help you get a lot more improvement from your team members.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: So let's start with training, which I hope everyone has experienced and are a lot more familiar with.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: The key features of training include, first you know, transferring knowledge from an expert to students who have a lot less knowledge.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: Training is typically delivered over short periods, you know, a few hours to a couple of days.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: There is usually one trainer teaching many students.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: Ownership of the learning is generally much lower as most people are put through training rather than requesting training at the work.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: Fifth, knowledge retention after training drops off very quickly unless what you have learned is quickly put into practice and used regularly.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: Sixth, training is lower cost for the company than mentoring or coaching, which is why it is used a lot more.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: Moving on to the key features of mentoring.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: Firstly, a mentor is a more experienced person transferring skills and knowledge to a less experienced person.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, mentoring is nearly always done on a one-on-one basis.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: Third, a mentor acts like your personal guide, you know, with advice given tailored to your specific needs.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: Fourth, a mentor guides and advises a person to develop skills, solve specific problems, work out new approaches to situations, etc.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: And often helps guide a person's career advancement along a planned career path.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: Fifth, typically mentoring relationships are long-term, you know, anything from six months through to many years, built on trust, understanding and a shared experience.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: And finally, the key features of coaching.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: Firstly, coaching is different from mentoring and training, in that the coach is not and doesn't need to be the expert.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, coaching facilitates the individual to learn how to make better use of existing skills and developing new skills.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: And thirdly, coaching facilitates the coache to develop better solutions and answers to their situation.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: Fourth, coaching engagements are usually structured towards achieving specific goals.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: Fifth, coaching is a great source of feedback, support and challenge to the individual.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: Each of these is very useful as you get more senior.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: Sixth, coaching is usually one-on-one.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: You also have coaches who work with teams to achieve specific goals too.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: External coaching engagements are confidential, which provides a safe space to explore, make mistakes and experiment without repercussions to your career progress.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: And outcomes that coaching at work is often used for include to define and prioritize goals, to help achieve specific goals, to gain a better understanding of yourself, your reactions, your beliefs, your assumptions and your preconceptions.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: And following a better understanding of these to check if any of these are blocking or slowing you moving forward.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: And coaching facilitates you changing your mindset to overcome these blockages.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: So there you have the key features of each method of developing others.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: Here is a simple chart capturing the key differences between training, coaching and mentoring at work.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: When to use training at work and how to drive team performance with training.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: Using training as a development approach is great when you need to teach new skills to a group of team members or an individual.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: In terms of when to use training at work, any opportunity you see that will improve skills or a more confident approach would result in more revenue, less cost, less time being used, happier customers, higher conversion rates, etc.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: A couple of common examples of where training is used.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: Firstly, when you have a new system or you have to use part of a new system, you get training to actually understand how to use that.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, if you're in the marketing department, you might receive training on what elements are needed to be included to improve conversion rates on a landing page.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: Third, it could be training sales team members to improve their selling techniques.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: There are lots of ways of delivering training.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: Some of the more common ones are, firstly, mini training sessions at lunchtime for team members on specific subjects.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: Second, formal on-site or off-site training sessions with a professional trainer.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: Third, informal training sessions in your one-to-one meetings with your team members.
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  SPEAKER_00: And fourth, on-the-job training.
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  SPEAKER_00: Basically, use training to transfer knowledge and teach how to learn skills whenever there is a benefit of doing so.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: Using training is the most common development route used by most companies as it is quick to deliver, it's lower cost, and you can train many people at once.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: Post-course testing is an easy way to assess and reinforce what has been learnt.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: I've always found that to get the most out of training, make sure the individuals use what they've learnt soon after the training has been given and get them to use it regularly so the knowledge is more likely to be retained.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: If you don't do this step, what they have learnt is quickly lost or old habits reassert themselves fairly quickly.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: When planning how to drive team performance with training, assess the knowledge and skills gaps that you need to close.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: Carefully plan out what is being taught to whom, and then set up the practical use of the skills and knowledge learnt as soon as possible after the training has been delivered.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: Another very good way to embed what the team members have learnt is to get them to train others.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: Training others cements and embeds their own training.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: You learn a lot from training others.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: When to use mentoring at work and how to drive team performance with mentoring.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: Use mentoring during your one-on-one meetings with direct reports and team members.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: Spend a significant part of these meetings mentoring.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: Most managers have lots of knowledge and skills to pass on to more junior members of the team.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: Managers have often done the more junior role before or know a lot about it.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: Even without a lot of knowledge of the specific role, managers can help develop the people and soft skills needed to be successful in any job.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: Mentoring focuses on the specific needs of the individual being mentored.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: This bespoke approach makes it much more valuable and useful for that individual compared to more general training.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: In terms of when to use mentoring at work, as much as possible and is sensible, is my response.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: The more a manager can help develop their team, the better off everyone will be, including the manager.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: A team member is likely to be less open in line manager mentoring because of the conflict the manager has between helping team members and assessing their performance.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: For more senior team members and higher performers, consider organising a mentor from another team, which helps overcome the helping assessment conflict.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: It adds a different perspective and may offer additional skills.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: Another option is encouraging team members to network and find a mentor external to the company.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_00: Different perspectives, experiences, and skills can make this extremely valuable.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: When planning how to drive team performance with mentoring, provide plenty of feedback on the areas to focus on improving.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: Play to strengths more than weaknesses as you get more bang for your buck by doing so.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: And make sure the areas being focused on help the business as well as the individual.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: Ultimately, the better the individual is at doing their job, the better off the team, company, and you will be.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: When to use coaching at work and how to drive team performance with coaching.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: Coaching techniques can be used by anyone at all levels.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: For example, by asking questions rather than giving direct answers.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: Effective coaching is a specific skill set and mindset which needs to be learnt and practiced.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: Many of the basics can be learnt from books and videos.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's generally better to use coaching when you are trying to improve existing skills or make better use of knowledge.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_00: Coaching is not as useful when the person just doesn't know the specific knowledge or skills.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: Coaching results in much better ownership of the solutions because the person being coached developed those solutions.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: Knowledge retention is also a lot higher because the learning is active and not passive like you have in training.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: Coaching is also much more effective at changing behaviors and habits compared to training, for instance.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: The downside is that a coaching approach takes a lot more time to deliver compared to training and to a lesser extent mentoring.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: I would say it takes longer to see the benefits of coaching, but those benefits are a lot more dramatic.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: I personally think the coaching approach is very useful with high performers and experienced staff.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: I tend to use a more mentoring approach with the average performer or people with less experience.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: And then I tend to use a training approach with those struggling or who are early in their careers.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: These are of course very general statements and should be treated as such.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: You'll find yourself using a mix of all three depending on who you are trying to develop.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: Work out the best mix for each person.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: When planning how to drive team performance with coaching, think carefully about the goals to be achieved with a coaching program.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: Identify and define the goals with the person you are coaching and then coach them towards those goals.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: Coaching has been shown to be very effective in increasing performance and overcoming blockers, which is why it is so attractive to many in business.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: Coaching also makes best use of time as it is a highly bespoke form of learning.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_00: This makes it very attractive to senior team members.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: The biggest limitations of coaching as a line manager is team members are much more reluctant to really open up, show weaknesses, or explore unknown or sensitive areas when you are also assessing their performance for grading and promotion purposes.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: Setting up coaching programs with trained HR staff or other managers in the business, both of whom are seen as more independent and therefore safer, has a lot of value for this reason.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: The more senior the staff member, the more they'll want an external coach for similar independence reasons.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_00: It makes sense to tailor the type of coaching program and who delivers it with these factors in mind, as well as the benefits to the team and company, and of course with consideration for budgets.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: So we've gone through what the key differences between training, mentoring and coaching are and when to use training, mentoring and coaching at work.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: We've also touched on how to drive team performance with training, mentoring, and coaching.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: As a reminder, the key differences between each are whichever combination of training, mentoring and coaching you use with individuals and teams, developing team members gives you the team and the company many benefits and can be one of the highest returns on investment available for the company to make.