What could your boss learn from going undercover?

I recently finished watching a great UK reality series called “Undercover Boss”. Following the GFC, 6 CEOs of large organisations in the UK went undercover in their own company doing entry level jobs. The aim was to find out what was really going on at the business end of things, where they could cut costs, where they needed to increase spending, what their employees were thinking and how they could ultimately change the business around to become more profitable and blow the competition out of the water.

There were lots of interesting lessons learned by the Undercover Bosses on their little adventures, but what was most interesting to me was that the majority of those lessons were learning related. And as that’s what we do here, I decided to share my thoughts...

Lesson #1: Stay in touch with reality.
There is often a disconnect between what is learned in training and what happens in the real world. Do your training programs really reflect what happens on the ground or are they written by people with their head in the clouds of theory and ideology? Are you using real-life case studies and scenarios that people can relate to or are you using Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse to help tell your story?

Lesson #2: Never assume common sense.
Everyone has been brought up differently with different experiences all through their life, so never assume anything as far as training is concerned. What’s “just common sense” to you, might not be to someone else and this can lead to dangerous situations like accidents in the workplace.

Lesson #3: Never assume prior knowledge.
Unless you have proof that someone knows something, assume they don’t. It’s better to tell them twice than to make an assumption and end up not telling them at all

Lesson #4: Don’t underestimate the power of peer pressure.
In more than one example, I saw that employees who did things “the right way” after training were sometimes teased and ridiculed by their workmates for being “goody two shoes” (yes, really), or told “that’s the long way round, here’s a shortcut”. Peer pressure in a work environment can be a huge factor in how someone carries out their job, particularly in the case of new starters who are looking to fit in with a team.

Lesson #5: Learning doesn’t just happen in the training room.
Following up learning and development programs accounts for 50 percent of behavioural change. The actual delivery of a training program accounts for 40 percent of behavioural change with the remaining 10 percent resting with pre-course work*. There needs to be tools, resources and support back in the workplace to ensure transfer of knowledge, but also regular knowledge checks to make sure that what was learned in the classroom or online is still top of mind with people and if not, then refreshers can be provided. *Source: American Society of Training & Development

Lesson #6: Always tell people why.
This is something which often gets left out of training programs and it can make a world of difference to a learner. If they know why something is supposed to be done that way rather than just what is supposed to be done, they have a better understanding of the task, the implications of it not being done or not being done properly and the responsibility that goes along with it. In a lot of cases answering the “Why?” will also eliminate dodgy workarounds and contribute to better process health.

Lesson #7: Make information available to employees when and where they need it.
It’s great having resources available on an intranet and in training manuals, but what if Joe from the warehouse is about to bump a trolley of boxes down a flight of stairs (yes, on the program that actually happened!), where is the reminder to him that he should be loading boxes onto pallets and using the lift instead?

Lesson #8: Don’t dismiss problems as “training issues”.
This is a huge mistake made by many organisations. The solution is not always in “training people” but it is in finding out why something happens in the first place, then correcting the problem, THEN training people in the right way to do it. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting something different to happen. If employees have taken part in a learning exercise and something is not working, delve deeper to find out why that is before training them again.

Lesson #9: Identify the stars of the future.
Who in the organisation is doing something really well or differently to the rest? Where are the successes in the business and what are they being attributed to? Are there systems, processes and training aids being created by individuals or teams in the organisation that can be applied elsewhere to get similar results?

Lesson #10: Nothing stands still.
Things are always changing in life and in business, so stay on top of what’s going on. Create focus groups spear-headed by your stars of the future that continually review processes and training to see where improvements can be made in line with business objectives.

I found this series intriguing and applaud all the bosses who had the courage to take on the challenge. For most it meant a week of hard labour in the wonderful British weather when they are used to plush offices with kitchens, toilets and heating! I think it has changed their organisations for the better and was a valuable learning experience for them all on a personal level. I think it’s something every company should consider and if your boss isn’t willing to go undercover, maybe someone from your L&D team could. You might be surprised what you learn…