#7 JooBee's newsletter

TL;DR

💰 How to develop your people - with no budget

🏋🏻‍♀️ My development strategy - with no budget

❓ Your views on ‘Learning on the Job’

How to develop your people - with no budget 

When we think of development, the first thing – or potentially the only - thing we think about is training. Whether it is a workshop, courses, professional certification, e-learning or online training - it all falls under the ☂️umbrella of training, where the participant acquires knowledge from a ‘teacher’.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not here to bash training! After all, I run leadership development training myself! 😅 Training has its benefits. It’s structured, carefully curated and provides guided opportunities to practice in a safe environment, which accelerates individual learning. Consequently, training’s value is accompanied by a price tag🏷️.

Beyond training: start-ups need to cultivate a culture of continuous learning

I view training as solving a targeted problem. For instance, if your managers struggle with giving constructive feedback, you train them to improve in that area. If your teams are transitioning to the Scrum framework, you provide them with Scrum training.

But what start-ups should aim for is building a culture of continuous learning. Why, you ask? Well, a start-up’s journey is paved with constant change and unexpected challenges. To navigate this ever-shifting landscape, learning must be an ongoing process, making use of a mixture of development approaches - and the best part is that it doesn’t have to break the bank.

Grow your employees using the 70-20-10 model 

The 70-20-10 model provides a guide for a well-rounded approach to developing individuals’ skills and experiences continuously:

🖐️ 70% of learning happens on the job or in practice

Employees acquire the majority of their learning through everyday tasks, embracing challenges, practising and receiving feedback to iteratively refine their skills. By successfully executing a task, your employees not only learn faster but also learn from their mistakes and retain that knowledge. 

Here are 3 “no-budget” development methods for this approach:

• Shadow how others approach tasks / projects

• Engage in pair programming or practices (not limited to engineers!)

• Take on stretch tasks or projects

🗣️ 20% of learning happens through interaction with people

When employees learn through their interaction with others, it helps them to organise their thoughts, reflect on their understanding and identify gaps in their reasoning. 

Here are 3 “no-budget” development methods for this approach:

• Be mentored / mentor others

• Participate in meet-ups / communities

• Contribute to open-source projects

👩🏻‍🏫 10% of learning comes from formal or structured learning

This is the most well-known method of development, which is learning that is presented in a structured way. Don’t be afraid to step beyond the scope of traditional training sessions. Embrace the wealth of valuable knowledge that’s now freely and widely accessible, including from Yale, Stanford and Wharton (through Coursera).  

Here are 3 “no-budget” development methods for this approach:

• Watch educational videos, vlogs, etc

• Listen to podcasts, audiobooks, talks, etc.

• Learn from free online courses (e.g. Coursera, Codecademy, etc.)

When you're planning your employees’ development journeys, be sure to weave in all of the 3 development approaches. It's the key to nurturing their growth in a well-rounded way.

70-20-10 Poker: 👆Click here for the card game to plan your employee’s development strategy (with more examples of ‘no-budget’ development methods!)

Your employees’ growth shouldn’t be limited by your budget

As we widen our understanding of how people learn and develop, we move past training as the only solution to growing our employees. The 70-20-10 model helps you to build a holistic development strategy and cultivate a culture of continuous learning that empowers your start-up and employees to thrive in an ever-evolving landscape. 

My development strategy - with no budget

Many of us are drawn to the world of start-ups due to the unique opportunity it offers to make a significant impact and influence change. For me, this allure was strong enough to prompt my transition from a large organisation to the dynamic landscape of a start-up.

Start-ups: Less structure, more opportunities

However, start-ups often lack the structured development programs and substantial budgets that mature organisations provide. What start-ups can offer is an environment where development is not just theoretical, but an abundance of opportunities to apply it practically to gain valuable experience for one’s career.

For example, in my corporate role where I proposed gamification as a Learning and Development strategy. I was met with a surprising response from my CHRO, who remarked, 'I don’t think our employees are progressive enough to adopt such a concept.' 😱 However, when I transitioned into a start-up environment, I presented the same concept and to my delight, it was met with enthusiasm and approval.

My 🤫not-so-secret development strategy

As someone with a background in Learning and Development, I found that this setting allowed me to take charge of my own development, focusing on areas where theory alone wouldn't suffice. Now, I'm excited to share my not-so-secret recipe and examples on how to develop in an unstructured environment filled with opportunities to thrive in your role, contributing to both your personal development and the success of your start-ups.

Example 1: Developing Gamification Design skills with “no-budget”

One of my goals was to leverage gamification concepts to create a more engaging employee experience. Following the 70-20-10 model, I devised a strategy that helped me achieve this:

👩🏻‍🏫Learn new knowledge (10%): I began by seeking structured learning in gamification. I enrolled in a free Gamification course on Coursera, led by Professor Kevin Werbach from Wharton University (now moved to the University of Pennsylvania). This online course provided me with a solid foundation of knowledge in gamification.

🗣️Learn from others (20%): Networking played a crucial role in my development. My colleagues were aware of my interest in gamification, and one of them introduced me to An Coppens, the founder of Gamification Nation. She became my de facto mentor, guiding me, sharing insights, and helping me shape my ideas.

🖐️Learn on the job (70%): The majority of my learning happened on the job. I applied my newfound knowledge to solve real-time problems. For instance, I gamified the launch of PeopleHR system in Schibsted, which we fondly called P’Opslympics. Implementing gamification in a real scenario allowed me to put theory into practice and deliver tangible results. Furthermore, I deepened my skills by teaching my team how to gamify the HiBob system launch (👆case study), a process that enhanced my knowledge and capabilities even further.

Example 2: Developing Working Effectively with SLT with 'no-budget'

When I was in MOO, I expressed my desire to grow into a Director role. One of the areas I identified for development was the ability to work effectively with the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) to deliver impact at a company level.

🗣️Learn from others (20%): This time, I began by learning from others. One of the key pieces of advice I received was to be concise in my communication and enable the SLT to arrive at decisions efficiently. Meri Williams, the CTO at MOO and part of the executive team, became my mentor, providing feedback (including observations from SLT meetings) and serving as a sounding board. Becca Sweetman, a former COO, acted as my coach, helping me refine my approach.

👩🏻‍🏫Learn new knowledge (10%): Meri shared a wealth of best practices and recommended readings. Two practical guides to effective communication that stood out for me were: P&G one-page memo and Monzo’s Tone of Voice. 

🖐️Learn on the job (70%): As part of my development, I approached my manager, Alan Cairns, for a stretch project. He assigned me a transformation project (apologies, confidential) that required close collaboration with the SLT. This project necessitated presenting and implementing a strategy at the company level. In the process, I learned how to gather concerns, communicate succinctly, engage in healthy discourse, and handle criticism and disagreement.

Start-ups: Abundance of developmental opportunities, just in need of structuring

By embracing the 70-20-10 model and crafting a strategic development plan, I not only expanded my skill set but also actively contributed to the success of the start-ups I was part of. Now that you have the how-to, it's time to leverage the unique start-up environment, which provides ample opportunities to develop your career. Let's move beyond traditional training as the sole solution for personal growth and embrace a more holistic approach to unlock your full potential🤘.

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