‘When training is supported by line managers it works. When it isn’t, it doesn’t.’ HR Grapevine

Every L&D professional wants learning that sticks. Training that drives lasting behavioural change, not just short-term box ticking. The secret ingredient to success is one that is often overlooked – Team Leaders.

Team Leaders sit at the intersection between the wider company and the individual employees. C-Suite and senior leaders don’t have daily access to the people on the ground whereas Team Leaders, not only have access, but have influential relationships.

The reason that Team Leader input is key is simple. Training assigned by a Team Leader carries more weight than requests from a distant HR function. People motivate people. A Team Leader, who has a professional relationship with an individual and who works with them daily, is more likely to get results. Likewise, the Team Leader is motivated to develop their team members, as, in general, Team Leader performance is assessed on Team performance.

Learning technology, therefore, needs to empower Team Leaders and equip them with the tools they need to develop their teams.

What does this mean in practice?

Dedicated Team Leader dashboards – give every Team Leader a simple dashboard where they can view and manage all their team’s training and performance activity

Integrated performance management systems – annual appraisals, informal check-ins, 360 feedback gathering, offer Team Leaders access to systems that make these processes easier, all in one place so management is simple.

Real-time progress visibility – give Team Leaders reports in a variety of formats so they can monitor progress and see who is engaging and improving, and who needs their help.

Training allocation tools and content libraries – give Team Leaders the ability to assign online training to individuals based on identified needs.

Sign-off tools for on-the-job training – a huge amount of training in the workplace is done on-the-job, but this is not necessarily recorded. Give Team Leaders the tools to monitor and sign-off on this style of training.

The technology needs to be easy to use for busy Team Leaders to help them get the best possible outcomes. This in turn, will give the L&D department visibility into what’s happening on the ground.

This is exactly what SkillGate’s Academy10 LMS offers. We put the Team Leader at the heart of the learning and development process. After all, Team Leaders and L&D share the same goal – they want to achieve better performance. However, only one of these groups is close enough to the action to see behaviour day to day.

Training on its own doesn’t drive behavioural change. If we want learning that sticks, we need the training and to empower the Team Leaders. It is the Team Leaders who will, not only ensure training is completed, but will make sure that training is turned into action.