Workshops can deliver many positive outcomes, but they need to be strategic

CANBERRA, Australia - July 3, 2023 - PRLog -- Workshops are single instructor-led training activities that help employees practically learn and apply a specific capability or skill set. What makes workshops unique compared to courses is their application. A workshop has to be face-to-face or face-to-screen, thereby putting more emphasis on practice over theory. The Acorn subject matter experts emphasise that while the traditional format for workshops can be seen as time-consuming and dull, they can have a massive impact when done strategically.

Active participation is a key element of workshops. They are designed to put new skills to the test as they're being developed. This can be facilitated through surveys, presentations, role-play, group work and post-workshop planning.

"Think of workshops as intentional learning environments, particularly when building capability," said Blake Proberts (CEO and Co-Founder). "Use them at specific points in the learning journey for maximum impact and reap the benefits of workshops that target certain capabilities at scale."

As with all good training, a workshop should have a strategic outcome and employees need a convincing reason to sacrifice time. Whatever the topic for the workshop, there should be a direct link back to the employee's everyday work or development plan. Start by defining the goals of the workshop. Next, create an agenda and pick a format. Finally, evaluate the effectiveness of the workshop afterwards.

While learning in the flow of work has flourished, guided learning through workshops is still viable and has its strengths. They offer the ability to develop deep but not exhaustive expertise, encourage cross-function collaboration, and enable strategic networking.

You can read the Acorn experts' full article on Acorn Labs: https://hubs.ly/Q01ScJtT0

Acorn is a fast-growing HR technology company. Acorn takes a different view to strategically enabling HR and L&D teams compared to traditional providers. Rather than focusing on analytics after learning experience, their products use workforce planning and capability frameworks prior to any learning. By linking to a company's strategy, Acorn's products can inform organisational capability gaps and suggest education, deliver this education, then measure the impact – proving business impact by the HR and L&D team in a quantifiable way.