Training Industry Magazine - July/August 2021 - 30

CONNECT LEARNING, PERFORMANCE AND RESULTS
TO TELL YOUR SUCCESS STORY.
do the right thing - such as providing
templates, checklists, small rewards and
reminders. If resources are available for
formal coaching and mentoring, these
can be very effective tools.
Holding remote leaders accountable
is less enjoyable, but it is necessary for
remote leadership to produce expected
results. Begin with existing accountability
tools and techniques, and see if there
are gaps that should be filled. Possible
examples include:
The most critical part of any training
program, remote leadership development
included, is a well-defined Level 3
implementation plan. There is strong
agreement that formal training on its own
yields only a fraction of desired outcomes.
On-the-job experiences are the biggest
source of learning for employees.
Therefore, on-the-job environment and
organizational culture significantly impact
how employees perform, regardless of
their knowledge. Decentralized teams
and remote leadership add an additional
layer of importance to the Level 3 plan.
Training and the business should work
together to define what needs to change
or occur reliably in the on-the-job
environment and employee performance
to yield desired results. Then, they should
create a support and accountability
package to help employees and their
managers succeed.
Training budgets are often cut,
because data connecting learning to
organizational outcomes is missing,
due to lacking a Level 3 implementation
plan. Therefore, creating a plan and
defining roles and responsibilities
early in the planning phase is critical
not only for the success of a remote
leadership program but for the
continued existence of the training
function as we know it today.
DEFINE
CRITICAL BEHAVIORS
The first step in creating a Level 3 plan
is to define the critical behaviors that
future remote leaders need to develop
and exhibit in observable, measurable
terms. For example, critical behaviors
for remote leaders could be:
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[ Publish organizational, departmental
and personal goals to all direct
reports.
[ Conduct daily team meetings and
weekly employee touch-bases via
video conference.
[ Review weekly status reports and
provide feedback for each direct
report.
Critical behaviors often influence
organizational processes and systems
due to underpinned assumptions. In this
case, the organization has a goal-setting
process and a culture that employees
must complete and submit weekly
status reports. The more structure and
accountability that exists organizationally,
the easier it is to build a Level 3 plan.
CREATE A SUPPORT AND
ACCOUNTABILITY PACKAGE
Human nature dictates that, even when
people know what they are supposed to
do, many factors influence their behavior.
For example, leaders know that spending
time with their direct reports is important,
but sometimes deadlines and workload
influence them to delay or cancel oneon-one
time with their team members. In
remote working situations, there could
be environmental influences such as
children and pets that make video calls
inconvenient.
Effective remote leadership requires
a Level 3 plan, including a variety of
methods and tools to support leaders
in performing their critical behaviors
and hold them accountable. Providing
support is usually enjoyable. Look for
ways to help your busy remote leaders
[ Time tracking software.
[ Weekly reports.
[ Dashboards.
[ Performance tracking systems.
The key is to ensure that you track
not only the results but the steady
performance and adoption of critical
behaviors by managers.
Monitoring performance takes time and
resources. During remote leadership
program development, discuss posttraining
roles and responsibilities and
obtain buy-in for a plan. If resources are
tight, look at methods of self-monitoring,
reporting and peer mentoring as viable
alternatives. Remote leaders can also
have regularly scheduled meetings to
discuss their successes and challenges
in adopting critical behaviors and support
each other.
The Level 3 plan is the most important
part of your remote leadership program.
The quality and execution of your plan are
the biggest contributors to the success of
your remote leaders. Define post-training
support and accountability as part of
the training package, and build it at the
same time as formal training materials.
Broadening your definition of training
better positions your program for success.
DEFINE
SPECIFIC METRICS
Training is often evaluated cumulatively
when the program is complete. Refocus
most of your analysis on formative
evaluation - data collected during training
Training Industry Magazine - July/August 2021

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