Malaysia has celebrated 60 years as an independent nation in 2017. As a nation, we are on the verge of significant transformation as we undertake nationwide initiatives such as the TN50 (Transformasi Nasional 2050). 

The initiative includes future plans to realise Malaysia’s vision of becoming amongst the top countries in the world in areas of economic development, innovation and well-being.

It is accepted that there is an imbalance between education and labour market demands today. Malaysian businesses can play their part in mitigating this mismatch by identifying skill gaps and providing job-specific skills training. Most companies have been delivering job-specific skills training for new employees, but only a few provide training outside of one’s job scope. It is also important for an individual to learn new skills and acquire different competencies to boost their profile personally and professionally.

In 2018, Malaysians should anticipate changes happening at their workplaces in magnitudes both large and small. In terms of learning and development in the workplace, there are several topics that Malaysian businesses could set their focus and improve on.

Widely known as a lifelong process, employees are seeking to develop skills and qualities that meet their personal aspirations more than ever before. Many believe that although early experiences (within family, with friends, in schools) mould us as adults, personal development should be continuous throughout one’s lifetime.

Skills such as Decision Making, Emotional Intelligence and Time Management typically are under-delivered or sometimes even unprovided in school curriculum. Referring to the younger generation, Simon Sinek argued in his interview with Tom Bilyeu, “it’s the company’s responsibility to pick up the slack and work extra hard and find ways to build their confidence, to teach them the skills that they're missing out on.”

In the workplace, problems can be monitored and limited, but ultimately inevitable. No matter whether big or small, every employee will encounter problems, work-related or otherwise. A good working environment welcomes problems and sees them as valuable learning opportunities. It is beneficial for businesses to equip employees with training for developing problem-solving skills.

Courses like Creative Thinking, Conflict Resolution, Problem Solving, for example, provide employees with a solid grasp on how to think effectively in disparate situations.

In terms of Leadership & Management Training, there are a large number of training providers currently active in Malaysia. It can be said that many Malaysians are keen on getting training for Leadership & Management, although costs for this training may often be pricey, especially for smaller businesses.

Within the areas of Leadership & Management, topics such as Strategic Planning, Project Management, Developing Leadership, Coaching & Mentoring, amongst others, offer significant understanding for both experienced and first-time managers.

English is an international language promoted nationwide in business and commerce, in line with Malaysia’s target for economic growth in 2020. Malaysia ranks 2nd out of 20 in Asia, and 13th out of 80 nations globally for countries with high English proficiency, based on the EF EPI Score (Europesika Ferieskolan English Proficiency Index - worldwide research on the command of English Language). This suggests an increased importance in good command of the language for Malaysians.

Despite Malaysia’s high ranking, the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) highlighted that there is a declining standard of English, prevalent across different industries. Current MEF secretary, Datuk Hj Shamsuddin Bardan argues that it is becoming increasingly difficult to hire fresh graduates with good command of the language. He added, “in situations where we simply cannot get a suitable local candidate, companies have no choice but to consider getting foreign talent – a move that does not augur well for the country.” 

According to MEF, there are currently approximately 200,000 unemployed graduates in the country, and a major factor for their unemployment is due to lack of English proficiency. This demands a larger responsibility for companies to put emphasis on training their employees in better English proficiency.

Similarly, good communication skills are an essential part of the job for any line of work. Besides working competencies, professionals must possess compelling communication skills to succeed. Training focused on topics such as Listening Skills, Giving Feedback, Presentation Skills and Negotiation Skills will contribute to an improved standard of effective communication in the workplace.

At its core, sales are what facilitate companies to create, develop and grow profitable businesses. Sales professionals with adept sales skills typically contribute directly to a company’s unique value proposition. Hence, there is always great demand for sales talent in the market. According to Kimberly Lu, a director at Robert Walters Malaysia, the hiring of salespeople in Malaysia remains ubiquitous, even when employment opportunities are bad. However, it can be argued that there is potential for complications to arise if sales talent becomes scarce in supply.

A good way businesses in Malaysia can combat this is to provide sales training to their employees. Sales-related topics such as Pitching, How to Influence, Handling Rejections, Asking Sales Questions and Sales Research will help equip employees with the knowledge to enhance their sales skills.

For more insights, subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs.

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In terms of learning and development in the workplace, there are several topics that Malaysian businesses could set their focus and improve on.

What Malaysian businesses need to be training for in 2018

Have you walked out of business meetings and thought it was a total waste of your day?

We all know that time is everything in business and there’s nothing worse than feeling like you’ve been unproductive and wasted precious time.

But, there’s an easy way to avoid having an unproductive meeting ever again and that’s by preparing beforehand. A meeting agenda is exactly what you need. It’s simple, yet effective.

When we talk about someone having an agenda, there’s often negative connotations and it’s automatically assumed that it’s a bad thing. But, when it comes to business, it’s quite the opposite.

Of course, we’re not just talking about simply creating a list of things to do. It’s more than that. It’s creating a schedule and a plan.

An agenda is a way to shape your meeting to make sure all of the important information and relevant matters are addressed. Having a meeting agenda is all about organization and making the most of your time.

Not to mention, employees need to know why they’re at the meeting and have some direction of what they can expect. Having a meeting agenda means that more can be accomplished and you can focus on the important stuff.

Just a little extra effort will always pay off in the long run.

So, do you want to ensure meeting agendas make a regular appearance in your office? Well, that’s where an agenda setting course is going to help!

The advantages include helping potential attendees decide whether they need to attend the meeting, as well as providing a structure to the meeting. This means the chair can control the schedule and allow the meeting’s success to be judged.

This section also highlights that meetings are all different and will have a different agenda depending on what is to be discussed or the sector they are in.

At this point, there are options on the video screen where the user can click and learn about the different areas you should cover when setting an agenda. This includes logistics, objectives, housekeeping, items, any other business and close.

This is going to be arranging the date, time and place so that everyone knows where they should be for the meeting. In addition, this will include the title of the meeting and a list of everyone that is invited to participate.

It is essential to decide the purpose of the meeting. Without clear objectives, there’s not much point! It should also be decided whether this is a one-off meeting or if it should be the first in a series of meetings.

This is your introduction to the meeting, with a welcome to all attendees. You can also cover approval of previous minutes and anything else that is important to address before you begin and is not dealt with in the agenda.

These are the topics you want to discuss. Every item on the agenda will have a number and title, as well as a presenter. Having a suggested time limit on the discussion will also help to structure the meeting for productivity.

Allocating a priority order for your items can make sure the important topics are covered first and you don’t run out of time.

This is the opportunity to bring up anything that hasn’t been discussed or included in the meeting. Of course, with a well-prepared agenda, there shouldn’t be the need to raise any other business. So, this section of your meeting is optional.

Why is an agenda setting course important?

Once you know how to create an agenda, you can run a successful meeting and know how to make the most of your time, as well as not waste the time of other employees. Everyone can be more productive and become better at their job.

This course lets employees learn how to avoid distractions and risk going off on a tangent during important meetings since everything’s clear and everyone knows exactly what they’re doing.

With an agenda, meetings don’t have to be a waste of time anymore – they can be a valuable contribution to your day’s work and let you achieve success!

Improve your meetings by setting an effective agenda

As we approach the end of 2017, we’d like to thank all our readers and followers for your ongoing feedback and engagement throughout the year.

We’ve covered many exciting (and sometimes challenging!) topics over the past year, as we’ve explored all things learning and development.

From diving into the innovative world of gamification and VR, to talking about current trends in eLearning technology, our articles have discussed many interesting facets of the learning industry. We hope you’ve enjoyed learning about these topics as much as we have.

Here’s a look at your top five most-read articles of 2017!

#1. Structured vs Unstructured Learning in the Workplace

In this article, Ricardo asks: how can we take advantage of technology in order to enable a better blend of structured and unstructured learning, and better overall training and development results?

“In structured learning, information is presented in a structured manner (live presentations, offline slides, videos, documents, books, etc.), learning activities are done as directed, and assessments are used to check if the employee has learned what has been intended to be learnt. This is the traditional approach.”

“Unstructured learning includes learn-on-the-job approaches and happens with the natural experiences and interactions the employee has.”

Keen to enable more unstructured learning in your organisation? Here are some tips.

Assign a peer coach or shadowing experiences;

Create knowledge bases that are easy to search and access;

Have an active online internal social network and instant messaging tool;

Provide collaborative online spaces where information is presented as it is being developed;

Promote an open and positive work culture, where employees can ask questions and learn from peers while doing the job.

You’ll gain an understanding of the differences between structured and unstructured learning in the workplace, and why it’s important to use a combination of both.

#2. The Impact of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

 2017 saw much discussion and media attention around the subject of sexual harassment in the workplace.

At Go1, we believe all employees have the right to work in a positive and non-threatening work environment, free from any form of sexual harassment. Yet sexual harassment remains a serious issue for many workplaces.

In this article, we looked at how sexual harassment impacts the workplace and the negative effects it can have for both individuals and organisations. Does your organisation have a strong policy around sexual harassment? You can commit to creating a positive and safe environment for your staff, by developing and implementing an effective strategy that prevents and addresses workplace harassment.

Read the full article to find helpful online resources containing more information about workplace harassment and how to navigate this important topic.

#3. How to Measure the Success of Leadership Development Programs

In an effort to make their managers and leaders the best they can be for the business, today’s companies are investing record amounts in leadership development programs for their employees. This is understandable – after all, your company’s long-term success depends on creating strong, successful leaders for the future.

However, with such large proportions of funds going into this area, it’s important for organizations to develop ways of measuring leadership outcomes, to see if these investments are paying off. Unfortunately, leadership is a lot harder to assess than other more tangible aspects of an organization, such as sales figures or productivity reports. So how do we go about measuring leadership development?

#4. Can Manipulation Be Used in a Positive Way?

This article poses the question: have you ever thought about the potential of manipulation for positive change?

No one likes being manipulated. Whether it’s in our personal or professional lives, the idea of manipulation is generally considered to be a bad thing. Most of us associate it with negative connotations, such as people trying to take advantage of us or push us into doing something we don’t really want to do.

But manipulation can sometimes be a good thing – as surprising as this may sound!

Using a positive form of manipulation to motivate employees towards their goals can help to improve their performance and allow teams to achieve organisational goals. This good kind of manipulation is also used by non-profit organisations and ethical companies to persuade people to act, helping others in need and promoting positive change in the world.

If this has got you thinking about ethics in your workplace, and how you can bring positive forms of manipulation to your role as a manager, jump over here.

#5. The Difference Between Knowledge and Skills

These terms are often used interchangeably. But they shouldn’t be!

Knowledge and skills are two similar but separate terms that express two key elements of success in a situation or an accomplishment of a goal.

In this article, you’ll find explanations and examples of the different between knowledge and skills.

“A teacher may have a teaching certificate showing the requisite knowledge to educate young people, but without engagement skills, they’ll never be able to successfully transfer that knowledge.”

You’ll see how skills can be learned and improved upon. They can be honed and crafted through the practice of the practical implementation of their knowledge. And you’ll understand why this is so important when we’re talking about the skills gap within the current workforce.

Happy reading, and happy holidays, from the Go1 team.

Have you finally given in to e-learning, but want to make sure everyone is on board with the new system?

Sometimes, people don’t like change. But, in a world where everything is constantly evolving, it’s important to keep up with the latest technology. When it comes to ongoing training, everyone knows that online e-learning courses are the way forward.

From engaging educational videos to interactive courses on the go, e-learning offers it all in one exciting package. Yet, even if you’re convinced e-learning is the next biggest thing for your workplace, you’ve still got to convince employees to adopt a new system and understand why it’s so great for them.

For your company, making the switch to e-learning is easy. It’s instant and courses are made ready to use straight away. But, for your learners, everything’s got to start out slow. You’ve got to make sure everyone’s happy with the change and ease them into the new system over time.

So, how can you make sure learners engage and use the new e-learning system?

Well, it doesn’t have to be complicated.

But you can’t just leave everyone to their own devices and launch them into the deep end either. Not everyone’s as tech savvy as they’d like to be. So, you need to make sure everyone’s comfortable with the new set up.

Follow our tips to make sure your learners adopt your new system!

While you know the benefits of e-learning for your company, you’ve got to let your learners know why they should want to adopt the new system too.

Let’s put it this way - I’m sure everyone will be glad that those traditional classroom style training sessions are finally over!

Of course, you’ve got to let them know that online e-learning courses are actually more beneficial than other styles of learning.

Otherwise, employees will worry they aren’t getting the training or education they had before. You don’t want them to think they are getting a bad deal.

You don’t want to tell them about the cost savings for you – this will probably give them the wrong impression. It’s important to tell your learners about the advantages of e-learning that they will experience as a direct user. They want reasons why it’s beneficial to them.

So, arrange a meeting with everyone to go over the benefits of e-learning together. This way you can get everyone excited and on board with the new system.

You can tell them about the endless number of courses that are available, which are regularly updated. From courses on how to understand customer needs to managing stress, there is something for everyone in every industry.

Not to mention, there’s something to suit everyone’s way of learning. You are no longer confined to a classroom with someone speaking at you – you can interact with the courses.

Plus, you can learn at your own pace. If you’re having trouble understanding topics, you can go over them until your heart’s content.

Of course, the big advantage of e-learning that your users will love is that they can learn in their own time. Since courses can be used from any device and started at any time, your learners can choose when they use them.

This means no training sessions after working hours or having to take time away from work. Even if you’re sick, you won’t fall behind. You can even choose to learn on the bus to work!

During the introduction session, you want to emphasize that e-learning is going to make their lives that little bit easier, as well as having educational value.

Now you’ve sold the picture of how great e-learning is for your learners, it’s time to get it up and running. Just because courses can instantly be used on your LMS doesn’t mean that everyone will know how to use them straight away.

Most people will be excited to try something new, but others will be hesitant and need a bit more help. That’s why it’s important to start e-learning as a team.

You can arrange group sessions to go over the first course, just until everyone knows what’s happening and feels confident on their own. This will make sure everyone understands and feels comfortable working the new system.

You want to make the transition to the new system as easy and smooth as possible. After all, it’s your learners who will be using it. By starting as a group, if there are any problems, you can solve them together.

Now that your learners are all familiar with how e-learning courses work and are eager to use them on a regular basis, you should let them know the plan going forward.

If you intend to use online e-learning courses as part of a new system for ongoing training, let them know how often courses should be completed and what they can expect.

It’s important to also let everyone know if they’re having problems, there will be somewhere for support.

While they can always ask other colleagues, it’s also a good idea to have someone dedicated to e-learning support. This way everyone knows who they can go to if they are having trouble.

There you have it – your new system in place and everyone on board.

By emphasizing the positive impact e-learning will have in the workplace, as well as for individual employee progression, everyone will soon love the new system and wonder why it wasn’t in place sooner!

Most people are afraid of the unknown, so if you take some time to introduce e-learning into your office, everyone will be just fine.


Getting learners to adopt your new system

As innovations in technology continue to drive changes to the workplace at a rapid rate, questions are being raised about the relevance of skills being taught in our schools and universities.

Are these skills really relevant to the future workforce? Are we providing children and students with the best opportunities to develop the skills they need for jobs of the future?

These days, many employers are looking for a different kind of skill set in their workers, when compared to the traditional skills we’ve placed value on in the past.

In today’s workforce, hiring managers place great value on employees who possess a good combination of technical ‘hard’ skills and less tangible ‘soft’ skills. What skills will organisations be looking for in another twenty years’ time?

There’s no doubt that we need to re-think how we’re preparing the younger generation for the new world of work. There’s a very real risk that the skills that are currently being taught in schools and universities will be irrelevant and outdated by the time those students enter the workforce.

This is not an uncommon viewpoint or concern. According to a recent article in The Sydney Morning Herald, one in two Australians do not believe children have the skills they need for jobs of the future.

Anna Patty, Workplace Editor for The Sydney Morning Herald, reported that a new survey of 94,706 Commonwealth Bank customers asked whether "our kids have the skills they need for tomorrow?" – half the respondents said yes, the other half no.

The survey was part of the Commonwealth Bank’s Jobs and Skills of the Future Report, which explored the serious challenges that digital disruption would bring to the labour market.

The report, by futurist Ross Dawson, identified many exciting new jobs of the future such as:

"emotional intelligence expert" – to improve customer services

"bionic interface designer" – to help humans control technology

"sense-makers" – to make sense of technological change

"health and fitness optimiser" – to help people get fit

"data insights miners" – to translate vast amounts of data.

Throughout the report, it's clear that “uniquely human qualities such as imagination, creativity, advanced reasoning, emotional intelligence and social interaction would continue to be in demand.”

In Patty’s article, Kylie Macfarlane, Commonwealth Bank General Manager Corporate Responsibility, pointed out that "some of the jobs that our children will be filling have not even been considered yet, so providing them with key skills and the ability to adapt to changing environments is fundamental to their success."

"Our future relies on giving our kids the skills and capabilities to navigate a fast-changing workforce, and the survey results show how important this is to Australians," Macfarlane said.

As technology continues to drive change across the workforce, people will need to develop a broader range of skills, and educators and employers need to start preparing for this upcoming shift now.

We’ve talked before about the importance of soft skills for your career, and how emotional intelligence can often be top of the list when it comes to setting an employee apart from the competition.

This shift towards greater value of emotional intelligence and soft skills in the workplace can be seen worldwide, with many organisations working to adjust to a new landscape.

Randstad Canada recently introduced a new concept of AQ – the agility quotient, which considers an employee’s ability to anticipate and interact with ever-changing social, cultural and economic conditions.

Randstad’s survey found that 87 per cent of respondents believe that soft skills, which are at the core of the agility quotient, are vital in the workplace. And according to the survey results, the most desirable soft skills for employees are:

Novel and adaptive thinking – being able to think differently through times of quick and immense change and adapt as needed

Social intelligence – understanding people's emotional triggers and being able to connect and engage in a meaningful and personal manner

Sense-making – the ability to connect the dots, generate ideas and create new strategies that draw from a variety of disciplines and experiences.

Interestingly, these top three soft skills were selected as the most important, regardless of level of employment, industry or gender – meaning that irrespective of your job description or rank within the company, developing your soft skills is always a smart move.

Developing the Right Skills for the Future

While the education industry must make sure young people are given the opportunity to develop the right skills for the future workforce, employers also have a responsibility to prepare their employees for these changes.

As an employer or manager, you can help your workers develop the right skills for the future workforce by providing them with effective, ongoing professional development training.

Unlike intellect, soft skills such as emotional intelligence and communication can be developed and expanded – so having access to the right learning tools is essential if you want your employees to hone and develop their skills and agility for future jobs.

Fostering a culture of learning within your company, investing in up-to-date training solutions, and committing to ongoing development and mentoring of employees will provide them with the opportunities and environment they need to succeed.

By taking positive steps to understand and move towards the future reality, you’ll be helping to set your employees up for success, while also keeping your organisation relevant and competitive.

Keen to know more about the increasing importance of soft skills and emotional intelligence in today’s workforce? You might also like:

The Importance of Soft Skills in Today’s Workforce

Why Emotional Intelligence is So Important at Work

The Top 5 Soft Skills You Need and How to Get Them

For more insights, be sure to subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs.

These days, many employers are looking for different skill set in their workers, compared to the skills we’ve valued in the past. Here are our tips for developing skills for the future.

Developing skills for jobs of the future

Are cables and wires making your workspace look unprofessional?

When all your cables are mixed up everywhere, you can never find the right one when you need it. You can spend a lot of time untangling them – it’s like earphones, they always seem to get tied in a knot without realizing!

Don’t worry, we’ve all been there. We’re all guilty of leaving cables like this for long periods of time. If everything’s working fine, it’s easy just to put off fixing them for another day. After all, you’ve got much more important work to be doing, right?

But the truth is when cables are lying around everywhere, it’s not just annoying and unorganized, it can also create a hazardous working environment for everyone.

Let’s not forget that cables and wires are electrical. If they aren’t managed properly in the workplace it means that there’s a bigger risk of fires. Plus, you can easily trip over them and pull the cable out or injure yourself.

That’s why it’s important to teach your employees about good cable management. Having a tidy workspace is not only great for the mind, but it’s always good for keeping everyone safe and organized when they’re working. After all, you’ve got to keep on top of things!

This cable management course is suitable for anyone working with technology and electronic devices, as well as anyone working in an office space.

It’s specially designed to provide you with everything you need for employee training, with pointers on how you can become better at cable management in the future.

The main attraction of the course is definitely the animated video. It’s amusing and has an engaging voiceover, which employees are sure to respond positively to in training.

Plus, the videos are only a couple of minutes long, so everybody can stay focused and remain interested in the course. It’s lighthearted and doesn’t even feel like you’re working!

Plus, there’s a section outlining the inexpensive resources you can use to tidy all your wires and cables. It covers all bases.

Of course, the best part about the self-study booklet is that it includes a quick quiz at the end. This is just what you need to test your employees on what they’ve just watched and read – what a great way to summarize the course.

It really gets your employees to think about everything and how to put good cable management into practice in the workplace. You may find a few more organized desks on Monday morning!

This course highlights the dangers of poor cable management and why it’s important to have organization in the workplace. In addition, it teaches you how you can create a well-managed cable system to stay safe and make work life that little bit easier.

This section highlights why good cable management is important and although industries are different - there’s a solution for everyone.

It stresses that your safety is number one – cables can overheat and providing enough airflow between them is going to prevent this from happening. This means you’ve got to correct bunched up cables.

In addition, this will avoid broken cables that cause sparks and can lead to fires. Not to mention, cables lying everywhere means that you’re at risk of falling over and hurting yourself or others.

Plus, if you don’t know where the wires lead to because they’re all mixed up, you can unplug the wrong one and risk something going wrong. For example, losing the work on your computer.

In this section, you can learn how to have an organized cable system once and for all in four simple steps. The first step is to hide the power source and get extension cables out of the way.

Second, group your cables together and then make them shorter with cable wrappers.

Third, if you aren’t using any cables that are lying around then it’s time to put them somewhere else. You can put them under your desk or attach to the wall with tape so you know they aren’t being used.

This last topic rounds up the course and makes sure everyone can have their wires and cables organized with some top tips.

This includes shortening cables and hiding the power sources, as well as taping down or fixing excess wires. In addition, you can invest in some cable ties to keep everything together and electrical tape.

Plus, these are tips you should share with others so everyone can have a tidy and safe workspace too.

Why is a Cable Management Course Important?

Once you know how to tidy up your workplace and organize your cables and wires, there’s no doubt you’ll feel a weight lifted off your shoulders. How many times have you looked at your cables and thought you’ll sort them out tomorrow?

This course will give you the reminder you need to get into gear and sort out all your cables now.

By teaching you easy and inexpensive ways to sort everything out, you can make sure your workplace is not only tidy and organized, but it’s also free from any potential hazardous – you won’t have your wires crossed!

Everyone wants a safe working environment – now you can do your bit.

Are you counting down the days until your annual leave? It’s most likely that your employees and colleagues are feeling the same way, now that the end of the work year is clearly in sight! As we move into December, it can be hard to keep employees motivated in the final weeks of the year – but rather than ignore the issue, why not choose to tackle it head on?

With the holiday season full of distractions such as Christmas shopping, family commitments, vacation planning and endless events, employee productivity and focus can start to plummet. Many workers are also just plain tired and looking forward to a break, shifting into a lower gear as they start to wind down for the year.

At this time of year, employers and managers might notice staff taking longer lunches, skipping meetings, or checking out mentally from their work tasks. In fact, a recent study revealed that employee activity levels in North America drop by 52% between mid-December and the New Year.

But rather than getting frustrated with your employees, or yourself, it’s best to have some strategies in place to keep focused and stay on track. By doing this, you can make sure your business continues to hit targets and reach organisational goals, while ending the year on a positive note with your team.

Here are three things you can do to keep energy and motivation levels high right up until the Christmas break.

The key word here is achievable. Having a clear and realistic goal in sight can really help to keep employees on track and engaged in their work.

If you’re a manager or team leader, work with each staff member to establish a goal that you want them to achieve before they go on annual leave. This could be hitting a sales target or deadline, landing a particular client or gig, securing a set number of new customers… anything that will help to motivate and boost their performance.

Or why not set an end-of-year goal as a team? By hitting this target together before the break, you’ll be ending the year on a high note and setting a positive vibe for the following year. Remember, make sure it’s a realistic and achievable goal – the last thing you want at this time of year is low morale.

Setting these kinds of end-of-year goals is also a good idea for freelancers or anyone who works remotely or is self-employed. These workers are just as likely to experience the same drop in productivity and focus – but without a manager to keep them on track!

Whether you're working solo or as part of a team, get really organised and map out all the deadlines and targets you need to hit before you go on leave, working backwards from your last day of work. Knowing exactly what you need to deliver, on a weekly and daily basis, will help keep your head clear in this last hectic month of the year.

While December is always a busy month, it’s the perfect time to recognise the hard work of your employees throughout the year. And this can really help to keep staff motivated and positive right up until they go on leave.

There’s no doubt that positive feedback and recognition is an important part of increasing employee motivation and engagement – people are much happier, and work harder, when they feel valued. It also shows that you’ve been paying attention to their efforts during the year.

Managers – why not organise a team event to celebrate the wins of the year with staff, as well as those achievable goals we mentioned above? It could be a simple team lunch, or a day spent out of the office doing a fun bootcamp or yoga class, tree planting, or volunteering at a local charity. Ask your employees how they’d like to celebrate – they’ll appreciate it.

Many companies also give out end-of-year bonuses or awards. But as James Clark, Content Marketing Specialist at DATIS HR Cloud, says, there are plenty of other ways to reward staff that don’t involve money.

“Keep in mind there are rewards and gifts outside of bonuses and gift cards. Offering extra days [off] in the new year to the hardest worker of the quarter is a way to motivate employees without offering them an instantly redeemable monetary reward,” Clark suggests.

It’s also really important that employers and managers lead by example at this time of year.

There’s no point setting team goals, giving out awards or taking the team out for lunch if your own motivation and energy levels are down. Your employees will respond to your vibe – and if you’re struggling to keep it together at end-of-year your whole team will be in trouble.

As we said above, now that we’ve hit December you’re most likely counting down the days until your own annual leave. And you know your employees are feeling the same. The best thing to do is pitch in and get the job done, so everyone can head out on annual leave knowing that the year has ended on a successful and productive note.

Clark says that true leadership during this time of year “comes from executives rolling up their sleeves and working hard side-by-side with their employees. If executives expect their employees to push themselves to the limits by the end of the year, they will have to do so as well.”

Establish goals, show staff their hard work is valued, and keep your own motivation and productivity levels up in these last few weeks. All of these things will have a positive impact on your organisation and team in this final month of the year, and you can head off on your holidays knowing you've closed off the year well.


For more insights, subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs.

Motivation is an essential element of success but can be difficult to maintain at the end of the year. Learn how to keep your team motivated!