They say that money makes the world go round. In English, we know this must be true because of our sheer quantity of money-related idioms. It’s hard to have a conversation without using one — often without even realising it. Money talks, but it doesn’t grow on trees, even though we're always saving for a rainy day. Time is money, but money is also power. Most importantly, money is the root of all evil, and it definitely can’t buy happiness.

In recent years, more and more people have taken this last idiom to heart: money can’t buy happiness. Where once, salary was the primary motivating factor when looking for a job, now, it is one consideration among many. 

Gone are the days when you worked the same job for 40 years and retired with a handshake and a gold watch. In a highly competitive professional landscape, expectations around benefits, professional development, career advancement, and workplace learning have advanced vastly. These days, many employees say factors such as company culture, career progression, ethics, values, flexibility, and benefits are as crucial as salary — if not more so. 

So, we’ll delve deeper into this phenomenon, asking: if not pay, then what? How can we motivate employees? We’ll set the scene by asking if salary still matters (hint: it does), before exploring seven ways to motivate employees beyond salary. 

The short answer is yes, salary still matters. A lot. No one is ever going to turn down a pay rise. The difference is that salary is no longer the be-all, end-all of employee benefits that it once was. Instead, it is one consideration among many. 

Consider this hypothetical: a worker is weighing up two job offers. One pays $80,000, the other $90,000. The twist? The higher-paying job has recently been in the news for a PR scandal over their negative environmental impacts. You’ve also heard rumours their work-life balance is poor. On the other hand, the lower-paying company is famous for its values and welcoming culture. Where previously pay might have been the deciding factor — and everything else an afterthought — these are the sorts of mental equations many employees now regularly weigh up when looking for a new job. 

To corroborate this point, a study from Princeton University investigated the correlation between pay and happiness. Researchers found that “having a higher income increases happiness but only up to about $75,000 per year (approx. $115,000 AUD). Beyond that, higher pay doesn’t influence happiness as much, and other factors take over.”

For example, 56% of employees say that career growth and opportunity are more important than salary, while 42% of Australians would prefer to work from home than receive a pay rise. Forty years ago, these sorts of statistics might have been unthinkable. But these days, employees are weighing up other factors, indicating greater social awareness and a healthier work-life balance. 

Still, this doesn’t mean that pay is no longer important. It is. Objectively. It's just not always the most vital factor for every employee. To re-emphasise pay’s primacy, in 2021, 43% of job-leavers cited “better pay” as their primary reason for switching jobs, making this the most common response ahead of career advancement (32%) and the ability to work from anywhere (31%). What’s more, Pew found that half of all job-switchers in 2021 saw their pay increase by 9.7%, demonstrating that salary is still a major motivator. 

As such, it would not be accurate to say salary has become less important to employees, but rather, other benefits have become more important. This point is worth emphasising — these statistics do not mean that employers can get away with paying their employees less if they offer other benefits. Pay is still exceptionally important. Instead, it means businesses must prioritise other benefits, such as career advancement, diversity and inclusion, culture, and flexibility, as well as pay to create a more well-rounded, comprehensive employee benefits equation.

7 ways to motivate employees beyond salary 

With this in mind, the question becomes, what other factors do job seekers weigh up in addition to pay? And how can you improve your retention by motivating employees beyond salary? 

Here are seven ways to motivate employees that aren’t a pay rise (although that’s still good too!). 

A recent survey by Logitech found that 42% of Australians would prefer to work from home than receive a pay rise. What’s more, 64% said that working from home saved travel time, thus allowing a better work-life balance.

Additionally, having to return to a physical workplace would cause 41% of employees to seek a job with another company.

The message is clear: employees value flexibility, with many considering it as important as pay. 

79% of employees wouldn't accept a better-paying position at a company with questionable ethics, such as not acting against sexual harassment, creating environmental problems, paying female employees less, and selling user data without their permission. 

To take this a step further, 73% of people wouldn’t even consider applying to a company unless its values align with their values, while 36% of people have left a job because they disagreed with a company's ethical standards.

Despite this, the 2021 Global Business Ethics Survey finds that just 14% of employees believe they work in an organisation with a strong ethical culture, meaning there is significant room for improvement. 

While most employees wouldn’t accept a pay rise to work for an unethical company, 60% of employees would accept a pay cut to work for a more empathetic company. 

Moreover, 95% of employees would be more likely to stay with a company if it was more empathetic, while 81% would switch to another job for equal pay if they were more empathetic. 

For tips on making your organisation more empathetic, see our guide on how to lead with empathy. 

56% of employees say career growth and opportunity are more important than salary, according to Forbes. 

Further, 68% of employees say training and development is a company’s most important policy, while 76% say a company would be more appealing if it offered additional skills training.

As ever, employees are crying out for more career progression and L&D opportunities — it’s your responsibility to answer these calls.  

Glassdoor found that 56% of employees believe company culture is more important than salary, rising to 66% among Millennials. 71% agree that if their company’s culture deteriorated, they’d look for a new job. 

To emphasise this point, 15% of people have turned down a job offer due to poor company culture. 

As such, a strong, welcoming company culture is vital to attract, engage, and retain employees. For more insights, see our blog on creating a sustainable learning culture. 

Nearly 4 in 5 employees (79%) would prefer new or additional benefits — such as paid time off, flexible scheduling, office perks, tuition reimbursement, performance bonuses, employee discounts, or stock options — to a pay rise. 

Finally, 75% of people would hesitate to accept a higher-paying job if it meant taking on more stress. 

In contrast, 80% would prefer to work in a happy environment and get on with their colleagues than receive a pay rise. 

To help reduce stress at work, see our article on creating a stress-free learning environment.

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

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These days, many employees say factors such as company culture, career progression, ethics, and flexibility, are as crucial as salary — if not more so. So, how can we motivate employees beyond salary?

If not pay, then what? 7 ways to motivate employees beyond salary 

Without a doubt, the world of work is not the same as it was five years ago. Combine an exponential increase in the use of technology with the chaos of a global pandemic and you’ve got a recipe for workforce change — whether you like it or not. 

Arguably, one of the biggest changes of this uncertain time in the world of work is the number of people working remotely. Whether it be full-time, part-time, or something very occasional, remote work, for many, has proven to have numerous benefits, including increased flexibility and decreased commute time. 

However, remote work is not without its drawbacks. Remote work can sometimes feel lonely, especially if you are used to being surrounded by the hustle and bustle of a busy office. In fact, 67% of workers aged 18-34 have stated that since beginning to work remotely, they’ve found it harder to make friends and maintain relationships with work colleagues. 

Additionally, those that work remotely may fear that they could be overlooked for special assignments or promotions over those in an office environment. Employers certainly wouldn’t want to miss what could be the perfect candidate for a role, just because they don’t regularly interact in person. 

The solution to this is networking. Networking is certainly easier said than done. But there are a number of ways that employers can both encourage and provide opportunities for networking to their employees even though they work remotely. 

There’s more to networking than just helping people move up the career ladder. By providing networking opportunities, businesses open pathways that not only benefit individuals but the business overall.  

Networking is also key to professional success, with 80% of professionals saying networking is essential to their careers. 

For instance, networking allows for idea sharing and development. Someone might have the beginnings of what could become a major positive change for the business but might not know the best way to execute it. This is where a network of professionals becomes an invaluable workplace tool. 

Professional networking via social media has been a game-changer; allowing people to extend their network internationally without needing to travel. It also provides access to knowledge from industry experts that may have previously only been attainable by purchasing a book or attending an event.  

It’s not all about the work itself though. Networking can also benefit employees’ mental health. The more people in someone’s professional network, the more people they can share experiences with. Perhaps someone on their social media network has shared a post about a struggle that others in the industry identify with, or maybe they want to vent about something frustrating in the industry. 

Networking opportunities are plentiful in an office work environment. But what exactly can employers do to provide those same opportunities to employees that work remotely? 

Use social media and messaging programs specifically developed for business 

If the idea of adding someone you’ve never met in person to all your social media accounts in the name of networking feels daunting, you’re not alone. But don’t worry, as there are ways to avoid this issue while still being able to participate in the collaboration potential that social media provides. 

Business messaging mediums like Slack, Skype for Business, and Microsoft Teams are well worth the investment for your business. They allow employees to chat with each other directly without having to begin email threads that quickly become hard to follow.  

Want to get feedback from meeting participants without the pressure of having to respond immediately? Or maybe you’re looking for a way for people in a specific group to participate in discussions without anyone outside that group interrupting? Messaging programs designed for business answer these networking questions and plenty more. 

These professional chat threads don’t necessarily have to be related to work either. They could be focussed on interests like sport and music or even be a place to share photos of pets (who doesn’t want to see adorable animal pictures during their workday?!). While those topics likely don’t directly relate to any work being done, talking about these things can act as icebreakers for discussion that can lead to both professional relationships and friendships. Friendship, even over distance, is key to helping remote workers to avoid loneliness. 

People who currently work remotely but previously worked in an office might fondly remember the general workplace chatter that goes on while working. Often, it’s during this general workplace chatter that some of the best ideas emerge. For remote workers, this is where virtual coworking sessions can be extremely valuable.  

Employers can bring these opportunities to their remote workers by actively encouraging them to join a virtual room for a dedicated period. This doesn’t necessarily mean they have to complete work tasks as a team. It can be as simple as a team enjoying each other’s company despite any physical distance, while completing work independently. 

No matter the industry, many of us are exhausted at the end of a busy work week. By turning a virtual coworking session into a virtual happy hour, employers are encouraging discussions that don’t focus on work. Remote work can sometimes cause the lines between work and life to blur. Having a virtual happy hour encourages employees to switch off when necessary and shows that the company values work-life balance.

Business conferences where attendees can hear from experts about significant industry updates are nothing new. Where previously they might have exclusively been held in major cities, which required expensive travel, the exponential rise of online technology has meant that many business events are now live streamed online. Essentially, anyone can attend! 

By encouraging remote workers to attend webinars, employers are providing their employees with communication channels that may never have been opened otherwise. It also encourages a love of learning which is one of the greatest qualities employers can instil in their employees. A love of learning benefits not only the individual but the business overall. 

When people are relaxed around their colleagues and industry peers, they start to feel more comfortable in the workplace in general. Moreover, they’re more likely to seek advice from or share ideas with workplace peers when they feel the risk of being judged is low. Idea sharing and development is the primary goal of networking.  

When employers make a noticeable effort to provide networking opportunities for remote workers, it increases the likelihood of new and innovative ideas. It also helps remote employees to feel valued at work, despite the fact they may not interact with colleagues in person. Ultimately, employees who feel valued and heard are more likely to produce their best work. 

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.

Remote work can sometimes feel lonely. However, there are a number of ways that employers can both encourage and provide opportunities for networking to their remote working employees.

How employers can provide networking opportunities in the world of remote work

Logistics is a complex industry that requires meticulous planning and execution to ensure deadlines are met. Not doing so can have a knock-on effect, which can damage professional relationships and lead to lost revenue.

To consistently deliver a high level of service, what logistics skills are necessary? Below, we’re going to take a look at which skills employees need to progress in logistics, and what skills managers need to lead their teams effectively.

What are some fundamental skills required in logistics?

Many logistics skills and competencies are needed to make sure an operation runs smoothly. Without your team members possessing these crucial skills, your business won’t work as effectively as it should.

Data is the key to making good decisions, so the ability to analyze data will allow employees to put plans in place. By having and using data, employees can spot trends and patterns, and accurately forecast what may come in the future. This means solid knowledge of spreadsheets and mathematics is also important.

Without strict planning and organization, it’s impossible to successfully progress in logistics. Without proper organization, deadlines won’t be met, which means unhappy customers who won’t continue to use your services. Not only can this lead to lost revenue, but also potentially increased costs as your business struggles to pick up the slack caused by poor planning.

This may seem obvious, but skills in certain industries may not translate to the relevant skills for logistics and supply chain management. For example, knowledge of engineering and technology is needed, and the ability to inspect and maintain vehicles.

Warehouses are full of potential risks, so good safety knowledge is imperative not just from a legal perspective, but also from a moral perspective to ensure all employees work in a safe environment.

Part of this includes optimizing the layout of a warehouse to improve workflow and productivity and using the relevant technology to improve safety and automate certain processes.

Online warehouse safety courses are a quick and cost-effective way for all employees to learn this important information.

Despite meticulous planning, unfortunately, sometimes there can be unexpected and unpreventable delays. Because of this, flexibility and adaptability are crucial, especially for drivers who spend a lot of time on the road. Supply chains are complex, with many individual moving parts, so the ability to remain calm and evolve will ensure any changes are dealt with swiftly.

Every member of the team plays an important role in the supply chain. It’s a cliche, but also one that’s true - a chain is as strong as its weakest link. Stepping up and being accountable means every team member can shine.

What other skills will help further your logistics career?

The skills needed for logistics and supply chain management don’t end there - for those looking to climb the ladder and advance their careers in the industry, there are plenty more skills to develop.

An important part of good warehouse logistics skills - and logistics skills in general - is team management. It also falls under organizational skills but is more specific to how managers organize and manage their teams.

One of the difficulties with team management in logistics is how to manage employees who are on the road for most of the day. Warehouse staff are a little easier to manage, but trust also goes a long way.

Strong leadership skills will allow managers to effectively oversee teams, and keep productivity and efficiency high. To do this, managers must motivate and engage employees on a consistent basis.

A big part of effective team management, but also important when dealing with stakeholders and customers, is communication. Encouraging openness and honesty will allow for communication to come from both sides and create a more comfortable working environment.

As well as being able to communicate what it is they want to say, managers also need to be great listeners. By not listening, managers will never be destined to be truly great communicators.

Your teams can learn more by taking easily accessible communication courses.

We’ve already covered flexibility above, but more specific to managers and senior employees is contingency planning.

Disruptions can and do happen, so having confidence and the ability to quickly create a solid contingency plan will prevent further issues. This includes assessing potential risks, communicating with customers, and sourcing alternatives where necessary.

As with any business, budget management is a key skill for a logistics manager. Because budgets are fixed, any unexpected or higher than anticipated costs can eat into potential profits, which can have a negative impact on the entire business. So, while the task of delivering on time is crucial, doing so within budget is equally as important.

A part of progressing in a logistics career is also helping others progress in their own. To do this, developing talent by providing feedback and constructive criticism will ensure employees continue to grow. That means becoming a mentor and coaching team members, contractors and freelancers will not only help them to progress but improve the overall performance of their team.

Where can you learn more and boost your logistics skills?

Ready to help develop talent within your organization? Go1 has a wide range of online logistics courses available to access right now. For more information on how Go1 can help your business with its training and development, book a demo with a member of our team today.

Logistic roles require keen strategic and planning skills, but there’s much more required to be at the top of your game. Check out these top logistics skills!

The tops skills to progress in a logistics career | Go1

The top skills to progress in a logistics career

Over the past year, the Emerging Stronger team has developed a series of tools to make it simple for L&D professionals to embrace evidence-informed tactics to improve business impact. In the fifth of this series of “Making it Simple to Do the Right Thing”, Shannon TIpton introduces you to the Cultivating Learning in Workplace Communities Tool.

Download the Cultivating Learning in Workplace Communities Tool here. 

A community is “a way of being together with both individual authenticity and interpersonal harmony so that people become able to function with a collective energy even greater than the sum of their individual energies.”  M. Scott Peck

Communities create belonging. And this is particularly true in the workplace today. When people feel as though they belong to a workplace community, they become more dedicated to their group and become more motivated to level-up their performance. 

Studies tell us that those who feel isolated in life also feel hopeless. And within the workplace that feeling is compounded by a sense of powerlessness and apathy, which ultimately can take its toll on morale, productivity and engagement. 

Today our workplace communities have the same potential for creating a sense of belonging, especially with the increase in remote working. In fact the glue that has been keeping us connected is enterprise collaboration and the technology that enables it. Last year Gartner revealed that 80% of workers were using tools such as Slack, MS Teams in 2021, up 44% from 2019.

These online communities provide us with fertile ground in which learning can grow. All we needs is a plan to prepare, sow, and nurture. What is more, the rewards of that plan is a harvest of learning, a  sense of belonging, an increase in psychological safety that develops an energy for creating positive change.

Here we will guide you through the benefits of using the Cultivating learning in Workplace Communities Tool – with some handy hints on how to best incorporate this tool into your workplace toolkit. 

Benefits of using the Cultivating Learning In Workplaces Communities

Encourage people to take responsibility for their own continuous learning

Support people as they learn from work and each other

Improve performance through practice, reflection and collaboration

Build and sustain motivation through connection, accountability and progress

Given all the information about the benefits of learning within workplace communities, why don’t we see more of them in action? What is the barrier? 

Generally, the reasons for why workplace communities fail are numerous, if not somewhat predictable. 

Competing platforms - every department is acting in silo’s. This leads to duplication of effort without alignment with the organizational strategy and business goals. This results in platform over-population.

Lack of top-down, management support - Generally L&D will put in place a platform, place together a limited communication plan and hope that people will start conversing and engaging on the platform. There may be a “honeymoon” period but shortly the enthusiasm dies down, and the platform becomes a ghost town. 

Organizational competitiveness - it is very hard to be collaborative and share openly if an employee knows that s/he will be judged and measured against their peers. This turns team members into opponents. When behaviors are focused on win-lose outcomes, building a community can be difficult. 

However, despite the barriers in front of us, it’s critical to find, nurture and support the learning that is occurring in the workplace communities growing within our organizations. While it may seem a daunting task, it’s not impossible. Just as one may consider tackling a weed strewn plot of land as more effort than reward. We know that with the proper tools and plan, the weeds will eventually be a proper flower garden.

With the Cultivating Learning in Workplace Communities Tool we adopt the analogy of a community being a fertile ground which can be nurtured into a garden that blooms of learning. Subsequently then, this tool will help you to cultivate and support learning in the communities that are currently woven throughout the organization - both formal and informal.

This tool has templates to take you through five parts:

Part 1 – Dig into purpose: As mentioned, what is the purpose of the community “garden”. Dig around to unearth why people are gathering in this space, what they are trying to do there and set learning goals that support this purpose.

Identify Purpose. Identify who is working in this space and the problems or opportunities that have drawn them together (e.g: onboarding support to new starters in the organisation).

Define learning goals. Set goals that support the group’s purpose with indicators that will help you know if you are on track (e.g reduce time for new starters to reach competency).

Identify priority knowledge, skills or topics. Make a short list of priority skill or knowledge topics to (e.g. How to answer customer complaints, how to find critical information).

Part 2 – Prepare the ground: Understand and improve the growing conditions of the community garden. Is the garden set-up for success?

Is the purpose or common interests of the community clear so people can decide if the learning is relevant to them?

Are guidelines posted that describe how people are expected to participate and behave in the community? 

It is easy to join the community? Are you asking people to jump through too many hoops?

Part 3: Sowing into your community: To support learning and performance, know what seeds to sow and why. Sowing is about seeding the learning process in the community with relevant content, questions, and activities. Applying principles from learning science will ensure you not only drive engagement and interaction but provide essential nutrients to grow learning.

Thoughtfully curate quality content that is relevant to the community learning goals and share it in a way that seeds engagement. 

Be a role model and share content effectively. 

Questions are a powerful way to stimulate learning. Review recent community discussions to find examples of effective questions.

Part 4: Nurture community learning: How to water, fertilize, weed and prune the garden in order for learning to thrive.

Weed the garden! Make it easy for people to find current and relevant content, find interesting conversations and each other.

Look for areas where engagement and learning are happening and support it’s growth.

Make it easy for community members to support each other, showcase SME’s or others who are contributing value. 

Part 5: Harvest results: Gather and use the fruits of your labour. Look for signs of learning maturing.

Gather the crop (find the information or learning that is “ripe” to share)

Prepare the harvest for distribution! Save resources being shared and created into a repository, tagging them for easy search.

Plan how to use the information gathered, can the resources be reused in other “gardens”?

Download the tool for guidance notes and templates for each part of Cultivating Learning in Workplace Communities Tool. 

As with anything, there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution. The needs of your organization will vary.

As you unearth the variety of communities established in your organization, you will find that every learning community will have their own shared goals built around the people within it. Think of this tool as one to help support and nurture a community specific learning journey. 

The best learning community environments are collaborative, with open communication that’s aimed at promoting a rich experience that allows for the sharing of ideas, finding answers, and filling in skill or knowledge gaps. But also, a well-nurtured workplace learning community will provide support and even have a bit of fun together.

Employees everywhere are looking for a deeper partnership with the business, are wanting stronger bonds with colleagues, and are looking for clear paths to collaborate and learn. This tool can help you achieve these goals. 

In this series we have seen that most of the tools work just fine on their own, but work at their best when combined with other complementary tools. 

The Cultivating Learning in Workplace Communities Tool does work stand but will provide even more impact when combined with others in this series:

Use the Cultivating Learning In Workplace Communities Tool with other tools in this series

Needs Analysis Tool: Use this tool to double check that your workplace community activties become essential support business critical needs vs an unwelcome add on.

Curation Decision Tool: Use the curation decision tool to create laser focus on the best content to sow in your communities. 

Power Hour Tool: Use the Power Hour tool to inject accountability and visibiity into your workplace community strategies

Communication Plan Launch Tool: Use the communication planning tool to explore smart ways of  leveraging your communities to engage your community and maintain learning momentum 

Improving Impact Tool: Use your improving impact tool to help clarify what conversations you need to encourage to uncover impact and use your workplace community harvest to feed the data in your improving impact tool

You may also be interested in the previous blogs in this series:
Making it simple to conduct a needs analysis conversation, where Shannon Tipton covers delivering valuable content with the Needs Analysis Tool.
Making it simple to curate with impact, which dives into moving beyond learning aggregation with the Curation Decision Tool.
Making it simple to engage with managers, Laura Overton talks through improving engagement with managers with The Power Hour Tool.
Making it simple to market learning and increase engagement, with Laura Overton exploring how to best spread the word on your learning solution with the Communication Plan Launch Tool.
Making it simple to improve impact, Laura Overton walks through a powerful and adaptive resource, the Improving Impact Tool.

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.

L&D expert Shannon Tipton walks us through the Cultivating Learning in Workplace Communities Tool in the latest blog in our Making it Simple series.

Making it simple to cultivate learning in workplace communities

Over the past year, the Emerging Stronger team has developed a series of tools. These are built to make it simple for L&D professionals to embrace evidence-informed tactics to improve business impact. In the Sixth (and final) of this series of “Making it Simple to Do the Right Thing”, Michelle Ockers walks us strategically through the Improving Impact Tool.

You can download the Improving Impact Tool here.

When you talk about how your learning solutions add value, do you tend to focus on learning metrics like activity and engagement? Or are you comfortable and adept at discussing the business impact of your work, and linking it to a sound up-front needs analysis?

Even when L&D has worked with the business to be clear on what needs to be achieved, we tend to then work independently. We may get input from Subject Matter Experts as we curate content or develop a learning solution. However, we only occasionally engage others in solution development and delivery. Similarly, our evaluation mindset and practices limit the potential benefits available to us. We are often too inwardly focused, seeking to demonstrate how we add learning value. However, this doesn’t tell us whether our solutions have any impact on performance. 

Here we will guide you through using the Improving Impact Tool – with some handy hints on how to best incorporate this tool into yours and your manager’s toolkit.

Improving Impact Tool: Emerging Stronger

Interdependence and continuous improvement

According to the 2021 Learning Performance Benchmark Report, only 12% of L&D teams collect learning intelligence from line managers.

This is indicative of the the opportunity to engage others, particularly managers, to create shared ownership of solutions and responsibility to increase impact. Adopting a continuous improvement mindset regarding the purpose of evaluation leads to very different practices and outcomes. Engage in ongoing smarter conversations with managers that focus on key areas linked to improving impact, using evidence to inform your conversations and guide you to adapt your course.

This tool helps you to have smarter conversations to improve the impact of learning solutions in order to help you:

Engage others, particularly managers, to create shared ownership of solutions

Approach evaluation with a growth mindset

Efficiently identify and make evidence-informed improvements to solutions

Increase the business impact of solutions

Demonstrate the value that solutions have added 

Gather, use and share appropriate data to achieve all of the above

The tool offers straightforward, practical evaluation steps that can be undertaken with limited time and basic data literacy. 

The tool includes templates to guide you through a series of 30 minute conversations with managers whose team members are participating in a learning intervention. It also includes three separate conversation guides to help you prepare for and have smarter conversations (A) before, (B) during and (C) after a learning intervention. It includes visual ‘roadmaps’ of key check-in points in the life of both short and longer, more complex interventions.

Each conversation consists of three steps: 

Identify invitees and book the conversation

Review actions from preceding conversations and update the action log

Tailor the conversation guide if appropriate 

Ask questions as per the conversation guide

Agree actions and note them in the action log

Provide conversation participants with a copy of the competed guide with your notes

Continue monitoring completion of agreed actions

Each guide provides suggestions for when to have the conversation, specific preparation and questions to explore. You’ve got space to note outcomes and an action log template to keep track of actions from all of your conversations for a specific intervention in one place.

The real secret sauce in this tool that sets it apart from other ‘evaluation’ approaches, is the emphasis on gathering evidence that allows you to take immediate action. For example, the questions in the ‘During a learning intervention’ guide are in three sections titled:

Supporting participants to take action in their work

Evaluating progress against business metrics

What are you waiting for? I bet you have a learning intervention underway right now that you can use this tool to improve impact. Download the tool for guidance notes and templates for each of the Improving Impact conversations.

Context varies, so here’s some ideas to help you apply this tool in different situations to gain impact.

Pick your start point – a solution in development where you can identify a manager who cares about business impact and is willing to partner with you. Try using the tool with limited customization the first time, then experiment and refine how you are using it for best results.

Improving Impact offers a fresh way of thinking about the purpose of evaluation, and a straightforward practical approach that shares responsibility for monitoring progress and driving higher business impact. It’s good for you, good for the managers, and good for your business!

Over time these smarter conversations will shift your relationship with managers, lift your business impact, and boost your credibility and reputation as a value-adding business partner.

In this series we have seen that most of the tools in the Go1 Step Further Toolkit work just fine on their own, but work at their best when combined with other complementary tools. This is especially the case for the Needs Analysis Tool and Improving Impact Tool. 

Use the Improving Impact Tool with others in this series

Needs Analysis Tool: Use this tool to define business outcomes for a learning intervention before you start designing it, and then tracking and driving achievement of these outcomes through your Improving Impact conversations. 

Curation Decision Tool: Use the curation decision tool to carefully curate quality resources, then review the use and value of those resources in your Improving Impact conversations. Review and refine your curation decisions.

Power Hour Tool: Use the Power Hour tool to run a complementary team session to reflect on and engage them in driving the impact of a learning intervention.

Communication Plan Launch Tool: Use the communication planning tool to improve awareness of, and engagement with, your continuous improvement activities as you launch learning interventions and share improvement actions.

You may also be interested in the previous blogs in this series:
Making it simple to conduct a needs analysis conversation, where Shannon Tipton covers delivering valuable content with the Needs Analysis Tool.
Making it simple to curate with impact, which dives into moving beyond learning aggregation with the Curation Decision Tool.
Making it simple to engage with managersMaking it simple to engage with managersMaking it simple to engage with managersMaking it simple to engage with managers, Laura Overton talks through improving engagement with managers with The Power Hour Tool.
Making it simple to market learning and increase engagement, with Laura Overton exploring how to best spread the word on your learning solution with the Communication Plan Launch Tool.
Making it simple to cultivate learning in workplace communities, where Shannon Tipton presents ways to empower the communities at play with the Cultivating Learning Tool. 

Assessing the impact a learning solution is having can be complex. The Improving Impact Tool has been built to align and improve the business impact of L&D.

Making it simple to improve impact

Who knows best? Who works the hardest? Who’s suffered the most hardship and come out the other side stronger than ever? For as long as there have been generations, there’s been a battle of sorts between them. 

And while I’m sure we all, no matter what generation we are, like to believe our own generation has the right way of thinking, that may not be the case. As much as many of us favour our own generation more than the others, each generation has unique strengths and weaknesses. 

Additionally, it can be really easy to pigeonhole and say that “people of a certain generation always do this”. While we should steer clear of pigeonholing, we can use each generation’s  typical characteristics  to understand their backstories and perceptions. As a result, workplaces can determine the most effective ways to lead and engage with a variety of age groups in a way that benefits everyone. 

With this in mind, let’s analyse the strengths of each generation – from Baby Boomers to Gen Z – including how generations can learn from each other to transform the workplace for the better. 

Some of their workplace habits may be viewed as outdated or no longer relevant by younger generations. However, the way Baby Boomers handle themselves in the workplace has seen them not just survive periods of uncertainty but thrive during them. And that’s something all generations could use help with right now. 

Baby Boomers in the workplace are also characterised by their commitment to their jobs, being more dedicated than any other generation. Furthermore, 53% of organisations say that they work well with others, making them an excellent addition to any team. Baby Boomers’ dedication to their workplace, combined with their excellent team skills, makes them excellent mentors for younger generations. 

While the fact that many Baby Boomers are not retiring despite being of retirement age may be perceived as a demonstration of their work ethic, it can also mean that many Baby Boomers struggle to maintain a work-life balance. Just as younger generations often turn to Baby Boomers to act as their workplace mentors, Baby Boomers can turn to younger generations to learn the secret to the elusive work-life balance. 

It’s no secret that during particularly busy times, work can feel all-consuming. Before we know it, work seems to become our whole lives. Previous generations may have believed that the harder you work, the more rewards you’ll enjoy. 

Let's take a look at the strengths of each generation – from Baby Boomers to Gen Z – and how different generations can learn from each other to transform the workplace for the better. 