When I worked for a leading distribution company, I managed a project that provided funding for people to learn a new skill. It didn't have to be work related, so I dealt with requests for funding for a diverse set of courses, ranging from learning the guitar to GCSE Accountancy.
When the request came in, I always contacted the person to ask about the course. I spoke to one employee, based in Lancashire who had asked for funding to take a GCSE in Accounting. When asked how this course would help him, he told me that he was a treasurer of the local Working Men's Club. It was his role to bank the membership subscriptions along with the bar takings. He then had to pay the staff, the brewery the acts etc. He was coping but felt that with a formal qualification under his belt he would have a better understanding of what he was doing. This would enable him to have a positive relationship with the club accountants. I asked how much money he dealt with each year. The reply stopped me in my tracks when he said that it was over one million pounds. He concluded the conversation by asking me not to tell his boss because he didn't want to 'go on management.' He was happy doing his rural delivery and dreaded being asked to become a manager. For him, the thought of being in an office was akin to being in prison.
Shortly after this conversation, I was delivering a presentation to the region's senior management team and one of them stated that investing in learning for lower members of staff was a waste of money. I queried their thoughts and logic. They were adamant that once people work, they go home and do nothing meaningful. I gave them the example above without naming names or locations. The senior manager told me that his average office manager had a budget of less than a million.
Once you get to know your team, get to know their hobbies. You will be amazed by the wonderful things that people do in THEIR time. Why is this important? If you provide people with stimulating work and create opportunities for them to use their creativity, then you will reap the benefits of their hidden skills, of course, with their permission.
I am always amazed by people's hobbies. The person who builds a working model railway at 4mm to the foot (confusing enough to mix imperial and metric) with fully working semaphore signals and turnouts is creative and detail conscious. How can this transfer to the workplace? How can this person's work be enriched to maximise their potential?
The United Nations Sustainable Goal Number 4 includes 'lifelong learning opportunities for all.' Businesses should encourage their colleagues to learn new skills or to apply the skills that they are reluctant to use in work.
