13 June Attacting Knowledge Workers (...bribery.)

[Paul Terlemezian]

Recently I have been doing some work with the training organization within a large well-known corporation. One of their managers jokingly described the participants in the classroom as prisoners and vacationers. That description was perhaps too accurate and points to a lack of motivation connected to their business interests in the class or its relevance to their employment. Why bother to send them to class if they don't want to be there or if they would rather be somewhere else?

 

How do we deal with the student that always tries to shift the agenda to their needs? Do we "bribe" them to get them back in line. Do we listen to them to understand their issues?

 

What if their agenda is "wrong" for the class? Does this mean it is wrong for their work?

 

Workers may be used to being bribed - accepting compensation so that they do something they know is not the right thing to do (i.e. go to a class that is wasting their time.)

 

How can we be sure that we are not "bribing" our learners?