When developing a training program, the question arises of the type of skills to be developed. Rather develop the technical skills or the interpersonal skills of your teams?
The ideal would be not to have to make a choice between these types of skills! But in reality, the resources put in place are sometimes limited, and we must create training programs focused on Soft Skills or on the Hard Skills. So between vertical and horizontal development, what is the best choice? We tell you everything!
Vertical and horizontal development: what are the differences?
Before knowing what type of development to choose for your teams and your program of vocational training, let's go back to the basics. What is the difference between vertical development and horizontal development?
Horizontal development Skills concerns the know-how of your teams. This is the most common type of skill, because it is essential for your employees to carry out the missions inherent to their job.
Vertical development, he, is interested in the implementation of these technical skills. We are then talking about the adaptation of the employee to changes in his environment or to different levels of authority.
If we draw an analogy with your smartphone, horizontal development would increase the storage capacity of your phone, to allow it to download more applications. On the other hand, vertical development would improve the speed of opening the application. Do you see the nuance?
Of course, these two types of development meet different goals. Horizontal development will allow a team to be more productive and achieve better operational results within the company. Vertical development will allow employees to be more agile and adaptable to change.
The winning combination is, of course, to work on these two developments at the same time!
The benefits of vertical development
Vertical development is still a concept that is unknown to some. Different specialists have looked at the question, and define this concept in several ways.
First, and most experts agree on this: vertical development would make it possible to develop the adaptability of a team. By working on their skills to understand a problem, to treat it, to manage unforeseen events or to communicate better, employees increase their agility tenfold. As a result, the productivity of the team is (positively) impacted!
Then, vertical development also allows a certain evolution of consciousness within companies. This type of development makes it possible to push thinking to another dimension. We identify problems, we solve them, but we also know when immediate solutions cannot be found.
Finally, it is a real opportunity for the development of the personal skills of your employees. Certain actions to put in place to solve your problems will lead you to the training of Soft Skills of your teams!
Vertical development in your company
Do you want to develop agility and adaptability in your teams? So, it's time to set up a vertical development program. You can call on training engineers or educational engineers to help you set up such a project. If not, follow these few steps to lay the groundwork for your program.
The analysis
To set up a vertical development program and train your teams in this sense, you must start from what already exists. What problem do you want to solve? Why do you want to solve it? And what are the obstacles to its immediate resolution?
For example, here is a typical problem: “Being able to better manage the unexpected”
- Obstacle: organize your working days in a precise manner, without leaving time to manage the unexpected
- Motivation: The fear of not being able to prioritize all tasks and of losing productivity.
- Brake: by changing the method, the employee could be afraid of managing his days even less well and of appearing to be a disorganized person in the eyes of his manager.
The design of experiences
Once you have completed your analysis of the existing situation, you know the problem to be solved and the obstacles you will encounter in solving it. Now it's about design experiences (as “case studies”), during which the subject will not be sanctioned in case of error.
These experiences should include choices that are relevant to a problem situation. An outside observer can then determine whether the choices really affect the situation or not. It's a great way to dismantle pre-conceived ideas and obstacles to a given problem!
Hypothesis testing
Thanks to these non-harmful experiences, you normally find yourself with a panel of “actions” to put in place to solve your problem. It is now about check, or not, your hypotheses.
To start, identify actions that you don't think you can do at all, due to a lack of skills. These actions are automatically eliminated.
Next, identify actions that your business environment may be preventing you from doing. For some, you may be able to connect with the person in charge of a project in order to discuss your vision for change with them.
Finally, the remaining actions are certainly relevant actions that can very well solve your problem with the resources you already have. Put them in place and watch the change!
If we had to summarize the concept of vertical development, we would say that it is complementary to horizontal development.
Horizontal training will focus on the know-how of your teams to carry out their daily tasks. Vertical development will allow them to implement this technical knowledge in the best possible way. We also use the term “vertical” because these skills are applicable to different levels of authorities and on all types of tasks!
It is also a way to change the paradigm, to take stock of your problems and to admit that not all problems can always be solved.
