How to use the SCARF model to maximise reward and eliminate threats

Have you ever struggled with building teamwork? Do you remember times when you thought everything was working well, only to find that your colleagues were unhappy or frustrated? We're here to help with a simple and clear rundown of how to use the SCARF model to improve communication and understand your influence when working in a team.

The SCARF model was first developed in 2008 by David Rock in his paper; SCARF: A Brain-Based Model for Collaborating With and Influencing Others.

 

SCARF stands for the five key areas that influence our behaviour in social situations. They are:

1) Status; our relative importance to other people.

2) Certainty; our ability to predict the future.

3) Autonomy; our sense of control over events.

4) Relatedness; how safe we feel with others.

5) Fairness; how fair we feel the exchanges between people to be.

The model is based on research that implies that these five social areas activate the same threat and reward responses in our brain that we rely on for our physical survival.

This pretty ‘primitive’ reaction helps to explain the strong emotional responses we can have in some social situations and why it can be hard to control them. It is a base instinct and unfortunately, it can’t be ‘turned off’.

For example, when we are left out of an activity, we might see it as a threat to our status and our relatedness. Research has shown that this emotional response can stimulate the same region of the brain as physical pain. Our brain is sending out the signal that we are in danger.

Furthermore, when we do feel threatened, physically or socially, the release of the stress hormone cortisol can have an impact on our creativity and productivity. It muddles things in our mind, so we are unable to think straight and this confusion can heighten the feeling of being threatened.

On the flip side however, when we feel rewarded, receiving praise for our work for example, our brains release dopamine, the happy hormone, which makes us want to seek the reward again.

So how can you use the SCARF model to maximise your colleagues’ sense of reward and the eliminate perceived threats, for each area of the SCARF model?

Let’s break it down.

Read our complete blog about scarf model at virtual training.

The History of Blended Learning

One of the earliest examples of distance learning can be attributed to Pitman Training, recorded as early as the 1800’s. Sir Isaac Pitman invented Shorthand and established his training company back in 1837. They went on to develop a distance learning programme that allowed people, anywhere, to learn Shorthand without having to travel to classes.


While this isn’t the same as Blended Learning, it is an early example of the shift in focus; the idea of taking learning out of the traditional classroom and taking it to where the learner is, instead.

Fast forward to the next century and many universities have moved to embrace true Blended Learning; Stanford and the Open University in particular. They have worked to combine distance learning, classroom learning, one-to-one tutorials and even created TV programmes to allow students to gain qualifications without having to attend university full time.

Despite some of the heavy content, the TV programmes were entertaining with the ‘geeky’ professors delivering lectures sporting long hair and flared trousers. These TV programmes were aired at ungodly hours; late at night or very early in the morning and with the advent of the VCR, it became a much more manageable way for students to consume the content.


The benefits to this were huge, as it made gaining a degree (or higher) much more accessible, allowing many more people who wished to learn the opportunity to do so; people who either didn’t have the time or money to go to university full time. It also allowed people to study while they also worked or brought up their children.


If you are curious to see what these looked like, here is a YouTube link;

This type of qualification still exists and has evolved into a slightly different direction to create a MOOC.


What is a MOOC? It stands for Massively Open Online Course and is aimed at unlimited participation and open access via the internet. In addition to the usual, traditional course materials; filmed lectures, readings and problem sets, MOOCs also provide interactive courses including user forums to support community interactions among students, professors and teaching aides.


MOOCs are a more recent development in distance education, though they were first introduced in 2006 and emerged as a popular mode of learning by 2012.


The idea of it being open is a key part of its success, as it allows access to everyone and many academics and universities offer them for free. They are relatively short, often only lasting a few weeks, but they are a wonderful way to learn from peers and experts at a higher educational level, without going down the formal education route. They don’t offer a specific qualification, though there is the option to pay for a certificate at the end, as proof of completion.


Originally, MOOCs were purely part of the world of education, though businesses soon caught onto the approach, partnering with universities to offer MOOCs to their employees. For example, Microsoft offer MOOCs that are open to anyone to complete on the tech side of the business, such as coding, or learning more about their products and services. This is also rolled out to their internal employees.


In most organisations, over the last 20 years, Blended Learning has meant a mix of Face to Face (F2F) workshops bolstered by eLearning.Completing eLearning modules prior to a training programme can be a great opportunity for learners to consume content and knowledge before the workshop, so that it can be explored further in the F2F session, thus making better use of time together.


Completing eLearning modules between sessions in a longer programme can help to keep the learning alive and in front of mind.


Finally, completing eLearning modules once a training programme has finished, provides opportunities for learners to further embed their learning; refreshing what has been learned or extend their thinking around a learned topic.

Visit our website to learn more about blended learning at virtual training.

What are the advantages of virtual meetings? - Expert Guide

What are the advantages of virtual meetings? Our Experts Guide You Through the Perks

Over recent months, the globe received a firm push into the world of virtual working, due to the 2020, COVID-19 pandemic. This meant that companies everywhere, no matter what industry or circumstances had to look at alternatives to their usual co-located ways of working. This included a huge shift to virtual meetings.

Of course, the pandemic didn’t create virtual meetings, but it raised their popularity drastically. And not just in relation to work. What was once seen as a poor cousin to meeting physically in the same space, was successfully replaced by waving at one another through a camera.

But what about in the longer term? Now things are starting to edge back into some semblance of normality in organisations, will the virtual meetings diminish in number over time?

We hope not.

For us at VTT, we have always seen the benefit of a virtual meeting. They offer a host of advantages that sticking to physical get-togethers simply cannot offer. Read how to make your virtual meetings fly.

Reap the benefits of virtual meetings whilst avoiding the pitfalls. Check out our Facilitating virtual and hybrid meetings workshop.

 

10 key advantages virtual meetings can offer your business
1. More Cost-effective
When you start to look up the cost of travel, venues and time, meeting physically in a mutual location starts to add up. With virtual meetings, all of that is removed. There is no commute, no planning, no lost hours of work, it is easy to add in other colleagues at a moment’s notice and once the meeting is over, you and your team can effortlessly return to your daily duties. And you never have to book a room in competition with everyone else in the company!

2. Worldly Connection
The thing about virtual meetings is that attendees can come from anywhere. Provided they can make the scheduled time, with distance being no obstacle, it can allow participants to join from all over the world. What else can foster such an intense feeling of inclusivity within an organization?

3. Broader Information Sharing
Following on from the above, having such a varied list of attendees also allows for a diverse range of opinions and sharing of information. Being easily able to open the meeting to the wider audience means you can invite opinions from across your business, providing insight and expertise that you may not have had access to in a traditional meeting.

4. Increased Inclusivity
Jumping onto a virtual meeting is so quick and effective and means you are able to up inclusivity levels drastically. By taking your meetings virtually, you have created a platform where all employees have an increased opportunity to attend and be involved in discussions or updates. We are all aware of the upside of inclusivity and virtual meetings facilitate this brilliantly.

5. Increased Productivity
Being able to schedule shorter, more effective virtual meetings increases the productivity of time used. Pre Covid, meetings held at the central office could run forever, trying to cover a plethora of subject matter and information, most of which were not applicable to every attendee. Having your meetings virtual removes this need, allowing for shorter, more concise, and efficient meetings as and when they are needed. Decision making is speeded up and time used better.


If you want the complete benefits of virtual meetings then visit us.

20 Tips to Facilitate a Virtual Workshop – The Rookie’s Handbook

Running or facilitating a virtual workshop can be considered a daunting task for new virtual trainers. More complicated than a standard virtual meeting, there is a lot to remember, between the content, the tech and ensuring your participants are fully engaged.

New trainers could be forgiven for feeling overwhelmed by all this, which is why we have decided to pull together a handy guidebook of all the things we wish someone had told us when we first started doing virtual training.

We have done all the hard work for you, made the mistakes and found the best practices of virtual training so you don’t have to.

VTT’s top 20 tips on how to run and facilitate a virtual workshop

In no particular order:

1. Get everyone on webcam
Much like in virtual meetings, getting everyone on a webcam with you can increase the feeling of human connectivity and communication between both trainer and participants. Having your camera on as the trainer is important but giving your participants the opportunity to see and interact with each other via video is also key.

2. Try for one device per person
Virtual training works much better when it is attended by one participant per one device. While much less common in today’s current climate, it is not uncommon for co-located colleagues to suggest sharing a single PC for several participants. Virtual training is much more effective when each participant joins via their own, individual device.

3. Schedule breaks for long sessions
If your virtual training has been effectively designed, then you shouldn’t have any trouble holding participants’ attention and keeping them engaged. But for those longer sessions it is worth scheduling in time for a quick break, allowing them to take a comfort break, grab a drink or just stretch their legs for a moment. This lets them come back for the next portion of the workshop refreshed and ready to continue.

4. Manage the audio
Just as good audio is integral to a successful virtual meeting, so it is for a virtual workshop, as the main tool of communication. This being said, limiting participants by asking them to go on mute can be a huge killer of engagement. Instead, encourage participants to manage their mute, if for example they are dealing with excessive background noise, or feedback. Most platforms also give you, as host, this power, so don’t be afraid to manage the mute if you need to.

5. Be inclusive
Holding larger group discussion with all the participants allows a sense of togetherness and wider inclusivity to form during a virtual workshop. Make sure that whole group discussions are a part of your engagement during the workshop; some of the best conversations happen when a wider array of people are involved to give their thoughts and ideas.

6. Watch your timing
Running to time is important, especially in a virtual setting. Many participants need the virtual workshop to finish on time because they are going straight into another virtual meeting after. In order to maintain a positive virtual experience, be careful of your timings and also finish when you are supposed to.  


We hope that these facilitating a virtual workshop tips will help you to become the relaxed, confident and competent virtual trainer that you want to be.Read complete blog at Virtual training.

Managing Upwards - Supporting Your Manager Within Their Role

Having a good relationship with our colleagues is vital for ensuring that we are correctly managing upwards. But how about our manager? I’m sure a lot of us are guilty of complaining or moaning about something our manager has done, but often what a lot of people forget is that they are human too and a little support can go a long way. Having a good relationship with your manager will make your life and theirs a whole lot easier and hey, you might even become good friends.

Managing upwards is a term that you may not have heard very often. Simply put, managing upwards is about how we as individuals can get good at properly understanding our boss and learn to adapt our approach to get the most out of our relationship with them. Just as our managers have a responsibility to support us, we also have a responsibility to support them in their role. At the end of the day, we usually find that ultimately, we have the same goals and the more we can support one another the better we will feel.

Often, people who find themselves in a manager’s position initially have very little training on how they should perform or behave. We all make mistakes, and this is okay, it’s these silly slip ups that help us learn and grow as a person. Just because someone’s in a manager’s position doesn’t mean they won’t make mistakes, but there are a few things that we can do that can help to make a manager’s life a little bit easier. 

What can we do to help build a harmonious work environment?
Research has shown that satisfaction within the workplace will affect our general wellbeing. More information on this topic can be found via psycnet  So we want to help you do everything you can to make sure the workplace is a happy place. Having a good relationship with our managers will help build a harmonious work environment. One of the main things we can do is to be patient. Managers are people just like you or I, not fairy godmothers so allow them time to respond and handle situations. By allowing them time you will ease the pressure placed on them and they are more likely to have a welcoming response to anything you fire their way.

Know your manager type
Part of having a good relationship with anyone is understanding their traits and personality. No two people are the same, but we all know that people can be very similar in the way they act. Whether this is your lovable enthusiast best friend, your annoying sibling, or your calm and trustworthy next-door neighbour, different types of people can be categorised by their behavioural habits.

So what are they? I hear you ask. Firstly, there are typically 6 different manager types. These are the super planned, the process driven, the visionary, the super agile, the harmonious and the ones who are always in the detail. Now you’ve heard what they all are but what do they mean? And how can you manage your manager a little better? You’ll be pleased to know that with each manager type, there are certain tips and tricks you can use to make your work relationship with your manager more straight forward.

Super Planned- This type of manager is likely to be ultra-organised and will always plan ahead. They will also be driven by deadlines and will more often than not, love a project. Typically, the best way to deal with this type of manager is to be realistic rather than optimistic with what you can promise. Be proactive with providing updates throughout a project or throughout a deadline and remember to not take anything personally if your manager communicates in a direct manner.

Process Driven- This type is similar to the super planned in some ways. However, their main incentives are driven by their logical, rational and decisive behaviour and not to mention their desire to stick to the rules and love for justice. Building a good relationship with this type may feel challenging at times, however, they may just need a gentle reminder to be aware of the human side of everyone in the team if they become engrossed in a project.

Always remember to be clear on the rules so that you can always make well informed decisions. Above all, remember to stick to the facts and stay rational, especially if conversations become challenging. People are people, often when work gets in the way this can be easily forgotten but knowing how to handle situations will reinstate the feeling of humanity.

Visionary- Next up we have the visionary. This type of manager always thinks of the bigger picture, they are brimming with ideas and innovation, and they will always be keen to brainstorm. There are a few things to keep in mind when communicating with this type of manager. Firstly, if they pitch an idea try to refrain from dismissing their concepts before you consider the positives that could be behind their work. Ask for their input before presenting a final solution and share with them what you are learning and discovering, they will always be happy to hear about your progress.

Super Agile- This type of manager is slightly different from the rest, in that they are spontaneous, reactive and under pressure this person will shine. When it comes to change, well they say a change is as good as a rest and the super agile will be excited by the thought of a change.

There are a few tips here that will help you build a good rapport with this manager. Firstly, be super-organised with your own work so that you can re-plan if things change. Offer to help plan projects with them and show that you are confident getting involved and remember it is okay to follow things up with them if they don’t deliver what they agreed.

Harmonious- Yup you’ve guessed it, this type of person will want to be everyone’s best friend. Typically, they will be a people pleaser, have a sensitive nature and will love nothing more than a happy team. Dealing with this type of manager is never usually difficult, however, there are a few things to still be mindful of. These people tend to be fantastic listeners so please try to resist dropping your problems on them.

It is also always nice to check in with them on a personal and professional level, showing and interest will mean a lot. If you have difficult information for them, give them time to process this so they can be confident they are making the right decision on behalf of the team. Finally, give them feedback on how they have helped you personally. It may not seem like a lot, but a harmonious person will be delighted by positive feedback, especially if they think they have personally helped another.

In the Detail- Finally, we have the manager who is always in the detail. This type of person will generally always know what’s going on and in some ways will always seem like they are one step ahead. Often, they may have been promoted from within the team and will be happy to get stuck into the work.

There are a few things you can do to help this kind of manager out. One of the first things is to be confident within yourself and approach them first providing them with the details they require, trust me they will love this. You can also be prepared with your answers so you’re able to provide detailed feedback when asked. Above all, ensure there is clarity within communication, so they are sure that you fully understand what is expected.

See More tips for managing upwards at Virtual Training.

How to Encourage a Work-Life Balance in Your Organisation

In the last year or two, many of us have been faced with learning how to manage our work-life balance. We were thrown into working from home, and I don’t know about you, but I ended up working very random and often longer hours, as work was easily accessible from my ‘tiny box’ home office.

Over the months, I’ve become better at managing this and now consider myself a segmentor, not to be confused with a dementor Harry Potter fans! However, it’s been a rocky road and for many of you reading this blog, your organisation may still be in the midst of determining whether or not you will return to the office full-time, remain at home or if the future is hybrid.

With all this impending uncertainty in our work-lives, now more than ever having a good work life-balance is critical. When we have more stability in one area of our lives, we are more resilient in coping with uncertainty in another area of our lives and dividing work and home life can be a good way of building that resilience. In this blog, I share why creating a good work-life balance is important for your teams, share some of the latest research and science on work-life balance and discuss why you should be encouraging a better balance in your organization due to the wealth of benefits for everyone involved.

What is a segmentor and integrator?
Before we go into the importance of work-life balance, what exactly is a segmentor or integrator I hear you say...and how can you identify them?

First let’s chat segmentors!

These individuals create a rigid boundary between their personal and work lives. They shut their laptops at close of business and don’t return to the daily grind until opening time the next day. They may have a physical ritual to detach themselves from work to home… prior to COVID this may have been a commute home or getting changed into their comfy clothes when they get back home. But when working from home, they tend to get a little more creative.

As a segmentor myself, I go for a walk in the morning just before I start work, as a placebo commute! I also move into another room on my lunch to physically detach myself from my laptop, so it’s out of sight and out of mind.

By contrast, an integrator is someone who’s work and home life is a blur. It has no start and no end… there is no clear line drawn between the two, and they thrive when working any and all hours to get the job done. These individuals may take comfort in their work routine and enjoy working so much that they view it as a part of their home lives, or I guess, part of their lives as they do not separate the two. Think of a business owner for example, they often run a business based on a hobby that they enjoy, and so business success is part of their lives and the challenges are often their ‘kicks in life’.

Now, in this blog I am not here to tell you that we should all be segmentors...because if we were all the same that would be boring. However, unsurprisingly much of your workforce will have a preference to segment and a small minority to integrate. And as you will see from research, segmentors are generally happier at work and naturally have a better work-life balance. Where problems may begin to arise is when preferenced segmentors feel the need to behave as integrators for prolonged periods of time.

Read our complete blog how to encourage work life balance in organization.You can take virtual workshops So,visit us.

How to Become a Virtual Trainer | Virtual Training

There is more to being a virtual trainer than taking your training slides and presenting them online via a virtual platform. There are a host of nuances and skills that virtual trainers employ in order to obtain successful learning transfer.

But some organizations are unsure how to get started. How to get seasoned in-person trainers to the level of confidence and competence that we require for virtual delivery and in a time efficient manner?

Find a Train the Trainer Program
At VTT, we recommend finding a Virtual Train the Trainer program to enroll in. These courses are specially designed to help traditional, classroom trainers transition to virtual delivery.

Many in-person training sessions can be easily adapted to the virtual environment, but it takes the skill and knowledge of how to change them to suit their new environment that can catch new virtual trainers out.

At VTT, we offer our own Virtual Train the Trainer Program. It is made up of six Masterclasses; -

• Delivery Masterclass
• Design Masterclass
• Creating Interaction Masterclass
• Platform Masterclass
• Practice Masterclass
• Practice Masterclass

Check out this short playlist of videos, where Catherine goes through what each module entails in our Virtual Train the Trainer Program Masterclasses?

TVTT Train the Virtual Trainer Programme: Step 1/6 Delivery Masterclass VTT’s Train the Virtual Trainer Programme.

See which are the skilled you need to know as a Virtual Trainer.