In life, problems are bound to occur in some respect. Whether it has to do with personal or professional circumstances, generally speaking, these issues can be rectified with effort. It just takes a matter of time, in order to develop the right set of problem solving skills. In regards to your professional endeavours, this may take a bit of work.
That is because problem solving skills can only be reached through continuous practice and education. If you are trying to help your employees reach that level of expert problem solver, ensure that you implement some key techniques at work.
Use these methods to guide you on how to train problem solving in business:
1. Basic Skills
There is no better way to develop an individual’s problem solving skills than by setting up a foundation. In your company, you probably will have trained your employees in a distinct way. Don’t just forget about the guidance you have provided them at the onset. The key is to have them apply it throughout their tenure.
This sentiment goes for skills that may have been forgotten due to them not being used adequately. Thankfully, there are a myriad of ways in which you can help them out in this respect. For example, having an instruction manual present can remind them of how to solve certain areas!
2. Systematic Approaches
Having a systematic approach is an important method on how to train problem solving in business. There are some problems in work that can be too large to solve, no matter how much effort you put into them. As a result, it is vital to tackle them in intuitive ways, such as breaking them down into smaller problems. There are various systems that allow you to do this; find a template and outline the main issue.
Then, think about the ways in which this main issue can be broken down further. Is it time-oriented, for example? You may be able to push certain aspects of the problem into the subsequent weeks. By doing this, you grant yourself more time to think about solving the issue as a whole.
3. Design Thinking
In our professional lives, there are a great many frameworks that we can use to facilitate a better learning process. With respect to improving our problem solving skills, you might want to use design thinking. In essence, this process encompasses a holistic means to solving issues using detailed, creative ways.
For instance, collaboration is a key facet of design thinking, which allows everyone at the table to have their voices heard. Moreover, the process also encourages you to test out solutions through prototypes, before launching a full scale resolution to the issue. Once you use this system, you may never go back!
4. Company Events
At some point, meetings of various scales will become monotonous for all parties involved. Why not, then, transform this into an event that is both fun and engaging? It could be a great way for members to build rapport with each other, as well as use their wits to solve fun problems.
5. Avoid Micromanaging
Even with the best of intentions, you may be doing yourself a disservice by constantly guiding your workers. Allow them to think for themselves, and also ask them for their own, unique solutions. If they are successful, make sure that they are able to apply them in future problems too.
6. Review And Assess
All techniques that you use for solving various problems at work should be reviewed after their implementation. Analyze what went right and wrong, apply this into future frameworks, and your problem solving skills are guaranteed to become stronger!
