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Implementing a training strategy at Swedish Radio

Background


Sveriges Radio (Swedish Radio) is the country’s national public service broadcaster. Since 1994 SR has been operating as a limited liability company owned by a foundation. It has a nine member board who determine policy and board objectives. Some 1,800 staff are employed by SR, 60% of whom are journalists, some 15% are engineers with the remainder involved in a range of management and support functions.

SR is undergoing a considerable transition in its role and this is reflected in changing priorities and objectives. Sweden is a geographically dispersed; half of the SR staff are employed in the Regions. Although Regional and National broadcasting is now integrated there is a continuing need to create a closer relationship and to gain the economies of shared services. Among the changes planned are the creation of a separate company to manage services. Looking to the future more programmes will be purchased from outside radio than are produced by internal SR staff. While these changes are in hand, SR wishes to improve its reputation as an employer of choice.

A key part of the response of the internal training department has been to consciously to move away from being a supplier of training courses to more a role of business partnership based on organisational development (OD) interventions.

The style of intervention


Kjerstin Oscarson is a former journalist, who is Head of Staff Training at SR and leads a team of ten. She is critical of an approach based on classroom provision.

“The classroom is an old-fashioned concept. We don’t think that sitting listening to someone else is an effective way of learning. You have to get things into your system in a practical way and this applies to theoretical material as well as operational.”

She feels that some central provision of instructor led courses is inevitable and there is a brochure describing the basic training programmes on offer across the organisation. However considerable effort has gone into providing customised e-learning material which is of evident relevance to the operational needs of radio journalists. A good example is the use of technical equipment (for example different microphones) which are illustrated in high quality audio-visual e-learning modules.

In Kjerstin Oscarson‘s view learning through this delivery method can only work if it is well supported. Accordingly she and her team are proceeding by undertaking a series of ‘development dialogues’ with the key businesses in the organisation. They allow them to identify key issues, conduct a gap analysis (in which they compare current knowledge and skills with those that will be required in the future) and plan and implement joint interventions which are not exclusively course-based. In this way the movement away from pure course provision will be accelerated and new approaches will gain acceptance.

The shift in emphasis


One good example of a change that has taken place concerns the basic radio training. This had traditionally been delivered as a one-week residential event which included the following subjects: the use of microphones and tools, the practice of interviewing, how to tell a story, how to speak to an audience. There were advantages in bringing new journalists together on this basis – to encourage networking and the sharing of experiences. However there was no guarantee that a course would occur at the right time for the individual. Moreover the equipment involved in the practical side of the training was becoming more expensive and allocation it for a weeks training increasingly hard to justify.

Accordingly the course has been reconstructed by identifying these elements that can be captured in up to date e-learning modules. In each of the five major regions of SR a journalist has been designated as in-house trainer. It is their responsibility to deliver this material to new journalists using the e-learning modules, offer coaching and feedback and ensuring that hands-on practice takes place. One of the key responsibilities shared across Kjerstin Oscarson’s team is to ensure, during regular visits across the regions, that this approach is being taken seriously and implemented satisfactorily.

Evidently the success of this approach depends on the commitment of management and is essential in delivering specific initiatives concentrated on particular aspects of broadcast output. One example is a current intervention to change the style of articulation on the P2 – station which broadcasts classical music and ethnic languages. The underlying aim is to make the ‘sound profile’ more approachable and relaxed for the audience. This has been planned and delivered on a project basis. Much effort was put with the initial series of meeting and discussions to determine what the desired outcome looks like, this was followed by a series of individual meetings, conducted by both the sponsoring department and the training team, to identify skills gaps. Only then was a training programme – mainly delivered on an individual basis through coaching by external consultants - designed and delivered. These will be reinforced by continuing feedback.

The changing role of the department


Kjerstin Oscarson recognises that a major shift was needed on the part of her team members to make the new approach of development dialogue/gap analysis/project intervention work effectively. However she feels that all have now adapted and become advocates of the change. Her team now deliver almost no classroom training themselves - the residential courses are delivered by external consultants under contract.

Her biggest challenges now lie in getting full acceptance across the organisation. It has demanded a major shift in the way the department operates and is perceived to operate. She feels that there is a problem in getting some managers to see the value of training in the first place – “they only focus on the need to make the next programme”. Employers also need to be encouraged to recognise that there is always something new to know. An operational challenge, within the department is to maintain their supporting material (including e-learning) is up to date so that it is both relevant and valued. However Kjerstin Oscarson believes that this change in approach must continue or there will be return to a reliance on classroom-based training courses.

 
 
 
 
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