A model for self-training: from the Skilla method, Learn 360°

Learn 360&deg is a self-training model and support tool that is inspired by performance management processes in that it supports development plans for soft skills related to assessment. The method seeks to meet the specific need expressed by many companies for a self-training pathway that is fully integrated into development plans for skills and competences, and that gives a coherent response to the feedback received by each person. It is feedback itself – specifically 360&deg feedback – that inspires the model and characterises its starting-point as well as end-point. Let’s examine more closely the main phases of the model’s development. Start 12 multimedia pills on soft skills are identified, which represent the lynchpin of the pathway’s training content. The 12 pills are identified based on a “360&deg” logic:

• 4 pills are selected by the manager on the basis of the assessment of skills
• 4 pills are chosen independently by the person based on a self-assessment that may be supported by a situational questionnaire the choice may also be guided by one’s own preferences (desire to develop a skill, to fill a gap, to study a specific topic)
• 4 pills are chosen by a colleague who works alongside the person and understands his or her behaviour, also in terms of strengths and areas for improvement in this case too, the colleague will be assisted by a situational questionnaire

The pathway up close Let’s imagine a pathway or itinerary in 12 stages (one stage, for example, to be followed every two weeks). At each stage the participant will have a series of activities to follow:

• visualise and internalise the content of one pill
• note in the logbook all training activities undertaken, including informal ones
• storytelling (a social activity that involves posting (positively or negatively) various occurrences on the platform which are linked to the application of the skill in question )
• note down 3 actions for improvement linked to the application of the skill, to be put into practice

Finally, to make the project even more efficient, the person will choose one of the improvement actions identified and will fine-tune it into a genuine project work, to be completed within two months after the end of the training pathway. The project work can be started on a voluntary basis and at any time during the self-training process. Finish Within 4 months after the end of the 12th stage each pathway participant will write down, in his or her own logbook, concrete examples of how they have changed their work methods based on a proper application of the skill in question. This facilitates an initial assessment of the effectiveness of the training pathway which is then shared with his or her moderator. A situational questionnaire will also be submitted to the person and to the colleague already involved at the start-up stage, containing the same behavioural indicators as the start-up questionnaire, and the results will be compared to valuate any improvements. Finally, the assessment of skills by the moderator will obviously be repeated one year later. The Learn 360&deg method, like any model, traces one of many potential pathways that can be taken, and it can be customised and modified to make it cohere with various training initiatives that seek to develop the skills and competences made available by the company to its personnel. Alessandra Scapati