← Ideas · Field note 006

Tick the box. Then fix the thing.

Training is the easiest thing to be seen doing. Sometimes that's exactly what the organisation needs. The trick is giving it to them, and still changing the work.

Request#006

For: Everyone who submits invoices
Need: Training on the coding rules
Format: A mandatory module
When: Before the audit

A conversation I keep having

A stakeholder

Rejections are up. We need everyone trained by the end of the quarter.

If everyone completed it and nothing changed, what would happen?

A stakeholder

Honestly? We'd still be covered.

Then let's make sure you're covered. And let's fix what's causing the rejections.

Why it happens

Training wins by default.

It's rarely because anyone thinks a module will fix a broken process. Training simply has more going for it than the alternatives.

FastVisibleOwned by one teamEasy to countEasy to defend

Fixing the work is slow, shared and hard to report. So training becomes the alibi: proof that something was done.

Saying no rarely works. Doing both does.

Part ATick the box

Give them the quick win. Do it well.

Assurance is a legitimate need. Treat it like a design brief, and the box tick gets much smaller.

01
Spot the alibi
It follows an audit, an incident or a complaint. Success is counted in completions. The audience is "everyone".
"If everyone completed it and nothing changed, what would happen?"
02
Write the spec
Find out exactly what proof they need, for whom, and by when.
"What's the lightest thing that gives you that proof?"
03
Build the minimum
Accurate, short, inside the tool people already use, and provable. Spend as little here as the spec allows.
"What can we leave out?"

The assurance specIllustrative

Who needs itThe head of finance

To show whomThe audit committee

What they must showEveryone who submits invoices has the new coding rules

Proof that countsA record of who received it, and when

The 45-minute module
The launch video
The quiz nobody needs
The poster campaign

Part BFix the thing

Then spend the goodwill on the work.

While the training is being built, go and look at the work. Workarounds are user research nobody paid for.

Exhibit 03

The spreadsheet that runs the business

Making up forTwo systems that don't talk to each other

Exhibit 07

The sticky note on the second monitor

Making up forA procedure three reorganisations old

Exhibit 11

"Just email Dave"

Making up forNo clear owner for the decision. Dave is on leave.

Count the tax

People who do the process400

×Hours of training each1.5

×Times a year2

+Hours lost to rework and chasing900

=Every year, until it's fixed2,100 hrs

Illustrative figures · rough numbers are fine

Raise a fix ticket

Fix ticketOne change

What we sawTwo approvals ask for the same cost code

The one changeRemove the second approval under the limit

OwnerThe procurement process lead

We'll checkRejected invoices, weekly

Ticket#006

How to use a fix ticket

Six steps from a problem you've spotted to a change someone owns.

01Write what you saw
One observable problem in the work, in plain words. Leave out who's to blame.
02Put a cost on it
Use the tax. A rough number someone outside L&D can repeat beats a precise one nobody reads.
03Ask for one change
The smallest change that removes the most friction. One ask gets a meeting. A list of twelve gets parked.
04Name a real owner
A person who can change the process, not a team or a committee. Ask your sponsor to make the introduction.
05Agree the check
Pick one measure from the work, and a date to look at it together.
06Hand it over with the training
Raise it while the box tick is being delivered, when the goodwill is highest.

If they say no Keep the ticket. Log each time the problem comes back. The second conversation is easier with a pattern behind it.

L&D rarely owns the process. The job is to make the cost visible, and put it in front of someone who can change it.

The trade

Three sentences that turn a box tick into a fix.

01 · Give
"You'll have the training on time."
Lead with what they asked for. It earns the right to say more.
02 · Show
"Here's what it costs to keep training around this."
Bring the tax, and two or three workarounds.
03 · Offer
"Here's the one change that would cut the bill."
Hand over the fix ticket, with an owner already named.

When the box tick is all that's needed, take the win and move on. Save the trade for the problems that keep coming back.

The missing step

Close the loop with a receipt.

Most fixes stall after the ticket is raised. When the check date arrives, send the stakeholder a short note: what was delivered, what changed, and what the work shows now. It proves both halves happened, and it makes the next request easier.

Receipt · Request #006

Box tick delivered✓ On time

Proof provided✓ 400 / 400

Fix ticket raised✓ Procurement

Fix in place✓ Week 3

Rejected invoicesDown, tracking weekly

Illustrative · Keep this receipt

The takeaway

Give them the quick win. Then spend the goodwill on the work.

To close

Training proves something happened.

Fixing the work changes what happens next.

Tick the box. Then fix the thing.

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A composite of conversations. Examples and figures are illustrative.

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