In the new section of Economy.bg “Most Useful Trainings,” professionals from various fields share their personal experiences with trainings, courses, video series, presentations, etc., that they have recently attended or watched. They discuss how they chose them, how they found them useful, how they went, and their pros and cons.
See what Milen Velikov, an HR professional with years of experience, recommends.
For the past few years, I have deliberately missed opportunities to formalize new knowledge through external training or education. Over the years, I have been “overfed” with such experiences, and I knew their format, duration, initial jokes, and methods of acquaintance all too well. I couldn’t achieve everything afterwards, and there was often a lack of understanding from those who sent me why it would be good to change something. In my opinion, it is crucial for HR professionals not only to attend training but also for some of their colleagues – different level managers, why not even the company’s CEO. Another assumption is that the training should bring value and lead to some change.
In 2023, an opportunity arose to participate in a three-day course at Scotwork Bulgaria on “Advanced Negotiation Skills” with lecturers Chavdar Vaklev and Dobromir Minkov. Due to my very good personal impressions of the second and the opportunity presented to me, I decided to participate.
I do not remember any other training where I took so many notes, nor do I remember any other similar training where no one left the room hours after its completion. It was the same for all three days. The group consisted of about 10 people – well-selected, high-positioned individuals with different professional roles, including people with international experience – thinking, asking questions, and sharing. And only two HR professionals. Other advantages of this training were the expertise, solid experience, and different teaching styles of the two trainers. They knew how to approach, had a very large common culture, and dealt with various cases. Huge professionals who command respect – one of the most important things for a training to be successful + quite a bit of experience on the topic itself. Another aspect was the practice, broken down through the different roles we were assigned over the days of the training, as well as the analysis of video situations in which we voluntarily put ourselves. It was interesting to see ourselves from the outside. The room we were situated in was large enough to have space, air, and plenty of natural light. The food was tasty and sufficient. There was a positive atmosphere, lots of laughter, and our minds were freed to think and interpret. And to practice what we had learned.
I try to find negatives, but I don’t see any. I would gladly participate in other courses under this umbrella (see here) or with the participation of these two trainers. Do I practice what I learned? Both directly and indirectly. Not everything and not all at once, but it was useful to me, and I don’t regret being part of this training.