Privacy during training

I don't work in the type of environment you describe, but I'd love to hear what others have to say. I'm picturing a company-issue training hat you wear while taking a course. It might keep coworkers entertained behind your back while you're learning. Here's a quick rendering. Hat style and color could change with the season and Pantone trends.

Hi Laura, 

The two times I've seen this done successfully, language tied to the broader company ethos/objectives was used. 

For example if your company uses the phrase "career enrichment"  or "personal development goal" as part of their language, you might want to consider including that in the sign.

I know it may sound a bit forced, but it tended to resonate better with supervisors who were less reluctant to interrupt as the activity was clearly tied to something broader.

Thanks for your replies! Since posting, we've repurposed yet another space to create a small training alcove with two computers. So, for now, we can have anyone looking to step away from their usual work space come over to complete courses. We'll see how that goes! in the meantime, I'll work on commissioning a trendy designer to sketch up some hats for us. :)

Instead of hats you could opt for a more high-tech solution, the Cone of Silence from Get Smart.

That sounds like a great solution, Laura. That way you don't have to come up with an entire training room or make people leave the building to go to some other space. I think it'd be a lot easier for them to focus if they're away from their desk, too. Puts them in the mindset for training and offers fewer distractions. (The hats will be lovely, too.)

Thanks for the update!

Nice, Cary! I think I suggested the Cone of Silence for some other training issue last year. A great solution to so many problems.

Ha! I love that, Cary. I could see people throwing those sticky hands at them, which would be awesome. 

I would say, for the most part, people are content taking the training at their desk - it will be less frequent going forward anyway, as our compliance group is getting better at streamlining the required courses and creating abridged and test-out options. It is nice to be able to offer people the chance to get away from their desk if they choose to, though.