Posted on June 27, 2011 by admin

“One of the most important tasks of a manager is to eliminate his people’s excuses for failure.” Robert Townsend

Supervisors suffer loss of time and productivity when their employees are not properly trained. As a result, they have a vested interest in decisions about what training to give, when to give it, and who should receive it.

Supervisors need to be involved in training design because they are the only ones who can ensure that the training supports employee performance, the training content is accurate, the training schedule is convenient, the right employees attend the training, the employees come to the training primed to learn, and there is follow up reinforcement for what has been learned in the training.

1.The training supports employee performance.

Performance needs should drive training decisions. Supervisors are in the best position to identify employee gaps in required knowledge and skills. They can also identify anticipated training needs due to program changes and new hires. Supervisors can help to prioritize the training needs so that the right training is given at the correct time to best support employee performance.

2.The training content is accurate.

Supervisors can serve as subject matter experts to help identify the learning objectives and key content for the training program. If other technical staff perform the function of subject matter experts, the supervisors need to be able to review the content to make sure it will accurately provide the required and desired knowledge and skills. They alone know the level of competence that the employees should achieve during the training program.

3.The training schedule is convenient.

Training schedules should take into consideration shift changes, employee workloads, production deadlines, and scheduled vacations. Supervisors need to be involved in planning how the training will be scheduled to minimize potential disruptions and maximize potential attendance. They can indicate the best length of time for a workshop, the best time of day or night, the frequency of the training and the desired duration between workshops. If the supervisors are not involved in training scheduling decisions, there is a strong likelihood that some employees who need the training will not be able to attend the scheduled workshops.

4.The right employees participate in the training.

There are times when all employees may need to attend the training and other times when only specific employees should attend. If the supervisors have been involved in identifying the training priorities, validating the training content, and scheduling the training, they are much more likely to plan ahead so that their employees can attend the training. They will also be able to identify which employees will benefit the most from the training.

5.The employees come to the training primed to learn.

The supervisors know what the training is designed to achieve. As a result, they can discuss the training with their employees and indicate what they want the employees to gain from attending the workshop. The employees will then come to the training with specific learning goals in mind. This will build their interest in the training and increase the probability that they will actively participate in the workshop, particularly if they are aware that the supervisors will be expecting changes in their behavior after the training.

6.There is follow up reinforcement for what has been learned in the training.

The supervisors have been involved in the design of the training program and they have alerted their employees to the knowledge or skills they are expected to gain from the workshop. When the employees return to their work site, the supervisors will be able to reinforce what the employees learned by holding them accountable for demonstrating their new learning.

Involving supervisors in training design will encourage them to actively support the training both before and after the workshop. This will ensure that the employees benefit from attending the workshop because the training provides relevant and accurate content that is reinforced by the supervisors back on the job. Supervisory participation in training design and reinforcement will also validate the role that training plays in supporting employee performance and, thereby, business success.

May your learning be sweet.

Deborah

Tip #339: Five Content Mistakes That Trainers Make – And How to Avoid Them

Posted on September 6, 2010 by admin

“An expert is someone who knows some of the worst mistakes that can be made in his subject and how to avoid them.“ Werner Karl Heisenberg

Whether you are a new or seasoned trainer, there are five mistakes you should avoid when you design your training programs.

Mistake #1. Not conducting a training needs assessment. Make sure that you know who your participants will be, why they will be attending, and what they are supposed to know or be able to do when they leave the training. Otherwise, you may end up providing the wrong training to the wrong people, wasting everyone’s time.

Mistake #2. Not identifying the desired level of learning. The fallback instructional method for trainers tends to be lecture, which can only provide knowledge. You need to know what the participants should be able to do when they leave the training. Based on that information, you can decide if the desired level of learning is comprehension, application, analysis, evaluation or creation- and select the appropriate learning activities to achieve that level.

Mistake #3. Cramming too much information into one training session. First, there is only so much information that learners can absorb at one time. Otherwise, they have cognitive overload. Second, the need to deliver lots of information tends to result in a long lecture, which will probably not accomplish the desired level of learning or meet the needs of other learning styles. Third, you need to manage your clients’ expectations and give them just-in-time training in effective adult learning principles. Focus on the critical information and provide reference materials to support the remaining information. This way you can take the time necessary to check for participant comprehension and give them an opportunity to apply what they have learned.

Mistake #4. Putting times on agendas. You need the flexibility to take more or less time when you need it, depending on the group. If you write times next to agenda items, some participants will start to worry if the session is not where the agenda says it should be. Save the participants from needless concern and yourself from unnecessary aggravation. Put the times on your agenda, not theirs.

Mistake #5. Placing all training information on Power Point slides. Training information belongs in the participants’ manuals or handouts. Power Point should only be used to augment the training, not deliver the training. It is an audiovisual on which there should just be a few points or pictures per slide that emphasize or summarize important content.

Following these suggestions will help to ensure that you train the right people at the right learning level with the right amount of information and the right learning activities.

May your learning be sweet.

Deborah

Tip #334: The Three Questions You Need to Answer If You Want an Effective Training Program

Posted on August 2, 2010 by admin

“Asking the right questions takes as much skill as giving the right answers.” Robert Half

When supervisors and program managers send out requests for training programs, they often describe the training they seek in very general terms. They will tell a training provider that they would like a program on customer service, stress management, meeting management, conflict management, or team building, etc.

They can be initially satisfied when a training provider offers a pre-designed “off-the-shelf” program. The two greatest benefits of pre-packaged programs are the facts that they save clients both time and effort. These training programs are easy to find, easy to schedule, and easy to deliver. There is no fuss, no muss, and no deep thinking required on the part of either party.

“Off-the-shelf” training programs frequently have good content and relevant learning activities. However, they have to take a very general approach in order to appeal to the largest possible audience. As a result, they are designed to cover typical topical content and concerns.

For this reason, it is difficult for these programs to ultimately be effective. This is because the organization will always have very specific needs that are not anticipated or incorporated into the program.

If you have the responsibility to find a training program for your organization, you really want to speak with a training provider who will ask you three key questions:

First: Who is the target audience?

Training has to be designed with the target audience in mind. Discussion around this question will generate vital information, such as:

a. What the demographics of the participants are;
b. How many participants will be involved;
c. How receptive the participants will be to the content;
d. What level of skill or knowledge they already have (or think they have) in this
content area; and
e. Why the learning is important to the participants from their perspective.

Second: Why do you feel that there is a need for this specific training?

The obvious problem is rarely the problem, and training may not be the solution, so this is a critical question. Discussion around this question will clarify:

a. What problems the training is intended to solve;
b. Whether these problems would be better addressed through system changes or
performance management actions, rather than through a training program;
c. What knowledge or skills need to be developed or strengthened;
d. Whether the requested training content will actually address the problem or a
different focus is necessary; and
e. Whether the people who really need the training have been identified as the
target group.

Third: What do you want the participants to know or do differently when they leave the training?

A training provider needs to both specify and manage a client’s expectations. The answer to this question will:

a. Clarify the training requestor’s specific expectations;
b. Determine the learning objectives and content for the training program;
c. Create an objective basis for measuring the effectiveness of the program;
d. Provide an opportunity to negotiate the logistics necessary to achieve these
expectations, such as the length of time, location, and schedule for the training
program; and
e. Open discussion about what training can realistically accomplish and what the
organization will need to do to reinforce the training.

Training requestors will frequently need to go back to their organizations and discuss the answers to these questions before they can have a well-informed discussion with a training provider.

Yes, this will require a greater time and effort on the part of the organization than simply using a pre-designed program. However, the organization that invests in answering these three questions will ultimately save both time and money, and set their participants up for success:

a. The right solution to the problem will be identified (which will avoid unnecessary
training);
b. The right people will be in the right training program; and
c. The right knowledge and skills will be developed.

May your learning be sweet.

Deborah

Category Archives: training design questions

Tip #381: Six Reasons Why Supervisors Need to be Involved in Training Design

Tip #339: Five Content Mistakes That Trainers Make – And How to Avoid Them

Tip #334: The Three Questions You Need to Answer If You Want an Effective Training Program