- Keep your training program on track
- Knowledge isn’t the only thing going on with training
- Retention is a key sticking point in training programs
- Learning by example and case studies is powerful training
- Add a little concrete to your training programs
- Structured orientation and training provide objectivity
- Customized training meets the specialized needs of every organization
- Web based training modules are a great value
- How does a supervisor support training?
- Blended and supervised training offers the best results
It is possible to make the most knowledgeable workers good trainers, too
I was just reading about Beth Allen at Entrepreneuer who has launched a new handywoman business. Not only is she a woman answering the call, her clients are women. However, what is really making Allen’s new venture different is the teaching aspect of her work.
On her calls, Allen is not only repairing that leaky faucet, she is instructing the female client on how to do the repair next time on their own. Not only that, she is offering seminars and DIY workshops aimed at women (but men are welcome, too) who want to take matters into their own hands.
Karen Zwick and I were just talking the other day here at 1st Class Solutions about what it takes to facilitate training classes. Facilitation is another name for classroom instruction. Allen is apparently good at instruction, but that is not necessarily the case for all subject matter experts.
Not all people who have the technical and specialized skills for a job can guide or train others. Likewise, those who are good at teaching others are not necessarily experts in a given field. This is especially true in workplace training. The structure of the training, the way material is chunked and presented, the practice activities and assessment should all be designed specifically to the training and the learners – especially adult learners.
Melding the subject matter expert and the instructor is possible and likely - with the help of professional instructional design firms like 1st Class Solutions. Instructional designers can take the training material, prepare a course and then train the trainer in how to present it.
It’s more than tips for the classroom. It’s based on educational research on how to structure and cover material to provide the greatest opportunity for understanding and retention. In other words, how to make training most effective so the worker can return to their workspace and immediately implement the new learning.
Usually training is accompanied by a job aid of some sort. It could be a “cheat-sheet” giving the steps in a task or a pneumonic that provides a quick reminder. It could also be a written manual that becomes a valuable resource at the work station.
Good training facilitation doesn’t just happen. Just like you would plan a strategy or process in your organization if you want it to be successful, trainers and training needs to be handled the same way.
-Elaine of the 1st Class Solutions Blog Team