Talent Management - November 2008 - (Page 35)

gain a clear and mutual understanding of his or her willingness and ability to learn. • Understand relevance of speciﬁc training. Consider the relevance of any training to each student’s position to ensure key points and connections are made throughout the learning experience. • Prepare trainers. Provide the proﬁles of those attending class to the trainer in advance so he or she has the opportunity to match training methodology to students’ needs. • Encourage self-reﬂection. Ask students to reﬂect on and identify the areas they most need to concentrate on most to get the greatest value from training. • Assign prework. When appropriate and where it will add value to the learning experience, distribute pre-training material to provide an early opportunity to understand the nature of the class, establish expectations and assemble required job materials and data to be used during the training. • Observe. When possible, arrange to observe the individual on the job to assess strengths, areas in need of reﬁnement and to develop coaching performance plans. In-Training • Consider how the skills and information are to be presented. A trainer should be aware of his or her pace, diction, word selection and relevancy of examples to ensure comprehension and application to the employee’s reality. • Offer ﬂexible training methods. Adjust the curriculum to meet diverse learning requirements and engage learners of all levels. Develop alternative activities that offer individuals other ways to demonstrate skills and knowledge proﬁciency — such as testing, role-play and large-group discussion — to increase the likelihood of knowledge acquisition. • Present real-life applications. Relate skills learned to speciﬁc job tasks and responsibilities to reinforce how this knowledge will beneﬁt individuals’ productivity and future success. • Pair students. Consider pairing college grads and nongrads together to provide each the opportunity to discuss alternative viewpoints regarding training and its job relevance. This will broaden their viewpoints and help close the gap between these groups. • Check in. To ensure every individual is engaged, ontrack and learning during the class, build in time to check in to see how they’re doing and feeling about training. The trainer should modify his or her approach if necessary. • Ensure trainer availability. The trainer should make him or herself available to students prior to the training, during and after. If during the class, an individual derails, needs assistance or moral support, the trainer should make reasonable accommodations without disrupting the schedule or curriculum. Post-Training • Provide ongoing coaching. Coaching increases employees’ use of skills on the job. Individuals, who are coached claim to be more productive, achieve greater results and be more focused. • Offer cross-training opportunities. Retention and employee development also may be fostered by adopting cross-training programs that provide mutual beneﬁts to the company and the employee. Done correctly, cross-training provides employees the chance to learn new skills, making them more valuable to the organization. This helps keep employees stimulated, reducing worker boredom and employee turnover. • Keep channels of communication open. Keep employees in the loop in regard to training plans that impact them. Seek their input on areas in which they feel they would beneﬁt from further skill development. More mindful learning and development strategies can contribute to increased job success, improved job satisfaction, employee retention and ultimately produce a positive ROI. In most corporate plans, it is expected that over time, the training resources and dollars invested in employees will manifest higher productivity and growth. College grad or not, if talent managers channel each employee’s talent, energy and ambition, most will rise and even exceed expected performance levels, making it well worth any investment of time and money. Jeanne Picardi is a director for The Training Associates. She can be reached at editor@talentmgt.com. November 2008 talent management magazine www.talentmgt.com 35 http://www.talentmgt.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Talent Management - November 2008

Talent Management - November 2008 Editor’s Letter Contents Human Performance Leading Edge Learning Connections Recruitment & Retention Assessment & Evaluation Compensation & Benefits Performance Management Learning & Development Succession Planning Insight Dashboard Application Advertisers’ Index Editorial Resources Full Potential

Talent Management - November 2008

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