Training Industry Quarterly - Fall 2012 - (Page 38)

As you plAn the curriculum, emphAsize progrAms thAt teAch reAsoning And strAtegy, As well As content ýý ý ý They want the instructor to be a facilitator of their learning, not a font of knowledge from which they’re expected to drink. They respond best to instruction that provides access to further resources rather than a curriculum with a dead-end stop. They’ll do better with a program that creates internal motivation rather than one where they’re asked to comply with the demands of an instructor. They might resist training that excludes them from the planning and evaluation of the learning. Malcolm Knowles, the educational theorist, coined the word andragogy to describe the ways in which adults learn. The word is Greek for man-leading, as opposed to pedagogy, for child-leading. His teachings should be reflected in the way employee training is structured. As you plan the curriculum, emphasize programs that teach reasoning and strategy, as well as content. After the Training, What? Learning is hard. Unlearning old habits is even harder. For programs that teach new ways to accomplish a task, encourage the employees to use the learning one skill one at a time, because it’s unrealistic to expect a total changeover in the way they work. Whatever the curriculum, managers must help employees apply their new skills on the job. Encourage them to review the course materials right after the training and to use the summary sheets or wallet cards the training provided. Learning aids that use acronyms to identify the training’s key points can be particularly helpful. Provide the learners with a variety of post-class resources and 38 encourage them to regularly engage with the content. Prompt the employees to learn more from the company’s expertise directories. Provide a way for them to ask questions and get fast feedback. Debrief the learners as soon as the training’s over — the entire group and person by person. Use individual development plans, group exercises, paired coaching, shadowing with experienced employees, company communications media — all focused on the trainees’ current projects. Encourage the employees to begin using their skills right away. Unless they do this quickly they might not begin using the skills at all. Suggest to those who were taught behavioral skills to put them to use with low-risk partners who can help them refine the skills rather than with internal or external customers who might represent a greater challenge. Make it clear to everyone that the training is part of a significant company initiative and has senior management’s full support. Reward the successful application of the new skills — publicly. Managers also have an upfront responsibility — preparing the employees for the training. For multi-day programs help them free up their workload so they can focus on learning. Encourage them to make a self-assessment to identify the particular skills they need, to complete pre-class work thoroughly, and take an active role in the exercises. It’s sometimes advantageous for managers to receive the same training their direct reports take; in other situations it might inhibit open discussion, though. Managers can sometimes actually undermine the training. One might imply training’s unimportant because it takes time away from the job. Another might insist employees use existing processes rather than those the training taught —sometimes because the manager doesn’t understand the curriculum. Leadership training in particular should be modeled by the manager. This training’s results can quickly be undone if the manager doesn’t deploy the skills taught. Changing the Culture Employee skills training is not a quick fix activity. To create lasting change, the organization must train a critical mass of employees. This isn’t always possible with existing learning staff. In those situations the CLO should arrange for the training company to provide the needing staffing or to certify internal staff for training delivery. As new employees are hired they should receive the same training their peers received. As the organization meets new challenges, new skills must be taught. Look into developing other learning strategies to maintain the organization’s learning leadership. They can include executive education for managers who show potential for senior positions, tuition reimbursement, formal mentoring programs, performance reviews that focus on development rather than evaluation, job rotation, stretch assignments, self-assessment exercises, assigned reading and participation in interdisciplinary teams. These functions often are managed by managers other than the CLO. Partner with these managers to help improve these functions’ results. Your knowledge of learning Training Industry Quarterly, Fall 2012 / A Training Industry, Inc. magazine / www.trainingindustry.com/TIQ http://www.trainingindustry.com/TIQ

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Quarterly - Fall 2012

Training Industry Quarterly - Fall 2012
From Where I Sit: Learning Technology Market Segments
Table of Contents
Ad Index
Guest Editor: Supporting the Business of Learning
The Coherent Enterprise
Tracking Informal Learning with Tin Can
Can Your People Trust You?
5 Critical Skills to Survive Tomorrow
Expert Education: Training, Technology & SMEs
Cloud Transition: More to Consider Than Just Security
My Training Dashboard? Which One?
5 Gaming Elements for Effective e-Learning
Let's Get Multi-Platform Training Right
Casebook: Colorado Secretary of State's Office
Tracking Trends: Technology: Supporting Key Initiatives
Tweet Suite
Company News
Closing Arguments: Must-See Technology

Training Industry Quarterly - Fall 2012