Build a Better Training Program: Getting Started
This post is Part 1 in the three-part series Building a Better Training Program. Skip ahead to Part 2 or Part 3.
Image courtesy of foundphotoslj
Of all the HR functions, training professionals may have the hardest time getting a seat at the table. Particularly when an organization is tightening it’s budgets, training is one of the first departments to feel the pain.
Now more than ever, it’s critical for you to prove that what you’re doing is valuable. In this three-part series, I’ll show you how.
Why Have Training Programs?
Informal training takes place everyday in organizations. Stretch assignments and cross-functional programs provide on-the-job training. Coworkers share best-practices and shortcuts. Sometimes, though, it’s necessary to provide more structured, formal training.
The two biggest reasons for providing formal training are:
- To help manage changes in an organization’s processes, structure, technology, strategies or culture.
- To help close a performance gap.
What Are You Trying to Do?
When you look to develop a training program (or hire a trainer a provide one), you should ask yourself:
- What behaviors am I trying to influence?
- What effect should this have on organizational performance?
These two questions should form the backbone of your training.
Evaluating a Program
Image courtesy of snowcrash
Before you can develop a strong training program, you need to understand how to evaluate a successful one. Training programs can be evaluated on four criteria:
- Trainee Satisfaction
- Trainee Knowledge
- Trainee Behavior
- Individual, Team, and Organizational Results
Most trainers focus on how satisfied people where with the training. While its important to get people engaged in a training, “Did you like the training?” tells you little about how effective it was. Similarly, trainees may be asked if they learned anything. Obviously this is important to know - if your training doesn’t teach people anything, it needs to be redesigned.
It’s quite possible (and common) for an employee to learn something, and to know it really well, but not make any changes to their behavior.
Does anyone not know that smoking is bad for you? Yet plenty of people continue to do so. You can put them through as many enjoyable and informative trainings as you want, but if they don’t make any changes in their behavior, are those trainings money well spent?
Transfer of Knowledge
The invisible line between knowing something and actually changing behavior is where the real value in training programs exists. Trainings shouldn’t just be fun and informative - they should influence trainee behavior. How do you get to this point?
For starters, training programs should include as many motivational sources as possible. As you’ll learn in Part 3, it’s also important to understand where in the change process your audience is - are they ready to try something new and just want to know where to start, or do they need to be convinced that change is what they want and need?
In Part 2, I’ll discuss the biggest reasons why training programs fail and what you can do about it. Don’t miss it - if you haven’t yet, subscribe to the Sandbox today!
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