Yet when we ask trainers (especially SME’s) what they want to get out of our train-the-trainer workshops, the number one thing is  “to increase participation and the retention of learning.”

When we bring up the subject of “setting the climate” it is quickly dismissed.  So, we address it in a different manner.  We ask participants how they felt when they entered our training environment – whether classroom or virtual.  After some descriptors like “welcomed” or “friendly and fun” or “safe to participate”  we then ask them what we did or said that made them feel that way.  They start describing those things they observed, heard and or felt in specific terms and BINGO!  They start realizing the importance of (and the work that goes into) setting an effective learning climate.

Setting the learning climate not only involves making participants feel safe and welcomed when they enter the room  (real and virtual) and at the beginning of the session, but also at points in time when the climate may need to be re-set like after breaks and lunch or when something has happened to disrupt the flow of  learning ( ah, yes, those lovely disruptive participants).

Since setting the climate directly ties into how active the participants will be in your workshop and therefore be able to carry their new set of knowledge and skills to the job , we want to hear from you!  What are things are YOU doing in your learning environments to set and/or change the climate?

Looking forward to your ideas!

Maria Chilcote, Managing Partner, The Training Clinic

Aikido is a Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba as a synthesis of his martial studies, philosophy, and religious beliefs. Aikido is often translated as “the Way of unifying (with) life energy.”[1]^] Ueshiba’s goal was to create an art that practitioners could use to defend themselves while also protecting their attacker from injury.[2] From what I can tell, there is a substantial amount of mental as well as physical ability involved; in fact, there may be less physical strength involved than other martial arts because the essence of aikido requires the practitioner to blend their motion with that of their attacker and redirect the force of the attack, rather than opposing it head-on.

This concept struck me as immediately relevant and applicable to training in two ways.

First, as performance consultants, internal or otherwise, how often do we try to tackle problems “head on”? Here’s the common scenario: a manager or other executive comes to us, and of course, they know just what the problem is. I n fact, they have the intervention already designed, and you and your team just need to “fix” whatever it is that’s not working. Preferably soon. And preferably in under four hours.(Sound familiar?)

Of course, our first impulse is to jump in feet first, whether it’s to get it done, or push find back for further performance analysis. But how often do we blend our motion with that of the person requesting training, redirecting the request, rather than opposing it head on? Maybe it’s just me, but I spend way too much energy in “head on” situations, rather than aligning myself to others.

Second, as stand-up trainers, do we check our ego at the door every time we teach to ensure that we have concern for the well-being of our students? Now, certainly our students are not opponents, but who hasn’t felt attacked in a training session once or twice? Who hasn’t secretly thought of themselves as imparting wisdom, as a subject matter expert brimming with insight and awareness? I confess that I feel confident when I am the expert in the room – but is that the best mind set for a effective learning environment?

Aikido suggests that you align yourself with the other, find out where the common ground lies, and go from there. According to my research, aikido’s philosophy is fundamentally derived from the belief that deceptions, trickery and brute force will not enable us to defeat our opponents. Instead, concentration that invokes the spirit will be sufficient to strengthen us.[3] So, although I won’t be flipping anyone through the air in my next training session, I do think that aikido’s emphasis on alignment, focus, and “concentration that invokes the spirit” are excellent concepts to apply to training.

~Julie Espy

Adjunct Instructor, The Training Clinic

In addition to building partnerships with the users, partnerships must be formed with upper management to ensure the smooth implementation of your efforts.   This can be achieved by holding pilots or overviews of the training where you can field questions and accept suggestions from them for the most effective way, barrier free way to implement.

The third aspect of marketing in this initial stage is to select the right trainers.  Most of us have thin departments so rely heavily on subject matter experts.  If you use subject matter experts, meet with a learning focus group to develop some criteria of what a “good trainer” looks like.  This will help tremendously in your selection process.

Once selected, then provide them with the knowledge and skill of the content they will be training (if needed) as well as a solid background in adult learning concepts and facilitation techniques. These knowledge and skill sets will enable them to be  “voice” of your training throughout the organization.  Through effective training techniques and knowledge of the content, they will be able to elicit testimonials from the participants during the training.  You can also obtain comments from participants through evaluation forms.  Properly constructed forms will allow you to receive feedback both on the training received and the level of comfort on the part of the learners to go forward and use their newly acquired skills and knowledge. A well-constructed evaluation form also provides you with information on those areas that need improvement as well as additional testimonials that you can begin to publish throughout the organization to further generate the “buzz.”

These testimonials should also be gathered OUTSIDE the training.  Interview those recently trained, invite feedback through a post or blog on your intranet or just elicit comments from participants you see while moving throughout the organization.  When eliciting this feedback, ask the participants if you may publish what they have stated, their names, and perhaps photos.  When publishing these testimonials, include pictures, names and specific positive comments about what the training has done for them.  This now takes the “buzz” to another level because you are clearly stating a WIIFM (What’s In It For Me) for more prospective learners.

Whenever you get recommendations from learners/users on how the training is improving the way they work day–to-day remember to also recognize and thank these participants.  You don’t have to hold a ceremony in this instance – just recognize and thank them and publish your results to the organization.

Marketing is all about reaching out to as many facets as you can – so remember to incorporate the talk of your training in every aspect of your day.  Mention it in meetings, show managers how using this will improve their productivity, get a spot on department meeting agendas and sell the benefits of your training to generate excitement.  And don’t underestimate the power of interacting one-on-one over a cup of coffee in the cafeteria.  These small interactions produce great results in the end.

Go get’em!

Maria Chilcote, Managing Partner, The Training Clinic

We invite you to extend the benefit of our work together today by considering these questions. Feel free to post a response if you’d like to dialogue.

Training Manager as Marketeer – What will you do to develop a three-way partnership? How will you get on management’s priority list? What steps will you take to market the training function? How will you publish your results (toot your horn)? How will developing partnerships improve your marketing approach?

Transfer of Learning – How will you use Post Training Performance Analysis to assess barriers to the transfer of learning? How can the troubleshooting approach, along with the 10 analysis tools, help you determine how well a given intervention has worked?

Manage the Training Budget – How can you use a cost-benefit approach to quantify expected results prior to an intervention? What hard number indicators will you use to quantify the benefits?

Integration – The final application assignment is designed to help you apply the 8 step consulting process to your situation. How easy/difficult is it to use? What did you learn/re-learn? What is one thing you will do differently as a result of this coursework?

We welcome your thoughts, challenges, reflections and ideas…

Melissa Smith & Maria Chilcote, Managing Partners, The Training Clinic

We invite you to extend the benefit of our work together today by considering these questions. Feel free to post a response if you’d like to dialogue.

The Eight Step Consulting Process – What did you learn about the consulting process from working on the assignment?  How will that help you transition into a consulting approach in your work?

Diagnosing Problems: Target Population Analysis – How does this type of analysis help us analyze performance problems?  What is difficult about conducting this analysis well? What is your role when using this?

Diagnosing Problems: Task Analysis – Similar questions as above: How does this type of analysis help us analyze performance problems?  What is difficult about conducting this analysis well? What is your role when using this?

Diagnosing Problems: Contextual Analysis – How can you use this tool to inform your options for how, when and where training will be delivered? Based on the recommendations, what might you consider doing differently?

Diagnosing Problems: Design Tools – How can these tools help make you a better consumer of training?  How can they make you a better coach for your training staff?

Performance Improvement Plan – What parts of the plan do you typically leave out, or ‘assume’? What might be the benefits of at least touching on each of the components? Which components are especially difficult to include? Why?

Training Proposals – What do you require in a training proposal? And how is that different from what you provide your clients?

Influencing Styles – Which style(s) do you prefer? Which do you need to pay attention to? What ideas do you have to increase your own influence with key managers? Oh, and how would you define ‘key managers’ in your organization? That is, who are the managers you most want to influence?

We welcome your thoughts, challenges, reflections and ideas…

Melissa Smith and Maria Chilcote, Managing Partners, The Training Clinic

Today’s session allowed us to take a high level view of the consulting process and begin an exploration of approaches to diagnosing problems. The theme throughout: developing partnerships.

We invite you to extend the benefit of our work together today by considering these questions. Feel free to post a response if you’d like to dialogue.

The Eight Step Consulting Process - Which step(s) do you excel in? What results accrue because you do them well? Which step(s) do you need to make a conscious effort to incorporate into the way you interact with your client group? What are the expected benefits to developing skills in the less used steps? Since we’ll be going into more depth on most of the steps, identify what support you’d like to get to help you.

Diagnosing Problems: Performance Analysis – Performance Analysis, in whatever form, helps us identify if there’s a training issue. It also helps us point to other factors which may be impacting performance. Which level of Performance Analysis (Oh, So…, Can/Can’t Will/Won’t, Mager’s Flowchart) appeals to you for you and your organization? Why? When is it a good idea to use performance analysis? Besides identifying performance and systems issues, what other benefits are there to using this approach? (Think in terms of your credibility, how you are seen in the organization, etc.)

Diagnosing Problems: Barriers to Performance and Non-Training Solutions – Where do the performance issues you commonly deal with fall? The non-training solutions match suggestions to the barriers. What non-training solutions might you consider? How can you use this tool in your every day work?

Diagnosing Problems: Goal Analysis – Goal Analysis is a consensus process designed to make specific something that is vague. It is also useful when there is disagreement about what ‘it’ or ‘a good one’ looks like. When is it appropriate to use Goal Analysis? What benefits are there to using this form of analysis? How can you do this type of analysis virtually, in a short period of time? What’s the benefit of getting agreement to a list of behaviors generated by the goal analysis process?

Diagnosing Problems: Needs vs. Wants Survey Approach – The example we reviewed was rich with ideas for sorting needs from wants AND for using a survey approach to diagnosing problems. How do you currently sort needs vs. wants? What do you want to remember about using this approach? …about using surveys to identify training needs?

We welcome your thoughts, challenges, reflections and ideas…

All our best,

Melissa and Maria

We invite you to extend the benefit of our work together yesterday by considering these questions.  Feel free to post a response if you’d like to dialogue.

Future Trends In Training: Which trends are impacting you most now and which are likely to impact you in the near future?  What are the implications of these trends to your department? How will you manage differently with this context in mind?  How will you continue to stay up-to-date? How can you use the process we used with your staff?

Key Roles and Responsibilities: How do these roles support your function? Where are the gaps? What alliances can you develop (perhaps with SMEs) to fill the needs you have?

Department Mission Statements: Review (or develop) your mission statement. On reflection, is it simple, easy to explain?  Does it drive your priorities? Is it aligned with the organization’s mission? When was the last time you reviewed your mission statement with your manager?  Where is it published?  …This is a great place/process to start getting support!

Department Systems Audit: Try it out.  What did you learn?  Where do you excel?  Where do you need to improve?  What makes sense, in light of your priorities and mission statement, to invest time in improving? What actions do you need to take to move to the next level?

Life Cycle of a Training Department: Where are you in the cycle and what are the implications to you as a Training Manager? If you don’t like where you are, what actions will to take?

Roles of the Performance Consultant: Now that you know which roles you tend to prefer, how will you balance out your use of your less-used, less-preferred roles? What roles can you or your team add or strengthen to become a more valued business partner in your organization?

We welcome your thoughts, reflections and ideas…

Our best to you!

Melissa and Maria

It seemed such a vast waste of time to include all four elements (write from the learner’s point of view, include a behavior verb, state the condition and the minimum level of achievement).  Writing from the learner’s point of view was an easy sell: “At the end of the training, the learner will…” made sense.

But what I didn’t understand was why “Understand” was not an acceptable verb to use in an objective:  “At the end of the training the learners will  UNDERSTAND the new performance evaluation system.”  I also didn’t know that “Know” was not acceptable either: “At the end of the training, the participants will KNOW the new operating procedures.”

It wasn’t until I  discovered that without these behavioral verbs (something I can “see” or “hear”), there could be no measurement.  No measurement meant that I could not document improved performance.  No documentation of improved performance meant that I would have a hard time proving  the worth of the training (or my existence) to the organization.  Ok… I’m sold on the behavioral part.

Now for the last two hurdles- condition of performance and minimum level of achievement.  Can’t we just stop at the first two?  A resounding “NO” from my instructor.  If we stop at the first two, we have no idea how to effectively design our training.  The condition give us information as to how the leaner will perform the task/apply the knowledge once back on the job.  Do they have to do it on their own?  Will they have a reference to use?  Do they need to be a practiced expert once training is complete?  It tells us what are they allowed to have or use when performing or the condition under which the performance will take place.  For example – on the job will the learner be able to use a manual or have to perform without any aids?  If it’s the later, then the learner will have to spend much more time in the classroom practicing this new skill before they are “proficient” to return to the job.  Ok, got it – condition is important.

Moving on to minimum level of achievement.  This one’s all about how well the learners need to perform on the job.  Do they have to perform the tasks a certain number of times within the hour?  Does their job description require them to perform the task within a certain amount of time?  Is quality important?  Ok, I get it – it’s the measurement thing again.

After pulling my brain back together, I looked at my instructor and said, “I get it!”  Writing solid behavioral-based instructional objectives is like building the foundation of a house.  You have every element of the design within that simple sentence.  You have a solid foundation on which to build your design.   They save you time and resources and help prove that good training CAN make a difference.

So, instructional objectives – friend of foe?  You decide.  And… if you’re still up in the air  -get yourself into a  good design workshop!

Maria Chilcote, Managing Partner, The Training Clinic

Today’s training coordinators are the GLUE that holds the department together.  They are meeting with outside vendors, coordinating the training of subject matter experts, dealing more directly with requests from management and even delivering training and participating in instructional design!

Because of this evolution, training coordinators need to be more savvy and tied into the needs of the business.  They need to know what good training looks like, be able to evaluate the integrity of the design of programs and function as more of a performance consultant to the organization.

So, if you are a training coordinator, know that the role you play in the department and the organization is more vital than ever.  You’re not just the scheduler of events any more.  So step up to the challenge and arm yourself with design, facilitation and performance consulting skills.  The organization needs these skills and you are just the one to provide them!

Maria Chilcote, Managing Partner, The Training Clinic

In doing this, one question keeps arising, “What do we do when they (the clients) push back on us?”

There’s a really simple reason behind this… we’ve TRAINED them to push back!

In most cases when our clients come calling and tell US what type of training they want, how long it will be and when they would like it – we usually comply.  We want to make sure we’re supporting them, right?  Wrong!  We’re actually stifling their development.  They don’t know what performance consulting is.  And by following their direction (who’s the expert on performance here?) we are shortchanging them on the knowledge and skills needed to manage performance.

So, when we PUSH back and start to inquire about the desired behavior they are seeking and what may be getting in the way of the desired performance (yes, it’s most likely NOT a training issue), they’re initial reaction is to resist this behavior because in most cases that’s all they know.  This “pushing back” is not a signal for us to acquiesce but rather one to alert us to gently PULL them along with us down the path of the performance consulting process.

So next time you’re feeling the “push,”  remember, don’t go along.  Instead, do an about face and  pull them in the direction of performance consulting. Everyone will benefit from it – especially the learners.  And isn’t that what it’s all about?

~Maria Chilcote, Managing Partner, The Training Clinic

www.thetrainingclinic.com