Training Tips
Q: How can I ensure that my employees are absorbing the material from the training?
A: Isn’t this the Holy Grail of training? Everyone has unique learning patterns, and so no answer is going to 100% solve this question. However, the following suggestions might help:
Clarification Pauses - After 10-15 minutes of lecture, give the employees a couple of minutes to digest their notes on their own and then in pairs or small groups. Follow up with a few clarification questions. This helps employees to fill in gaps or correct errors. It also gives the trainer an opportunity to answer any additional questions that arise.
One-Minute Paper - At the end of the training, or training section, ask your employees to write what they thought was the most important point from the training or ask them to write a paragraph starting with, “I was surprised that...”, “I learned that...”, or “I wonder about”. This gives the trainer instant feedback. Employees who are mentally engaged are more likely to leave with the knowledge for which you developed the training.
Q: How can I ensure that my employees are absorbing the material from the training?
A: If there is no expectation of the employees to listen for content and actively try to understand what is being trained, you’re not going to get good results. Here are a few suggestions to promote active listening:
Partner Summaries: At random times whether an employee has been listening. After employee A has given an answer, ask employee B to summarize in her own words the points made by employee A. You could also ask an employee to rephrase a difficult point you have made.
Quiz Questions: After a break in the training, have employees break into small groups and write potential quiz questions on the material that had been introduced prior to the break. Make sure they also provide answers. Then submit one question to the class as a whole. Grade these, and use some on a follow-up quiz several weeks later.
Q: My employees often say that one of the most valuable results they receive from training is what they learn about their co-workers. Do you have any suggestions for how to utilize and promote this kind of interaction?
A: Count yourself lucky if you have employees who realize the additional benefits that can be gained through cooperative exploration and learning. Here’s a suggested template for an activity that can harness that collaborative spirit:
Give employees a tough or ill-defined problem. Ask every employee to spend 2 minutes writing down how they might approach the problem, assumptions they are making, maybe a diagram. Then employees pass the paper to the right. Employees look over what is already there, and add to it, also trying to move farther to solving the problem. Repeat until every employee has added their idea. This multi-step process allows employees to become accustomed to their co- workers’ approaches to solving a problem.
Q: As a trainer, I often feel that I only truly understand the material after I have explained it to others. What types of activities would allow my employees to “play trainer”, and gain a more intimate understanding?
A: Great insight! Not only do they gain a greater understanding, but having your employees teach their understanding of the material to others allows you a chance to assess their comprehension (and gives your voice a rest too!) Another possible activity is to ask your employees to create a test or quiz based on the materials presented. Besides generating insightful, thought provoking questions, they must also create satisfactory answers. Then have the employees administer and grade the test.
Just remember that having a “student-teacher” doesn’t give you free license to zone out in class. If anything, a trainer who has relinquished the floor should be more alert and quick to correct any incorrect information.
Q: What is the ideal size for instructor-led classes?
A: The optimum number of students in a class depends on the training objective. Knowledge training and skills training are separate animals with different requirements. If the goal of the training is knowledge-based, i.e. the information doesn't necessitate practice, then the only limitation to the number of participants may be the size of the classroom.
On the other hand, if the objective is to train participants in a skill, e.g. cold calling, language, etc., then the participants should be expected to interact with the trainer and receive some personal coaching. In this case, a smaller class helps to facilitate the completion of the goal.
The 8-12 range is ideal, as it brings a variety of perspectives together while allowing meaningful discussion. As class size grows, the number of participants who regularly attend goes down. In a class of 30, it is easy for people to miss a class not be singled out. In large numbers, adults lost motivation when they have no opportunity to contribute anything meaningful or receive feedback from their instructor.
Q: What are the most important aspects of training to remember when creating an effective training plan?
■ Training goals match employee job requirements.
An IT engineer doesn't need to study a chapter on Financial English. Employees are easily frustrated by a perceived lack of thought of their specific functions. If your standard training materials don't include topics pertinent to their everyday duties, ditch it or find an outside vendor who can deliver what you need.
■ Participants are specifically selected for training.
Employees who feel they are part of a select group are more likely to treat their development seriously and take advantage of the training on offer, thereby increasing the speed at which they learn the usefulness of your training.
■ Employees are offered a variety of training styles.
Adults can only absorb and process a certain amount of information they receive. On average, a paltry 5% of what is presented in lecture-form makes it into our memory. Contrastingly, 50% of information is retained through discussion and a whopping 90% when teaching others. Varying your training offerings not only keeps it interesting, but more often than not increases its utility.