• Knowledge.  People want a trainer to be knowledgeable about their subject.  You must have not just a teaching knowledge with enough to get by, but a good, well rounded knowledge, including quick ways of doing things, tips and tricks, and a knowledge of the alternate methods. 
• Organisation.  It is very important for learners to feel that a training class has structure and that the trainer has good organisational abilities.  They like to have a clear idea of what is to be covered and how the training will be structured.  They like to have the trainer deliver the training in a consistent and organised fashion.  They like to see the training well planned and well executed. 
• Ability to capture and hold attention.  Learners want lively and interesting trainers. They like a trainer who, in some way, can stimulate their interest, capture their attention, and constantly offer something fresh, interesting, and engaging.  They appreciate a little of the "dramatic" in a presentation - they like to be entertained as well as learn. 
• Relevant examples.  Sometimes in training classes, trainers use generic or textbook examples to illustrate procedures or processes.  Most learners prefer the trainer to relate the training to "real" examples relevant to their work and interests. 
• Genuine enthusiasm.  Notice the word genuine.  Sometimes trainers feel a need to be "up" and excited, and try to appear enthusiastic when they are not.  People see through this type of enthusiasm very quickly.  They like to see trainers who are truly enthusiastic about what they are teaching.  Enthusiasm is contagious, and learners like to be infected. 
• Involvement.  Most learners like to feel an active involvement in the training.  They want to be an integral part of what is going on and feel that their opinion counts for something.  They dislike demonstrations or lecturing where they take a passive role in learning. 
• Answering questions with respect.  Many learners are afraid of asking "dumb" questions in front of others.  Many people can remember experiences they had back at school when a question they asked was ridiculed, or they were made to feel "stupid".  This fear often surfaces in a training room.  Learners value highly the ability of a trainer to answer all questions respectfully and without talking down to them. 
• Patience.  Patience is highly valued in trainers.  You must be able to persist in an explanation or continue to assist someone who is struggling without becoming frustrated or making the learner feel uncomfortable.  Being able to listen carefully to each question that is asked without interrupting. 

• Impatience 
• Lack of involvement with learners 
• Lack of knowledge 
• Lecturing 
• Disorganisation 
• Being unprepared 
• Trainers who can't use audio-visual aids properly 
• Getting off track 
• Blaming others for problems with hardware or software 
• Assuming that everyone is following 
• Inflexibility 
• Talking "down" to learners 
• Lack of enthusiasm and energy 
• Lack of a sense of humour

 

How to Implement a Reinforcement-based Approach to Learning and Development that Achieves Permanent, Measurable Improvements in Individual Workplace Performance

 

The ultimate goal of training and development has always been to achieve permanent, measurable improvements in performance that have a positive impact on business results.

 

Executives and HR professionals have pursued this goal for decades. Regrettably, most organisations haven't been able to achieve anything close to this expected return on their investment-especially in the improvement of leadership, sales, service and other interpersonal skills. Even though tens of billions of dollars are invested in learning and development every year, the best efforts of trainers have not been able to consistently produce permanent changes in workplace behavior. This failure has come to be known as the "transfer of training problem."

 

Experts say the issue typically isn't with the training and development programs themselves, but with their context-the activities and practices that happen before, during and afterwards. The central problem is inadequate follow-up reinforcement of the skills introduced in training. Recent discoveries in neuroscience tell us why this is so important: performance improvement involves the growing of new dendrites to reconnect brain cells into new pathways that enable new skills and behaviour patterns. This physical connecting-up process depends on a substantial amount of practical application and reinforcement, which almost never happens in the traditional approach to training and development.

 

Train-to-Ingrain is a uniquely structured performance improvement process that focuses on eight critical areas to address this problem. It gives organisations a realistic, reinforcement-intensive method for transferring classroom learning to permanent improvements in workplace performance.
 

At the heart of Train-to-Ingrain are two imperatives: 

1. Integrating assessment and training with enough follow-up reinforcement so that newly learned skills and practices are permanently ingrained as improved individual performance
2. Involving direct managers as workplace performance coaches of their subordinate team members throughout this ongoing assessment, training and reinforcement process

The result is a mutually supportive partnership among learners, their direct managers and training staff-referred to as the "Learning Triangle."

Traditionally, an HRD event or intervention is designed to fix a performance problem:

PERFORMANCE PROBLEM
- Developmental program
IMPROVED PERFORMANCE

In the best case, the selection of the developmental program is based on one of the many instructional design models, which attempt to diagnose the performance problem before prescribing a solution. In the worst case, a program is selected based on marketing, politics, consensus or somebody's opinion. In any case, these events or interventions almost never include a program of follow-up reinforcement and so fail to achieve lasting improvements in performance.

 

Train-to-Ingrain isn't a single program, event or intervention. It's a new contextual framework for conducting such programs. It's an ongoing process in which efforts to ingrain new skills and improve an individual's performance become a routine aspect of work: 

PERFORMANCE PROBLEM 

- Assessment

- Developmental program 

- Coaching 

- Ongoing development 

- Follow-up feedback and assessment 

- Accountability 

IMPROVED PERFORMANCE

Before training, individual performance levels are benchmarked using multi-source feedback assessment, with the expectation that follow-up measurements will be made several months after training. This focuses learner attention, increases motivation and establishes a mechanism for accountability. Training programs incorporate best practices that contribute to retention and learning transfer. With the support of trainers, direct managers play a crucial role during the follow-up reinforcement phase, supporting continued learning, ongoing feedback, coaching and accountability. 
 
Eight critical areas impact on whether classroom learning transfers to permanent improvements in workplace performance. Ultimately, for maximum return on investment an organisation will need to optimise each area: 

• COMMITMENT - Support follow-up reinforcement
• COACHING - Prepare direct managers for their development role
• FOLLOW-UP - Integrate reinforcement programs with assessment and training programs
• ACCOUNTABILITY - Measure performance improvement and calculate ROI
• TRAINING FOR TRANSFER - Incorporate learning strategies that promote application and reinforcement of skills
• LEARNING NETWORKS - Coordinate support for the learner
• FOCUS - Identify training needs that will have a positive impact on business results
• CULTURE - Align the organisation's policies and practices to support performance improvement

It's neither necessary nor desirable to try to improve all areas at once. To achieve positive results as soon as possible, the best approach is to get started quickly by doing three things, which can be accomplished in a very short period of time: 

1. Acquire integrated assessment and training technologies that support ongoing skill reinforcement.
2. Involve direct managers in the learning process. Define their staff development responsibilities and hold them accountable.
3. Measure performance improvement. Assess skill areas before and after learning to establish developmental goals and accountability.

You can then build on the foundation of these successes with a customised strategy to optimise all eight critical areas.

Dennis E. Coates

 

To talk with us about how you can use feedback to help improve your training investment, please  contact us