CAN - CRG Affiliate Newsletter

Make Training Stick with Your Team!

Today, I had an interesting call from a client.
At a management training conference he attended 5 months ago, he discovered a number of key management strategies he wanted to implement with his team. When he returned from the conference, he worked enthusiastically to institute a number of changes.

For the first few weeks, his management team went along with the new ideas but, as the weeks went by, the man saw his team start to slip back into the old modes of operation. And when his business had to downsize, the workload for most managers increased. Now under even greater pressure, they had quickly reverted to their old, less effective work habits.

He asked me to help remedy the situation.

What is the solution?

We would have to agree we have found ourselves in similar situations in our own companies. We invest precious dollars in new programs and new training, only to see the new learning strategies fall by the wayside in a few short months.

Can anything be done to help ensure the knowledge gained from your training program actually sticks?

Learn how to maximize your training efficiencies and effectiveness through the CRG Assessment System Certification program and the proven CRG tools.
Click here to find out about the next training.

These five fundamental actions will help get the training to stick.

Assign responsibility for getting results
Too often when new training is introduced, line managers assume that the owner, the immediate supervisor, or possibly the staff manager or consultant is responsible to ensure proper results from the new procedures or training. It’s important to designate that specific responsibility to individuals who clearly understand they will be held accountable for the results. My client had failed to communicate that to his managers.

Custom-Tailor the Training
Naturally, those who work directly with the workers are the ones who can insist on building real value into the training. What happens if you are not a line supervisor, but a staff person or possibly an outside consultant? You still have an important role in the company to help the organization achieve the results it needs.

Get adequate coverage
This means every person who needs training gets training. It also means staff members receive refresher courses when needed. And for the supervisor, the more he or she knows about the training, the better that person can supervise the application for continuing results. You wouldn’t think of going to a surgeon who hadn’t received ongoing refresher training on current surgical procedures. Why should your employees be exempt from upgrading their skills and abilities? In this case, my client should have taken his management team to the training, to ensure they received the training they needed.

Provide for coaching
Coaching should be given to supervisors and workers by their own bosses, to refine the content material and develop desire and interest in the value of training for the individual. Remember that every supervisor reflects the thinking of the boss. If you as the owner or department head show interest, your supervisor will, too. If you consider something important, your workers likely will follow suit. On that point, my client had it right. Unfortunately, his managers weren’t as convincing to their team members.

Report results to management
Busy executives need to know what’s going on so they can appraise results. If as the owner you never ask how the training is going or if you don’t expect your team to report the results, don’t be surprised to see the training soon go by the wayside. Exactly how this information is to be conveyed, how often, and in what form is a matter of company preference. The purpose of any report or periodic review is to show the relative improvement achieved by the use of a particular program. In the case of the individuals on my client’s team, they were “too busy” to write reports. The result? The program failed.

Give credit where it’s due
When the training is working the way it should, make sure the managers who have been implementing the training and getting the right results receive proper credit. Giving credit is probably the most powerful force for stimulating interest, enthusiasm, and continued action.

Companies that consistently invest in the training of their employees are the leaders in their industries. To allow you to make the training stick to your team, it must be based on the above fundamentals.

Make 2010 the best year yet for yourself and your clients by joining us at our next CRG training.

Learn how to maximize your training efficiencies and effectiveness through the CRG Assessment System Certification program and the proven CRG tools.
Click here to find out about the next training.

Yours truly,

Neal Diamond

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