Staff Training

In this column, the subject matter is often directed to dedicated trainers, i.e., those people who are responsible for the design, development, and implementation of training programs at their facility. But many facilities do not have a full time trainer position; instead, this responsibility falls on a supervisor, manager, or skilled technician.

So how does the over-extended manager or supervisor find the time to train? Not just the act of training, but the planning, preparation, and development of training sessions.

One writer suggests that as we move into the post industrial age, training will take on a new form, focused mainly on coaching, mentoring, and facilitating. This concept focuses on performance, not traditional training measures.¹ His article is a good jumping off point for a discussion of the small facility without a full time trainer. He states “We are scrapping lengthy training development …in favor of quick and dirty rapid development.“

This concept, paired with what we know about the learning preferences of the future workforce of millennials suggests a few ideas to guide the sometime trainer.

• Focus on content. Start with your take home point.What do you want the audience to remember? Write that down. Next, what information is important to go with the take home point? Bullet point three to five items. If it is hard to limit to three to five, write them all down and then prioritize the list to identify the most important points. Remember what prioritizing means; identify and rank according to relative importance. The same list may be prioritized in multiple ways depending on the ultimate goal.The key is to provide as much content as necessary without overwhelming either the staff or the trainer with minutiae. Tell them what they need to know to avoid breaking a rule, compromising a project, or being injured.
• Use teachable moments to educate. Teachable moments occur every day. They are opportunities to explain a concept, identify a decision-making process, or impart basic information. Almost anything that can be explored with a “why” question can serve as the basis of a teachable moment. Designing a facility? The location of various work areas can be explained by discussing traffic patterns, animal health considerations, efficient work flow, and the usefulness of storage and staging areas, for example.
• Think twitter and email. One way to provide on-the-spot training is to employ technology. Provide a small, key bit of information with links to more in-depth content, video, or podcasts. The use of links will help to draw the audience into exploration and hopefully stimulate the desire to do more research on their own.² This brings learning into the workplace and encourages continuous improvement and an ongoing search for additional information. The internet offers so many online resources that the manager becomes a conduit of information, facilitating and mentoring, rather than imparting learning.
• Think advertising. Ensure your learners are ready to learn. For example, to introduce an upcoming training session, build excitement by sending an email announcing the arrival of the training. Tease with something like “Watch your inbox for more news!” or “Coming attraction!” This type of buildup can also be used to rollout a new process, an organizational change, a new hire, or a new program. Generating excitement to know more about the subject makes learners ready to receive the information
• Use real world problems as a basis for training. Present a scenario or problem as it actually occurred in the organization.Have the group recreate what happened, the reasons why it might have happened, how it was handled, what the outcome and consequences were, and alternative solutions to the problem. This is an effective training method that demonstrates both an understanding of basic facts and the ability to interpret and solve problems. Group projects facilitate peer to peer learning. The trainer’s job becomes one of facilitating the discussion and keeping the group on point.An additional benefit may be improved processes or communication to prevent the problem from recurring.
• Incorporate a training minute into regularly scheduled meetings. Try a new word, parsed and defined so staff understands it. Reinforce the learning by using the word appropriately for the week, until everyone is comfortable using it.
• Allow staff members to present a case study to the rest of the staff.Make them responsible for gathering and presenting the facts.Some people will be more comfortable with this method than others, and don’t force anyone to lead.
• Automate when possible.Set up messages to be delivered at pre-determined times and be sure your contact list is up to date. Copy managers and supervisors to encourage repetition. Content can reinforce training concepts, new information, new responsibilities, or any organizational change.
• Focus on training the trainers. This will expand your training ability and provide job enrichment in the process.

Before embarking on a new direction of training, take the time to get buy-in from the staff and other stakeholders. Staff who support the idea will enlighten and draw in their peers. The more the learners are receptive to the information, the better they will receive it.³

1. Cross, J., “Get Out of the Training Business.”Chief Learning Officer, Feb. 2009, p. 16 (clomedia.com).
2. Emde, E. “Building Extended Learning Systems That Deliver.” Chief Learning Officer, Sept. 2009, p. 51 (clomedia.com).
3. Ibid, p. 49.

Ann Marie Dinkel, RLATG, has over 20 years of facility management experience, and serves as adjunct faculty for SUNY Delhi and Delaware Technical Community College. For the past several years, she has been a consultant and trainer in Laboratory Animal Science. Ann is an account manager for the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states for Alternative Design.