Make It Easy
Make It Easy
Last week we gave you the first four of nine ways to get the best return on your training investment. Here are the rest: To get the best
return for your training
dollar, participate5. Make your training team your ally. Find an expert you can trust with "inside information," who can build a program just for you. Canned programs don't always work for everyone. Have something created for your particular challenges and be willing to fine-tune the program as you go.
6. Attend the training programs. Yes, you are busy. Yes, you've heard it all. Bosses who participate not only show the employees that they believe in continuous learning, they also show support for the ideas and information being presented.
7. Support suggestions made in training. Often your training partner will hear things in the session that you have not heard. Many times trainees who really care about the company will make suggestions for improving it in front of the trainer rather than risk rejection from management. Whether the suggestions came from a formal brainstorming process, or from casual feedback in the class, LISTEN. Find the grains of truth. Do not dismiss it because "it came from person X who always causes trouble;" or "We tried that 10 years ago and it didn't work." Every suggestion is worthy of consideration and deserves a response.
8. Protect the credibility of your trainer. If a training professional has been around for awhile, he or she has developed some instincts. He may give you information designed to help you with certain people. Do not walk up to that person and say, "Trainer X says you said this in class." Accept that you have received confidential information that bears further investigation and thought. Use it wisely, it's part of what you are paying for.
9. Finally, remember trainers aren't there to "fix" people. We have good information, the benefit of being an outside observer, new ways of looking at situations, and can offer solutions to your challenges. We can say what you've always said in a new way. We can support your goals and create an atmosphere for attitude shifts. We can't do it alone. And we can't do it if your employees aren't open to it. Make it possible for your employees to succeed by presenting your next training sessions as opportunities for growth, not punishment.
Beth Terry is president of Pacific Rim Seminars.
This column is excerpted from her upcoming book,
101 Ways to Make Your Life Easier. Send questions
on management, customer service and other issues
to beth@bethterry.com.