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Enjoying Your Work Richard Brislin |
Execs should
set agenda
for trainingWhen an organization's executives engage in strategic planning, they set goals and then decide how to achieve them.
If one path toward achieving the goals is to increase employee skills, then executives have a number of options. They can send employees to classes at a nearby university. They can encourage on-the-job training where knowledgeable employees pass on their skills to others.
If the organization has a human resources department, its staff members can be asked to prepare an on-site training program.
Or, the executives can contract with a company that specializes in training, and the program can be held off-site at a conference center.
Whatever the choice, executives should specify the desired program content.
Assume professional trainers, either in-house or contracted from the outside, are asked to design a program. If given only general guidelines, trainers will often adapt a program that they have previously used or have seen done at another organization.
The danger with such "off-the-shelf" programs is that they do not always meet the specific needs and specific goals of the organization that is paying for the training. Good trainers can take a list of topics that executives want covered and then design a new program that becomes an important part of the organization's strategic planning.
Good programs contain material on awareness of company goals, new knowledge that is necessary, emotional challenges and actual behaviors that employees incorporate into their everyday interactions.
As an example, assume the organization has decided to market its products to Deaf consumers and to hire more Deaf employees.
Trainees will be employees who interact daily with customers. Awareness training introduces the employees to Deaf culture.
A major part of the culture is American Sign Language, which is not simply a collection of gestures. It is a fully developed, complex language that requires years of study and practice if people are to become fluent. Knowledge includes ways of communicating more effectively.
Note passing among Deaf and hearing people is common, and hearing people can develop an elementary knowledge of sign language. If nothing else, being able to use a few signs will make the Deaf feel more welcome.
Another piece of knowledge is that the Deaf have asked people to capitalize the word when referring to their culture, just as we capitalize American and Greek when referring to those cultures.
Trainers cover emotional challenges that could interfere with strategic goals if not well understood.
The Deaf do not like the term "hearing impaired" since people may interpret it as brain damage or as an imposed limitation on their interactions in society.
The Deaf sometimes ask, "Why can't we call you signing impaired?"
Actual behaviors need to be incorporated into people's everyday repertoires.
For communications that need to go beyond basic signing and notes, an interpreter will be required. A hearing person should keep eye contact with and be attentive to the Deaf person, even though there is a temptation to direct one's communication at the interpreter who is speaking.
If people practice new behaviors, they will eventually become habitual and will increase communication effectiveness.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
The purpose of this column is to increase understanding of human behavior as it has an impact on the workplace. Given the amount of time people spend at work, job satisfaction should ideally be high and it should contribute to general life happiness. Enjoyment can increase as people learn more about workplace psychology, communication, and group influences.
Richard Brislin is a professor in the College of Business Administration, University of Hawaii. He can be reached through the College Relations Office: cro@cba.hawaii.edu
