Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Hmmm… Do You Really Need That Training?

Let me start with the obvious. I sell training. Training courses, training books, training aids, training everything.

My company, HRD Press, has been at it for nearly 40 years. We've got one of the most established brands in the industry. I love this industry and what it does for those it serves.

My question today, though, is one that has been the source of debate for as long as there has been a "Training Industry"…

…Do you need it?

We'll start (and attempt to finish) there. Because if we meander into the other popular questions we'll be here for far more than my self-imposed 500-word limit. So "Do you like it?", "Do you deliver it well?", "Does it work?" are posts for another day.

I spoke at a Training Industry event not too long ago, and accidentally made a room filled with training professionals and vendors cringe in fear and repulsion (especially the vendors) when I put forth an idea that drew me one of the most cricket-loudening moments I've ever had on stage. There I was surrounded by people who make their livings by creating, facilitating, selling, or designing training courses. I opened my big mouth and said:

"I wholeheartedly recommend that each one of you go back to the drawing board. If you don't know EXACTLY why you perform a training – with a SPECIFIC & MEASURABLE tie to a SPECIFIC & MEASURABLE business objective, then take out with the morning's trash and don't look back." I didn't expect applause, but I didn't expect the amount of pensive glances I saw tossed around the room either. I was alone, but I won't back off.

Training departments exist for a reason. To make a difference – not to hide behind soft measures and status quo's… which would be a strange existence indeed. Training departments that continue to deliver ineffective courses make us all look bad. Training departments that bend to the whim of employees without asking the question "Why should we do that?" make us all look bad.

That legacy course, you know – the really expensive one - the one that has not changed in 50 years but has been delivered to every manager your company has ever hired. Why are you performing it? Because you always have? Do you know where the organizational effect shows? Do you know how to measure it? No? Garbage. Trash it.

I don't care if the desired outcome for a training is knowing how to install a window, or how to increase your emotional intelligence. If you're going to put on a course, perform a training needs analysis. Do the following and you've got a good chance to get it right the first time:

Step One – Get Focused: Determine the goals and scope of the evaluation itself. This should include your most important stakeholders as you are eventually going to want their endorsement, accountability, and access to resources. If you can't get that ahead of time, you're in for trouble down the road. Guaranteed.

Step Two - Make a Blueprint: What data will be collected during the analysis? Who or what will be your data sources? What methods will you use to collect the data you need? When will you be collecting it? Knowing now will save you from a mess later.

Step Three – Taking Action: Now you've got to perform the analysis utilizing the methods determined to be most appropriate. Next you'll dig in to your data. Tabulate it. Share it with your accountable stakeholders. Make recommendations for new courses, and replace any programs that you discover are missing the mark.

Step Four – Evaluate the Evaluation: This might be the most neglected stage of the entire process. By running this evaluation you can determine how to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of subsequent evaluations, after all, we're not doing this as a one-time event. It can also aid in the accountability of results for those stakeholders.

Mark Snow is the Vice President of the Performance Technology Group at HRD Press. He is a certified facilitator of several workshops and assessments published by HRD Press, a world leader in human resources training material. For More information on the please call Mark Snow directly at 1-800-822-2801 xt 125


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