Building and Implementing a Training Plan for Your Team, Pt 2
by Chris Crew
Last week we discussed a few of the biggest traps we face when building and implementing a training plan, including Identifying the Skill Gaps and Identifying Your Audience.
This week we’d like to focus on how to:
Identify Your Modality
There's multiple ways deliver a training, and you can conduct your training to appeal to the various types of learners. Auditory learners absorb more by listening, kinesthetic learners respond best by doing, and visual learners are most engaged when information is presented in a visual format. Since you are likely to have team members from all of these categories, make sure that your presentation includes clear and concise verbal presentation backed up by a PowerPoint and/or infographics and followed with a workshop or demo segment. Covering all your basis will help ensure that your message gets through.
Identify the Frequency
Will this be an ongoing training, a training series, or a one-off? Evaluating the frequency with which your trainings occur is key to its successful planning and implementation. Too often, companies make the mistake of trying to achieve too many goals in one sitting. By knowing how to space out each aspect of what you want them to learn you can better strategize your structure and keep them from being blocked by a sense of overwhelm.
Let me also add that many companies abandon training plans when it gets busy. I can’t stress enough that a training plan is not just for the slow times.
A true commitment to training is a 365 day or 52 week approach. If that sounds like a lot, just take a look at what training will do for you. You are providing better customer service, creating a raving fan of a team member who is gaining a sense of pride, and benefitting from the revenue impact that goes along with it. And, as a bonus, the Manager’s job becomes a lot less stressful when you have fully-trained team members.
One final thought - don't forget to reward your team for their hard work. Acknowledging the efforts of your team after a successful training session can help keep them motivated and interested in furthering their development. It's also important to make sure that everyone is given an opportunity to provide feedback on the training sessions so that any issues can be addressed and resolved. With these steps in place, you'll be prepared to build and implement an effective training program for your team.
Happy training!
