Training

Training, when used correctly, can be a very valuable tool to increase moral, production, and profits. When training is used as a knee-jerk reaction to solve a problem, real or perceived, it can be a costly quick fix. This managerial method of resolving issues causes a ripple effect throughout the company.

Robert W. Pike, CSP states in his web site article, Ten Lessons I've Learned (plus One!) If I'm going to Get Results from Training, "Training is not the only or best solution to every performance problem. Sometimes one-on-one coaching may provide a better answer (though the person delivering the coaching may need to be trained on how to coach)."

The actual problem may not be identified. If the perceived problem stems from a small percentage of employees or plant group, management will often decide to require the entire plant population to attend training to ensure all employees are trained in the same way or to the same standard. But, what if the entire plant has already been trained to the same standard? Some managers will respond, "Refresher training, obviously they have not retained what they learned!" But maybe the real problem lies in the fact that the manager does not want to deal with the disciplinary issues, which are needed to resolve the issue created by that small percentage, that are creating the problem.

Even if it is determined to be an employee performance issue, Frances & Roland Bee, Learning Needs Analysis and Evaluation, recommends looking at other interventions first. These could include:

§ Improved methods of working, better documentation of work processes, a simple checklist, may be all that is needed.

§ Evaluate methods of communication used for disseminating information.

§ Conduct a job task analysis to determine if redesigning the job by simplifying tasks or using a more team-based approach.

§ Evaluate organizational obstacles or even the physical environment, such as ergonomics of the job, reducing noise and interruptions.

Using training can be an easy out for management to use when a traumatic workplace event happens, such as an injury or a fatality. This is when managers might have a knee-jerk reaction to the problem to have everyone go through a training session which they feel will prevent the problem in the future. They may not even realize that everyone who they are requiring to take the training do not even perform the same job as the employee involved in the traumatic event.

The real answer may lie in the need for managers to receive training in supervisory skills dealing with personnel problems and policies, and to also refresher training for the few personnel who actually need it. Why cut production or shutdown completely to train all employees when 98% of employees do not perform the tasks of concern or those that do are performing their jobs safely and correctly?

A simple training needs assessment may identify the actual problem and its underlying causes. Performing training needs assessment and/or a job and task analysis will help ensure training is needed and help layout a training plan in order to guarantee desired results. Doing this ensures that the provided training and other options really delivered to people who actually need the training and the managers involved are willing to support both the training and job application once completed.

Jeff Griffiths, points out in, The Trainers' Dilemma, that "insisting on following a structured methodology, including up-front analysis to diagnose the root cause of performance problems and finding lasting solutions is the key to successful interventions..."

Christensen and Greene in their Technical Skills Training: The Science of Education discuss how "the effective application of the science of education can produce increased productivity, decreased downtime and costs, and individual accountability. "

Working in the performance improvement area of the forest products industry, Christensen and Greene have identified five major issues or challenges, which they feel, have consistently undermined and eroded the work of training groups in developing the skilled and high-performance workforce desired within today's modern companies.

* Perception: Management perceives the continuing training, upgrading of skills, education and development as costly and a necessary evil. Workers must attend classes that are irrelevant, sometimes federally mandated year after year.

* History: Generally, employees have spent most of their time during training sitting in rows, with instructors talking monotonously about subjects, which will be in their minds, of little value in their careers and even less in their lives. While the success of the training depends on passing test and getting credit for the training on some computer system.

* Personal control: Most employees will feel they are hired to perform a specific job and supervisors are hired to manage their work performance.

* The learning environment: The training methods used in many companies are generally college-educated engineers who may know the technical specifications of the product being