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Corporate Culture: Training, Part II

© Lincoln Bittner

I have always attempted to practice the idea that you give people clearly defined goals with proper direction, consistent training, and the tools to do the job, and then get out of the way and let them do it. In the last article I discussed how to give clearly defined goals and give proper direction. This article discusses delivering consistent training, the tools that are required to do the job properly, and how to get out of the way when you are done so that your employees can do the job.

Consistent Training

There are two areas of consistency that must be maintained during the training process. You must present a focus that is consistent with the goals of the organization, and your curriculum must deliver the same basic information to everyone being trained. Whether you are teaching computer skills, interpersonal communication skills, or time management, you must ensure that the employee can see the connection between what you are teaching and the goals of the organization. If your training is consistent with each employee, then they will be able to go to each other for reinforcement. The ability to go to a coworker for reinforcement is the cornerstone of any great team, and will build self-confidence and trust into the organization.

To maintain the consistency of your training, you must develop an outline that will help you cover all of the topics of the module you are teaching. A good outline will start with a statement reaffirming the goals of the organization, and how the employee fits into those goals. It should then start with the simplest concept of the subject being taught, giving enough background information that the student can visualize how this new skill fits into the process of reaching the goal. From there, design your outline to follow a logical progression of building one concept upon another. Finish the outline with a statement summarizing what has been learned, and suggesting additional self-training materials or activities that the student can access.

The Tools To Do The Job

The tools that are most commonly overlooked are information related. You give them computers, but don't provide reference materials about how to operate them, and they will not be effective. The same goes with something as simple as answering the phone. If they don't have the answers readily available to all of the business related questions a caller might ask them, then frustration sets in, and the spiral towards complacency and inaction sets in. You, as the manager, must provide them with materials that allow them the confidence they need to get the job done, no matter what the task is.