One of my previous blog entries dealt with one technique to involve the troubled participant from the beginning of the class. In this post, I am going to switch gears a bit and look at the value of coaching either before or after a class. Coaching is becoming a very large thing to have on hand in mny companies because there is a great deal of value in it. I have used it several times with specific participants both before and after a class. I have found that it does not really matter if it is done before or after as long as it gets done.
The coach, be it the trainer or the employee development specialist, has an unique ability to prime the trainee so that they can fully appreciate how the course they are going to will benefit them. If the trainer is going to be the coach I strongly recommend talking to some of the participants supervisors and seeing which ones will most benefit from the course. These are the people that are more likely to need the extra coaching and encouragement so that they can make full use of the tools that will be learned. This can be hard if you are a contract trainer. In this case, it is best to do it after the course and add that coaching fee into your original proposal. With today's tight economy companies are looking for ways to add value to the money they spend on training. Offering coaching that goes along with and reinforces that training is a great way to increase the value of your bid or contract. If you are an outside trainer, you can also coach and get some very valuable insight from the final decision maker. This person usually has a very strong idea what it is they are looking for in their tainer and in the course. By offering to coach and talk with this person you can get a very good idea about future training offerings they may be interested in and it is a great way to increase the you value in the eyes of the purchaser.
I decided to take a break from the stories in this one simply because I could not think of a great story that would highlight my message. This post has a couple of key take aways from it.
That it is better to add value to your training proposals than it is to offer discounts. Value shows a better bargain for the end consumer and still allows you to receive the full cost of the training that you offer.
Coaching when combined with training is a fantastic way to ensure that the learning has remained with the participant. Many training courses fail to transfer into the workplace because the learner does not have someone there to ensure they use the new tools.
The art of training and coaching is a very rewarding one in its own right. As coaches and trainers we get to see the fruits of out labor play out in the success of our students lives. It is nice to be successful ourselves but it is even more rewarding to know that we have played a part in the success of someone else. By helping others achieve success we too will be successful. I know that by adding coaching to a training event I have greatly increased my effectiveness as a trainer.
