2 Responses

1. Let them set their own!
   I have found that by letting the delegates come up with their own protocol / set of rules at the start of training, I get more buy in than dictating the rules myself – this has been particularly useful with groups of young & unruly employees in a former organisation – if one person has strayed from the behaviour expected, it tends to be the rest of the group, rather than the trainer who has been quick to pull the “offender” back into line.

   Alternatively, I ask delegates (as part of their objective setting) what they expect from me as a learning facilitator, and I then respond with my expectations of their behaviour. I don’t have a set agenda for this however, as I find that there can be a degree of flexibility depending on the audience and the type of training involved.

   Regards,
   Jessica

2. Delegate behaviour
   Janet
   I agree with Jessica. A quick exercise at the start to agree what is called a ‘psychological contract’ or ground rules can be really helpful. Once you have done it a few times you can collate the top 6 or 7 items and have it available for other groups – eg for short 2 hour sessions you need to get down to the content pretty fast. Having a pre-prepared list that you can quickly offer as a proposition on how we work together is a useful expedient.
   Failing that, normal organisational rules apply. You are notionally their manager, in some respects, when they are on a course. If the organisation doesn’t have any code of conduct or accepted rules for behaviour, then that is a bigger issue.
   Graham