Trainer’s Tip: To Train or Not to Train?
This week’s tip from Barbara Matthews aims to answer the question: is training always the answer? Training should only be done as a last resort. To determine if training is the answer, begin by performing a Needs Assessment. Ask these questions: What is it that they need to do? Is it really necessary for them […]
Trainer’s Tip: Conflict Resolution
How do you prevent a difference in opinion becoming a full-scale conflict? Rich Lucas has some advice. I’m an approved self protection instructor, we deal with conflict resolution with an ABC methodA – Avoid conflict if possible, prevention is the best cure.B – Breathe deeply, don’t take it personally or get upset.C – Control your […]
Trainer’s Tip: Serving Up Time Management
This week’s tip from TrainingZONE member Myrta Stager, to be used at the start of a session on time management, demonstrates just how much delegates have on their plates. For an activity to demonstrate how much your audience has “on their plate”, provide each participant a paper plate and a stack of sticky notes. Pick […]
Trainer’s Tip: Learning Styles Line Up
This week’s tip, from Joanna Howard, is a simple and effective exercise to demonstrate learning styles. Using a line along the floor as a continuum from theorist to activist, I ask people to place themselves on the line in response to the question: “Imagine you have to do something new, rather challenging, and you want […]
Trainer’s Tip: Successful E-Coaching
Coaching is so much about building a rapport, how can such a relationship be built if the people involved don’t meet face-to-face? Spencer Harris offers some advice. My top five tips for email coaching:1. Agree a protocol, a contract for how you will interact. Including: dealing with tempo, silence, literacy (computer and otherwise), when you […]
Trainer’s Tip: Benchmarking
Ever wondered how your department compares with that of other companies? Graham O’Connell offers some advice on how to work out how it measures up. Benchmarking can be very useful, however, there are a number of factors to consider. Firstly, how big, formal and sophisticated you want to make this project. I suspect that most […]
Trainer’s Tip: Planning for E-learning
This week’s tip, from Ian Fielding, offers five pointers on what to consider before implementing an e-learning programme. Taking the steps to implement e-learning within any organisation takes time and planning. Is the workforce ready for e-learning? Does the organisation have sufficient infastructure? And, more importantly, can e-learning demonstrate a return on investment?Here are a […]
Trainer’s Tip: Evaluating Vocational Training
TrainingZONE member Alex Paterson explains how his organisation evaluates vocational training. We did it from two angles: the student’s and the manager’s.1) From the student’s angle we identified what the course’s intended learning outcomes were and grouped them under “skills” (you could call them whatever you like depending on the nature of the course) headings […]
Trainer’s Tip: How to Get Learners to Log in
This week’s tip comes from Carl Fitzsimons who explains some of the tricks he has used to boost the popularity of a staff learning intranet. One item you may wish to consider is come pre course downloads e.g. we use a learning contract for each event to capture pre and post course planning /evaluationI have […]
Trainer’s Tip: Ditch the Name Plates
Reflecting on the old argument about introductions and whether you should use name plates on courses, Paul Sinclair offers this memorable tip. One technique that worked very well recently on a course I attended was to ask the attendees to introduce themselves and compare their first name with somebody famous. They then had to explain […]
Trainer’s Tip: Diversity Exercises
Eddie Newall offers some advice on how to get delegates thinking about diversity. There was an excellent thread on perceptions and prejudice exercises last year here. Other possibilities: A diversity ‘health check’ – give them a list of questions to establish their current knowledge in relation to the learning outcomes. For example: * Define culture, […]
Trainer’s Tip: Engaging E-Learning
Are your staff are turning off e-learning? Read Paul Allman’s advice for creating engaging CBT. There are lots of things you could do to make computer based training (CBT) more interesting, but before you hurtle off and create wonderful graphics, animations, audio, interactions etc, ask yourself why? Why are you doing this? Why do people […]
Trainer’s Tip: The Induction
This week Clive Boorman offers some advice on how to conduct a rolling induction. I have extensive experience of managing an accredited rolling induction process – here’s what we do. People will simply not retain volumes of information delivered in only one way. Whatever you do, you need to have different people involved in delivery, […]
Trainer’s Tip: Stress Management
This week Joanna Howard offers some advice on how to make the case for stress management training in a high-pressure environment. If you’re in a high stress environment, people can get sucked into a “when the going gets tough…” set of assumptions. This means that few people like to acknowledge they’re under stress some people […]
Trainer’s Tip: Customer Service Call Monitoring
In this week’s tip, Andrew Laycock explains how to set out a call monitoring sheet for staff development. Some general pointers from the many I have designed would be: * Call opening: as in was the standard greeting used, security procedures adhered to, customer addressed by name. * Communication skills: types of questions asked, demonstrated […]
Trainer’s Tip: Prioritising Training Needs
Andrew Laycock offers an insight into how, as a training manager, he helped managers prioritise training needs.Assuming your managers have regular development discussions with their employees, a process that I have used successfully in the past was categorising needs in to short, medium and long term. Short term = needs the training to fulfil their […]
Trainer’s Tip: Getting their Full Attention
This week’s tip comes from Jenny Kent, who uses this innovative method of engaging disinterested delegates. Something I find works is to generate an element of competition into the proceedings. However un-interested or ‘grumpy’ delegates are, most people like to compete! I’ve used various methods for this but most revolved around question cards of which […]
Trainer’s Tip: Set Perfomance Targets that Motivate
This week Peter Hunter explains how to set performance targets that inspire rather than demotivate staff. Setting performance targets can have a negative effect on the ability of the workers to achieve them. The workforce perceives performance targets as the management telling them what they should be doing. Telling people what to do makes them […]
Trainer’s Tip: How to Make the Case for E-Learning
Over two years ago, I introduced e-learning to the company I worked for. In making a case for investment, I made a clear case as to how e-learning would complement other forms of training in the organisation. E-learning is not for everyone as it depends on one’s learning style so, in writing the strategy, e-learning […]
Trainer’s Tip: How to Beat Presentation Nerves
I am a hypnotherapist as well as a trainer and one of the main reasons people come to me is for presenting nerves.Something you can do on your own (after having thought of things that can go wrong and having found solutions) is to go through the process in your mind experiencing yourself carrying it […]
