Want effective performance by your team? Once you’re clear what excellence looks like for your Brand, be sure the whole team understands what that is. This is where training, and change management training comes in! Ask yourself, “How does change management training show up?” In small business change management training is possible with the entire staff. Larger business may rely on training managers, models and tools that very specifically communicate that training effectively, and experientially, to the whole staff. Regardless your size, there are some fundamental elements of training that remain essential.
Concepts:
It’s important to start with concepts and then explanation of what is being trained and more so, why. You’ll want to blend visual, auditory and kinesthetic application in any training completed. Expect and celebrate questions. There is no dumb or bad question. One of our brand favorites to invite questions is, “What questions do you have?” as an alternative to “Do you have any questions?”. One anticipates and celebrates, the other more typical, “do you have…” sends a potential statement, “don’t dare ask.” Your group may need to wrap their head around the information in their own way. One person’s “silly question” is just the thing to make the new tool, task or change in operations clear in everyone’s head! Talking about and showing concepts is the first step. At the same concepts by themselves, can only take people so far.
Experiential:
The next step is to practice; use the new program or equipment, role play or exercise interactions and practice the task. Learn new stuff not just intellectually, but both physically and emotionally. This is another area where we suggest slow down to speed up. Rudy explains, “Experiential, experiment, kinesthetic, is critical. Here’s a concept, tell me about it; You and I’ll get about 10% retention from that “tell” training format. “Tell me about it, let me question it; I’ll get about 30% retention.” Go deeper still, “Tell me about “it”, question it, do it, question it some more, do it again, do it again.” In this design we end up with 90% or higher, retention of content. When you or I add the kinesthetic of writing concept and content down, our retention goes up yet again, time and again. Can you afford to not train for 90%+ retention?
Invest the time to allow people the ability to savor new content in these ways, to feel confident because they know their ability from real practice and watch team engagement soar.
The BONUS, coaching to the positive:
What gets focused on is what people remember. Rudy emphasizes this point when he talks about staff training, or in change management training. “Instead of saying, ‘No, not like that.’ coach to the positive, ‘I really liked “x” in what you did. And, to take your performance further, do “y.”
The goal here is this, instead of tracking what’s wrong, track what’s right and build on it. This fundamental is really, really, powerful. Rudy goes on, Sadly, I’d say 99% of the world of work doesn’t do this because we’re taught from a young age to find the fault rather than celebrate excellence.”
By reinforcing what people are doing well, then giving suggestions on how to expand that behavior, it’s possible to make training a positive experience and therefore, much more effective.
Bite sizes: If training is done in small steps that build on each other, it’s possible for trainees to develop confidence in themselves and trust the trainers and managers to provide positive feedback instead of fault. This gives a foundation that is easy to build on for the next step.
Do not expect staff to run with a new method or program if they haven’t been able to walk through it first. Rudy emphasizes this. “Offer definitive behaviors and actions you want to see in bite sizes. For instance, in a restaurant we might just practice a first approach to a table or guest. Then, ask the question, what’s next? Checking back, or taking an order. Okay, practice that. Then practice putting the initial greeting and that first check back or order together. Then, what’s part three? Put steps one, two, and three together. Then define and practice step four and add it to one, two and three. Then five. It doesn’t matter what industry – manufacturing, production, sales, martial arts, fitness, restaurant, retail, phone work, computer work, that same formula works: 1) here’s the idea 2) Q&A, 3) test it, play with it, 4) model it, 5) exercise it. Do the next piece. Then exercise it. Like building blocks or learning how to walk on a zip line. First, second, third, etc. First you start low to ground, then raise it, raise it, raise it, longer, longer, longer.” Learn a step and integrate to the whole.
These methods work. Use them if you are developing your own training program. If you are hiring a management-training firm be sure to look for these foundational elements in their program.
Next Up: Management Training to Support Growth Objectives
