New year, new training goals PART 1

News FLASH!

New Year's goals aren't just for losing those 15 pounds you put on during the holidays.

It's also a great time for reviewing last year's training program, and planning next the next year. Before you set your 2010 company training schedule, consider these questions and planning ideas.

LAST YEAR'S TRAINING

Start with a list of all training from last year. It's time to look at what worked and what did not. Consider:

Which two training classes or programs got the highest ratings from participants? Which two or three garnered the lowest participant ratings?

Which training programs had the fastest participant sign-up rate? Which had the lowest?

Which training resulted in the largest impact on your employees' behavior, performance or productivity?

Which training was a complete flop? This could be people falling asleep, disappearing after breaks, daydreaming, texting under the table, negative behavior not changing or really awful-terrible-miserable evaluations by participants. Be honest. Even if it was your absolute, favorite personal pride and joy session, if it flopped, it flopped.

Which training was the hands-down best for 2009? Again, be honest. Maybe it was one you hated or it was a pain to put together. But it worked and it worked well.

FINDING THE COMMON FACTORS

Now look at your list and find the things your really good training sessions had in common. And the things your really miserable ones had in common. You've heard of 6-Sigma? I call this 6-Tau. Consider:

Technique -- was it a lecture, video, activity, panel discussion or brainstorming session? Define the way information was conveyed.

Topic -- Categorize your training sessions into a few topics. Management skills, productivity, legal issues, etc.

Training Location -- Where was the training presented? In a conference room, on the factory floor, offsite?

Teacher(s) -- Who presented? Was it an individual or a team?

Tools -- What tools were used in the training? Computers? Game show-like elements? Toys? Paper and pencil?

Timing -- When was the training presented? First thing in the morning or right before quitting time? Over lunch or during a busy time of day? And how long did it last? An hour? All day? All week?

As you list these elements of the 6-Tau evaluation, odds are you will see some patterns emerging. Training that is scheduled in the morning may be more effective than in the late afternoon. Shorter may work better than longer (or vice versa.) Certain instructors may be key to effective training. And certain techniques or tools might work better than others.

Once you've identified what works and what doesn't, it's time to build your 2010 training program. Stay tuned tomorrow for more on building a training program that works.