How to Maximize Your Training Dollars

Companies often dispense training as if it were a magic pill for whatever is ailing the organization. Send problem employees to a few classes and everything will be fine in the morning. If only this were true.

Here are five common reasons why training fails:

One bad apple

Think back to your days in elementary school. Remember when the teacher would scold the whole class because of one disruptive child? If that weren’t bad enough, she would then cancel recess.

The business world operates the same way. For example, rather than providing one-on-one coaching to a manager who lacks interpersonal skills, all leaders are forced to sit through a course that they probably could teach. So, why are we surprised when the behavior of the problem employee doesn’t change?

Training is not the right response for every problem in the organization. Sometimes you have to dig deeper and hit the problem head on.

Wrong format

We now have four generations in the workforce. Each generation approaches learning in a different way. While it might be easier for your director of training to deliver workshops over the Internet, this approach may not meet the needs of the very generation you are trying to reach.

Examine the population you are trying to train and adjust your approach to meet their needs, not yours.

Pushing rather than pulling

You can't force people to learn. They have to want to learn. I'm facilitating a workshop next week called, The "IT" Factor: Executive Presence for Women in Tech and I can't wait. Every single person who signed up has done so voluntarily. I expect a lot of learning will be going on and that participants will  walk away wanting more.

Give employees choices and let them select training programs that will allow them to accelerate their growth. Of course, be prepared to help guide them through the selection process.

Failure to link training with day-to-day business

We’ve all attended public workshops that were great. After all, who wouldn’t want to be out of the office on a nice sunny day? We return refreshed and dive back into our work as if nothing has changed. That’s because nothing really has changed.

Most training is useless, unless you link it back to the task at hand or the organization’s strategic goals and everyday business. Follow up training with on-the-job coaching and support from management.

Lack of leadership commitment

 
I recently presented a workshop on Effectively Managing an Intergenerational Workforce. During the presentation, one of the participants kept shaking his head. We were concerned that his head would fall off and start rolling down the aisle. So we asked him why he was shaking his head so much. He chuckled and asked, “Why isn’t my boss here?”

This question must get asked at almost every training session. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could have responded, “Because she attended a similar session this morning”? Workers are smart enough to know that if their bosses aren’t fully invested in the training, then nothing will change.

 If you are going to introduce a training program to your organization, make sure you have the support of senior management. Without it, you are wasting your time, not to mention the time of the participants attending training.

Before you start calling around to find a trainer for your organization, take a step back. Ask yourself the following:

• Have I figured out the root of the problem or is what I am seeing only a symptom?
• How will I know if the training worked? How will I measure the results?
• Are the people I am sending to training capable or desirous of change?
• Are we providing different ways of delivering the information to meet the needs of each generation of employees?
• Is this training something employees really want or something I think they need?
• What is the goal of the training and how will I link it back to the organization’s strategic mission and goals?
• Is management really committed to this initiative?

 
If you have gone through the process of thinking through all of these questions and you proceed, don’t be surprised if this time around you actually see results!

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