Link Stories to Nail the Training

Often, I am asked why employees or team members do not follow procedures in the manner outlined in an operations manual. Most the time it has nothing to do with the employee’s capacity or ability to perform the task. In fact, the root cause is not even rooted in the employee themselves. What is the primary reason you ask?

The issue is within the training. For training to have a defining and deliverable impact it must answer WHY, be backed by a STORY, and then show a solution or the HOW.

THE WHY

The why creates awareness by informing the trainee the reasons behind why the process is defined in a particular manner. For example, a distribution company may have a vehicle checklist for each truck when it leaves the loading area. Why it’s important to utilize the checklist is because it will help identify or prevent maintenance issues, safety hazards, enable drivers to be more comfortable and confident in their vehicles and the list can go on and on.

THE STORY

This is what sinks in the message. John was driving a shipment from Chicago to Baltimore. About 20 miles from the distribution center John experienced a hyper deflation of his front right tire. After inspection, it was found to be caused by a nail that slowly opened a hole in the tread region. This nail was the exact same type as used on the distribution center roof when it was being redone that week before. If John had performed the checklist as outlined he may have been alerted when the tire pressure came up low on the tire pressure checkpoint. This alert could have sparked further investigation and found the source of the low tire pressure. In turn preventing the incident from ever occurring.

Knowing the story makes the checklist memorable and heightens the importance to the drivers of the company.

THE HOW

The how defines the step by step process to be completed time and time again in performing that particular task. This process will be done every time, the same way, by every driver. The how creates heroes. By executing each step, one can save a life, save a $, save deadlines, or save cargo.

Great training is built on Awareness, Memorability, and creating Heroes of Action. - Tim Katsch