steps to improve every training...
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STEPS TO IMPROVE EVERY TRAINING PROGRAM
MANAGERS AS TRAINERS
An ebook brought to you by:
In this eBook you’ll
learn more about:
• The central role managers play in the success
of employee training programs.
• Strategies to encourage manager support.
• Tips and best practices for turning managers
into trainers.
Organizations with great employee development
programs do not treat training as events. Employee
training in these organizations is ingrained in the
culture and is part of each employee’s regular,
everyday work experience.
Now, we are not saying everything that happens in
these organizations is a “learning experience,” but
employees in true learning organizations tend to
experience learning in a wide variety of ways and
in many different situations. Learning in these
organizations is not isolated to formal training
events, like a classroom course or an online training
course.
Learning happens informally and socially, and sometimes with no push from anyone. It just
happens.
What sets learning organizations apart is that this
“organic” or informal and social learning is weaved
into the culture of the organization, and employees
are not just left to fend for themselves.
More importantly, the managers in
learning organizations play a vital
and central role in the success of
employee development.
Power/Impact Use/Frequency Disconnect
PRE
Trainer 2 2 0
Employee 7 8 -1
Manager 1 5 -4
EVENT
Trainer 4 1 3
Employee 5 3 2
Manager 8 6 2
POST
Trainer 9 7 2
Employee 6 4 2
Manager 3 9 -6
1= MOST POWERFUL/IMPACTFUL FOR TRAINING TRANSFER
SOURCE: BARBARA CARNES, MAKING TRAINING STICK
Barbara Carnes, one of the leading authorities on training
transfer published the second edition of her book,
Making Training Stick: A Training Transfer Field Guide,” in
2011.
Barbara talks about research on training transfer that
compare the impact and use of resources such as time,
communications, marketing etc. across two different axis
– the role (manager, trainer and trainee) and time
(before, during and after).
The scale used in the chart is 1 = the most powerful or
most used. The top three MOST POWERFUL combinations
for training transfer are manager/before, trainer before
and manager/after. ONLY trainer/before is used in
proportion to its impact. Manager both before and after
are not used nearly enough!
According to Barbara, the key take-aways from the
research are:
• The factors influencing training transfer are complex
• MOST of the factors that influence training transfer
occur OUTSIDE the training event or classroom
• The manager plays a critical role in training transfer
• Other systems (culture) play an important role and can
help build accountability
The Corporate Executive Board (CEB) found that direct
supervisors who are effective at developing people can increase employee:
• Performance by up to 25 percent
• Engagement by up to 29 percent
• Retention by up to 40 percent
STEPS TO DEVELOP YOUR MANAGERS AS TRAINERS
We are not suggesting that your managers turn into
classroom trainers or that they become instructional designers. The facts tell us that your managers play a
vital role in the success of their employees on many
levels – including the ongoing professional
development of the employees they lead and
supervise. The six steps focus on the places where the
roles of the manager has the greatest potential impact, and where we see the greatest disconnect between
usage and that impact – before training events and in
ongoing training support.
In addition to these six steps, we’ll outline some
important competencies you might consider
developing in your management team that will help
them successfully execute these important steps.
1. Identify critical competencies
necessary for success in the role.
2. Identify the skill gaps.
3. Make the employees stakeholders.
4. Get involved and be a good
example.
5. Incorporating learning into day-to-
day work.
6. Look for results achieved from the
learning and celebrate success.
IDENTIFY CRITICAL COMPETENCIES Competency-based training helps ensure that
training content stays focused on improving skills,
knowledge and behaviors in areas that will actually
improve performance and help both the organization and employee achieve goals.
The first thing to remember about this step is actually
something you need to forget. Don’t worry about what
your current, formal job description says. Most job
descriptions include 10-15 “critical competencies.”
Nobody can work on developing that many
competencies at any given time. In fact, we’d suggest
that most jobs require the direct application of four to
five competencies on a regular basis for success.
So the first step for your managers is to work closely with
the learning and development professionals in your
organization to identify what those core and critical
competencies are for success in each role on a
manager’s team.
It’s helpful to make this process simple by asking two
basic questions:
• What does success in the role look like? • What does the successful performer do to deliver
results?
The answers to these two questions will get you very
close to understanding the key behaviors and key
competencies the manager needs to help the
employee develop and become successful or more
successful in the job role.
Manager Competency – People Development. Defined as
a manager who provides feedback and coaching,
rewards hard work and risk taking, takes a mentoring role,
challenges and develops employees, accepts mistakes,
provides visibility/opportunity.
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PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT
Defined as a manager who provides feedback and coaching, rewards hard work
and risk taking, takes a mentoring role, challenges and develops employees,
accepts mistakes, provides visibility/opportunity.
Giving Feedback Uses a variety of approaches to energize and inspire others.
Coaching Skills Clarify the meaning and intent of others' communication when it is unclear.
Mentoring Helps others see the personal benefits of doing their job well.
Vision Helps others translate the vision and mission into day-to-day activities and
behaviors.
A needs analysis does not have to be a heavy, detailed
dive into a ton of data. What is required in this step is
that the manager be able to articulate the difference
between the desired state of performance (which
we’ve determined in step one) and the current state of
performance. This “gap” defines the development or
training need, employee by employee.
It’s also important to isolate the performance gaps into
skill and knowledge deficiencies. For instance, if you
have an employee that transfers from marketing to
human resources, and the employee is performing
below the level you expect in the newly assumed HR
role. You have to be careful not to jump to the conclusion that the gap in performance is simply skill-
based. You may need to build a baseline of HR
knowledge for this employee BEFORE you can make a
good-faith evaluation of skills gaps. It’s very likely there
are skills gaps, but you have to approach skills and
knowledge gaps with different solutions, so make sure
you understand the nature of the gap you see.
Manager Competency – Managing for Performance.
Defined as a manager who applies clear/consistent
performance standards, handles performance problems
decisively and objectively, is direct but tactful, provides
guidance and assistance to improve performance.
CURRENT
PERFORMANCE
DESIRED
PERFORMANCE SKILL GAPS
IDENTIFY SKILL GAPS
One-size-fits-all training programs rarely achieve
great results. So it’s important that managers are
involved in identifying skill gaps for each employee on their team. These gaps then help focus
development activities of the employee, but these
same gaps help focus the coaching and day-to-day
feedback the manager provides to support the development goals for each employee.
MANAGING FOR PERFORMANCE
Defined as a manager who applies clear/consistent performance standards,
handles performance problems decisively and objectively, is direct but tactful,
provides guidance and assistance to improve performance.
Setting Performance Standards Tracks progress on clear, well-defined desired outcomes for work activity.
Problem Solving Proactively identify the root causes of problems.
Achieving Results Sets clear, well-defined desired outcomes for work activity and tracks progress.
Priority Setting Identifies primary goals over minor objectives.
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MAKE THE EMPLOYEES STAKEHOLDERS One of the most important things any manager or
leader can do is engage employees in the mission of
the organization. Some times the “mission” is more
tightly focused, such as the development of an
individual employee.
Motivation generally comes from the employee when
certain conditions are met, and the manager can
certainly play a significant role in helping to create the
right conditions. (Daniel Pink suggests that we are
motivated by three pretty basic things: autonomy,
mastery and purpose ). But engagement – a deeper
emotional dedication to the success of the enterprise –
is different than simply being motivated.
Leaders engage employees by providing the direction
and explaining the core value and meaning behind
what they ask employees to do. Leaders also exhibit
and model the behaviors they expect of their
employees. It’s not really complex, but we’ve made
engagement complicated. Simplify it by meeting
employees on their terms, giving them the tools and
resources to be successful and then get out of their way
and let them do their jobs.
Employees need managers to explain what is needed
and tell them how they are doing. If managers are
good at doing those things, and provide feedback on
a daily basis with an emphasis on positive feedback,
employee engagement generally follows. In other
words, if we make employees believe we value them
and their ability, then let them do their work – we’ve
taken important steps that fuel a sense of engagement.
Manager Competency - Leadership. Defined as a
manager who leads through change and adversity, makes
the tough call when needed, builds consensus when
appropriate, motivates and encourages others.
LEADERSHIP
Defined as a manager who leads through change and adversity, makes the tough
call when needed, builds consensus when appropriate, motivates and
encourages others.
Change Management Envisions and articulates the intended result of the change process.
Decision Making Gathers sufficient information to identify gaps and variances before making a
decision
Teamwork Shares ideas, responsibility and ownership.
Motivating Others Communicates a vision of excellence for others that motivates them to improve ,
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If we expect our employees to learn, we have to
establish an expectation that our managers learn, too.
Our managers have to model continuous learning and
be relentless in their quest to gain new skills and
knowledge and to improve their ability to perform at
ever higher levels of proficiency. It’s hard to go to a
team and tell them, “You must do more!” It’s impossible
to do that and get results when the manager delivering
that message does nothing to improve his or her own
level of performance.
Another important element in this step is to give
employees the room to learn by doing, and that
sometimes means the room to learn by making
mistakes. Mistakes will happen. The important part of
mistakes is not avoidance. If we are always working with
a fear of making a mistake, we will never take risks. That
means we will never be excellent.
Risks – taken at the appropriate level – are where we
stretch our skills and grow our abilities, our teams and
our organizations.
Managers play a key role in providing an environment
where employees have the freedom to learn from
taking appropriate risks and to learn from mistakes.
Manager Competency - Self Development. Defined as a
manager who seeks out and accepts feedback, is a
proactive learner, takes on tough assignments to improve
skills, keeps knowledge and skills up-to-date, turns mistakes
into learning opportunities.
GET INVOLVED AND BE A GOOD
EXAMPLE
In today’s highly competitive market, we see
organizations that place an emphasis on continuous
learning and gaining competitive advantages. It’s
through continuous learning that both organizations,
managers and employees will learn and master new
skills needed to respond to rapidly changing situations, conditions and emerging competitors.
SELF-DEVELOPMENT
Defined as a manager who seeks out and accepts feedback, is a proactive
learner, takes on tough assignments to improve skills, keeps knowledge and skills up-
to-date and turns mistakes into learning opportunities.
Giving and Receiving Feedback Utilizes strong listening skills to formulate direct, responsive answers to questions.
Proactive Learning Consistently seeks out business opportunities that will create growth and
development.
Continuous Development Looks for opportunities to learn from mistakes.
Uses a variety of resources to generate potential ideas for improvement.
Skills and Knowledge Improvement Identifies personal skill areas to be developed.
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As we provide training opportunities for employees, we
have to make sure our managers are fully involved in
the decisions about the content, direction and
objectives of the training efforts. That’s the whole point
of steps one and two. Having the managers involved at
those levels pays huge dividends here, because when
the managers are fully engaged stakeholders in the
whole process and program, and when the managers
have helped target the key competencies and skill
gaps, you can help them find ways to incorporate
learning lessons into day-to-day work routines.
For instance, in team or weekly meetings, managers
can ask questions about learning content or training
videos that have bee assigned to team members.
Managers can use job aids as discussion tools, and
managers can ask employees what they learned each
week and how they applied that new knowledge to a
specific problem.
As these questions are asked and answered, it’s really
helpful to find ways to share this knowledge with as
much of the organization as possible. This way, many
people become a little smarter, not just the employees
being encouraged and helped by a single highly
effective and engaged manager.
Manager Competency - Productivity. Defined as a
manager who manages a fair workload, volunteers for
additional work, prioritizes tasks, develops good work
procedures, manages time well, handles information flow.
INCORPORATE LEARNING INTO DAY-TO-DAY WORK
Getting started with a culture of continuous learning
started requires patience and quite a bit of support,
because a lot of managers don’t know where to begin. So, keep it simple. Provide job aids, guides,
Q&A tips, meeting starters and any other supporting
materials that might help your managers understand how to help employees learn more on the job.
PRODUCTIVITY
Defined as a manager who manages a fair workload, volunteers for additional
work, prioritizes tasks, develops good work procedures, manages time well,
handles information flow.
Prioritization Ensures that resources, time, and attention are allocated in proportion to business
priorities.
Process Management Breaks complex processes into more simple tasks and functions.
Time Management Focuses energy on critical tasks.
Work and Information Flow Measures the right things to evaluate how fast and how well resources are utilized
and results accomplished.
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Nothing brings success like more success! Everyone
loves a great success story, so find them and celebrate
them. Employee development is usually a game of slow,
steady incremental improvements.
So you have to train your managers to know how to
spot these improvements. This will require that your
managers are well attuned to the key performance
indicators that help show how the team and employees
are performing in areas where improvement is sought.
“ Feedback is the breakfast of champions.” Ken Blanchard
As improvement is observed, it’s important that
employees get the encouragement they need to keep
going. Development can be difficult, and for the
employee, progress can seem invisible, because they
are sometimes too close to the day-to-day performance to see it.
It’s crucial that the manager step up and recognize
improvements as they occur and celebrate successes.
Manager Competency - Interpersonal Skills. Defined as a
manager who has good listening skills, builds strong
relationships, is flexible/open-minded, negotiates
effectively, solicits performance feedback and handles
constructive criticism.
Manager Competency - Team Building – Defined as a
Manager who anticipates and resolves conflicts, turns
team diversity into an advantage, uses unique team
talents, defines processes and goals, works for consensus.
CELEBRATE LEARNING
ACHIEVEMENTS AND SUCCESS
Nothing breeds success like success. Make sure your
managers know how important celebrating and
sharing successes can be. Once employees see their peers recognized for learning success, it
becomes easier for them to see themselves
succeeding. It’s an “I can do that, too!” sort of thing,
and people appreciate having their efforts recognized.
INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
Defined as a manager who has good listening skills, builds strong relationships, is
flexible/open-minded, negotiates effectively, solicits performance feedback and
handles constructive criticism.
Flexibility Is open to new ideas, perspectives, structures, strategies, or positions.
Listening Skills Utilizes strong listening skills to formulate direct, responsive answers to questions.
Relationship Building Builds relationships by sharing personal experiences and perspectives.
Performance Management Tracks progress on clear, well-defined desired outcomes for work activity.
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TEAM BUILDING
Defined as a Manager who anticipates and resolves conflicts, turns team diversity
into an advantage, uses unique team talents, defines processes and goals, works
for consensus.
Conflict Resolution Addresses disagreements, conflicts, or upsets in ways that build relationships.
Diversity and Inclusion Helps diverse groups to identify common higher purposes, principles, and values.
Defining Processes and Goals Optimally organizes people and activities to accomplish results.
Teamwork Understands and utilizes group process techniques to maximize participation and
effective group functioning.
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CONCLUSION
• The central role managers play in the success
of employee training programs.
• Strategies to encourage manager support.
• Tips and best practices for turning managers
into trainers.
Every organization that invests in its employees’
development risks that investment if the front-line
managers and supervisors are not ready be
“managers as trainers.”
We have to keep our managers actively involved in
the ongoing development of employees, otherwise
employee development efforts will fail. The problem
most organizations have is not lack of awareness.
Manager support has been linked to effective
training programs for quite some time. The issue is
that organizations typically do not take the time to
take the six steps outlined to help make managers
key parts of their training program.
It’s not enough to tell our managers to be involved or to help. We have to hold them accountable, and
we have to give them the support they need to be
successful. So, we have to take them through these
six steps: identify key competencies, identify skill
gaps, make employees stakeholders, get the
managers involved and help them be good
learning examples, incorporate learning into day-
to-day work and look for results and celebrate
success.
Executing these steps requires us to provide training
and support to our managers, and we’ve identified
a few competencies for each step. So, if your
ultimate goal is to deliver verifiable results from your
training efforts, an investment in training and
supporting your managers makes sense –
starting today!
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