John Kimball
copyright 2013
Employee Training and Development
The training and development of support and sales personnel who will have a great deal of contact with customers (internal and external to the hosting organization) presents a remarkable set of challenges. These technicians, support engineers, and sales reps have been hired partly for an attitude of customer service; of “going the extra mile.” So why is it so tricky to train them into new skills or behaviors, and how does the new knowledge benefit the organization? This essay will look at factors influencing the success of a training session or class, individual versus group dynamics and interaction, current trends relating to training and development (including the impact of technology), and some techniques an experienced trainer might use. The essay will also describe some of the most important lessons I have learned relative to employee training and development. For documentation, I have included the master schedule of classes from one of the Software Summits I have organized.
Importance of Employee Training and Development, and How It Benefits the Organization
Better educated employees are happier, more confident, and more efficient than their less-skilled counterparts. This makes them more productive and less prone to causing personnel-related problems. Training also gives employees a sense of pride, of being involved in the process and product of the organization. Perhaps most important (and this intangible is often missed because it is so difficult to grasp), training and development gives employees options. They sense that they are skilled enough to work elsewhere, and so they do not feel trapped. The employees can enjoy a true sense of ownership and responsibility, because they choose to work at the particular organization. This dichotomy leads to employee loyalty; to highly skilled personnel with sensible motives for coming to work.
In the copier industry, training is ongoing and highly technical. Technology constantly outpaces the skill level of employees. Efficiency suffers as a direct result of lack of skills. Newcomers are overwhelmed by the amount of knowledge that veteran technicians, sales reps, and support engineers seem to naturally possess. The new man doesn’t easily grasp the idea that these highly-skilled people got where they are today with a good deal of trial and error, and by paying their dues over a period of years. He senses there must be a shortcut, and in fact there often is. We call it ongoing professional education, or training and development.
Factors Influencing the Success of a Training Session or Class
Skill Sets of Students
The previous experience of students can weigh heavily on the outcome of a particular class or informal training. Let’s consider a class on diesel mechanics repair. A young lady with experience driving a log truck, or even with a summer of pulling chain to fasten the load of stripped tree trunks to the trailer, will be better at picking up the subtleties of the subject matter than will a professional ice skater. The trainer must be somewhat aware of the differences in students’ professional histories, if the class is to be a success.
Skills (or lack thereof) gained in similar educational or practical endeavors may lend a certain egoism or embarrassment to the personality of an individual or group. Practical wisdom on the part of the instructor will help to move the training along, as will reasonable intelligence. When students ask a lot of questions directly related to the subject matter of the class, the tendency will be toward a lengthier class. The flip side of that tendency comes when the instructor senses that the students asking the questions are “tracking” most effectively. A series of intelligent, if almost irrelevant, questions is usually better than a blank stare on the face of the students. If an instructor is skillful and aware of the pitfalls of getting too far off track, he or she can take the meanderings of the students and redirect them back to the subject at hand in a manner that both satisfies the question and brings back into the consciousness of everyone else the true point.
As a student, I have been guilty of asking questions that interest and fascinate me, but leave everyone else wondering what the heck I am talking about. And as an instructor… well, I just don’t think it’s possible to conduct a class without someone trying to zero in on an insignificant point or take an intellectual detour. Instructors should rehearse this scenario, in order to know how to handle this situation when it comes up.
An Example from Church
I have recently given up teaching an adult Sunday school class at our local church. I was one of three teachers in the class, and we rotated the teaching responsibilities. With spiritual matters, it is quite obvious when a controversial subject has captured the attention of one of the members of the class. One Sunday, I had been teaching from Romans about forgiveness, tolerance, and the subject of confronting fellow believers in their sins. The class focuses on marriage and family issues, so a casual discussion of adultery came up. Playing to the minority position, I suggested that perhaps the adulterer’s sin was to be reconciled between the individual and God. I might as well have claimed that the Aryan Nation was presenting at church the following week, so vitreous was the reaction from one individual. It also seemed the brotherhood of accountable, supportive men were not about to consider letting one another fall into such an abominable sin, and they would have eaten up an entire 40 minutes with energetic discussion if I had not interjected with the concept of the universality of sin in our thought lives, and the necessity of “judging not.” Still, some were unconvinced, but on we moved, for Romans is a weighty book and time is no respecter of opinions.
Style and Skill Level of Instructor
The communication style and skill level of the instructor is another factor influencing the success of any training session. Just as there are learning styles for different students, there are teaching styles that well represent the forté of a particular instructor. Some instructors prefer to present slide after slide of PowerPoint images, leading to a common colloquialism known as “death by PowerPoint.” Others clack and screech on a chalkboard, or squeak and stink on a whiteboard. My personal style is a mix of whiteboard lecture, hands-on lab exercises, and candy. The contemporary software training class is one of the last places where an instructor can walk in with a big bag of candy bars and still excite 20 mature adults. In an informal office environment this might be considered insulting, but in the formal class snacks mean both survival and competition. The instructor must also be able to sense and respond to the mood, expectations, and interest level of the individual or group. If a student becomes sullen or bored, a laugh or change in subject may either bring him back in, or send him off the deep end of exhaustion for the rest of the afternoon.
Expectations are Important
Expectations play a large part in the success of a particular training or development exercise. One of the more successful and common methods instructors employ to ensure success in a skills development class is to gauge the students’ expertise by asking them what they expect to get out of the class. The interchange might go something like this:
INSTRUCTOR. Please tell us your name, what your favorite animal is, and what you expect to get out of the class.
STUDENT 1. My name is Carla, I like cats, and I hope to learn how to install and demonstrate the software so I can make more money!
STUDENT 2. Jeff, rats, certification.
STUDENT 3. Hi, I’m George, I love mountain goats, and I just want to soak in all this wonderful knowledge so I can teach it to my friends at parties.
It’s a sneaky bit of innocent data gathering, but this exercise exposes most of the behavioral energy and interactivity readiness of the students. Inherent in their responses is the glimmer or glare of sincerity, apathy, or sarcasm. Sincere learners bring satisfaction to the instructor, but sarcastic ones bring laughs and lighten the mood for everyone – so long as the instructor can see through the joker’s eyes, and the comments are not too hurtful or inappropriate.
Student Preparation
As we have briefly seen, the quantity of sleep students have under their belts seems to directly impact their ability to function the following afternoon. As often happens with offsite training classes, the group goes out to dinner the first night, and returns to the hotel in the wee hours of the morning, having drunk all they can stand and often more. The resultant condition, identified at around 1:30 the following afternoon, can be characterized as “fading.” The consciousness of these students, let alone their attention, will be difficult to hold (especially if the temperature in the room is anywhere above downright chilly).
Factors such as whether information is presented before or after lunch, the frequency and length of breaks (5-10 minutes per hour during intense data dumping is recommended), and the temperature in the room can all work together to influence whether a training effort will be successful.
Subject Matter: An Example from Professional Life
It also helps to have a naturally engaging subject. If the instructor has to make the class more interesting in order to engage the students, the likelihood that the information will be retained goes down. I several times have taught classes on basic computer networking to groups of dealership-level sales reps. It was as if I was presenting the keys to the kingdom, so engaged were they. It seems that they had long been baffled and stymied by many of the concepts we discussed, and I was at last teaching them a language they longed to learn; giving them tools they desperately needed. It was a very rewarding experience personally, and I have continued to seek out situations where I have the opportunity to do sales related technical training classes. In fact, the company I now work for has an annual “Software Summit” in which the top 15 software vendors, as well as the entire cadre of over 100 sales reps, are invited (attendance mandatory) to a remote resort for two days. This event is mine to plan and execute. Software vendors fly in from around the continent and set up shop the night before. Day One is an intense, 10-hour training session with sales reps lurching from one session to another, and Day Two is free time (golf, spa, go home.)
Everyone appreciates the experience of a condensed training session followed by a night of partying, and then extreme relaxation. It’s like an intellectual workout, a highly focused conference where the topic of every class is custom tailored to the small group.
The psychology of teacher and pupil is a subject to fill books, so I will suffice to say that the environment of the training exercise, preparation of teacher and students, and a simple awareness of the dynamics in the room (or on the ski slope, or 15,000 feet in the air, or on the ocean floor) will go far to ensure the success of the training.
Individual Vs Group Dynamics And Interaction
Individual Dynamics and Interaction
The best training happens when the instructor and student are one-on-one, face to face across the kitchen table, as it were. This environment sets the student at ease, and allows for the uninterrupted transfer of knowledge. However, as a teacher will soon find, this is a two-way street. For in teaching, the teacher becomes a student. And as the student grows in knowledge, he begins to teach the teacher. The best gift a teacher can receive is having a student surpass him in understanding. One-on-one instruction is the quickest way to teacher Utopia. If the teacher discovers that the student is not well-matched to the material, he can adjust the instructional level to meet the needs or demands of the student, and will have a high rate of retention.
Group Dynamics and Interaction
Somewhere between a single gifted student and a lecture hall full of half-witted sots there lies a phenomenon known as the Training Room. Here thirty- and forty-something has-beens gather to improve their professional skills and sniff around the room for a one-night mate. Nowhere like on a training trip do currently chaste (if not by choice) men and women find one another so attractive. The testimonies of many will confirm this. The maddening phenomenon is common enough to be mentioned here as a matter of course. These normally dull people might work side by side for months or years, but let one hear the genius of the other in answer to the instructor’s questions, and the light of lust is kindled. This does not happen beyond the awareness of the other students. And in a group, they will be bold to point out perceived vagaries on both sides of the coupling equation. Make the students men, with only one or two women in the group, and the collective consciousness of the class dwindles to the basest level as the majority jockeys for position with the minority.
Each group has its own personality, but it often reflects the personality of the instructor. If an instructor is serious about the material, the class will take on a somber tone. Conversely, a few jokes and light-hearted ribbing can go a long way toward lightening the mood in the room. A highly skilled teacher will be able to sense the level of engagement from the class and tailor his or her presentation to make the group more responsive if necessary. An instructor who travels to various sites will find that a group in Atlanta responds differently than a group in Minneapolis or San Francisco. Local social customs creep into the group dynamic, and can be quite distracting for an inexperienced teacher. Conversely, a well-known or respected instructor will have a better opportunity to drive the atmosphere where he or she wants it to go than will a novice.
I once taught a class on basic networking to a room full of copier dealer principals and sales support managers. I was representing the company most respected in their industry, so my words were like gospel truth to them. I received such respect and courtesy that I began to feel self-conscious. But I think I could have told them a white wall was red, and they would have cocked their heads and squinted to see it that way. That sort of experience can be heady and exciting to an instructor, so it behooves him to remember that the organization itself lends the air of exclusivity and superiority to the training class, and not the little-known instructor.
Current Trends Relating to Training and Development, Including the Impact of Technology
Current Trends
Trends currently influencing employee training and development include remote site training, remote training via videoconference or web conference, and a more thorough hiring selection process that limits the need for expensive training programs being wasted on employees who are just going to quit as soon as they receive the benefit of company-sponsored training.
Remote Site – Sequestering
Training sales representatives is like herding cats. Sales reps are notorious for answering the ringing cell phone, and getting up to go respond to an urgent call. Then, they will forget all about the training and leave, going to respond to some customer service issue. This appears to be a productive use of their time, but renders the training session worthless. It is a common perception that training time is of less value than selling time. However, the goal of sales training is to give the students knowledge that they can then use to achieve an objective, such as solution selling or closing deals. So the best plan of action, when looking to distribute and assimilate a large amount of data to an under-interested sales force, is to get ‘em out of here. A remote training site provides much-needed relief, interest, and keeps them from running off (for the most part). The Software Summit I have described above is a good example of this principle.
Web Conferences
With the widespread advent of the Internet, common technology has advanced to the point of allowing real-time access to events happening in another part of the country or the world. Organizations are using high-speed computers and internet connections to train sales and technical personnel in several locations at once. The trainer or presenter usually sends out an e-mail notification with a link to an online class or software demonstration. Attendees click a link on their computers to access the online meeting, and voice transmission is handled by telephone or online “Voice Over IP” (a subject for another discussion). My own work has encompassed this technology with aplomb, as the hectic schedules dictated by heavy travel have lent credence to a sometimes impersonal format.
For example, one of the software vendors I work with is located in Indianapolis, and my office is in Portland, Oregon. The vendor is planning a Reseller Conference at which they will roll out the latest version of their software. Being present physically is usually preferable for the employees involved, because they will usually retain more information from a “skin” class (physical presence; the ability to shake hands). Because of travel costs and the need to cover the home front, not all of the staff who should see this presentation will be allowed to go. So the vendor has planned a web conference to cover the high points of the material. In this way not everyone is directly involved, but everyone has a chance to hear and see the material at some level.
Videoconferencing
The company I now work for has videoconferencing equipment, which allows the Director of Sales to strut his stuff at a dozen branches in three states at the same time, while training the sales reps to go after bad debt risk customers with creative leasing options. The technology utilizes video cameras, microphones, projectors, screens, software, and high-speed internet connections to create a virtual meeting with live interaction. This technology is painfully expensive and at present, less than perfect. However, the savings in travel costs and repetitive training tasks far outweigh the small inconveniences.
The most impressive videoconferencing system I have seen uses a screen in two locations, with half of a long conference table in each location, butting right up to the screen. Cameras are rigged in such a way that the screen in both locations lights up with the life-size image of the table and the people at the other location, creating the illusion that all the participants of the meeting are in the same large conference room.
Both web conferencing and videoconferencing use technology that was unavailable 50, or even 20 years ago. However, organizations need to be aware that some training (and this decision-making process requires wisdom and insight) is better conducted in person. Proceed with caution.
Hiring the Right People
The best training in the world will be of no value to the organization if the individuals who receive and absorb the training quit their jobs. I have first-hand knowledge of this fact, having hired two employees in the past two years who received a good deal of training (absorbing a great deal of company expense) who are no longer working at the company. Though it is possible to develop and retain many individuals, these situations arose out of incomplete hiring methods. Ironically, I didn’t use the proper procedure when selecting these individuals for hire, because I hadn’t received the right training! One of the employees quit to take a job with less stress and interaction with people, and the other was fired for insubordination and unexcused absences.
In recruiting for their replacements, I am using a three-legged stool consisting of “can-do, will-do, and team fit” concepts, the weakest of which determines whether the hire will be made. This simple formula will save the company tens of thousands of dollars, if it works like the trainer says it will. I’ve had enough of hiring hotshots who don’t have the behavioral energy to perform over time, or the cultural flexibility to “go with the flow.”
Some Techniques an Experienced Trainer Might Use
Sometimes the training is over the collective head of the group. Other times it’s too basic. An individual might be in the wrong class for his or her skill level. The trainer might be out of touch with the industry or organization to which he or she is presenting. Students can be hung over, on drugs, or preoccupied with other matters. But when a trainer is experienced and skilled, these issues fade as the class materializes and the glorious material rises in the consciousness of the students.
An experienced trainer will want to know what are the expectations of the organization. What type of training is it? Training is typically broken into three categories: educate, persuade, and motivate. Being conscious of this will help an experienced trainer to stay on track and gauge the success level of the learners.
Tardiness
What does an experienced trainer do when certain people show up late for every session? One of the best techniques I have seen is to reward the people who show up on time, and ignore the latecomers. Sarcastic applause or comments such as “glad you could join us” tend to reward tardiness for individuals starved for attention. This is employee training, not kindergarten. I have been tardy much of my life, and having one trainer notice and try to correct me will not change my patterns. That change must come from within the individual, and perhaps the only good rewards are for good behavior.
Lack of Interest or Motivation
An experienced trainer will look for ways to engage the group. This is important because the individual who is disconnected can suck the life out of the trainer, and even the whole class. But if the rest of the class is actively engaged in the training, the individual will often re-join the group consciousness because of his drive to be part of the group.
Language or Communication Barriers
One of the most difficult challenges a trainer faces is the student who appears to understand, and tries to keep up, but becomes hopelessly lost because of differences in native language or learning style. In these cases, the experienced trainer may put the group into a lab (practice) setting, and even the playing field by having one of the more astute respondents help the person with less comprehension. This benefits both students, because the best way to retain information is to teach it to someone else. I have been engaged in this informal type of tutoring, and it has proved both enjoyable and profitable.
Some of the Most Important Lessons I Have Learned
Prepare Thoroughly
There is nothing worse for a trainer than showing up under-prepared to teach. This has been the bane of my training existence, because of the incredible demands on my time. However, over time I have begun to spend the time necessary, and prioritize this time as crucial, to have a good presentation. As with many trainers, I am often my own worst critic, but being fully prepared is the best advice I can give. Too bad I didn’t learn it in Boy Scouts, when I thought the motto was “Be Aware.” (Also good advice, but it’s “Be Prepared.”)
Go With the Flow, Except When It Changes Course
I have learned to tune into the level of the group, and to teach to that level. And often, active questioners can move the class along its designated path. But when the people receiving the training try to reroute the course of the class and subjugate the entire process to their own agenda, it’s time for the trainer to step in and re-establish control. This can be done in a variety of ways, but one of the most effective is simply to say, “Let’s get back to the subject at hand.”
Focus On Individuals and Their Development
There is a temptation to think the material is so important, and the time so valuable, that all the data must be disseminated or the world will end. It won’t. I have learned to prioritize the key points of the training material, and to teach in such a way that I know the class comprehends these points. However, I don’t like the phrase “if you take nothing else from this training…” I think it is insulting and invalidates the investment that students have made in the class.
Concluding Remarks
Organizations benefit from having well-trained workers who are capable of doing their jobs well. The best managers, trainers, and training programs will have an eye toward the goals of the organization in mind at all times. Many challenges are presented which a wise trainer will be flexible enough to accommodate or resolve. And training is still the shortest path to employee development, satisfaction, and productivity.
Documentation
For documentation, I attached the master schedule of classes from one of the Software Summits I have organized. (Not publicly available)
