If I had a pound for every time I have heard someone who has never worked with FIT say that training doesn’t work, I’d be a very rich woman!
You see, it seems that for years, training has been approached by many as a ‘fix all solution’ from skills gaps to performance issues.
So, if you are the person responsible for organising training for your most valuable asset, your staff, you need to know that there are a number of reasons why any training could fall flat. For example:
The wrong people designed the training.
It seems obvious that the most skilled people should be the ones to design our training, however, it does not always follow that these are the most skilled trainers and they often focus on the ‘how?’ of what needs to be done and forget to explore the ‘why?’ It is very difficult to inspire a change in behaviour if people don’t know why it needs to change!
Training is boring!
Do you remember being at school? Unless you’re a ‘Millennial’ (more on that in another blog) you’ll be very familiar with the: “write this down” approach. No one really cared if you wanted to know or not. No one cared if you were bored.
We know that learning doesn’t work that way – people need to be involved for training to be effective!
Any member of FIT will tell you it’s so important to care about your learner and how they like to get information. There are all sorts of ways to make the training room and the training stimulating experiences – you’ve just got to give it a bit of thought.
They just don’t wanna learn!
Ah, the mantra of a moaner who hasn’t looked for ‘buy in’ from the staff. Some organisations give very little thought to what needs to be done before training starts – remember, if people have negative experiences relating to previous training, that’s the only reference point they will have for any new training and, unsurprisingly, they won’t want to do it!
They’re on their own!
If back on the job there’s no support, the consequences can be disastrous! It’s imperative that anyone that has taken part in training gets a chance to use that training and that they are fully supported by their Managers before, during and after the sessions have taken place. There’s nothing quite as demoralizing as being excited to get started with a change, and then being stopped in your tracks. It can upset people so much that they leave!
So, if you are the one calling the shots on training in your business, remind yourself that it won’t work unless you do!
FIT Tip:
What happens if we train our people and they all leave?
What happens if you don’t train them…and they stay?
