The Sisyphus Comments

Your Training Calendar – Why Ask Why?

When was the last time that you examined your training calendar with “why” in mind? When most people look at the annual training calendar, they are interested in “what” training courses are available and “when” they are scheduled to occur. However, as a training manager it is very important for you to periodically step back from the day to day challenges of conducting training long enough to ask yourself “why” certain courses keep finding their way on to your annual training calendar. If you are an agency administrator who is working with a limited training budget, it may be time to start asking yourself why you are sending your officers or deputies to certain training courses year after year.

In its purest form, the purpose of training is to change the students’ behavior. Simply put, there is a “performance gap” between the target group’s current knowledge, skills and abilities and the desired knowledge, skills and abilities. In other words, a problem exists that can be solved through training. Let’s take a look at how to systematically design a training course to solve the problem.

The traditional systematic approach to instructional design is the ADDIE model. The ADDIE model’s dynamic approach to training development includes five phases – Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation. The flexibility of this model makes it an ideal tool for building effective training courses.

In the analysis phase, the instructional problem is clarified but the most important part of this phase is determining if there is a problem that can be solved through training. The first step is to identify what “problem” the agency is experiencing that prompted a request for training.

It is not uncommon for administrators to confuse personnel issues with training issues. The bottom line here is when a person has the requisite knowledge, skills and abilities to perform a task correctly, but doesn’t do so, no amount of training is going to correct the problem. It’s time to pull up your big boy pants and drop the hammer.

However, if you determine that training may solve your problem, the analysis phase is where you determine the target audience’s current knowledge and skills then develop your instructional goals and training criteria (objectives). In other words, you need to find out what people are doing that they shouldn’t, or not doing that they should.

In the design phase we use our training objectives as the foundation for developing assessment instruments, practical exercises, subject matter content, lesson plans and media selection. This is where concept meets implementation through the logical development of strategies that are designed to help us bridge the performance gap that we previously identified. You should find out how the work environment compares to the potential learning environment. What tools and resources are available that will enable desired performance or or discourage poor performance? Who are your learners and what characteristics influence, positively or negatively, their ability to do the work? What is the experience level of the target audience?

The development phase is where all of the players come together to build the “house” that we created in the design phase. The subject matter experts, writers, editors and programmers work to develop the initial prototype. The testers review the product and it is revised based on their feedback.

During the implementation phase, a procedure for training the trainers must also be developed. The instructors’ training should provide an overview of the course curriculum, training criteria, method of delivery, and testing procedures. From a training management perspective, this is also where you ensure that the books, hands-on equipment, tools, CD-ROMs, software and websites are available and functional.

The evaluation phase is actually a two part process. First, a formative evaluation should be conducted during each step of the ADDIE process. Finally, a summative evaluation should be conducted consisting of both testing instruments and an opportunity for feedback from the students.

Finally, examine your training calendar with an eye toward eliminating courses for which there is no longer a valid training need. If you broaden your planning perspective from one year to a four years, you can schedule training courses on a two years cycle. This will keep your training fresh and free your staff to develop new training programs that address current training needs.

A good training calendar in not a simple matter of filling in blocks of time with outdated training courses. Remember, training should be a means to an end – not an end in itself! Instead of using the “If you build it they will come” approach, identify the performance issues and then build a training calendar that bridges the performance gap.