Use Training and Development to Motivate Staff
By Jeffrey Bodimer

Part 1: Building Your Training and Development Program

Want to keep your staff motivated about learning new concepts? The quality and variety of the training you provide is key for motivation. Reasons for training range from new-hire training about your operation, to introducing a new concept to a workgroup to bringing in a new computer system.  Whatever the reason for conducting a training session, you need to develop a comprehensive, ongoing and consistent training program.  This quality training program is essential in keeping your staff motivated about learning new concepts and keeping your department profitable.

A complete training program includes a formal new-hire training program, with an overview of the job expectations and performance skills needed to perform the job functions. A new-hire training program provides a fundamental understanding of the position and how the position fits within the organizational structure. The more background knowledge the new associate has about how one workgroup interrelates with ancillary departments, the more the new associate will understand their impact on the organization.

Another aspect of a comprehensive training program is continuing education. The most effective programs make it an ongoing responsibility of one person in a department. This is an important function that will keep all staff members current about policies, procedures and the technology used in the department.

New Hire Training

A solid new-hire training program begins with the creation of a training manual. This manual acts as a building block of practical and technical skills needed to prepare the new individual for his or her position. In order for the department to understand current policies and procedures, a manager or supervisor must ensure the department manuals are kept current. This includes any system enhancements and/or change in policy or procedure. In addition, keep the reader/associate in mind when designing the training manual; keep the manual interesting for the reader. Do not be afraid to use language that is not “corporate” or to include graphics. When possible, in computer training, incorporate a visual image of a computer screen to illustrate a function.

Another form of new-hire training includes having the new associate train directly next to an existing associate. Some call this “OJT” (On the Job Training) or side-by-side training. This type of training allows the new associate to see first hand the different facets of the position. Also, this allows the new-hire the opportunity to develop a working relationship with an existing associate. This type of training reinforces concepts learned in the initial training and should be used to reinforce and apply those same learned concepts.

Here are additional resources about new employee training and orientation.
* Employee Orientation: Keeping New Employees on Board
* Orientation Vs. Integration

Continuing Education

A continuing education program for a department is just as important as the new-hire training. When training a new associate, I have found they will only retain approximately 40 percent of the information learned in the initial training session. Therefore, a continuous effort must be placed on reminding the staff about various procedures and concepts. This continuing education can be formal or informal. (The author’s preference is always with a more informal approach.)

The formal, or traditional approach, often includes a member of management sending a memo to each associate. The informal, and often more appealing approach to a visual learner, is to send a one-page information sheet to staff. This information sheet, called a training alert, should be informative and presented in a non-threatening manner. Therefore, if the policy or procedure changes, the informal approach would better prepare the department to receive this presentation.

Part 2: Designing a Continuing Education Training Program

Prior to putting together a continuing education training program, the management team must decide upon their desired outcome. One question that is important to answer is, “Do you want the program to enhance the skills of the associate or do you want to help the associate with personal development?”

While there is some commonality between these answers, the main difference is the opportunity for the management team to mold future management team members. If the desired outcome is simply to enhance skills, with no personal development, the department will have a staff that simply knows how to do their job a little better. While that is a positive outcome, you want your company to think “outside the box," and design a program that allows, and even encourages, critical thinking and problem solving.

Therefore, when designing a continuing education program, the desired outcome should be a blending of both technical and personal enhancement. This type of program will allow the staff the opportunity to develop solid management skills, coupled with a better understanding of their position and function, and how that fits into the relationship of the organization. For example, if you discover during the assessment process that writing skills in the department are low, you will need to enhance those skills by developing a corresponding training session.

Blend Technical Training With Personal Development

This training session could include topics on the basics of writing, such as spelling, punctuation, sentence structure and correct word use. Building on those basics, you could give your participants an applicable topic, such as writing a letter to a customer apologizing for a late shipment. Provide the participants background information about the customer Tell them they have been a customer for ten years and have always made payments promptly. Give them ten or fifteen minutes to compose a rough draft and have them present their letter to the group. Once someone has read a letter, ask the other participants to offer feedback for improvements, and as the trainer, point out the positive aspects of the letter.

Another mechanism that will help with ongoing continuing education is to develop an affiliation with an association or industry group. This type of education is tangible and has been proven to have a positive track record with the local offices and their industry trade groups. Staff members are given the opportunity to come together periodically, and discuss the issues they are experiencing in their business.

This is a positive experience for everyone involved because the information gained in this type of setting can prove useful to others who may have the potential to partake in a similar situation. Also, others who have experienced a similar situation have the opportunity to talk about their resolution(s) that worked effectively.

Effective Training Program Tips

Here are a few final thoughts on the design of the program:

* According to the Wall Street Journal, most adults write at an eight-grade level. Therefore, always follow the acronym of KISS. (Keep it simple, sweetie.)
* When scheduling the training session, attempt to keep your groups diverse. This promotes good discussion and is a live example of how concepts can relate throughout the organization and/or workgroups.
* Attempt to have a point person or a trainer in each work area. This concept serves two purposes. If a new system or procedure will be introduced, the point person can learn the system or procedure and train the staff. (People always learn better when they are required to teach the concept.) Second, It helps having a local resource within the workgroup. This allows for more questions when the level of understanding is low. The associate would not feel threatened by someone they sit next to every day versus a trainer from the human resources or organizational development area.

Part 3: The Best Continuing Education Program

The best type of training program for a work group is one tailored to their needs. So, how do you know what their needs are? One way is to work with the staff members who are responsible for the area. If it is possible, do a random sampling of the performance reviews and look for consistencies in any needed areas of development.

Another approach is to conduct a training needs assessment and ask the staff members themselves what skill sets they would like to develop. This approach should always be done in an anonymous format to ensure the best possible results. People tend to be more open and honest when they know they will not be reprimanded for identifying their weaknesses.

No matter how you determine what types of training sessions are needed, it is important to remember that when developing the course, stick to the original concept. If more than one concept is considered during the planning process, break the concepts out into two workshops. Keep in mind that a productive training session can and should be accomplished in less than two hours. Anything longer than two hours and you will lose your audience. Finally, during the actual training session, attempt to have at least one or two activities to keep the participants' minds active and to prevent sleeping or daydreaming.

Do You Really Need a Training Session?

While a training session may be effective, it may not always be the best approach. If the concept you are introducing is defined as elementary or common knowledge, create a training alert, instead. This form of communication is an excellent method to communicate about and reinforce concepts that would be considered common knowledge or new job information. Write training alerts in a bullet format and remember to add some flare and/or graphics to the piece of paper. Don't be afraid to use that flare in your color choice for the paper. I have found in my work experience, that when staff members receive a piece of fluorescent green paper in their in box, they are more likely to pick it up and read it, versus the memo on white paper that just went out from the boss.

Keeping the Learning Going

I'll provide just a few ideas on this concept and then, I’ll step down from the training soapbox.

* If the capabilities are present and the department wants to have some fun while learning, develop a game. This game can be anything from Family Feud to Jeopardy and more. In either format, have the staff answer questions created by the department management relating to work situations and/or people. It is amazing what people will remember from a fun situation versus a forced learning experience.
* When conducting the training classes, attempt to keep them informative and light. While communicating the ideas is important, the number one goal should be to keep the staff interested and entertained during the workshop. (This can be difficult if you do not employ an animated trainer, however, most individuals that are in the training field are pretty animated.)
* Introduce the concept of blended learning to the department. Allow the staff to achieve their learning levels from different resources. While the training alerts and training sessions are directly from management, challenge the staff to look on the Internet and in the library for other ideas that might work in their department. The associations that I discussed earlier are also a good resource.

Through all of this, what I would most like you to remember is: learning can and should be fun.

Your staff members are sponges wanting to absorb knowledge, however, they'll most likely want to learn concepts when they are presented in a fresh, lively, and exciting manner.

Putting a twist to your current education methods can help people become excited about learning.

Reprinted from About.com

Jeffrey Bodimer is employed with UniGroup, Inc. in St. Loius, MO and is responsible for training and development and for the finance department. Jeffrey works with the National Association of Credit Managers as an adjunct faculty member.