The kind of commitment I find among the best performers across virtually every field is a single-minded passion for what they do, an unwavering desire for excellence in the way they think and the way they work. Genuine confidence is what launches you out of bed in the morning, and through your day with a spring in your step.

--Jim Collins
Freshening Up Training Skills Part 3: Developing Your System

In the third part of this three-part series, we will talk about the training system.  Whether you are a trainer yourself or you are responsible for hiring and preparing the training staff, the material covered in this article will take you back through some of the core concepts that will help you create a robust training staff or simply become a more effective trainer yourself.

According to Robert Jolles, author of How to Run Seminars and Workshops, about 15 percent of a company’s problems relate to products and 85 percent related to process.  This is no different for training.  As a manager or department head, you may take great pains to find and hire competent, outgoing employees.  However, it is still necessary to tell them how to convey the information, even if they have done training before. 

It goes without saying that offering quality is the hub of every great training department.  The spokes will include content, trainers, curriculum, evaluation and assessment, and environment, amongst other things. 

Intersection of Trainers and Writers

To foster that quality, ensure that the trainers have some impact on or at least work alongside the curriculum developers to some extent.  I say “some extent” only because time and financial constraints often get in the way.  Still, there are various ways in which trainers can be engaged in the development of curriculum.

The trainer and curriculum developer working together can often result in a faster start-up for the presenter to master the curriculum and delivery.  It also helps the trainers develop pride in the information they will be conveying. On the flip side of this, you the class “disconnect” of the curriculum developer will be held in check by working with the trainers.

Trainer Consistency

Consistency most obviously means multiple trainers using the same curriculum; it also means multiple trainers using the same positive, successful training methods.  Of course, each presenter has his or her own style, which is a good thing.  In order to ensure the quality of the training sessions, establish a benchmark, right from the beginning. 

One way to do this is by using your most experienced trainer.  Have him (or her) give a sample session to the rest of the trainers, pausing along the way to give an explanation of tactics or common practices.  At the same time, it is helpful to point out the less successful alternatives, too.  Have the group discuss the “whys and hows” of the tactics and process.  Use these to create a “best practices” document for your trainer group.  This working document will have been developed by the group, and will be a valuable resource.  In the end, the mark of a quality training team is its cohesion to the best practices of consistent training.