Is training always the right answer?
Featured in the People Development Methods training manual
By Beverley Williams
Category: People Management and Motivation
Credit price: 3 download credits (Single user)
This training activity is intentionally written from the perspective of the trainer. It enables line managers to develop an appreciation of situations from the trainer’s point of view, as well as learn how to examine, identify and deal with non-training situations in the most appropriate way. Trainers know that a performance gap does not always equal a learning or development need. However, many people call upon the training department to fill their performance gap as a first option rather than as the result of any initial investigation and analysis. Trainers need to use all their skills of diplomacy while discussing the performance gap and its possible causes and will often have to do some investigation of areas that have nothing to do with learning and development. This must be accepted as a legitimate part of the trainer’s role along with presenting the findings diplomatically and constructively.
Begin by explaining that the participants are going to spend some time answering the question, ‘ls training the right answer?’ You move on to discuss the types of probing questions that can be used to find out more about issues that may or may not relate to training, encouraging the participants to contribute. Give examples of how you (a) hand the performance issue back to the manager at this point, or (b) investigate the problem in more depth. The participants work in pairs to come up with possible reasons for non-training-related performance gaps and you guide them through the next steps to be taken in these circumstances. You then move on to role-play a situation where a manager has asked the training department to help with a non-training problem. You lead feedback on the role-play. You close by taking key learning points from the participants before distributing a key learning points handout and commenting on the contents where appropriate.
Who is it for: This training resource is intended for use by trainers to help participants to identify non-training problems and decide on the most appropriate way of dealing with them.
- Themes:
- Identifying non-training problems,
| Resource Type: | Activity |
| Min Group Size: | 4 |
| Max Group Size: | 10 |
| Typical Duration: | 01:40:00 |
| No of Pages: | 20 |
Resources: View standard resources for Fenman training activities
Purpose: This training resource is intended for use by trainers with participants, normally line managers, who are responsible for identifying the learning needs of others. This training activity asks participants to work from the point of view of the trainer in order to help line managers understand performance gap issues from a broader perspective.
Download the training activity, Is training always the right answer? as featured in the Fenman training manual; People Development Methods