Training – Considered thoughts
Here, straight up, is the best set of rules to guide any decision on training. They are by Robert Mager, a legend in the field of learning and development.
Rule 1: Training is appropriate only when two conditions are present:
First, there is something people don’t know how to do.
Second, they need to be able to do it.
Rule 2: If they already know how, more training won’t help.
Rule 3: Skill alone is not enough to guarantee performance.
Rule 4: You can’t store training.
Use it or lose it.
Rule 5: Trainers can guarantee skill, but they can’t guarantee on-the-job performance.
Rule 6: Only managers, not trainers, can be held accountable for on-the-job performance.
I learnt these rules the hard way. I started my career as a training coordinator, and then became a trainer. This field is dear to me. When we love our field, we want to see it as the answer to every question the world has! In my initial years, I certainly did.
Down the years, I came to accept that there is more to it than just training. This is how I got interested in exploring the full range of learning and development, which included executive coaching, organizational development, facilitation. I now regard myself as a professional helper.
My value as a professional helper is in figuring whether training is indeed the solution. It rarely is the only solution or the complete solution. It often is part of the solution. For complete success in achieving the targeted performance, an organization needs to complement its training with required changes in organizational structures and work processes. I am able to make a rounded contribution on this front, as I work on these very things as independent work assignments.
My training is more and more facilitative in method and approach, because of my growing competence as a facilitator. I use Thiagi’s activity-based games and exercises in trainings to facilitate the learning of participants.
I keeps things simple, build understanding from scratch & align the learning agenda with job performance and business results.
Indicative list of training I do
- Effective Communication
- Managing Effectively
- Presentation Skills
- Time management
- Leading Change – Individual & Organizational
- Conducting effective meetings
- Customer Service
- Fully customized, built from scratch topics
- Leadership
- Team effectiveness
Clients worked with : Dow Corning, HCL, Central Bank, Union Bank,TISS, MTDC, Kirloskar Brothers, District Administration ( State Government), MCED (Maharashtra Centre for Entrepreneurship Development), B2B businesses, Colleges.