As a coach, you should always be aware of what other teams, both within the organization and outside it, are doing. It seems that Belichick did not want team members looking forward and outside the organization - and he took the Giants lightly because of the wide popular opinion against them. It stands to reason, then, that an effective coach will not underestimate the competition’s preparation and determination - even if they seem to be losing. Communication within teams is extremely important. Just as Coughlin created a communication strategy, Belichick could do the same thing in the next season. Each team member needs to know his or her role in the big picture, no matter how big or how small. When a coach takes the time to communicate this, either personally or through senior team members, the entire team takes on a new life of ownership and accountability. A coach’s ego has no place in a team. Belichick has taken quite a bit of constant criticism on his abrupt style and egotistical manner. Improvement to this situation should take on a balance between ego and non-ego, so that the public persona is not seen as an overly egotistical and unflinching person. It’s easy to become proud of a team that consistently performs - and as coaches we should certainly communicate our pride at all times. But when the pride turns into outright egotism, it’s time to tone it down. Big problems should be addressed right away. When Belichick became involved in the spying scandal in 2007, he gave a quick admission but then refused to deal with the problem any further, saying that it created distraction. Not only does this give into the ego issue, it also shows an unwillingness to deal with a large issue at the time - and move on. Sometimes we may underestimate the impact of large problems on our teams, so coaches should move to deal with these problems right away - address them, answer questions about them, and even admit failure before the problems have an opportunity to fester. Two of Belichick’s biggest issues can be detrimental to any coach and his or her outward perception. First, good coaches and leaders must have a total sense of self-awareness. In Belichick’s case, he may have self-awareness and just not care about the perception side of it. But what we have to remember as coaches, leaders, and managers is that perception is often a reality. With just a few seconds to go and a final play still to come, Belichick walked off the field at Superbowl XLII. Even though he gave a half-hearted hug to Coughlin, his breach of sportsmanship definitely sounded a negative tone. Simple acts such as walking off the field can cause major problems for others’ perceptions of us, so always be aware of how you’re being perceived by your team - and its opposition. In fact, poor choices that affect perception can expose any of you or your teams’ weaknesses. Coaches should be keenly aware of how they are perceived. The second big issue Belichick should deal with is a lesson for any coach, manager, or leader. One leadership style does not fit all. In fact, "bad" leaders are seen as people who consistently stick to one style, be it authoritarian, democratic, or laissez-faire. What Belichick can do, and what all coaches and leaders should learn, is to modify style based on the situation. A coach can do this through careful analysis and evaluation of both the problem and the team members who are involved. If the situation deals with a team member who has been known as a wild card, like Randy Moss, a coach or leader can react in an authoritarian fashion. On the other hand, if team members have a level of maturity, the coach or leader can allow some leeway by taking a more participative stance. Remember to be aware of the opposition, communicate and acknowledge each team member’s role, leave your ego behind, address big problems right away, be aware of perception, and practice a situational coaching style. When you do, you’ll find that a high performing team can transform into a winning team - and stay that way. Related Posts:The Difference Between a Coach, Mentor, and Consultant?The 7 Predictable Challenges of Evolutionary ChangesLeading High Performance TeamsLeadership Tools for Small BusinessLeading High Performance Teams

Sports team training is no longer limited to physical training only - corporate-type training is being used today for both professional and amateur sports teams. When we think of training and sports teams, we usually think of physical training - the intense workouts, simulations, and training camps that put athletes into peak performance condition. But sports teams, both amateur and professional, are turning to more academic training to ensure the mental fitness of athletes, as well. There are training centers springing up all over the world that cater to both physical and mental training for athletes. On the same lines, some corporate training programs, especially leadership programs, are bringing activities for sports teams into the boardroom. One of the common training elements is communications training. From the basic levels to the intricacies of game day communication, some sports teams are taking up classroom training to learn the art. Another area of focus for sports teams is personal development training, or mental training. It was once a wide belief that an athlete’s natural talent and hard work could propel him or her into the winner’s circle. Now, performance coaches argue that a big part of athletic success belongs to attitudes, beliefs, or thought processes - some of the very criteria standard corporate training programs are built upon. Through this type of personal development training, athletes are learning better focus, game-day composure, and self-confidence through mental strength. It would also seem ironic that sports teams need team building training activities, but they do. Just as in corporate teams, changes to pro sports teams make them go through cycles of building, infighting, and performing. Some team training consultants offer ropes courses, firewalks, board breaking, and outdoor survival-type training. And on the opposite side, corporate teams are taking part in the Olympic-style team sports games and survival activities that may have once been reserved for football or baseball teams. Change management is another traditionally corporate course that’s being used in the world of professional sports. Think about a football game and how each person’s decisions, from coaches down to individual players, can impact the entire game and the entire teams’ success. Teams use change management courses to teach quick decision making based on individual and group needs. Through this type of training, players learn to quickly assess the situation from what they already know and can see and then make decisions. The notion of "coaching" in the corporate world stemmed from sports coaches to begin with. The corporate world has taken coaching techniques and turned them into processes and models, such as coaching for peak performance or situational leadership. Coaches have begun to move back into the classroom to learn the new corporate techniques - peak performance can be used for athletes and employees. Because of the unlimited income potential for pro sports teams, many are building serious training programs for their employees, as well. Sales and customer service training has become popular for the concierge staffs, ticket sales, general management, and group sales areas for many pro teams. Owners and team managers see that the experience begins before the fans sit in their seats on game day. The next time you watch a team game, whether it’s professional or amateur, think about the types of training that may have been applied to put the teams and individual athletes where they are. Think about the similarities between your teams and sports teams - we can borrow training ideas from both sides. Related Posts:Leadership AnalyticsLeadership AnalyticsLeading High Performance TeamsLeading High Performance TeamsLeading High Performance Teams

Summary: It’s time to start measuring your training department. Start with these five items and you’ll get a good picture of what’s going on. Measuring training can be difficult, especially when you consider all of the "angles". You can measure for money, ROI, immediate success, or delayed success (or failure). When it comes to measuring your Training Department, there are five important ways to obtain a good picture of what’s going on and make corrections if necessary. First, you should measure immediate reaction to training. This measurement method is often referred to as a "smile sheet" - a quick measurement that may take into account the fact that the class is still smiling. After all, they haven’t been back to the job to really apply what they’ve learned, have they? The argument against immediate reaction is just that: you get an immediate reaction only. But think about what you really are measuring: do the participants feel good when they leave, or were they uncomfortable with the instructor, the material, or the training experience in general? Do they feel their time was worthwhile upon first glance? Do they feel that the material is appropriate on first glance? These are all helpful ways to determine how well your instructors and training developers are doing. A first impression is usually fairly accurate, so use immediate reaction surveys after each course, for both in class and online interventions. But don’t use this method by itself. After the "smile sheet", surveying should continue in the field. Application survey will help you discover if the participants are using the material on the job or not. Your response rate will probably be lower than the "smile sheet," after all, the immediate reaction is obtained from a captive audience. So wait 30 or 45 days and survey the participants based on the objectives of the course. Are they able to carry out the tasks they were taught? Are they using the product information and quick reference guides that were delivered in class? Do they feel that everything they were taught in class has been worthwhile in the field? Here’s an additional piece of application survey: touch the managers and supervisors, as well. You can even ask the same questions - can your employee carry out a certain task, are they well versed in products, etc. With application survey for managers and employees, you’ll get a good picture of what actually happened when the real world came back into play. While you’re considering surveys, think about random surveys of the training department’s customers. Create a few questions that explore how the population feels about the training department, its programs, its image, and even its instructors. If your training department is "in touch" with the population, you’ll be able to see it clearly. If the department has been branded an "ivory tower", you’ll also have an opportunity to see that. You’ll find that a survey to customers who have not recently been to a course will uncover new opportunities - and help you measure current attitudes toward training. Instructor evaluation should be a part of any department measurement. Your immediate reaction survey should have some reference to the instructor’s performance, but don’t rely solely on that measurement. First, determine the criteria you’ll want to measure. Some examples are professionalism, dress code, clarity of speech, presentation skills, adherence to training materials, and demonstration of the company’s mission and values. After you’ve determined your criteria, make a judgment on who should evaluate the instructors, preferably a senior instructor or indirect manager. Positioning of the evaluation is important as well - you should explain to the team that the evaluations are in place to help everyone move to the next level. Finally, you can measure your department based on budget. To do this, you should take your annual budget and break it down to controllable items, such as materials costs and cost per student. If you’re spending too much training new hires, examine the program for possible flaws. If your materials cost too much, find out why - you could have too many types, incorrect, or even unnecessary materials. Not only is this a good measurement for your training department, it also provides an opportunity for you to involve your staff in their measurement. Ask them for an opinion on why the materials cost is too high - you’ll get the best answers at the "grass roots" level. If you’re ready to measure your training department, start with these five items. You’ll get a good picture of your department, its capabilities, your courses, and your expenses.   Related Posts:Top 10 Training MetricsBuilding a Corporate University: MaintenanceTraining Mojo: How to Align Training Metrics with Company MetricsTraining Mojo: Developing a Culture of Training by Getting Buy-In From Stakeholders and StaffTraining Analytics

Summary: Training metrics are vital to your department’s operations, but if they aren’t aligned with the company, you’re creating confusion and an inability to measure. Follow five steps to help you align your department’s metrics with the company’s metrics. Measuring your training department’s performance and efficiency is very important. But, if your metrics do not align with the company’s overall metrics, how can you measure your department’s actual contribution? Once you align your department metrics with the company, you’ll not only be able to impact the business, but you’ll also be able to better calculate your department’s Return on Investment. Here are a few simple steps to help you align your metrics with the company. First you have to know what the company metrics are. It’s simple, but it’s surprising how many training managers really don’t have a connection to the big picture at the company. You can start by analyzing the company’s mission, values, and strategy - is growth in the plan? Are new products being introduced? Is customer loyalty the number one metric? Along these lines, be aware of how employees are measured throughout the company - are your frontline employees reviewed on length of time spent with a customer, production, efficiency, or error reduction? You must take the time to determine the company’s metrics - from the mission level down to the employee level. Next, determine which metrics you can follow - and how. For example, if one of the company’s key metrics is customer service, what are the specific criteria? Is there a customer survey you can analyze? Can you interview the front line to see how they guarantee customer satisfaction? Once you’ve seen these metrics, you can align your department with them. For example, if the company’s customer service employees have a set of criteria to follow in a phone conversation, consider using the same criteria for your department. People still call and email the training department - hold your staff to the same customer service guidelines. What if it’s more complicated, like operational efficiency? Obviously you cannot use the exact same criteria as the company level, but think through your own department’s operations. What criteria can you set to increase operational efficiency? Instructor evaluations, supplies usage, cost per participant, and post-training surveys are all examples of using your own metrics while aligning with the overall company. Third, it’s a great idea to get senior management’s buy-in. In many organizations, you can start an effective dialogue by informing senior management that you’d like to align your metrics with theirs. Not only can you show that your department is willing to get behind the whole organization, but you can also demonstrate that you’re willing and able to detail your department’s contribution back to the organization. Another way to get senior management buy-in is to ask them to help you prioritize. You’ve seen the high-level metrics, so which ones would senior management recommend you concentrate on? Most organizations’ metrics can be moving targets, i.e. 2007 may have required a focus on customer satisfaction, but 2008 must focus on operational efficiency. Asking senior management to help you align will simply get them behind you. Now you can create your metrics. You’ve probably already created some of your metrics during your investigation. Tailor those metrics to a training department. How are a training department’s customer’s satisfied? How is production efficient in your area? In what ways can you get your staff to concentrate on fiscal efficiency? Once you’ve thought through it, put it on paper - where possible, use the same rating scales as the company. But before you begin using the metrics, take the time to clearly communicate with your staff. How many times have measurements been introduced into an organization with no explanation, no reason as to why the staff is suddenly being asked to comply? The biggest part of the communication to staff is the explanation that you are aligning your department with the company. Be sure to discuss and highlight the benefits: i.e. better working relationships within the company, justification for more staff or better programs, and career development programs. Explain to the staff that you are trying to help them move to the next level in satisfaction and efficiency. Help them understand that in measuring them, you’ll be able to determine strengths and opportunities for each individual and each area of your department. Your communication of new metrics can make them or break them - so keep it positive, let them know how measurement fits with the big picture, and assure them that you’ll be there to help. Follow these steps to align your metrics with your company’s. You’ll find that the benefits will create new working relationships both internally and externally. In addition, you’ll be able to produce solid measurements of your department’s performance. Related Posts:Training Mojo: 10 Steps to Create Your Training DojoTop 10 Training MetricsAligning Performance with ResultsMeasuring Leadership EffectivenessMeasuring Leadership Effectiveness

Summary: Are you challenged with creating a new training department? Here are ten steps to help you create a Training Dojo, a place where employees go to learn about their jobs, progress to higher career levels, and discover how to become better managers and leaders. A dojo is a martial arts training center - the place where learners come to absorb technique and wisdom. You can create a Training Dojo in your organization, a place where employees come to learn about their jobs, progress to higher career levels, and discover how to become better managers and leaders. Follow these 10 steps to create your Training Dojo. One: Create a culture of development. Many organizations lack a culture that will allow training and development to grow. You must show the organization the benefits of training, from functional knowledge to career development. Explain that a training organization can lead to increased efficiency, lower turnover, higher retention, and a culture that allows learning to happen everywhere - not just in a classroom. Two: Obtain buy-in. Part of creating a culture of development is getting buy-in from other executives and stakeholders. In the same way you show the organization the benefits of training, break the benefits down for your executives. Try to find at least five benefits for each of their particular areas - relate the benefits to their business units’ mission and goals. Place a special focus on the financial officer - show him or her the financial benefits of creating your Training Dojo. Provide case studies on organizations that have effectively implemented training programs that positively impacted the bottom line. Three: Develop standards of excellence. Your Dojo should have a set of written standards. Don’t get into metrics just yet - here, determine the training department’s mission and values and align them with the company. Detail how the staff of your Dojo will have a positive impact on the company, its employees, and its income. Outline the standards that you and your staff will demonstrate at all times. Four: Determine branding and placement. Since you have a mission and values, you can focus on a brand and its placement. Obtain assistance from your marketing department to develop a logo or trademark for your Dojo. Develop a logo that can be placed on the front door, materials, and even casual Friday polo shirts for the staff. Your presence will be tangible and linked to the standards of excellence you’ve written. Five: Find an appropriate location and tools. For some organizations, developing a training department means new facilities. For others, it means taking over a slightly used space. Wherever your Dojo may be, make sure it’s in a central location and in an environment that invites employees to visit. Make a list of the tools you’ll want to have, such as projectors, simulated workspaces, technical and soft skills class areas. Consider colors, lighting, and workspaces. Prioritize your list and be ready to present business rationale behind each item. Six: Select the staff - carefully. You must look for a Dojo staff that not only has technical knowledge, but also an ability to make learners of all levels feel comfortable. Remember that a person with a fountain of knowledge is a bad choice if he or she does not mix well with others. You’ll want staff members who portray the vision and values of the company - and your Dojo. Seven: Establish a curriculum committee. Choose a mixture of executives, senior managers, front line managers, employees, and members of your own staff to sit down and discuss what programs your Dojo should offer. This group can help prioritize offerings, determine what can be learned on the job versus in a classroom, and whether you’ll need to offer learning in various medias. Your committee will help spread the word and propagate the culture of training. Eight: Determine program development goals. After you’ve decided what to offer, have the committee help you create the timeline. Look at your resources and go for the best timeline you can. Look for external or past courses that can serve as models for what you want to develop for your Dojo. Examine the benefits of each offering and translate them into business unit benefits. Nine: Establish metrics. You must decide how your Dojo’s staff will be measured. Align your metrics with the company’s metrics, but be sure to include evaluations of programs and instructors. Let it be known that your metrics are continuous and will lead to an ever changing effort to serve the organization. By doing this, you’ll prove that your department will be held up to the same standards as the rest of the organization. Ten: Visit your Dojo. If your office is located in the physical Training Dojo, be sure to visit the classrooms, drop in on training developers, and take the time to chat with training participants. If your office is remote, you must schedule time on a regular basis to visit the Dojo - your presence is credibility for every program you offer. By following these 10 steps, you can build a Training Dojo that gains respect and credibility, and offers programs that have a lasting and positive impact on the organization. Related Posts:Training Mojo: How to Align Training Metrics with Company MetricsTraining Mojo: Developing a Culture of Training by Getting Buy-In From Stakeholders and StaffCreating a Culture of LeadershipTraining Alchemy: A Path of Excellence for Corporate TeamsTop 10 Training Mistakes

Summary: Looking for a way to bring your training department to the next level? Create a training culture by obtaining buy-in from stakeholders and staff.When the training department is up and running and your courses are being delivered regularly, does that translate into your firm having a training culture? Without buy-in from stakeholders and training staff, you don’t. Here are some ways to create the culture by involving stakeholders and your staff. Your department’s stakeholders are often subject-matter-experts in the field - they could be the company’s executives, department managers, and even high performers. Far too often, training programs are developed and delivered without any input from this important group. To avoid that mistake, involve your stakeholders from the beginning, with the development of your training. Ask them what material should be covered in your courses. Obtain step-by-step procedures from the subject-matter-experts and stakeholders. Gain approval from the executives with a simple but clear explanation of what is going to be covered in a training course and program. Your benefit is twofold: first, you’re getting stakeholder buy-in. Second, you’re getting the most accurate, field-worthy information to include in your training. Now that you have stakeholders involved in development, don’t leave them at the door of the classroom. Involve them in the evaluation of your training programs. Let’s say you conduct an application survey of training participants at 30 or 45 days after class. Invite your stakeholders to analyze the results with you - that group may be able to provide a perspective that the training department simply doesn’t have. Invite your stakeholder group to make suggestions about the content or the suitability of the instructors. When stakeholders are constantly involved in training development and evaluation, you can maintain buy-in and create an effective working relationship. Identified stakeholders are an important group, but what about field managers and supervisors? Many people in these roles have great ideas for training programs and development, but do not want to make a career move because they like being in the field. Just as you involve stakeholders in development and evaluation, it’s a great idea to involve middle managers and supervisors, as well. Invite them to help you determine content for new courses and suggestions that might be made to existing program and materials. Have them explain how they came to answer your application surveys - what criteria did they use to judge an employee’s success or lack of success? Again, you’ve created, identified and communicated with a group of managers and supervisors that have a stake in training and development. What about the training staff themselves? Training managers make the mistake of "pigeon-holing" staff, that is, they see a good niche for an instructor or developer, and they leave him or her there. When the staff burns out, you lose their buy-in. Do not assume that they’re happy just because they consistently receive excellent evaluations. To create and maintain buy-in from your staff, be sure to accurately determine what their area of expertise is. An instructor may do a good job delivering certain courses, but is the course his or her true area of expertise? After you determine expertise, find out the staff’s area of aspiration - where does each staff member want to go with his or her training career? Some may be perfectly happy doing what they currently do, but some may want to design courses, manage functions, or move on to other areas. Don’t be afraid to sit down and have this conversation annually with each staff member. By showing your interest, you’ll maintain a training culture - and the all-important buy-in of all of the training staff. Finally, it is absolutely necessary to obtain buy-in with the key stakeholder, they are the money holders. Financial officers are sometimes the hardest to convince, especially if you can’t show metric analysis -supporting a return-on-investment for every program of training you offer. Obtain buy-in on the front end by showing what you plan to accomplish. Don’t simply say you’re going to develop 10 new courses in 2008. Tell the financial officer, as well as all stakeholders, exactly what courses you are going to develop, who the target audience will be, and how these program are expected to impact the bottom line, increases in production, decrease in turnover, or increase in customer satisfaction. This tactic may not win every time, but you are still going to create a more functional working relationship with these stakeholders who ultimately control your budget. By taking addressing these areas early and often, you can create and maintain a training culture with your stakeholders, managers, training staff, and financial staff. Related Posts:Training Mojo: 10 Steps to Create Your Training DojoGLD 6: Obtaining Buy-In in a Global EnvironmentTop 10 Training MistakesTraining Best PracticesTraining Mojo: How to Measure Your Training Department

Summary: You can stretch your training dollar by carefully analyzing and choosing both internal and external tools and programs. Training departments should always maintain a certain budget-consciousness - in both good and not-so-good financial circumstances. You can stretch your budget by examining needs and being aware that a mix of external and internal resources are available. Here are some ways to do that. Your first step should be to conduct a thorough needs analysis annually. Remember to get your stakeholders’ and senior managers’ input, as a part of the process. What programs or tools are going to be absolutely necessary in the coming financial period? Is it absolutely time to build that Learning Management System (LMS) or is a new product launch going to take precedence? Is there a need for recurrent training, such as compliance, that is always a priority from year to year? In your needs analysis process, be sure to divide the "must haves" from the "nice-to-haves". This way, you can prioritize easily and work toward the tools or programs you don’t absolutely need. Once you’ve determined your priorities, look at your current resources. Many training departments have instructors who double as course designers - if this is the case, do your instructors’ schedules permit them to take the time to design or redesign courses? If you need a Learning Management System, do you have someone that can efficiently take that responsibility? What about your current programs? Are they meeting the needs of the audience in their existing format? Examine your course materials thoroughly - do you have informational courses that could be transferred into an online course, a PowerPoint accessible by all employees, or a paper-based quick reference guide? In other words, are you bringing employees to the classroom when the same purpose could be served while they’re sitting at their desks? Examining your resources, both human and otherwise, is a great way to help you decide new ways to deploy them. Before you make a final decision, review your available external resources. In training and development, outsourcing can cover just about every need. You can hire contract instructors and course designers. If you need to purchase an LMS, providers will be more than willing to examine your set-up and make recommendations - and help you bring the system online in an expedited manner. Courses are also available for outsourcing - purchasing a "canned" course does not always involve customization. Many outsourcers provide specific courses for specific industries in compliance, customer service, human resources, management, and leadership - you simply have to search for them. Many of these courses run from the outsourcer’s website, so all your employees need is Internet access. In fact, some outsourcers offer classroom training, including design, delivery, and training for your instructors. A thorough search for external tools and costs will give you an excellent comparison of your resources versus the outsourcing channel. Now that you’ve created and ranked your list, you must come back to the reality of cost. A price tag is a good place to start, but the physical price of a course or an LMS should not be your only consideration. Let’s say you need at online compliance courses. Do your in-house resources have the expertise to develop the curriculum? What is the cost to have that person at the desk for the next few months to write it? Look at the person’s salary, down to the hour. If he or she is not teaching classes, what will the loss be in classroom training? How many classroom courses will you forego and at what employee cost? But don’t forget to look at long-term needs, as well. Once the compliance courses are written, who’s going to update them appropriately? If you outsource the courses, your provider will probably update them for you as part of the cost of the training. Is that cost worthwhile to your organization and its current resources? When you’ve fairly evaluated all of the criteria, you should be able to make a more informed decision about the effectiveness of internal development versus purchasing external tools or programs. You will have also determined what items are priorities and can focus on those. Remember to thoroughly examine your current resources, external choices, and cost for each decision - by doing so, you will be able to stretch your budget and meet the needs of your stakeholders and audience. Related Posts:eLearning: About External Licensing7-Steps to Creating an Effective E-learning Program Part 3:…Building a Corporate University: ResourcesTop 10 Training MetricsBenefits and Potential Drawbacks of External eLearning

Far too often corporate management and human resource departments confuse these two types of training programs.  While the objectives of both may be similar, the path that they each take is dramatically different. Corporate eLearning is focused on training and not necessarily education. The goal of eLearning is to transfer knowledge to the user in the most efficient way possible (i.e., performance improvement).  Adult education, on the other hand is not always performance based.  At the low end, it serves to bring up the bottom of the company staff.  Teaching basics like reading, writing and arithmetic.  It might serve as education on introducing basic concepts on computer use, or a how-to for computer tools like Excel or Word.  The goal of most adult education is not necessarily proficiency but basic knowledge. The course tools that are used may be similar, but the course structure for each have very different objectives.  Would you rather: watch a two minute simulation demonstrating how to configure a piece of software; or read some manual, book or  blog on the reasons behind why the software works and some of its uses? Many educational designers have concluded that the contextualization provided by simulations and animations result in more efficient and lasting knowledge transfer. Richard Mayer, Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, has published some excellent empirical data over the years on the efficiency of ‘multimedia presentation training’ over strictly ‘written content’. Granted that it’s very performance-based objective but that’s what corporate eLearning is all about. Much of a corporation’s curriculum and training is: "here is the information that you need to know and how it is related to what we do as a company."  Much of it is information (e.g., new products and services), some of it is skills (e.g., how to use a tool correctly or safely), and some of it is value based (e.g., how best to act when working with people of different cultures). Consistency and dependability of instruction is a good objective. Simulations and visual training courses traditionally follow a standard set of presentation.  This consistency insures that the students of the training have a similar presentation and retention of the information or skill.  It also allows for a more immediate and measureable testing of retention and skill presentation. This is different from the alternative learning experiences in most adult education programs.  Most adult educational programs might provide a deeper explanation and development of a courses material; however, the retention of the material and application of the skills are often inconsistent. If the terminology is what defines the learning methods, and if stakeholders are resistant to the more correct use of the two terms, personally I would be fine referring to eLearning as ‘eTraining’.    I’ve never been comfortable with ‘eLearning’ or ‘blended-learning’ because, to me, learning is what the learner does. To me, training programs do not provide learning; instead, these programs provide a structured training environment to assist in the learning.  Related Posts:The Death of eLearningCorporate Training Choices ExplainedWhat Determines Value in Training?Benefits of Using Simulations6 Reasons Why Corporate Training Programs Fail

Being tasked with building or managing a training organization is a larger-than-life responsibility. Mistakes will happen - but here are the ten most common training mistakes and how to avoid them. Building and managing a training department is a difficult task. Mistakes can be made in many areas of training and development, but there are some common mistakes that you and your staff can avoid. Here are the top ten training mistakes - from development and delivery to funding. One: Setting up the expectation that each training participant will end up with exactly the same knowledge. Adults learn in different ways and focus on different material. When that happens, Participant #1 may have a different knowledge base than Participant #2 when the training is complete. To avoid this problem, provide your students a general outline of what’s covered in training and what they are expected to learn. Two: A lack of examples that illustrate the points. It’s necessary to show people how to learn by giving them examples during training. The examples must be pertinent to the material and should stay in the mind of the learner. If this is left out, trainees may have knowledge but may not be able to function in the actual environment. Evaluate your training programs for real-life, pertinent examples. Three: Lack of knowledge about the audience and their experience. Take the time to find out who the target audience is, what they may already know, and how experienced they are. Take a pre-program survey or visit the field, but do something to get to know them - before training is delivered. Four: A trainer fails to prepare for a regular presentation. It’s easy to become complacent, especially for trainers who deliver the same courses on a regular basis. Make sure the trainers are taking adequate time to review their material and run through their presentations - every time. When this happens, delivery will be fresh and full of new ideas, examples, and energy. Five: A trainer tells an audience it’s his or her first time to deliver a certain course. This can be a fatal, although totally honest, mistake in regard to credibility. Trainers should appear to be the expert - even if they don’t feel like it. Six: A trainer turns questions over to an in-class Subject Matter Expert (SME). If your stakeholders and SME’s observe training, make sure that trainers do not turn in-class questions over to the Expert. Have trainers keep a "parking lot" list of questions, find the answers, and report back to the audience. This way, your trainer maintains credibility. Seven: Developing training courses without a front-end analysis. You may get requests from managers for training in certain areas. Don’t build training until you find out what the people in the jobs are doing, what they’re not doing, or what they’re going to be expected to do in the future. Take a survey, visit the field, and interview line workers - but find out what’s really happening out on the job BEFORE development begins. Eight: Pulling trainers from the front line without preparing them first. Many of the best trainers come from the front line. But don’t place a new trainer in a classroom without giving them preparation in learning styles, training methods, and presentation skills. Put together an "orientation" for a new trainer, have them observe a more seasoned trainer, and then you can observe and oversee the new trainer in the classroom. Nine: Building a bigger organization than necessary. Don’t build an organization that suits an industry trend - build one that suits your audience. A "corporate university" may intimidate the employees of a small company. On the other side, a large company may feel there is not sufficient ROI if the training department delivers only a few courses. Again, obtaining an intimate knowledge of your audience and management’s expectation is the key. Ten: Forgetting to get buy-in from the person who controls the money - the stakeholder. In some organizations, CFO’s sometimes spend money on a training department and facilities without being asked an opinion. If this is your case, go to the money person and explain what you intend to do - and what the financial impacts may be. Get the stakeholder on your side - even if he or she is already signing checks. If budget money becomes tight, training programs are sometimes the first to be cut, unless you’ve taken the time to explain how training is a positive investment. When you’re aware of these mistakes and how to avoid them, your training program and department will be ten steps closer to success. Related Posts:Top 10 Training MythsRole of the Trainer: EngagementTraining Mojo: Developing a Culture of Training by Getting…What Determines Value in Training?Training Mojo: 10 Steps to Create Your Training Dojo

Is it time for you to measure the effectiveness of your training programs? If you’re not sure where to start, these Top Ten Training Metrics can help. Measuring the effectiveness of training is a very difficult task, for stakeholders, training departments and end users. If you are a training manager or company stakeholder looking for ways to measure the effectiveness of your programs, these ten metrics are a great place to start. One: Increased retention. Most Human Resources departments measure the rate of retention in all or various jobs. Many times, the front line, high turnover jobs are the ones that receive the most attention. If newly trained employees feel ill-equipped for the job, they are more likely to leave within their first 90 days. When you measure training success this way, higher retention points to a successful training program. Two: Increased sales. Many organizations can track efficiency based on sales. If training is heavily geared toward a sales or customer service force, an effective program will eventually increase sales numbers. You can also measure product knowledge training as part of a sales number - poorly educated sales people usually do not make the sale. Dollar figures and unit sales make good metrics, but be sure to balance any metric with other factors that can influence sales numbers. Three: Increased operational efficiency. In highly regulated or production-oriented businesses, managers look for more efficiency, which raises the bottom line. If your training programs teach skills, look to management’s efficiency metrics, as a baseline, before and after the training intervention. If you are building a new program or product, look at the efficiency numbers to obtain direction on training course content. Four: Customer service results. Any organization can link training to customer service, which can be both internal and external. Customer service is also one of the easier place to start: one well-written survey can identify a host of customer related issues that can be addressed by training programs. Remember that training may not be the only solution to those issues. If your organization already has a customer survey in place, use those metrics to cross check your programs. When your programs impact the survey items, you can correlate an increase in customer satisfaction back to training. Five: Company-defined scorecards. Training outsourcers tend to use client-defined criteria to determine training effectiveness. If your organization has a wide variety of possible measurements, sit down with management, and stakeholders, to create a custom scorecard based on expectations and the training programs that need to be in place. Six: Cost of training. This is an internal training department measurement. In high turnover organizations, lowering cost per student can be used as an effectiveness measurement. Cost of training could also relate directly back to retention - if you’re spending less on new hire training, your retention may be higher. Work with your stakeholders and the HR department to determine training costs and where you want those numbers to be. Seven: Return on Investment. ROI has long been a "catch all" metric. In some cases, it’s easy to define ROI, but in more cases it’s increasingly difficult. If you deliver soft skills training, it’s hard to put a dollar figure on the return. There are numerous ROI calculations available, so if you’re thinking about using an ROI metric, look for the formulas and plug in what you can. If you are part of a numbers-driven organization, you’ll be able to make friends with the stakeholders by defining and measuring concrete ROI. Eight: Revenue generation. This metric appears most likely as a combination of sales numbers, operational efficiency, and customer service. If an organization shows increased revenue, a solid training program can be part of that increase. If your organization is rolling out a new revenue generator, such as a product or service, that is generally the best time to use revenue generation as training metric. Nine: Instructor performance. Instructor evaluation is an important internal measurement. The results can come from student and manager evaluations, and must take into account the instructor’s presentation skills, knowledge of the subject, projection of organizational values, and adherence to instructional guidelines. The good part about instructor performance as a metric is that it can also be used as an external measure. When training is under discussion, training managers should be the first to praise their instructors for delivering quality instruction in every course - and instructor evaluations provide the supporting evidence. Ten: End-user satisfaction. Your audience can measure effectiveness quicker than anyone else, both immediately following training and after a given time period, such as 30 or 60 days. The immediate results, sometimes referred to as "smile sheets", can give you a picture of what happened in the classroom. The delayed results can tell you if the material is useful or not. Plus, end-user surveys are great tools for proving effectiveness with management. Remember that training metrics may take time to put into place and show results. It’s also important to obtain buy-in from your stakeholders while you’re determining how to measure results. Use these metrics to start with - and use them whenever you’re developing or revamping training programs. Once you can prove bottom-line effectiveness, your credibility will go a long way. 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