Why training does not work

There is more to training than training…

The other evening while on the way home from some client work, I read the paper on the train. In this was an interesting article that suggested that public transport staff should be given “civility” training by one of the UKs top retailers for customer service – John Lewis.

The article cited that London has high levels of “incivility” and blamed it on the time people travel to and from work. The recommendation was that transport staff should improve their politeness to counter the “daily abrasiveness” that commuters face.

Now having commuted regularly for the first time in several years I know what the author means about the attitude of travellers, however in the same paper (Evening Standard 10 Oct 2011) there was another article educating commuters on how to get a train seat and using the strategy of military tactics to secure the seat ahead of fellow commuters!

 

 

The reality

There are several factors here:

1)      you cannot change the behaviour of millions of people by training just a few 100

2)      training in “politeness” is not the answer, it’s a cultural thing and its up to managers not staff to initiate this.

Looking at each point in turn.

Why are people “impolite”?

• Commuters are packed like sardines,
• They pay a lot of money for the “privilege”,
• The journeys are often long and involve one or more changes.
• Their goal is simple – get to work in as shorter time as is practicable,
• Travel in a “stress free” way. This to them means as few interactions as they can. Stressed people interacting with stressed people increases stress.

Will training work?

The John Lewis Partnership is well known in the UK for its customer orientated approach to business. Sure their training for their staff is wonderful… but the training has been designed to fit in the culture of a management style and service philosophy aligned to serving the customer.

The transport network on the other hand is not about customer service, it is about “service provision” – trains or busses… not individual customers. Staff are managed in a union environment that is focused on the avoidance of problems from managers for the greatest salary in a safe way – nothing about the day to day customer experience. Deep down most staff want to give “good service” however in a fast paced crowd based environment they do not have time or the space to offer a personalised service other than on an “exception” based approach. Training will do little to change each individual and the way they work on a day to day basis. The only people that can do this are the managers and supervisors. They need both awareness that developing a culture of politeness and calmness is important and for the organisations to develop key performance indicators to support the development and encouragement of this “new” culture.

Individual training just does not work for this type of behaviour change in this culture.

Training is not the universal solution, however development of competent managers that have the skills to align behaviour to stated organisational goals and objectives is key. Only poor managers and ineffective leaders hide behind training as the solution for cultural based organizational challenges.

Talent Management – how to shoot yourself in the foot in the future!

Talent Management – Easy today… pain tomorrow

Most of us agree that the success of any organization is down to the quality of its people. So why do we fail to realise that talent management is not just about the “top 50” people, but those with the potential to be in the top 50 at some point in the future, as well as talent that will enable our organization to be competitive in a sustainable way. Talent is NOT just about tomorrow’s leaders, it is about next week’s skills and next months leaders.

This was brought home to me recently by the experiences of my 19 year old daughter. She is currently at home over the summer during the summer break from University. In April she applied and was offered a summer job at a major leisure provider, her experiences have already brought her to realise that she will never want to work with the group again, and worse – she is telling all her friends (but NOT on social media – she is not stupid!)

Background

Just to give you some idea of the person and their experience puts some of what I will describe into context:

• Academic achievements – A Levels with grades A* and A’s, achieving 2:1 in a first year joint Hons course at a redbrick uni – so bright not stupid
• Work experience – 3 years working at a high street jeweller regularly achieving top sales in the store – business savvy
• Charity work – experience with children in the UK, co-ordinated youth activities, overseas orphanage work – can build relationships

This is an individual that cares about people, quality and customer experience. She builds trusting relationships with people at all levels very quickly so can communicate equally well with the company director, army captain, manager, disabled adult, very young children or people standing at the bus stop.

The role at the leisure company – a cleaner, mainly outdoor work. This is Seasonal work, and the hours are flexible on both sides. Not the best of pay, but not minimum wage either. Many of the people working at roles here are 16-23 year old students, for most it is their first taste of work.

How to create Employee dis-engagement

Here are just some of the things that have happened which have given her, me and the people she knows an insight into this particular organization and its culture… in no particular order:

• No training on use of cleaning chemicals (for people with no work experience)
• No training on how to manage sharps or glass
• No training on manual handling even though this is a key part of the task
• Poor elearning which was a “test” not learning on procedures & policy
• Issued with work-wear 2 sizes too large – poor fit means the image being projected to the customers is wanting
• “Wet weather gear” that is not waterproof by any definition – causing people to get very wet & cold and having to take time off as a result
• Wet weather gear given to staff that work inside (and don’t need it) – leaving those that work outside with jackets 3 sizes too large! – demoralising & embarrassing
• 16 year olds working 12 hour days – illegal!
• 16 year olds working 7+ days consecutively – illegal!
• Provided with a rota which would have meant 10+ days without a day off – where was the common sense?
• Not given a radio/ communications tool & then team leaders complain when they cannot find her(it’s a large site) – not to mention lone worker regulations
• Team leaders that have had no management training & lead by ego – poor productivity & employee engagement
• Team leaders allowing some workers to “pick & chose” their work activities, while “dumping” on those willing to work
• Managers & team leaders go home before telling all staff they can “stand down” leaving staff wondering what to do!
• Being part of a team of just 20-30 people and the department manager has never spoken to some of them. Seen them working but never approached and said “hello”
• A manager saying I’ll call you on return from holiday and tell you what shifts you are on – they don’t call – & when you phone they are not available – then when you do start work the same manager asks ”where have you been” forgetting that they were responsible for the individuals work schedule!
• A manager asks “why aren’t you coming to the staff event tonight” and is surprised when the reply is – “I have not had an invite or been given the information, I did not know one was happening” – this event is supposed to engage & motivate staff!
• A six week probation review that happens after 12 weeks – the outcome of this entitles the employee to “contractual perks” – now almost too late for the employee to use this!
• Given an average score in appraisal when the main comment given as to why it was not “above average” was she “needs to delegate more” – SHE IS A CLEANER! Who does she delegate to customers? This she found particularly demotivating

I could go on – but you get the picture and this is enough to get a discussion going…

The only reason she has not left by the way… not because she needs the money, but she does not want to say at some point in the future at interview – reason for leaving – I quit due to a bad company & poor management. She does not see herself as a quitter. The ironic thing was she had an interest in joining the sector post graduation. That thought has now gone!

What is the cost to our businesses long term survival if we promote people to team leader or manager post without them having the right aptitude for the role, and certainly without training and appropriate support/ coaching.

The experience of this individual will stay with her for her life time. As students we all took work that was not particularly engaging, however it was work. Here is a person not complaining about the work, but more at the way the site and she is managed, and more importantly (her words) the lack of commitment to the people that make the experience what it is for their customers. This type of business relies on repeat business. If the owners and shareholders knew of then I am sure they would not be impressed.

• Where is HR in ensuring that people in roles have the right skills?
• Where are the management ensuring that health & safety is at least meeting legal requirements?
• Where are the stakeholders seeing the brand undermined?

Anyone want to hire a 19 year old management consultant? – reasonable day rate

If a 19 year old can see where quality can be improved, customer experience improved, costs reduced and employees engaged for no outlay, what does that say about the level of managers they have employed on a permanent basis?

Of course this would never happen in your organization would it?

Why are we so bad at training new managers?

Why are we so bad at training new managers?

In the knowledge economy getting talented people on board is more crucial than ever before, so more and more effort is going into the recruitment process.  What happens once these talented individuals are hired however often leaves a lot to be desired.

Leadership IQ, a research and management consulting firm, reports 67% of employees learn about their jobs from co-workers and not from their bosses.  So new hires tend not to learn about their new roles from any processes put in place to teach them, more often than not it is informally delivered from co-workers.  What a damning indictment of the initiation processes in place at many organisations!  A survey in 2008 revealed that as many as 1 in 4 new recruits leave their new employers within the first year of employment.  All that time and effort wasted.

So why does this matter?  Those first few weeks in the job provide new employees with the blueprint for their time at your organisation.  It’s in those first weeks that undertake behaviour modelling, the process of learning how things are done by those around them.  It gives you a window to shape not just what your organisation does, but how they expect people to do it.

This means during the transition period– the first 90 days of employment–new employees get their cues about how they need to behave to fit into the company from those who are training them to do their new job.  If you have a positive culture you may not see much of a problem with that, as new hires are more likely to take on board lessons from peers than managers.  If your culture isn’t so hot however then you could be sowing the seeds of your own demise.

So how should you induct new employees?

The following are a few tips to help you do things the right way.

1. Assign your best people to the job – You want new hires to learn the best habits, so you need to treat this seriously and assign your best employees to mentor new hires.
2. Devote time to it – Many induction processes last a week max.  That’s not long enough to develop good habits.  Malcolm Gladwell believes 10,000 hours are required, so be prepared to be in this for the long-term.
3. Map your talent – How does the new hire fit into your current skill set?  Do they have any skills they need to perform that they currently lack.  This is where you connect the dots and match them up with the right people.
4. Get them involved – So many induction processes get bogged down by procedures such as health & safety or housekeeping information like where the toilets are and how people like their tea.  Useful information for sure but the best way to develop the good habits you need them to develop is for them to get involved from the start, so put them on a team with your stars so they can instantly feel part of the company and begin learning from the best.
5. Take an interest – It’s always daunting going into a new environment, so take a personal interest in their progress.  Show that you’re a manager that cares.  Check regularly how they’re doing so you can modify things if required.

Getting the most from our talent is likely to be the single most important aspect of management if we’re to compete in the coming years.  Getting new recruits off to the best start is an opportunity you can’t afford to mess up.

How does your company induct new employees?

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This is a guest article on RapidBI supplied by Adrian Gaskell of www.managers.org.uk - the Chartered Management Institute

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History of Coaching – A True Insight into Coaching

History of Coaching

Coaching is everywhere. It is the hot topic of management, leadership and people development. This article explores the history of coaching through the ages.

There are as many forms of coaching methodologies are there are coaches, so is there a “right” way? Or is the term “coaching” a generic word for one-to-one guidance, help or support?

A True Insight into Coaching

The origination of the term ‘Coaching’ started in the later part of the 1880s and this term has been mostly associated with the sports profession through its varied forms. The first thought which rushes to our mind when we think about coaching is about sports coaching as this profession is very well-developed in the sports arena. The term ‘Coach’ was initially started in 1830 and the Oxford University put forth the meaning of this term as slang for a tutor. Coaching can be defined in several ways and methodologies depending on the area where it is utilized but the need is to define it in layman’s term so as to understand the gist of the subject. A very simple definition to this broad term is the fact that Coaching is a true methodology which concentrates on directing, instructing and training either an individual or a group of people with the only aim to attain certain goals and objectives.

Coach –

Meaning “instructor/trainer” is c.1830 Oxford University slang for a tutor who “carries” a student through an exam; athletic sense is 1861. The verb is from 1610s, “to convey in a coach;” meaning “to prepare (someone) for an exam” is from 1849

 

Coaching through the Ages

The emergence of coaching was a very gradual and slow process and there are several theories which support the initiation of this methodology and the Grounded Theory of the Roots is one significant theory which commemorates the foundation of coaching. Strong roots of coaching have been noticed in several perspectives such as psychology, social sciences, business and several others. Let us split up this journey into the significant time periods in which this method emerged into a major stream as in the current times.

History of Coaching – Prior to 1900

During the end of the 18^th century and towards the start of the 19^th century, it was noticed that philosophy emerged as a separate branch from social sciences and thus exclusive studies were carried out to study the intricacies of the human society and the individual as such. Psychology emerged in its initial form during this period wherein which there were vague descriptions of mental functions and perceptions. In 1879, Wundt and James carried out exclusive work on philosophical traditions and during this period, psychology did experience growing pains just as what coaching seems to be experiencing as of now. The contemporary branch of modern management certainly had its roots put out in the 19^th century and it was towards the middle of this era, that theories and structuring such as training, motivation, organizational structure, etc. were laid out and brought to notice during the industrial revolution. Personnel management also emerged during this period along with consulting and it was in between 1880s to 1950s that the first variety of management consultants came into picture. There were not many changes which occurred in other disciplines during this period such as sports, performing arts or also in the field of education.

History of Coaching – 1900s through 1920s

This was the period for technological advances and the scientific perspective was at its peak at this time. In fact, you can even perceive that the root disciplines of coaching were even founded during this period. Industrialization took an advanced turn during this period and the discovery of the theory of relativity in physics played a great role during this time. In fact, this time was actually referred by Goldman as a ‘shift from mechanical model to the organic model of the world’. Freud who took up an enhanced interest in Psychology became the first person who interpreted psychotherapy during this time. By the end of this century, there were five sub-disciplines from psychology which is a huge achievement in itself. From the 1900s, there was a marked difference in how managers utilized scientific theories in managerial functioning which was to a greater degree in response to Industrial Revolution which certainly demanded work specialization, unity of command, proper hierarchical chain and coordination of activities. In fact, in the 1910s, one observed scientific and classical management perspectives started to emerge and in the 1920s, the human relations movement also initiated. The famous Hawthorne studies were developed in the 1920s and business theories and practices also started adopting psychological theories and models to run the business.

History of Coaching – 1930s through 1950s

Advances in technology continued during this period as well and objects of modern production started invading our lives and almost all the aspects of life such as management, education, consulting and even development started to accept the military model of control and command. This time period actually saw a difference of opinion in the field of psychology and in fact many of the Freudian theories were opposed during this period. The second force of psychology, Behaviorism, also rejected the theories of Freud and actually offered an empirical approach through scientific methods. In fact, the emergence and establishment of behaviorism during the 1910s to the 1950s was as a reaction to the Freudian theories. It was in the 1950s that Maslow and Rogers came up with a humanistic approach in psychology which is known as the third force of this sector wherein personal and phenomenological aspects of human experience were given great precedence. During this time, Perls also popularized the Gestalt therapy and Cognitive psychology also took shape during this time.

History of Coaching – 1960s through 1970s

The humanistic movement took place in the 1960s and it advised employers that people need to be treated well and it was during this period, that there was predominant importance attributed to coaching in business literature as well. In fact, references to coaching evolved out from human resource journals and started appearing more in training and management journals. In the time period from 1960 to 1979, 15 of the 23 articles written on the topic of coaching were published in training journals. Coaching began to get primary importance and there were four management books which were published on coaching and the main subjects captured in the essence of these books were on how managers can utilize coaching to improve performance. Before the 1970s, the term ‘Executive Coaching’ was not in use but rather the term ‘Counseling’ was exclusively used in the business domain. Initially, companies used to recruit Counseling executives who were like psychologists so that managers could have one-on-one sessions with them. The coaching approach was later introduced and was unanimously accepted in the business use.

History of Coaching – 1980s

It was in between the 1970s and 1980s when the United States understood the potential of the coaching process in the business sector and concluded that coaching is essential to support and aid managers so that they can attain their performance requirements and can also contribute directly towards the survival of the business. It was Kinlaw who emphasized that all forms of coaching necessarily includes two main features which are one-on-one conversations and concentration on performance or subjects related to performance. In Britain, the subject of coaching received a fresh meaning and referred to the process wherein which you can conduct direct discussions with your colleagues in an attempt to solve problems and thereby complete the required tasks. Coaching and counseling were often used interchangeably. The 1980s definitely saw the growth of coaching and its complete domination in to the business literature. Discipline journals greatly accepted the success of coaching and published numerous articles on this concept and it was during this time as well that the inception of coaching was traced to its roots of leadership development training and management practice of learning skills and understanding. Even the collaborative model of consultation was referred to have certain similarities to that of coaching.

History of Coaching – 1990s through 2004

It is surprising to note how the concept of coaching progressively spread during the nineties and references to coaching were continuously mentioned in journals and the increase of such articles drastically increased during this period. The development in the coaching industry has been tremendous and has reached a maturation level during this point with respect to the accumulated coaching experience, increase in the number of coaching professionals in various arenas and the enhancement of sophistication in management and human resource professionals. Several coaching books hit the market at this time and journal articles written on coaching started getting flooded in the various publications and this number rose drastically in the early 2000s. 39 books on coaching were also published in the 2000s and contributed heavily towards the strong development of coaching. Whitmore in 1992 his book “Coaching for Performance” popularized the GROW model and made coaching more accessible to the workplace.

History of Coaching – 2004 to 2010

In the recent years, the sphere of coaching has adapted several models wherein which the root disciplines of coaching can be employed in the various business sectors and theories in the psychological section have been exclusively utilized for the purpose. There were also influences of coaching from disciplines such as sociology, linguistics and anthropology and the coach-client relationship is being extensively studied and monitored as well. Business coaching has become a must in the corporate world and companies understand that they cannot progress in the correct direction without including coaching in their development. Organization psychology further strengthened coaching by offering numerous strategies and also supported developmental counseling for key management personnel.

As we can see coaching is not new, we do not need “specialist” training or accreditation, what we need is experience.

References used include:

The Inner Game of Tennis By Tim Gallwey 1974
The Power of Positive Thinking By Dr Norman Vincent Peale, first published in 1952
Freedom and the college By Alexander Meiklejohn 1923
Coaching for Performance By John Whitmore 1992
Educational review, Volume 60 Doubleday, Doran, 1920 Vols. 19-34 include “Bibliography of education” for 1899-1906, compiled by James I. Wyer and others
The Journal of the National Education Association, Volume 1 National Education Association of the United States, The Association, 1916

When is leadership not leadership? – cultural issues

This past week I have been in the UAE facilitating a 5 day leadership and strategic change program for international participants (none from the UAE). The brief was to share international best practice around all areas of leadership and change. For the majority they found the teaching and learning of great value, however there were some that acted as delegates. Not listening or interacting above the absolute minimum. They appeared to think that they were perfect leaders already and could learn nothing. A strange attitude for a person who has flown ¼ around the world to be away from family for a week.

The program started with the premise – look for the one think that you can take away and use, a lot of material will be covered, but there will be a golden nugget that is just right for you – your challenges is to identify it, hold it and apply it when they return to work.

What transpired over the week was that the situation was worse than I thought – they weren’t delegates at all but passengers. Passengers that did not choose that form of transportation but needed the destination. Ok I could live with that, we all need learning and sometimes the only vehicle open to us is one that it not a best fit to our preferences. But no.  These “attendees” attend not for the learning, but the money their employer gives them to cover the costs of accommodation etc.

I discovered that the course fee is paid for by the organisation (depending on seniority they are allowed to attend several per year), along with airfare – but they are given a very generous allowance to expenses. This allowance can be more than the average worker earns in a year. So they stay in the cheapest hotel, eat poorly, but the culture is that they take gifts back for colleagues and family. They really do not want the training. It is an excuse for the employer to pay individuals money or give them a vacation. Maybe I am the last person on the planet to understand this, but my approach is to deliver what I have been contracted to deliver.

For the trainer/ facilitator this can make life very challenging (or for the bad ones they don’t even try!). Worse, it is education that is getting a poor reputation.

Last month there was a posting on TrainingZone in which a person was looking for 4 weeks training in the UK for some participants from the middle-east, when I called him it turned out that what they were really looking for was an excuse for a holiday under the banner of “training”.

Is it time for international providers to come up with a new label for “holiday based training” events. Maybe once upon a time they were called conferences, however even these have become respectable learning environments. What about “traincation” or “semication”. Where there is minimum learning and lots of time for rest, sight seeing and shopping. The more honest we all are the better for those that need real learning. The risk of course is that come providers understand this – and that is what they provide – the danger is that someone from another culture will book on to the programme and be very disappointed – or worse think that what they have experienced is a good model for learning.

The 5 Traps to Avoid – Increasing Trend for People Going Freelance

How to have a sustainable business model

With the economy showing little in the way of recovery, every day there seems to be more and more people looking towards self-employment, in particular in the freelance or contracting markets.

This is having a strange impact on the supply and demand in the profession. People are often despirate for work, so set low rates – custonmers like the thought of saving so hire at the lowest cost… but what is the real cost?

When contracting or freelancing, it is not about generating an income – its about running a business. This means creating reserves for when there is no work. Driving day rate lower and lower does no-one any favours in the longer run. Customers want a reliable supplier (if you charge too little you wont be there in 12 months time), customers get used to low rates and poor quality (or hidden costs) and this damages the sustainability of the industry. Worse, some sites claiming to support the freelance and contracting market accept adverts for roles that are clearly un-sustainable – driving the profession into the ground.

Rates should be based on value and business aspirations not just cost. This works well for all parties in the medium to long term.

In the past we have written a number of articles on freelancing and setting sustainable rates and business approaches – links are included below.

If you are considering setting up on your own make sure that you dont fall into one of these 5 traps:

1. Starting a price war – you will lose
2. Undervaluing what it is you can do for your clients
3. Selling on price rather than value
4. Believing that the client really cannot afford to may that little bit more – just look aroud the carpark! (or on notice boards announcing their latest contract win)
5. Giving discounts – you will never raise the price for that client again – always add value – not reduce costs

http://rapidbi.com/management/going-freelance-in-training-or-hr-how-much-to-charge/

http://rapidbi.com/management/going-freelance-in-training-hr-or-as-a-coach/

http://rapidbi.com/management/tips-going-freelance-training-consultancy/

http://rapidbi.com/management/going-freelance-independent-trainer/

http://rapidbi.com/management/going-freelance-in-difficult-times-consulting-and-training/

Train the Trainer – Infection Control

Practical Infection control training for: NHS, care-homes, food preparation, hygiene, hand washing etc

Hygiene, infection control and hand-washing – making the difference to peoples lives

It all started as a discussion about volunteer training for a national first-aid organisation. Members of the group were interested in further training, but bored with the routine of what we had been doing. With swine flu on the news at the time, one of the emergency planning volunteers said she would be a piece on pandemics, what they were and how they migrated. This is where it all began. Knowing that bacteria and viruses were spread via contact was one thing, but knowing what part an individual played in that situation was another. It was with this in mind that a session clearly demonstrating the spread via contact and effective hand and equipment hygiene was developed. After running several very successful sessions (including several HCPs that found the session of value) we have taken this and turned it into a ‘ready to go’ package for you and your people.

We often talk about the importance of wearing gloved as part of our Infection Control Standard Practises (ICSP or SPs) (Universal Precautions) and the use of hand-gel, but we don’t really do infection control. What are infections? How are they spread?

What can each of us to to STOP the spread of infection in its tracks? What we can do in a practical way to protect ourselves, our families and our clients.

Where are infections being spread in your organisation – they are being spread – but do you KNOW where? Just last week while taking one of my daughters for a blood test at a local hospital I saw a nurse take a hair clip out of her hair, adjust the clip, put it in her mouth, and while holding it there she then proceeded to wash her hands (effectively), then removed the clip from her mouth and put it back in her hair…. why bother to wash her hands in the first place?

 

Creative, stimulating and thought provoking

With each session being only one and a half hours the training had to be punchy and engaging. Practical not theoretical.

That is when it hit me – we needed to simulate a typical day, duty, shift or event and look at the risks of infection and what we can EACH to to control the spread of infections.

 

The scenario “journey”

The session we ran starts with people starting their journey:

• They carry out a cash transaction – it may be buying a snack or travel ticket
• Arriving at the ‘event’ they sign in the log.
• They undertake to treat a patient
• They complete the paperwork
• Easy so far – but this is where the fun begins. After a short talk about infections and contaminations a practical session shows how all of the participants are now contaminated. We explore where they were contaminated from and what else they have contaminated themselves.
• Next we look at hand cleaning – and just how effective our use of hand-gel really is.
• Then we look at hand washing – and each person gets visible feedback about their technique.

Exploring contamination
The final practical session looks at the typical equipment we use and how easily it is to cause contamination and the importance of being aware of factors that are often overlooked.

The final part of the session talks about the chain of infection and how our goal is to break it.

 

We will work with you to create a life like scenario for you and your people – learning is so much more FUN and POWERFUL if it is directly related to your environment.

 

Taking it commercial – or making it available for YOU

Having worked as head of training for a hospital, I realised that this approach would be valued by many organisations as it looks at infection control training from a completely different angle, and is relevant for all – cleaners, food preparation right through to doctors.

With this in mind RapidBI have decided to make the training available to local organisations. If you want to find out more about this short but high impact session please complete the contact form asking for the Infection Control Training.

We offer two Infection Control Training Programmes -

1. A 1-2 hr session with your people, the cost of this is currently just £200 +VAT (for  up to 15 people)
2. A 1/2 day train the trainer, where we will work with one or more of your people, assess your workplace and work with you to design a suitable in-house programme. Supporting you to deliver the training. The cost of this is just £500 +VAT (up to 4 people) or £550 with UV training kit for your staff) Please note this training is only available in the areas listed below – this is for reasons of economics.

If you are interested in this please contact us for train the trainer or in-house infection control training sessions or call 02082300980 for a no commitment discussion.

 

Organisations our Infection Control training is suitable for:
Dental practices, Care Homes, Nursing Homes, Care Workers, Domiciliary Care providers, GP practices, First aiders, Schools, Colleges, playgroups, children’s nursery’s, Food preparation and sales environments etc. and include a Hand Hygiene Validation

 

Infection Control Training and Train the Trainer Our training is available nationally and in the following areas:

London boroughs and towns: Acton, Addington, Ashford, Barnes, Barnet, Battersea, Bayswater, Brent Cross, Brentford, Brook, Green, Camden, Camden Town, Charing Cross, Chelsea, Chessington, Chiswick, Clapham, Covent Garden, Croydon, Crystal Palace, Ealing, Earls Court, Ham, East Sheen, Eastcote, Edgware, Edmonton, Embankment, Enfield, Epsom, Euston, Feltham, Fulham, Green Park, Greenford, Hammersmith, Hampstead, Hampton, Hampton Wick, Hanwell, Harlington, Harmondsworth, Harrow, Hatton Garden, Hayes, Haymarket, Heathrow, Hendon, Heston, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Hyde Park, Hyde Park Corner, Isleworth, Kew, Kingston upon Thames, Kingston Vale, Knightsbridge, Leicester Square, Longford, Middlesex, Morden, Mortlake, Muswell Hil,l New Malden, North Kensington, Northolt, Northwood, Olympia, Osterley, Oxford Circus, Oxford Street, Paddington, Park Lane, Parsons Green, Peckham, Perivale, Piccadilly,
Piccadilly Circus, Pinner, Putney, Ravenscourt Park, Regents Park, Richmond, Richmond-upon-Thames, Roehampton, Ruislip, Sheen,
Shepherds Bush, Shepperton, Slough, Soho, South Kensington, South Ruislip, Southall, Stanmore, Sudbury Hill, Sunbury-on-Thames,
Surbiton, Sutton, Teddington, Twickenham, Uxbridge, Wandsworth, Watford, Wembley, West Brompton, West Drayton, West End, West Hampstead, West Kensington, Westminster, Whitton, Wimbledon.

BERKSHIRE Ascot, Bracknell, Burnham, Colnbrook, Crowthorne, Emmer Green, Eton, Eton Wick, Hungerford, Maidenhead, Newbury Reading,
Sandhurst, Sunningdale, Taplow, Theale, Twyford, Wargrave, Windsor, Winkfield, Winnersh, Wokingham

SURREY Addlestone, Aldershot, Ashford, Bagshot, Camberley, Cheam, Chertsey, Chessington, Chobham, East Molesey, Egham, Esher, Ewell, Farnborough, Farnham, Frimley Green, Frimley, Guildford, Hampton, Hampton Court, Hampton Wick, Oxshott, Reigate, Staines, Virginia Water.

We are prepared to run our trainin in other places but travel and other normal business expences will apply. Please contact us for details.

For Infection control and hand washing/ hygiene train the trainer information

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A General Introduction to Accelerated Learning Techniques

1. Conceptual clarity:

It is seen more often than not the term Accelerated or Brain Friendly Learning Technique is used in a loose manner to mean ‘any learning activity’ that expedites the learning process. While it encompasses within itself an activity of learning, yet it does not convey the true import of the concept whose objective is to teach the whole person in order to impart the core elements to the learners (students) which would empower them to absorb elements of what is being taught in a faster, effortless and consequently an enjoyable manner. The crux of the concept thus can be found in the retention of what is learnt.

“Suggestology’ is the popular name assigned to the concept as following the path breaking work of Dr.Georgi Lozanov [1] to whom the origin of the  theory is credited with. He had applied Accelerated Learning Techniques to teaching of a foreign language to non-native students through methods of relaxation, visual arts, and music. Students were taught vocabulary words ranging any where between one hundred and one thousand with an astonishing success rate of 98%. The objective of this paper is to briefly describe the theoretical foundation and follow it up with various techniques which are prevalent in the field of Brain friendly Learning. Kinesthetic learning, multiple   intelligences, mind mapping thinking skills, suggestopedia (expanded from Suggestology) are some of the other or associated key terms used to describe Alternate Learning.

2. Theoretical Framework:

The Suggestology Theory espoused by Prof.Dr.Georgi LozanovKinaesthetic was systematically developed by his followers who believed that ‘suggestion’ drives the core elements of Accelerated Learning. Researchers and Authors like Prichard et al (1980), Caliendo, (1990), Dhority, (1991) and Berkowitz (1993) all opined that a major responsibility is caste on the teachers to follow it in their teaching. This arose out of their belief   in the ‘Pygmalion effect Metaphor Theory’  of Robert Rosenthal[2] which had established that   their (teachers)  unconsciously generated cues have an impact on the pupils’ feelings about themselves `and their academic performance. In essence the contribution of these theorists to the subject is the establishment of such tenets as ‘the medium is inseparable from the message’, ‘Students do not care what you know until they know what you care’ and an expanded version of ‘Suggestology’. ‘Suggestopedia’ was born incorporating elements of consciousness, emotions, gestures etc.

In combination of what was discussed in the foregoing paragraphs, the techniques of Accelerated Learning were developed on the theory of ‘Perceptual Modality’. In simple terms, it refers to the way human bodies assimilate information. It relates to auditory, visual, and kinesthetic and feels through touch styles. Howard Gardner, 1993), grouped them into seven intelligences:

1. Verbal linguistic, (which arranges words according to meaning and order),
2. Musical (implying sensitive to pitch, melody, rhythm, tone),
3. Mathematically logical (treating it as amenable to reasoning, pattern, and order)
4. Spatial (capable of perceiving the world accurately based on which making attempts to re-create aspects of that world),
5. Bodily kinesthetic (applying nimbleness to the movement of various parts (say hands) of the body in the process of learning)
6. Inter-personal (exhibiting traits of skills while interacting with other) and
7. Intra-personal (implying understanding one’s own emotional life as a means to understand self and others).

3. A general presentation of the Techniques:

Since the objective of this paper is to provide an overview of the techniques that are found to be of great utility in Acclimated Learning, it would be presented in a capsulated form. These techniques point to the conclusion that they increase the rate of learning. While the techniques could be wide ranging, all of them strive to achieve one objective, viz, what is learnt should be learnt in a least painful and most enjoyable manner and should be etched permanently in the memory of the learner enabling instant recall.

(a) Memory hooks:

This technique is based on the principle of bonding two pieces of information expressed in the construction of a sentence through interconnecting a theme with words that follow logically each other. .It may be odd but true for, in order to make the learners to succeed in the improvement of their memory, they have to be tuned to think like idiots. In a British context, considering this may be useful. ‘Persil always washes whiter’. The key theme of this technique is ‘the funnier or more emotional, the better’.

(b) Call it out loud:

It combines three perceptory sensors, viz, visual, aural and body movement. The written material represents the visual, hearing one’s voice the aural and muscular (body control) by using one’s own voice.

(c) Emotional display

It follows the same principles listed above with the only variation by allowing emotion to act as a catalyst.

(d): Break or chunk into different parts:

In this technique, the material is broken into different segments. A simple way is to refer the way the American telephone numbers are arranged. (E.g., 605-811-8666 in which an additional emphasis is made by creating a memory hook for 605).

(e): Tell it through a Story:

Stories play a larger than actually acknowledged place in impacting the learning psyche of the human beings. A vast array of human activities is based on stories. For instance, they form the basis of religions, mythologies, gossips in a variety of conceivable settings, say family gatherings, office work, private conversations etc., when the user himself/herself is included in such stories; the visual component acquires an unprecedented sharpness.

(f) Body Movements:

The memory becomes sticky when the limbs are used in coordination with each other when acting out in the process of learning.

Conclusion:

In a brief paper of this type whose objective is to present the essentials, a choice has to be made between desirability and feasibility. Obviously, the choice is feasibility. Exercising this option, what the paper has done is to highlight the relevance of Accelerated Learning as a replacement to the conventional methods of teaching of ‘chalk and talk’ and its development has been traced to important theories and practical application of it to a few highly relevant techniques.

References:

Berkowitz, E (1993): Dimensions of teacher affect in four accelerated learning language classrooms; An Ethnographic Study, Doctoral Dissertations, University of Houston, Houston, TX

Caliendo, G.L. (1990): A Profile of Six Accelerated Learning Language Teachers of Suggestopedia, (ALTOS) at a selected Language and Cultural Center, Doctoral Dissertation, University of Connecticut

Dhority, L (1991): The Act approach: The artful use of suggestion for Integrative Learning, Berman, Germany PLS Verlag GmbH

Howard Gardner (1993); Frames of Mind: The theory of multiple intelligences (10th anniversary edition), New York Basic Books

Prichard, A & Taylor, J (1980): Accelerated Learning: The Use of Suggestions in the Classroom, Novato, CA, Academic Therapy Publications

Some useful further readings are suggested below:

‘Embracing the Wide Sky” written and published by Daniel Tammet and Hooder and Stoughton respectively provides a general over view of the subject.

‘The Amazing Memory Book’ written and published by Dominic O’Brien and Thunder Bay Press respectively covers the subject in an extensive manner.

‘The mind of a Mnemonist’ is referred  because it is the one which stimulated Oliver Sacks’ writings and whose book ‘The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat’ would not only make an interesting and useful  but also an enjoyable reading.

Website: http://www/ericir.svr.edu is the official website for the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) is one comprehensive site which may cater to the multiple needs of researchers and practitioners.

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[1] Dr. Georgi Loznov, a Bulgarian by birth, a Psychiatrist by qualification and an Educator by design is treated to be father of the concept of accelerated learning.

 

[2] Rosenthal R & Jacobson L. Pygmalion in the classroom: teacher expectation and pupils’ intellectual development. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1968, 240 p. [Harvard Univ., Boston, MA and South San Francisco Unified Sch. District, San Francisco, CA]. According to social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) that this Book has been cited more than 700 times since 1968.

Training Room Layout

Room Layouts suitable for group training

So you are having a training session or meeting – have you considered what layout would be best for you?

Have you ever had a meeting in a room that was in a different configuration from your usual format?

Was the meeting more or less effective than normal?

This guide can be used when you ‘book’ or hire a training or meeting room. Remember to state the layout and the number of participants required.

Importance of effective room layout

Room layout should not just be set by the number of people required, but by the purpose of the event.

Key factors: –Where is the centre of attention –Do people need to interact with each other? –Do you want people in groups without moving people around?

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Lecture Theatre – room layout

Advantages – If room is well designed, excellent visibility

Disadvantages – Poor trainer/ participant contact, Back rows should be elevated, University like

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U Shape – room layout

Advantages – Business Like, Trainer can walk into U

Disadvantages – Formal, Front participants having to look at an angle

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Seminar/ Amphitheatre – room layout

Advantages and disadvantages as Lecture theatre

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Herring Bone – room layout

Advantages – Space effective for large numbers, All participants are at a good angle to the front, Trainer can walk down spine

Disadvantages – Several participants hidden by others, Reminiscent of school, Encourages dysfunctioning groups, Relatively poor contact

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BoardRoom – room layout

Advantages - Good for small groups, can see/ interact with others, can share resources, creates equality

Disadvantages – Difficult for some to ‘see the front’,

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Circle or ’round’ room layout

Advantages - Creates Equality, Good for small groups, can see/ interact with others, can share resources

Disadvantages – Formal, participants having to look at an angle

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Cabaret, Gala or Bistro – room layout

or

Advantages – Good for larger numbers, Good for group work, Encourages mixing, Trainer can circulate

Disadvantages – Some participants will have poor visibility, May encourage lack of attention, Needs multimadia (PA & mic for best effect)

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Summary

When you run your meeting or training event, its not just room layout that is important, its about matching the room layout with the trainers style, the material to be covered and the required outcomes. The room shape and design can make or break an event.

Why blog? Is it a Marketing tool?

Why blog?

For some time I have been promoting Twitter as a good thing for people running small businesses to do, but recently I have been asked “why blog” and what is the value to small businesses and freelance consultants and trainers.

I guess that because I have been doing this for some time that I overlooked the basics. This article is the first is a short series to show why and how to blog for business.

People and business blog for a wide range of reasons including:

• Providing a “space to think”, plan & reflect
• To read their own thoughts
• A place to experiment with technology and ideas
• A place to collaborate
• An element of danger
• To show what you know
• To help others

Indeed people blog for different reasons at a personal level. For business there are different reasons including:

• Being seen as knowledgeable/ the expert
• Providing  regular & updated content for your web site
• Customer relations
• Knowledge management
• Search engine placement (SEO – Search Engine Optimisation)

Blogs in many ways are no different from other communication channels, they all have their strengths and weaknesses, and however the key difference with blogs is speed and cost.

What is the value of a blog?

When you build a website, many people think that if you build it, they will come. Unfortunately this is not true. Like having a brochure printed that action itself is pointless without distributing it to people that want to read it. Website are exactly the same. People need to know it exists and what it provides – and that goes for the search engines too!

On the web there are literally millions of sites and unless people know the exact address it is unlikely that it will be found by anything but a few isolated individuals.

A blog is a tool that as a by-product can help you get found. Search engines line fresh and regularly changed information, and while you do not want to change the copy on your site every week, having an article or piece of information to add value and provide the search engines with the “new stuff” is a win/win solution.

By writing quality content (600-1500 words) that is both informative and useful other blogs will link back to you – raising your ‘value’ to the search engines and at the same time increasing the audience for your content

When an individual is looking for an answer to a question or for some information and find your content of value, the chance are they will remember your site and come back – then when the time is right buy your product or service.

Business websites are often cold and inhuman – a blog can add the human face. Good content from a person builds trust, this can lead to sales, or referrals from people that found your content of value.

The best bit – cost

Unlike many other marketing and customer based strategies, blogging or at least providing it is low or no cost… free! Blogging does require skill, dedication and commitment, along with a little bit of forward planning.

Blogging should be done by you the practitioner – not your web team, software developer or PR company!

Summary

• A space for new content
• “show you know”
• Add value to current and potential customers
• Tell the web you exist
• Are low cost or free to set up and run

Coming soon – what to blog – and where to blog

Twitter as a marketing & CRM tool

Twitter: your CRM & marketing channel

Its about more than just followers…

Over the past 12 months in my twitter contributions I have often included tips to help those involved in using twitter for their business (marketing). I often get requests to publish a full set – so here is a list of my current thinking about using twitter as a tool for building relationships for future business. In no particular order (other than alphabetical)…

1. Add value – share interesting or useful info, blogs etc
2. Add good description & link for something that would be too short in a post
3. ALWAYS keep it clean & professional
4. ALWAYS professional NEVER personal unless it is praise or thanks 
5. As far as getting followers goes; I find just being friendly and helpful does wonders. And of course shared interests help to.
6. Be honest. Have fun. Don’t try to sell anything.
7. Big followers – does not mean many listeners – the RTs tell that story
8. Change your BIO regularly
9. Change your twitter habits – make sure you don’t include links in most of your tweets, some tools treat this as spam & unfollow
10. contribute positively to conversations going on inside twitter
11. Don’t follow more people than you can handle. If you’ve got too much going on, you miss a lot of the good stuff.
12. Don’t expect Twitter to deliver revenue alone, it is only ONE element of the strategy
13. Efficient is the key to Twitter. short & sweet. Basically, get right to the point.
14. Even an attentive follower won’t read all your messages
15. Follow people who are in your field or area of interest
16. Follow the advice of people that have demonstrated competence – not think they know how to…
17. Frequent Twitter updates demand desktop or server side clients
18. funny, informative and catchy: choose two.
19. Getting followers is not a right its a privilege
20. Give – don’t take
21. Have an avatar (picture) of your face or company logo
22. Help promote the dreams of other people, and they may return the favour
23. If someone RT re-Tweets a message – send them a thank you
24. If you are going to auto DM only send a welcome message
25. If you post info of any kind, leave plenty of room for retweeting
26. In marketing messages use appropriate keywords
27. Interact and communicate with others, it’s a social media tool, so be social
28. Its not the number of followers but the number of Re-Tweets you get
29. Join the conversation, there are too many blog promoters on twitter who just broadcast. Learn @ and start networking
30. Keep it short
31. Keep your Twitter updated and the followers will come. Stay up-to-date and you will reap the benefits.
32. Learn what people care about
33. Limit what you automate
34. Look beyond the obvious (traffic, sales etc.) Add value. Build relationships. Think LONG term.
35. Make sure your BIO is up to date and human
36. Make use of other Twitter tools to make the most of Twitter (and so it doesn’t suck up all your time)
37. NEVER DM a request to follow you on another social networking site ie FaceBook
38. NEVER DM or tweet a MLM program
39. NEVER DM or tweet a traffic follower program
40. NEVER sign up to any of the Twitter ad services-it undermines your position
41. NEVER tweet when drunk, angry or think you have just won the lottery!
42. NEVER tweet cat or baby anecdotes!
43. Occasionally ask people to RT a post, if you ask every time they wont
44. Only @ people you know – & only with a link if invited, otherwise its SPAM!
45. Only promote your services less than once every 10-20 tweets
46. ONLY use a DM for personal messages or if you must to welcome a follower
47. Open up a bit.ly account for short URLs
48. Please report (@spam) unfollow & Block Twitter Spammers
49. Remember what you tweet is around for ever!
50. Rerunning tweets occasionally is a good idea
51. Respect the people you follow. Be interesting. Listen first, tweet second. Never waste words
52. Set your wallpaper to promote your message
53. Share interesting resources, not just what you ate for lunch. Twitter often, and use it to test potential blog topics.
54. Share links, share ideas, ask questions, answer questions anything but what are you doing? unless it’s really interesting
55. Share links. share insights and trends, things that are new or timely/current. Be personal. Don’t link only to yourself
56. Share thoughts and links from others (RT)
57. Share thoughts more than actions: Identi.ca will kill Twitter vs. I’m going to the toilet
58. Stop thinking that twitter is pointless and just try it. It’s all about community reach out and be a part of it
59. Thank people who re-tweet you. Either DM, @ reply, or re-tweet something of theirs
60. Think before you hit send. 140 characters have the power to help, heal or be miss-understood
61. This often goes unsaid, but I would suggest not having twitter open while writing. It can become very distracting
62. This was my problem at first, I just lurked. Get active and follow others. Great tool for tossing around ideas.
63. Treat followers with respect & courtesy & every now & then thank them
64. Tweet real stuff – highs and lows
65. Tweet regularly – at least 4 times a day
66. Tweet to show you are human
67. Tweet to show you are more than a marketing machine
68. Tweet what you read on others blogs
69. Twitter about stuff that has to do with your blog, but also Twitter stuff that has nothing to do with your blog
70. Twitter is not an IM service-keep private discussions short
71. Use a # in front of #keywords
72. Use an username as short as possible so you can twit more
73. Use favourites to save and show brand/product testimonials
74. Use travel time to tweet & read tweets on smartphones
75. Use twitpic or other photo services occasionally
76. Use Twitter to meet up with your new contacts
77. Use twitterfeed. Instant feedback from readers is the best part of Twitter. Listen to others; engage them; have a conversation
78. Want more followers? Re-tweet the good stuff you find
79. When you have over 100 friends use tweetdeck or Seesmic to help you to manage
80. Work on building a relationship-not pushing message to people
81. Write each word like it matters, because it does
82. You don’t have to follow everyone, only those of interest

Remember Twitter is not a silver bullet – or the universal hammer, it is but one tool in our communication toolbox. Done well and Twitter can be a key part of your communication strategy – do it wrong and it can undermine all of your marketing and brand development activity.

Twitter is not just for marketing – it is for learning, so make sure that you learn from others and they can learn from you. For twitter to work as a training, learning or CRM tool, people need to trust you and what you put out. As a big brand it can me all about me-me-me, however as a small business, we must be part of a community, we must respect others share the ideas of others and re-tweet their messages and blogs. Its about collaboration and win/ win. Those that only tweet their own messages will soon lose readership.

Readership is not just about followers – its the people that read and act on your messages.

From my experience I have people I am not connected to RT my messages and blog entries, so they must read the streams or use the search rather than just follow. Indeed once someone has over 200 followers, especially if they are active contributers to the twitter stream, it will be impossible to look at what they put out – so we must make it interesting and engaging that they keep looking at our material.

What are you favourite tips – share them below

Train the trainer course – what to look for?

17 things to looks for in a Train the Trainer course…

Search the web for a train the trainer course and you are provided with a long list of websites which all appear to meet your needs – but do they? What is a train the trainer course? are they all the same and will they meet your needs?

What is Train the Trainer?

Lets first look at what a trainer is. Today in 2010 a trainer is a little different from those 10-20 years ago, indeed even the language has changed.

There are in essence 4 types of ‘trainer’ :

1. The full time ‘all skills’ trainer within a company or organisation
2. The part time trainer who has another role – often a “Subject Matter Expert” (SME) or “Subject matter Resource” (SMR)
3. The “training Officer” or “Learning and Development Adviser” a person that supports training (learning & development) in an organisation
4. The “Training Manager” or “Learning and Development Manager” who manages the function and provides strategic input and advice to the organisation.

(note in many organisations a wide range of terms is used, and indeed in the last 5-10 years the term “training” has been dropped in favour of “learning and Development” as a sign of the focus shifting from the organisation driving the requirements to the individual taking increased responsibility. In reality that does not often happen but that is the subject of another article!)

For each of these “trainer” roles different training and skills are required.

For the first two groups, a short course in design and delivery is often all that is required. The “Training officer” role requires a more rounded  skills set beyond basic analysis and delivery. And finally the manager has considerably different needs.

Just to add some confusion there is a new type of “trainer” and this one is called the “Instructional Designer”. This is a skill which has always been required in those that deliver training, however increasingly organisations are using e-learning and this is where a resource is needed that understand the basics of learning psychology to be able top construct the content for a technical specialist to fully configure.

Which of these 5 are you looking to develop? Knowing this can save a lot of unnecessary expense and save a lot of time.

What skills are needed in a trainer?

The ability to look at a task, break it down into manageable chunks and then design a range of ways of being able to communicate and test that knowledge and ability in others.

As the person physically delivering “face to face” a wide range of skills is required from rapport building, asking questions and interesting and engaging delivery.

The skills needed to run training day after day are different from running occasional sessions. In addition if your ‘experts’ are running training for clients it needs not only to be factually accurate, but it needs to engage people so that they listen and learn. There is nothing worse than have an expert in-front of you, doing their thing and you are bored out of your skill as they have the communication skills of a walnut.

If the course/ session is only 1 Hr long we can all suffer poor style (but we shouldn’t) – longer than that and style is just as important as content.

So once you have decided on the content you need then you need to find a provider:

What to look for in a short Train the trainer course:

1. A small number of participants (less numbers = more interaction)
2. Between 3 & 5 days ( anything less and experience cannot be built)
3. Provides participants the chance to practice at least 4 times
4. Includes an assessment of performance which is undertaken at the end (and that some people do not pass!)
5. Uses accelerated learning or “brain friendly” techniques (i.e. takes account of weel researched learning psychology)
6. Flexibility in delivery approach (we don’t want ‘robot’ trainers)
7. Something that can be built on if and when the role develops
8. Included one to one skills training and group work
9. What is included in the price e.g. manuals, web material, certification costs, ongoing costs?
10. Provides support beyond the training event for free (reasonable support)
11. Check that the trainers are aware of different learners needs (learning styles, pace etc) and that the course accommodates these
12. Are they able to provide testimonials from previous participants?
13. Is the course accredited by relevant bodies (if relevant)
14. Check that the trainer is themselves qualified
15. That the trainer undertakes continued development
16. That the course does not include any debunked theories ( eg Myths/ miss-quotes: Mehrabian, Yale/ Harvard goal setting, “Learning Pyramid”, only use 10% of our brain, practice makes perfect, left brain/ right brain)
17. Have a money back guarantee (if a public programme)

In the UK there are a large number of “train the Trainer” courses including:

CTP (Certificate in Training Practice – from various suppliers with varying content and accreditation including the CIPD) TMPA, TAP, ELF PTTLS and many others. In a series to follow in 2010 we will explore some of these courses in more detail.

CIPD qualifications for Learning & Development (New – CDP)

New CIPD qualifications for Learning and Development

Late in 2009 the CIPD have announced some new qualifications that will supersede the CTP, Certificate in Training Practice. There will be two new qualifications for this market – a level 3 and a level 5 programme.

There are not much in the way of details at the time of writing this however the information given below is provided in good faith and as-is.

The announcement of these two programmes is a first for the CIPD, in that for the first time their qualifications are mapped  to the national framework model for professional qualifications. This opens a path for more focussed qualifications linked to the CIPD and the HR/ OD function.

 New Level 3 qualification – certificate in learning & development Practice (CLDP or CDP)

These programme are aimes at practitioners, those involved in the design and delivery of learning solutions

New CIPD Certificate in Learning and Development Practice – CLDP or CDP  (26 credit points)
Unit title (table 2)	Credit value	Designation
Developing yourself as an effective learning and development (L&D) professional	2	Core
Understanding L&D and the organisational context	3	Core
Recording, analysing and using L&D information	3	Core
Delivering learning and development activities	6	Core
Table 3	14 credits
Undertaking a learning needs analysis	3	Option
Preparing and designing learning and development activities	3	Option
Evaluating learning and development activities	3	Option
Developing your coaching skills for the workplace	3	Option
Developing your mentoring skills for the workplace	3	Option
One or two units from the Certificate in HR Practice (see table 2) (maximum of 6 credits only)	6 or 3	Option
	12 credits
Note:
1. Certificate in L&D Practice (26 credits) Learners will be required to take the core units (total of 14 credit points) and may choose units from the options listed in table 3 (and some from table 2) up to a value of 12 credit points in total. This allows considerable flexibility e.g. 2 x 6 credit units; 4 x 3 credit units; 1 x 6 credit units plus 2 x 3 credit units. Students enrolled on the Certificate in L&D Practice must take units totalling a minimum of 6 credits from the L&D list in table 3.
2. Diploma in L&D Practice (38 credits) Learners seeking a Diploma in L&D Practice will be required to take the same core as the certificate and a minimum of four L&D units from table 3, plus units from table 2 to achieve an overall total of 24 credits for the options.

Level 5 programme: new CIPD Certificate in Learning and Development Management CLDM or DLDM or Diploma in Human Resource Development (DHRD)

 This programme is at an intermediate level, and suited to managers of Learning & Development functions.

Table 2 ROC for New CIPD Certificate in Learning and Development Management (26 credit points)
Unit title (working titles and subject to change)	Credit value	Designation
Developing yourself as an effective practitioner	2	Core
Analysing the organisational context and the role of L&D	3	Core
Managing and co-ordinating the L&D function	3	Core
Improving practice in learning and development	6	Core
Table 3	14 credits
Developing, piloting and evaluating learning and development initiatives	6	Option
Facilitating organisational learning and development activities	6	Option
Meeting organisational L&D needs through blended learning	6	Option
Evaluating learning and development within an organisation	3	Option
Working with third party suppliers to deliver organisational learning	3	Option
Developing coaching and mentoring within organisations:	3	Option
One or two units from the Certificate in Managing Human Resources -maximum of 6 credits only	6 credits maximum	Option
	12 credits
Note:
1. Certificate in HR Development (26 credits) Learners will be required to take the core units (total of 14 credit points) and may choose units from the options listed in table 3 (and some from table 2) up to a value of 12 credit points in total. This allows considerable flexibility e.g. 2 x 6 credit units; 4 x 3 credit units; 1 x 6 credit units plus 2 x 3 credit units. Students enrolled on the Certificate in HRD must take units totalling a minimum of 6 credits from the HRD list in table 3.
2. Diploma in HR Development (38 credits) Learners seeking a Diploma in HRD will be required to take the same core as the certificate and a minimum of four HRD units from table 3, plus units from table 2 to achieve an overall total of 24 credits for the options.

There appears to be some discrepancy in the documentation available as to the title of this course. I hope that they include the term “management” as this will enable providers and purchasers to apply for public funding where available. Table 1 contains the HRM content and is not reproduced here.

As soon as more information is available on these new qualifications from the CIPD I’ll let you know.

The data in the table is (c) the CIPD

Technology based learning – does it work (e-learning)?

Using Technology based platforms to support learning – does it work? 

Increasingly the use of technology to support or in some cases to deliver learning is on the increase.

While reading a post on one of the forums this morning I came across a debate about the willingness for “trainers” to adopt technology to support or deliver learning.

The author of the piece (Martin Addison from VideoArts) cited the following:

Trainers don’t have the stomach for more preparation

Here, the allegation is that trainers have, over time, developed programmes that have been proven as effective and, with some tweaking, they can re-use these time after time – and adding technology to the mix would mean they’d have to start over. I think it is grossly unfair to suggest that trainers are not adopting technology because it would involve too much work. The vast majority of trainers work hard to fully prepare their programmes and to tailor their provision to the needs of their audience, so this accusation doesn’t hold water. It’s ‘survival of the fittest’ out there and there’s simply no room in the market for trainers who are unprofessional or ineffective.

Trainers have had their fingers burned before

Here, the allegation is that trainers are sceptical of the merits of technological innovations because they’ve seen – or may have invested in – other promising technologies that did not live up to expectations. This is an understandable human reaction. In the last recession, for example, e-learning was heralded as a panacea that would provide the blueprint for future learning. We were told no one would ever train in a classroom again. Of course, such predictions proved false. But few trainers have completely turned their backs on e-learning as a result. Many agree that today’s e-learning courses are a vastly different proposition. In other words, e-learning has been forgiven. This time around, it’s proving a worthy addition to the training mix.

Trainers are worried about the reliability of the technology

Here, the allegation is that trainers don’t want to be vulnerable to perceived threats such as an unstable internet connection or a crashing computer. I fully understand that a trainer may be reluctant to test out a new approach because they feel their job is on the line and they’re not willing to take a chance on something that might not work. However today’s computers and broadband connections are a lot more dependable. Technology has also created alternative options. For example, rather than streaming video via an internet connection, you can download it direct to your laptop, negating the need for you to rely on an internet connection at all.

Replies included:

• Cost
• Reliability, time to prepare
• Perceived value

Certainly these are all valid reasons for carefully considering the vehicle to be used – but there is a bigger issue, one which the Learning and development world has skirted around for some time…. As an industry we have been drawn to the “shiny new..” thing or fad (fad surfing), or often change for change sake, but this misses the real point.

My thoughts:

There are a lot of good logical, cognitive and economic reasons that have been given. I for one love technology, but it does have a time and place.

Some years ago I attended a conference on E-learning where Professor Heinz Wolff presented, he raised some interesting points that many of us forget…

1. Humans learn by one or 2 ways – trial & error of copying – well we don’t have time in business for trial and error so…
2. While we understand HOW the human brain works more, decade by decade, it has hardly evolved in the last 40,000 years or so
3. What makes Humans different from other animals is our pose-able thumb, and the association we have when building learning – we use a mix of cognitive and ‘muscle memory’. Where is the muscle memory element in most (current) e-learning?
4. We are a social & emotional species, we remember more when a memory is emotionally ‘hooked’

Take these things into account and it is no wonder that many people struggle to learn via e-learning – as designers we can include interaction, but we often miss out on the emotional elements. There is little or nothing we can do as far as muscle memory goes, as for most systems the input mechanism is fixed (keyboard & mouse) and these moves are identical for all interactions with the technology.

Sure in groups (face to face or online) we can discuss an experience we share – and this may well include DVD or Youtube productions, this meets the social and potentially the emotional elements, but still misses out on the muscle memory or kinaesthetic factors.

The challenge therefore is to correctly blend the appropriate technologies based on the form of learning required – there is no magic single solution. Sure technology will make it easier, but along with that comes the challenge of learning professionals to adapt the technology for pragmatic solutions

Before Training Needs Analysis (TNA) – Task analysis

Small steps to training needs analysis

A “job task analysis” is widely recognised as the foundation of successful training. Before managers can train their employees, they must decide what the individuals need to be able to do.A task analysis breaks down a complex task into its components—that is, its “knowledge that”, ”knowledge what” and its “knowledge how”.

Before conducting any training needs analysis we need to understand the task we are asking the individual(s) to do. Often if we ‘identify needs’ we make assumptions about what is needed and as a result training just misses the spot. How do we know? – simple we need to retrain shortly afterwards. If we got it right first time then performance would improve and re-training would not be necessary.

A task analysis is the process to explore the required job or task in detail – step-by-step. One reason why many do not do this is that it is to some tedious and boring – and they are right. But it does make the difference between an effective training solution and an ineffective one.

Why do a task analysis?

“Task analysis for training design is a process of analysing the kind of skills and knowledge that you expect the learners to know how to perform” (Jonassen, Tessmer & Hannum, 1999, p.3).

A task analysis can help us to:

1. Determine the learning goals and objectives;
2. Define and describe in detail the tasks and sub-tasks that the employee will perform;
3. Specify the knowledge type (declarative, structural, and procedural knowledge) that characterise a job or task;
4. Select learning outcomes that are appropriate for training;
5. Prioritise and sequence tasks;
6. Determine learning activities and strategies that foster the required development;
7. Select appropriate media and learning environments;
8. Construct performance assessments and evaluation (Jonassen et al., 1999).

Tools and processes for task analysis

There are many available, we have shortlisted a few for your consideration:

Procedural analysis

Learning goals that are procedures are the easiest goals upon which to conduct an instructional analysis. Generally, application of procedures involves these steps:

1. Determine whether a particular procedure is applicable.
2. Recall the steps of the procedure.
3. Apply the steps in order, with decision steps if required.
4. Confirm that the end result is reasonable.

(From Smith & Ragan, 1999)

Hierarchical analysis

The starting point for constructing a hierarchy is a comprehensive list of the tasks that make up a job or function. There are three major steps to constructing a hierarchy:

1. Cluster or group the tasks. For inclusion in a group, select tasks that bear close resemblance to each other. Each task must be included in at least one of the groups, but a task may also be common to several groups. Label the groups with terms that emerge from the job or function being analysed. Initial clustering or grouping of tasks may be tentative. The composition of the groups may change as a result of decisions you make later on. Do not hesitate to regroup tasks when it seems appropriate.
2. Organise tasks within each group to show the hierarchical relationships for learning. Ask yourself “What would the learner have to learn in order to do this task?” Once the essential prerequisite relationships are shown, reevaluate the relationship between each pair of tasks with the question “Can this superordinate task be performed if the learner cannot perform this subordinate task?” The lower level skill must be integrally related to the higher-level skill. The learning types of the tasks should match horizontally.
3. Confer with a subject matter expert (SME) to determine the hierarchy’s accuracy. This step occurs concurrently with Steps 1 and 2.

(Seels & Glasgow, 1990)

Step-by-Step – a template

A task analysis is just what is says – a step by step review of the individual pieces of work to be undertaken, what skills are required and what knowledge.

Step	Task	Skill:	Knowledge
Number	What is the step/ task to be done?	What skills are required to complete this element?	What knowledge is required to complete this step effectively?
1
2
3
4
5
6
…n

A task analysis can be a thankless and boring activity, however, when done can mean the difference between effective and ineffective training.

 

Some references that may be of value:

Shepherd, A. (1985) Hierarchical task analysis and training decisions. Programmed Learning and Educational Technology

Nielsen, J (1994) Extending Task Analysis to Predict Things People May Want to Do