One of the most common arguments at a workplace is, “didn’t I train you on this software last December?” The ones who say this don’t realize a couple of things:
- December was ten months ago, and the world has gone through a massive change.
- Mere training is never enough to make things stick.
While most folks won’t care about the first point (because they’ve been affected by the change just as well), bringing up the second point is like declaring a war. Egos get hurt. Bridges get burned. And you still don’t know how to use that damned software.
The solution? Have a more hands-on approach to learning and development, particularly when you’re in charge of delivering a training program. (And if that’s just a couple of sessions, shame on you for calling it training!) You’ve got to be a little more hands-on to ensure training effectiveness.
Now that could mean conducting a couple of group coaching sessions to discuss challenges during implementation or making the software work. Yes, it’s additional work, but you’ll be surprised when you take the leadership to coach people. The challenges come up like ants coming out of their farms!
Solving those problems is what makes any training effective. You’ve got to coach them to glory instead of bringing them down when they fail to perform.