Ensure a Return On Training (ROT)

If there is one thing for certain that successful business people and organizations understand, it is the need for a good Return On Investment (ROI). They are looking for time well spent or, to make sure they receive real value for the money they spend. (After-all time is money). Productivity will always be the name of the game. Minimize the input, maximize the output.

I'm sensing that business is gaining momentum based on the number of inquiries I've had lately about our train-the-trainer programs. Training, and retraining your workforce, will play a major role in the overall success of your organization moving forward. The Baby Boomer Generation are retiring leaving a "skill deficit" that companies will have to fill. Bringing some of that training in-house, facilitated by your own HR Staff is one way to ensure a Return On Training dollars spent (ROT). Here is what I think a good train-the-trainer program should include and who in your organization would make the best candidate to become your in-house trainer.

Who would make the best trainer? All good training programs begin and end with the person who is going to facilitate the workshop. Would the most technically competent or, most senior worker make the best trainer? The quick answer is NO! Pick someone in your organization who is a "people person" first and foremost. People can learn the technical stuff easier than they can learn how to build rapport, develop relationships and gain the respect amongst workers. Daniel Goleman said it best in his book Working With Emotional Intelligence: "Your success is no longer dependant on your technical abilities alone. It's your emotional intelligence that will ultimately determine your overall success."

When you think of what skills are needed to be a good trainer think about what skills are needed to be a good coach. The ability to communicate and educate are absolutes. (Good trainers are good listeners; they have patience, they genuinely like being around people, they are open and receptive and value others input.)

What would a good train-the-trainer program include? "Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn" Benjamin Franklin must have had a good trainer in mind when he said those words. The programs need to be interactive. Trainers need to understand how adults like to learn. A good trainer isn't someone who stands at the front of the room and just talks. A good trainer is someone who listens more than talks, asks questions more than answers them and gets everyone involved, hands-on and interactive.

You aren't born a good trainer but you can learn to be one. Good train-the-trainer programs teach trainers how to listen, how to use interactive hooks, insure audience participation, how to set up the room, how to include a call to action, how to control the participants without stifling creativity and most importantly how to ensure that the transfer of knowledge has taken place.

How do I pick what programs to deliver in-house? To answer that question use Pareto's 80/20 Rule. Of all the off-the-shelf training programs available on the market today, which programs would give you your best return on your training dollars? What kinds of workshops would everyone in your organization benefit from?

Communication, Time Management, Coping with Stress, Diversity, Team Building, Conflict Resolution, etc. are all good candidates to teach in-house. Pick subjects that have universal appeal. Choose the top 20% of the programs that will get you 80% of the return. Special skills training programs like Project Management, Behavioural Interviewing & Human Resource Selection and most Management Development Programs may be best left up to outside training firms to deliver. This way you'll ensure a Return On Training.

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