THE TRAINING ‘HORSE’ COMES FIRST

October 14, 2013

Far too often, trainers “put the cart before the horse.”

By that I mean they, mistakenly, jump into a new training initiative without, first, determining the skills gaps that may — or, may not — exist between the trainees and the objectives to-be-taught by the new learning initiative.

And, that’s the wrong way to go!

Money and time will be squandered if you don’t first measure skills gaps.

For example, some people will be wasting time participating in your new training offering because they already know the material. Others will fail to learn the new material if they are presented with reading-based materials when they can only assimilate at a 4th grade reading level (and that group is nearly 40% of your workforce).

On the other hand, those organizations that desire to get the most out of their training programs will routinely begin with an on-line Skills Assessment. The major reasons to begin with a thorough Skills Assessment are:

  • An awareness of the shortcomings of traditional methods necessary to keep up with rapid change and the global marketplace.
  • The need for a proven approach to upgrade skills within budget and just in time — in order to achieve business success.
  • The need to use a targeted approach to provide the right training, to the right learner, at the right time – and, in the right modality.

The attributes you should require when selecting an on-line Skills Assessment are:

  •  That it is an integrated system designed to analyze, develop and assess facility training needs and will assign the right type of instruction to a specific task.
  • That it provides the means to determine the right training for the right worker at the right time, using the right method.
  • That it is scalable and customizable in order to address specific needs.
  • That it is designed to enable organized learning within a specified period of time in order to enhance the development of all workers.

An on-line Skills Assessment can optimize human performance as a key asset by aligning business strategy with the human performance side while, simultaneously, achieving the desired business goals and priorities. It will enhance the role of training in order to make it essential to enhancing human performance — while, at the same time, utilizing proven methods, tools and techniques in order to drive the desired organizational goals. All this is accomplished by assessing the right type of instruction resulting from the valid assessment of facility training needs and assigning the right type of instruction to specific tasks.

The more knowledgeable trainers will routinely begin with a thorough Skills Assessment. And, that should always be your starting point.

If you don’t and, instead, leap right in with your new training initiative you will, for sure, be wasting your organization’s money as well as the time of most of your trainees.

More on Wednesday – – –

— Bill Walton, Founder
ITC Learning

www.itclearning.com/blog/ (Mondays & Wednesdays)
e-Mail: bwalton@itclearning.com

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