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Knee Deep in the Mud: Golden Advice from Veteran Trainers

Photo credit: underutilized, published under CC

Some time ago I was privileged to attend an online discussion among veteran trainers who were exchanging advice on the profession and business of training.

Here, I want to share the most important conclusions with you. I hope you learn something, but more importantly, put the advice to work for you.

Professional Development

Pam van Engelshoven has this to say, in answer to the question What helped you in becoming a trainer?

I had no idea that I was going to be a trainer, but like Adrian I had the habit of studying trainers when I was in a course or workshop. I definitively had my preferences especially concerning attitude, and that is exactly what I am offering the participants in my trainings now, I saw what “belonged” to me! Furthermore when I started I was lucky to work for an organization that invested in their regular free lancers (NACSI), and this generosity – from both sides since then – is one of the important ingredients of a long term and successful combination.

Robert Blaga adds this:

“Spend time as a learner” – I find this to be a very good practice. Each year I take time to attend at least 3 sessions (last year I had 4). I also like you asking people what they’d have done differently. It shows you care about your clients and your work.

Growing Your Business

Whether you’re a freelancer or a the owner of a training business, you face the same questions: what can I do for my customers’ organization and how do I grow my own business?

Daryl has 3 inspiring and easily remembered rules:

There are only 3 ways to grow your impact or your business:

1. Help more people
2. Help people more
3. Help people more often

To do this successfully you must help people with what they want help with, not just what you think they should want help with, and never forget that you can only continue to help if you help with what the guy writing the check wants help with first.

Photo credit: Ståle Grut, published under CC

Brian Carroll:

1. Thorough understanding of the strategic plan for the business
2. Understanding the capabilities needed by the business to deliver strategic objectives
3. Ability to gain stakeholder support and resourcing for training and development initiatives that will address capability gaps
4. (I know) Ability to demonstrate ROI to the business to retain stakeholder support

Successfully Managing A Training & Development Department

In the role of a corporate training manager, you’ve got different responsibilities. How do you deal with them?

Craig Watkinson:

• Understand the impact of the training that you are responsible for.
• Have a team of well respected and capable SME’s for your content and delivery.
• GET FULL MANGEMENT BUY IN for all you do!

Not in any order.

Faezeh Firouzabadi sums it up nicely:

Planning and program development is an important part of the training manager’s job.
Since training offers a way of developing skills, enhancing productivity and quality of work. Therefore, training managers have to:

• identify the training needs of an organization to determine how to modify or improve existing programs and what new training programs would assist the organization in maximizing its use of information technology.
• come up with individualized training plans to strengthen an employee’s existing skills or teach new ones.
• determine the effectiveness of training programs and other instructors’ performance

As a training manager, you also need to be up to date on the latest instructional methods, materials and training techniques.

Photo credit: Jason Ortego, published under CC

Laura says:

Learn how to push back and insist on evaluation of a performance problem before just allowing others to throw training at every issue.

Kate Cobb concludes the discussion:

It’s great to see so many ideas. I have to agree with Brian and others who stressed the strategic responsibility. In my experience this is where most training managers get stuck – they may have very popular programmes running but if they’re not tied in to overall business objectives, then how useful are these programmes?

Training managers often say that no-one listens to them so how can they get heard at the ‘top table’?

Laura hit the nail on the head for me!

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