“We live in a world where China wants your lunch, and India wants your dinner. This century belongs to Asia, and if we’re going to trade our way out of this economic malaise, we can’t rely on price to do it.

 There are four words companies need to compete: Quality, Value-add, Innovation, and Brand. By innovation, I don’t mean invention; it might be taking an idea to market like ‘how do you check people in at a hotel’. By brand, I mean building a reputation in your sector for doing things like training your people better every day.

 Everything comes back to these four words, but you can’t crack it unless you’ve got skilled people.” And he finishes by saying “skill our people and beat the world.”

 Well said, Lord Jones, well said.

Kieran Bird

 When I ask myself what it is that has had the most positive effect in my career, both in terms of career progression and in terms of enjoyment, that answer is easy. Its reading. Its ongoing learning. Not only have I learned to become a better salesman and marketer, but I have enjoyed it. Reading keeps fresh ideas in my head, and keeps me motivated. It keeps me ENJOYING my job!

 Lots of people say to me “I don’t have time to read. I just never sit down”. Oh really? You never sit down? Well, sorry to be a bit crude, but everyone sits down on an oval seat every day. Read just a couple of pages a day (wherever you are sitting!) to keep getting better at your job. And to keep enjoying it.

What do you read to keep you stimulated?

Kieran Bird

Kieran Bird

Most courses conclude with the delegates asked to evaluate the training (the happy form) at the end of the session. Research has shown that most evaluation forms (the happy…) are rated fairly highly. This is of course understandable, as at the end of almost every training session that people are exposed to there is a feel good factor, unfortunately this is not an indicator of the success of that training.

I am passionate about good training and to me good or excellent training is dependant on the results achieved when the training is concluded. It is not really important what happens in the training room but very important what happens after.

Surely in order for this to be evaluated with some semblance of accuracy it is vital that clear objectives, performance and behavioural change are identified prior to the training being prepared or the programme delivered. In other words,

What results do we want to achieve from the training?

So let’s start at the end results first.

If you know where you want to be it really is not too difficult in getting there. The more specific and quantifiable the outcome the easier it will be to prepare and deliver the programme, and bespoke it should and must be. I also believe that the people who deliver the training should be experienced in practice on the subject matter. There is of course a role for the theoretician, but if you want improved performance and results, go for the practitioner. To use the vernacular the trainer should have worn the T-shirt and even better it should have been shredded.

My firm belief in evaluating the training is all very well and gratifying for the trainer, but it is of very little importance. Let’s concentrate on evaluating the results of the training. I have been asked many times by HR and other senior executives to give an opinion or evaluate an individual on a training course. I have great reluctance in doing this. A person who may be an excellent participant may not necessarily be the individual who shows the desired improvement, whereas another individual may be very quiet and appear not to participate but can show dramatic improvements when the course is completed. They have put into practice what they have learned and you cannot expect much more than that.

For those of you who are tasked with hiring a training provider to run a course, or courses or programme, here is just a common sense check list.

1. What practical experience does the trainer have on the subject?

2. Will this be a bespoke programme or off the shelf?

3. Are the trainers experienced in changing attitudes as well as teaching the skills?

4. Have you clearly identified the results and expectations that the training must deliver?

5. Will your provider give a firm money back guarantee if the results are not achieved? You should have no risk.

Let me just remind you, one of the best investments your organisations can ever make is investing in your people.

• Do you want them to call you to discuss something?
• Do you want to arrange an informal meeting to discuss a new project?

Whatever the desired result, keep the goal in focus and ensure the text makes the required response absolutely clear.

The golden rule:

Do not write to be understood – write so you can’t be misunderstood.

If there is any uncertainty or confusion in your written communication, you can count on it being read negatively. Make sure your letters get read as soon as they are opened by keeping them short.

For professional letters that get results, expect that the person you are writing to will be busy. Show them respect by keeping your letter short and straight to the point. A long letter will go to the bottom of the pile or even worse the BIN.

Ideally, business letters should be:

• One side ONLY
• Have two or three paragraphs
• And have no more then two sentences each.

A letter like this will usually be read instantly from start to finish. You will be amazed at the difference it will make!

1.THE UNPREPARED TRAINER

Have you ever been on a course where the person running it clearly hasn’t done any preparation? Watching the ‘expert‘ trying to get ready as they train is really entertaining, but a poor learning environment.

Just remember the 6 P’s…

• Proper
• Preparation
• Prevents
• Particularly
• Poor
• Presentations

The trainer may be a subject expert, but it is unforgivable to be unprepared.

2.THE TRAINER DOESN’T KNOW THE SUBJECT

Imagine how successful you will be training someone to fly, if you are not a Pilot yourself! We train to change what people do, so it’s important we know how to ‘do‘, ourselves! Learning the subject ‘from a book‘, doesn’t help from a practical perspective. You may be a ‘professional‘ trainer, but that doesn’t mean you are qualified to train in every topic.

3.JUST WATCH AND LEARN

Being a trainer is not about demonstrating how good you are at ‘doing‘ and taking every opportunity to make the people you are working with hold you in awe and wonderment! The role of a trainer is to pass on the skills, knowledge and the confidence for the trainee to go away and do something new or different. Making them think “I’ll never be that good” is just intimidating, not training.

4.TRAINING IS NOT JUST AN ‘INOCULATION’

In the past, we have seen situations where companies have sent people on a training course and expect that a single day will change their life forever and, overnight, they will ‘pupate‘ into brilliant sellers, or managers! You really need to think about changing what someone does as a journey: the trainer can show them how to take the first few steps safely, but then their line manager needs to put a metaphorical arm around them and keep them safely on the correct ‘route‘. The responsibility for motivating people to change passes from the trainer to the line manager.

5.NO EVALUATION OF THE TRAINING

If training starts people on the road to a change, then all businesses need to be able to measure if, and when, they reach the ‘destination‘ safely. There has to be a commercial imperative if training can be shown to be an investment, rather that a cost. What ‘value’ can be identified as a result of the training? There has to be a ‘before and after‘ measure in order that the business can objectively quantify the true value of training.