Organizations NEEd to Train Their Trainers

Does this sound familiar? A vacancy becomes suddenly open and there is mad scrabble to fill it. Job postings are run, interviews are held, and suddenly a new employee is chosen to "join the ranks of the organization". But wait... WHO's training them? The supervisor quickly looks over the work schedule and identifies someone who "isn't on holidays" and volun-tells them "Hey you are going to be training the new guy on Monday".
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It seems so strange.... sports teams invest thousands of dollars to ensure their coaches and trainers have the latest techniques on how to inspire, teach, motivate, and improve the skills of their athletes. Yet over and over I watch as organizations expect "veteran" employees to suddenly become trainers for new hires, passing onto to them the skills and techniques required to successfully perform a fundamental position in your business.... and yet they receive little to no training on how to do it.
This decision can have lasting and dramatically negative impacts on the success of your business and overall morale of your employees. It's time to start properly investing in those we depend on to train the next generation of our employees.  

​Here are FOUR solid reasons you need to Train Your Trainers:

1-Learning How to Teach
Can you IMAGINE the reaction of an untrained "coach" if you simply told them "You need to ask the trainee how they learn, and then adjust all of your training methods to meet their needs". WHAT??!??!  Likely they will quit before they even start.

a) You need to provide trainers with specific type of training that is introduced in "Learning to Coach Programs". The programs are designed to help trainers understand the science behind training and learning motivation. They will be introduced to the fact that training has advanced substantially since the days of handing an employee a manual or a book of policies and saying "here, learn these". Learning theories now show that people learn in many different ways and that it is best if  training can adjusted to meet the needs of each individual learner.

b) Once they understand the "why" the trainer now needs to taught  "how". In being introduced to different training techniques,  they will learn how to increase the confidence and knowledge of their trainee. The trainer will learn how to identify what is causing the trainees lack of retention and how they can adjust their methods. The result becomes a well functioning partnership. The trainee learns to value the trainers expertise, and begins to apply the learning into new and unique "real life" situations. 

2-Not having a training plan = poorly executed training and many learning gaps. 
Too often untrained "coaches" are left to their own devices to determine what the new employee needs to be trained in, and in what order. This can result in a trainee who is frustrated and confused by their training program. They complain of not knowing why they are learning certain things, confusion about why steps are skipped over, and don't understand why policies and procedures are not always followed. 

The lack of a well thought out training plan can result in critical errors.

a) When it comes time to try and rate the trainees progress, there are few goals and objectives to rate them against. As a result, "progress reports" tend to be subjective and based more on whether they are liked by the trainer and fellow colleagues as opposed to how well they can perform at specific tasks.  This opens up the organization to potential human rights  violations if the employee is later deemed to have "failed training". 

b) The lack of a training plan often results in confusion for management, the trainer, and the trainee on what was the expected outcome of the "training". Months later, frustrated by the lack of progress, people start pointing fingers and blaming each other for the trainees poor performance, breaking of equipment, low production, and lack of confidence. Often re-training is required, results in more expense and added frustration.

3) No one wants to fail- Not the trainee nor the trainer. 

a) Without giving the trainer a solid base to understand how and what to teach they will quickly get frustrated. They won't have the skill set needed to address learning gaps, training needs, or differing trainee personalities, confidence and experience. As a result the next time you attempt to volun-tell ​ them to train a new employee the response you get is will be a hard NO THANKS!

b) As for the trainee themselves, you are doing both them and your organization a disservice by not providing them with the solid base they need in order to become successful in their new position. Discouraged by the lack of helpful training, a lack of confidence in their own skills, and the inevitable and consistent errors they will commit, a poorly trained employee is unlikely to stay with you long. Employees want to be empowered, and they want to know you value them enough to offer them the required training to keep them safe and able to perform the job successfully.   Without this, they will leave and your hiring process will have to start all over again.

4) Trainers Become Supervisors 

Historically, supervisors have chosen employees to be trainers because they saw "leadership potential" in them. These are your "rock star" employees, the ones that come to work, perform well, and tend to be natural leaders. So it only makes sense to invest in their professional development early on.

By training your trainers you are giving them some of the needed skill sets needed for future supervisory positions. First they will learn how to train one person and assess their performance; later they will lead your teams and do the same thing. They will understand the need for new employees to be given a well structured, individualized training program. They will help to ensure new hires and new teams understand their roles and their responsibilities. 

Additionally, offering employees professional development opportunities shows them you value their expertise,  demonstrates to  them you feel they are worthy of being invested in..... increasing the likelihood they will remain with your organization and INVEST their efforts and knowledge in ensuring new employees become equally valuable assets. 

If you are interested in offering your trainers a training program please reach out to the author Carrie-Lynn Hotson and/or learn more about her services at
www.inspiringorganizationalgrowth.co