The information in today’s Advisor is adapted from the Ask the Editor service at hr.blr.com.
The training question is, “How do you get uninterested managers to participate in a training session?”
Here is how our training expert responded:
Provide need-to-know information and create a dynamic learning environment, says Dr. Earl Taylor, a former master trainer for Dale Carnegie & Associates, Inc.
Taylor, who teaches courses and trains instructors, says training sessions should have enough urgency and direct application that managers feel compelled to attend and participate. If they don’t see an immediate payback, or if they feel threatened by the structure of the training session, they will resist training.
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He recommends that you:
- Provide quantifiable benefits. At the beginning of a training session, explain what the session will cover, how you’re going to cover it, and what the measurable outcome will be.
- Create a friendly, fun climate. Create an informal format that encourages participation and the exchange of ideas. Training should be fun, but it doesn’t have to be entertaining, Taylor says. Make managers stretch their comfort zones and think. Use a variety of instructional methods.
No matter how much you’ve emphasized the benefits of training and encouraged participation, you still might run into someone who makes comments under his or her breath while you’re talking or who starts secondary conversations. What do you do? “Stop talking. Stand there. Look at the individual and wait until the room becomes silent,” Taylor says. The other trainees will focus their attention on the individual and send a strong message that his or her behavior is inappropriate. Once the focus shifts to the individual, simply pick up where you left off. Don’t address the individual directly.
Often, this peer pressure is enough to discourage an individual from causing problems again, Taylor says. If it’s not, try the same approach again. After that, you might need to tactfully explain the purpose of the training session again, acknowledge that it’s easy to lose focus, and encourage everyone to stay on track. If the problem persists, call a break and ask the individual to participate, Taylor says. In extreme cases, you might need to ask the person to leave the training session.
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Even if your trainers use these great techniques to keep managers interested in training, trainees may still tune out if you don’t also have interesting training content. Where can you get ready-made and up-to-date training content?
Good news from BLR®—now you can run your training program like a pro with our new TrainingToday system. This dynamic training resource provides course content on safety, ethics, sexual harassment, the FMLA, the ADA, and much more .
TrainingToday is a leading provider of online education programs for employees and supervisors. Each course in our extensive library addresses a specific topic with engaging and interactive presentations, delivering practical advice and clear instructions that trainees will remember long after the training is complete.
Three Delivery Platforms
TrainingToday offers you the option of three delivery platforms to meet your organization’s needs:
Professional
- Unlimited training for your whole organization for one flat fee
- Easy to start up and track trainee progress
- Hundreds of courses available, from employment law compliance to sales excellence
Enterprise
The Enterprise platform includes all the features of the Professional version, plus:
- Track and report capability with the built-in comprehensive Learning Management System (LMS).
- Train with courses as they are, or make them truly your own with our customization options.
- Upload your own content (PowerPoint®, video, Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) files, etc.) to the LMS in addition to using our comprehensive training courses.
SCORM
- Integrate content into your existing LMS.
- Easy to tailor to your content, logo, presentation style, and corporate policies.
- SCORM-compliant to integrate with existing corporate learning systems.
Here are just some of the many courses available at TrainingToday:
[Click here to download information on all courses and libraries.]
Over 75 HR and employment training courses covering such topics as Sexual Harassment, Diversity, and the ADA.
The Diversity library is an interactive training program with different modules for supervisors and employees. It features real-world scenarios and insightful commentary from a leading workplace expert and employment law attorney.
Preventing Sexual Harassment—National
Until now, training has been a real challenge—there’s such a load of extraneous planning, preparing, and tracking involved. But we’ve got good news—BLR’s editors have developed a unique new program so all that work is done for you.
It’s called TrainingToday. This turnkey service requires no setup, no course development time, no software installation, and no new hardware. Your employees can self-register, and training can be taken anytime (24/7) and anywhere there is a PC and an Internet connection. Courses take only about 30 minutes to complete.
TrainingToday automatically documents training. As trainees sign on, their identifications are automatically registered. When the program is completed, the trainee’s score is entered. So, when you want to see who has been trained on any subject, or look at the across-the-board activity of any one employee, it’s all there, instantly available to you, your boss, an inspector—even a plaintiff’s attorney.
Course certificates can be automatically generated from within the training center and are automatically retained for recordkeeping purposes.
Unlimited Training That Won’t Bust the Budget
Best of all, in these budget-crunching times, TrainingToday costs only a fraction of what you would pay for an LMS. You always know exactly what training will cost, no matter how many programs you use or how many times you use them. There’s just one low annual fee—for unlimited training—calculated by the size of your workforce. Budget once and you’re done!
These are all motivational, actionable courses—for both employees and supervisors—in such key areas as sexual harassment, the FMLA, diversity, communication, USERRA, recruiting, and many more. The courses are kept up to date to reflect federal and state regulatory changes, and what’s more, BLR adds new programs continually.
TrainingToday also includes a selection of safety courses—you decide whether you want just the HR courses, the safety courses, or both.
If it sounds as if we’re excited about this new service, well, we are—and so is the Software & Information Industry Association, which just voted TrainingToday (formerly the Employee Training Center) the “Best Workforce Training Solution.” Find out what all the buzz is about—sign up for a no-obligation trial to TrainingToday.