MANAGE THE TRAINING FUNCTION
FOR BOTTOM LINE RESULTS
(a
three-day
certification program)
With the right practices, any training program can accelerate performance while delivering economic benefits...and as a focused and practical manager of a training function, you can lead the charge within your own organization. In this certificate, focus in-depth on effective methods to manage the entire scope of your organization's training effort. You will examine practical ways, sound techniques, and proven ideas to manage your organization's training and yield tangible, bottom-line results.
This certificate program is designed for training managers, training coordinators, and “departments-of-one” who run a training function for an organization or business unit, or those interested in joining their ranks. As part of this session, you'll receive the Training Manager's Tool Kit, which contains a Training Department Benchmarking Tool, 100-point Classroom Instructor Skills Inventory, and a Performance Improvement Plan Template.
When we come on site, we customize our workshops in two ways.
First, we customize the workshop content to meet your instructional objectives. Second, we customize the examples in the exercises to make them specific to the services you provide.
There is no charge for this level of customization.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:
At the end of the five days of training, you will be able to:
- Develop a vision, mission and function priorities statement.
- Identify how to use department systems audit tools to benchmark your function
and identify areas for improvement.
- Identify and use eight steps in the consulting process.
- Practice ways to anticipate the changing training needs in your organization.
- Identify when to use eight types of assessment tools to determine training needs.
- Practice how to gain management's commitment to performance improvement.
- Use a nine-part plan to build alliances and work successfully with line managers and employees.
- Learn how to contract for results, not just training activities.
- Define essential elements of a performance improvement plan.
- Identify techniques to market your training function.
- Keep up to date with new training trends.
- Evaluate how you supervise and develop a training staff using a 100-competency tool.
- Develop an action plan to get results.
- Use four key tactics to prepare learners for training.
- Identify methods to cost justify training and monitor a training budget for classroom and online training programs.
- Use post training performance analysis as a tool to identify what hinders the transfer of learning.
- Identify specific techniques to involve managers in transferring learning.
- Identify how a learner's active role during training influences transferring learning.
WORKSHOP CONTENT
Unit 1: Overview
- Workshop introduction and objectives
- Set personal objectives for the session
Course Methods:
After completing an opening activity, participants identify personal objectives and share them in the large group. Expectations are clarified and set for the workshop.
Unit 2: Manage a Training Function
- Stay up to date - trends in training
- Identify key training and development roles
- Define and create your vision, mission and training function priorities
- Learn tips on keeping your sanity as a staff of one
- Conduct a training department systems audit
- Manage and develop the training staff
Course Methods:
Trends and their impact on training are reviewed in an interactive activity. Participants then identify the roles they play and those needed in their organization with the help of an inventory and write the mission and priorities for their training function. The Department Systems Audit tool is introduced and participants complete selected sections for their departments and begin their action plan based on the results.
Unit 3: Internal Consulting Skills
- Determine where are you in the life cycle of a training department
- Compare traditional training and performance consulting approaches
- Use a continuum of internal consulting roles
- Analyze your role in the organization
- Identify who are your clients
- Use an eight-step consulting process
- Differentiate between a trainer vs. consultant vs. change agent
Course Methods:
A consulting approach is offered as a way to maintain a healthy life cycle for a training department. Participants compare traditional training and performance consulting approaches and identify what approach they currently take. Following completion of an inventory, participants identify what internal consulting roles they tend to play and which roles they may be neglecting. A case study is used to clarify the range of roles and criteria for selecting the most appropriate role in a given situation.
Through analysis and discussion of a case study, participants learn the criteria for identifying a true client. The eight-step consulting process is reviewed in a participative lecture. Participants begin to apply the process to a case study. Participants identify their role as trainer, consultant or change agent individually in a comparison activity.
Unit 4: Diagnosing Problems
- Identify special assessment issues
- Examine the manager’s role in using eight training department audit tools
- Determine if training Is the answer
- Make vague training needs specific
- Sort out training needs vs. wants
- Use training design tools to diagnose problems
Course Methods:
Following an interactive discussion around assessment issues, participants examine eight training department audit tools, including three specific training design tools, and describe the Training Manager's role with each tool through case studies, application activities, individual and group analysis.
Unit 5: Developing a Plan
- Learn the ten components of a performance improvement plan
- Decide whether to use existing materials or create new ones
- Review a performance Improvement Plan example
- Identify criteria for reviewing training proposals
- Use a tool to compare training delivery methods
Course Methods:
Participants explore the differences between a performance improvement plan and a training proposal through interactive discussion, identification of key criteria and examination of examples. They apply additional information to an earlier case study scenario to suggest additions to a Performance Improvement Plan. A tool to help managers compare methods of delivery follows a checklist to assess proposals. Criteria is given and discussed to help discern whether to use existing materials or create new ones.
Unit 6: Build a Partnership With Management and Learners
- Check your influencing style
- Build credibility with line managers
- Be more responsive to the organization
- Increase your leverage with others
- Apply strategies to market your programs effectively
- Develop three-way partnerships
Course Methods:
Following an inventory to identify their use of influencing styles, participants consider which style is appropriate in given scenario situations. Steps and skills for increasing influence with key managers are reviewed and practiced in exercises and case studies. The Training Managers' role in marketing training is explored. Essential tactics for developing partnerships with both managers and learners as a means of marketing are reviewed with examples, tips, tools and templates as support.
Unit 7: Transfer Of Learning
- Define transfer of learning
- Identify barriers to transfer of learning
- Determine whose job is it to apply what's been learned
- Explore four key tactics to build the ground work before training
- Review post training performance analysis
- Clarify how to involve managers prior to training
- Identify eight key tips for preparing the employee before and follow up after training
- Discuss the manager's influence in giving feedback
- Learn how to conduct "level three" evaluation to measure learning transfer
- Review techniques to set expectations that improves retention and learning transfer
- Develop action plans keep everyone on track
Course Methods:
After transfer of learning is defined, participants identify common barriers in a small group activity. Research is shared about who has the most influence on the impact of training. Four tactics to transfer learning are explored through examples, inventories and case studies. Managing employees resistance to change as a barrier to learning transfer is introduced followed by tools to manage the resistance. An example of a process for level 3 evaluation is reviewed as a summary case study using the diagnostic assessment tools from unit 3. Samples of action plans are reviewed and participants develop a plan for their own use.
Unit 8: Managing the Budget
- Cost justify training
- Create a training cost framework
- Conduct a cost-benefit analysis (ROI)
- Find performance indicators to demonstrate training's benefit
Course Methods:
Examples and templates for training cost frameworks, cost-benefit analysis and cost-efficiency analysis are explored and a brief activity to identify hard-number indicators of performance completed. Participants then complete their own example.
BONUS
Training Manager's Tool Kit contains a Training Department Benchmarking Tool, 100-point Classroom Instructor Skills Inventory, and a Performance Improvement Plan Template.
MANAGE THE TRAINING FUNCTION
CERTIFICATION PROJECT
Each participant who wants to earn "Manage the
Training Function Certification” is required to complete a project
during the three-day workshop.
CEUs:
This workshop qualifies for 1.8 of continuing education units.
