The Essentials of a Successful Training Program Featured

Monday, 05 December 2016 00:00 Written by Super User

Rate this item

 1

 2

 3

 4

 5

(1 Vote)

Guest Blog for ATS by Robert Avsec

"Training teaches what Operations does,

and Operations does what Training teaches."

That's the Training and Safety Division's motto for the Chesterfield County (Va.) Fire and EMS
Department where I served for my entire 26-year career. The motto is on a large banner that hangs in
the main hallway of the Fire Training wing of the County's Eanes-Pittman Public Safety Training Center.

From my experiences, which included serving as the Chief of the Training and Safety Division for 3+
years, such a motto should be the starting point for any fire chief that wants to have a successful
training program. For too long, too many young firefighters have heard this (or something similar) from
senior department members and even their supervisors, "Forget what they taught you at the academy.
This is how we do it in the real world."
Such remarks only serve to underscore the importance of good lines of communication between those
officers tasked with developing and delivering training and those officers with the responsibility for
delivering emergency services.

Types of Training Programs

Generally, fire departments deliver training and education to their employees or members in one of two
ways:

• Through a holistic and on-going training program that includes: entry-level training; continuing training
of incumbent staff; and professional development training, e.g., officer training; or

• Through a stand-alone training project that addresses a short-term training requirement. Examples
could include: training on a new piece of apparatus or equipment; a new training requirement from a
regulatory body, e.g., OSHA; or training mandated by the authority having jurisdiction, e.g., preventing
workplace violence, response to an active shooter incident, or prevention of sexual harassment in the
workplace.

Though each of these has some different characteristics, one being time, they have more in common
than they do dissimilarities. Those similarities include answering the following questions (BTW, you do
know that about 80 percent of the time a question is a statement in disguise, right? Just checking!).

#1 – Why is training needed? In too many cases, the "answer" to an identified problem is "provide
training for..." More often than not, the problem may be inadequate or outdated work procedures, new
equipment, or lack of employee motivation. Be sure that the problem you're looking to address can be
solved with training.

Department leaders should ask themselves, "Could the employee do the job if he or she wanted to?" If
the answer is "yes", then training may not be the answer (but it might still be useful).

If the answer to that question is "no", then the next question should be, "Does the employee have the
knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) to perform their job or use the new equipment?" If the answer to
that question is "no", then training will probably benefit the employee.

#2 - What training is needed? The purpose of training should be to ensure that the employee or
member will be able to perform their job safely, effectively, and efficiently. Some questions to help
identify training needs are:

• Does the employee or member have previous experience?

• Does the employee or member possess the KSAs needed to perform the tasks?
• Does the employee or member know how to perform the tasks?
#3 – What are the goals and objectives for the training? When developing your goals, you should know
exactly what you expect your employees to do:

• Meet their job responsibilities;

• Improve their job performance, or
• Improve their on-the-job behavior.

Objectives are the steps you will outline for employees to reach the organization's goals. Objectives
need to be well thought out and planned for the training to be successful. Therefore, objectives should
be clear, concise, measurable, and shared with the employees. Consider the following elements when
drawing up your objectives:

• Who needs the training?

• Are there any applicable standards that should be followed, e.g., NFPA training standards?
• What are the desired post-training behaviors?
• Under what conditions will the desired actions be performed? What materials and equipment will be
used?
• How will success be measured?

NFPA 1410: Standard on Training for Emergency Scene Operations is just one of several NFPA standards
that address various types of fire service training. Annex A (Explanatory Material) and Appendix B
(Evaluation Outlines and Instructions) of NFPA 1410 are valuable resources that should not be
overlooked. (For more training standards, visit www.nfpa.org).

As you develop your objectives, ask yourself these questions, "Will this help the employee reach the
goal? Is it designed for the employee to be successful?"

#4 – What training delivery method will be used? How are you going to get your employees or
members the KSAs they need?

The availability and affordability of on-line fire service training have both progressed rapidly in the last
couple of years. For many departments, on-line training can be a more cost-effective method for
delivering the needed KSAs while conserving instructor resources for hands-on practical skills training.
Set up a training portal for your employees or members so that they can get the required training
anytime, anywhere. Traveling to learn is so 20th century.

If you decide that you need to use instructor-led training, prepare your training materials and aids after
deciding on the learning activities. Arrange objectives and activities in the sequence that corresponds to
the tasks performed on the job, and if possible, use hands-on demonstrations. Employees will retain
training information better if it is related to their job tasks.

• Determine your training method, e.g., lecture, role-play, simulation, case-study, self-instructional, on-
the-job, discussion, hands-on, homework, games, or a combination;
• Select teaching media, e.g., references, easel charts, diagrams, or videos; and
• Plan guides and tests, e.g., instructor's guide, student's manual, pre-test, and post-test. Select the
training methods best suited for your audience and their training needs for the best learning and
retention.

http://www.action-training.com/blog/item/58-the-essentials-of-a-successful-training-program

By John Eades
September 30, 2014

https://elearningindustry.com/3-ways-measure-training-effectiveness

3 Ways Organizations Can Improve The Way They Measure Training Effectiveness

According to ASTD, the overall spending on employee training in the US is $165 billion and the average
employee receives 30.3 hours of learning per year. The average cost to train each employee is $1,195.

What do these numbers tell us? Organizations care about training. Period. With so much effort devoted
to training, the real question becomes evident: Did anyone really learn?

It’s clear that learning and development professionals are struggling to answer this question – a
question we simply can’t afford to ignore any longer.

The days of measuring learning based on multiple-choice questions are gone. This type of measurement
is focused on short-term retention of knowledge as opposed to a long-term ability to apply knowledge.
Ultimately, the goal of corporate learning should not only to see a return on the investment of training,
but to improve the skill sets of PEOPLE!

In today’s world, the ability to successfully DO something absolutely trumps the ability to pass a test.
With the rapidly growing need to get employees educated and running at peak performance,
organizations need to focus on other ways to measure learning is taking place. This will allow them to
focus their time, energy and resources on training initiatives that move the needle.

Here are 3 ways to measure training effectiveness:

1. Visual Confirmation
In traditional trainings, learners demonstrate their knowledge by performing a role-play.
Technology allows us to take role-plays a step further. Instead of demonstrating knowledge that
may or may not be true to the learner’s job, learners now have the ability to share visual
 confirmation they’ve completed a task in real life. Imagine employees uploading a video or
audio recording and/or submitting other visual proof of a task completed (for example a screen
shot or video via smartphone). Now, imagine a training manager having access to those videos
(and other visual proof) of employees using knowledge from a workshop in real life. Visual
confirmation doesn’t only change HOW learning is measured, it can also impact the way we
train by honing in on the most effective training initiatives and taking the closer look at those
initiatives that aren’t “measuring up.”

2. Social Ownership
The ability to teach others is one of the highest forms of mastery of a subject. Social Ownership
puts learners in the position to teach others by showing how they apply concepts in their real
world. This concept not only engages employees to teach and learn from each other, it also
gives training managers the ability to measure how well concepts are being implemented within
the organization. These peer-teaching moments can be captured via video or by having peer-
peer workshops. Ultimately providing a new way to get employees involved and engaged to
increase training effectiveness.

3. Skill Assessments
Creating a visual assessment of an employee’s skill set and performance before and after a
training moment. These snapshots, or skylines, of a learner’s abilities can give a clear picture of
performance and skill improvements you can directly tie to training. A simple example would be,
testing a sales person’s current sales skills prior to training, then retesting the individual after
the event to see the delta. There are so many improvements going on in this area right now
because of data analytics, it’s a good one to jump on ahead of the curve.

Posted by Danie Zaika on Oct 4, 2016 5:30:00 AM

>

https://blog.skilljar.com/what-is-training-operations

Training can be a highly logistical function within an organization. The role of Training Operations is to
oversee day-to-day responsibilities for the department, including scheduling and booking resources,
managing student registrations, reconciling reports with finance, coordinating curriculum development,
and other special projects as required. In some organizations the Training Operations manager is also
responsible for data and technical systems, including administering the LMS. He/she also manages
software integrations and automatic information flow between training and other business units.
Job requirements for a Training Operations professional include:

 Monitor and evaluate training programs, processes and workflows for quality and effectiveness;
make recommendations for improvement.

 Manage instructor schedules, coordinate class starts at multiple locations, and manage training
equipment and materials including interaction with vendors.

 Design and prepare educational aids and materials.

 Oversee technical implementation of ILT events.

 Assess instructional effectiveness and summarize evaluation reports determining the impact of
training and how it affects KPIs.

 Partner with internal stakeholders and subject matter experts regarding instructional design.

 Maintain updated curriculum database and training records.

 Conduct regular evaluations to identify areas for improvement in program offerings.

“As the Service Operations Manager, I oversee all logistics

related to Instructor-Led Training globally. A large part of this job includes collecting all metrics
associated with classroom delivery as well as professional service engagements. Analyzing these metrics
I am able to help MapR determine where we are most profitable and markets we should grow in and
which courseware we should be focused on creating. This role requires many hats as I am both customer
facing as well as supporting Training and Professional services.”

- Jacklyn Flores, Worldwide Services Oper