Assess your training needs. Invest a little time to determine how best to spend those training dollars. Particularly with health and safety training, identifying your precise goal(s) is by far the most important step. It’s your best guarantee of getting what you pay for – positive, sustainable changes in the application of new skills, behaviour and attitude. As part of the assessment process,

• ask yourself exactly what you are trying to achieve with this training initiative. What you want to be able to see the employee doing, or not doing, as a result of this training? Take WHMIS, for example. One possibility would be, “I would like to see all chemicals clearly identified and properly stored.” Or, say, first aid training. “I would expect a newly-trained employee to be able to show me where the materials for an arm sling are kept, and exactly how they would be used.” You would want them to be able to demonstrate both mental awareness and a physical component – the proper technique and procedure
   
• focus the assessment on “need to know” rather than “nice to know.” By all means consider future training needs, but figure out what training must take place now, and what can happen later
   
• explore other training issues that can affect the outcome of your assessment:
  • how people learn. When looking at performance gaps, bear in mind that workplace diversity issues – language, culture, physical, mental, emotional and generational – may affect how people learn, and the methods or tools used to learn
  • learners’ exposure to technology. “There could be different levels of understanding and exposure among employees”

  
  Exploring these issues while assessing training needs can help determine the scope of any identified performance gap and the “best fit” method of addressing it. Having this information on hand will also be useful when examining other opportunities for optimizing training.

• ask yourself if training is the only solution. It’s possible some performance gaps may be filled by non-training solutions, such as hiring the right people, raising awareness, clarifying expectations, coaching effectively, or simply communicating. After conducting a needs assessment, turn your attention to what type of training and which trainer(s) will most directly meet the needs of your workplace.

Choose the best delivery model(s). Depending on the topic, options encompass everything from a brief online tutorial to a week long course overseas. Ask yourself these questions:

• are the learners new workers, existing, or a mix of both?
• how many learners require training now and in future?
• what job tasks require hands-on practice?
• how frequently will learners perform the task(s)?
• do they need to perform the task from memory or should they look it up?

Many employers use some form of blended learning format – in-class (in public or in-house environments), e-learning, and train-the-trainer – to make sure they strike a balance between training goals and the expertise required to achieve them.

Choose the right trainer for the job. For repeat or refresher training, qualified people with the right skill sets and knowledge may already be on your payroll. Find out whether these people want, or have, the ability to train others. One option that may be more cost-effective and flexible for repeat or refresher training is to use internal resources rather than outside consultants. Options include signing up experienced staff for “train the trainer” courses, or establishing a mentoring/coaching system.

Assess the training consultant. If you decide to outsource training, conduct a due diligence evaluation of the consultant’s ability to achieve the performance goal you’re after. He or she should be able to show how the training will translate the course information into sustainable work habits. Insist on both the required course content and a course design capable of delivering it. Does the consulting firm have credibility in the industry?

Conduct a critical analysis of the planned training design. This is an essential step that some organizations avoid, or fail to do thoroughly. It comes
back to what you are trying to accomplish. Is it simple information transfer or is it capacity building – getting beyond compliance and into behavioural and attitude changes?

Make it stick. Ensure trainees can apply their newfound knowledge, or they’ll lose it. Adult learners need ample opportunity to practice and apply what they’ve learned. Adults learn best when they can check things into memory and recall the information, so repetition and building on the learning are important considerations.

Trim excess administration costs. Regardless of delivery method, formalizing and centralizing management of all education reduces costs of multiple systems, effort and staff. It also does a better job of integrating content offerings, and provides a single destination for students, reporting, admin, etc. As another cost-saving measure, consider automating administration so that training teams can focus on content, support, service, marketing and communication.

Use—and reuse—what you’ve paid for. Employers can make best use of training content by using multiple delivery options, versions and reusable elements, and by providing options to staff and learners with different needs and learning styles.

Train and re-train. Some training is progressive. Other training needs refreshing. Continuous improvement is important for sustaining the results of training, so it’s a myth that you only need to be trained once. The more critical the skill, the greater the need for refresher training.