| Catch the Wave: Six Training Trends | |
Four More Trends
by: Susan M. Heathfield
Training Delivery Is ChangingSite visitors ask me frequently for resources about teaching line managers and other employees how to train. Trainers have the platform skills needed for effective training delivery, but people who work in your line organization have the knowledge about and control of the work processes. In fact, if it's the boss doing the training, employees are likely to learn the subject matter. Trainers are increasingly asked to impart training skills to people who are experts in subject matter. So, training others to train is a desired competency. With non-trainers training, the training professional needs to hone his skills in locating resources, needs assessment, training design and development, and performance consulting. These are the competencies you will increasingly use as a training professional. You'll sit in the audience and cheer your subject matter expert (SME) on.
Training Delivery Systems Are in TransformationAccording to a report by the Learning Resources Network (see side bar), currently, 80 percent of instruction is by live teachers, but about six percent of that is remote, mostly online. Computer-based training with no live instructor accounts for 13 percent of training. About 9 percent is by on-the-job, self-study or other means. You can expect this last to grow. Currently, most computer-based training is via CDs. More training is provided via Intranets than the Internet, but expect both of these delivery systems to expand in the future. The key is that multiple ways of delivering training are available to meet the needs and preferences of any employee. If you're not exploring methods of delivering training that utilize CDs, the Intranet, the Internet, and subject matter experts, you're limiting your potential to serve the needs of your organization.
Your Customer Is the Individual EmployeeAs performance management systems and individual development plans replace the traditional appraisal system, increasingly your training customer will be the individual employee. This is amplified by the number of ways in which you can deliver training. In addition to classes, individual employees will learn through cross-training, stretching work assignments, lateral moves to different jobs, reading, facilitated sessions, and other methods. Development plans are increasingly individualized which requires that the objectives of any training experience are individualized. You'll see less department-wide sessions and fewer company-wide classes offered. As strategically important as people are for your future, you'll give individual employees the opportunity to grow. Or, the employees you most want to keep will find an organization that will.
Training is Delivered Just-in-time, as NeededImmediately applying the new information learned in a training experience allows the employee to practice new behaviors. Giving employees information months or even years before they need it will ensure training failure. You'll see more training provided in response to individual development plans just when the employee needs the training.
In ConclusionThese
six trends are shaping your future in training. There are other training trends I did not touch upon here, but if you've caught the wave relative to these,
you're setting yourself up for years of success in your organization. Can it get any better than that?
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