I always talk about how I consider myself so fortunate to get to go around the country meeting new people and businesses, but there is one massive downside to it that I don’t like.  It never ceases to amaze me the stories and experiences about the continual waste of valuable time and money spent delivering “Training” that just doesn’t do what it’s meant to.  So why even bother; why not just throw the money spent on it straight in the bin?

But we don’t want to do that at all because let’s face it, the reason why we want training in the first place is that there is a lack of something that’s been identified in the workplace, typically skills or competencies; let’s call it the “Training Gap”.  It wouldn’t, therefore, be perfect if we don’t bother trying to address the this “Gap” and throw the money away as it’s only going to make the problems we have identified worse and could necessarily have a significant impact on people’s lives.  So how do we ensure we get it right?

We need to carry out the correct “Training Needs Analysis (TNA)” that will enable us to look at the real training needs and then plan around this.  It’s often the “Perceived” need is way off what the “Real” need is, so getting this right is crucial for success; what skills and competencies do you need at the end of the training and where do you get this information:

Individual Needs – Look at individual performance reviews and issues that may have been identified from continuous improvement activities such as internal assurance or external audits.  Can you identify any recurring problems or issues that point to a skills or competencies shortfall or “Gap”?  Feedback from the evaluation of training or activities such as management/staff interviews and meetings are also instrumental to identify training needs.

Organisational Needs – Is there an Organisational or Sector legislative change that requires a shift in practice?  It could also be that a change in business direction/succession planning or expansion means changes are necessary.

When this information is brought together and analysed correctly, you will then be able to make the training happen that is truly required for your people and business; no more waste!

When it goes right, it’s lovely to see and a recent example I can share with you, was when a large Warehousing / Manufacturing business got in touch with us.  The company stated that they needed “Train the Trainer” training, but it was with specific requirements for their business since they had previously sent two members of staff on a one day “Train the Trainer” course with another provider.  This course had been sourced with the communicated “Need” being simply, “They need to be able to Train people”.  The two staff came back with little or nothing because the content didn’t address the specific skills and knowledge required for them to train in their environment (1:2:1 Training skills and techniques).  Time and money wasted again, but at least they had learnt and came to us armed with their real training need the second time around.  I duly delivered to 7 members of their Training team and the progress over 3-days was incredible.  I left knowing from their feedback and performance; they were all genuinely equipped to deliver training in the most effective way for their people and business – Time and Money well spent!

If you’d like to learn how to do this properly, why not join us for one of our Course Design Courses?  We look at all of the phases of training including TNA with practical examples and advice from our fantastic trainers who’ve been in the business of delivering proven training that works for decades!

Scott Fraser is a Master Trainer at Target Training and delivers our PTT Train the Trainer courses and our Advanced PTT Train the Trainer courses.  You can read more about him here.