Many companies lack the framework to train, develop, and increase the productivity of their biggest asset, the employees. The ability to cultivate, implement, and maintain an employee’s working knowledge, skills, and attitudes learned from training will boost confidence, morale and the bottom line.
Psychologist, Dr. Barbara Carnes put together a list of steps an employer can take to facilitate a more confident working environment for their employees. The following are the most relevant to our Miami Valley companies:
- Plant managers should actively brief/debrief supervisors to encourage workers who are engaged in active training plans.
- Use available smart phone/tablet technology to assist in training through podcasts. Creating a podcast/video is a useful tool that can be shared over and over at the viewer’s leisure, reducing any adverse effects which training may have on production.
- At the beginning of a training session, have everyone tell the group what they are thinking or contemplating. Ask them all if there is anything they can do about it right now… and after you hear a resounding “NO”, have them clear their minds.
- Placing extroverts, who tend to express themselves better, in certain sessions, will transfer objectives to the group better. Asking questions is a good thing.
- Pre-session conversations with employees can make sure any negative participants are in the front row. Be sure to recognize their skills and successes.
- During a group training session, managers should begin with the company’s strategic plan and which skills are necessary to reach that goal. After reviewing the plan, place the employees, with the appropriate skills, at workstations where they are likely to succeed.
- Post training employee comments, good or bad, can provide a balanced feedback for a company. These comments should be included in future sessions.
- Lastly, a tried and true method of getting the results you want is positive reinforcement. A gift card and/or a kind word of encouragement can go a long way.
HR Associates recently attended a Talent Development Conference at Bowling Green State University and the keynote speaker was Colorado State University Psychology Professor, Dr. Kurt Kraiger. The Professor spoke of the importance of developing a workforce’s long term memory, in connection with training events. Subsequent to a training event, Process & Quality Managers should roundtable with follow up sessions to reinforce the company’s strategic plan. By doing this, those short term memories of a recent training event will go into the employees’ long term memory, where they are easily accessed on the job. Assigning Training Buddies will reinforce the development of these long term memories.
Dr. Kraiger gave a personal example of long term memory development, which I gave to my own boys. The Doc’s daughter was struggling with her college exams. Dr. Kraiger suggested she begin her cram sessions, three days before the exam. Then cram again, the night before the test. By doing it this way, she took a short term memory and moved a lot of it to her long term memory. The Doc said her tests scores improved by one whole grade level. He also told her to go over the entire test and complete the easy questions first and then go back and finish the hard ones, so as not to miss out on the easy points. You Gotta love common sense, coming from a Professor of the mind.
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