Training Problem? Or Not!
by Don Elkington

"We need a mandatory training class to teach people around here how to

flush the toilet!"

My friend appreciated the joke. She thought, "What a great way to start the week!" She went to the supervisor`s office to thank him for the joke. She quickly found that the supervisor was not joking. He felt that a training program was needed to address this bathroom problem.

Many of us have faced similar situations. Maybe not about flushing toilets, but we have been presented with requests for training that didn`t seem quite right.

As Robert Mager (one of the gurus of training and development) has said, "It used to be that trainers … well, trained. If people didn`t seem to have the right attitude, they were trained. If they didn`t seem motivated or weren`t performing their jobs training was the magic bullet, the fix. It didn`t seem to matter why people weren`t performing well, the remedy was to train them."

What a good "common sense" trainer knows, is that performance problems not necessarily training problems. Think of it this way. People don`t usually say they have an aspirin problem when they have a headache. They don`t say they have a compressed air problem when they have a flat tire. The problems are the headache and the flat tire. The solutions are the aspirin and the air. So, as trainers, we need to use our common sense when someone requests that we fix a performance problem with training. Training may, or may not, be the right thing to do.

There Are Rules Of Thumb

In his book, "What Every Manager Should Know About Training," Robert Mager suggests six rules to consider when faced with this performance problem question.

Rule #1

Training is appropriate only when two conditions are present.

There is something that one or more people don`t know how to do

They need to be able to do it

Common sense tells us that if someone doesn`t know how to do something, and it is important that they know how to do it, then training is needed.

Rule #2

If they already know how, more training won`t help.

There are many reasons why people don`t do something, even when they know how to do it. Think of all the drivers you saw this morning on the way to work who failed to turn on their indicator before turning. Is it reasonable to think that they didn`t know how to operate the turn signal? Do they need a training class on turn signal operation?

Rule #3

Skill alone is not enough to guarantee performance.

Successful job performance requires four conditions -- all four conditions:

Skill

Opportunity to perform

Self confidence

Supportive environment

Rule #4

You can`t store training.

This is the old saying, "use it or lose it." Many of our companies send potential general managers to training school months before they assume the GM job. During that time their newly mastered skills fade. As trainers, if we are going to help someone learn new skills, it is important that they use them right away. Don`t train someone to prepare a budget in February if they won`t be tackling that project until October.

Rule #5

Trainers can guarantee skill, but they can`t guarantee performance.

Looking at the four conditions for successful performance(in rule #3), we see that trainers can really only provide 1½ of them, skill and the opportunity to perform. Obviously we can help them learn the skill, and we can give them the chance to perform it during training. After that, it is in the hands of the managers. Only managers can give someone the chance to perform their new skills on a consistent basis. Only managers can reinforce self confidence and provide a supportive environment.

Rule #6

Only managers, not trainers, can be held accountable for on-the-job performance.

This really is the unavoidable truth ... managers are accountable in the end. They are charged with running the business, leading the staff, and satisfying our customers.

Why Don`t People Do What They Know How To Do?

Next time a manager comes to you with a "training problem," as trainers we need to help them determine exactly what is causing the "performance problem." Sit down with the manager and talk about it. Is it training? Or is it something else? Maybe the employee:

has forgotten how to do it.

doesn`t know what`s expected of them.

doesn`t have the authority to do it.

doesn`t get timely feedback about how well they are doing.

has information sources (documentation) that are poorly designed, inaccessible, or nonexistent.

has a work station that is clumsily designed.

is ignored or punished for doing it right.

is rewarded for doing it wrong

is in an organization that makes the desired performance difficult or impossible.

Imagine This Conversation

Manager: I need a course to teach my people how to be more polite on the phone.

Trainer: All right. Can you tell me what they aren`t doing that they should be doing?

Manager: Well, for one thing, they put customers on hold for longer than they`re supposed to.

Trainer: I see. Anything else?

Manager: Yes. They`re sometimes rude to the callers.

Trainer: Do they know how to be polite? That is, do they know how not to be rude?

Manager: Sure they do! They`ve all had the training that certified their customer relations skills. But they`re not doing it!

Next time you are in a conversation like this, what will you do?

If you`d like more information, feel free to contact me via e-mail (donelk@elkcon.com) or by phone (901-751-3553).