Title: Ask Bob Pike
Time: Tuesday, September 13th at 9:55am Eastern
Listening method: Phone + Web Simulcast
To attend, visit:
http://attendthisevent.com/?eventID=14701017

What’s one question you’d like to ask about getting employees more engaged at work while also increasing your enjoyment of what you do? Send me your question at BPike@BobPikeGroup.com.  I’ll answer the top 10 questions submitted in a webinar on Monday, September 13 at 9:55 a.m. EST.  With a $95 registration fee, it is free to current subscribers of Creative Training Techniques newsletter. Details are available on the membership website: CreativeTrainingTech.com.

If you are not a current subscriber, you can either renew your subscription for $120 a year here or sign up here  and pay the $95 fee for this webinar. You can pay for the webinar by clicking the button below.

At the beginning of your class introduction, explain that each item is related in some way to the content you will present. Their job as participants is to figure out if they have the object that is related to the topic you are teaching about. If they think their object is the correct one, they are to hold it up and wave it at the proper time. After being recognized, they must explain the relationship between the item and the content. If they are correct, reward them with a prize. This keeps everyone alert as you present.

At the end of the day, have one person per object stand and tell what their object was again and how it related to the content presented.

Submitted by Priscilla Shumway, training consultant with The Bob Pike Group, Minneapolis.

If you are a Gold or Platinum Member you can view the teleseminar by clicking here.

At Training 2010, I reconnected with people that always add value. Trainers who have become friends like Sharon Bowman, Carolyn Balling, Allison Rossett, and Thiagi. People I can sit with for a few minutes or an hour, catch up with what they are doing and how life is going in general. Often we’ll talk about projects we’re involved in or books that we’re working on and maybe brainstorm a bit.

As we’ve talked about it, these “stolen” moments are often the most useful of the conference. Why? Because we connect, albeit briefly, with someone that we know, someone that really cares, and someone that understands. And that connection can be maintained through email, phone calls, etc. It doesn’t always need to be face to face.

And that’s why the newsletter is evolving. We want it to not only be a source of information for you, but a point of connection. A watering hole where you can come and connect. Where you can pop in, post a question, or a comment, and then rapidly receive input and responses. This membership site is one where you can know and be known – it is a place of connection as well as a place for information.

I hope to connect with many of you face to face this coming year as I travel around the U.S. – and around the world (I’ve already been to Saudi Arabia and have China, Brazil, and Australia on my schedule). So take advantage of every aspect of your membership. Get connected so we can connect with you.

Until next month – add value and make a difference.

If training is not “sticking” Balling suggests analyzing the problem. Is training really the necessary solution? For example, in Bob Pike’s Performance Solution Cube, he says that if there is a policy problem, (e.g. people are punished for performance) no amount of training will fix that issue. Is the company committed to correcting training problems? Is correcting the problem worth the time, money and energy that will be expended? Is the training relevant and valid and are the learners convinced of the need? Are the managers supportive of the training effort and willing to work with the trainer in implementing change?

Training is an effective means of improving performance and developing employees when used properly, but the expectations must be clearly communicated and resources made available, Balling said. There also must be adequate support and feedback from management.

A good trainer doesn’t mean people learn more, according to Balling. The learner must be responsible for their own learning; the trainer helps facilitate the learning.

Balling emphasizes that there are important strategies before, during and after a training program that contribute greatly to “Making Training Stick.”

Before

• Meet with the participants’ manager to discuss ways to support and reinforce the knowledge and skills learned in the program
• Set clear objectives and effectively communicate those objectives
• Gather background information about participants (e.g. prior training, experience, issues and needs and receptivity to training)
• Include the trainers’ manager in a participants needs assessment
• Assess the work environment to determine if training is the answer
• Make sure the appropriate people are in the training program

During

• Don’t overload the learner. Concentrate on a few key concepts or skills
• Tie the program content to the job
• Have the participants learn with one another to revisit and reinforce content (e.g. make the training as interactive as possible)

After

• Provide managers with strategies to reinforce the learning of their employees
• Recognize the managers who actually support their employees during the training process
• Send follow-up evaluations to participants a few months after the training and ask for feedback on how they are applying what they have learned
• Encourage and work with managers to create opportunities for learners to use what they have learned

Balling emphasizes that the better the training fits the needs of the learner, the better the training sticks, and it’s important to make sure the system the learners are returning to are ready for the changes.

By Andrea Pike

Create a worksheet with questions about your company, the company mission, their role and so on. Have learners work alone or together to search for the answers on either the internet or the company intranet.

You can create “clue” cards if a team gets stuck. For example, using the idea of phone a friend, they can ask a group in the class that has already found the answer, free pass where you give them the link, etc. The following link is an example of an internet hunt: http://bit.ly/cbthunt. This version gives searchers the links to go to and then asks for answers from information on those sites.

From Becky Pluth’s session at the 15^th annual Bob Pike Group conference in her participant-centered computer training concurrent session.