Andy's Blog

A Trainer's offerings on the world of Learning and Development

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What Annoys Me About Communication…

April 9, 2012 at 2:19 pm No comments

Communicating is a basic human need, we all need to communicate to express what we want or need, how we feel and to know that we belong.  Those of us that have difficulty in communicating because of a disability have tools that enable us to communicate fully. 

So why then do we get frustrated by communicating with people?  There are a number of things that really get me riled when I am communicating or trying to communicate with someone.

The number one, the top of the table is being talked over.  You know how it goes you are talking and before you have finished the person you are talking to starts to talk to you and even worse starts to argue with you before you have finished what you are saying.  In the same vain when you are talking to someone and someone else then starts to talk them and then they continue a conversation with them, totally ignoring you.

This brings me to the second annoyance on my list, being ignored.  Being ignored when you are speaking can be really upsetting and frustrating especially if you are nervous or have summoned up all of your courage to handle a situation or person.  It shows a total lack of respect by the person who interrupted you and the person you were talking to.

Third on my list is not being looked at whilst being spoken to.  OK on the telephone that is a little difficult but, here we are concentrating on face to face communication.  I understand that for some people to maintain eye contact is difficult because of shyness or embarrassment but, on the whole if you are talking to someone you should be able to maintain eye contact. 

Someone telling you what you what you have just told them is my number four.  Why waste your energy in repeating everything you have just been told?  Do you need to feel that you have all the ideas?  Or just like the sound of your own voice? Either way it exasperates me and wastes my time as I have to agree with you and then tell you ‘I have just said that’, and then an argument ensues.  All pointless and a waste of our time. 

Listening is a huge part of our communication and without listening actively, listening to not just what is being said but how it is said and understanding why it has been said, we cannot begin to communicate effectively. 

All of the annoyances (for me) that I have mentioned come down to Dignity and Respect for each other.  By listening and allowing someone to speak before you speak shows respect for that person’s opinions and ideas and allows them dignity by having their ideas and thoughts heard.  By allowing a conversation to end before starting up a conversation with one of the parties involved is a sign of showing respect and a sign of good manners. 

Communicating is not complicated, we complicate it by being in rush to get our point heard or not thinking that someone else’s opinion does not count.  Listen first; it will save a lot of time in the long run as you will not need to ask so many questions and the person will not have to repeat themselves.

Make sure you are really listening and then if something is not clear ask the right question to maintain respect for the other person and to provide confidence if someone is nervous.  Up hold yours and others dignity in your transactions failure to do so on a regular basis could see yourself falling foul of your organisation’s Diversity Policy.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

AiTraining Consultancy offers a half day course on Communication Skills, for more information visit www.aitraining.net or email andy@aitraining.net or call +44 (0) 203 2865 165

Communication , , , , , ,

Completing a Personal Development Plan

November 23, 2011 at 1:19 pm No comments

Completing a Personal Development Plan (PDP) is another component in your development arsenal and one that is used by professional bodies your career progression to determine membership level.

What is it?

A PDP is usually produced in a table format and is used in conjunction with the Learning Log.  Whereas the Learning Log is about past events, what you have learnt, a PDP is about future events, what you want or need to learn.

Your Learning Log can be produced in any format you prefer but, your PDP must be a written document as it forms a planned record of development.

What does it contain?

The PDP is a series of questions that needed to be answered in order to make it clear to someone reading your PDP how you have or will complete the learning you need.  The questions you ask yourself are

  1.   What is it that I need/want to learn?
  2.   How will I achieve this?
  3.   What resources will I require?
  4.   Whose help will I need?
  5.   What will my success criteria be?
  6.   What is the time scale?  Personal Development Plan

Set out your PDP similar to the one above and include your name, company, and the start and finish dates that the PDP refers to.  Create the table in a word processor and layout the page in landscape to give you room to see all the columns.  As you type the table will expand to fit the text.

The questions themselves are self-explanatory but, I will go through them here.

  1. What so I want/need to learn? – This is a straight forward enough question but, you do need to think it through.  Does the want satisfy the need? Will it be of benefit to your career to learn it?  Or is it something you just want to learn?  Learning the ins and outs of Excel to an advanced level if you deal with a lot of data is want and a need if it will ease your job.  Learning to skydive might be a want but, if you are in an office every day is it a need?
  2. How will I achieve this? – This is where we look at the logistics of the learning.  How are you going to learn? Will you attend a course, a seminar, an exhibition or read a book or articles on the subject? Choose which the best option for you is.
  3. What resources will I require? – Think about what you will need, include your time here because learning takes time! Who will you want to speak to to learn or get information? Will you need time away from work? Access to the internet, money.  All these determine the medium you can use to learn.
  4. Whose help will I need? – Depending on what you undertake as your learning be it a qualification or a secondment to a different department or different part of the country or even world, you will need the support of your family and your Manager to help you achieve the learning.
  5. What will my success criteria be? – How will you measure your success?  This is important with any learning, if you learn something new and never use it the learning has been a waste of your time.  You need to be able to measure the success or otherwise of the learning you undertook.  Did it get you that job or the promotion, has your job become easier, have your outputs increased.  All valid questions that should be asked of all training.  Training has no impact on what you do or act is a waste of time.
  6. What is the time scale/target completion date? – Put an end date on your learning task if you can.  Some things can have ‘on-going’ next to them depending on the subject.  If you wanted to learn about Employment Law for example, you could put ‘on-going’ next to it as it is always being updating so an ‘expert’ is an expert today, tomorrow their knowledge may be out of date!

At the beginning I said that the Learning Log is related to the PDP and this is because the Learning Log will feed in items that you want to learn or learn more about.  The PDP will feed into the Learning Log as you will be learning so will need to record it.  The two documents are linked and to do one requires to the other to be completed as well.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

AiTraining Consultancy provides a variety of resources for your Personal Development.  For more information visit www.aitraining.net or email andy@aitraining.net or call +44 (0) 20 3286 5165.

development, Learning , , , , ,

How to Complete a Learning Log

November 17, 2011 at 10:43 am No comments

Completing a Learning Log is an important part of your Continuous Professional Development (CPD).  It is a record of skills and knowledge that you have learnt in the environments that you live.  You learn all the time be it at work, at home out in social environments or taking part in sport, everything that you learn can be put into your Learning Log.  Use your Learning Log as a tool to reach your goals for that new job or that promotion.

Completing a Learning Log does not need to be a complicated affair.  You can record it in writing, in audio or visually via a video recorder or webcam.  As long as you record your learning the format is up to you.  There are several questions that you need to ask yourself when completing your Learning Log regardless of the format you use and these are:

  1. What was the Activity?
  2. What did I do?
  3. What did I learn?
  4. How will I use this in the future?

You do not need to write these questions every time you write your Learning Log if you do not want to, it is your Learning Log it is entirely up to you.  When you first start writing though it might be useful to have them near by to remind yourself what it is you need to record.

The hardest part of a Learning Log is remembering to complete it regularly.  At first you will be eager and record everything you have learnt that is new.  You might complete it daily or hourly if you are attending a course or participating in a project that includes lots of new ideas or processes.  The hard part is carrying this on after the course or project has finished.  You may have long spells where you feel you are not learning anything and do not feel the need to complete your Learning Log.  This is normal, it will require a period of self reflection if you have not completed your Learning Log for some time.  This means you look back at what you have been doing or what you have done and see if there is something new in there that you didn’t know before. 

If you are applying for jobs, every application process and interview is a learning experience and by recording each one and their outcomes might help you succeed in finding that job.  In this instance you can ask yourself two more questions

  1. What went well?
  2. What could I improve?

Completing your Learning Log requires you to be very honest and in some instances cruel to yourself so that your learning improves to reach your goals.

At work it can be used to record feedback you receive in Appraisals or from customers and can be used to improve how you work.  Your Learning Log may produce ideas on how a process at work can be improved for all.  By thinking about what you have learnt and how you will use it in the future can be a benefit not only to you but, to your colleagues as well.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

AiTraining Consultancy offers a Self Study Workbook on Receiving Feedback and tools for recording your learning.  For more information visit www.aitraining.net or call +44 (0) 20 328 65165.

development, Learning , , , , , , , , ,

Email

November 4, 2011 at 12:00 pm No comments

I have been trying for the last hour or so to send an email to a potential client and having trouble with their spam filter. I am not and never have sent spam and my emails contain my email address and the correct email address for the recipient and no links or pictures. It is a short email of text and still their spam blocker kicks it back. It is so fustrating but, I will persevere.

Uncategorized none

Dealing with Non-Attendees on Training Events

July 12, 2011 at 11:20 am No comments

Delegates that do not show for training cost business’ hundreds if not thousands in wasted revenue each year.  They show no respect to the business or the trainer.  Lack of attendance on in-house training is a threat to the Training Department as the less people attend training so the argument for disposing of the Training Department grows.  External Training is the most costly when you consider that external training providers can cost between £150 and £500 for a single delegate for a half day or day course and considerably more for longer courses or accredited or qualification courses.  Then add the cost of travel and overnight stays.

It is in the interests of the Business, Trainers and Mangers to ensure that delegates are attending training that they have been booked on.  There are a number of steps that can be taken to ensure that this happens.

In-House Training

This is the easiest to deal with as, depending on the size of your organisation, you will know who to contact and it starts with the Training Administrator or the person that books the training.

Ensure that correct joining instructions are sent to each and every delegate well in advance of the event detailing

  • The Course
  • The time
  • The date
  • The location

Their Managers should also be informed of these details and the person running the training.

The Trainer should receive a list of names of who to expect.

On the day of the event the Trainer should get the delegates to sign an attendance sheet to prove that they were there.  Any absences need be reported by the Trainer immediately to the administrator who needs to contact the Manager to ascertain the reason for the absence and this is where the fun begins.

If the delegate is neither at the event nor in their workplace and has not reported sick then the Manager needs to deal with it as a normal absence.  If the delegate is in their workplace then the Manager either needs to explain why they are not on the training or get them to the training as quickly as possible if they have forgotten.

External Training

The process is exactly the same as above with a slight change.  The provider may provide the joining instructions and they need to be accurate.  Any absences need to be reported with notification that the Business will still be charged for the absence.

Acceptable Forms of Absence

Not all absence from Training is a ploy for an extra day off.  The business cannot always allow certain people or a number of people from the same department out at the same time.  In this case substitutions can be made.  That is where one delegate is substituted for another.  This can cause confusion for the Trainer if on the day of the event you have not been informed of the change.  In this instance still treat this as an absence to confirm.

If people are genuinely sick there is nothing you can do and they should have reported in to work sick and if the communication channels are good in your organisation this should filter down to you the Trainer.  If not report it as an absence as normal.

As Trainers we take over as the Manager for the Delegates and it is our job, whether you are an in-house or an external Training provider, to manage absence in accordance with company policy.  At the same time full attendance by all delegates should also be reported as this completes the communication circle and saves people chasing you for the answer.

Training , , , , , , ,

Preparation is the Key to Successful Training

May 17, 2011 at 9:50 am No comments

For the last week I have been ripping out our bathroom to make way for a shiny new one.  As anyone who has undertaken any form of decoration in their home knows preparing for a fresh new look or a modern kitchen or bathroom is the toughest and longest part of the decorating process.  It seems to take for ever and the more you remove tiles or floors you see more work that needs to be done.  What keeps us going through the preparation is the thought of the finished room and how much you will enjoy it.  During my week I went through this and thinking about it now I was stuck by how similar decorating is to Training in that the preparation that you do before will result in a much better end product that feels as if it has been there for ever.

Unlike training, the preparation in decorating for me is tedious, lengthy and messy and I don’t much enjoy it.  However, the preparation for Training I enjoy and love seeing my creation taking shape and working out how learners will get from one side of the Training to the other in the time available.

So, how do you prepare for Training?  The process is very similar really although for Training you do not need to wear safety clothing or items of clothing that you save just for decorating.  First you need to speak to your client or customer to find out what end product they need, what do the learners need to be able to do.  If you have been lucky enough to carry out a Training Needs Analysis you have the Training need in front of you and the objectives that you need to achieve with Training.  So you have the end goal in mind and now you have to start writing your material.  For this we will use the room as a model for preparation.  If it is a new subject to you or one that you are familiar with you need to remove the old wall paper or tiles, strip it down to the basics back to the bare walls.  You then need to smooth the cracks and fill the holes in your knowledge with reading or talking to colleagues (remember you do not need to be an expert in every topic you Train).  When you have bolstered your knowledge and smoothed over the weak areas you are ready to formulate your Training material into a logical sequence.  Build the Training in layers so that learners can see their progression.  Ensure that your handouts, slides or anything else that you use match the learning that you are trying to achieve.  Make them clear and logical to add to the learning not to repeat what you have just said unless it is to reinforce something.  Make sure your timings are in place.  You do not need to write all the timings in your Trainer’s Guide just a few to allow for a guide for exercises.  When I write a Training programme I run the programme in my head as I go and this helps me to get a rough idea how long it will all take to complete.

When you have written your Training walk away from it for a couple of days (if time allows) and then return with fresh eyes and read it through from start to finish and pull together and use everything that your guide tells you to.  Does it make sense?  Is it easy to follow?  Does it sound logical?  If there is a ‘no’ in there you need to tweek and maybe move around some items so that all the answers are yes.

Just because you have written your materail does not mean that your preparation is complete.  Every time you run that Training event you will need to prepare for

  • The size of room
  • The number of delegates
  • The knowledge level of the delegates
  • The facilities available in the room (power points, screen etc.)
  • Your knowledge of fire exits, location of toilets, smoking areas and break time facilities

The size of the room will dictate what exercises you are able to do and what equipment you can use as will the number of delegates.  An odd or small number of delegates make some exercises redundant.  Too many delegates and you might have cut some knowledge out to get everything in.  When you deliver your training you need to go as fast as the slowest learner in the group whoever this is at any time.  It might mean that you have to lower the knowledge level for the group or for a group of learners within the group or even raise the knowledge level for the group (hence the smoothing and filling of gaps and holes in your knowledge).  You may have to adapt the Training for the room facilities, lack of power points means you might not be able to run PowerPoint or show the video.  Lack of room might mean that you cannot fit the screen in.  As long as you have access to and can use a Flipchart you should be able to deliver the Training.  Knowing the whereabouts of Fire Exits, toilets and smoking areas are a vital part of being a Trainer as the delegates in your training room are your responsibility and in the event of a fire you need to ensure they all exit and gather in the correct place.

Part of your preparation is the set up of the room.  How do you want the chairs and tables arranged? are you going to use tables? where will the screen go in relation to the projecter and your laptop, are the cables long enough? are they secure?  Can everyone see the flipchart and the screen from their seats with having to move every time.  Where are you going to put your handouts so that you can access them easily.  Have you got enough markers for yourself and any syndicate exercise that you carry out.  Can you manage if you forget something.

Get your preparation right first time and the end result will be a smooth and slick Training event where everyone learns what they came to learn and a bit more.  Most of all your reputation as a good Trainer will be established with excellent preparation.

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AiTraining Consultancy runs a three day Designing and Delivering Training course which covers the preparation of Training in more detail.  For more information visit www.aitraining.net/Training%20Courses/train_the_trainer.htm or call +44 (0) 20 328 65165 or email andy@aitraining.net

Training Design , , , , , , , , , ,

What Skills does training give you and are they transferable?

March 25, 2011 at 3:20 pm No comments

Training provides you with skills and knowledge to assist in your development and to aid you in your role.  How many times though have you sat in a training event and thought to yourself ‘what is the point of this? I know this’.  As a trainer I have experienced these comments and it is my job to train delegates regardless of how they feel about the subject.  My job is to make it as interesting and as relevant as possible.

 Coming back to title of this blog, ‘What Skills does training give you and are they transferable? The answer is many and yes the majority of them are.  Let’s deal with the question in two parts.

 What Skills does Training give you?

 Many of the skills we have are ‘learnt’ from our parents, teachers, friends, colleagues and co-workers.  Not all of them learnt in a training environment.  Our parents teach social skills and the correct way to behave.  They teach us manners and respect.  So if this is done by our parents or guardians, how is training involved?  Well these are taught, learnt and practised from an early age. We learn as we get older which communication and social skills are acceptable and when.  When we are at work we need further communication and social skills to deal with customers and to make sales.

We are taught what is dangerous at a young age and as we get older we learn how this impacts on others.  At work we are trained to recognise hazards before they cause an accident and how to deal with an accident. 

The skills that we are trained on in the workplace enhance what we already know and provide new skills.  When we look at soft skills training, training that involves dealing with people rather than technology or machinery, we all have a level of knowledge before we are trained.  No one walks into a training room without being able to communicate, negotiate, ask questions, deal with conflict and interview someone to some degree.  How they go about it and the results they get might be questionable and that is where training provides additional skill level.  Without additional training in these areas the companies and organisations that we work for would be in serious trouble today.

When I run my Train the Trainers course I have people who have done some training and others who have not.  They all say that they no idea how they train or how to do it.  We are all trainers in some form or another.  If you are a parent you are a trainer.  You ‘train’ your children how to speak, eat, wash, dress and if they have brothers and/or sisters how to operate as a team and to work together.  If you have children you can deal with conflict to.

There are all sorts of models and approaches that improve your skills at work and that can aid you in your private life.

Are they transferable?

The majority of the skills you learn in training at work are transferable.  You only have to look at what a parent does to understand this.  A parent is a multitalented person just look at the skills they possess just from having children:

  • Organisation skills
  • First aid
  • Health and Safety
  • Conflict resolution
  • Training
  • Time management
  • Communication
  • Training Needs Analysis
  • Appraisal
  • Nutritionist
  • Chef
  • Hygiene

The list goes on and on.  All of these skills are trained in the workplace and are therefore transferable not only between home and work but, between jobs as well.

Whilst I write this I am sat on a plane and observing the stewardess’ carry out their inflight tasks.  Their tasks start long before we even get on the plane though but, as I observe I can see the skills that they have been trained in.  The most obvious being Health and Safety.  This we experience as soon as we walk onto the plane.  They check the size of our bags, make sure they are in the overhead locker safely or under our seats completely.  They check with those sitting in the exit rows if they are able and willing to assist in the event of an aircraft evacuation and then there is the safety demonstration, you know the one we all ignore.  Then they start their inflight service so now we see customer service skills, communication skills and sales skills.  They all come from different backgrounds and experience and bring many of these skills with them and through training will take more with them to their next role.

In Training it is very rare that you will be training someone completely from scratch on the skills mentioned.  The more technical skills that people require for their roles will involve an element of something that they already know because everything that we learn or train as trainers is transferable between roles.

Learning, Training , , , , , , , ,

Motivation

January 7, 2011 at 3:11 pm No comments

Motivation is a word that we hear a lot, and we are told that we must be motivated or motivate ourselves to complete tasks.  During interviews many of us are asked what motivates us or what motivated us during a particular period.

Motivation is an individual thing.  What is motivating to one is not motivating to another and yet organisations spend a small fortune on training its managers in the art of motivation.  There are theories and models and times to motivate and times not to motivate.  Motivation is seen as a costly expense especially in these difficult times.  But why is motivation so ‘expensive’?  It doesn’t need to be, it can the cheapest of rewards that an organisation offers.

Motivation as a reward? What is he talking about I hear you ask.  Well what is it that motivates people? Money? Time off? Going home early? ‘Team events’? Social events? The answer is yes to all of these things.  They motivate people but, do they motivate all people?  The answer is no.  They will motivate some of the people all of the time and some of the people some of the time, they will not motivate all the people all of the time.

Why? Because we are different and what is motivating one day may not be the next.  If the items listed above become the norm then they are expected and are not motivational.  Motivation should be linked to the individual and the task they are performing or about to perform.  Yes, motivation should be applied equally and fairly and appropriately.

When I worked at the Royal Mail, Christmas was our busiest time and to deal with the extra workload extra workers were employed over the Christmas period.  I was posted to one of the extra sorting offices used and was able to observe different managers motivate the staff to get as much Christmas mail sorted as possible.  The two managers that achieved the best results were the ones who at the start of the shift welcomed everyone in and at the end of the shift thanked everyone for their hard work.

A very simple and cheap way of motivating people to achieve goals and push that little bit further.  It cost nothing, it took no time and everyone got the same treatment regardless of who they were.  The outcome from this was that in the New Year many of the employees employed just for the Christmas period applied for full time jobs.  So not only did it motivate but, it was also the best advert and recruitment drive.

Motivation doesn’t need to be over complicated with models and theories.  A simple ‘Thank you’ for a good job or a good attempt is often enough to motivate people to try harder next time.  Saying please and praising where praise is due can be very powerful motivational tools.  Providing good feedback and being constructive with improvements can be the thing pushes people to excellence.  You don’t always need to get the cheque book out or run team days or social events.  These things help but, they are not the only way to motivate your staff, especially in the current climate.

AiTraining Consultancy has an eLearning module and Workbook on Delivering Feedback.  For more information visit www.aitraining.net or call +44 (0) 20 328 65165

Communication ,

Training is Like an Aeroplane, Most Vulnerable When Taking Off and Landing

November 22, 2010 at 5:08 pm No comments

The beginning of a Training Event is equally important as the end of the Training Event.  Why? Because at the start you are stating that you are qualified and competent to deliver the training and at the end you have to ensure that your delegates are happy with what they have learnt and if it was an emotional training event that you have handled the event correctly.  

So how do we ensure that the beginning of a Training Event ‘takes off’ well?  Being well organised and prepared in advance goes a long way to ensure the start is flawless.  By being organised and prepared you are already establishing your credentials as a competent trainer.  We also have a tool that we can use – Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs.  Abraham Maslow developed his model in the 1940s in the USA and it remains valid today to understand human motivation, management training and personal development.  Since the development of his original 5 point model others have added, adapted and renamed areas.  His original model is useful to us as trainers as it provides a good place to start our training events.  Maslow’s original model is shown in Figure 1.  

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Figure 1: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, Source: www.businessballs.com

  

The first level, Biological and Physiological Needs your delegates will subconsciously be thinking about when they enter the room.  This is especially true if you are using a new venue or are running an Induction course.  The same is true of the second level, Safety Needs, and the third level, Belongingness and Love Needs.  

The Second level the delegates will think about as soon as they enter the training room.  They will look for an exit, remember this is done subconsciously and they may not be aware of it.  They will look for the nearest exit, a window or a door and sit either close to it or where they can see it.  After they have chosen their seat they set out their space.  The space they use is roughly from the back of their chair to the front of their table and about shoulder width wide.  This is if you are using a horse shoe layout.  They then start to think about where the toilets are, when and where breaks are and what is available.  

Next they look around the room at their fellow delegates and decide where they fit in in the group and make assumptions about their colleagues.  This all happens before you have even opened your mouth to welcome them.  

The way in which we use Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is to first of all welcome the delegates and introduce ourselves and confirm the Training Event that they are on.  We should then cover the domestics of the venue, this includes  

  • Fire Exits – directions to
  • Toilets – directions and location
  • Breaks – time and location
  • Smoking Policy – where they can and cannot
  • Timings of the day or days depending on the length of the course

You can include your rules on mobile phones and if you wish you can ask to group for some ground rules for the duration of the course.  This will add to their Safety Needs level.  

This has the first two levels covered.  The next level to cover is Belongingness and we do this with an Ice Breaker so that everyone gets involved and gets to know one another.  This is especially useful on an Induction and it helps you as a trainer get to know everyone and to include their life experiences in your training.  It can also assist you in tailoring the training a little more to their ability and needs.  If you are doing a presentation course or train the trainer course you can get your delegates to stand in front of the group with a flipchart and present their information back.  This will really help you to understand who is comfortable in front of a group and who is not so it covers two purposes at once.   

So now we have covered three levels of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and your delegates should be settled and comfortable.  The forth level is hopefully achieved during the course and fifth level after the course.  

Once you have covered the first three levels it does not mean that that is it.  You may have to revisit each of them throughout the course before an exercise or after feedback as the group will go up and down levels 1 – 3 during the course as you expand their comfort levels.  

So that is the beginning.  The end of a Training Event is equally as important and you must design in and allow for a correct ending.  Why? If your event has been an emotional one, the delegates have learnt a new skill or discovered things about themselves, it is our job to ensure that they are comfortable with their new skill or new discoveries to leave our safe environment and use them in the real world.  How much time you need depends on each group and how their journey was in the Training Event.  To gauge where and how a group is performing in its development we can use Tuckman’s Theory of Team Behaviour and Stages.  Tuckman’s model follows the development of a group as follows  

  • Forming
  • Storming
  • Norming
  • Performing
  • Mourning/Ending

The Forming stage is where the group relies heavily on a leader, in this case the Trainer, for guidance and direction.  The Trainer must be prepared to answer lots of questions and the trainer is tested for tolerance by the group.  

At the Storming stage decisions do not come easily to the group and team members are finding their position in the group.  Compromises maybe needed to advance the group.  

Once in the Norming stage agreement and consensus forms largely amongst the team and they respond well to facilitation by the trainer.  Their roles and responsibilities are becoming clear and accepted.  They start to engage in fun activities.  

The Performing stage is where the team knows why it is doing what it is doing and understands the strategic value of the task.  At this stage the group is able to stand on its own with little input from the Trainer.  The team also start to look after each other.  

These are the original levels of Tuckman’s model.  The final stage is Mourning or Ending.  This is important if the group have made strong ties or been dependant on each other.  If it is an induction a lot of the friendships made on the course will continue in the work place and beyond so it is important that as trainers we allow people the time to ‘stop’ being involved.  It can take a while for everyone to leave and some may hang back to have a discussion or to ask further questions.  You need to allow this to happen in order for the group to ‘end’ properly.  

In Training, if you don’t allow the group to settle first and then cover the basic needs with the domestics – even if you are training people you have trained before in the same room – then your group will not settle and you will have a very tough Training Event.  Equally, if you do not end it well and allow people time to say goodbye and come to natural conclusion of the training they will feel unwanted and any enjoyment they had on the course will be lost instantly.  

AiTraining Consultancy  runs a one day Presentation Course and a Three day Train the Trainer course.  For more information on these courses and other services that AiTraining Consultancy provides visit www.aitraining.net or call +44 (0) 20 328 65165 or email andy@aitraining.net

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eLearning Site Launched

September 13, 2010 at 12:59 pm No comments

Our eLearning site was launched today.  There are 7 courses available from the site and each offers learners the opportunity to learn at their own pace at their desks.  This increases the portfolio of products and services that AiTraining Consultancy offers.

There are no downloads to perform and this saves valuable learning time.   Each learner is able to keep track of their progress through the course and attempt each exercise three times. 

The courses that are on the site are:

  • Delivering Feedback
  • Diversity and Equality
  • Evaluating Training
  • Manual Handling
  • Receiving Feedback
  • Time Management
  • Training Needs Analysis

Each contains exercises and questions and the learning can be applied in the workplace immediately.

For more information visit our eLearning Portal or call +44 (0) 20 328 65165.

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