9: DELIVERING EFFECTIVE TRAINING: CORE COMPETENCIES

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Upon completion of this chapter, you should be able to:

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A Training & Development Scenario

You are the Training & Development Manager of one of the country’s leading companies supplying a diverse range of electronic, analytical and computational products and services. It has always been characterised by high innovation and quality, and for its positive values related to managing its people.

By the mid-1980s, a combination of external pressure meant that the company managers had to become more strategic in their culture and abilities, capable of responding to the macro issues the company was facing, both as individuals and as members of a company-wide management community. The managers come mainly from a technical background, and fewer than 40% have any formal business education. Most have worked for years in an extremely successful company, where costs received little emphasis. They are also used to the autonomy and local cultures of the company’s functional matrix management system. With key markets on the decline, new technology needing heavy investment, major competition from small companies and low-cost foreign combines, and costs rising rapidly within the company, these managers must now quickly learn new attitudes and become much more entrepreneurial in their abilities and outlook.

Working with a national business school whose reputation for high quality, effective business programmes is excellent, you now have to design a company-wide management development programme aimed at senior middle managers, aged 30-40, with 10 years or more of service in the company, a technical background and education, and responsible for 20-50 people. Promotion prospects are decreasing, so it is important that this programme is not seen as a promotion ticket, but as a way of improving managerial competence in current roles. Key criteria for the programme are:

Task: What training style should you adopt to address the issues outlined in this scenario? How could you use feedback in this learning situation to facilitate the quality of learning?

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INTRODUCTION

We focus in this chapter on the core competencies you require to deliver effective training. If you are a direct trainer, you are likely to perform an instructor role, either in an on-the-job or course context. You may also be required to adopt a more facilitator role, which requires the use of a different mix of the competencies that we consider in this chapter. The competencies that you require whether you perform an instructor or facilitator role include: instructing, questioning, listening, facilitating, giving and receiving feedback and the role of non-verbal behaviour competencies.

THE DELIVERY CONTINUUM: INSTRUCTION TO FACILITATION

Most direct training activities that you will be required to undertake will fall within the continuum: instruction to facilitation. Below we outline the key features of each concept.

Instruction

When you perform an instruction role, you are involved in programmed learning. This requires the direct transmission of predetermined learning objectives. The delivery task you must perform is to follow the key steps of instruction:

We know from research that effective instructors possess five important characteristics:

You will realise that some of the core principles of instruction create tensions and conflict with the principles of adult learning that we outlined in Chapter Three. Adult learners may find the instruction context difficult for a number of reasons:

Therefore, you may prefer to adopt an alternative approach; nonetheless, the nature of your learning objectives may require that you adopt an instructor style.

Facilitation

Facilitation is at the other end of the continuum, involving the use of a range of techniques and methods that enable your learners to discover, to participate and to experience. Facilitation is a role that direct trainers are increasingly required to perform, primarily because of the needs of adult learners and the changing nature of learning activities in organisations, which are increasingly complex and are most amenable to being taught using an facilitator style.

When you perform in the role of facilitator, you manage the learning process through the use of participative methods and reflection on experiences that you share with the learner. You do not assume that learners are empty vessels to be filled up, but are capable and come to the learning situation with capacity for ideas and current skills.

As a facilitator, you will be very concerned to establish and maintain rapport with your participants. You will need to foster an atmosphere of trust, where your learners are free to share opinions and ideas. If you can achieve this atmosphere, you will have eliminated many of the barriers to effective learning. As facilitator, you will be concerned to balance the training content with the process dimensions of your learning group. In order to be fully effective, you will need to develop a good relationship with your learners and fully involve them in activities that facilitate learning.

There are six dimensions of facilitation that you may be required to perform during a training session:

Instructors are generally required to specify right or wrong. This is less likely to be the case with facilitation, where facilitators are usually required to give feedback on ideas, capabilities and behaviour – note, however, that this is less likely to be in a context where there is a need to specify a “one best way”.

In order for you to be an effective facilitator, you will need to be effective on the following competencies, which we address in this chapter, and have already addressed in Chapter Seven:

Figure 9.1 provides a summary of the problems that may arise when you are performing either of these roles and some of the strategies that you can use to deal with them.

FIGURE 9.1: PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED WHEN PERFORMING INSTRUCTION & FACILITATION ROLES

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DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE TRAINING COMPETENCIES

We have outlined the continuum of roles that you may be required to undertake in order to deliver training effectively in an organisation. We have made reference to a number of skills or competencies that you require to be effective. We will spend the remainder of this chapter focusing on three training situations and the competencies that you require in order to perform them. Figure 9.2 provides an outline of these training situations and the underpinning competencies.

FIGURE 9.2: TRAINING ACTIVITIES & ASSOCIATED COMPETENCIES

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On-the-Job or Job Training Instruction

On-the-job training is distinguished from other forms of training in that it is:

We make a distinction between unplanned and planned on-the-job training. Unplanned on-the-job training is ineffective as a training practice – research shows that people cannot learn a detailed task simply by watching others. If the training is unplanned, it is unlikely that it will be organised around what the learner needs to know and do. Learners who observe activities in a poorly-organised work environment will find it difficult to make sense of what they are supposed to be learning and/or understand how the various elements of a task fit together.

If you wish to conduct a structured on-the-job learning, it is important that you base it on a thorough analysis of the work and that you use a high performer as the basis for your analysis. You should use the results of this analysis to demonstrate to a trainee what to do, to tell them about the content of each task and why each task is important.

Organisations are increasingly using experienced employees to act as trainers. Therefore, it is important that you train the employee in how to be an effective trainer. It is also important that you tailor your approach so that the learner has an opportunity to watch or observe, to ask, then perform and solicit feedback. On-the-job instruction is usually conducted with a small number of trainees. It is likely to be, in many cases, a 1:1 situation.

The popularity of on-the-job training is primarily due to the many advantages it has over off-the-job training. We consider it to have five important advantages:

For these reasons, it is not surprising that trainers look to on-the-job training techniques to satisfy most training needs.

The most common form of on-the-job training is job instruction training (JIT). This method became popular as far back as World War II. It involves you instructing a small group of trainees in the actual work environment on key skills and knowledge that are necessary to perform a task or job.

On-the-job training (OJT) is appropriate:

You should not use an on-the-job strategy, if there are health and safety issues in respect of the trainees or other employees. It is also unwise to use it where it may undermine a learner’s credibility with customers.

We propose a four step approach to job instruction training:

Making a Formal Presentation to a Small or Large Group

A second training task you are likely to perform is making a formal training presentation within the context of a training course. You are still performing in an instructor mode. We explain some of the steps that you should consider when enhancing your presentation skills. Mastering the skills to make an effective presentation does not come easily.

Generally, the more rehearsal, the better. One or two rehearsals is usually not enough to master new material. It is a good idea to rehearse the presentation under simulated conditions – in a similar room, with listeners who can give suggestions for improvement. Mental rehearsing, by running through the presentation and the scene in your mind, is also effective. You should time the presentation to determine whether it is necessary to cut or expand the ideas. We know, from research, that practising a training presentation for short periods of time over the course of several days is more successful in reducing anxiety and improving memory than concentrated practice. Distributed practice is more efficient and yields better results than massed practice when mastering your training presentation skills.

There are a number of issues that you should pay attention to:

You can enhance the overall quality of your training presentation if you follow a set of guidelines like the ones that we suggest in Figure 9.3.

FIGURE 9.3: GUIDELINES FOR TRAINER INTERPERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS

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Facilitating in a Training Context

As you become more experienced as a trainer, you will most likely move away from an instructor style and perform a more facilitation style. Your role as a facilitator is to help the group to carry out an agreed task. You do not do the task for the group, but make it easier for the group to do its work.

The task in a group is a group task. The main difference between an individual tackling a task alone is that only the individual need relate to the task. In a group, each member has to relate to the task but also has to relate to every other member while doing so. In a group, many differences and similarities can exist – age, sex, background, culture, class, etc. To a greater or lesser extent, these differences and similarities can interfere with, or assist, the group in tackling the task. Group-members will be trying to work at the task, while at the same time trying to have their needs met arising out of the differences and similarities – for example, need to be accepted, to dominate, to complete, to assist, etc.

As a facilitator, you have to be aware of the task that the group has undertaken and at the same time be aware of needs that members have. These needs must be acknowledged and responded to in order that the task is done. To be effective in conducting a facilitated session, there are five practical functions that you should complete:

Some Skills to Ensure Effective Facilitation

To be an effective facilitator, there are a number of important skills that you are expected to use, including:

DEVELOPING YOUR QUESTIONING SKILLS

We have discussed three training tasks that you may be requested to undertake from time to time. We have made reference to specific skills that you will need to possess in order to carry out these tasks effectively. We now explain the role of questioning skills and a range of questioning techniques that you can use. In Figure 9.4, we set out the key elements of the questioning competency.

FIGURE 9.4: QUESTIONING: ASSOCIATED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ATTITUDES

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Why Use Questions in a Training Session?

We propose that competency in asking and responding to questions is important for a number of reasons. We also highlight some of the issues involved in practising this competency effectively. Figure 9.5 provides a summary of the advantages and limitations in using questions in a training session.

Types of Questions that you can use during a Training Session

To be an effective trainer, you must learn to question for understanding. You must always be an observer of the trainee’s behaviour and be willing to “check out” the trainee’s emotional state and measure learning. The following questioning techniques can aid you in assessing the progress of learning. They are presented in Figure 9.6.

FIGURE 9.5: USING QUESTIONS IN TRAINING SESSIONS: ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES

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FIGURE 9.6: DIFFERENT QUESTION TYPES IN TRAINING: PURPOSE & FORM

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We will now talk about some specific questioning approaches that you can use in a training situation. You can use the following question formats to enhance the quality of the learning event:

It is important to emphasise that the ultimate purpose in posing questions is to receive an answer and to lead to a wider understanding by the learners. The objective is not for you to impress the group with the extent of your knowledge, nor to highlight the lack of knowledge on the learner’s part. Questions should be framed in a way that do not embarrass or threaten a learner.

Some Appropriate Questioning Techniques

There are a variety of ways of not asking questions in a training context but the three most often encountered are:

Responding to Answers Provided by Learners

Skill in framing questions in the right way is only part of your skill in questioning in a training context. The second major factor is in responding to the answers that learners give.

When an individual answers a question, it is important for you to realise that the group will be looking at how that answer is received and how they would feel if they were in the respondent’s shoes. Insensitivity on the trainer’s part in handling responses can discourage the group from any further participation. How you react to answers and then respond to them is an important component of your questioning competency. You need to:

As well as being able to ask questions, effective training requires that you are able to answer questions too. It is always a wise idea to establish at the outset when you intend to deal with any problems or questions and, providing the group is made aware of the approach that you will be using, this is largely a matter of personal choice.

There are a number of reasons for asking a trainer questions. The most obvious reason is to seek an answer to a particular issue:

Some of the guidelines you can follow when asking questions are presented in Figure 9.7.

FIGURE 9.7: GUIDELINES WHEN ASKING QUESTIONS IN A TRAINING CONTEXT

USING LISTENING TECHNIQUES TO DELIVER EFFECTIVE TRAINING

Your second core competency is listening. Your purpose in listening is to make a conscious effort to hear what is really being said, with the intention of creating connection with the trainee and diagnosing their current emotional state. Listening requires you to:

Listening is a skill you will use quite a lot when facilitating. In Figure 9.8, we set out the key elements of the listening competency.

FIGURE 9.8: LISTENING: ASSOCIATED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ATTITUDES

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It is generally considered that trainers are poor listeners. Research suggests that they test in the low 25% of skilled listeners. They are likely to immediately forget 75% of what another person has said. Reasons for not being skilled listeners include:

Defensiveness leads to ineffective communication. Therefore, it is very important that you build and maintain a supportive climate for communication. Supportiveness can be increased where you:

Figure 9.9 sets out examples of good and poor listening in a training context.

FIGURE 9.9: EXAMPLES OF GOOD & POOR LISTENING BEHAVIOUR IN A TRAINING CONTEXT

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The following represents a model that you can use to facilitate listening in a training situation

Active listening requires the possession of a number of important skills, as well as the avoidance of pitfalls. The more important dimensions of active listening are presented in Figure 9.10.

FIGURE 9.10: ACTIVE LISTENING: SKILLS & PITFALLS

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USING FEEDBACK IN A TRAINING CONTEXT

The third core competency for effective training is giving and receiving feedback. The purpose of effective feedback is to build and maintain relationships with learners and to promote learning. In Figure 9.11, we set out the key elements of the feedback competency. Feedback is a competency that you will use a great deal in conducting on-the-job instruction or in facilitating.

FIGURE 9.11: FEEDBACK: ASSOCIATED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ATTITUDES

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Feedback is information about the results of someone’s actions. The purpose of feedback in a training context is to build and maintain relationships with learners and to promote learning. Immediate and direct feedback can help you to:

Trainers often fail to give learners honest, direct and descriptive information on how their behaviour impacts on the success of the training. Consequently, learners do not know how others feel, and trainees and trainer do not learn how to interact with each other more effectively. Without feedback, the trainee will not know how they are doing. Without feedback, you cannot make improvements to the material or delivery. When giving feedback, you should:

You need to avoid situations where you:

Some Feedback Techniques for Trainers

There are many different ways to give trainees feedback. The use of feedback is dependent on the type of training situation you are conducting. You will be required to give lots of feedback in a facilitation situation. There are various approaches, but the following can be effective :

There is evidence that trainers often fail to give trainees feedback for the following reasons:

Whatever feedback you provide in the training content should be:

Figure 9.12 presents a model for giving and receiving feedback.

FIGURE 9.12: A MODEL FOR GIVING & RECEIVING FEEDBACK IN A TRAINING CONTEXT

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USING NON-VERBAL COMPETENCIES IN A TRAINING CONTEXT

We consider non-verbal competencies to be an important dimension of effective training, underpinning the three previous competencies we have discussed. Although you communicate with your voice, you also communicate with your whole body. Non-verbal behaviour represents a powerful communication tool. Research reveals that only 7% of the meaning participants derive from a trainer’s message comes from what is said; 38% is derived from voice and 55% from body language. Gestures, mannerisms, and expressions can have a major impact on the receipt and understanding of a message.

In Figure 9.13, we present the key dimensions of the non-verbal communications competency.

TABLE 9.13: NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION: ASSOCIATED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ATTITUDES

Competency: Non-Verbal Communication

Knowledge

Skills

Attitudes
  • Purpose and role of non-verbal communication
  • Reading non-verbal communication
  • Types of non-verbal communication
  • When to use particular non-verbal cues
  • Responding to non-verbal cues
  • How your non-verbal behaviour influences learner reactions
  • Attend to non-verbal communication
  • Self awareness
  • Interest in people
  • Openness and responsiveness

Receipt of a Training Message

It is impossible for people to learn when they are nervous, and equally it is impossible for trainers to teach when they communicate nervousness. This does not mean that trainers must avoid training until such time as you can do so without a degree of stress; an element of tension is essential and inevitable in many training situations. What it does mean, though, is that the effective trainer must aim to look relaxed and be in control, even when the reality is a little different. You can do this in a number of ways

Understanding the Training Message

The clarity of your training message being communicated, and the conviction with which it is received by others, can be significantly influenced by the non-verbal signals transmitted during the presentation.

Eyes

The eyes are the most conspicuous channel of communication. In normal conversation, the parties communicating will maintain eye contact for 25% to 35% of the time, and their eye blink rate will be approximately once every 3-10 seconds. During group training, eye contact reduces dramatically and the blink rate increases.

However, listening conventions suggest that eye contact and active listening work in unison. People assume that, if someone is looking at them when they are talking, then that information is intended for them. If, on the other hand, their eye contact is elsewhere, it is felt that the speaker and their message can be disregarded.

This can frequently be seen in group training sessions where a question is addressed to the group and eye contact is made with the group as a whole. The result is a delayed response or no response at all. If the same question is asked while looking at an individual, that person will feel compelled to answer or acknowledge it.

If eye contact is so crucial, why do so many trainers find it difficult? The answer undoubtedly is that because it is so powerful a gauge of feelings that people instinctively avoid eye contact in case others see how nervous or anxious they really are. In actuality, this absence of eye contact confirms that the avoiding party is scared. Gaze behaviour of influential personalities shows that they make more frequent eye contact and hold this contact for a great deal longer than normal.

Far from interpreting the lack of eye contact as diffidence on your part, trainees will see it as demonstrating a lack of confidence, an intention to hide feelings or some form of deceit.

Arms and Hands

Possibly the greatest difficulty you encounter when presenting material is what to do with your hands. In normal conversation, hands might not merit a second thought but somehow, in making a presentation, hands suddenly seem to acquire the capacity to move independently of the rest of the mind or body. They can be seen tying themselves into knots, ferreting about in pockets and discovering nasal orifices they would not dream of exploring ordinarily in polite company.

What is it that causes this transformation? Nervous tension results in excess energy to the system, which needs to find a satisfactory outlet. In the absence of any obvious opportunity to work off this energy release, the body uses the only alternative available, which is to seek out something to toy with.

The following hand movements should be avoided:

When to Use Hand Movements

Hand gestures should only be used to provide greater understanding to a training group. They should have a purpose, should be natural and should be deliberate.

Many trainers believe that if they make vague hand movements, these will be less obtrusive and therefore more acceptable. Small jerky movements only serve to heighten your self-consciousness. If you want to move your arms, you should do so intentionally and obviously.

The main purposes for using hand movements are as follows:

Feet, Legs and Body

Your standing with learners and their attitude towards you can be strongly influenced by the way that you physically stand before the group. It is very difficult to convey an impression of controlled confidence when you are standing cross-legged and wobbling from side to side. The most authoritative posture is still regarded as standing upright. Not only does this provide good eye-contact with the learners and a command over the room, but it does not constrict the diaphragm in ways that sitting can. An acceptable compromise is to sit on the edge of a solid table. This can have the effect of making the atmosphere less formal without inhibiting vocal projection.

Where an upright stance is used, care should be taken to make it look relaxed and comfortable. Trainers should not look like wooden soldiers nor stand like reluctant nudists with hands clasped in front of their body. Moving about can, in certain circumstances, stimulate and refocus the group’s attention. Equally, movement can become the source of considerable distraction and annoyance – however, this is up to you to judge.

FIGURE 9.15: WAYS OF INCREASING THE VALUE OF NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION IN A TRAINING SETTING

Voice

Eye Contact

Facial Expression

Stance and Movement

Gestures

Overall Body Language

BEST PRACTICE INDICATORS

Some of the best practice issues that you should consider related to the contents of this chapter are:

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Reflections on Training & Development Scenario

This training scenario is a demanding one in terms of the skills it demands of you as a trainer. First, you are dealing with an experienced group of managers - in some cases, well-educated. They will likely possess a high level of trainability and comfort in training situations. The learning objectives are ambitious and, in many cases, require small group learning. There is a particular requirement that learners take responsibility for development. These requirements indicate that you will use a more facilitative rather than instructional style. If you use a facilitation style, it will help you to address effectively a number of issues:

  • A facilitation approach will allow the learners to meet and to interact in an instructional, non-directed way. It will also encourage the managers to explore their learning objectives and to clarify expectations
  • It will help to ensure a teamwork approach to the learning process. They are more likely to interact with each other, when the trainer is facilitating rather than instructing
  • Facilitation places considerable onus on the managers to take ownership of the learning process to enhance their self-awareness and to develop their skills as managers
  • Facilitation enables the trainer to enhance his/her credibility with a high profile manager group.

There are a number of reasons to use feedback as a developmental tool:

  • It can increase the self knowledge of managers
  • It encourages self-development because it can identify opportunities for improvement
  • It promotes collaboration through the involvement and use of feedback from peers and the trainer
  • It provides information on individual development needs and in the priority order of these needs.