In-house training is a necessity at all good
companies. But hiring professional educators to supplement that internal training is often what separates the better companies from the best companies.
“With the proper training, employees are
more focused,” says Amy Lane, executive
director of Regional Corporate and
Community Services for Kent State
University. “They spend more time working on the right activities and exhibit higher skills. Projects are efficient and effective. And there’s better morale.”
Smart Business talked with Lane and
Kelli Baxter, director of the Office of
Corporate and Community Services at
Kent State University Stark Campus, about
external training issues.
What types of employee/talent development
do employers seek?
Lane: Employers feel that technical training can be offered internally, so they are
seeking the softer skills from external
training providers — human relations skills
— to help employees relate interpersonally, solve problems efficiently and manage
projects better. Chief executive officers
and other executives ask for topics such as
problem-solving, leadership and supervisory skills, project management, Lean and
Six Sigma continual improvement methods, and more sophisticated sales topics.
Baxter: Additionally, negotiations training
— which is not usually part of the internal
training and is not necessarily considered
supervisory/management-level training —
is important for all salespeople, managers
and supervisors.
Lane: Top-level managers say that they
need to improve their managers’ coaching
accountability and interpersonal communications. Their companies are growing,
and they are spending a disproportionate
amount of time on interpersonal issues
between employees.
How does an organization assure that its
external training meets its objectives?
Baxter: By using a holistic approach and
making sure that the external training company serves as a partner to the organization. The training partner should ask good
questions in a consultative way and tailor
the sessions based on the answers —
whether it be training, consulting or one-on-one coaching. The trainer might ask about corporate values, strategic plans,
internal communications or management
of resources in order to help you think
through what else could be impacting the
challenge you’re facing. The plan should
help you meet those objectives.
Lane: In addition, training should be tied in
with the corporate performance-management system. A follow-up performance
evaluation session between the manager
and each individual employee should be
mandatory. The manager needs to discuss
how employees are going to apply what
they learned on the job, if they understand
what they learned, whether the training
had impact and how the manager can help
support that training in the future.
Is this technically ‘training’ or ‘education’?
Lane: It is a hybrid. An effort should be
made to provide both knowledge and skill-based training. The participants should be
able to acquire knowledge about the topic
so they can think critically and, thus, have
more options in their decision-making. But
there should also be a lot of skill-based
training that includes group activities,
practical exercises, brainstorming and
role-playing. Adult learners don’t want to
be lectured at or sit for eight hours; they
need to be engaged. The training needs to
be participatory, action-oriented and practical — not just theory-based.
In addition to training, what other services
can external trainers provide?
Lane: For executives, strategic planning,
helping with goal-setting, investing in
employees and figuring out how to tie it all
in with a corporate strategic objective is
very important. The process might include
organization development work, including
strategic planning facilitation, setting goals
and objectives, continual improvement
and executive consulting. This helps set
standards, goals and objectives. It shows
how to best invest in employees so they
understand expectations.
Are these types of programs standard — at
least in their approach?
Baxter: Training facilitators should know
about adult learning theory and practices,
including the utilization of models, theories
and world-renowned experts. But what
drives content should not be standard. It
should be tailored to your company’s individual needs.
Lane: Facilitators must have the ability to
deliver a program that serves the client’s
needs, and an outline should be developed
from that. Look for long-term relationships
and training institutions that really believe
in the region’s economic vitality.
What other factors go into selecting a training partner?
Lane: Testimonials are important. The best
way for you to understand the effectiveness of external training is to hear from
your peers about the significant bottom-line impact that they have derived from
external training.
Baxter: Some educators/trainers, like
Kent State, have public programs that one
or two people from a company can attend.
Tools like learning outcomes action plans
can get participants thinking about what
they can incorporate when they get back to
work and what resources they need from
their managers. Look for these kinds of
tools that will help to transition learning
from the training room to the workplace.
AMY LANE is executive director of Regional Corporate and
Community Services for Kent State University. Reach her at (330)
672-5828 or [email protected].
KELLI BAXTER is director of the Office of Corporate and
Community Services at Kent State University Stark Campus in
North Canton. Reach her at (330) 244-3505 or [email protected].
Pertinent Kent State University Web sites: www.kent.edu/Your
TrainingPartner and www.YourCorporateU.com.