Developing a Training Program (Checklist)
This guide is designed to help
owner-managers of small firms set up a systematic program for training
their employees. The questions are designed to provide a step-by-step
approach to the task of organizing and conducting a successful program of
employee training.
Whether you are considering a continuous program or a one-shot course,
the questions should stimulate your thinking. Many of them involve
alternatives which you need to resolve in setting up the program.
Use this checklist as a guide. The experience of other companies in
training can provide additional guides. However, in thinking about a
training program for your company, consider each question and mark it
"yes" or "no" in light of the training needs of your particular situation.
What is the Goal of the Training?
The questions in this section are designed to help the owner-manager
define the objective or goal to be achieved by a training program. Whether
the objective is to conduct initial training, to provide for upgrading
employees, or to retrain for changing job assignments, the goal should be
spelled out before developing the plan for the training program.
1. Do you want to improve the performance of your employees?
2. Will you improve your employees by training them to perform their
present tasks better?
3. Do you need to prepare employees for newly developed or modified
jobs?
4. Is training needed to prepare employees for promotion?
5. Is the goal to reduce accidents and increase safety practices?
6 Should the goal be to improve employee attitudes especially about
waste and spoilage practices?
7. Do you need to improve the handling of materials in order to break
production bottlenecks?
8. Is the goal to orient new employees to their jobs?
9. Will you need to teach new employees about over-all operation?
10. Do you need to train employees so they can help teach new workers
in an expansion program?
What Does the Employee Need to Learn?
Once the objective or goal of the program is set, you will need to
determine the subject matter. The following questions are designed to help
you decide what the employee needs in terms of duties, responsibilities,
and attitudes.
11. Can the job be broken down into steps for training purposes?
12. Are there standards of quality which trainees can be taught?
13. Are there certain skills and techniques which trainees must learn?
14. Are there hazards and safety practices which must be taught?
15. Have you established the methods which employees must use to avoid
or minimize waste and spoilage?
16. Are there materials handling techniques that must be taught?
17. Have you determined the best way for the trainees to operate the
equipment?
18. Are there performance standards which employees must meet?
19. Are there attitudes that need improvement or modifications?
20. Will information on your products help employees to do a better
job?
21. Should the training include information about the location and use
of tool cribs and so on?
22. Will the employee need instruction about departments other than his
or her own?
What Type of Training?
The type of training to be offered has an important bearing on the
balance of the program. Some types lend themselves to achieving all of the
objectives or goals, while others are limited. Therefore you should review
the advantages of each type in relation to your objective or goal.
23. Can you train on-the-job so that employees can produce while they
learn?
24. Should you have classroom training conducted by a paid instructor?
25. Will a combination of scheduled on-the-job training and vocational
classroom instruction work best for you.
26. Can your goal be achieved with a combination of on-the-job training
and correspondence courses?
What Method of Instruction?
One or more methods of instruction may be used. Some are better for one
type of training than another: for example, lectures are good for
imparting knowledge, and demonstrations are good for teaching skills.
27. Does the subject matter call for a lecture or series of lectures?
28. Should the instructor follow up with discussion sessions?
29. Does the subject matter lend itself to demonstrations?
30. Can operating problems be simulated in a classroom?
31. Can the instructor direct trainees while they perform the job?
What Audio-Visual Aids Will You Use?
Audio-visual aids help the instructor to make points and enable the
trainees to grasp and retain the instructions.
32. Will a manual of interaction - including job instruction sheets -
be used?
33. Will trainees be given an outline of the training program?
34. Can outside textbooks and other printed materials be used?
35. If the training lends itself to the use of video, film strips or
slides, can you get ones that show the basic operation?
36. Have you drawings or photographs of the machinery, equipment or
products which could be enlarged and used?
37. Do you have miniatures or models of machinery and equipment which
can be used to demonstrate the operation?
What Physical Facilities Will You Need?
The type of training, the method of instruction and the audio-visuals
will determine the physical facilities needed for the training.
In turn, the necessary physical facilities will determine the location
of the training. For example, if a certain production machine is
necessary, the training would be conducted in the shop.
38. If the training cannot be conducted on the production floor, do you
have a conference room or a lunch room in which it can be conducted?
39. Should the training be conducted off the premises, as in a nearby
school restaurant, hotel or motel?
40. Will the instructor have the necessary tools, such as a blackboard,
lectern, film projector and a microphone if needed).
41. Will there be sufficient seating and writing surfaces (if needed)
for trainee?
42. If equipment is to be used, will each trainee be provided with his
or her own?
What About the Timing?
The length of the training program will vary according to the needs of
your company, the material to be learned, the ability of the instructor,
and the ability of the trainees to learn.
43. Should the training be conducted part-time and during working
hours?
44. Should the sessions be held after working hours?
45. Will the instruction cover a predetermined period of time? (For
example, 4 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months.)
46. Can the length of each session and the number of sessions per week
be established?
Who Will Be Selected As Instructor?
The success of training depends to a great extent on the instructor. A
qualified one could achieve good results even with limited resources. On
the other hand, an untrained instructor may be unsuccessful even with the
best program. You may want to use more than one person as instructor.
47. Can you fill in as an instructor?
48. Do you have a personnel manager who has the time and the ability to
do the instructing?
49. Can your supervisor or department heads handle the instructions?
50. Should a skilled employee be used as the instructor?
51. Will you have to train the instructor?
52. Is there a qualified outside instructor available for employment on
a part-time basis?
Who Should Be Selected?
Employees should be selected for training on the basis of goal of the
program as well as their aptitudes, physical capabilities, previous
experiences, and attitudes.
53. Should new employees be hired for training?
54. Should the training of new employees be a condition of employment?
55. Would you prefer trainees with previous experience in the work?
56. Are there present employees who need training?
57. Will you consider employees presently in lower rated jobs who have
the aptitude to learn?
58. Is the training to be a condition for promotion?
59. Will the training be made available to handicapped employees whose
injury occurred while employed by the company?
60. Should employees displaced by job changes, departmental shutdowns,
automation, and so on be given the opportunity to be trained in other
jobs?
What Will the Program Cost
It may be desirable to compute the costs of your training before
starting the program. Thus, you can budget sufficient funds for the
program and use the budget as a tool for keeping training costs in line.
62. Should you change the program for the space, the machines, and
materials used?
63. Will the wages of trainees be included?
64. If the instructor is an employee, will his or her pay be included
in the costs?
65. Will the time you and others spend in preparing and administrating
the program be part of the costs?
66. If usable production results from the sessions, should the results
of it be deducted from costs of the program?
What Checks or Controls Will You Use?
The results of the training program need to be checked to determine the
extent to which the original goal or objective was achieved.
67. Can you check the results of the training against the goal or
objective?
68. Can standards of learning time be established against which to
check the progress of the trainees?
69. Can data on trainee performance be developed before, during, and
after training?
70. Will records be kept on the progress of each trainee?
71. Will trainees be tested on the knowledge and skills acquired?
72. Will the instructor rate each trainee during and at the end of the
course?
73. Will the training be followed up periodically by a supervisor or
department head to determine the long-range effects of the training?
74. Should you personally check and control the program?
How Should the Program Be Publicized?
Publicizing the company's training program in the community helps
attract qualified job applicants. Publicity inside the company helps
motivate employees to improve themselves.
75. If the program is announced to employees, will the announcement be
made before the program starts? During the program?
76. Are pictures to be taken of the training sessions and used on
bulletin boards and in local newspapers?
77. Should employees who complete the training be awarded certificates?
78. Should the certificates be presented at a special affair, such as a
dinner?
79. When the certificates are awarded, will you invite the family of
the trainees?
80. Should the local newspaper, radio, and TV people be invited to the
"graduation" exercises?
Food For Thought
Who talks you out of more
things than anyone else? Your spouse? Your parents? Your boss? Your
lawyer? If you're like most people, the answer probably is: yourself.
You have an "inner voice" that has opinions on everything you do. That
inner voice has its own perspective on you as a person, and is acutely
aware of your limitations and shortcomings. Every time you attempt to
step out of your box, to try something new and challenging, that inner
voice starts in on you. "You can never do that," it says.
Well, that inner voice is wrong. You can do it if you set your mind to
it, no matter what has happened in the past. In fact, your biggest
obstacle is convincing yourself that you can. The first step in doing
that is to acknowledge that the "inner voice" exists, and then take
steps to counteract it.
The inner voice will always be there. You can't get rid of it. But you
can keep it from dominating your thoughts and actions by supplying
yourself with plenty of positive input.
Get yourself around positive, future-oriented people. Read books,
listen to tapes, talk back to the voice and say, "Yes I can!" Dwell on
the possibilities, not the risks. Model the behavior of successful
people. Take action toward your goals. Remind yourself of your
accomplishments and of the challenges you've overcome in the past.
Write down your goals and review them at least once a day. Find your
purpose in life keep yourself focused on it.
You can accomplish great things if you'll just let yourself do it.
Today is the first day of spring. It doesn't seem possible, but 1996
is almost 25% over! Are you 25% of the way to the goals you set for
yourself this year? If not, then the first day of Spring should serve
as a reminder to "spring" into action and make 1996 a memorable year.
(Note to our readers in Australia, South Africa and other places to
the south. Please forgive me for today's blatantly "hemispherist"
column, but I have a touch of spring fever! You may want to save this
and read it in September.)
Springtime is a time of renewal. Nature puts many things on hold for
the winter. Trees lose their leaves, the grass turns brown, and many
animals (including humans) tend to hibernate. Here in North America,
we've had a particularly cold winter and I, for one, am ready for
warmer weather.
We should take a lesson from nature. Why do the trees lose their
leaves? So they can get new ones, of course! A whole new set of leaves
for a new season of growth. Maybe that's why trees stick around for so
long.
What can you do to renew yourself this Spring? What "leaves" can you
move out of the way to make room for something new and productive?
Perhaps you've gotten into a rut. You do the same thing every day,
talk to the same people, eat the same lunch, drive the same way to
work, use the same old set of assumptions. Imagine what would happen
if the trees never lost their old leaves and grew new ones. The leaves
would get frail, and torn, and limp, and completely useless.
Nature is constantly renewing itself, pruning away what doesn't work
and making room for new growth. What's not working in your life? What
could you do if you were free of your old assumptions and ineffective
habits?
It is a shock for a tree to lose it's leaves in the fall. And it is an
effort for the tree to grow a new set in the spring. But it is well
worth the trauma and the effort. That annual act of renewal enables a
tiny tree to reach the sky.
At this time when nature is renewing itself, perhaps you should join
in the fun and find your own way to have a productive growing season.
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