“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, writer & scientist
Corporate Training | Developing Human Capital ™
“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, writer & scientist
I just finished reading an article on how Starbucks is closing over 7000 of their stores, for 3 hours on Tuesday, for remedial espresso training. Starbucks, which already has an extensive training program feels that their baristas are not making their coffee drinks up to the standard that Starbucks seeks to be known for.
When was the last time you saw a company, who is committed to success, stop all business activities to insure that their staff have the proper skill set to perform their job? You don’t see it because most companies are short sighted. They are willing to delivery mediocre products and let their customers know that as a company, they do not care!
Starbucks is setting a ‘gold standard’ on this. They ‘are doing’ what many more companies aught to be doing…. training their staff. They are less concerned with the loss of economic opportunity (which Dunkin Donuts is taking advantage of with their 99 cent caffeine shot) for those 3 hours, but remain focused on the truly ‘long-term’ value of delivering high quality coffee products.
In the end, this training action by Starbucks will cement their already strong relationship with their customers, who in turn will provide the on-going viral word-of-mouth advertising for their superior coffee products.
I thought the title might catch a few extra glances. Who would have thought that there was something sexy going on with all those trainer happy sheets? For one, I did.
Happy sheets, for those uninformed, are those polled results you provide at the end of a seminar. It is where you get the opportunity to rate the instructor and provide valuable feedback on how the seminar/course can be improved in the future. For the most part, the stakeholder (those people who sponsor the programs) take these sheets and quickly look at them and then forget them.
What a waste!
Happy sheets are more than just a quick analysis of how a particular program was conducted. They are more than an ‘off-the-cuff’ judgement of the instructor. They are more than feedback for the sponsors. When used properly, the can provide a valuable path for improving the course and building on the knowledge that the participants/delegates/students received while attending. Continue reading this post…
Sports team training is no longer limited to physical training only - corporate-type training is being used today for both professional and amateur sports teams.When we think of training and sports teams, we usually think of physical training - the intense workouts, simulations, and training camps that put athletes into peak performance condition. But sports teams, both amateur and professional, are turning to more academic training to ensure the mental fitness of athletes, as well.There are training centers springing up all over the world that cater to both physical and mental training for athletes. On the same lines, some corporate training programs, especially leadership programs, are bringing activities for sports teams into the boardroom. One of the common training elements is communications training. From the basic levels to the intricacies of game day communication, some sports teams are taking up classroom training to learn the art.
A well-developed and well-rounded training program will create a “path of excellence” that impacts the bottom line as well as individual careers. If you are mindful of leadership and function in your training programs, you can see your path of excellence develop in five ways.First, your functional or job-based training will create expert functionality. From the new hire level into the advanced levels, a skills based program helps employees progress career-wise, and helps the organization build a functional talent pool. To make this happen, your training has to go beyond the new hire level and address each career level in a particular job family. With this type of program, you’ve always got talent filtering through the pipeline. Continue reading this post…
The U.S. Military uses typical training techniques and modifies their delivery in order to turn an ordinary person into an extraordinary leader.When we think of military training, sometimes we think of a drill sergeant screaming in the face of a new recruit. Although this does happen, the branches of the U.S. Military utilize some of the same techniques we use in corporate training - except the delivery is different. This delivery creates the extraordinary members of the U.S. military.Many corporate organizations refer to their new hire programs as “boot camps” - it’s an appropriate nickname, but in theory only. A military boot camp, as well as a corporate one, uses accelerated learning techniques. A great deal of knowledge is crunched into a short period of time, but that’s where the similarities end. Military boot camps use shock value and “break down” techniques as a way to mold a recruit into someone else, while leaving the best characteristics of the person intact. According to one former member of the U.S. Navy, the boot camp formula is break down, instruction, and reinforcement - both negative and positive. The other element of training is adaptation - the military consistently adapts the training recruits receive in step with changes in the world. Perhaps that’s a page corporate training can take to heart.
Using technology in training can be disruptive - but answer these questions and you can turn disruption into efficient and advanced training.Today’s training can be enhanced - or disrupted, by new advances in technology such as Computer Based Training (CBT), elearning or Web Based Training (WBT), video and audio webinars, and the use of metric dashboards. In order to use technology effectively, you have to ask a few questions and understand how to use each of the technologies offered.First, you should ask if the chosen technology is appropriate to the material. Many training organizations use technology simply because it’s there and not because it works for the learning intervention at hand. You can ask yourself if participants will likely have questions about the material - and how they can be answered if there is not a live person around. For example, highly technical information with various outcomes may not be appropriate for CBT or WBT, but may be appropriate for a video webinar, where participants can see and hear an instructor. Informational pieces with electronic resources such as websites or other documents are certainly appropriate for CBT or WBT. It may seem efficient to take the human element out of training, but remember to look at the long-term effects.