Managing Training

Confirm that a performance needs assessment (PNA) has been conducted and that training will close the performance gap

Tips for Managing Training Develop a team and assign each member a specific responsibility for managing training courses (e.g., funding, budgets, logistics, communications) Establish methods for communicating with trainers, learners attending courses, and their supervisors before, during, and after training Ensure that training budgets include funds for supporting the learner on the job after training through followup visits, communications with supervisors, and the like Ensure that the monitoring and evaluation strategy will provide information on whether training resulted in improved job performance

As described in the Introduction, a PNA should be done before training is undertaken. The PNA defines the content of the training and provides information that will be used to design, deliver, and evaluate training. To effectively manage all stages of training, the manager must be thoroughly familiar with the PNA findings and recommendations.

In your training manager role, you should:

• Review information from the PNA that describes the performance gap, and confirm that the root cause is a lack of knowledge and/or skills
• Make sure that workers know what they are expected to do (have clear job expectations) or will learn about any new job expectations before participating in training
• Assess whether job expectations are realistic, given the current working environment
• Determine whether tasks that are currently performed by the worker are essential to the worker’s job as defined by an existing standard
• Check that appropriate motivation and incentives for the learner are in place and that barriers to performance have been identified
• Determine whether interventions other than training are needed to improve job performance, and that the need for these interventions is taken into account to help ensure application of learning on the job

Plan, acquire, and manage resources to achieve training outcomes 

After confirming that training is needed, the first priority is to develop a budget for all of the training costs—design, delivery, and evaluation. The budget may include costs for people’s time, facilities, travel, learners’ expenses, learning materials (including audiovisuals), equipment, and supplies. [See sections on Design, Delivery, and Evaluation for more information on essential elements of training that will be cost factors to consider.]

The next step is to secure funding. Sometimes the amount of money available for training will have been established first. In these cases, the budget (and therefore the training design) must be within the funding amount.

In your training manager role, you should:

• Develop a budget that includes categories covering the necessary training activities
• Obtain funds to support the budget
• Ensure that processes are in place for proper management of the budget and disbursement of the funds

Select the training design team

A good training design is necessary for a successful training course. The job of the designer or design team is to develop the plan and materials for the training course. To develop them, the team needs to know that all performance factors have been examined and that training is the appropriate intervention. They also need information on the performance gap and the specific knowledge and skills needed to close it. Finally, they must know the funding available for the training course itself. 

One person or a team may be responsible for the design of training. Ideally, the design team is made up of a trainer, training manager, instructional designer, supervisor, technical content expert, training evaluator, and/or others (e.g., someone with the perspective of the learner). When possible, some members of the training design team should be members of the training delivery team. If this is not possible, the person(s) who will deliver the training must be thoroughly familiar with the training design before the course begins.

In your training manager role, you should:

• Select a training design team (or instructional designer) that:
• Includes a subject matter expert who is proficient in the knowledge and skills to be learned 
• Knows how to design and use different types of training strategies, activities, and media
• Uses a systematic instructional design approach for the design, delivery, and evaluation of training
• Is sensitive to the ways that issues concerning ethnic groups, gender, and organizational culture may affect training design in a specific location
• Uses up-to-date, realistic knowledge of the learners’ current or eventual work settings
• Incorporates ways for learners to receive timely assessment and feedback 
• Have the authority to make decisions about the training design

Establish a monitoring and evaluation strategy

The purpose of training is to give workers the knowledge and skills they need to perform on the job. Effective training can have an immediate impact on both provider and facility performance. Therefore, it is important to have a way to continually compare actual to desired performance, as well as determine any change in performance. In addition to showing how training affects individual and facility performance, this information will help identify changes needed in training design or delivery. 

In your training manager role, you should:

• Define minimum job performance standards that are consistent with the desired performance described in the PNA
• Ensure that the evaluator or evaluation team is able to:
• Develop tools (e.g., course evaluation questionnaire) and processes (e.g., interviews) to assess learners’ achievement of learning objectives and satisfaction with training 
• Develop tools (e.g., skills checklist) and a process (e.g., followup after training) to monitor and evaluate performance on the job after training
• Develop tools (e.g., an action plan to be completed by the learner) and a process (e.g., supervisor involvement) to address any barriers or problems to applying newly learned knowledge, skills, and attitudes on the job, as identified during the monitoring process

Manage training logistics

The success of a training course often depends on how effectively the details of the course arrangements are managed. Training logistics include (but are not limited to) activities such as:

• Sending the course syllabus and learning objectives to learners and their supervisors before training
• Arranging for and visiting training facilities before training, including meeting with clinical trainers and staff at the clinical training site
• Making arrangements for housing, meals, and local transportation 
• Ordering training materials and audiovisuals 
• Managing financial arrangements, including learners’ per diems, facility fees, and the like
• Communicating and planning with the training delivery team 

There may be several people from different organizations responsible for managing different aspects of the training logistics. It is essential that everyone involved in managing logistics communicate with one another on a regular basis.

In your training manager role, you should:

• Develop a list of all of the logistics for the training course 
• Assign responsibility for each of the training logistics and ensure that those responsible are aware of your expectations
• Establish and follow a reasonable timeline of activities to guide management of training logistics

Communicate with learners and their supervisors before training 

One of the training manager’s responsibilities is to ensure that as much information as possible about the work situation and performance needs of the learners is obtained and shared with the design, training, and evaluation teams. Ideally, before the course is designed, the manager or design team should visit the learners’ work sites to get this information. If visits are not possible, the manager or design team may gather information through telephone calls, questionnaires, and review of supervision reports.

Gathering information about the work situation and performance of learners before the delivery of the course allows the trainer to build on the knowledge and skills that learners bring to the course. It also allows the trainer to address during training delivery specific challenges faced by the learners in their work sites. The evaluator can use this same information as a baseline to determine whether training has had an impact on performance back at the job after training. 

The manager must ensure that the learners and their supervisors receive information about the course (e.g., course syllabus, learning objectives, precourse learning activities) before the course begins. Sharing this information helps increase the supervisor’s commitment and support for implementing new knowledge and skills after training.

In your training manager role, you should:

• Gather information from potential learners and their supervisors as part of the course design process
• Conduct any additional needs assessments and site visits before training to validate and supplement the results of the PNA
• Share information about the course with learners and their supervisors before the course begins 

Provide followup support for learners and supervisors after training 

Followup after training is an important, but often overlooked, aspect of training. Visits to the job site by the training manager or trainer will help determine whether new knowledge and skills have become part of the learner’s practice. Visits can also help identify why a learner may be having trouble applying new knowledge and skills. Followup visit activities may include observing, coaching, solving problems, gathering data about learner progress, and identifying other performance gaps. If site visits are not possible, consider followup by telephone or correspondence. Followup support is most effective when supervisors actively participate in the followup activity. Both the learner and the supervisor should be informed of the findings and recommendations resulting from the followup visit. 

In your training manager role, you should:

• Make sure that training followup activities (e.g., visits, phone calls, correspondence) take place soon after training and that the followup:
• Supports learners’ performance on the job (e.g., using performance checklists, modeling new skills, coaching and providing feedback, monitoring and supporting learners’ action plans, identifying other performance support issues)
• Strengthens supervisors’ skills in supporting learners’ performance on the job 
• Reviews learning action plans with supervisors and learners, making sure the activities are described in specific detail and are consistent with the needs of the work setting
• Shares observations with supervisors and learners in an objective and constructive manner
• Continue to communicate with supervisors and learners after training to monitor job performance and support learners’ needs