Inter-company Train the Trainer

Very often the best people to train others in company-specific tasks are those that are already doing the job. However, it's not as simple as that when considering workplace training. While these trainers and coaches may have the technical skills needed, can they actually teach?

An old Chinese proverb says: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to catch fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Training the trainer or coaching the coach is like teaching a man to fish. Train one trainer or coach and they can then pass on their knowledge on to many within their own organisation.

It is important that your in-house trainers and coaches are taught to deliver courses, workshops and tool-box talks. All aspects should be addressed, everything from course design to interpersonal skills. At the same time, you’re giving your trainers tools concerning not only what to teach, but how to teach.

Benefits of Workplace Training

Workplace training is an investment in the future of the organisation and its employees. Managers are understandably concerned about the payback. Building skills and improving knowledge helps companies stay competitive. However, if there is a larger group to train than the budget will allow, a company may benefit from a training-the-trainer programme for groups of employees or coaching-the-coach for small groups and individuals. This will enable employers to maximise their training investment.

Benefits may include:

Fast, positive results
Improved employee retention
Subject put into company context and targeted
Formation of internal alliances and teams
Workplace training – training delivered at the coal-face
Improvement in specific skills or behaviour
Improvement in confidence, motivation and performance of delegates and trainer
As soon as the session ends, the trainee should be able to implement a new practice
Greater clarity and roles and objectives
Fuller use of trainee and trainer’s potential
Demonstration of commitment to individuals and their development
Facilitation of adoption of new management style or culture
Less chance of skills fade as the in-house trainer is there to follow up until the new skills become a habit
Less workplace downtime as trainees do not have to travel off-site for training
Becoming an employer of choice

Coaching Ethic

A company we work with recently changed a supervisor in a team. The new supervisor has more of a coaching ethic whereby he will take the operators away from their day job for a few minutes, demonstrate the best approach for a particular task, get the operator to carry out the task and then critique them doing the job for real. It sounds very simple but the improvement in morale, confidence and performance of the staff has been significant!

Rather than being an imposition on the new trainer, it should be recognition of their behaviours and skills. Being a trained trainer should confer status. It should not be seen as just asking them to do something else.

A Typical Process Chart

Select right people with vocational competence
Deliver Train the Trainer course
Write training materials and assessment criteria
Deliver on-job training
Assess competence of staff on-job
If not competent deliver more training and repeat

The staff you choose as your trainers are unconsciously competent before the course. A Train the Trainer workshop makes them think about other aspects of what training is about. “I didn’t know there was so much to it”. The critique after their delivery is always their favourite part.

A Train the Trainer course is only as good as the implementation of the course. If trainers are not given time to develop their new skills then an opportunity has been missed.

Over many years MCP has developed different formats of coaching and Train the Trainer workshops. The most popular and accessible are the 2-day workshop. Furthermore, City and Guilds’ registered courses can be offered. Our workshops have been delivered to operators and technicians in a variety of industries including food, drink and water.

MCP Train the Trainer Course

On successful completion of our Train the Trainer courses, delegates will be able to:

Design, develop and deliver training and instructional sessions
Understand the learning process and how people learn at work
Practice their training skills
Give and receive feedback

The course will focus on:

Learning styles and processes
Settings objectives
Barriers to learning
Communication – non-verbal behaviour, listening, questioning and observing
Giving and receiving feedback
Evaluation and assessment
Planning and preparation
Mind-mapping
Training design
Using visual aids: Flipcharts, power-point presentations
Practical exercises to reinforce learning points

If you want to know more about our Train the Trainer workshops, get in touch with us. One of our experienced team will be able to talk you through your requirements to enable you to support your organisations Training objectives.