Hello,

As we promised in last month's newsletter, we have now released our new Training Evaluation Toolkit. In addition, we completed a major revamp of our comprehensive trainer's guide, From Training to Enhanced Workplace Performance. See details below. To herald our product changes, we are devoting this issue to improving the effectiveness of training. Our article this month is a summary of some key strategies discussed in Section 5.9 of From Training to Enhanced Workplace Performance.

If you have not as yet downloaded our updated Catalogue (June 2008), click here. Feel free to drop us a line and let us know what subjects you would like us to cover and what new products you would like to see. We wish you all a productive month.

We are proud to announce the fully revised second edition of our ebook, From Training to Enhanced Workplace Performance. The book's author, Leslie Allan, explained the improvements: "In this second edition, I greatly expanded the sections on how to improve the impact of training. I walk trainers and managers through many practical strategies and techniques for overcoming the inhibitors and capitalizing on the enhancers to employee learning and application on the job. I also added a series of chapters on measuring the effectiveness of training. These chapters guide the reader through the various evaluation methods and techniques and the benefits and drawbacks of each. In the book, I keep the theory to a minimum and focus on providing practical guidance and tools, even for readers who are not versed in finance and measurement."

This second edition also includes a comprehensive set of forms, templates and analysis and reporting worksheets for measuring and improving the effectiveness of your training programs. These are all provided in softcopy format so that you can customize and reuse them time and again. You can purchase the new edition from the product web page at www.businessperform.com/html/effective_training_tools.html

Our brand new Training Evaluation Toolkit is for managers and practitioners who simply need a toolkit for measuring the effectiveness of training. We pulled out the second part of From Training to Enhanced Workplace Performance and created a separate book at a lower purchase price. You get the same comprehensive guidance on evaluation and the full set of evaluation tools as you would in the larger kit. The Training Evaluation Toolkit can be purchased from www.businessperform.com/html/training_evaluation_toolkit.html

Visit each product's web page for a detailed description of each toolkit and to download the complimentary introductory chapter and resource list. If you had purchased the first edition of our From Training to Enhanced Workplace Performance and wish to upgrade to the new edition, please send your purchase details to us at office@businessperform.com. We will then advise you on an upgrade path.

Many trainers are faced with the challenge of motivating their training program participants to use the new skills they learned during the program back in their workplace. Whether it is using the new software system to enter customer interactions, acting in a more collaborative manner with other team members or delegating more often to direct reports, this is what the training program is meant to be all about. If the training program does not in the end change workplace behaviors, the money and time spent on training is simply wasted.

All trainers have experienced at one time or another training program participants that are neither interested in the program nor motivated to apply the skills and knowledge in their jobs. Here are some tips that you as a trainer can use to help participants want to learn and to transfer that learning to their jobs. Working towards training transfer starts before the training course begins and continues on after the training completes. So, training transfer tasks have been separated into things you can do before, during and after the training is completed.

Before Training

Get the participants' managers to conduct a pre-course briefing with each participant. If they do not know how, show them. This briefing is the place for each manager to introduce discussion about how the principles, techniques and skills learned will be applied practically once the participant returns from the training event. Their manager is also in the best position to ensure that participants have completed any pre-requisite reading or exercises. Most important of all, the pre-course briefing sends a powerful message that the organization cares about the employee's development and is serious about seeing the benefits of training.

During Training

For training to be effective, the fundamentals of training design will need to have been followed. These basics include selecting the right trainees, matching performance objectives to organizational outcomes, delivering at the right time and choosing the appropriate methods and delivery modes. In addition, the following four points need to be kept in mind during the conduct of the training sessions.

To find out the four key points and what to do after the training program finishes, click here to read the full article

Leslie Allan is the author of our featured products this month and this month's article. He has been assisting organizations improve their capability for over 20 years and has contributed in various roles as manager, consultant and trainer. Some of the companies he has worked with include Fujitsu, Pacific Dunlop and Axa. Leslie is also a seasoned instructional designer and trainer, having taught a variety of programs in both vocational colleges and industry. He is also the author of five books on employee capability, training and change management. You can contact Leslie Allan at office@businessperform.com