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Excerpt from Easytraining.com News #70, August 16, 2007
Copyright Claire Belilos © August 16, 2007
Reprinted by special permission of the author
When I decided on the title of this newsletter issue, I remembered an exchange I had, through the internet, with someone completing his M. A. in Hospitality Management.
He was doing his internship in the Human Resources or Training Department of a major chain hotel and was sort-of overwhelmed by the responsibility assigned to him. He had to submit a plan for training for some specific areas of the operation.
All his efforts went into writing training activities for one aspect or the other. At this stage he communicated with me.
Through our exchange I realized that he had not allowed himself a few minutes to think "WHY?" i.e. to clearly define the purpose (the objective) of the different training activities he was planning. I therefore advised him to first concentrate on the "training objective", explaining that once this was clear in his mind, all the rest would follow, adding that the only purpose of training was to achieve an objective.
He cried "Eureka!" (Not exactly in this term, but in modern language.) It was as if he was metamorphosed. He said "I now understand. What you are telling me is that training by itself is not an objective, but "the means to reach the objective". I agreed.
Side tip to upper management: Whenever a department head or training manager comes to you with a detailed training plan, ask them to "justify the need". Ask them "why?" and ask them to do so in writing. They will have to struggle with this while they are working at it and will often find themselves revising their training plan a few times. Through the act of providing a justification of the training need, which will have to contain "expected results of (this particular) training", they are committing themselves to providing "effective training", i.e. training which yields results. This will dictate both the "content" and "process" of each training activity.
Throughout the years, I was contacted by several executives and training managers who seemed to have great trouble knowing "from where to begin" planning for some new training strategy they wanted to implement, such as cross training throughout the organization.
Where do we begin if we wish (or "have to") design a training program or set up a training department? I will not speak here about "logistics", such as projectors, flip charts, boards, or furniture.
There are many issues involved in the planning of training, but our purpose here is to shed a light on how to begin in the right direction.
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2. Get or draw separate departmental charts (the internal organization and sub-divisions of each department), indicating the general responsibilities (e. g. Reservations Clerks).
3. Collect and read all the different Job Descriptions, including that of the General Manager. Separate these per divisions and departments.
4. Get hold of the Employee Manual, disciplinary policy, security and safety regulations, human resources policies and procedures, employee benefits program, awards and recognition programs and other policies and programs related to human resources management.
5. Get hold of all existing and past material related to training and development: training policy, training strategy, training activities, budget, costs, and training resources and support material.
6. Get hold of all performance evaluation and employee appraisal tools (general and departmental).
7. Collect all material related to training plans, strategies, policies, and activities, from the different department heads and supervisors. If they have nothing organized in writing, interview several of them, per department, writing down what they say. If you do interview them, save time by asking them about the frequency of each activity, time schedule, content and process, who the exact audience was (exactly which level of employees), and ask: "Was it effective?" "Did it improve work performance?" "Was the effect long-lasting?" and jot down their answers.
You will also save time for the later stage of the game by asking each, towards the end of the interview "What would you change?", "Which additional training is needed?," "How would you describe employee attitude?", "How high is employee motivation in this department?" "Is there a team spirit among them?", "Is employee turnover high? Why is this?" (NOTE: By asking these questions, you will not only discover a great deal of actual training needs, but will probably discover several matters which need correction, from a management and/or operational point of view.)
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9. If you did not yet interview upper management, all department heads, assistants, and supervisors, as well as a cross-section of employees, begin interviewing, jotting down all their comments, opinions, and suggestions.
10. Study all the material and information you collected. Analyze it. Write down your impressions and conclusions, one section at a time. Take a few days to re-read it all and think more about it. Begin thinking of what needs to change and what new steps must be taken.
11. Organize for yourself a special secluded work location. A room with at least one huge white board, and lots of blank walls over which you can stick some flip chart papers (or static sheets), and erasable felt pens, in different colours. Begin planning, division by division, then the different departments, sections, and job positions within departments.
Maybe you prefer to jot down salient points in red "as red flags", e.g. a red "ATTITUDE", or a red "FAULTY WORK", or a red "ABSENTEEISM" or "MOTIVATION". Decide on your colour code, e.g. Black = action to be taken, green = good situation, and so forth, to enable you to see the general picture at a glance. Do this for each division, department, section, and job position, using different sections of the wall or whiteboard.
12. Come back to visit all those charts and notes for a few days, erasing and adding, as needed.
13. Study the common threads, e.g. what are the burning issues which need to be addressed in more than one department or across the organization? Prepare a new big work space, and write down the "Subjects", e.g. Service to Customers, Technical Work Knowledge, Sloppy Work, Attitude, Motivation, and so forth. Under each subject, list the departments where this issue must be addressed, adding under each department, the job positions where this is the most urgent (e. g. phone operators, front clerks, supervisors, or assistants).
14. You now have your needs analysis, per divisions, departments, and sections, and, as equally important, "per subject".
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15. The next stage will be for you to decide "how" to tackle each issue, i.e. which training strategy and technique will you use to change the situation to the desired one, depending on the need: Which training is needed "exactly" to improve on technical skills for "x" job position. What is the best way to help certain trainees acquire more knowledge about the organization, their department, or their specific sphere of work. How can you improve supervisory motivation overall, or in a certain department, and so forth.
16. Write down your preliminary planning in an organized fashion, easy for the eye and mind to capture (a chart? A mindmap in different coloured pens?). Study these, think further, and refine them.
17. When ready, set appointments with individual managers and supervisors. Show them your preliminary planning. Ask for their input. Go back to your drawing board and refine further.
18. Read again all the feedback you received since your first step in this process, as well as all the material you collected: management, human resources and training policies, operational procedures, work procedures, evaluations and survey results. Try to spot loopholes, policies, or procedures which may have caused problems. Decide what needs to be improved from a management or operational point of view, and what relates to "training".
19. Communicate, confidentially, your conclusions to upper management. Sometimes it is the behaviour and attitude of a manager, department head or supervisor, or their "promotions" policy, which lead to employees' lack of motivation and shortcomings in attitude and work performance. It is not "training" which will correct such problems, and these must be addressed at their source. If you feel qualified, diplomatic, and sensitive enough to discuss such issues openly with a specific department head (instead of taking it to upper management), then do so, with a "supportive" attitude. Ask how you can help "correct this perception."
20. Draw your final plan, per division, department, and section, and a second final plan "per subject" (e. g. customer service training), sub-divided by groups (e. g. for specific departments, specific job positions, or a group of peers from mixed departments). What and how you will facilitate this training is a totally new subject.
You can read some indication of this in my articles:
Conducting Effective Employee Orientations
Defining Effective Training (Learning) Objectives
Cross-Training as a Motivational and Problem-Solving Technique
You can find a great deal of print and digital material on how to plan and conduct specific training activities. We must not lose sight of our objectives and always remember that Training is not an objective but a means to the objective. The steps described above are indeed necessary to plan training. We cannot erect a structure in the air - it would be like building sand castles on the beach, ready to be swept away by any wind or wave.
I hope you enjoyed this Easytraining.com Newsletter issue. Please send your feedback. Thank you for your attention, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Claire Belilos
© August 16, 2007
PERMISSIONS: This article cannot be republished in print, or digitally, nor can it be distributed without written permission of its author. In this case, special permission was accorded to Mr. Ken Burgin of ProfitableHospitality.com In keeping with copyright laws, the above article is not to be used for any "for profit" activity or training of others without written agreement signed between third parties and myself (Claire Belilos).
You may subscribe to this newsletter at EasyTraining.
Thank you for your attention, and best regards,
Claire Belilos
August 16, 2007 - Copyright 2007 Claire Belilos
ISSN 1499-8076 - This publication is registered with the National Library of Canada and is published by
Claire Belilos, Management Consultant and Training Specialist
CHIC Hospitality Consulting Company
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