How to Improve Industry Training

Training is a popular topic in our industry, and it's great that such attention is being paid to such an important element of our business.

But I can't help but notice that the primary focus is always on the quantity of training. All we hear about is where and when the training is, was, or needs to be. There's no shortage of training available to CE pros. That's terrific.

But where's the discussion about the quality of all this training?

CE industry training has become like beer at a tailgate party: Who cares how good it is, as long as there's plenty of it, right?

In this economy where resources are scarce and every dollar spent is carefully evaluated, our industry's training component clearly needs to offer a solid return on investment (ROI), and that means it needs to get better.

Every organization in our industry owes itself the due diligence of revisiting, reevaluating and rethinking its training component. Given the investment of time and expense involved in industry training events, they ought to be of the highest caliber, exceed expectations, and deliver discernible value.

Define Quality Training

High-quality training can provide a powerful way for a company to delineate itself from its competitors, and can deliver significant ROI. Poor or improper training can have the exact opposite effect, polarizing the audience, squandering the investment, and condemning the company to less-than-optimal results.

So, what defines quality training? How should it be provided? Why is it so hard to find?

It boils down to this: Training isn't just about what you learn. It's also about how you learn, how you retain what you learn, and how you apply what you learn when you're on the job. Most industry training today is focused on the "what" at the expense of the "how".

CE organizations both large and small often stub their toes due to their lack of understanding about what comprises great training and, likewise, the principles of adult learning. They forge ahead and deliver the same underwhelming educational experience over and over, and scratch their heads later when the training fails to produce the desired results. It reminds me of the hapless do-it-yourselfer who cries, "I've cut this board three times and it's still too short!"

So let's attempt to raise the bar on the quality of training provided throughout our industry by examining some of the most common training transgressions, as well as some fundamental rules of thumb that should be applied by anyone who develops or delivers CE training.

Engage the Audience

A predominant misconception is that the most important element of any training is the curriculum. Wrong. What matters most is that each audience member understands and remembers whatever skill or knowledge is being taught, so they can be effectively applied later. Otherwise, why bother?