Q. Our new people have to learn several programs and processes and we hold regular training sessions to teach them. But the feedback we get is that the sessions are boring and not very effective. We’ve got a modern training room and the trainers— usually our quality control specialists— know their material. How can we do it better? —Helene T.

A. Many “trainers” haven’t had much coaching on how to train well. They’re subject-matter experts who tend to pass along their knowledge by “presentation”—reviewing the material from a program booklet or overhead transparences —line-by-line—and maybe sharing some examples along the way. Today’s effective trainers use a variety of techniques to involve the trainees—and keep them interested and focused. Consider some of these for a change of pace:

Card Sort.

Put each step in a process on a 3 x 5 card and number them at random. Make enough sets for groups of 4-5 people, and ask each group to sort the cards in the right order. The first group with the order closest to the correct answer wins a prize—like a lottery ticket. Then discuss the why the “correct” order is the most important, safest, most economical, etc. It’s an easy, interactive way to get people to learn several steps in a process.

Case Studies.

Describe an event as if real people were involved. Have small groups study the situation and decide on the best course of action and be ready to explain it to the larger group. (To help small groups keep their focus, ask each one to appoint a facilitator, scribe and timekeeper—so that three people share the leadership of the group. Someone in the group summarizes their findings to the larger group.)

Clinics.

These are problem-solving sessions. Identify a critical issue or problem and, using good facilitation skills, help the group analyze the problem in-depth and develop possible solutions. You may want to invite outside experts to explain certain aspects of the problem, or be available as resources.

Critical Incidents.

Write these scenarios like case studies, but focus on actual incidents that did or could happen—and that have major, serious consequences. The goal is to train people to know how to handle them when they occur. Example: a chemical hazard spill on the shop floor. What must be done? Not done? How? Who will do it?

Demonstrations.

Conduct these in the classroom with actual products or items the employees have to do something with—or at an actual work station. There are four key steps:

Explain what you want done and how and why; demonstrate each step; ask selected (or all) participants to imitate the steps and actions. (Don’t assume they know the steps, and don’t ask, “Do you understand?” Instead, say, “Just to make sure I’ve been clear, would you (choose two or three) go through the steps one more time?” Then correct any mistakes with feedback.

Discussion.

You present a topic to a large group and use your facilitation skills to

explore all the options. Or invite everyone to divide into small groups to discuss it and report back their findings. (People tend to form the same groups—with those they already know. So, to stimulate fresh ideas, ask the group to count off by fours or fives, and say where you want the ones to meet, then the twos, etc. It’s also good to have the topic and key issues written out, along with your goals for the discussion.)

Games.

Whenever you can involve people physically, they enjoy the learning more. For example, you can make up contests for people to accomplish certain tasks within a time limit and then give out prizes. Check out Connections: 125 Structured Activities for Facilities Training by Lois B. Hart (HRD Press—800-822-2801).

Fishbowl.

You select two to four or five people to come to the center of the room and role-play a situation, with the rest of the group watching and taking notes. Then group on the sidelines gives those in the “fishbowl” feedback on how they handled the issue and their interactions. This is a good way to help people improve their interpersonal skills, since they get immediate feedback from peers on how they did.

Ice-Breakers/Warm-Ups.

Always start the session with something easy and fun. Have people introduce each other; ask who has birthdays this month; let teams of two take a few minutes to learn more about their partners, then introduce the partner to the larger group. You could even take 10-20 key words from the training and put them into a Word Search. Put people in teams and award a prize for the first team that finds all the words.

You’ll find more good training ideas in 50 One-Minute Tips for Trainers by Carrie A. Van Daele (Crisp Publications – 800-442-7477).