Change in the Training World – Part Three

In Part One of this Blog series I talked about the need for changes in training – changes that will make it more effective in our businesses. Then in Part Two I showed that the kinds of changes we need are pretty well known, they’re just not done very often. Why is that?
The Excuses
Sometimes, we simply don’t know what to do for a specific situation. Or, we may know what we could do but there’s not an acceptable return on the required investment. Sometimes, the reason is fear, which manifests itself in three ways.

• We’ve never done that before or We don’t do it that way around here. Of course you don’t! That’s why it’s called “change.” If you think something could improve, these excuses don’t apply. Someone once said, “A measure of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result.”
• How much risk is there for me if I champion this change? “I’m not paid enough to be a hero” is a fairly common thought. A quick story. I once did some organizational structure consulting for a company that knew one of two managers’ jobs was unnecessary. My unpleasant job: figure out which one and make a recommendation to senior management. I put both managers on my team and we worked on the issue together. For awhile, both fought for their respective jobs, until one day, one of them admitted that overwhelming evidence suggested that his job was the one to be eliminated. And he made the recommendation to an astonished senior management group. The risk? The affected manager was reassigned and a few years later the trust he had built with senior management resulted in a significant promotion.
• The effect of the change is unknown or People won’t adopt it. These are real concerns, but they’re not a reason to avoid change. Unlike Lewis and Clark, you can develop strategies and plans to ensure the positive effect you’re looking for.

The Solution
Today more than ever training professionals need to look for new ideas to reduce cost and improve training effectiveness (which I define as transference of the skill to the job). There’s a lot written about managing change, but I’ve found 7 simple steps work pretty well.

• Remind yourself frequently that “courage” isn’t the lack of fear. It’s the ability to do the right thing despite the fear.
• For significant change, minimize risk by doing a trial implementation in a smaller group.
• Talk about any fears people may have of the change and its impact on them.
• Get everyone involved with the change. Senior management can’t be exempt.
• Provide training and/or other support specifically related to the change.
• Accept feedback about flaws in the plan and correct them.
• Celebrate success!