A Useful TRAINING Tool

 Workshops are a powerful training tool well worth considering.    

          They can be held to plan strategies, or to help solve work-related problems by sharing experiences, knowledge and ideas. They are usually held in seclusion,  away from workplaces. All cell phones are turned off during training.

          Competition between teams can be a powerful stimulus for learning, but it should be fun and never antagonistic.

Five tips when running a training workshop

* Make the workshop area look interesting 

          First impressions are important so set up the room or rooms to look ‘busy’ where exciting things are about to happen.

          Set up a drinks table where participants can go for a cup of tea, coffee or water when they want a break.

* At the start prepare a ‘working contract’ with the participants

          Goals and objectives should be spelt out and fully approved and adopted at the start of training.

          “Why are we here?”  “What do we hope to gain?”  “What time shall we start and finish each day?” “How long should we take for lunch?” etc. 

* Foster competition between groups

          The ideal team size is about five people. Five teams made up of five participants is ideal. Big groups tend to be dominated by a few and some people tend to remain quiet.           

* Workshops should be fun and fruitful

          They can be a great way to build up work teams.

          Try to use a variety of training techniques to keep interest levels high, such as ‘brainstorming’, ‘mind-mapping’, making up alternative lists of activities or solutions to problems.

          Encourage new initiatives and alternative ideas to be considered. 

          Allow time for games and social events to help build up team spirit and to give breaks between exercises.  

          Make competitions fun and give simple reward prizes for top-performing groups.

          Constantly review and evaluate the techniques being used.

* Good recommendations and useful findings should be recorded

          Be generous with additional reference handouts and resource materials.

          Reinforce training with a list of recommendations and findings from the workshop.  These should be sent out as soon as possible following events.

          To sum up, make training interesting, entertaining, challenging, enjoyable and worthwhile.

 –Geoffrey Moss (mossassociates.co.nz) 

“Successful training is based on imagination, enthusiasm and hard work.”

Source: “Training Secrets.  Helping adults learn”,  published by Moss Associates Ltd & Cengage Learning Asia. Also available as an e-book from Amazon.com.  “Training Ways, Helping Adults Learn“, MAF Information, N.Z. ; “The Corporate Trainer’s Quick Reference”, BUSINESS ONE IRWIN, USA; “The Trainer’s DESK Reference”, Kogan Page, U.K.