Even the best learning and development (L&D) strategies and programs can fail if they’re implemented by ill-taught trainers or trainers who don’t have the resources and support that they need to be effective and successful at their jobs.
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Here are five tips for training successful trainers.
1. Offer Ample Resources and Support
Offer trainers resources for designing course content, conducting online courses, hosting in-person training sessions or online webinars, etc., and provide templates, style guides, and guidelines for course content and classroom etiquette so everyone follows the same standard.
Also, let trainers know who they can call with curriculum issues, safety issues, attendance issues, technical issues, etc. Basically, don’t let your trainers fend for themselves when you can easily steer them in the right direction and set them up for success.
2. Show Them How to Use the Right Technology
Some trainers have been training workers for decades but don’t know how to create a PowerPoint® presentation, conduct a virtual webinar, or facilitate online discussion boards.
So, offer training materials that show them how to do these things so that they can be more effective at their jobs. Also offer guidance on when certain technology might be beneficial to a training session and when it may not be necessary. Here’s a list of technology tools your employees must know how to use, especially your trainers.
3. Cover Emotional Intelligence Skills and Communication Skills
Above all else, trainers should be effective communicators and be able to communicate ideas to others. They should also have ample emotional intelligence skills to help meet and exceed learners’ expectations and demands and build trust and rapport with their learners, as well as across their classrooms. Emotionally intelligent and adept communicators are also excellent at providing constructive feedback to learners in a way that motivates them to continue to learn.
4. Provide Time Management Training
Some trainers are great at hosting webinars and in-person classroom training sessions but aren’t so great at managing their time developing content or evaluating learners’ assessments, so train your trainers how to manage their time inside and outside of designated and planned training sessions.
5. Encourage Them to Use Collaborative Tools and Social Learning
Encourage your trainers to work with one another via collaborative and social learning tools. They can use these tools to offer feedback, swap best practices, and share valuable resources.
If you want your trainers to be effective and successful at their jobs, remember the five tips highlighted above. Also, for more tips on training your trainers, read “7 Skills Your Instructors and Trainers Must Have.”