Professional Partner Content

Why You Should Change Your Training Program

In the past, AllenComm has warned of the dangers of corporate training complacency: "…when a corporation has had an existing corporate training program for an extended period of time[,] individuals may get used to working around what they perceive to be the 'shortcomings' of the training, while still making use of any positive aspects of the training…"

You know what shortcomings we're talking about. Maybe your online training program is slow, has two hours' worth of un-skippable audio, and can't be taken on a smartphone. Sure, your employees complain, but the training content is so good! It gets the job done! You're not going to update it until a new process implementation forces you to.

Or maybe the facilitator guide for your instructor-led training has a few pieces of incorrect info strewn throughout. Well, 98% of the content is correct, right? Your facilitators can just pencil over the incorrect bits for three more years until the software update is launched and you get new training. Easy enough!

Except it really isn't. If you ignore issues in your training now, when you do need to update your program, it may be too late. It's better to examine your training program regularly and decide if any of it needs to be augmented, retooled, or replaced for any reason.

Why you may feel complacent about your training
Healthline writes about the problems with repetitive physical training. "If you work out regularly, it's easy to fall into the habit of doing the same set of exercises every time. This might make your workouts feel more comfortable. But this comfort comes at a cost. When you perform the same exercises repeatedly, they become easier over time…. Eventually, your workouts won't offer you much of a challenge."

Using the same corporate training over and over for many years has a similar effect. The level of comfort you feel with the training starts to mentally and even emotionally outweigh the perceived benefits of changing things up. It makes you more and more reluctant to spend money on new training because you feel like everything is fine the way it is.

How can you get out of a complacency mindset and into the habit of critically evaluating your training on a regular basis? Our suggestion is to adjust your thinking to be more like Domino's.

Have a Domino's mindset
Domino's has become renowned for their anti-complacency mindset. In 2009, the company was under fire for both their pizza recipe and their customer service. The company issued an apology that "was not caused by a drop in the stock or financial performance"; it was based solely on a desire to do better for their customers. And they did: the chain completely revamped their recipe and transformed the way they delivered pizza.

This willingness to change quickly spread to a commitment to do better in every way, including training. Today, Domino's utilizes innovative training courses and a cutting-edge portal, and their training program is constantly changing and growing as they strive to become the best they can be. They're reaping a clear ROI: 17% of the competitive pizza market now belongs to them. Because they critically evaluate and reevaluate on a regular basis, they can quickly recognize and adapt to any training needs to continue to dominate.

How to know if a training change is required
When you adopt a Domino's mindset, you keep an eye on your training, ready to make a change at the slightest suggestion that it is needed. But wait! How do you solicit feedback? And what kind of feedback shows that a change in the training is necessary?

You've probably heard some grumblings about issues. You might even have a participation-tracking or feedback-gathering mechanism built into your training model. If you don't, you may have to look at data tools or send out a survey to learn whether employees are using your training as directed and what they think about it.

Common complaints about training that may indicate you need a change are:

  • "I don't have any clear learning goals to focus on."
  • "I'm not sure how I can use the information in the real world."
  • "There's too much text to sift through."
  • "The training platform is difficult to use."
  • "I don't feel like the training is geared toward my needs."
  • "I think my brain is going to implode!"

If you hear these complaints, you may need to develop additional training, adjust the training you already have, or start over from scratch. The best solution will be dependent on your training model, your culture, your industry, your audience, and your budget.

No matter the issues, don't ignore them! Don't grow complacent. Take a close look, and if you find you need to change your training program…change it. You'll see a difference.

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