Developing a Training Program (Checklist)

This guide is designed to help owner-managers of small firms set up a systematic program for training their employees. The questions are designed to provide a step-by-step approach to the task of organizing and conducting a successful program of employee training.

Whether you are considering a continuous program or a one-shot course, the questions should stimulate your thinking. Many of them involve alternatives which you need to resolve in setting up the program.

Use this checklist as a guide. The experience of other companies in training can provide additional guides. However, in thinking about a training program for your company, consider each question and mark it "yes" or "no" in light of the training needs of your particular situation.

What is the Goal of the Training?

The questions in this section are designed to help the owner-manager define the objective or goal to be achieved by a training program. Whether the objective is to conduct initial training, to provide for upgrading employees, or to retrain for changing job assignments, the goal should be spelled out before developing the plan for the training program.

1. Do you want to improve the performance of your employees?

2. Will you improve your employees by training them to perform their present tasks better?

3. Do you need to prepare employees for newly developed or modified jobs?

4. Is training needed to prepare employees for promotion?

5. Is the goal to reduce accidents and increase safety practices?

6 Should the goal be to improve employee attitudes especially about waste and spoilage practices?

7. Do you need to improve the handling of materials in order to break production bottlenecks?

8. Is the goal to orient new employees to their jobs?

9. Will you need to teach new employees about over-all operation?

10. Do you need to train employees so they can help teach new workers in an expansion program?

What Does the Employee Need to Learn?

Once the objective or goal of the program is set, you will need to determine the subject matter. The following questions are designed to help you decide what the employee needs in terms of duties, responsibilities, and attitudes.

11. Can the job be broken down into steps for training purposes?

12. Are there standards of quality which trainees can be taught?

13. Are there certain skills and techniques which trainees must learn?

14. Are there hazards and safety practices which must be taught?

15. Have you established the methods which employees must use to avoid or minimize waste and spoilage?

16. Are there materials handling techniques that must be taught?

17. Have you determined the best way for the trainees to operate the equipment?

18. Are there performance standards which employees must meet?

19. Are there attitudes that need improvement or modifications?

20. Will information on your products help employees to do a better job?

21. Should the training include information about the location and use of tool cribs and so on?

22. Will the employee need instruction about departments other than his or her own?

What Type of Training?

The type of training to be offered has an important bearing on the balance of the program. Some types lend themselves to achieving all of the objectives or goals, while others are limited. Therefore you should review the advantages of each type in relation to your objective or goal.

23. Can you train on-the-job so that employees can produce while they learn?

24. Should you have classroom training conducted by a paid instructor?

25. Will a combination of scheduled on-the-job training and vocational classroom instruction work best for you.

26. Can your goal be achieved with a combination of on-the-job training and correspondence courses?

What Method of Instruction?

One or more methods of instruction may be used. Some are better for one type of training than another: for example, lectures are good for imparting knowledge, and demonstrations are good for teaching skills.

27. Does the subject matter call for a lecture or series of lectures?

28. Should the instructor follow up with discussion sessions?

29. Does the subject matter lend itself to demonstrations?

30. Can operating problems be simulated in a classroom?

31. Can the instructor direct trainees while they perform the job?

What Audio-Visual Aids Will You Use?

Audio-visual aids help the instructor to make points and enable the trainees to grasp and retain the instructions.

32. Will a manual of interaction - including job instruction sheets - be used?

33. Will trainees be given an outline of the training program?

34. Can outside textbooks and other printed materials be used?

35. If the training lends itself to the use of video, film strips or slides, can you get ones that show the basic operation?

36. Have you drawings or photographs of the machinery, equipment or products which could be enlarged and used?

37. Do you have miniatures or models of machinery and equipment which can be used to demonstrate the operation?

What Physical Facilities Will You Need?

The type of training, the method of instruction and the audio-visuals will determine the physical facilities needed for the training.

In turn, the necessary physical facilities will determine the location of the training. For example, if a certain production machine is necessary, the training would be conducted in the shop.

38. If the training cannot be conducted on the production floor, do you have a conference room or a lunch room in which it can be conducted?

39. Should the training be conducted off the premises, as in a nearby school restaurant, hotel or motel?

40. Will the instructor have the necessary tools, such as a blackboard, lectern, film projector and a microphone if needed).

41. Will there be sufficient seating and writing surfaces (if needed) for trainee?

42. If equipment is to be used, will each trainee be provided with his or her own?

What About the Timing?

The length of the training program will vary according to the needs of your company, the material to be learned, the ability of the instructor, and the ability of the trainees to learn.

43. Should the training be conducted part-time and during working hours?

44. Should the sessions be held after working hours?

45. Will the instruction cover a predetermined period of time? (For example, 4 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months.)

46. Can the length of each session and the number of sessions per week be established?

As the owner of Your business you deal with problems on an almost daily basis. Getting familiar with powerful Problem Solving
Techniques can dramatically alter the growth of your small business.

Even though you Find answers to your issues, many people are not really skilled in the methods of problem solving, and if
solutions neglect, they mistake themselves for misjudgment. The issue is typically not misjudgment but instead a lack of ability.

This guide Instructs you in a few problem solving techniques. Crucial to the success of a business faced with problems is the
understanding of just what the problems are, defining themfinding solutions, and picking the best answers for your situations.

What's a problem. A problem is a situation that poses difficulty or perplexity. Problems come in many shapes and dimensions. By
Way of Example, it can be:

Something did Not work as it should and you don't understand why or how. Something you need is inaccessible, and something has to
be found to take its place. Employees are undermining a brand new app. The market isn't purchasing. What should you do to survive?
Customers are complaining. How can you manage their complaints?

Where do Problems come from? Problems arise from each facet of human and mechanical functions as well as in nature. Some problems
we cause ourselves (e.g., a hasty choice was made and the wrong person was chosen for the task ); other issues are caused by
forces beyond our control (e.g., a warehouse is struck by lightning and burns down).

Problems are a Natural, regular occurrence of lifestyle, and in order to suffer less from the anxieties and frustrations they
cause, we need to find out how to manage them in a rational, logical fashion.

If we accept The fact that problems will appear on a regular basis, for a variety of motives, and by an assortment of resources,
we can: learn to approach problems from an objective point of view; find out how to expect some of them; and prevent some of them
from getting bigger problems.

To accomplish This, you have to learn the procedure for problem solving. Here, we will teach you in the fundamental procedures of
problem-solving. It's a step-by-step guide which you can easily follow and exercise. Since you follow this guide, you will come to
develop some strategies of your own that function in concert with all the difficulty procedure described in this guide.

Keep in mind, However, as you read this is not a comprehensive evaluation of the artwork of problem-solving but instead a
sensible, systematic, and simplified, yet effective, method to approach problems contemplating the limited time and advice most
company owners and managers have. Additionally, some problems are so complicated that they need the further aid of experts in the
area, so be prepared to accept the fact that some problems are beyond one individual's ability, skill, and desire to succeed.

To be able to Appropriately recognize the issue and its causes, you have to do some research. To do this, simply list each of the
preceding questions in checklist form, and keeping the checklist handy, go about gathering as much information as you possibly
can. Remember the relative importance and urgency of the issue, in addition to your time limitations. Then interview the folks
involved with the problem, asking them the questions on your own checklist.

When You've Gathered the data and reviewed it, you will have a pretty clear comprehension of the problem and what the major
reasons for the issue are. Now, you can find out more about the causes farther through monitoring and extra interviewing. At this
time you should outline the issue as briefly as you can, list all the causes you have identified, and record all of the areas the
problem appears to be affecting.

At this point, You're prepared to check your comprehension of the problem. You've already identified the problem, broken it all
down into each of its facets, narrowed down it, done research on it, and you're avoiding typical roadblocks. On a huge mat, write
down the problem, including each the factors, the regions it affects, and what the consequences are. For a better visual
understanding, you may also wish to diagram the issue showing cause and effect.

Study what you Have written down or diagrammed. Call on your workers and discuss your analysis with them. Based on their opinions,
you may choose to revise. Once you think you completely comprehend the causes and effects of the problem, outline the issue as
succinctly as easily as you can.

Go through your Long list of alternatives and cross-out those who clearly will not work. Those ideas are not wasted for they
influence on these thoughts that stay. In other words, the very best ideas you pick may be revised depending on the ideas that
wouldn't work. With the rest of the solutions, use what is known as the"Force Field Analysis Technique." This is fundamentally an
analysis technique which breaks down the solution into its positive effects and negative effects. To do so write each solution you
are considering on a separate piece of paper. Beneath the solution, draw a line vertically down the middle of this paper. Label
one column benefits and one column disadvantages.

Now, some more Analytical thinking comes in to play. Analyzing each facet of the solution and its influence on the issue, list
each of the benefits and disadvantages you can consider.

One way to help You think of the advantages and disadvantages would be to role-play every solution. Call in a few of your
employees and play out each alternative. Ask them to their own responses. Based on what you see and on their feedback, you'll get
a clearer idea of the benefits and drawbacks of each alternative you're thinking about.

Once you Complete this process for every solution, select those options that have the Most advantages. At this point, you should
be considering only three or two.

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