SHOW ME HOW

You’ve been called upon to provide training for a new employee, a transferred worker or someone taking on a new job or task. What’s the best way to go about it? The fact is that most training in the workplace still happens the straightforward, old-fashioned way: One person takes another person to the work site and shows him or her how to do the job.

There are many advantages to this type of training. You, as the trainer, know how to do the job and have first-hand familiarity with all of the real-world pitfalls. The "trainee" finds himself thrown into the job and doesn’t have to make the intellectual leap from classroom to work site, from theory to practice. The training proceeds one-on-one, with the trainee able to ask questions when he needs information, and you, the trainer, able to watch and offer just the help the trainee needs -- just when he needs it. As well, one-on-one training is typically the easiest to set up: You need little extra preparation because the course material is the job and the classroom is the workplace itself.

In many ways, for many types of training, it’s the ideal arrangement and the major way in which organizations preserve and pass on one of their greatest assets -- the acquired knowledge of how to do the job.

Essentially, it’s your job to transfer what you know about the job to the trainee. In a way, you’re cloning yourself. You want the trainee to acquire your knowledge and understanding of the task and how it fits into the big picture. You want him or her to develop the same physical skills you have. And, not least, you want to trainee to come away from the process with your good attitude and your pride in doing the job well.

But training another person, especially in a safety-sensitive job or task, means that you are taking on a great deal of responsibility. You become the trainer, the educator, the leader and the role model -- at least for the time being. Your responsibility applies not only to your immediate task (getting the trainee to the point at which he or she can do the job) but also to the safety of the trainee. The latter responsibility applies not only during the training, but in a gradually diminishing way for months afterward. It can be more than a little scary.

For any kind of practical training, you should always follow an "explain, show, watch, fix" pattern, with constant verification and assessment in between. For a simple task, these steps might take a minute or two; for a complex one, a week or two -- or more. But the pattern should always be maintained and each step must be completed successfully before the next is undertaken.

1. Explain the job or task. The trainee needs to know what the job is and why it has to be done in a certain way before he or she can efficiently start learning how to do it. Go to the work site. Show the tools, equipment and materials involved. Sketch out the big picture, discuss operating principles, describe what the job or task is supposed to accomplish, clarify the objectives and point out the common pitfalls and hazards. Then put the job in context by discussing how it fits in with other tasks or stages in production. Show how the task contributes to to overall goal -- the finished product or completed project. Look at and explain the stages of the the work that come before and follow after the task for which the employee is to be trained. Encourage -- and answer -- questions.

2. Have the trainee explain it back to you. You need to verify understanding objectively by getting the trainee to demonstrate his or her understanding. Simply asking "Do you understand?" isn’t good enough. Most people will nod and say yes for fear of seeming slow -- even if they don’t comprehend at all. As well, the trainee’s explanation will immediately make it clear which areas need more explanation and which have been mastered. (Explaining the task back to you is also a very useful learning process for the trainee: He or she will have to mentally organize the information and concepts. Doing so will help him or her understand and remember in the long run.)

3. Demonstrate how to perform the task. Go over it slowly, step by step, demonstrating the important, difficult or potentially hazardous parts as many times as needed. Talk the trainee through the demonstration; then have him or her talk you though it. (For complicated, multi-step tasks, you need to break the job down into its discreet parts and treat each as a separate task during the training. Explaining -- or demonstrating -- the second step will only confuse and overload a trainee if he or she has not fully grasped step one.)

4. Help the trainee to perform the task properly the first time. Have him or her talk you through the process. Intervene to correct any problems as soon as they come up. (Do not let the trainee "practice" doing it the wrong way.) This is the stage of training at which each step should be learned in detail. Teaching should concentrate on developing the motor skills for each required action. Have the trainee practice each step until he or she is able to perform it correctly.

5. Provide coaching as the trainee learns the task. Coach the trainee until he or she can perform the whole task, from beginning to end, correctly without prompting. This is the stage at which the trainee combines the various steps into a single task. Coaching should concentrate on building skill in putting the various steps together smoothly, efficiently and in the right order.

6. Supervise while the trainee begins doing the job. In the short term -- especially with safety-sensitive jobs -- you should be present at the worker’s side to be ready to offer help. You have to make sure that the trainee performs the task correctly and safely during this vital early stage. This is when the trainee is developing the habits that will ensure that the job gets done properly in the long run. You do not want the trainee to "practice" the wrong procedure or to learn from his or her mistakes. You want to prevent mistakes or confusion at this stage so that the "right way" is the one that becomes the habit.

7. Fine tune in the medium term. Watch and offer answers to any questions the trainee may have. These visits are also a good time to offer advanced coaching on the minor points of technique and the tricks of the trade that build skill in the long run.

8. Spot check in the long term. This will require occasional visits and job observations to ensure that standards are maintained and that no problems are building up.

Perhaps the most important part of any kind of training is not so much the "training" as the assessment of the trainee’s progress throughout the process. You need constant feedback from the trainee. What does he already know? Does he understand this part? Can he do that step properly? If the answer is yes, move on to the next step; if the answer is no, zero in on what concept, what piece of information or what physical skill is still missing so that you can provide more help. Sometimes the assessment consists of watching the trainee perform the task; sometimes it consists of asking questions; and sometimes -- often -- it consists of picking up on body language, tone of voice and facial expressions. ("Ah, you look a little confused. What part don’t you understand?")

David Dehaas is the editor of OHS CANADA.

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