Part 1 of this series gives definition to training and development. While these terms are often used interchangeably, the two are actually distinct in purpose. Training builds capacity to perform the current job while development builds capacity for a future job. Additionally, the Needs Analysis was introduced as the foundation on which training decisions are ideally grounded in.

Part 2 of this series introduces you to the first two steps of the Training Design stage. The first, Learning Objectives, is used to define the behavior and/or skill the employee is expected to be better able to perform and/or apply following the training event. The second, Content, specifies the material that will be covered to facilitate, guide and support the desired behavior and/or skill improvements.

With clear learning objectives in place, supported by relevant and meaningful content, you will next turn your attention to steps three and four in the training design and delivery process.

3. Training Methods

While training content will be a critical and influential component to the employee’s changed behavior or enhanced skill, how the content is delivered will need to be thoughtfully contemplated. Training can happen on the job, informally, or away from the job in formal learning environments. Further still, training can be and is often delivered through technology.

On-the-job training

Does this sound familiar? A finance manager is seated beside her new accountant, conducting a live hands-on overview of the financial management system. This is often the norm for training, particularly in the non-profit sector, where a supervisor or an experienced co-worker provides instruction and training to a new colleague, at the workstation.

Ideally, job instruction would be a formalized process, with preparation, guided instruction, and opportunity for the new employee to perform the work with follow-up and feedback. Performance aids are another popular resource that acts as a reference tool to provide just-in-time information (i.e. produce code wheel at the cashier’s counter). Job rotation, on the other hand, exposes an employee to alternate functions (i.e. accounts payable to accounts receivable) and apprenticeships, popular with the skilled trades, combine on-the-job training with in-class learning. Coaching and mentoring leverage experience and knowledge from a co-worker, an external source, or a senior member of the organization to help develop job-related insights and techniques and to draw from tested wisdom.

Off-the-job training

Typically, associated with a higher cost, these instructional methods tend to be more formal than the options mentioned above and, in most instances, will take place in a classroom like setting. These methods will include lectures, discussions, case studies, role playing, simulations and games — all of which can be offered as stand-alone methods, most often found in educational courses, at conferences, or in workshops.

Technology-based training

Webinars, e-learning and computer-based training are options that enable training from anywhere, anytime. Most certainly, technology offers a number of benefits (i.e. self-directed learning, cost effective) however, there are limitations to consider (i.e. lacks live interaction, requires employee discipline).

Web conferencing and webcasts give the opportunity to bridge geographical gaps through live staff meetings and/or presentations. And while social media has opened up new avenues of learning through real-time sharing and exchanging of information, mobile learning is also rapidly growing with popularity as a means to learn on the fly through the advent of smartphone technology.

What’s critical to remember is that technology is simply the conduit through which content is delivered. The steps to creating the right content should not be overlooked.

4. Learning Principles

People learn in multiple ways. According to Thomas Armstrong, there are nine distinct learning styles (Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom, 2009)! It’s likely that some or all of these multiple styles are present in your work environment. And, as training programs are designed, it will be important to be cognizant of and to create training programs with the adult learner and the varying learning styles in mind.

Broadly speaking, learning principles differ in that they can be experiential versus informational or active versus passive in delivery.

Experiential versus informational

The popular phrase “practice makes perfect” is well known to many who have learned to play an instrument, to those who have honed their craft as an artist, and to those who have set new records as athletes. Practice is a proven method to learn and acquire new skills. And so it stands to reason that employees need experiential opportunities to learn, demonstrate, and achieve a desired level of proficiency to perform a task or skill, or to advance their knowledge. For instance, a hiring manager is more apt to learn how to conduct employment interviews through mock interviews, rather than by reading about it (informational).

Additionally, and dependent on the complexity, breadth, or depth of training, efforts can be staged to engage training participants with pre-training interventions. For instance, preparatory reading or research may be helpful to ready the employee with information they can expect to learn about or to stimulate reflection on a given topic for discussion purposes.

Active versus passive

Often, and particularly with more senior roles, knowledge, skills, and abilities need to be transferable from one job to another, and/or from one organization to another. With this in mind, an employee may need to develop a level of adaptability to successfully transfer the desired level of performance from a job or from an organization. The method of active learning enables this as it offers the employee a greater level of control with respect to their learning. For instance, a management program that incorporates exploratory and/or discovery learning elements will give rise to the employee’s ability to draw rationale assumptions and infer like thinking patterns under similar circumstances (i.e. dealing with conflict situations).

The training methods and learning principles offered in this article are by no means independent of each other. Whether through informal or formal means, the training experience will be a more enriching one when varied training methods and learning principles are combined to complement and support one another — to ultimately achieve a blended approach to learning. All, of course, with your organization’s objectives in mind!

The next article on evaluation — techniques and practices to measure the impact of your training interventions — will wrap up this series.

What training methods and learning principles make sense for your organization?

To submit a question for a future column please leave a comment below or contact editor@charityvillage.com. No identifying information will appear in this column. For paid professional advice about an urgent or complex situation, contact Veronica directly.

V. Utton & Associates offers boutique-style human resource management services to small and mid-sized organizations with particular expertise in the non-profit sector. For a fresh “VU” on people practices contact us at info@vuttonassociates.ca.

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