TIPS FOR THE TRAINER | System skills training

• The trainer needs to sit through training as a participant first!
• If it is a new system, use a pilot or test group before training groups of employees.
• The trainer needs to be able to complete the work as an agent.
• You need to have train the trainer and facilitation techniques.
• You need to have very good IT skills.
• You should co-tutor for all sessions at least once, but not all in the same programme.
• The trainer needs to be assessed by an experienced trainer/training manager.
• Conduct an ongoing review of evaluation sheets after each programme.

Trainer tips: don’ts

• Don’t ‘chalk and talk’: they don’t want to be bored, and return to ‘school’.
• Don’t treat participants like children: they are adult learners and you need to use learning methods suited to adult learners.
• Don’t conduct training in isolated sections: integrate the training into other core skills training: customer service, problem solving, etc.
• Don’t share computers: participants should work independently.
• Don’t train on a different version of the live system: to maximize learning, participants must be trained on exactly the same version as the live system.
• Never use ‘live data’: when training, use data that are constructed or ‘dead’ and which is not confidential.

Trainer tips: dos

• Training approach needs to be interactive.
• Trainer first needs to sit through training as a participant.
• Both content and methods should be fun and entertaining.
• Follow the profile of so -skills training.
• Best completed in small ‘bite-size chunks’.
• Allow plenty of time during the sessions to practise skills.
• Conduct a practical test after each key learning stage.
• Build in the time for the participants to understand and reflect on what they have learnt.
• Test the skills learnt as you progress through the programme content.
• Build skills one piece at a time.
• Make available an online or hard copy resource for quick reference post-training.
• Use a ratio of one trainer to eight to 12 participants if possible.
• Devote the largest proportion of time to system skills training.
• It helps if the participants understand the metrics they will be assessed against, so use these when testing skills development during the sessions.
• Maintain one pace during the sessions. Keep the group working together.