Professional training is essential for any employee who wants to improve their skills. Accessible via internal training or through their personal training account (CPF – compte personnel de formation), courses can enable them to:
– develop and accomplish their professional project
– achieve a promotion
– retrain in the middle of their career
Trainers are the cornerstone of skills transfer. They must use specific coordination techniques. We therefore offer you 8 keys to use before, during and after your courses.
Before:
1) Set an operational objective with the 3Cs rule
The operational objective, or learning objective, must be quantifiable and assessable. This is what will enable you to improve the learner’s skills during your training module. Developed by Mager, the 3Cs rule breaks down as follows:
– Observable behaviour (‘comportement observable’) is phrased with an observable action verb: ‘the learner will be able to…’, ‘the learner will have assimilated’. However, verbs that use a non-observable action such as ‘know’ or ‘learn’ must not be used.
– Conditions of realisation enable you to accommodate the constraints you are going to impose on learners. These can be expressed in several ways: time, location and methods. They facilitate the learners’ accomplishment of the training objectives.
– Criteria for success are qualitative or quantitative assessment criteria. They give clarifications on the learning outcome.
E.g. in an hour, according to the instructions given, etc.
2) Divide the course into sessions
Dividing the training into different modules will enable you to create conditions conducive to learning. You will hold your audience’s attention effectively.
The ideal duration of a session is an hour and a half which is the length of time we are able to concentrate for. Beyond this, brains get tired, learners lose focus and the information is not retained. It’s not recommended exceeding 4 sessions a day.
Between sessions, whether in person or in virtual classes, it is strongly recommended including break times. These times enable learners to rest their minds and ask the trainer questions. They can go back over points they’ve not understood or for which they would like more clarification.
3) Gather expectations
This is a key factor in preparing your training course. It will enable you to respond to your future learners’ expectations. You can also ensure that you are on the same wavelength as them and check that the objectives correspond to your training programme. To do this, prepare a question to gather expectations to find out whether the learner has:
– already taken a course on the theme addressed
– if they are following this course of their own volition or being made to do so
– their expectations of the course
During:
4) Use the SAVI method
Cognitive science emphasise the fact that a reassuring and rewarding environment is a vector of learning. The SAVI method is a tool that guides the trainer in coordinating their training session. It enables them to have a reassuring, helpful, empathetic and rewarding attitude towards learners:
– Make learners feel secure in material and psychological terms by explaining the objectives and challenges to them. Think about also allowing room for error, promoting goodwill and making yourself available to participants.
– Playing an active part in their own training: ensure that the participants know why they’re attending this course. Furthermore, remembering content is facilitated through action. Please feel free to create one or more spaces for participation and cooperation. Punctuate them with an application exercise such as a case study to develop their know-how.
– Reward: get input and encourage the participants to express themselves and talk to each other to learn in a conducive climate. Do this by establishing a climate of trust during the different types of activities and by recognising their experience without judgement or denigration. To do this, talk about the successes and encourage and congratulate the learners
– Involve: ensure that the participants are aware of what your course is teaching them. Get across the benefits of achieving the objectives. Ensure that you draw a connection between the course, their potential tasks and the field
5) Safe place and climate of trust
It doesn’t matter whether you’re teaching the course in person, remotely or in hybrid format – convert your training space into a safe place. A confident learner is a learner who expresses themselves and discusses freely. Let’s bear in mind that the course is above all a moment for sharing and discussion.
To create this positive climate, ensure that the trainees get to know each other. To do so, you can organise interactive activities such as an icebreaker, which relaxes the atmosphere.
Then, set rules for co-existing where respect and tolerance are the keywords. The trainees will therefore have this in mind and feel reassured. To finish, make sure you make yourself available, be warm and listen to make participants want to talk to you.
If some trainees are working on strategic topics, don’t hesitate to put in place a confidentiality policy. Some learners will feel more at ease in discussions.
6) Rich and varied teaching tools
Offering different teaching tools will make your training more interesting. The participants will not be bored because of redundant training materials. There is now a plethora of possibilities and effective teaching methods to make your course dynamic and rewarding.
– Presentation applications such as PowerPoint, Prezi or Google Slide enable you to show original materials to support what you are saying, whether written or visual.
– Select videos that you have filmed or are available on the web (YouTube, Dailymotion or Vimeo). They support what you say and anchor the messages that you want to get across. Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words.
– Engagement apps will facilitate the acquisition of knowledge via shared reflection and moments of discussion and assessment. The Beekast platform has many features that meet these needs.
7) Organise the work into sub-groups
Above 10 or 20 people, it’s difficult to set up participative activities. Be careful with the number of participants attending your course. Dividing the group into sub-groups will facilitate discussions between peers. This will be beneficial in achieving the training actions.
Furthermore, the individuals will think together about a common goal. When approached by the others, the shyest trainees will not stay in their corner in the role plays. Finally, all the trainees’ independence will be developed. Team spirit will be encouraged through collaborative work.
Afterwards:
8) Gather the participants’ opinions
In an aim to continuously improve your course, gather the trainees’ opinions. This practice aims to assess trainees’ satisfaction with the course followed and measure their degree of satisfaction. You can then identify problems and areas for improvement and put in place corrective measures.
You can potentially identify the training needs not covered by your module. It’s also a way to keep in contact with learners after the course.
In conclusion:
Trainers have different profiles. Whether they are a person working for a training organization or an employee training their colleagues, the challenges remain the same. You must give successful training to meet the learners’ expectations and satisfy their training needs. If necessary, follow a course for trainers.
