The head of a major division asks for help finding a workshop on conflict resolution for all employees in his division after recounting several recent incidents where employees did not know how to resolve conflicts effectively. The document then provides guidance on designing practical training programs, including the key aspects of initial training, written procedures, customized training manuals, ongoing training topics and times, and evaluation to ensure training is effective.

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Design of Practical Training and
Applications of the Design Principles of
Training
Jayadeva de Silva
Mini case
You get a request from a head of a major division, who is convinced
that most of his people don't know how to resolve conflicts
effectively.
Recounting several recent incidents that support that conclusion, He
says he's going to require all employees in his division to attend a
workshop on conflict resolution within the next two months
He asks you to find one.
What would you do?
Training
“Training is the act of increasing the knowledge and skills of an
employee for doing a specified job, it can be viewed as a systematic
planning process which has its organizational purpose to impart and
provide learning experience. This is done with a view to bring about
improvement in an employee and thus enabling him to make his
contribution in greater measure in meeting the goals and objectives
of the organization”.
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Designing formal training is time-consuming and expensive. Once it
is designed, however, it needs updating only as operational changes
are instituted. Every new employee may then be trained using the
training plan and all materials that are already prepared. There is an
initial investment of time and money, of course, but thereafter
training is consistent and convenient.
The idea is similar to management delegating certain responsibilities.
It is usually faster to just “do it myself” than to take the time and
energy to show someone else how to do it. However, once the initial
effort has been expended, the employee can take the delegated
responsibility and free the manager for other tasks. Many employees
excel when given opportunities to take on more responsibility. And
so with formal training it better prepares an employee to do the job
and, after the initial effort of design, is ready and available for use
every time a new employee joins the team.
There are few key aspects of good design are as following:
We shall illustrate these using an example from the banking sector
1. Initial Training
For an example, according to experienced trainers in the banking
sector, initial teller training of a bank should take no less than two
weeks. After that time period, the new teller should be assigned a
"buddy," someone to work with for a period of two weeks, then in
their own window with their "buddy" in the window next to them to
make it easier to ask questions and seek assistance. Supervisors tell
me that it takes approximately six months before a new bank teller is
fully integrated into the job. So make sure the new teller has a lifeline
until they're confident and competent and your evaluation of their
performance meets or exceeds the acceptable standard.
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2. Written Procedures
The saying goes, "the road to success is paved with good intentions."
In the case of having well-trained bank tellers, the road to success is
paved with written procedures. Written procedures become the
backbone of all training as well as the reference points for tellers who
need to find information or brush up on how to complete a task or
function. Once written and tested for accuracy, make sure the
procedure finds a permanent home on the company's Intranet where
all employees have access to the information.
Changes to procedures will occur, so make sure that only one person
has the responsibility to update the procedures on the Intranet. It is
imperative that the written procedures are current. Design a non-
flexible approach to conveying when changes occur so that branches
or the back office are not overlooked or don't get notified about
changes. No one should have outdated, printed copies of procedures
they refer to - utilize the Intranet and keep the procedures current.
3. Customized Training Manual
A great tool for initial bank teller training is a customized teller
training manual. First and foremost, the manual specifies what is
expected of the teller. Everything included in the manual conveys the
expectations of an exceptional teller. The manual details all the
functions, forms, systems, etc. the teller will utilize to do their job
along with step-by-step instructions on how to access the system to
complete the function.
In addition to those items mentioned above, other things you should
consider including in your customized teller training manual are:
communication skills, the keys to exceptional customer service, sales
techniques, compliance and regulatory (as it pertains to the teller),
policies regarding check cashing, receiving tax payments, wires, items
sent for collection, fraudulent items and, of course, what to do in
each of these circumstances.
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This list is by no means inclusive; the manual needs to represent all
that the bank has determined an exceptional teller needs to know to
accomplish and meet that goal.
4. Ongoing Training
Ongoing teller training should definitely occur when there has been a
change to a system, procedure, process, function, or regulation, or
when the employee cannot properly perform any of these. I would
also recommend that your bank take a look at those critical success
factors and make certain you build some ongoing teller training days
into your calendar for those as well. For instance, tellers need to be
reminded periodically what to do in case of a hold-up, how to handle
angry and difficult customers, how to stay positive, how to dress and
behave in a professional manner, as well as how to sell and persuade,
how to listen for meaning, how to maintain security codes and
passwords, how to detect fraud, and product and service knowledge,
etc.
5. Training Topics
The topics for ongoing teller training are numerous and are only
limited by what you perceive a teller should know to be successful.
Time management, stress management, presentation skills, computer
skills (basic and advanced), problem-solving skills, decision-making
skills and leadership skills are a few I would add to a teller's ongoing
training skill sets.
6. When to Train
Bankers have a lot of special days in banking, so when to train can
become a nightmare. Supervisors will say, "No Mondays or Fridays,"
"Never the day before or after a holiday," "Not on the first, third,
fifteenth, or end of the month." Not many good training days left!
Since time is at a premium, I would utilize every avenue I could to
make training happen.
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Internal webinars and/or video conferences allow you to conduct
training without inviting bank tellers to one location. Lunch and
Learn sessions where the bank buys the lunch and provides the
training during a lunch period can be an ideal way to impart learning,
especially for those ongoing training topics where reminder and
enhancement is what you're after.
Some ongoing training may be handled within an hour or two at the
most. After-hours and Saturday training can cause some moans from
tellers and trainers alike, but by making it fun and giving away a few
prizes, you might find tellers eager to attend. Send tellers to public
programs designed especially for tellers. Invest in online programs
specifically tailored for bank tellers. I would utilize some of the
seasoned tellers to help deliver training. It's a great way to reward a
good performer, and the person training always learns the most.
Do a web search for bank training options and investigate what
works best for your bank and budget. Subscribe to website
newsletters that have information your bank tellers need to know.
Send out training packets where the tellers read the enclosed
information, answer prepared questions, and sign a sheet they have
read and understood the information, sending back to the trainer (or
you) the questions page and the sign-off sheet.
7. Evaluation
In all training circumstances, evaluation is the key to know if the
training is sticking, if the knowledge is imparted, and if the learning
occurred. Interaction Training's free Teller Observation Form is a
wonderful tool for evaluating if the bank teller is performing to
standard. If you see patterns tied to not balancing or errors, it might
indicate what needs more attention in training or what training might
need to be enhanced. If the evaluation indicates a teller is not
performing to the standard, then the supervisor has an obligation to
coach the bank teller to better performance.
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8. Coaching
Certainly, training might not be the issue. Only by coaching will the
supervisor determine what's preventing the bank teller from
performing to expectation and help them with a plan for
improvement.
Today's bank teller is expected to know more and do more than ever
before. Preparing and developing the bank teller for this awesome
responsibility takes dedication, determination and commitment to a
well-developed and executed training plan.
“Perhaps the biggest trap that trainers fall into is developing training for problems
that training just won’t fix
- Tom Barron “When Things Go Haywire” Training & Development -
Feb.1999
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