Alan Garvey, Managing Director, EMEA, ESI International

Alan Garvey, Managing Director, EMEA, ESI International

Training for training’s sake is an all too common approach. Throwing training at a problem won’t solve it unless you have a road map in place. First, you need to identify where you are, then sort out where you would like to be.

One of the most important aspects of any training programme is the evaluation which takes place after – to ensure what you have learnt on the course is put into practice. But all too often, attendees are unclear why they receive the training they do and how to put it into practice on the job thereafter.

If you do go on a course determined to sort out an issue, unless you commit to learning sustainment – the practical application of those newly acquired skills to the job on your return – you are at risk of wasting time and money.

ESI’s post-learning evaluation process assesses the effectiveness and relevance of training from the moment the class ends, enabling delegates to measure the outcome of their training.

But as ESI instructor Jane Parslow explains, it is one thing to identify what the problems are and the necessary course of action – and another to actually go back to your programme manager and confidently point out to them what isn’t working:

“As instructors we need to make sure we are not just making people aware of what they’re not doing. The delegates I train put together an action plan on their course that is usually absolutely brilliant, but in reality they know they won’t get to do it because their boss doesn’t believe in it.

“In this situation it often comes down to how they might be able to influence their boss, in order to put those great intentions into action. As a process, this is very different from training – you have to be more geared toward implementation.”

Difficult conversations about where the failure lies require strong negotiation skills and the ability to communicate up and down the ladder. Having a coach or mentor to address these issues with can help enormously in discussing what you hope to achieve and how you intend to implement the training you receive.

Support group

Project managers are often left without the support they need. While most managers who get promoted from within can resonably expect a degree of training on the job, they often only receive training in hard skills without the ability to manage actual people. They are then faced with attempting to deal with workers over whom they have little or no authority, while trying to get them to commit to pressurised dates or negotiate for money and resources.

Even the most experienced and knowledgeable PMs can come up against these barriers. That’s where the value of coaching and mentoring comes in. As Jane explains:

“Coaching boils down to having someone there who can support you through any plan that you want to implement, who can help you work through what the barriers or risks might be. Being a coach meanwhile, means knowing exactly what it is you are helping someone to achieve, and how to draw the process out of them. For example, being really clear on when and how they should go and have a difficult conversation with a boss – and then, most importantly, providing a feedback loop.

“If it went ok but they didn’t get all that they wanted, does it still matter? If it didn’t work, what else can they try? It does not need to be seen as a failure if it doesn’t work – that’s just part of guiding them towards finding what might work.

“Most importantly though, a coach not only encourages and helps somebody, it holds them accountable to someone other than themselves.”

Organisations that commit to learning sustainment through post-training evaluations and sustained coaching efforts will increase their chances of a long-term payoff for their training investment.

About the author:  Alan Garvey, Managing Director, EMEA, ESI International, leads a regional team of professionals who are responsible for all aspects of ESI learning programme development and delivery.www.esi-intl.co.uk