Human Resources: How to Develop a Training Intervention Program

Training is a key feature of successful human resource management. Passive management is one of the top 5 reasons why strategic planning initiatives fail. To implement an effective training program, members of management must also develop a comprehensive intervention program to ensure that all training objectives are met. There are several steps that an organization can take to ensure that employees follow through on all training objectives to which they are assigned.

Define the goals of your training initiative. They must be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely (SMART.) You must have specific training goals laid out for each employee. There must also be some way that you can measure your employees’ progress. Finally, you must ensure that the goals are both attainable and realistic and that they may be accomplished within a given period of time.

Communicate with your employees. Give them advance notice before implementing training in order to give them time to think about the information. Be sure to communicate the importance of the training program, as well as how the new policies and procedures will affect them personally.

Provide actual scenarios to employees when training them on new policies and procedures. You must make sure that employees understand the importance of the training they are about to receive. Your workers will be far more likely to be willing participants when they believe they will personally benefit from the training.

Demonstrate any applicable software or other resources required for the training program. Managers often make the mistake of assuming that all of their employees meet a certain level of competency with computers and other equipment. Some employees may fail to meet their training goals simply because they are afraid to admit they do not know how to use the resources involved.

Implement and enforce a “read and sign” protocol for all new policies. When employees must sign off on new rules and regulations or policies and procedures to indicate that they have read and fully understand the information, they are more likely to follow through with any applicable training. When an employee must sign a form to indicate that he understands the information, he is more likely to ask questions about aspects that he does not understand before signing.

Set a time frame for reaching your goals. Employees are far more likely to continue with a training program when they know that certain goals must be met within a certain period of time. Be sure that employees know that there are specific consequences for not reaching their training goals in a timely manner.

Promote self-regulation. Another of the top 5 reasons why strategic planning initiatives fail is a lack of motivation and personal ownership on the part of employees. Your training intervention program is far more likely to succeed when it encourages individual employees to take responsibility for reaching their own personal training goals.

Assign a specific person or team to keep track of all training objectives and follow up with employees to ensure that the objectives are met. In order for your training intervention program to be effective, someone must be held accountable for ensuring that all training objectives are met in a timely manner.