mrprocedure

Do Good Trainers really NEED PowerPoint?

I’m not a fan of PowerPoint, and find it too restrictive for learner-centric training. So, I don’t create PowerPoint slides for my materials unless they are specifically requested. Am I out of step with most trainers out there, or DO PowerPoint slides restrict sessions unnecessarily?

You phrased it very interestingly, “am I out of step?” Once we become concerned about whether we are in step or not, we have lost the focus as to why the training is being conducted, and the effectiveness suffers. There is no one “step,” lest we get someone
believing every single training project must be executed the same way. My use of Power Point depends on the type of training taking place. In most cases, Power Point serves as a reference point for the discussion: I use it as a personal placeholder, but also make it available (by providing a set of slide prints in my course materials) for those class attendees who like to take margin notes for each slide. I will also use the animation features of Power Point to illustrate process actions (paths of chemicals through a process,
e.g.). A very general plan of attack, but very effective is to do the following: identify why the training is taking place, and where the learners need to be (in terms of understanding or capability) at the end of the training. Then I determine what tools, learning, activities, etc., will best achieve the desired outcome. If Power Point fits into the plan, use it for all
it’s worth. If it provides no benefit, then set it aside. But the answer will change from project to project. Power Point is a great tool, just like a hammer is. But not every training process you face is a nail.

As noted in the first post of this series, I am posting answers to procedure and training-related questions posted on the LinkedIn groups I participate in. As appropriate, I will expand on answers here (read, I thought of additional things to say).

A training question, which I actually find more rewarding than procedure development (since procedure development is aimed to facilitate effective training)

Experienced producer but first time trainer needs some advice. Next month I start running courses teaching business people filming and presenting techniques. I know my subject as I’ve got 23 years broadcast experience behind me, but devising and running training is new. What are your top tips as well as the pitfalls to avoid? Thanks for your advice.

First
of all, congratulations! I have always loved training and while my professional focus today is more on writing, I still develop presentations for the engineers who install my company’s systems and teach our customers how to use them.

I will try to boil this down to a few essentials:

1. Be enthusiastic and passionate about what you will be teaching. A big part of successful training and teaching is convincing your students that what you have to share actually matters and will make their lives better by learning. If you exhibit passion for the subject matter, they will more likely become passionate as well.

2. Building and presenting training is like building a building. The foundation you lay is essential. You want to be able to lay out a plan for the training: this is the basic topic (a position, a role, a task, whatever); here is what the topic consists of; here is how we will learn it and here is how we will measure the learning.

3. Be able to identify what the students will be able to do at the end of the training. That ties in with no. 2.

4. Break the subject matter into manageable pieces. In training, I use a concept that I liken to “wading into progressively deeper water.” I start with basic stuff and “foundational
truths,” that I will circle back to repeatedly as I layer new information onto old (that is an effective adult learning technique).

5. Define all terms you use. As an expert, be very careful about the terms and jargon you use. You can very unintentionally build a barrier between you and your audience by talking like an expert while they are novices.

6. Give lots of opportunities for feedback. Ask open-ended questions, use examples that may be commonly understood by the audience.

7. If at all possible, move rapidly between lecture/discussion and hands-on activity. The human mind shuts down after about 40 minutes of non-stop yakking.

8. Always be respectful, remembering there are no stupid questions, and one of the quickest ways to block a learner is through disrespect.

9. Be aware that this is a learning experience for you as well. You may know your subject through and through, but through sharing and repetition, you will discover more effective ways to present the information. Be cognizant of what works and what doesn’t. And prepare yourself now for some things not to work. If something falls flat, admit it and move on. If you never make any mistakes in your training, you have only proven you have not reached your performance limit (you can’t know your performance limit until you’ve
passed it and had a “crash and burn” experience. It will happen, but it’s not the end of the world.).

10. Be as determined as possible to make the experience as fun as possible for you and your learners. People learn more in a fun environment.

Each of these points above can easily be expanded into a whole series of posts. The intention of this answer was to lay a foundation. Training is a very rewarding job, and the aim should be to make it a mutually rewarding experience for both learner and teacher. If one of these points strikes you the reader as one you would like to see expanded, let me know!

As noted in the first post of this series, I am posting answers to procedure and training-related questions posted on the LinkedIn groups I participate in. As appropriate, I will expand on answers here (read, I thought of additional things to say).

Share your thoughts on creating Standard Operating Procedures for first level support. What should be the outline of this process document? By first level support, this is for  an Application Help Desk Analyst to understand the process of handling incidents (Incident Management Lifecycle). The objective is to fulfill the maintenance request, streamline Incident management process and daily activities list and to restore the service as quickly as possible in cases of service interruption.

The answer to this development problem is really no different than it would be to establish procedure and training requirements in any department. Here, you will want to create a complete description of what an Application Help Desk Analyst does. This will likely end up being a little more involved than just one or a handful of SOPs. In a nutshell, this is what you should do:

1. Create a list of activities or tasks that the Analyst performs. For each activity, you will want to identify the end product (in this case, it appears the “end product” is organized information) and who receives it.

2. Define the best way each activity or task is carried out. For this to be effective, you will need to consult with the end users of each “product.” It may be that the current product as delivered could be made better.

3. When the best way to perform each task is understood, describe the tasks in one or more SOPs. Generally, the SOPs will align with the tasks (the task list created in step 1 in essence becomes your “shopping list” for procedures).

4. When the procedures are completed, train the Analyst in each procedure. As would be helpful, you can create visual helps to use as references (i.e., once trained, the Analyst would not need the whole procedure at his/her disposal, but a brief help visual would reinforce the learning). The procedures may be supported by work instructions, which are documents the worker has at their side while performing the task.

5. After training, measure learning, and more importantly, measure performance to determine how the procedures and training are working out.

I hope this is helpful. Note that when I discuss operating procedures and work instructions, I am not necessarily dictating that they be on paper. There are many ways, including online, that could prove more useful. That is a function of the particular work environment. But the need to fully capture a picture of the work that is done, and then to fully describe that work, exists independently of the type of position and the manner in which the information is presented.

As noted in the first post of this series, I am posting answers to procedure and training-related questions posted on the LinkedIn groups I participate in. As appropriate, I will expand on answers here (read, I thought of additional things to say).

Is there a criteria that must be met to be able to know when a PPM is needed? How do we measure the success of PPMs?

After clarifying that the acronym PPM meant “Policy and Procedure Manual,” here was my answer:

Policies and Procedures Manuals are needed in any situation where policies and procedures are necessary to maximize performance and minimize loss. ISO-9001 Quality Management System standard requires that certified organizations have a “Quality Manual.” This presumably means a manual that contains documents that support the
organization’s quality operations.

ISO, however is sketchy as regards what belongs in the manual. The current revision of ISO-9001 only contains requirements for six written procedures: control of documents, control of records, corrective actions, preventive actions, internal audits and control of
non-conforming product. The organization is free to determine what additional
policies and procedures they believe will facilitate quality control. ISO requires that processes that impact quality be controlled, but not necessarily by specific documentation.

Where does that leave us? Policies and procedures should be developed by any
organization in cases where 1) some regulation or statute requires them (EEOC policies, for example), 2) where the establishment of policies is necessary to clarify responsibilities and expectations on worker behavior, and 3) where the development and deployment of procedures increases the likelihood of process success and waste/cost avoidance.

To your second question above, measuring the success of policies and procedures involves a review of activities, annually or more frequently, to determine the quality performance of the organization and to determine the degree to which policy and procedure implementation aided quality (improvement), hindered quality (improvement) or had no effect. This is the ISO concept of quality review (ISO clause 5.6 I believe). Measurement criteria can include prevention of defects, scrap rate changes,  improved productivity, customer satisfaction, and any other metric that leads to bottom-line success. Out of a quality review comes quality planning, in which actions to improve quality are developed (which may include policies and procedures). At the end of each review cycle, results are compared with improvement efforts to measure effectiveness.

Note on procedures and policies: even though only six written procedures are required by ISO, any time you put a procedure in place, you are now bound to follow it as written. You cannot claim during an audit that a procedure is optional because it’s not one of the “required six.” If you determine a procedure is necessary, it is presumed the procedure
describes the best way to perform the process, and doing it “according to procedure” is required (a self-imposed requirement, but a requirement nonetheless).

This answer prompted a second question from the original poster, regarding the criteria for Quality Reviews. My response:

The ISO clause on quality reviews does specify the elements that must be included in
the review (5.6.2). These include the results of audits, customer feedback (which can be both internal and external, depending on who consumes your product), process conformance information, preventive and corrective action status, and the actions developed in previous quality reviews (if any). This is a partial list from the standard.

If you have any questions you’d like me to tackle in the blog, you can write me directly, rather than waiting for someone on LinkedIn to ask. Leave a comment here or write me directly at mrprocedure@gmail.com.

Thanks and keep writing!