Training & Development For Dummies

Retain outstanding talent with a successful training and development program One of the best ways to retain great talent in your business is to deliver a strong training and development program—and this book gives you the tools to do just that. Featuring the latest strides in talent development, such as social learning, hybrid training, creating videos, and more, it arms you with everything you need to upskill employees to be more effective, productive, satisfied, and loyal. Develop a robust training and development program Foster a supportive and innovative work environment Use mentoring, coaching, and informal learning effectively Align learning to your organization’s needs Engage your employees with a motivating training program using the helpful guidance in Training & Development For Dummies!

Table of Contents:
Foreword xv Introduction 1 About This Book 2 Foolish Assumptions 2 Icons Used in This Book 3 Beyond the Book 4 Where to Go from Here 4 Part 1: So You’re Going to Be a Trainer 5 Chapter 1: Exploring Training and Talent Development 7 Introducing the Exciting Role of Training 8 Learning happens all the time 9 Understanding why training is necessary 10 Learning is essential to career advancement 13 Training isn’t just for business 13 Discovering What Trainers Do 14 Assessing your training potential 15 Taking stock of your skills 16 Scoring your self-assessment 17 How do you become a trainer? 20 Exploring the Terminology of Talent Development 22 Who’s who? 23 What’s what? 24 Experiencing the Advent of the Talent Development Role 25 Merging training and talent development 25 Realizing the many hats worn by a 21st century TD professional 26 Determining whether you have what it takes 28 Chapter 2: How Adults Learn 31 Learning About Adult Learning Theory 31 Meeting Malcolm Knowles 32 Applying adult learning theory to training 33 Understanding How People Learn 35 The science of learning 35 Three types of learning: KSAs 36 What we know for sure about how we learn 38 Brain-based learning: It’s a no-brainer 39 The growth mindset 41 The 70-20-10 learning framework 42 Ensuring That Adults Learn in the Classroom, Online, and on the Job 45 Create a safe haven for learning 45 Create a comfortable environment 46 Encourage participation 48 Facilitate more than you deliver 48 Chapter 3: Introducing the Training Cycle 51 The Training Cycle: An Overview of ADDIE 52 Analyze needs 53 Design the training 53 Develop the program 54 Implement the design 56 Evaluate the results 56 Add a touch of design thinking 58 Talking the T&D Talk 59 Learning and the Training Cycle 62 Variety and flexibility 63 Conditions of learning 63 Part 2: T&D: The Training Part 65 Chapter 4: Analyzing Needs and Designing Learning 67 ADDIE: Starting with Evaluation in Mind 68 Analyze by Conducting a Needs Assessment 68 The why, how, who, and when of needs assessment 69 Is training really what’s needed? 76 If your time is limited 78 Designing the Learning 80 Aligning to your organization’s needs 80 Planning how to deliver your content 81 Writing Objectives 83 What objectives should do 83 Task analysis 87 Chapter 5: Developing the Training Program 89 Deciding Where to Begin 91 Choosing virtual, classroom, or hybrid 92 Using hybrid models 94 Starting to develop a program 95 Developing a Dynamic Opening 96 Warming things up with icebreakers 97 Considering other elements your participants expect 98 Developing the Body to Ensure That Learning Occurs 100 Knowing the value of lectures 101 Contemplating countless alternatives to a lecture 103 Selecting activities 110 Adding Zest with Visuals 115 Knowing why you need visuals 115 Creating effective visuals 116 Planning for Inclusivity 118 Reflecting diversity in learning and development content 118 Planning for inclusive learning environments 119 Designing a Finale That Brings Closure 120 Ensuring that you’ve met expectations 121 Providing a shared group experience 121 Evaluating the learning experience 121 Requesting feedback and suggestions 122 Summarizing accomplishments 122 Ending on a high note 122 Selecting Off-the-Shelf Materials 123 Determining whether off-the-shelf materials meet your needs 124 Adapting the design of a prepackaged program 124 Pulling It All Together 125 Understanding factors that affect a design 126 Applying strategies for a good design 127 Developing materials 128 Chapter 6: Implementing Learning: It’s Showtime 131 Opening Your Training Session with a BANG, Online or Off 132 Build interest in the session 133 Ask what participants know and what they want to know 133 Note the ground rules and what to expect 133 Get participants involved 135 Avoiding Seven Disastrous Debuts 136 Creating a Supportive Learning Environment 136 Get to know your participants 136 What’s in a name: Five secrets to remembering names 137 Let them know about you 140 Training Like a Pro 140 Presentation skills 140 The participants’ materials 145 Notes: To be or note to be 146 Asking and Answering Questions 148 Encouraging participants to ask questions 149 Answering questions: Some guidelines 150 Asking questions 151 Creating Smooth Transitions 152 Wrapping Up an Effective Training Session 153 Providing a shared group experience 154 Evaluating the learning experience 154 Gaining commitment to action 154 Sending people off with a final encouraging word — or two 155 Chapter 7: Evaluation: It’s Not Over Yet! 157 Grasping the Purpose of Evaluations 158 Reviewing Kirkpatrick’s Four Levels of Evaluation 159 Level 1: Reaction 160 Level 2: Learning 161 Level 3: Behavior 162 Level 4: Results 163 Guidelines for measuring the Four Levels 163 Taking a deeper look at evaluation methods 171 Using ROI for Training 173 Exploring the ROI process 174 Knowing the benefits of ROI 175 Evaluation: The Last Training Cycle Stage but the First Step to Improvement 178 Chapter 8: Getting Results: Transfer of Learning 181 Making Your Training Memorable: Follow-Up for the Other 50 Percent 182 Recognizing barriers to transfer of learning 182 Using strategies for transfer of learning 183 Doing What Great Trainers Do after Training 188 Understanding Your Talent Development Professional Role 189 Part 3: What ADDIE Doesn’t Tell You 193 Chapter 9: Being Prepared to Succeed 195 Preparing Your Environment 196 Knowing when, where, what, and who 196 Making onsite room arrangements 197 Getting equipment and visuals ready 201 Preparing Your Participants 205 Preparing participants: What works? 205 Using unique virtual participant preparation 206 Preparing participants: What doesn’t work? 207 Preparing Yourself 208 Preparing to avoid crises 208 Preparing for Virtual ILT 210 Finding out who’s in your session 211 Practice, practice, practice 212 Tips for staying organized 213 Preparing your body and brain 216 Tips for traveling if you must 217 The procrastinator’s checklist 217 Last-minute virtual session preparation 220 Doing Double Duty for Hybrid Delivery 220 Chapter 10: Your Job as a Facilitator 225 Training, Facilitating, and Presenting: What’s the Difference? 226 Are you a trainer or a facilitator? 226 Using facilitative skills when you present 228 Facilitating Successful Training 230 Experience is the best teacher 233 Tips for facilitating activities 235 Participation Prescription: Continue to Increase the Dosage 238 Gotta play the game to perform 238 Participants’ expectations of participation 240 Increasing participation — or why are they called “participants”? 240 REACTing 249 Chapter 11: Mastering Media and Other Visuals 251 Selecting the Best Visual to Do the Job 252 Knowing what’s available 252 Understanding the benefits 254 Creating Your Own Powerful Video 255 Ensuring That Visuals Add to the Learning 257 Computer projection systems 257 Videos 258 Participant devices 258 Flip charts 259 Boards of all types (including electronic) 261 Props 262 Presenting Like a Pro 263 Using visuals in general 263 Using specific media and visuals 265 Exploring the Other Media: Social 269 Hot Tips for a Cool Ending 272 Chapter 12: Addressing Problems: What’s a Trainer to Do? 273 Tackling Training Problems 273 Uncovering logistics problems 274 Coping with equipment problems 274 Accepting personal situations 277 Confronting difficult group situations 279 Learning that training is not the solution 281 Taking a COOL approach 283 Using humor to deal with problems 283 Managing Disruptive Behaviors 284 Preventing disruptions 285 Managing disruptive types 286 Addressing Virtual ILT Problems 290 Not enough time to get participation 290 Attending to distracted participants 290 Reading body language 291 Sweaty Palms, Parched Throat: Overcoming Nervousness 291 Understanding pre-performance jitters 292 Accepting your nervousness as natural 292 Mastering nervous symptoms 294 Tips for specific anxiety problems 298 Preventing and Resolving Problems 300 Part 4: T&D: The Talent Development Part 301 Chapter 13: Your Talent Development Role 303 Expanding Talent Development 304 Onboarding 305 Leading change 306 Coaching managers 306 Coordinating mentoring opportunities 306 Internal consulting 307 Building teams 307 Transforming Workplace Learning 308 Seeing how talent development is important to organizations 308 Confirming that talent development is important to employees 310 Supporting the C-Suite 311 Discovering Your Organization’s Learning Foundation 312 Determining an organization’s talent development readiness 314 Describing the TD foundation 315 Summarizing your TD responsibilities 315 Exploring the TD organizational readiness checklist 316 Is Your Organization Ready? 320 Chapter 14: Building a Learning Culture 321 Defining a Learning Culture 322 The Rationale for a Learning Culture 323 Learning Organizations and Learning Culture 324 Imagining your organization’s learning culture 324 Knowing what inhibits a learning culture 325 Cultivating Your Organization’s Learning Culture 326 Getting your leaders involved 327 Linking learning to business 327 Taking action 329 Sustaining a Learning Culture 335 Maintaining the Culture with Logistics 336 Governing body 337 Senior leadership role 337 Annual update 337 Communication and marketing 337 Continued accountability for the effort 338 Can Organizations Learn? 338 Chapter 15: Employee Development Is Everyone’s Job 339 Exploring Organizational Mindsets 339 Having a growth mindset 340 Having a learning mindset 340 Recognizing other mindsets 340 An organizational mindset for today’s learner 341 Ensuring That Managers Develop Employees 342 Helping managers be better coaches 343 Helping managers and supervisors with development ideas 344 Helping managers give better feedback 344 Creating Employee Accountability for Their Own Development 348 Delivering Learning through Others 348 Helping the part-time trainer 349 Enhancing team learning 350 Influencing informal learning on the job 352 Revealing Six Secrets to Build Successful Partnerships with SMEs 352 Secret 1: Clearly define the expectations you have for the SME 353 Secret 2: Use criteria to select SMEs 353 Secret 3: Ease new SMEs into their roles 354 Secret 4: Tap into the SME’s expertise 354 Secret 5: Adapt your style 355 Secret 6: Provide timely feedback and appreciation 355 Part 5: The Professional Trainer 357 Chapter 16: The Consummate Professional 359 Growing Professionally 359 Attend formal learning events 360 Search for certification and classes in many topics 360 Ask others 361 Do it yourself 362 Going the Extra Mile: Stay on Top of Your Game! 364 Go from good to great 364 Where’s your energy? Stay pumped! 365 Design 367 What does being professional mean to you? 367 Giving Back to the Profession 370 Chapter 17: Talent Development Certification 373 Introducing ATD 374 Finding out why ATD’s mission is important 374 Understanding what ATD does 375 Accessing resources through ATD 375 Understanding ATD’s Talent Development Capability Model 376 Getting an overview of the Capability Model 376 Recognizing the value of a competency framework 379 Certification: What It Means for You 380 Knowing the difference between certification and certificate programs 380 Understanding the value of certification 381 Taking a Quick Look at ATD CI Certification 382 Seeing the link between capabilities and certification 383 Applicant process 383 Being a role model for learning 385 Chapter 18: The Future of the Talent Development Profession 387 Envisioning the Workplace of the Future 388 Living in the midst of a colossal change 388 Blame it on the virus and VUCA 391 Identifying how VUCA relates to you 392 Exploring the Changing TD Environment 394 Spending is increasing for talent development 394 Finding and retaining talent is vital 395 Coaching the essentials is key 395 Encouraging continuous learning 396 Planning for a metaverse future 397 Tapping into training technology 397 Making use of brain-based learning 398 Seeing how less is more 399 Embracing virtual learning 399 Training on the run 400 Including DEI and culture 401 Preparing millennials for leadership roles 401 Helping Everyone Learn to Learn 402 Seizing the Future of Learning 403 Preparing Yourself for Change 404 Exploring content for a changing world 405 Researching new roles 406 Becoming a lifelong learner 408 Sharpening your skills 409 Taking stock; taking action 409 Maintaining your personal spark 409 Part 6: The Part of Tens 411 Chapter 19: Ten Virtual Warm-Ups 413 Someone Once Said 414 Test Their Mettle 414 Chat Away 415 Expect Expectations 415 At the Movies 416 Going Live 416 Vote Early, Vote Often 416 Show Me the Picture 417 How Was the Homework? 417 Annotate It 417 Chapter 20: Ten Quick Ways to Enable Social Learning 419 Blogs for Your Future 419 Accountability Partners or Trios 420 Personal Learning Groups 420 Follow Up with Fun 421 DIY Career Paths 421 Peer Coaching Circles 421 Video Posts 422 Volunteer Activities 422 Feedback Incentive 423 Pictures of Proof 423 Index 425

About the Author :
Elaine Biech is president and managing principal of ebb associates inc, an organizational and leadership development firm that helps organizations work through large-scale change. Her 30 years in the training and consulting field include support to private industry, government, and non-profit organizations.