One can make a great argument stating that since employees who work on the assembly line often know first hand what is happening, they should have a part in making decisions. Perhaps not the final decision, but most certainly a say in what the decision should be.
Quite often the decision makers are far removed from the assembly line and thus the action – yet they often make decisions with very little input from those who do the actual physical work.
Sometimes the decision maker is not far removed at all from the time and place they did the actual work. There are many stories of managers and supervisors who seem to forget where they come from – adversaries when they would make better allies with their staff who do the work.
Today’s blog entry is about the experience of someone I know well who had several distinguished years as a corporate trainer in a large, unnamed public agency. He was an excellent trainer, knew his subject well, and had great rapport with his course participants.
This individual I know well taught hands-on online applications, what we call in the business “system training.” This large, unnamed public agency had a new online reporting system and my friend trained new users how to report their payroll, health enrollment, and general transactions through the new online system. He also spent time talking to his trainees. This is the “front line” or “assembly line” or “trenches” that I was referring to earlier.
My friend asked his trainees what their training needs were.
In the business, this is called a “training needs assessment.” There are formal ways to conduct a training needs assessment, or a TNA, but an informal TNA can be as simple as asking questions, which my friend did.
In addition to the payroll and health enrollment courses, there was talk in the large, unnamed public agency to add new classes. One suggestion was to add a contracts class. Each client had a contract with this large, unnamed public agency and the new suggested contracts class would teach trainees how to navigate and understand their contract online.
There was one slight problem. No one wanted or needed a contracts class.
How did the individual that I know well know that no one wanted or needed a contracts class? Because he asked!
The individual that I know well reported this to his supervisor, a former trainer. You may remember my blog entry about this same supervisor. She was the one who wanted to talk about why two weeks ago my friend was three weeks behind on his task, not the fact that in the present my friend was two weeks ahead in his task. If this doesn’t make sense, there is a reason for it.
It doesn’t make sense.
My friend’s supervisor was not the least bit impressed that he had actually performed a training needs assessment. She informed him that he would continue creating the contracts class from scratch.
Oddly enough, the task which my friend was originally behind on in the first place, was the contracts class. My friend lacked the motivation to create something which was not needed – a complete waste of time and resources in his opinion.
My friend told his supervisor that he would create a contracts class to the best of his ability, which of course meant it was going to be amazing. The course materials would be finished ahead of schedule, which of course they were.
He also told his supervisor to mark his words, that attendance would be dismal.
The first contracts class was a webinar which cost over forty thousand dollars. Less than a dozen people signed up for it. It would have been cheaper to fly trainers around the state, first class, give them five-star luxury accommodations in each city, and give them luxury cars to travel in, than the cost of the webinar.
My friend delivered the webinar with a smirk on his face, looking across at his supervisor as he did so.
The second contracts class was delivered on the ground at the large, unnamed public agency. There was seating for twelve. Less than a dozen showed up.
My friend, who is an excellent, engaging trainer, decided to make it dry and dull, because he wanted negative feedback.
We can all see the need for a training needs assessment. But the question is, why did this former trainer, now a supervisor, forget about her days as a trainer? Why did she completely disregard the assessment of an excellent trainer who was always in the trenches?
Why a contracts class in the first place?
Each client had the direct number to their contract specialist. If they had any questions, they’d call.
They did not need a class to navigate their contract – only a phone.
Supervisors, trust your staff. They are in the trenches and they know what is going on.
Staff, trust yourself. That’s why you were hired in the first place.
Trainers, trust your training needs assessment. That’s why it’s a thing in the first place.
