HRM textbook

252 PART 3 TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
5 Discuss how you would
motivate trainees.
Second, as every student (and driver s ed program) knows, the learner must also
be motivated to learn the material. No manager should want to waste his or her time
showing a disinterested employee how to do something (even if he or she has the
requisite ability).
Many books have been written about how to motivate employees, but several
specific observations are pertinent here. 29 It s likely that the training program s effects
will be diminished if trainees return to their jobs to snide comments such as, I hope
you liked your little vacation from peers or supervisors. Therefore, the low-hanging
fruit in motivating trainees is to make sure the trainee s peers and supervisor support
the training effort. Ideally, particularly for larger programs, top management should
visibly support the program. Beyond that, various motivation theories provide useful
guidance. From behavior modification, we know that the training should provide
opportunities for positive reinforcement. Expectancy theory shows us that the trainees
need to know they have the ability to succeed in the program, and that the value to them
of completing the program is high. Self-efficacy is crucial trainees must believe they
have the capacity to succeed. We can summarize such motivational points as follows.
MAKING THE LEARNING MEANINGFUL Learners are always more motivated
to learn something that has meaning for them. Therefore:
1. At the start of training, provide a bird s-eye view of the material that you are going
to present. For example, show why it s important, and provide an overview. 30
2. Use a variety of familiar examples.
3. Organize the information so you can present it logically, and in meaningful units.
4. Use terms and concepts that are already familiar to trainees.
5. Use as many visual aids as possible.
6. Again, create a perceived training need in trainees minds. 31 In one study, pilots
who experienced pretraining, accident-related events subsequently learned more
from an accident-reduction training program than did those experiencing fewer
such events. 32 Similarly, before the training, managers need to sit down and talk
with the trainee about why they are enrolled in the class, what they are expected
to learn, and how they can use it on the job. 33
MAKING SKILLS TRANSFER OBVIOUS AND EASY Make it easy to transfer
new skills and behaviors from the training site to the job site:
1. Maximize the similarity between the training situation and the work situation.
2. Provide adequate practice.
3. Label or identify each feature of the machine and/or step in the process.
4. Direct the trainees attention to important aspects of the job. For example,
if you re training a customer service rep to handle calls, explain the different types
of calls he or she will encounter. 34
5. Provide heads-up information. For example, supervisors often face stressful
conditions. You can reduce the negative impact of such events by letting supervisory
trainees know they might occur. 35
6. Trainees learn best at their own pace. If possible, let them pace themselves.
REINFORCING THE LEARNING
In particular:
Make sure the learner gets plenty of feedback.
1. Trainees learn best when the trainers immediately reinforce correct responses,
perhaps with a quick well done.
2. The schedule is important. The learning curve goes down late in the day, so that
full day training is not as effective as half the day or three-fourths of the day.
3. Provide follow-up assignments at the close of training, so trainees are reinforced
by having to apply back on the job what they've learned. 36