The Society for Technical Communication is an individual membership organization dedicated to advancing the arts and sciences of technical communication. It is the largest organization of its type in the world. Its 25,000 members include technical writers and editors, content developers, documentation specialists, technical illustrators, instructional designers, academics, information architects, usability and human factors professionals, visual designers, Web designers and developers, and translators - anyone whose work makes technical information available to those who need it.

The STC Toronto Chapter was founded in 1959 (then the Society of Technical Writers) and is the largest chapter in Canada.

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Front Runner Presents:
Training the Ones Who Train Us
by Lilli Dailide, Front Runner Training Consultant

Corporations have come a long way in recognizing the need for training their staff.  They see the value of upgrading the skills of their employees; managers manage better; employees produce quality work; customers are happier; and the fact that training is a way of retaining employees, well, that’s a bonus.

So why is the trainer often the last to be trained?  Maybe they are promoted into the role because they are good speakers or presenters.  They are usually the subject matter experts and if they have some personality, management believes they have put the right person in the job.  It’s a good start.  We do want trainers who we enjoy listening to, who we are confident in and appear to enjoy teaching others.

We do these people a disservice though, by putting them into training jobs and then leaving them to fend for themselves.  I know, because I was one of these trainers.  I was the one who helped new employees get integrated into our operations department so I was unknowingly performing on-the-job training.  When a position became available in the training department I interviewed for the job and got it.  That was the day that changed the rest of my working life.

I was too overjoyed at getting the job to care about not receiving formal training.  At that point I didn’t even know what training was available for trainers.  It was important that I knew what I was talking about – what screens to use to enter data, how to pull product information, handle customer disputes.  As a subject matter expert, I thought I was well prepared.

My first assignment was to teach a six week program to new employees that were required to have an 80% average at the end, in order to actually work in the job.  It was a daunting task for someone who had never led a class before.  As wonderful as my company was to give me this opportunity, it took a risk.

The evening before I was to start my first class, I was setting up in the classroom.  I had not used a whiteboard before and wanted to make sure that my writing could be seen from the back of the room.  I wrote in large black letters – “BEWARE THE IDES OF MARCH” right across the large board.  I knew enough to check if my writing could be seen, but not enough to tell the difference between a whiteboard marker and a flipchart marker.  It was after hours and there were no whiteboard experts to turn to.  I wasted a lot of time, as I tried in a panic to get that message off the board.  I was a novice, entrusted with the big responsibility of ensuring ten people learned what they needed, to perform their job.

When people are given the job of training others, without the benefit of being taught how to train, they rely on and draw from their experiences in school.  They act the way their teachers did and employ the teaching techniques they were exposed to as students.  The adult learner is different from the child learner and this should be reflected in the delivery of training.  To conduct successful corporate training programs it is important that trainers understand and use Adult Learning Principles, that they facilitate the learning process rather than talk the knowledge into the heads of the participants.  Facilitation style has a significant impact on determining whether learning outcomes are positive or negative.

Why is it that to become a Microsoft Certified Trainer one must provide evidence of having taken a training/facilitation course?  Why are technical trainers being asked to obtain training certification on how to train?  They are technical trainers, after all, and the old thinking has been that they are not in the classroom to facilitate, but to instruct.  They are there to point out the step by step process, not to inspire discussion.

There is a lot more to Trainer Facilitation Skills programs than learning how to inspire discussion.  Trainers get to see themselves in action and receive feedback on whether they talk too much, ask questions that are easily understood or use their voice in a way that makes participants want to listen to them. It is statistically proven that skilled trainers have better results in the classroom.  That by knowing and using the most effective training methods, they help participants learn quicker and make the learning experience more enjoyable.

A trainer who completes a facilitation course learns:

• how to train adults
• how to provide constructive feedback in a group setting
• what activities accelerate learning
• how to communicate with the group so they are motivated to learn
• to facilitate to the various learning styles of the participants, and much more.

Whether a training program involves the teaching of a technical skill, a software program, business or management development skills, employee learning can be maximized.  That’s a big benefit for getting your trainers trained.