Hands-On Training. . - Bookshelf - book review

HR Magazine, April, 2002 by Gary R. Sisson

By Gary R. Sisson

Berrett-Koehler, 2001

107 pages

List Price: $19.95

ISBN: 1-57675-165-1

Most workplace training isn't conducted by development professionals, but by peers and supervisors. Because this on-the-job instruction is generally informal, it often lacks the structure--and effectiveness--associated with formal training initiatives.

Enter Hands-On Training: That's what training consultant Gary R. Sisson calls his systematic, internal approach to on-the-job learning. "Hands-on training is nothing more than an orderly approach to something that is going to happen anyway," Sisson says.

Although such training can be applied in any workplace, it is particularly valuable in smaller organizations, where budgets are limited.

By following a few guidelines, anyone in an organization can function as a hands-on trainer. Sisson boils down the hands-on training into six steps:

* Prepare for training. Trainers should study documentation about the procedure they are going to teach. However, he advises, don't rely on written training materials during the actual instruction.

* Open the session. Explain the objective of the training and provide reasons why the trainee should want to learn.

* Present the subject. Demonstrate the operation exactly as it should be done on the job.

* Practice the skills. Have the trainee perform the task. Trainers should provide feedback and have the trainee repeat the task.

* Evaluate the performance. Carefully observe whether the procedure is being done correctly, in sequence and safely. Stress method and quality, then speed.

* Review the subject. This step provides a transition between training and everyday work. Review the instructions, encourage questions and follow up frequently.

"Hands-on training works best when it is virtually invisible," Sisson writes.