Michael Phillips offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print. Feel free to use this article in your newsletter, website, ezine, blog, or forum. ----------- PUBLICATION GUIDELINES - You have permission to publish this article for free providing the "About the Author" box is included in its entirety. - Do not post/reprint this article in any site or publication that contains hate, violence, porn, warez, or supports illegal activity. - Do not use this article in violation of the US CAN-SPAM Act. If sent by email, this article must be delivered to opt-in subscribers only. - If you publish this article in a format that supports linking, please ensure that all URLs and email addresses are active links. - Please send a copy of the publication, or an email indicating the URL to [email protected] - Article Marketer (www.ArticleMarketer.com) has distributed this article on behalf of the author. Article Marketer does not own this article, please respect the author's copyright and publication guidelines. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not use this article. ----------- Article Title: Computer Training - Is Your Computer Training Program a Money Sink? Author: Michael Phillips Category: Word Count: 791 Keywords: training, course, computer, courses, computer training, courses computer, computer classes Author's Email Address: [email protected] Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com ------------------ ARTICLE START ------------------
Computer and soft-skills training seems to fall into the nebulous, foggy category of a "necessary" but "unmeasurable" need. At a basic level, it's obvious that employees can't do their jobs well if they don't know what they are doing! Yet so many times businesses spring beaucoup bucks for training, and end up scratching their heads wondering if the investment was worth it. After all, how do you know? Here are three methodologies for you to use to help you determine if your training program is as effective as it could be, and if not, how to tweak it so that it meets your objectives. But let's begin at the end. 1. Begin with the End in Mind The first mistake businesses make is to forget why they are holding training sessions in the first place. You need more than a vague, "upgrade skill-sets" goal in order to get maximum results for minimum expenditure. What's necessary is a set of clearly defined goals that tie directly into business objectives. In other words, you need to let your business goals drive your training goals. How can you tie them together? It's easy. Once you have determined your business goals and needs, you ask, what do my employees need to know to accomplish these objectives? This will quite literally flesh out your training outline all by itself. You would be amazed at how many businesses skip this step, insisting and hoping that putting their employees through a generic training program will yield needed results. Doesn't work that way. Why not? Because generic training yields generic results. Remember, employees and trainers are not geared towards meeting your goals; they don't even know what those goals are! If you fail to give them any target to aim for, as is the case with generic training, then you surely cannot expect your training sessions to hit the bull's eye in terms of results. Imagine telling a group of people to go look for "something," in a "northerly" direction. What a silly instruction that would be! Can you imagine what they might come up with? Oh, they'll come up with something all right, but it won't be what you had in mind! Now imagine telling them, "go look in that building on the 3rd floor for any clothing or food staples that are still salvageable." These are specific, easy-to-follow instructions that will help target your peoples' efforts. It's the exact same way with computer and soft-skills training. Having clearly defined objectives, and communicating those objectives to both trainers and participants in advance, helps to focus your people and will net you much better results. Not to mention, you will not be throwing away all that money on generic, useless training. So take the extra time to specify exactly which topics you need covered in your training sessions, and why, and this will go a long way towards helping you achieve your training and business objectives. 2. Pre/Post Testing Another simple, powerful, and effective tool is to use pre-class and post-class tests to determine employees' net gains and the overall effectiveness of the training. This probably sounds like a big hassle...but it doesn't have to be! Your training provider should be able to set up pre/post tests for you (we offer pre/post testing for any of our courses, at no charge--just ask!). Pre/post testing will allow you to objectively measure student's progress in the course, and give you a better idea if your training efforts were successful. Just Google HostedTest or ClassMarker, or other similar sites for great prices and easy administration of testing via the Net. 3. Post-Class Surveys Additionally, you can (and should!) do surveys following the class to determine students' impressions and overall feedback for the course. After all, you are holding the training sessions to better their skill-sets, and unless you were in the classroom with them, you need their feedback to know what really went on. A great way to accomplish this is to use a service called surveymonkey. If you do only a few trainings a year they offer a free service, or for bulk trainings there is a nominal charge. The neat thing about it is they offer the service entirely through email, with a great looking interface as well as reporting features. It makes for a painless, handy and convenient way to obtain metrics from your training sessions, on the cheap. Summary Now that you know some of the techniques you can use to make your training sessions more powerful, you can use them to save money and increase the effectiveness of your employees. We covered: * Begin with the End in Mind, or Customized Topics * Pre/Post Testing * Post-Class Surveys So make the most of your training dollars. The best computer and soft-skills training really does enhance your bottom line, if you are smart in how you implement it. (c) 2009 Michael J. Phillips Michael J. Phillips is a technology trainer and consultant in Orange County, CA with over 16 years of experience. Get more insider tips on technology and productivity at http://pctrainingexperts.com. ------------------ ARTICLE END ------------------ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
