Category: Human Resources

There are many compelling reasons to deliver your training directly to your employees’ cellphones. To cite just a few . . .  

• Mobile training can be conveniently delivered to large numbers of employees who work in multiple locations 
• There is no hardware cost, and no need to install a training center for employees to use 
• There is no need to hire a trainer every time you want to start a training class for new employees, salespeople, or anyone else 
• Employees can complete different units and modules whenever and wherever they prefer 
• Millennials and other younger employees really like their mobile devices and are therefore more likely to enjoy and complete training 
• You already have older computerized training materials – or even older printed training manuals – that should be easy to convert into mobile training programs

Those are all very good reasons why you should be thinking about mobile training. But are there other issues to consider before you move ahead? I asked Dan Black, former Vice President of Client Engagement at my company Tortal Training. Dan, who is a master training designer, recommends asking these questions before making the decision to distribute some or all of your training to your employees’ mobile phones. 

 Question One: What percentage of your employees have smart phones? 

 If most of your trainees already have them, that is one thing. But if not, how will you deliver your training to those who don’t? You will need to provide tablets or laptops that can be used by them in the office. That could mean designing several versions of your training materials for different platforms. So be sure to look before you leap.  

 Question Two: How will employees be compensated for training when they are not at work?  

If employees will complete training when they are not at work, you will have to compensate them for the extra time they spend. You will have to have them track and report those extra hours. Another option is to require them to complete their training at work.  

Question Three: Is mobile connectivity easily accessible while your employees are on the job? 

This is another question that some companies overlook as they rush to mobile. What, for example, is the state of Wi-Fi connectivity in all your work locations, stores, etc.? If it’s not already there or if it is sub-par, what will be cost of setting it up across all your locations? If your trainees will be accessing your materials while they are not at work, can you expect them to shoulder the usage costs? 

Question Four: Do your employees in the field have mobile–enabled tablets? 

Many companies are discovering that mobile training works best when delivered on tablets, not smartphones. But they are also finding that few employees have tablets that are part of their mobile plans.  

Question Five: Is your training the kind of training that works well on mobile? 

Dan Black maintains that mobile devices are best for delivering what he calls “performance support,” which means training that is delivered to employees after they’ve gone through a larger and more detailed learning interaction. 

Performance support is like a reminder. You know that sign in your company bathroom that reminds employees to wash their hands before returning to work? That’s an example of performance support, which can also be defined as essential, bite–size pieces of information that you deliver where and when they can affect employee performance.  

Some examples are: 

• Overviews of product features and use 
• A review of how to handle a customer-facing process or procedure 
• Quick instructions on how to fill out a form that documents a service call or a sale 
• Simple videos on cleaning, troubleshooting, or performing preventative maintenance

The bottom line is that mobile training should be short, sweet, and to the point. Think about YouTube, the largest training resource on the planet. If people don’t know how to do something, they find out how on YouTube! Think that same way for your employees. The idea is to provide information that reminds them how to handle a process or procedure – info that they can access where and when they need it. 

In Summary . . .   

Yes, mobile is great, but it’s not great for everything. Used properly, it can be a powerful tool in your organization’s arsenal if you use it in combination with the full suite of technology, classroom, and other training that is available to you. 

About the Author  

Evan Hackel is CEO of Tortal Training, a firm that specializes in developing and implementing interactive training solutions for companies in all sectors. Evan is also a recognized business and franchise expert, a professional speaker, and author. He created the concept of Ingaged Leadership and is Principal and Founder of Ingage Consulting, a consulting firm headquartered in Woburn, Massachusetts. Evan is an active advisor in the C-Suite Network. To learn more about Inage Consulting and Evan’s book Ingaging Leadership, visit Ingage.net  

In a Breakthough Ideas in Training webinar that Anthony Amos gave for us at Tortal, he made a comment that we’ve been thinking about ever since . . .

“Good training coaches people to move through discomfort.”

The more we think about that comment, the more we realize how wise Anthony is. After all, discomfort is one of the main reasons people silently resist training . . .

• Sales trainees learn your company’s strategies and scripts for structured selling . . . but some never admit that they feel uncomfortable about “asking for the buy” and closing sales.
• Some mature trainees who are returning to the workforce might be reluctant to admit that they feel insecure about using new technologies.
• Executives in your leadership training programs take part in workshops that encourage them to work closely with other departments . . . but some of them secretly feel defensive about sharing too much information with the heads of other divisions.
• Some of the phone representatives who you are training to make cold sales calls never admit they hate to pick up the phone and call people they don’t know.

Dealing with Discomfort

Before you can overcome discomfort, you have to find ways to uncover where it lies. Here are some effective ways:

• Start asking for “mood feedback” as soon as training begins. Asking a question like, “everybody good with that?” or, “anybody got a problem with that?” consistently through training can set up an atmosphere that encourages trainees to open up about any areas of discomfort. If you keep the mood lighthearted and fun, trainees will be more likely to say what is on their minds.
• Anticipate and deal with possible “hot button” issues when designing your training. If you think about who your trainees are and what you would like them to learn, you can often identify areas of discomfort ahead of time and teach to them.

Effective Coaching Techniques for Areas of Discomfort 

• Use simulations. If a trainee for a calling center job says that she fears dealing with angry customers, let her handle two or three simulated calls from dissatisfied customers. (Other trainees can play the part of the callers.) Once she sees that she can handle those calls well, she will gain the confidence she needs.
• Use videos in your training. If you can show employees dealing with situations or issues that you expect will cause trainees discomfort on the job, you can proactively train employees to perform better.
• Let trainees break into small sub-groups to discuss what they are learning. Trainees who are reluctant to air fears or concerns before a room full of other trainees are often willing to share their feelings in small groups of their peers. One good technique is to ask each group to appoint a leader to collect comments and then report them to the entire training class.
• Consider using anonymous feedback. You can ask trainees to anonymously write down their areas of discomfort on index cards, or have them text the training leader. Once those comments are collected, your trainer can talk about them openly with the entire group.
• Be respectful of trainees’ feelings. You want to keep the mood light, but resist the temptation to poke fun at trainees’ fears. If a trainee opens up about something that is on his or her mind – something that is a concern – part of a trainer’s job is to discuss the issue respectfully and carefully.

About Evan Hackel

Evan Hackel, a 35-year franchising veteran is a nationally recognized expert and speaker on franchising. Evan is the founder and CEO of Ingage Consulting, and CEO of Tortal Training, a leading training development company. Evan is an active advisor in the C-Suite Network. He is also author of Ingaging Leadership, and host of “Training Unleashed,” a podcast covering training for business. Contact him here, follow him at @ehackel, or call 781-820-7609.

by Evan Hackel

Boring training is bad training because people who are bored tune out and do not learn. That could explain why so many professional trainers like to exhibit such high levels of energy. They burst into a training session at the start of the day with so much oomph that it is hard to imagine how one ounce of boredom could remain in the room.

Yet boredom is sneaky. Even if training gets off to a rousing start, it can sneak back in and infect trainees.

Boredom Is Serious

Boredom, which has been defined as “an unpleasant state arising in monotonous situations,” does more than just limit people’s ability to pay attention. In studies, it has been linked to serious problems. When people are chronically bored, they are more likely to drive too fast, to become negative or depressed, and to engage in dangerous activities like smoking and drinking alcohol to excess.

In 2014 Colleen Merrifield, a doctoral student at the University of Waterloo in Canada, wrote her thesis about boredom. Entitled “Toward a Model of Boredom: Investigating the Psychophysiological, Cognitive, and Neural Correlates of Boredom,” it makes for very useful reading for training designers.

“Despite the breadth of research related to boredom,” Dr. Merrifield writes, “surprisingly little research has been devoted to understanding the psychological, behavioral, physiological, and/or neural underpinnings of the construct itself. Without this understanding, it is difficult to establish criteria to identify and measure the experience.”

Chasing Boredom from the Training Room

If even the most energetic trainer cannot banish boredom from training, what can? Let’s look at some strategies that work.

• Deliver information in visual, aural, reading/writing and kinesthetic formats. You can learn more online about those styles, usually grouped under the VARK acronym. In practical terms, that means designing training that includes videos, moving around the room, reading and written exercises, as well as compelling slides and visuals. Training that utilizes the four VARK aspects is less likely to become boring.
• Design training that doesn’t conflict with trainees’ energy highs and lows through the day. These highs and lows, also called circadian rhythms, cause most people to have high energy during the morning hours, followed by a slump after lunch and then another uptick in the mid to late afternoon. In designing your training day, you should avoid reading, taking tests, or listening to talks right after lunch – a time when energy levels fall. Engage your learners in work simulations, games, or interactive exercises instead. If you have a quiz or evaluation for trainees to complete, schedule that first thing in the morning, when energy is high. Timing your training around circadian rhythms decreases boredom and boosts receptiveness to learning.
• Invite trainees to decide what they will learn. During the planning process, for example, you can ask your salespeople to submit their top frustrations and roadblocks – then design training to explore them and provide solutions. Or if your trainer is agile and resourceful enough, trainees can suggest topics to explore while training is taking place. If you can keep training grounded in what people genuinely want to learn, boredom doesn’t have a chance to intrude.
• Let trainees complete some materials on their mobile phones and tablets. After all, not every unit must be completed in a face-to-face training session, or even in a company’s computerized training room. Some materials, including interactive quizzes and videos, can be delivered to your employees over evenings or weekends. Mixing these options in with classroom training can provide variety that keeps training engaging and vibrant.

About Evan Hackel

Evan Hackel, a 35-year franchising veteran, is a nationally recognized expert and speaker on franchising. Evan is founder and CEO of Ingage Consulting, and CEO of Tortal Training, a leading training development company. Evan is an active advisor in the C-Suite Network. He is also author of Ingaging Leadership Meets the Younger Generation, and host of “Training Unleashed,” a podcast covering training for business. Contact him here, follow him at @ehackel, or call 781-820-7609.