Canadian Occupational Safety (COS) magazine is the premier workplace health and safety publication in Canada. We cover a wide range of topics ranging from office to heavy industry, and from general safety management to specific workplace hazards.
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10 Canadian Occupational Safety www.cos-mag.com PEOPLE&PLACES GLYN JONES TRAINING PEOPLE&PLACES GLYN JONES TRAINING PEOPLE&PLACES TRAINING PEOPLE&PLACES W hen an incident occurs, the corrective action is often training, more training and still more training. We spend a fortune on training every year and in every industry. The Conference Board of Canada estimates that more than $12 billion was spent on employee train- ing in 2012. The question remains: If training is the answer, what does an effective training program look like? The CSA Group has developed the Occupational Health and Safety Train- ing standard (Z1001–13) for managing occupational health and safety train- ing. It provides organizations with a practical guide to managing effective OHS training programs and it has three major parts. The first part covers training, administration and management of the training. The second part defi nes roles and responsibilities and outlines the training needs analysis processes. Further, it outlines methods for establishing the program, such as design, development and implemen- tation, and how to measure the success of a program and ensure it achieves expected outcomes. The third part of the standard covers the requirement for the ongoing development and maintenance of training courses. So where to start? Creating an effective training program involves an eight-step process. STEP 1: MAKE A BUSINESS CASE A mistake safety people often make when trying to launch any new ini- tiative is failing to build the business case. Companies are in business to make money. Any new program or expenditure needs to be considered in the context of the overall value of the initiative to the business. Conducting a cost-benefi t analysis or developing a formal business case to determine the fi nancial benefi t of conducting train- ing is a must. STEP 2: DEVELOP OBJECTIVES AND LEARNING OUTCOMES Objectives and learning outcomes describe what learners will be able to know and do post-training. The learn- ing outcomes should also establish the described criteria by which the training will be judged a success. The training objectives and learning outcomes should be aligned with an employee's position competency profi le and, at the high level, with the organization's business goals and mission. STEP 3: DEVELOP CONTENT AND INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN The most effective education and training methods for a particular situ- ation need to be used. In today's work world, a combination of asynchro- nous online education coupled with hands-on training in the workplace may provide a better, more cost- effective and accessible solution than traditional classroom learning. Add to this some on-the-job training that employs an element of tutoring and coaching and optimal instructional delivery may be achieved. Many other delivery methods are available and should be considered, such as video, video-conferencing, webinars and other computer-based training tools. STEP 4: ACCESS INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL RESOURCES Delivery of the training can be pro- vided using in-house resources or an external consultant. In-house train- ers cost less because their salary has already been accounted for in the company budget. An in-house trainer may also provide more fl exibility and will bring greater understanding of the issues driving the need for train- ing, but it is possible to fi nd external consultants who are more skilled and polished speakers. Using an external resource may create "just enough" sep- aration between the issue at hand and the trainer to keep the conversation in the classroom at an objective level. STEP 5: DEVELOP EDUCATION AND TRAINING MATERIALS The education and training materi- als developed for the course must be carefully aligned with the objectives and learning outcomes. The learning activities need to allow learners the opportunity to apply the principles learned in the classroom. To be effec- tive the instructor must understand the audience, the company culture and the history behind the need for the training. It is well established that adults learn differently than younger students and understanding the chal- lenges of adult education and training will improve training effectiveness. STEP 6: TRANSFER KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES The learner must have the opportu- nity to promptly apply the knowledge and skills gained in the workplace and demonstrate new abilities. Barriers that may prevent prompt and effec- tive application must be identifi ed and removed if the program is to be successful. A supportive program that includes tutoring and coaching by managers and supervisors is impor- tant. The overall effectiveness will be increased if the new skills are sup- ported by a job and task observation process with reinforcement. STEP 7: EVALUATE EFFECTIVENESS That which gets measured gets done. Evaluating the effectiveness of the education and training is critical. Measurement supports, and hopefully validates, the business case that was made in support of the training. The total cost of the training is easy to mea- sure, but it is important to also measure uptake and participant satisfaction. Uptake can be measured by having learners take post-training tests and demonstrate learned skills and abili- ties. Job observation can also be used to assess skills development. Learners can offer their feedback using course evaluation forms. More complex meth- ods of evaluation may include using lagging indicators, such as reduced incident and damage data, as measures of performance improvement. STEP 8: UNDERTAKE CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT The fi nal step in any such process is to undertake continuous improve- ment. The improvements may include adjusting and updating the education and training materials, adjusting the time allocated to classroom theory and work site practical training, and even tweaking the instructor delivery and messaging. Oftentimes how learn- ing is measured needs to be adjusted over time to increase the value of the measurement results. The fi ndings from the evaluation process need to be used to make meaningful changes to the objectives and learning outcomes, content and instructional design. Glyn Jones is a partner at EHS Partner- ships in Calgary. He is a consulting OHS professional with 25 years of experience. He also provides program design and instructional support to the University of New Brunswick's OHS certifi cate and diploma programs. He can be reached at gjones@ehsp.ca. 8 key elements of an effective training program Design, measurement, continuous improvement important T E C H N O L O G I E W.A.L. T E C H N O L O G Y www.waltechnology.com CHEMTECH-XT MATERIAL