10 Reasons Team Members HATE training! (Part 1 of 2)
I get asked this ALL the time… “Why do our team members HATE training?”
After the question the person that asked it will go on a rant about how training is so important and helps the team member be more successful and offers them new opportunities and provide them a path for career advancement.
At that moment my head explodes…
Think about this for a minute…
Do we all know that eating more fruits and vegetables and drinking more water is good for us?
It will help us lose weight…
Potentially live longer…
Be healthier…
Maybe reduce risk of diabetes, heart disease and stroke?
But when given the choice do we want bacon or oatmeal with fruit for breakfast?
Think about it… there are many potential benefits from going to training and learning new things but is that enough to get people past previous negative training experiences?
Think about it… do the benefits above sound more like “bacon” or “oatmeal” to a team member?
Here are what I see as the 10 Reasons Team Members Hate Training!
As a guy from Indiana I need to do them in reverse order…
10 - Wrong time of day
The Number 10 reason team members hate training is because of when it happens! It sounds like a small point but it can create a huge barrier to retention.
If you normally work from 3pm to 11pm and “training” is from 8am until 11am… that’s the middle of your night.
I’m not sure about you but if a person came to me and said Marty you need to go to training and it’s from 1 am to 4 am, I won’t be walking in the session with my happy pants on!
I’m coming in bordering between mad and looking for a new job!
If you want to reduce the resistance to coming to training you want to make it as easy for the participant as you possibly can!
9 - Too much PPT
Number 9 is the world famous death by PowerPoint. Yes it’s an amazing tool and can do some amazing things but it can be a real deal killer when it comes to learning.
We’ve all been there… the slides start, lights dim and the “trainer” starts talking and talking and talking!
I use slides to create curiosity and provide a guard rail to keep me going in the right direction.
Most slides have 1 large image and a few words or quote. That’s it!
For a 4 hour session we might have 10-15 slides…
Always remember - Less is MORE!
8 - Lecture, Lecture and more Lecture
I touched on this in the previous item on slides but the same goes for lecture!
In the olden days teaching was seen as having the intelligent and highly educated teacher at the front of the room and they would spend hours sharing wisdom and expecting the “learners” to take notes and soak it in like dry sponges.
That’s a bad model!
It reminds me of using leeches and bloodletting for healthcare.
It sounded like it was a good idea but in reality… it’s a bad idea!
If you talk for more than 8 minutes you’ve gone WAY too long.
Our attention spans are shrinking so talk less, ask more and increase activity.
Reduce the amount people despise training be making them active learners and participants.
7 - Not relevant
Make the learning relevant and valuable to the learner.
People need to understand the context and see value in the learning.
Just because something is important doesn’t mean it’s relevant to the learner.
Would you spend 8 hours educating 5 year olds about compound interest? Benjamin Franklin knew about and left money to Boston and Philadelphia that turned into millions but to a 5 year old what real value does it provide?
Before you post your comments about this… my point is maybe you start exposing a 5 year old to the concept but I would not invest 8 hours on it.
At times we need to share big concepts with team members but we don’t need to get deep into the details unless they can see the value in it!
6 - 10 lbs of stuff in 5 lb sack
This is all too common!
“Training” becomes a stuff sack and we see how much we can shove into it!
The discussion goes like this… “If we’re having the team members in for “training on X” why don’t we also tell them about Y and it will also be a good time to hand out Z and…”
What was a well designed 2 hours of learning and engagement turns into disjointed lecture, materials, powerpoints and STUFF.
I mentioned it earlier…
Less is more!
If people walk out of training wanting more you’re winning the battle of “hating” training!
Now some things for you to think about… FYI - Taking action is critical…
Look at the training you do the most often… what can you take from the 5 items shared and use it on or in that training?
What’s the number one reason team members hate training in your opinion? Share it below!
In my next post I’ll share the Top 5 and how to overcome them! (Yes... one of them is BORING!) (But it’s not the number 1 reason people hate training!)
If you’ve read this far, thank you for your attention. It goes without saying that it means the absolute world to me. I hope this piece helped you in even the slightest bit and if it did, please share it with a friend that could also benefit from this.
Thanks for reading...
Positively Transforming Lives and Having FUN Doing It!
I think some team members hate training because they see it as a chore. Also, they really don't like having to come in on their off day to take a class.
ReplyDeleteI agree!Number 10 should also including coming in for training on their day off. If we want people to be excited about coming to training we need to make it fun, engaging and at the right time!
DeleteLooks good! I remember once you said "don't just show up and throw up". (Make it interactive) I always keep that in mind.
DeleteWhere are the other 5 reasons? I thought it was a top ten?
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you asked!
ReplyDeleteIn an effort to keep the posts brief (Think micro learning.) I only did the first 5.
The Top 5 will post this week! (FYI - Boring is on of them!)
Thank you for asking.
I make every effort to schedule training on all shifts. My philosophy is it is better to interrupt the schedule of one person (ME!) than 10 people I am trying to influence. Thanks for a great post! Pam
ReplyDelete