THE FUTURE OF TRAINING: LIVE WEBINARS

One of the results of the bad economy is the negative impact on training. The more people I speak to in large companies, the more I hear about training staffs being cut.

While there will always be a place for “hard skills” training, even if it takes the form of on the job training, the days of “soft skills” training in large and small companies alike, are growing short.

Based on my experience, training from videos and pre-recorded material on-line doesn’t work very well. When individuals know they can watch again, when there is nothing live going on that requires immediate attention, when there is no interaction between instructor and participant, there is a tremendous amount of inattentiveness on the part of the individuals watching the training.

I know what some of you are saying, “That’s why we have the participants take a test after they watch the training, to ensure that they pay attention.”

Well, if you read my previous blog, “THERE IS A RIGHT WAY AND A WRONG WAY TO TEACH WORK READINESS”, you already know that basing the success of “soft skills” training on the results of assessments tests is a mistake. The goal of “soft skill” training is not to provide knowledge; it is to have the participants practice good work readiness behaviors and improve their job performance after they complete the training. The key to getting someone to improve/change is for them to understand why a behavior is important to their employer. Often that fact is driven home by using real life analogies. That is the approach I took in my work readiness book, “How to Get, Keep and Be Well Paid in a Job”. Click here to find out more about my book which received a five-star review from the Midwest Book Review.

Therefore, I will go so far as to say, err write, requiring that the viewers of a video training session take an assessment test often results in the most important parts of the video training being ignored by the viewers. Having an assessment test after the video for “soft skills” training only ensures that viewers concentrate on the facts and take good notes so they can pass the test. Instead you want them to be paying attention to the entire lecture so that they come away understanding not only the facts, but why those skills/behaviors are important, so that the training can result in positive changes in your workplace.

So if taped/pre-recorded training sessions do not work, and training staff and budgets are shrinking what is the answer?

Live webinars are an excellent solution. In live webinars, viewers must pay attention the whole time or they will miss information. There is no fallback to rewind or replay the taped session. In addition, with a real-time chat room, and live polling questions with instantaneous results, the audience can be kept involved. In fact, when used right, the polling questions serve as feedback for the instructor to know when to stay with a topic that the group is not grasping a little longer. A good instructor does this all the time in live, in-person, classrooms. This can not be done, obviously, in taped and pre-recorded training media.

Finally, another trend that could arise, especially out of a poor economy, is that “soft skill” training falls on the shoulders of individuals, to improve their value, rather than on businesses, that are struggling to keep costs low. In these cases, live webinar training is very assessable, and affordable to individuals. Taking live workplace, self-improvement webinars, will not only improve a worker’s performance, but the initiative will impress the boss; whether yours, or someone with whom you are interviewing to get a job.

Towards that end, I am in the process of changing how I deliver my training programs. I have invested in a webinar product, and will be rolling out a series of affordable webinar training sessions in late November, or early December. Check back here for more information in a couple of weeks.

NOW THAT YOU KNOW THE RIGHT WAY TO TEACH WORK READINESS, WHAT IS THE IDEAL VENUE

In my last blog I outlined the existing way that most venues are teaching work readiness; why those methods do more harm than good; and what the correct way to effectively teach work readiness is. If you have not read that blog (THERE IS A RIGHT WAY AND A WRONG WAY TO TEACH WORK READINESS) please do so before continuing to read this posting.

work ready

This write-up assumes that the previous blog was read.When I outlined my philosophy on the ideal work readiness training program, I purposely left out point #9 which deals with the proper venue for implementing a competency-based work readiness training program. Point #9 is detailed below:

work readiness training

(9) The program must be offered in a controlled, stand-alone environment where outside forces and pressures cannot have an impact on the participants’ ability to complete all competencies. There cannot be a “higher authority” (a parent, a supervisor, a principal, a guidance counselor, a dean, another instructor, etc.) who can provide a reason or excuse for the participant to fail, postpone, reschedule, or not participate in a competency. If this environment exists, the program is teaching “loopholes” to the participants, especially to those who work the system or fabricate excuses.

work readiness school

Therefore, a stand alone Work Readiness Training Center or Institute is the ideal venue for effectively teaching work readiness. I currently have a 170-hour intensive program and am looking for the ideal location to implement a stand alone Training Center or Institute (at an existing location). If you want your county or city to be considered, please email me (jaygoldberg@dtrconsulting.biz) and write “location for school” in the subject field to ensure your email is not discarded as junk mail. This Work Readiness Training Center or Institute will garner the reputation of the “Harvard” of employee development and will be a big draw for major companies to relocate to your area.

work readiness program

WHAT ABOUT WORK READINESS IN HIGH SCHOOLS?

work readiness consultant

Obviously, point #9 above excludes implementing my ideal work readiness program in high schools, and even possibly in some colleges. There are many reasons why that is so, however, the main two are that it is difficult to have the business community the priority and main client over the student in a program funded by the government, and that students at that age are not in control of their lives so there will be “work arounds” regarding the demonstrated competencies which builds loopholes into the process and makes the “certification” unreliable to the business community.

work readiness book

Therefore, as much as I dislike assessment-based programs for work readiness, that is the method that has to be used in high schools. Demonstrated competencies will be too unreliable, hence doing more harm than good as the business community relies on those demonstrated skills.

job search

However, the way most states have positioned work readiness programs in schools within their assessment-based programs, is ineffective. While testing for grades is important, the emphasis still needs to be on the curriculum, not a certification test.

foundation management

The age and experiences of the students must be taken into account when teaching work readiness in the high school. My book, HOW TO GET, KEEP AND BE WELL PAID IN A JOB (website for book) with associated lesson plans, exercises, role plays, and yes assessments is the best way to teach work readiness in high school. The book covers why specific workplace skills and behaviors are important to employers and uses real life examples that the students can relate to, to make key points (for example, music downloads are discussed in the chapter on ethics). The goal of my program is to educate the class on how and why workplaces operate as they do, even more than educating the class on what the correct behaviors and skills are. The program is also engaging as it encourages debating on workplace skills and behaviors through interesting case studies. Contact me (voicemail: 561-842-9942 or email JayGoldberg@DTRConsulting.BIZ) if you want to implement my program at your school.

corporate management

WHAT ABOUT MIDDLE SCHOOL?

human resources

I believe one of the keys to solving the workplace crisis lies in laying a foundation of proper workplace ethics in middle school students. However, here the goal is just that, laying a foundation. I have a concept paper written on an innovative way to accomplish this. It does not involve books, and does not involve lesson plans. What is holding me back from pursuing this is that I want the product distributed free to all middle schools. This means that my best partner for this endeavor is a foundation that is concerned with work readiness, education, or youth at risk. Another potential partner is a state (or the federal) government. If any such individual reads this blog and would like to discuss this further please contact me (see above). This idea is revolutionary, will work, and is the perfect learning vehicle for middle school students. In fact, I can see this information delivery system being expanded into subjects beyond work readiness.

THERE IS A RIGHT WAY AND A WRONG WAY TO TEACH WORK READINESS

When I was hired to develop a work readiness curriculum in 2002 there were already a number of established work readiness training programs. With employers complaining very loudly about the lack of job skills and poor workplace behaviors by their employees in focus groups throughout the country, I knew I had to develop more than a curriculum; I needed to create a new way to deliver work readiness training.

First, let’s look at traditional programs.

TRADITIONAL PROGRAMS

Practically all work readiness training programs follow program models used in education. That means that they are assessment based. FCAT, SAT, certification exams, etc. determine success.

In fact, assessment tests have become so important that schools not only teach students knowledge, but teach students how to take tests. They must. After all, funding is often tied to their students’ performances on tests such as the FCAT. Certainly many high school juniors and seniors enroll in courses to help them learn how to improve their SAT scores. And this is not just the case with kids. How many construction management schools, real estate schools, and even schools to help with the BAR exam for attorneys are out there? Theses schools teach their students how to take and pass tests.

What does this mean? It means that if a student truly knows only 55% of the required knowledge but can reduce the other questions to a possible 1 in 3 choice, the laws of probability conclude that the student’s expected result on the test is 70%.

Even worse, if a student truly knows only 60% of the required knowledge but can reduce the other questions to a possible 1 in 2 choice, the laws of probability conclude that the student’s expected result on the test is 80%. That means a student whose knowledge base is an “F” (60% was failing grade when I went to school), appears to be a “B” student.

While educators cling to the argument that assessment tests are good indicators of knowledge, no one can make that case when dealing with job skills and behaviors.

As an example let’s use the following question:

If you wake up in the morning and your car will not start, you should:

A. Have made prior arrangements with a coworker who lives in your neighborhood to serve as an emergency ride to work.

Whether because of actual knowledge or eliminating answers like, “take as many days off of work as you need to get your car fixed”, someone answering this question correctly does not mean that that is the behavior he/she will follow if this situation actually happened to him/her. Work readiness training is NOT about answering questions correctly. It’s about doing the right thing in the workplace. That is accomplished through a curriculum that not only teaches what is expected in the workplace, but why that skill/behavior is important in the workplace, and uses real life examples that everyone can relate to outside of the workplace to illustrate key points. In work readiness training, it is the journey (curriculum) that is the key, not the final destination (assessment test). This is because success is measured in the attitudes changed and instilled in participants, not on how much work readiness knowledge they possess.

While this may be obvious to you and me, it isn’t obvious to the powers that be. For example, instead of investing in a structured program that would produce high-quality employees that employers could rely on, states either independently or in groups have decided to spend funds on generating work readiness credentials through assessment testing. They appear to care more about formulating the perfect question, than the perfect learning tool. Just check out multi-state programs like the one at workreadiness.com or single state programs like the one at floridareadytowork.com to see how way off track states are regarding developing people who are truly ready to work. Their work readiness certification tests are at best an indicator for possible success and at worst a false hope for the business community that hires the “credentialed graduates.”

MY PHILOSOPHY

I have been developing and fine-tuning my work readiness training program and philosophy since 2002. Below is a list of the key components of what I know is the correct way to implement a work readiness training program.

(1) A set curriculum that not only teaches what is expected, but why that skill/behavior is important in the workplace, and uses real life examples that everyone can relate to outside of the workplace to illustrate key points. By clearly defining important workplace skills and behaviors, and informing participants why those skills and behaviors are important to employers, the program sets a baseline of understanding and changes attitudes and behaviors. A set curriculum is also important so that employers that are hiring the graduates can see exactly what is covered in the program, and can rely on graduates no matter what venue they attend.

(2) The key assessments are not tests, but demonstrated competencies. For example, a participant demonstrates the ability to not be tardy by never being late to class, never extending breaks, and always returning on time from lunch, not by answering a question like, “When is it okay to be late to work?” In addition, case studies, role plays and in-class exercises are used to verify participants’ competency in various job skills and workplace behaviors.

(3) Once demonstrated competencies are established, participants must pass all of them to obtain certification. While 90% sounds like a high score, it gives the wrong impression to the participants. It “says” it is okay to do most of these required behaviors and skills. It also gives the impression that in performing these skills and behaviors they are going “above and beyond.” For example, the person that passed 90% will feel he/she is “better” than the person who scored “80%”, instead of feeling that he/she is coming up short and needs to improve. All of these competencies are expected to be part of an employee’s basic skill set by employers.

(4) The competency statements must be very well defined. There should be no leeway given to individual instructors in scoring pass/fail on competencies.

(5) The classroom should be run like a place of business. An “employee handbook” should be given out on day one outlining company policies and workplace comportment and the participants should be held accountable immediately. The instructor is the boss, and the participants are co-workers, not classmates or friends. Since different bosses have different management styles, and the workplace is constantly changing, having different instructors for different topics can add value to the program by forcing the participants to deal with change.

(6) The main clients for the program are NOT the participants. It is the business community. Therefore, the instructors’ main goal is to develop and ultimately screen prospective employees for employers. This is very different from typical classroom and Job Center roles where the goal is to develop the person in class to the best of their ability, and then present that customer/client in the best light possible to help him/her get a job. If programs are centered on the participants, the business community will not be able to rely on the meaning of “graduation”, which will ultimately render the program useless to employers. By centering on the business community as the main client, the expectations of employers will match the performance of its new employees which will result in a demand for program graduates.

While some programs may claim that the business community is the main client, it is not the program administrators who are making the claim that is the key to that philosophy; it is the instructors who embrace that role in class who are the keys. If an instructor allows participants to slide through who have not truly demonstrated all competencies as depicted exactly in the competency statements, then the program no longer has the business community as its main client.

(7) This is why instructor training, on the curriculum and the program philosophy is critical to the success of a work readiness program.

(8) As you can see my program philosophy is very intricate and everything must work in concert to ensure optimal success. Therefore, in addition to instructor training, there must be instructor audits. One such audit is a final “certification test”. However, unlike education programs, the certification test for this program is primarily an audit on instructors, not the key item in awarding a work readiness certificate to program participants. In fact, only participants that pass all demonstrated competencies should be allowed to take the test. As such, a very high percentage of participants that take the simple “certification test” should pass it. If an instructor has a significant number that fail; that is an indication that that instructor needs re-training or is passing participants that are truly not demonstrating competency.

MY BOOK

In April of this year I had a book published by Outskirts Press. The book is called, How to Get, Keep, and Be Well Paid in a Job (click here for the book’s web site).

My intent in writing this book was to provide readers with information vital to helping them get, keep and make good money in their jobs. However, knowing what to do is not enough. This book covers why workplaces operate as they do, and uses real-life comparisons outside of the workplace that everyone can relate to, in order to help illustrate key points (e.g. my chapter on interviewing is called, “The First Date” and compares the job interview process with dating).

Simply put, this book is a work readiness/job skills guide which is an enlightening and attitude-changing read. After reading this book, the reader will understand how workplaces operate, why specific behaviors and skills are important to employers, and have a road map to forge a career rather than just hold a job. Best of all, this book accomplishes all this using a writing style that is light-hearted, fun, and easy-to-read, rather than a typical straight-forward, hard-to-get through textbook.

If you have a work readiness program, or want to develop one, I highly recommend you click on the link above and check out my book. It is the perfect book for both teachers of work readiness and students learning work readiness.

MY HISTORY IN WORK READINESS

As I mentioned previously, in 2002 I was hired to develop a work readiness curriculum that I grew into a work readiness program.

The program I developed was called the best work readiness program in the Country by the National Skills Standard Board at a presentation of the Program in Jacksonville, Florida on 01/13/03.

The results from my initial client far exceeded those of other work readiness programs. Employers lined up to hire the graduates and found that over 85% of the graduates remained employed six months later, and over 30% received promotions.

Initially I trained all instructors and I audited the program. Over time, my instructor training program has been modified greatly to emphasis my new, formal program philosophy. Existing venues do not have this new instructor training process, and to my knowledge, never fully implemented my instructor audits. The primary reason for me not being on hand to implement program and curriculum changes was because of deep budget cuts in the Workforce Development Board System. Therefore, I was not able to be retained as the program spread to Job Centers throughout the Country including Pennsylvania, Florida, Illinois, Texas and Massachusetts.

While venues using my curriculum and portions of my program are better than most other programs (if not all), they are still not optimal since I have gained more insight and have modified the program structure, curriculum and philosophy significantly over time.

NEXT STEPS

Please contact me at JayGoldberg@DTRConsulting.BIZ (write work readiness program in the subject line to ensure your email is not discarded as junk mail) or leave a message for me at 561-842-9942 and I will return your call if you want me to review your work readiness program, transform your work readiness program into a program using my philosophy, want me to create a custom work readiness (or any other) training program, or if you want to use my standard work readiness program.

Who is Jay Goldberg and why is he blogging?

Hi, my name is Jay Goldberg and I will be posting a couple of blogs a month, so in my first blog I thought I would introduce myself and let you know what I will be covering in my blogs.

I am a former Vice President for Citibank where I was a Service Director. At Citibank, I hired, trained and managed numerous employees. For the last 14 years I have been CEO of DTR Inc., a Business Consulting Firm in South Florida. At DTR, I developed the strategy, curriculum, lesson plans, competency statements and teacher training procedures for a work readiness training program called the best work readiness certification program in the country by the National Skills Standard Board in 2003. More information about my company can be found at www.dtrconsulting.biz.

In April of this year (2008), my book, How to Get, Keep and Be Well Paid in a Job was published by Outskirts Press. This book was written to be an enjoyable, enlightening, attitude-changing read. In addition to stating the behaviors and skills valued by employers, the book explains why those skills and behaviors are important to employers and uses real-life analogies to help illustrate key points.

This book is ideal for parents to purchase for their kids as they are first entering the workforce; for employers to purchase as a training guide to communicate to their employees what they need to do to become valuable employees and grow within their company; for individuals who find themselves continually passed over for promotions or who continually move from job to job without significant increases in pay; for schools that want to teach work readiness (also is being used in ESOL programs); for Job Centers to have as a reference book that their clients can read; and for anybody who wants to truly understand why specific behaviors and skills are valuable to employers so they can manage a career rather than just get paid to perform a job.

More information about my book can be found at www.outskirtspress.com/Goldberg.

I also work part time with the Palm Beach County Resource Center (PBCRC), an economic development 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Corporation. At the PBCRC, I was instrumental in developing a revolutionary entrepreneurship training program with a structure unlike any other entrepreneurship training program in the country. More information about the PBCRC's entrepreneurship training program can be found at www.SEEKexcellence.BIZ.

My future blogs will cover the following topics:

• What makes effective training programs
• The difference between education and training
• Tips for individuals looking for jobs
• Tips for individuals to keep and grow in their jobs
• Tips for supervisors
• Tips for business owners
• Tips for individuals looking to start new businesses
  

FYI, the Table of Content for my book follows:

BOOK CHAPTERS

The First Date
(Interview Process)
Includes: Know all you can about the company before going on the interview; rehearse your answers to interview questions; stay focused (bring all questions back to the job/company), interview tips; nonverbal communication; know yourself (strengths, weaknesses, life/career goals); the job application; resume

They Like Me, They Really Like Me
(Preparing for First Day of Work)
Includes: When do I report; where do I report; to whom do I report; what should I wear; is there anything I can do to prepare

Am I Really in the NFL?
(Business Profits)
Includes: Why employees need the company they work for to be profitable

Now That I’m On the Team, What Are the Team Rules?
(Employee Handbook)
Includes: Benefits; company policies, compensation, workplace rules

Take a Stand, Is It Abigail or Flagg?
(Ethics)
Includes: The case of Don Imus; music downloads; work scenario #1; work scenario #2; work scenario #3; stealing from an employer is not only stealing money

Mr. Rogers Was Right! Be a Good Neighbor
(Workplace Behaviors)
Includes: Absenteeism; use of sick days; tardiness; grooming; be responsible; safety; mannerisms and habits; positive attitude; positive self-image

What Are the Special Codes for This Game Called Work
(Workplace Skills)
Includes: Active listening; following instructions/directions; managing your time wisely; completing tasks accurately and efficiently; creative thinking/problem-solving skills; telephone technique; communication skills

Be Nice to These People; They Helped You Buy Your Car!
(Customer Service)
Includes: Customer focus; service delivery; service measurements; phone center; barriers to communication; service attitude; customer service skills;; choosing words; classifying customer statements; overcoming objections; managing customers

Check Your Baggage at the Door
(Personal Life vs. Work Life)
Includes: Reason for working; objectionable behaviors; harassment; discrimination; drug/alcohol abuse; violence; a plan of action

To Date or Not to Date, That is the Question
(Social Life at Work)
Includes: Dating in the workplace; your employment relationship; lifestyle compromises; lifestyle choices; take control of your life

These People Are Nuts!
(How to Get Along With Co-workers)
Includes: Blueprint for getting along with co-workers; importance of teamwork; working with the Team Leader; how to be a good team member; value of diversity in the workplace

Congruent Theory of Work: Good For Boss = Good For Me
(Working With Supervisors)
Includes: Supervisor responsibilities; meeting supervisor’s expectations; communicating with supervisors; understanding expectations; performance appraisals; raises and promotions; role reversal

I Am a Stock
(Improve Your Skills)
Includes: Learning strategies

What I Learned in School Is Wrong For My Job, Huh?
(Reading, Writing and Arithmetic)
Includes: Reading; writing; arithmetic

Avoiding the Messy Divorce
(How to Leave a Job)
Includes: Proper way to leave a job, why it is important to leave on good terms

I already have some ideas for my next post. I hope I peaked your interest so that you'll give it a read.

I have an alternative version of this blog at jobing.com