Dalreen Da Costa posed the above mentioned question on LinkedIn, to which the note mentioned below was my response.Dalreen had also appended the following with his question...We run a 4-5 day sales and customer experience training for all new recruits in our sales team. This is an exhaustive program that transfers knowledge and skill on consultative selling of high ticket merchandise. What I've noticed is that for about a month after the training, they demonstrate these skills on the floor and then it starts to wane. I would like to know of processes/ methodologies/ technologies or any other experience you have had in dealing with a similar situation.
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You have posted a question which is of interest to anyone in this field of operations. Having worked in a retail organisation, I offer you the following insights, which are a combination of clinicality of training and clinicality of the domain. Your simple question has an influence from beyond 'training' as well. Challenges vis-a-vis Solutions... 1. Usually training in retail organizations is unscientifically done, that is to say that people are trained mostly superficially due to a) paucity of time, b) improper instructional analysis and c)untrained trainers & instructional designers. The solution... Point 'a' can't be negated and considering the attrition rate, the 'time to competency' has to be kept at the minimum. Having said that a proper instructional analysis needs to be done; and this is a dynamic document as as time goes by and there is more competition, we would get lesser people with the kind of attributes that we need, hence there would be a dip in the potency of entry parameters, and to couple it we would have changing customer requirements as the organization & customers mature. Hence, the analysis done at any point of time will / may never be the same in a particular time in future (depending upon the speed of change & time-to-maturity of the organization). If the analysis changes, which is the base on which the instructional designer builds one's conviction on the type & form of instruction and the domain expert provides the content, how could we ever have the same training content on which we can continue to train. To top it, we have trainers who refuse to change a) their ways of training, b) update their knowledge, and c) refer to changes in the training content. Flexibility and adaptability to change is the key to handling this challenge. Once we have these two, then we need to have the right skill-sets in content writers/instructional designer/trainers to deliver what is required. Let's ask ourselves... leaving aside changes in the process, how many times do we actually sit back and visit the bases of the original training content written. Let's not fool ourselves and blame the kid whom we train and expect to manage our customers. 2. Training is never the focus (heart of hearts) with most of the business leaders in retail, although not all business leaders do not work this way. The solution... Training is never the focus with most business leaders is a farce; it just tells us as to how 'off' we are from our customer's (read business leader) needs. Training needs to speak the same language as that of the business (and not just the business leader). Once that is done, one would find a lot of buy-in. I believe in a simple fact... there would be no business leader who would not want one's stores to do well. 3. Training is usually thought of a one-time activity, rather than a support mechanism which needs to have an element of continuity. The solution... It took me about two years to learn the 'art of peeing in the right place'; and my mother tells me that she not only told (read 'trained') me once, but both my dad n mom reiterated the 5W+1H+1C (why, what, when, who, where, how & consequences of ...) using a variety of tools (explaining, cajoling, scolding, telling...) over these two years (or so) period. Can someone explain to me as to how the heck do you think, we would be able to impact behaviors through 1 mighty intervention?What we need to do is to build an instructional system which incorporates a support system to help the customer service providers move up the proficiency scale (refer to explanation on OPIS by Sharon Gandor, CPT, ISPI) over a period of time. This could only be done when one builds a 'development' solution with the operational managers. Trainees are bound to forget over a period of time (atrophy; bell-curve), the support is required to engage the learner through informal & formal means to help build the habit. 4. Statements which become hindrances... 4.a) "I was trained in 'so & so' way, and I am successful, so that's the way it needs to be done". 4.b) "This is the way it has always worked... and this is the way it will always work". The solution... Work with your business leaders to build a continuity of engagement beyond training to ensure that atrophy of learning doesnot occur till such time (at least) the skill doesnot become a habit. Dalreen, I have given an exhaustive response, as most of the times the problem lies within than with learners. Evolved organizations such as yours may not be facing these challenges in the same potency, but the learning from these challenges may provide you some insight.
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