Consistency and flexibility elevate snow and ice employee training

To get the most out of your employee training, it’s important to understand how adults learn. While children can take in large amounts of new information through traditional classroom teaching, adults need to apply what they learn on the job and relate the material to their work in order to retain it, grow their skills, and produce better results.

According to the “70-20-10 Model”, 70% of adult learning comes from experience and reflection; 20% comes from relationships; and 10% comes from formal classroom training. Let’s explore what this means for training your team.

Trainer selection

When selecting trainers, they need to be proficient in the skills they teach, and they need to build psychological safety with the trainees. Psychological safety means the trainee feels safe to speak up, ask questions, and surface concerns without fear of negative repercussions.

Everyone learns differently

The trainee may be new to the task and/or your company, so patience is a must. Start by asking trainees how they like to receive feedback and how they learn best. Some people learn visually through diagrams and pictures. Others learn by reading instructions, listening, or by doing things hands-on.

Don’t forget on-the-job training

When designing training, include shadowing and reverse shadowing as key components, as they align with the 70% of adult learning that occurs through on-the-job experience. Shadowing is where the trainee watches the trainer perform a task or process while the trainer explains each step. As part of shadowing, the trainer should pause to check understanding and allow time for the trainee to ask questions.

Shadowing should be followed by reverse shadowing, which is when the trainee performs the task under the trainer’s direct supervision. Allow the trainee room to “figure it out” while you observe them as opposed to jumping in at the first sign of a mistake. The more the trainee practices, the more they build their working knowledge and confidence. After reverse shadowing, provide feedback. Recognize what they did well and coach them on where they can improve.

Don’t flood them with info

In addition to making training hands-on and applicable to the job, do it consistently and in small bites as part of your day-to-day workflow. Some companies make the mistake of conducting all-day trainings where a lot of information is shared in a short period of time.

This is like dumping a large bucket of water on someone to cure dehydration. Most of the water won’t be retained, and the end goal won’t be accomplished. The better approach is to give the dehydrated person small amounts of water to drink each hour. Consistency over time will allow for proper processing of the water and will solve the issue. This same principle applies to training.

Stick to your game plan

Now that you know how to train based on how adults learn, the most important next step is to do it consistently. Consistency leads to transformation over time. Here’s to continued growth! 

Set a schedule

To train consistently, think about your workflow, which is your company’s regular meetings and communication channels. Some examples:

1. Include training tips - When reaching out to snow staff each week to check availability, send them a text/email with a training tip, such as safe shoveling best practices.
2. Demonstrate best practices - Take 5 minutes in a daily huddle to demonstrate a best practice relevant to the week’s work. For office staff, you can do the same thing in your regular meetings.
3. Make time for 1:1s - Manager/Employee 1:1s, which are a best practice, are a great opportunity for employees to share with their manager what they are learning and how they are applying it at work. Managers can use this time to give feedback and coach their employees.
4. Consume industry content - Read industry articles and listen to industry podcasts and discuss what you learned and how you’ll apply it at work at a team meeting, 1:1 or morning huddle.

Evan Tachoir is founder of Jack of All People Trades, HR/People Consulting. Contact him at evan@jackofallpeopletrades.com.