Are you tired of hearing professional trainers talk about the same old standardized stuff you’ve been hearing for years? The true art of training for today’s market is not just spouting off about what worked for “XYZ Dealership”, or what we did “back in the day”. It’s much more specific to your organization’s needs and culture, and reinforced with training tools that are currently available. This blog post will provide you a high-level overview on how to begin this process.
Let’s face it; a lot of organizations manage to achieve success with no real strategic approach. What they have going for them is passion, drive, and determination. The real challenge is growing an organization with team members who share that same passion, focus, and consistency of execution. That’s where a culturally driven, customized training system comes to play. A customized training system begins with determining your company’s culture. What do you stand for? What sets you apart from the competition? What is your company all about? Start with an organizational value proposition. Develop a Vision/Mission statement, foundations of how you do business, and what your expectations are from your team. I caution you, if you don’t mean it, your team will not follow-through. That is a waste of time.
Keep the steps to your process simple, and have stories that show examples of what your end game is for each step along the way. The training needs to be consistently repeatable by any member of your leadership team that discusses it. The “Do what I say, not what I do” concept does not work. Therefore, the training needs to be in writing, and in today’s environment, reinforced with formalized eLearning. Add to that, the training needs to be customized to your organizational culture. Below are some products and tools to get that objective done.
- Lynda.com: This is an online eLearning site that teaches you how to use most of the programs listed below. This learning tool, as well as some of them below, has changed my professional life.
- Microsoft PowerPoint: Take your thoughts and lay them out in short, simple PowerPoint elements.
Adobe Presenter: This program takes your well-thought-out PowerPoint messages and creates online publishable eLearning elements, lessons, and modules. It also allows for testing the learner’s knowledge. - Adobe Connect: This is a Learning Management System (LMS). Have I lost you yet? If so, hang in there a bit longer. An LMS allows your organization to house online all the learning modules you developed. It provides security so only your team members have access; it has specific sets of curriculum for each work group (Admin, Variable, Fixed and Leadership); the program shows levels of progress for your team so you can hold them accountable and allows your team to set up orientation programs to get the new members up to speed much quicker.
- Leader Guide Pro: This is an add-on to Microsoft Word. It creates very professional Leader Guides and Participant Guides. My business would not have grown the way it has without this tool. Thank you Great Circle Learning.
One final thought: Put the right person in charge of your training system. If you don’t have the right person to do this critical project for you, then hire a company to work for you with the goal to eventually hire or train someone to become your in-house training specialist. Image the possibilities when your programs are developed, in place, and updated as needed.
Want help? Call me, and I will personally come to your dealership to get you started. Remember, if only the outside trainer can do the skills they are training, then you have wasted your time, money, and the credibility of your organizational evolution.