Safety Tailgate
Rethinking Training — A Critical Look By Bob Lehman, director of organizational development, Academy Trained
Many companies struggle with training program management. They struggle with finding training providers. They struggle with documentation and com- pliance. They struggle to close the per- formance gaps that training promises to close. Most importantly, they struggle to reap the full benefits that successful training programs can bring to the company, their clients, and the boots- on-the-ground employees who put their lives, health, and careers at risk conducting operations. Here are some reasons why companies struggle and some suggestions on how they can improve. TRAINING IN SPIRIT VS. TRAINING IN PRACTICE I’d like to argue that training in spirit and training in practice have become needlessly different. In spirit, training is something that can elevate an individual, an organization, an industry, and even a society. It’s an important thing that doers do when
Bob Lehman (left) leads an OSHA 10 workshop during ArborEXPO '24.
they are performing tasks that improve their company’s performance. Training is a tactical organizational development intervention that closes performance gaps. Training is also a strategic tool that builds individual and organizational capabilities. These capa- bilities, when taken to market, become core and distinctive competencies that establish competitive advantage. In many companies and organizations, the spirit gets lost in the practice. In practice, offending organizations start to go through the motions, treating training as a status quo-sup- porting activity. Training becomes like an inflatable pool chair that an organization sits upon like a buoyant BarcaLounger, keeping organizations and managers afloat with a false sense of stability.
WHY DO WE CONDUCT TRAINING? There are a lot of good reasons for a company to make training a priori- ty. When you identify these “reasons why,” you identify your training pro- gram goals. Here is a partial list: • Training improves job performance, productivity, and work quality. • Training is oen the appropriate or- ganizational development interven- tion to close performance gaps. • Training can improve workplace safety. • Training contributes positively to company culture. • Training improves employee satis- faction and retention. • Training is required by external
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62 | ArborTIMES Summer 2024
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