It is no secret
that, for many organizations, training is one of the first and easiest cuts to
make when money is tight. The need for
training doesn't go away, just the budget.
Tough economic times cause companies to reduce headcount, reorganize,
merge, outsource, retool, add products, chase new markets, and act in many
other creative ways. Each of these
actions creates a transition such as an employee taking on a new role, a team
introducing a new process or a new technology, or a partnership requiring a
reset on "how we do things around here."
In each of these
transitions, there are people who "know" and people who "need to know." With formal training dollars slashed, the
only way this training will happen is on the job. Experienced people will be called on to teach
what they know to their less experienced colleagues. They'll have to break their knowledge down
into manageable chunks, teach with deference to learning styles, test to ensure
that they have been heard, and then give feedback on the resulting work--all
while carrying a regular workload.
You can call this
process peer mentoring, on-the-job training, job shadowing, or the buddy
system--but whatever you call it, you'll find that some people do it well and
others less so. In my experience, if you
have subject matter experts who are competent (meaning that you'd like others
to model their efforts after them) and willing, they can be taught to be
excellent on-the-job trainers. They need
clear direction on what is to be taught, tools for breaking the job down and
making the transfer measurable, plus an "apprentice" or two who have been
assigned to learn. With that foundation,
peer mentors can carry much of the weight of reduced training resources.
Beth McCoy, team
leader of the Chemical Technology Team at the U.S. Army's Natick Soldier
Research Development and Engineering Center, has experienced this firsthand.
About three years ago, she began implementing a knowledge transfer toolset
called Peer Mentoring to ensure that her team would continue to grow and
develop even without much in the way of formal training available.
Beth and I will
be co-presenting at APQC's knowledge management conference next week. In
addition to sharing Beth's story, we'll lay out specific steps that can be used
to grow an army of trainers within your existing staff. I hope you'll be
able to join us.
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Steve Trautman is the creator of the Peer Mentoring Workshop
and the author of Teach What You
Know: A Practical Leader's Guide to Knowledge Transfer.
He will be presenting at APQC's upcoming knowledge
management conference, The Knowledge Transfer
Revolution: New Paradigms, New Payoffs, in conjunction
with Elizabeth McCoy
of the U.S. Army's Natick Soldier Research Development and Engineering Center.
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