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I said they are good, but lack the effectiveness of long-term training initiatives due to human nature. Unfortunately, it takes at least three weeks of training and reinforcement to dramatically change a person’s behavior.

What it comes down to is the fact that humans are creatures of habit. You drive to work using the same route, have a cup of coffee or tea, check your e-mails, update your schedule, etcetera. If this sounds like you… then you are also a creature of habit. The point is, behaviors are hard to change. Some mornings you have a meeting at a different time, or have to drive a different way to work, but you tend to go back to your habits.

Don’t get me wrong… classroom training sessions are great, but they have their place. Such training is best when used to expose employees to new ideas and concepts. They also make a great motivator, especially if your workforce has become complacent and needs a ‘pick-me-up’. To get the most out of such a situation, classroom training should be backed up by in-house training, focused on-the-job exercises, and skill development.

-Andy

Ron has some great points on how critical it is to create a cue of knowledgeable and capable employees in your workforce. Once you train your employees to where you wish them to be… you should then make advancement training available. Your intent is to create a cue of people waiting to advance professionally. You encourage this in many ways. For example, the first person trained for the job can be eligible for the promotion. They can also fill in when someone is sick or goes on vacation. This reduces much of the stress in the workplace.

Many forward-thinking companies are adopting a policy that each employee should have someone learning to perform their job, as well as be training themselves for another job. Their performance reviews are partially based on both their progress as well as the progress of their protégé.

-Andy

Please feel free to comment with other books you feel apply.