A consideration from Craig Smith, our Head of Education and Quality Assurance at Minerva Elite Performance.
The CFO asks the CEO ‘’What happens if we invest in developing our people and they leave us?’’
The CEO replies ‘’What happens if we don’t, and they stay?’’
‘Almost every organisation requires some of their staff to train, onboard, support, assess and guide colleagues and new appointees. But do we support these few in this difficult task?
Training, mentoring and educating is a skill and an art form, it is complex and is a sector/profession within itself. Yet we often just assume that people can manage in this scenario as ‘’makeshift trainers’’ because they are good at the job they are doing, therefore they must be able to cascade this ability to others… not always the case.
Knowing how to take an individual or group of individuals on a structured, sequential and measurable journey towards success is a difficult task. Understanding the key junctures within a learning environment, knowing how and when to assess understanding using the correct tools/method, and knowing how to scaffold and structure messages so they are retained and fully understood is not to be taken lightly.
Many businesses and organisations should consider investing in these staff members who are expected to carry out this role with internationally recognised qualifications such as the Award in Education and Training. Many organisations (as well as MEP) have a host of different ways that staff can access this recognised qualification from group teaching, blended learning and self-directed/self-paced models.
As businesses we can retain staff and improve our internal quality by training …the trainers! Simple.’