RE: Documentation and Training

["Alan Salo" <asalo -at- mmgsystems -dot- com>]

John asks: <...has anyone been successful in integrating Education and
Training and Documentation manager positions?>

Hi John,

You describe my current position and from my point of view, the two
are excellent match. I am responsible for writing, administering, and
distribution of training material to numerous branches across the US.
While I do some of the training for the company, most of the
responsibility falls on the branch managers at each location. My
training material is based primarily on programs used in our
proprietary software system. As programs are written or updated, and
then documented, my task is to develop training material that is
teachable and useful as a reference afterward. By being involved with
the programming documentation as it unfolds, and understanding the
needs of the trainers and trainees, I am right in the middle of the
information flow. This also makes it easy to customize and prioritize
the training required.

In my case, I am also our ISO director, which surprisingly plays well
with my other responsibilities, as internal audits are an excellent
chance to research how well associates are trained. When I audit I go
down selected procedural paths to see if there are areas that I need
to develop new training or modify existing material. You could
accomplish the same thing by visiting locations with your CS/CT people
and interviewing your audience.

Some suggestions that have worked for me:

- Organize a training committee with key representatives from all
affected areas. Mine meets monthly. Review any documentation changes
and determine how they affect training requirements. This is an
excellent vehicle for obtaining input and making sure your training
material is meeting everyone?s needs.

- Develop training requirements for each position in the company with
due dates and keep records so that the training takes place. Everyone
is always busy and its easy to push training aside. Managers are held
accountable for making sure that training is done on time.

- Develop testing. My training/reference manuals are broken down into
sections with a test at the end of each section. The tests are all
either four-choice or ?Associate A says this/Associate B says that. --
who is right?? questions for easy grading. I do not pre-test, as
passing the tests and being able to use the program correctly after
the training is done is evidence of competency.

- Make sure the trainers are capable. Our trainers must go through
train-the-trainer courses as well as pass all the tests for the
material that they will be training.

I say go for it. By becoming the main link between documentation and
training, you can make it work to the company?s advantage, and have a
lot of fun doing it.

Alan

-----------------------------------------------
Alan Salo
Corporate Trainer/ISO Director
MMG Inc.
(920) 749-9781 x44
-----------------------------------------------


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