Hands-On Training
A Publication in the Berrett-Koehler Organizational Performance Series
Richard A. Swanson & Barbara L. Swanson Series Editors
Other books in this series include Analysis for Improving Performance Corporate Creativity Effective Training Strategies Human Resource Development Research Handbook Structured On-the-Job Training Results Training Across Multiple Locations
Hands-On Training
A Simple and Effective Method for On-the-Job Training
GARY R. SISSON
Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. San Francisco
Hands-On Training
Copyright © 2001 by Gary R. Sisson All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. 235 Montgomery Street, Suite 650 San Francisco, California 94104-2916 Tel: (415) 288-0260, Fax: (415) 362-2512 www.bkconnection.com Ordering information for print editions Quantity sales. Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the “Special Sales Department” at the Berrett-Koehler address above. Individual sales. Berrett-Koehler publications are available through most bookstores. They can also be ordered directly from Berrett-Koehler: Tel: (800) 929-2929; Fax: (802) 864-7626; www.bkconnection.com Orders for college textbook/course adoption use. Please contact Berrett-Koehler: Tel: (800) 929-2929; Fax: (802) 864-7626. Orders by U.S. trade bookstores and wholesalers. Please contact Ingram Publisher Services, Tel: (800) 509-4887; Fax: (800) 838-1149; E-mail: customer .service@ingrampublisherservices.com; or visit www.ingrampublisherservices.com/ Ordering for details about electronic ordering. Berrett-Koehler and the BK logo are registered trademarks of Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. First Edition Paperback print edition ISBN 978-1-57675-165-7 PDF e-book ISBN 978-1-60509-287-4 2009-1 Cover and Interior Design: Bookwrights Design Editorial Services: PeopleSpeak Indexing: Rachel Rice
This book is dedicated to the millions of workers who share skills with others in the interest of safety, quality, and productivity. You are the backbone of our economy.
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
Preface
Low-Cost, High-Return Training • ix
1
Traditional On-the-Job Training: Popular but Obsolete • 1
2
Improving Results with Hands-On Training • 11
3
Adapting the Method to Fit Your Situation • 39
4
Tools to Enhance Hands-On Training • 47
5
Evolution, Revolution, and Execution: Opportunities for Hands-On Training • 57
6
Hands-On Training Instructor Guides • 71
7
Making Hands-On Training Work • 89
Conclusion
Harnessing Human Nature • 95 Notes • 97 Selected References • 99 Index • 101 About the Author • 107
This page intentionally left blank
Preface • ix
Preface
Low-Cost, High-Return Training
As a training practitioner, I have spent a good deal of my working life documenting jobs and developing systems to help people learn. For over thirty years I have applied numerous up-to-date training methods and have found it fascinating to watch the evolution toward more and more systematic approaches to learning. Yet as effectiveness and efficiency have increased, so has the cost of developing sophisticated training programs. And unfortunately, training professionals still have little ammunition when they face skeptical managers who often weigh the cost of doing nothing at all against what they view as the high cost and unpredictable results of formal training. For all the changes in my chosen profession, that’s one aspect that has changed very little. When the situation doesn’t justify a large expenditure or when the choice is to do nothing, the alternative is not “no learning.” The learning will happen anyway. It won’t be structured or systematic or efficient, but it will happen because motivated workers will find a way to
ix
x • Hands-On Training
muddle through, doing the best they can with what they have. And what they have is usually some form of unstructured on-the-job training (OJT): probably the single most expensive training method available. The cost of the resulting inefficiencies will simply be buried beneath the numbers on a chart of accounts as decision makers brag about how much they saved by avoiding a large (and obvious) expenditure to develop formal training. I learned this the hard way, and as I began to sense the inevitability of on-the-job training, I also began to see that the approach had power waiting to be harnessed. So I began to experiment with structures for on-the-job training that could provide inexpensive and reasonably effective training alternatives based on sound learning theory mixed with more than a little common sense. This book summarizes what I have learned. Starting with a research project at Bowling Green State University in Ohio1 and continuing to this day, the elegant concept of introducing structure into on-the-job training consistently has yielded amazing results in terms of learning, training time, productivity, financial gain, and just about any other type of return available. Hands-On Training is truly low-cost, high-return training. I wrote Hands-On Training primarily for on-the-job training instructors: supervisors and skilled workers who actually train others. I use the book to supplement instructor training seminars for clients where most participants are not professional trainers. They are not theorists. Most are part-time instructors. They include skilled office workers, lab technicians, software engineers, machine operators, truck drivers, customer service representatives, miners, assemblers, nurses, and warehouse workers. They come from high-tech aerospace, computer, and biotech companies as well as o