Trend Watch: Top 6 Benefits of Train-the-Trainer

This is a guest article by Tara Powers, MS, CEO of Powers Resource Center

Maybe you’re already singing the praises of train the trainer programs. You already know about the major upside of having internal subject matter experts involved in coaching, leadership development and assessments in your organization.

Let's Talk T3

At Powers Resource Center, we’ve been leading train-the-trainer programs (T3) for many years and we’ve seen how these programs can exponentially increase learning and development in your company and keep institutional knowledge flowing throughout your organization.

When implementing a T3 model, you’re choosing internal staff members that know their subject thoroughly and teaching them how to build a learning session in a way that gets the best results. This might include teaching them about instructional design principles, adult learning methodologies, content structure and layout, how to build learning activities, implementing learning transfer and more. This model can lead to more meaningful learning and impact and save your company money from having to use external resources.

So, let’s talk about the benefits of the T3 model. Please note that there are MANY more than six benefits to train the trainer, but I wanted to boil it down to a few essentials! Feel free to share with the powers that be in your organization to determine if this is a model you want to consider in 2021.

#1  Essential as a Leadership Development Tool

It’s your best bet for a consistent, sustainable leadership development program. By utilizing your respected leaders and experts in developing your next generation of leaders, you create a learning and leadership culture. Real stories about “how we treat people around here” gets passed down and leadership learning can be highly targeted to deal with your current business challenges and opportunities.

#2 Create a Culture of Learning (Accountability and Sustainability)

Create ambassadors for learning throughout your organization. Kill the one-and-done, inefficient training of the past where there is no follow up or accountability – and old habits resume quickly. Having in-house trainers ensures long-term sustainability and impact.

#3  Improve Knowledge Management

A team of subject matter experts who understand the goals of the organization and its culture, its products and its customers, can create learning that is highly strategic and very powerful. There is no better way to capture, distribute and use knowledge within your organization than through customized training programs delivered by knowledgeable in-house experts.

#4 Build a Common Language (Maintain Cultural Consistency)

Want everyone on the same page? Leaders and teams who have all received the same training, with the same goals, modules and testing, gives you standardized competencies, a common language to talk about the skills and behaviors desired in your organization, and cultural consistency. You cannot achieve that with disparate, off-the-shelf training.

#5 Flexibility

Training comes in many shapes, sizes, lengths and delivery methods. Sometimes you need an 8-hour workshop and sometimes you need 10-minute pre-shift briefings. You also need multi-stage, progressive online modules, one-on-one coaching, small group work, blended online and classroom style training.

Now consider that this training needs to reach employees around the world, and employees who work evening, weekends and overnight shifts. Or maybe there is a change in the competitive landscape or a quick-to-market product launch that everyone needs to up-to-speed on fast. You can see pretty quickly the advantage of in-house training experts to get all this done.

#6 It's all About the Money

One of the biggest benefits of train the trainer is cost savings. It is hugely cost effective when you can eliminate travel costs, and the costs of paying the same course tuition for every leader to receive the same training. With in-house certified facilitators, you can rollout more training to leaders, teams and individuals for a fraction of the cost.

And that’s not to mention the savings from employee recruitment and retention from having a robust internal leadership training program.

The benefits are clear. As your team learns and grows with each other in an internal knowledge-sharing environment, a sense of support and well-being will also enhance team dynamics. Investing in a train-the-trainer course for you and your team only has upside.

Whatever your needs, Powers Resource Center has been a trusted resource to HR executives and internal and external training consultants for over 15 years. Contact us today if you’d like to discuss how we can design a train-the-trainer program to help you reach your objectives.

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