In This Issue:
	Is It Worth It? Training Value Assessment Show Me The Money! Results-Driven Presentations Get The Most Out of Training Day

Training Value Assessment

Trainers are often brought in to put out fires and offer band-aids, with the hope that the afflicted emerge stronger than before. The trouble is that when training decisions are made quickly and sporadically, they often do not reflect your organization's overall goals and lead to an inefficient use of training dollars. Additionally, a non-systemic approach to staff development decision making frequently results in hiring trainers who are convenient and cost-effective, but who may not understand your industry and the specific professional development needs of your staff. There is a simple way to repair this ad hoc decision making process characteristic of many organizations, and tighten your training initiatives so your professionals gain essential skills. By asking yourself the following questions, you will begin to recognize your organization's current approach to training and take steps to systematize your professional development program: What are your training and staff development needs? Identify what training programs you have in place to develop the skills of your professionals. As you inventory your organization's current technical and nontechnical training programs, break them down by professional level, office location, department and service area. List your training offerings and identify gaps between the organization's skill needs and what your education program teaches. Determine the number of training hours each employee gets throughout the year, both internally and externally. Apply well-thought-out competency benchmarks to each level and describe how proficiency is defined at each level. How successful are your training programs? Develop measurement tools to see if you get what you want from each training program. Use control group studies, impact assessments, benefit-cost analyses and management surveys. Systematically track on-the-job accomplishments by surveying supervisors, analyzing performance evaluations or using self-assessments. Most organizations gauge a training program's effectiveness solely by asking participants to fill out post-session evaluation forms that rate how well stated objectives have been met. A more comprehensive impact analysis will help to determine if the benefits of a training program on staff performance and skill acquisition outweigh the costs, including the opportunity cost of staff time (average net hourly billable rate multiplied by the total number of participants). Is your trainer a problem-solver? Does he or she look for innovative ways to use training programs to add value to the firm (for example, conducting a joint training session for key clients and the staff people who work most closely with them)? Your organization's external trainers should act as business partners who stay awake at night thinking of ways to solve your company's problems, increase the productivity of your staff and improve client service. Look for trainers who want to know why your organization wants a particular program, where it fits into your overall objectives and how they can help the company achieve broader professional development goals. »

Show Me The Money!

Point of Action recently provided some one-on-one coaching services for a large accounting and business advisory firm. Working with a manager in the firm's technology consulting practice, Point of Action helped the person to construct an informative and engaging presentation on business continuity planning to senior banking professionals at a community banking conference. The yardstick we used to ensure the success of our coaching services was the number of new business opportunities that would arise from this presentation. We began by asking the manager how he was planning to create and deliver his presentation. He explained that he would start off by giving an overview of the regulatory requirements guiding business continuity planning for community banks. Stop! Would you be enticed to listen to someone who starts a presentation with rules and regulations? Encouraging the manager to focus more on his audience's interests, and less on the content of his speech, we worked with him to develop a listener- focused presentation that began with the hook: "Is YOUR community bank prepared for a disaster?" The remainder of the presentation provided a step-by-step plan that bankers could follow to ensure that they comply with necessary regulations, protect their customers' funds, and guarantee business-as-usual in the wake of any business emergency. The result? The manager received numerous questions and calls from the audience members seeking advice on how to implement business continuity plans in their banks, and the firm received additional business to expand this growing service line. Point of Action delivered measurable results, helping to improve the firm's profitability and the manager's self-confidence. Read below to learn more about delivering results- driven presentations! »

Results-Driven Presentations

Step 1. Focus on the audience's interests. What do they want to hear? Hook your audience from the beginning. Entice them to listen to your entire presentation by grabbing their attention at the start of your speech. Step 2. Practice. Write out your speech so you are comfortable with your content and the flow of your presentation. Then, condense your speech by creating a skeletal outline highlighting key points and designing your PowerPoint presentation to reinforce your main ideas. Finally, practice, practice, practice. DO NOT READ YOUR SPEECH! Step 3. Guide your audience along. Don't make your listeners struggle to understand your main focus or supporting ideas. Clearly transition your thoughts and explain how all points fit together with your primary argument. Step 4. End with a take-away. Give your audience a "doggie-bag" to take with them from your presentation. This could include sharing 3 things audience members can do immediately, resources they can turn to, a call to action, or a final explanation of the benefits to them for heeding your words. »

Get The Most Out of Training Day

*** Click on the link below to read Point of Action's article, "Get the Most Out of Training Day," which offers more tips and tactics for measuring the value of your training programs. Article Link... »