Quality Grind Short - Training: New Approaches, More Impact

In today’s Quality Grind Short, Mike Kent discusses some quick wins to make Training more effective and efficient for everyone involved. Improving effectiveness starts with reducing the amount of training, which provides a little more space to engage other people in the process and experiment with new ideas. These pointers aren’t just for Training professionals or those in QA – everyone benefits from actively participating in the training process.

How can you do that? Mike offers ways to discover creative options, anticipate challenges, and achieve better, data-driven outcomes.

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Transcript

QG Short 1 - Training: New Approaches, More Impact

​[00:00:00] 

Welcome back to The Grind, everyone. In today's Short, we'll discuss some quick wins for making training more effective and efficient for everyone involved. 

First off, set an annual goal around "less is more". Now in the training world, that translates to increasing effectiveness by doing less training. The best example is probably everyone's favorite thing to do at work, right? SOP read and understand training. 

Begin by asking this question. Does the individual perform a specific task or make a GMP decision required by that SOP? If not, we can remove that procedure from the required list for that person. Remember, the SOP is always available to people who need to gain awareness of something that they're not the primary performer of.

[00:01:00] Reducing the amount of SOP training can significantly impact time spent, but more importantly, employee morale around training. And where else can you streamline? Maybe combine related topics into a single module? Use group check-ins or group meetings as a place to refresh on a particular topic, or tailor training to individual roles or groups.

And if these things aren't possible, what else could be? The point of this goal is to start the creative wheels turning. The simple act of trying will show people that you're prioritizing their needs, which will help you gain momentum for item number two on our list, engaging more people in the training process. 

We are all busy. That's a fact. It's also a fact that the more people you include in a process, the more likely you are to discover better options, anticipate challenges, and get [00:02:00] better outcomes. So where can you find little opportunities to ask questions, gain perspective, solicit ideas or feedback that enables you to get more good stuff done?

Try hallway conversations, or in the elevator, or in the lunch line in the cafeteria. Maybe those few moments before a meeting starts or just after it ends, or even internal chat boards can facilitate really good short discussions. It may take a while, but here again, the reward comes from making the effort, and people generally respond positively to those who try. You might find them more willing to engage when you do need them if you've cultivated a non-transactional relationship with them when you don't. Now this requires trying things, seeing what works, and letting go of things that don't. Which brings us to item number three. Experimenting with new and creative [00:03:00] ideas.

In scientific spaces, especially research environments, we talk about results not being good or bad, only providing data that informs and illuminates our path for the next experiment. So in that light, there is no "failure", only things that didn't generate the desired outcome. So, learn to recognize what works and what doesn't, and then try some things that you think may push those boundaries appropriately given your environment.

Have a well thought out and clear intention based on what and how the trainee needs to improve their performance, and then bounce those ideas off of people you trust. Try it on a small scale and see what happens.

To summarize our three points, reducing the amount of training provides a little more space to engage people in the process and experiment with new ideas. Gathering data along the way [00:04:00] provides the evidence you'll need to justify your next steps and demonstrate effectiveness.

Now, keep in mind, these pointers aren't just for Training professionals or for people in QA. Everyone can and should actively participate in all three of these opportunities. Think about the momentum that creates to reducing the amount of training and engaging more people in the process. That, my friends, is how you can quickly create more impact from the time you do spend training.

What strategies work well to create more impact from your training? We invite you to engage us in discussion on LinkedIn or any of Medvacon's social media outlets. Thanks very much for listening, and we'll see you again next time here on The Grind. 

If Medvacon can help you and your organization, we're happy to do so. We specialize in the following areas. Quality and Compliance, [00:05:00] Validation and Qualification Services, project management, Tech Transfers, General and Specialized Training Programs, Engineering services, And Talent Acquisition. If you have general questions as well, feel free to give us a call at any time.

We can easily be reached at 833 633 8226 or via our website at www. medvacon. com. Thanks so much. And we look forward to speaking with you. 

Thank you for listening to the Quality Grind Podcast presented by Medvacon. To learn more or to hear additional episodes, visit us at www.medvacon.com.