Goldilocks Training
A colleague of ours told us about a recent presentation he attended where the speaker talked about training often being “too little, too late” or “too much, too soon”. He shot us an email about it and said we should strive for “Goldilocks Training” that overcomes both problems by being “just right”. Here are some of our thoughts on where problem-solving and problem-prevention training often misses the mark.
Too Little, Too Late
A disturbing trend we have seen is manufacturers trying to do training in shorter and shorter time frames. Often this results in employees getting only a passing familiarity with the concepts and no practice in using the concepts. It would be like handing students a math textbook and expecting them to be able to use it without practicing on examples. They might get it on their own, but you have no way of verifying this without seeing how they apply their knowledge. Manufacturers who think employees can learn and apply problem-solving and problem-prevention processes in a half-day workshop are kidding themselves. Our experience in using the processes on relevant case studies and real, current job issues reinforces learning and makes the processes part of how employees think.
Just in Time (JIT) is a practice manufacturers have used for decades to make sure they have enough material, components and final product as close as possible to when they are needed. Unfortunately, manufacturing companies have not always carried through with JIT thinking when it comes to training employees. Our experience has shown that many manufacturers worry about training employees in problem solving and problem prevention after they have faced a critical problem or a number of smaller lingering problems that have decimated quality, productivity, profitability and morale. After trying band-aide fixes that did not get to the root cause of the problem, they decide they really need to do something about this. The good news is that they have great on-job applications for the training participants to work on. The bad news is that the company has lost time and money limping along with the problems.
Too Much, Too Soon
"Too much" training happens when manufacturers think employees should have a boatload of training, whether or not it applies to the employee’s current job responsibilities. If the employee will not be required to use the process, those skills will quickly atrophy from lack of use and practice. So if you think an employee is a candidate to become a supervisor or manager in a few years, don’t waste time and money training them in supervisory and decision-making skills now. Focus on what they need to know to improve performance in their current job.
"Too soon" often happens when the company is not ready for employees to use the skills they have learned. This occurs because supervisors have not been prepared to give employees the time to use the new skills and feedback about how they use the new skills. Rather than encouraging employees to apply the newly-learned skills, the supervisor encourages undesired behavior by telling an employee to not waste time and just apply a workaround to a problem. If you want employees to use the problem-solving and problem-prevention skills they learn, you have to structure the workplace to encourage use of the skills. This can include information systems and performance system changes. A best practice is providing more in-depth training to some employees who become coaches and facilitators for less-skilled employees.
Getting problem-solving and problem-prevention training “just right” takes preparation, time and follow through. For manufacturing companies that do it well, it can reap a significant return on investment and create a culture where problem prevention and problem solving are a way of life.