Source of information: http://www.uvm.edu/~farmlabr/?Page=training/continuous.html&SM=training/submenu_training.html
Providing educational experiences as part of the workplace is important for the continued growth of your employees. This gives them the opportunity to learn valuable skills and techniques, increase their knowledge about the industry, and learn new behaviors.
There is no "silver bullet" or one way to educate your employees. People learn in many different ways - some are visual learners, others prefer reading or attending a local discussion group.
Consider where and how your employees will learn new information
On-farm informational sessions (formal and informal)
Outside trainers on farm
"Teachable moments"
With a coach or mentor
Discussion/exchange groups
Visiting other farms, agricultural businesses and industry
Videos, CD's, internet, books, magazines and publications
Attending a workshop, seminar, conference
Home study or continuing education courses
To make training a satisfactory experience for both the employer and employee, particularly if you are coordinating or teaching, consider the following points:
Provide opportunities for training that is applicable to the skills the employee needs, or pertinent information which will broaden his understanding of the workplace.
Plan for specific results.
Build on the strengths of the employee.
When providing training, give it in "chunks" so that it is easier to absorb.
Provide time for discussion.
When is employee training needed?
Before you begin a training program, or send your employees to a workshop, you need to do a training needs assessment. How do you know training is needed, and who needs the training?
There is a gap between your expectations and the actual job performance (Determine if this is due to employee attitude or a lack of skills.)
Through a review of worker skills and abilities
The introduction of new work methods or equipment
Planning for future advancement or vacancies
Laws and regulations which require training
Employee Training
What I hear I may forget.
What I see I may remember.
What I do I understand.
What I understand I master.
What I master I enjoy.
Confucius
The first step in designing training is to translate an apparent need into clear, specific learning objectives. Example: There is a new piece of farm equipment and after training, the employees will know how to safely operate and service it. Some objectives may be more quantifiable, such as "95 percent of fruit picked will meet packing grade."
Provisions for evaluating how well training objectives are met should be established from the outset.
You need to identify any gaps between employees' present competence and the training objectives. Lack of assessment up front may mean repeating information workers already understand. Even more likely, trainers may err by assuming employees know more than they do.
Simply asking employees if they have the skills needed to carry out a particular task may elicit a less than truthful response. Some may not want to admit ignorance in order to avoid embarrassment; others realize that the request entails a possible prospect for advancement.
Assessment of worker competence needs to be conducted so workers perform independently, rather than lean on someone else's abilities. Opportunities for an employee to demonstrate practical skills should be provided without demeaning the worker or endangering his safety.
Transferring knowledge and skill
The training process consists of:
Explaining and demonstrating correct task performance
Helping workers to perform under supervision
Allowing personnel to perform alone
Evaluating worker performance
Coaching employees based on evaluation results. These steps may have to be repeated a number of times before an employee will sufficiently grasp what needs to be done.
Once an employee has mastered the required performance, he can further cement his skill by coaching another.
There is an important difference between telling workers how to do a task and successfully transferring skills, ability or knowledge. Ineffective training may lead employees to remove much of the fruiting wood in pruning or to destroy a dozen rows of young tomato plants with a cultivator. Some concepts are difficult to learn; others require much practice.
When training personnel you should
Continually assess workers' level of understanding
Gear training to the participants
Present only a few concepts at a time
Where needed, divide tasks into simplified components
Involve all workers (do not assume other employees will catch on by watching one worker being trained)
Use visual aids (e.g., samples of defective fruit)
Encourage questions.
As in any teaching situation, workers will feel more comfortable if the supervisor or trainer is friendly and patient. Honest praise also helps.
Employee participation in learning
While explanations and demonstrations are important in training, workers are more likely to retain information when they can put it to use. Unfortunately, this vital step is often eliminated because it requires time. It takes patience to watch a worker struggle with a task that comes easily to the trainer. Especially at the lower end of skills acquisition, teaching methods are more effective when they emphasize practice over theory.
Explanations should be limited in length and complexity. When showing a video (e.g., pesticide safety) you will want to encourage employees to ask questions ... and be ready to ask questions of them, too. This way you can check for worker comprehension. As participants improve in their skill level, the introduction of theory becomes more vital.
Besides cementing the employee's own skills, having employees help each other can reduce total training time and free supervisors to do other work. Many employees appreciate and enjoy the added responsibility and status of helping with coworker training. A caution is in order here, that employees who act as trainers should be sufficiently advanced that indeed they will be positive role models.
Industry magazines and publications are often excellent sources of the latest developments. Put copies in your employee break room, or provide subscriptions for your employees.
Using an outside trainer or coach
Farm employers may sometimes prefer to use an outside firm to conduct training for their employees on the premises, or they may send their workers out for training. Those who often conduct training for farm employees may include pest control advisors, nutritionists, veterinarians, interpersonal communication specialists, product sales persons, farm safety trainers, insurance carriers, and equipment manufacturers, to name a few.
Farmers need to be familiar with the material covered in training sessions conducted by outside parties. Even better, a member of management would do well to attend the meetings. By doing so, it shows employees the subject is important, and it also affords management the opportunity to discuss sensitive issues raised during the training. An employee who returns from training may otherwise find she does not have the authority to implement concepts learned--or that the prescribed ideas may go counter to established company philosophy.
When you are the instructor
In some way or another, we are all teachers.
Often we are informal teachers. A "teachable moment" may occur many times during a day. An impromptu one-on-one or gathering of employees can be as valuable as a planned training session.
It is good to remember that people want to discover, not just be told.
When teaching a more formal workshop, remember there is often also the tendency of trying to cover too much material in the time allotted.
Presentation of materials without increased participant involvement often fails to stimulate. Notable exceptions are very short presentations and extremely dynamic speakers.
The sooner workers in a workshop have the opportunity to participate, the more engaged they will be in the presentation. Perhaps, because it will then not be your presentation as each person will take ownership over the learning process.
There are a number of ways to involve workers in learning, such as through questions, cases, role plays and group activities.
Well-crafted probes are an effective way of promoting discussion. Asking a question to the whole group is not as effective, however, in promoting participation, as having employees discuss an issue in small groups of 3 to 5 individuals. Small groups get everyone talking and involved.
Many worthwhile books have been written on increasing participant involvement. We can continue to improve our skills by observing talented presenters, reading, and thinking about our teaching. Although sometimes painful, it also helps to evaluate our workshops and classroom teaching by looking carefully at suggestions for improvement. It is more useful to focus on what worked well, as well as what we can do better next time, rather than on how we performed compared to other speakers.
It is good to stop the activity before people are through discussing the issues, and while they are still having fun with it. A fatal mistake is to ask each group to report their findings, as there is unnecessary repetition. Much better is to ask for a few comments from individuals after the groups have disbanded, and then move on. Coaching and Mentoring Employees
Coaching and mentoring are important tools that can be used, both formally and informally, to help individuals achieve their potential.
Mentors may act as counselors, personal trainers, or advisors and may be responsible for passing on subject matter knowledge, skills and abilities. Mentors also model desirable behaviors that employees can imitate.
For our purposes, we will define coaching as a shorter term mentoring type of behavior. Mentoring behavior can take place between people with a large gap in knowledge and understanding, or between coworkers who perform essentially the same work and have similar backgrounds and preparation.
People have different attitudes about helping others. Those who benefit from another person's help may carry a sense of gratitude or obligation towards that individual and toward society in general. For instance, a herd manager who obtained help from the veterinarian in improving her artificial insemination skills may not be able to return the favor. Later, however, she may be able to pass this skill on to someone else.
An ideal coach or mentor
Is not easily threatened by an employee who becomes successful
Has a high tolerance for the employee trying different approaches
Encourages the employee to take initiative in terms of how much and at what rate to absorb new information.
While some experts acquire their rewards by maintaining a feeling of distance and superiority, mentors receive enormous joy in passing on what they have learned. Mentors look for people they feel will be capable of matching or surpassing their own skills. In this way they Help others
Transmit knowledge and skills to those who will not only appreciate them, but also pass them on
Enhance their own reputation along the way
Mentor-apprentice relationships are not free of difficulties. At times, the mentor continues to consider the prot?g? a beginner long after the student has started to make valid contributions of his own. Perhaps one of the most difficult mentoring relationships at the family farm is that of a parent of adult children interested in the business.
Adapted excerpt from Labor Management in Ag: Cultivating Personnel Productivity, Chapter Five http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/ucce50/ag-labor/7labor/001.htm