You’re ready to begin the training development process, but where do you begin? First, know what you are trying to accomplish with training. Define your objectives. Often, I find trainers approach training objectives the way I used to write papers in middle school and high school. I wrote the paper and then made the outline based on what I wrote. Sorry Mrs. King and Mrs. Hearn – you did teach me better; I just didn’t fully understand the value of the outline until much later.
Of course, writing content before objectives is the absolute incorrect approach. Your objectives are the foundation of your training program; therefore, you should not skip over them. Instead, spend time to craft well thought-out objectives that truly are what your learners are expected to accomplish during training. The best way to identify objectives is to understand what business issues your key stakeholders are wanting to resolve and what they feel the future learners need to start doing, stop doing, and continue doing. Ask stakeholders or program sponsors to share information on areas where performance is below expectations.
Once you understand what the business needs are and you have determined that training is the solution or at least part of the solution, you are ready to begin writing the objectives. Keep in mind, objectives need to be specific and provide insight into changes your stakeholders and program sponsors can expect when learners complete the workshop.
Worried about not being able to manage learners’ application on the job. No need. You can manage expectations in how you write objectives and prepare stakeholders and sponsors for the “real” training outcomes. For example, instead of writing, “learners will show immediate improvement in performance of the task”, write, “learners will demonstrate the ability to perform the task effectively and accurately by successfully completing (within acceptable performance guidelines) 3 separate scenarios during training. In the first example, you are promising the learner will improve their performance following the training. This is a common mistake trainers and leaders make. Keep in mind, training should only be employed as a solution to solve performance issues when learners lack the knowledge or skills to perform the job successfully.
Another common mistake is being too general or vague. Did you notice the second example is much more specific on what learners are expected to do during training (successfully complete 3 scenarios), and on how they will be measured (be within acceptable performance guidelines). The more specific and clear you are in writing the objectives, the more effectively you will be able to manage expectations, develop programs that will accomplish what is expected, and accurately assess learning. Below are a couple more examples of typical training objectives and a better, more specific option.
Example 1
- (Typical) By the end of training, participants will be aware of hazards in the workplace.
- (Better) By the end of this workshop, participants will recognize all hazards in their work area by circling them in photos, use XYZ’s hazard protection charts and describe how to protect themselves from each, demonstrate proper use of PPE, and will explain steps to take to report any concerns.
Example 2
- (Typical) By the end of this course, participants will know the definition of workplace violence.
- (Better) By the end of this course participants will be able to identify warning signs and behaviors that constitutes workplace violence by reviewing scenarios and properly indicating workplace violence situations and explain verbally the steps to take to protect themselves and others.
Notice key elements of the “Better” statements in each example. In both examples, these statements answer the questions who (participants), what they will be able to do (recognize, be able to identify, use, explain,), when (by the end of the workshop), and how (describe, demonstrate, reviewing scenarios, verbally). Comparatively, the “Typical” examples only provide who (participants), what (be aware, know), and when (end of training). These examples fail to explain “how” leaners are expected to accomplish the task. Additionally, even though the two typical examples do include what learners are expected to know or do, this information is somewhat vague – be aware of hazards vs. recognize all hazard in the work area.
When you write your objectives, be sure you are specific, realistic, and clear on what the learners are expected to do, stop doing, and continue doing both during and because of training. If your objective is for learners to “know” something, include how they will use it on the job. For example, rarely would someone have to recite the definition of a term when actually performing the job. The real objectives are for them to have a basic understanding, know where they can find more information, know why it matters on the job and be able to apply the knowledge on the job. Further, objectives that are skill-based should consider accuracy, efficiencies and effectiveness in performing the task. When writing skill-based objectives, trainers should answer the questions “what are learners supposed to do”, “how are they supposed to do it”, and “how good do they have to be at it to be successful”.
When your objectives are clear, specific and incorporate who, what, when and how and when objectives use action verbs as well as a description of how success is measured, you will have a solid foundation upon which to build your training program and your learner evaluations.