Good trainers are hard to come by. This is absolutely true when training on Workforce Central. In this blog entry, we will talk about what a good trainers should know before they train a customized Kronos Timekeeper course.
Several years back, Jerry Seinfeld used this line as part of a comedy routine, it's a great line: (I am paraphrasing)
I think that you can replace the term public speaking with training, and the point is just as valid. Most trainers are a little different and this should be considered when developing a course to train them on how to present customized training materials for your Kronos Workforce application.
The agenda for a Train-the-Trainer program should consist of the following:
1) Teach the class as normal
2) Review the course focusing on the instructor notes
3) Review the training database
4) Cover challenging areas of the curriculum
5) Classroom and participant management
6) Participant presentations
We will cover the first three areas here. The following three will be incorporated in another blog entry.
Teach the Class - You will need a little buy-in from your participants here. They need to forget they are trainers, and take this class as if they are learning the application for the first time. They should already have a copy of the instructor's manual. They should see all of the instructor notes. But they should learn the material, participating in this class as if they are new to the application.
The first benefit of this is obvious, showing trainers how to use Workforce Timekeeper. This process will also give participants a feel for the pace of the class. Participants also see how different sections in the course materials are used; from instructor notes to guided and independent exercises.
Review the Course Focusing on the Instructor Notes - Once the normal class is completed, it is time to start dissecting it for the training participants. Focus here should be on the information specific to the organization. Here I am speaking of policy and procedure information, tips, and warnings embedded in the curriculum. Once done, review the instructor notes on each page. Reinforce the importance of these notes and time permitting, relate how the information in the instructor notes can best be integrated into the presentation.
Review the Training Database - The training database is an integral part of a training course. Understanding how to navigate in the database is vital to successful course presentation. Time should be spent here talking about how to access the training database, moving to different screens in the Kronos application and who to contact if there are challenges with the database during a training event.
This is also the time to review any special settings only a trainer should know about. For example, a "SuperTrainer" user may be set up. This user has access to all users in the class, accessing any employee, and making any edits in the database. Time should be spent discussing this feature, when it would be used, and how it should be used. Trainer participants should also know when the database is refreshed. Trainer participants should also receive access to the training database long before training begins so they can practice on their own.
There are many aspects to a successful Train-the-Trainer course. This entry represents a good start. The remaining items will be covered soon.
Good luck with your training implementation!
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