How to Select On-the-Job Trainers

TeamOJT Tip of the Month for July, 2003

Fortunately, increasing numbers of companies are recognizing that they must select their on-the-job trainers carefully. The success or failure of a structured OJT program greatly depends on the trainer. The best training materials mean little if you have the wrong trainers.

On-the-job trainers should not be selected solely on the basis of seniority or job-task experience (unless labor-management contracts dictate that arrangement). Several factors need to be considered in choosing the people who will deliver one-on-one instruction - motivation, past experiences with OJT, ability to work successfully with different personalities, and willingness to assume new responsibility.

So how do you choose trainers who have the "right stuff"? They may be selected in a variety of ways. The most common technique is to ask for volunteers. Carefully interview each volunteer to determine why he or she wants to be a trainer. This is especially important in cases where trainers are paid a premium. Employees may have any of several reasons for volunteering that could have negative consequences. For example, employees who want to get out of their current jobs will frequently do anything necessary to achieve that goal. Make sure that the volunteer is interested in training for its own sake.

A good question to ask candidates to test their true motivation is, "How would your job or work life be different if you were an on-the-job trainer?" The answer usually reveals the person's purpose or motivation to take on the job. With trainer candidates, look for answers that indicate other-centeredness, rather than self-centeredness. For example, responses such as, "I would be able to contribute to the improvement of the organization," or "I could make a difference" reflect other-centeredness.

Another way to identify motivation is to ask candidates if they have ever trained anyone on the job. If the candidates have experience, ask what problems or frustrations they had, what they found rewarding, and why they stopped doing it (if that is the case). If they've never been trainers, ask why they're interested now. You want to be sure they're not trying to avoid doing something else, like their present job.

A frequently overlooked technique for trainer selection is conducting simulated training sessions. You can develop typical scenarios that trainers face (for example, dealing with a difficult trainee) and ask candidates how they would handle the situation. For example, how would the candidate respond to a trainee who talks all the time and refuses to listen, or one who repeatedly asks the same questions, or one who seems only to want to please the trainer?

Another strategy is to have candidates actually teach you how to perform a task, preferably one that you don't already know how to do. Evaluate their performance with these questions:

• Did the candidate confuse you?
• Did the candidate talk too much?
• Was the candidate more involved with showing you his or her own skills than with presenting what you needed to know and be able to do?
• Was the training session well organized?
• Was the candidate responsive to your questions and needs during the session?
• Did the candidate listen actively to what you said?
• Was the candidate encouraging in the feedback you received?

If you really want to be sure the trainer candidates have the right stuff, you might administer one of a number of readily available tests to determine communication and interpersonal skills and their leadership attributes. It's also always a good idea to obtain references from employees who know the candidate and might be able to point out something that didn't surface during interviews or tests.

The single most important quality in an on-the-job trainer is wanting to train others. If you have to choose between a candidate who is genuinely interested in being a trainer but is not the most skilled performer, and a candidate who is an exceptionally skilled performer but has not convinced you that he or she really wants to be a trainer, you probably should choose the former, the one who wants to train. It will be worth the effort to provide more time for the candidate to get the necessary amount of technical proficiency.

 

 

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