The Self-Directed Trainee

TeamOJT Tip of the Month for August, 2005

Although trainers are accountable for the quality of the OJT they deliver, trainees should be held accountable for their own progress. Trainees should be encouraged to be involved in their own learning from the first day of work and take a large measure of control over their own learning. At the outset, they need to know the criteria by which they will be evaluated, have access to the material they need to learn, be encouraged to get together to observe and assess one another when practicing the tasks, and determine when they are ready to be evaluated.

To reinforce the self-directed role of trainees, some companies provide train-the-on-the-job-trainer courses for trainees as well as for trainers. Trainees often are advised not to sign off on the training records (indicating they have successfully completed training) if they feel the correct training techniques have not been used, This option guarantees trainer accountability. The trainee of today is the trainer of tomorrow, so why not start her or him off appropriately? Eventually you might be able to do away with formal train-the-on-the-job-trainer courses.

If you can't provide such preparation to your trainees, at least train your trainers on the self-directed role of trainees. Construct a handbook for trainees to read prior to the initial training session. A trainee handbook can include items covered during the pre-meeting (orientation to on-the-job training), roles and responsibilities of both trainer and trainee, and a detailed explanation of the trainee's role in each step of the training delivery cycle. Using the handbook, trainers can coach their trainees on how to participate actively in the training sessions. As you'll discover, having trainees play an active role in the training delivery process helps ensure trainer accountability.

Human Performance Applications
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E-mail: diane@teamojt.com