Train Like the Military - Because it Works!

"Tell me, what percentage of changing oil are you comfortable with them not knowing?"

That was the question a client once asked of his partner on a project we were doing together. I was helping them develop a training program to introduce a new service - oil changes - for the big-box retailer they worked for. The question was this client's answer to a question his partner had asked: "What should the passing score be on the final exam at the end of the training?" It was a challenge that we had to meet.

The challenge, at its heart, was to determine the minimum level of skill that would be acceptable in their technicians. We decided that the minimum level was to be able to score 100% on the written test and to be able to perform a complete oil change according to the standards our team had established. End of story. Anything less than 100% was just not going to be acceptable.

This has always reminded me of the training the military does. Because military training gets it right. Anything less than 100% is just not acceptable.

You might respond, "But the military has all that time before they go into action. What else are they going to do but train to keep everyone occupied?" Yes, often people in the military have more time for training than we do in business. But that's not the whole story. Such training doesn't have to take up your entire day. And it doesn't for members of the military either.

Of course, you might also say, "The military has to get their training right because they have to. Often it's a life and death situation for them." True enough. But isn't it also true that many of your customers rely on your skill to keep them safe in their vehicles?

The military does four things right in its training, and you should follow their example. These four things are:

• Start with clear, written standards.
• Train systematically.
• Use checklists and tests to evaluate everyone.
• Repeat frequently.

Let's look at each of these in more detail.

Start with clear, written standards

I can't emphasize enough how important it is to record exactly how you want every job in your business performed every day. Your employees want to do a good job every day. In order to do a good job, they have to know exactly what a good job looks like. That's the role of clearly written standards.

These standards don't have to be highly detailed, polished works. All that's necessary is that you set down on paper the steps to doing each job correctly. And where it's important (say, for the sake of safety), include the "why" behind key steps. When your standards are on paper, just make sure that everyone has a copy and follows the standards.

More on that later.

Train systematically

Great minds have been studying how we learn for a long time now and certain things are clear. Adults want to take part in their own learning. They don't want to be lectured. They want to learn in terms of what they already know, and they want to know why the training they are asked to do is important to them and to their jobs. Finally, they learn best when the training activities are done as realistically as can be. The learning conditions should be as much like the real conditions of work as possible.

Once these factors are met, good training is systematic. We learn best when we first are given the big picture. We need to know why we are being taught to do something in a certain way. We need to practice and learn from our mistakes. Finally, we need to use our learning under pressure to prove to ourselves that we "got it."

Following the straightforward, 5-step training process I have outlined before will help you meet these standards of effective training. This is explained in detail in my article "Why Being Systematic Guarantees Performance Daily." You can find this article in the Free Tools section of my website.

Use checklists and tests to evaluate everyone

Where many companies fall short in their training is in not insisting on the highest level of performance from everyone. They make the mistake of using the old grammar-school method of letting a score of 70% be a"passing grade." But in grammar school, the same concepts are repeated when they are used in the next chapter so soon everyone learns the multiplication tables. In business, we need people to get it right the time, every time.

The best way to know that someone has gotten it right is to watch them do it and evaluate their work. Using a checklist that includes each key step in the process makes the work of the trainer/evaluator that much easier. It helps the trainer get it right every time too.

Your checklists can be simple affairs. Just make sure they include every step in doing the job, in the correct sequence. In addition, insert three columns to allow the trainer to check off three events in the training. These are:

1. Observed. A checkmark means the trainee has seen the job done right.
2. Practiced. This checkmark indicates that the trainee has done enough
   practice to feel comfortable doing the job and is ready to be tested.
3. Performed. Once this column is checked, it means the trainee is ready to do the job for real.

Virtually all of the training you do on the job will be about processes, about doing the steps of a job correctly and in the right order. You aren't likely to need any written tests because these are most appropriate to learning concepts rather than the processes of our daily work.

Repeat frequently

Ah, you say, this is where I can't follow the military training model because we don't have the time to train frequently. But I disagree. Every time you or a manager watches an employee work you have an opportunity to do some training. What happens when you see someone make a mistake on the job? Do you ignore it or do you stop the employee to show him the right way? I thought so.

A vital part of any training is reinforcement. From time to time you should be paying close attention to how your employees are doing their jobs. When you do this you have the chance to reinforce what they are doing right and to correct what they do wrong. This is another job for those training checklists I described earlier. Make a second set of checklists with the same sequence of steps, but replace the three checkmark columns with two different ones. Use one column to mark off all steps done correctly. The second is for any step the employee did incorrectly. When you're done, you can then use the checklist as a tool to work on any areas where the employee needs some improvement.

Do this at least once each quarter and soon you'll find you have almost no use for that column headed "Incorrect."

Now let's get back to the question that started this: "What part of doing the job are you comfortable with them not knowing?" Are you willing to accept anything less than 100% competence? I didn't think so.

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