What is a Learning and Development Consultant?
I normally introduce myself as a Learning & Development Consultant, but unless you work in the industry, you might not know what that actually means. I recently had a conversation with someone who suggested I call myself a Trainer instead as most people would understand that better. I had to disagree as training (in the traditional sense of standing at the front of a classroom explaining something) is only a part of what I do.
I get involved in the whole process of learning in the workplace — from identifying what needs to be learned or developed to coming up with the best way to do that to analysing whether it worked. Here, I’ll explain what that looks like in a bit more detail.
Analysis
The first step in every project is to analyse exactly what is needed. Usually, a client will get in touch and tell me their staff need training in XYZ. I need to help them analyse whether that is in fact the case. As an example, I once got a call from an Office Manager saying that no one was submitting their timesheet on time and so therefore all staff needed training in how to complete their weekly timesheet. She was pretty exasperated as she thought it should be really straight forward and couldn’t understand why no one was doing it. After some investigation, it turned out that everyone knew what to do, they just weren’t doing it. The staff were mostly out and about and had no access to a computer for most of their week, yet the timesheet had to be completed on a computer. In this example, training was not the answer — the answer was to find an app they could use instead.
Sometimes, I work with clients to help them develop a learning strategy for their organisation. This is more proactive, where we look at their business strategy and identify learning and development needs for the future based on that strategy. This might mean developing some of their staff so that they’re ready for management positions when the opportunity arises. Sometimes, it’s a focus on customer service before they make changes to the way they communicate with customers. Often, its about upskilling their staff so that they can keep up with the technology changes their IT department are implementing.
Design
The second stage is designing a solution for the learning need. The solution is not always a day’s face to face training in a classroom. The solution could be creating job aids, online courses, FAQs or other resources for employees to access when they need it. It might be developing a workshop or course which could be delivered face to face or virtually. It might be bringing people together to share best practice or having managers coach their teams on specific tasks. It’s often a blend of a few of these! During this phase, it’s important to consider what would be most effective for the learners. If it’s a really practical topic, they’ll learn better if they get the chance to practice — I doubt you learned to drive or swim purely by reading a book! It’s also important to consider the needs of the business and any practical implications. If I can provide a solution that doesn’t mean everyone needs to travel and take days away from their work, then I will.
Development
Once we’ve agreed on a solution, the fun begins! At this stage, I’ll go away and develop the content, materials, activities and anything else we need. This could involve creating workbooks, slides, scenarios, job aids, coaching frameworks, virtual workshops, elearning modules, online forums — anything really!
Implementation
The ‘trainer’ part. Implementing the solution by delivering the training, launching the elearning, publishing the materials or working with your coaches.
Evaluation
I’ll work with you to evaluate the effectiveness of the training. This will (hopefully) be more than simply sending you a copy of the ‘happy sheets’. This might involve surveys for the learners and their managers. It might involve quizzes or assessments to check what they actually learned. In bigger learning campaigns, it might include interviews or focus groups. The evaluation should be more than just how much the staff enjoyed the training. It should also include how the training has actually helped them and how the training has helped your organisation.
In larger organisations, they may have people or teams who work in only one or two of the stages above — it’s common to have one person design the training and another one deliver it. Since River Park is only me, I get to get involved at every stage and love working with clients throughout the whole process.
Originally published at www.river-park.co.uk.
