BTSR guidebook ~ Training & skills self-evaluation

What provision at this level looks like and feels like

For the organisation

In 2008, 47% of broadcasters evaluated at this level. 40% were lower and 13% were higher.

At this level the organisation is aware of the role of on-job training. Management accepts responsibility for planning, delivering and documenting it – in other words, for managing it. It is an available option, possibly different from training rather than part of it.

For most employees it will seem unremarkable.

For the training function

The impact on the trainer depends on the way on-job training is managed. At this level on-job will be well enough documented that the trainer can get a handle on it, but it might be a separate type of intervention that the trainer can call on but doesn’t control. Depending on the trainer’s skills and ambitions, this might be a frustration and it might be a relief.

Benefits & risks of provision at this level

Benefits

At this level the organisation should be able to realise important benefits. Compared to Level B:

• Because training reaches out into the workplace, it is more able to affect workplace performance
• Because on-job training is recognised as part of what we do around here, it is more likely to be used by peers and supervisors when workplace performance falls short
• Because on-job training is recognised as part of what we do around here, those who deliver it should feel more valued.

Risks

At this level it is possible for on-job training to be to some extent decoupled from other training and development activities, and its impact can go unmeasured. On-job training might therefore:

• Be ineffective
• Be unsupportive of other training interventions (or contradict them)
• Vary in its availability to those with similar needs
• Vary in its uptake because trainees and trainers vary in their proactivity.

Processes & benchmarks for evaluating provision at this level

Distinguishing from «base« provision

Medium provision is strikingly different from base provision (which is not very different from no provision), most obviously for being systematic and managed. At this level:

• Management sets expectations about and guidelines for on-job training
• When training is planned, on-job training is considered as an option
• Experienced practitioners’ responsibilities include delivering on-job training, and their efforts are appreciated.

Distinguishing from »high» provision

The differences from high provision are mainly to do with the degree of integration between training, development and on-job training, and with the extent to which results are measured. At this level:

• There is a degree of independence between off-job and on-job training & development
• Those who deliver on-job training are recognised for their efforts.

Processes

Here are some diagnostic questions:

• Does management invest time in mandating and supporting on-job training?
• Is it normal for employees to receive planned on-job training?
• Do most departments make some use of on-job training?
• Is there an allocation of time and/or money for on-job training?
• Is one-to-one coaching sometimes provided for those with very individual learning needs?
• Does the organisation stock self-training materials that can be used in the workplace? Or rent them in when needed?
• Can learners influence the on-job training they receive?
• Can trainers influence on-job training?
• Are people who deliver on-job training encouraged and recognised for their efforts? Do they volunteer willingly for the role?
• Are records kept of on-job training provided?
• Is on-job training provided evaluated for effectiveness (not necessarily formally or numerically)?
• Does on-job training fall within the scope of any training needs analyses conducted?

If the answers are mostly Yes, that’s a fairly strong indication that the organisation is providing at this level… though if the answer to the documentation question is No then there has to be at least some doubt over the robustness of the other answers.

Reference material relevant to this strand and level

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Examples of provision at this level

Here are some examples of evidence used by broadcasters, in previous years, to demonstrate provision at this level:

• Invoices from one-to-one coaching providers; emails organising one-to-one coaching
• Checklists of good practice and sample materials for on-job training
• Library of self-study materials
• Learning forums (both face-to-face and online)
• Individual development plans that include an element of on-job training
• Training and evaluation records and performance management data that consider on-job training.

The wording is broadcasters’ own, and does not necessarily follow our usage preferences

What it takes to get to the next level

This level offers many benefits. However the payback on the effort needed to get to the next level will, for many organisations, be attractive.

Here are some ways to plan your move up:

• Bring on-job and off-job training together, so that each supports the other. They don’t have to be run by the same person, but there should be close cooperation between those responsible
• Make sure that on-job and off-job training are:
  • planned in response to the same set of needs
  • designed and delivered in a way that enables each to build on what is learned in the other
    • ensure that off-job training makes full use of on-job training where that will facilitate the transfer of learning from the training session to the workplace
  • measured against the same criteria, as a whole and in the same exercise
• Consider the portfolio of on-job training interventions, and expand it if necessary. Options include:
  • experience log books
  • in-workplace guidance materials, checklists & self-training/self-study materials
  • shadowing schemes
  • one-to-one coaching, whether by employees or external providers
  • internal and external secondments
  • buddy systems
  • bulletin boards, wikis and other information-sharing systems
  • peer learning groups
  • considering learning opportunities when forming project teams
• Analyse and meet the learning needs – for example, in the area of coaching skills – of those tasked with delivering on-job training
• Bring delivering on-job training within the performance evaluation system. Make the best performers heroes
• Make senior management’s support for on-job training highly visible.