The 5 W’s Of Creating a Training Implementation Plan

Planning a Training Rollout to Better Equip Your Team. Here’s How to Get Started.

A training rollout is a series of trainings offered to a targeted group to help achieve an organization’s training goals.  Planning a training rollout is a complex task, but necessary to project success.

There are several items to consider when creating a training rollout. They are best framed by the famous 5 W’s: Who, What, When, Where, and Why. We’ll explore each of these in depth to better understand what creates an effective training rollout.

The “Who”—Understanding Learners’ Needs

The “Who” focuses on the intended audience for your training. The audience is often made up of people with varying needs and expectations. There are many ways to improve the effectiveness of your training based on the audience. We’ve outlined a few suggestions based on our experience with rollouts.

1. Group trainees based on similarities – Two effective ways to group trainees are by job role or by division. These groupings allow for examples the entire group can understand rather than using random examples that may not apply to everyone. Organizing trainees this way also fosters group interaction. Trainees will have similar experiences and projects, so they can contribute to meaningful conversations.
2. Provide a skill assessment – Having a thorough understanding of what knowledge the intended trainees already have is critical. The results of an assessment help you focus the content by removing information the trainees already know. An assessment can also assist in dividing trainees into groups based on knowledge levels.
3. Adjust content based on need to know – It’s rare that each member of an organization needs the same information from a training rollout. If the training rollout is for a new timekeeping system, trainees will need to learn about different aspects of the software. Hourly workers will need to learn different information than accounting personnel. It’s most effective to train these groups separately to address their specific objectives.

Understanding your audience’s wants and needs will help you develop a successful training program.

The “Why”—Identifying Your Training Goals

The “Why” addresses your fundamental reason for training: filling a skill gap. It combines an understanding of users’ current abilities and the anticipated change in behavior. What employees learn will directly impact their work and lead to increased productivity.

It’s important to note that not all workplace inefficiencies can be solved by training. When you choose training as a solution, focus on acquirable skills that will improve employee contributions. There are four standard training reasons you may need rollout training to cover a skills gap:

1. Training from Base – This method is best when a user is completely new to a program and has little to no experience with similar programs. It’s most popular for new hires or individuals moving to a new department. Someone attending this training needs to learn the most basic concepts behind the subject before moving on to more advanced topics.
2. Training Delta – When a new version of a program is released or a policy is updated, users can benefit from training to understand the differences. Someone attending this training usually has significant experience with the original program or policy. The training should focus only on key changes rather than basic concepts.
3. Transition Training – This type of training is best when a tool has changed, but the fundamental use is the same. For example, an organization may transition from QuickBooks to a customized bookkeeping program. The users already have the fundamental concepts of accounts payable, payment processing, and payroll, but they will need to understand how the new system works.
4. Specific Feature Training – Some users may need specialized knowledge for a program or policy that others may not need. An example of gaining such particular skills is learning how to use PivotTables in Excel. A candidate for this approach might be taking on new responsibilities and need increased knowledge in a specific area to be successful.

Determining the type of training will influence how you design your training rollout. You may encounter a combination of approaches, depending on your audience.

The “What”—Choosing the Material to Include

The “What” is your content–the topics, lessons, and exercises you’ll deliver. It requires focusing down from the big picture into the nitty-gritty. Imagine you have a group of new hires who will use custom software for your organization. Because none of the audience members have experience with the software (the “Why”), the type of training is Training from Base. The “What” is the specific software features those users will need to know to operate it.

Sounds easy enough, right? Yes and no. There are several considerations to keep in mind when designing your content.

1. 1. Business Objectives – Your training should align with your business objectives. Each topic should identify with defined goals that support your organization at its core. For example, customer service training supports the objective of receiving high satisfaction ratings from customers. Similarly, one way to address a business goal of reducing internal costs is to train project managers on budgeting and time allocation for tasks.
      

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      When it’s time to let the audience know the purpose of your training, you have to think from the learner’s perspective. For tips, please see “Controversy over Objectives – How to Communicate Objectives to your Learners.”

1. Personas – Not everyone who needs training will need to know the same information. It might be necessary to create multiple tracks to accommodate each group or level you identify. Save time and resources by teaching your audience the exact information they need without any fluff.
2. Use Cases – It’s important to create use cases that are relatable for the intended audience. Learning Excel by practicing with a human resources benefits spreadsheet would not be as useful for someone using Excel to maintain inventory for construction equipment. Training is more memorable and effective when it’s tailored to the audience rather than filled with generic examples.
3. Learn from the Experts – Are you working on a training program that’s been executed effectively elsewhere? There’s no need to reinvent the wheel. For example, maybe you manage a call center that wants to create a training program targeted at reducing call time. It would be beneficial to visit another call center that has accomplished reduced call times to understand how they achieved success.

Creating engaging and effective content is challenging, but these considerations will guide you in the right direction. The key is to keep in mind “Who” you’re training and “Why” you’re training them.

“When” Should Training Be Delivered?

When choosing when and where your training should be delivered, there are several factors to consider. A few are:

• How many people will need to attend training and where are they located?
• Does the content require a specific environment or equipment?
• How long is the training?
• What is the available budget?

Training, especially technical training, is best delivered closest to when the trainee uses the technology. Otherwise, the trainee will forget what they learned in class. For large rollouts, we also recommend help-desk or “handholding.”

“When” and “Where” training should be held will depend upon your answers to these questions.

“Where” – Training Delivery Options

You’ll find that specific delivery methods are better for certain types of content, location requirements, or course lengths, while others are more flexible. There are several delivery options:

1. Instructor-Led, Hands-on – Certain training works best when students work in a hands-on environment with an experienced instructor. This can vary from software training to firefighter training. Hands-on training provides valuable, real-world experience. However, hands-on training is best for smaller groups, as it can be more costly and may require more class time.
2. Instructor-Led, Demonstration – Instead of having each student working in a hands-on environment, you can have the instructor provide a demonstration. This allows more students in the class and lowers the time and budget. Demonstrations can reach more people with fewer equipment and space requirements, whether online or in-person. This can be useful for overview classes-but the students will have to go back and try the material in their workspace to truly learn.
3. Instructor-Led, Presentation – When your training objective is to inform, presentation-style training maybe your best option. Presentations can accommodate large and small audiences and can be effective in different learning environments. But, it can be challenging to maintain the attention of attendees, especially with longer durations. Presentations can be in person or online.
4. Webinar – Webinars and other online training platforms are useful when the audience is geographically spread out(See also Top Tech-Based Ways to Train a Distributed Workforce for more on webinars and e-learning options). Many of these platforms are also accessible from tablets and mobile phones. Recorded webinars can also accommodate various schedules. But, webinars are best for short sessions, so more in-depth training topics wouldn’t be ideal for this delivery option.
5. E-learning – When your audience needs to access training at different times, and from different locations, e-learning can be a great choice. This type of delivery is best when trying to reach a large audience or if the training recurs regularly, such as onboarding new hires. However, it can be costly to develop, and it may be challenging to keep learners engaged for longer training sessions. Breaking more extensive courses into templated modules can help mitigate these issues.
6. Blended Learning – It’s possible that your training may need to incorporate more than one delivery technique. Blended learning, a combination of face-to-face instruction and online-based training, is becoming a popular approach. You can separate topics based on the best delivery option, utilizing hands-on environments for some and virtual or e-learning for others. (See “Elearning Spotlight: Military Child Education Coalition and Blended Learning” for a great example of this.)

Understanding the benefits and limitations of each training delivery method will help you determine the most effective delivery strategy for your training rollout.

Phew – that’s it! We’ve covered a lot of information, and there’s even more in the resources we linked to throughout this article and below. You likely have a better idea of how to approach your training rollout and some core questions to ask. Remember: understanding the 5 W’s will help you design an effective training program that produces your desired results.

Need Help Planning and Launching a Training Rollout?

If you have any questions about training rollouts, reach out! Microassist has helped many organizations train their users on new and upgraded software, and has built custom courses for organizations of all sizes. We’re here to offer guidance and connect you with the right resources to make your training rollout program a success. Contact our Training Team to get the conversation started.

For Further Reading

• Choosing a Training Method – How starting with the goal and working backwards can be effective.
• Converting Classroom Training to Elearning — In this interview, learning team experts weigh in on what it takes to convert classroom training to e-learning. Topics covered include: What is e-learning? Advantages of e-learning over classroom training. How to make sure you create effective e-learning when converting from classroom training. How long does it take to create e-learning? How much does it cost? And, How effective is using e-learning vs instructor-led training?
• 3 Essential Elements for Evaluating Training Effectiveness — Is your workplace training working? Get guidance on how to develop a process that will help you evaluate training for maximum effectiveness.
• Join our mailing list for upcoming courses, monthly tips and resources on custom training development. Always free. Always insightful.

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