Before you book the training

“We need training” is a useful opening to a conversation. These questions help you work out what should happen next.

1. What is happening at work?

Ask for a recent example. “Three handovers missed a critical detail last month” is easier to act on than “our teamwork needs improvement.” Avoid including identifiable employee or client details.

2. What should people do differently?

Name an observable action: complete a handover checklist, clarify ownership, or ask a customer a particular question. Agree this with the manager who sees the work.

3. Why is that not happening now?

Check knowledge and skill, but also time, tools, incentives, authority and instructions. Do people know what to do but lack a workable process? Fixing the process may be the first step.

4. What will support practice?

Agree where employees can practise, what feedback they will receive and how their manager will reinforce the behaviour after a session.

5. How will we know it helped?

Choose an appropriate work indicator and record a starting point where possible. Set a review date. Avoid promising that a training session alone will cause a business result.

A better provider brief

Share the audience, work context, expected behaviours, current barriers, available practice opportunities and how progress will be reviewed. Let the provider explain how their approach addresses these points.