The Training Physical: Diagnose, Treat and Cure Your Training Department

By James K. Hopkins

To remain in a healthy physical body, medical practitioners recommend an annual physical where you are thoroughly looked over, poked and prodded and run through a series of diagnostic tests to catch anything that might be ailing you before it gets the better of you.

This annual event is known the world over as a physical, and anyone that has ever gone through one can testify that it is not necessarily a fun experience, but it does often provide good news, or at the very least news that can be treated and often cured.


In corporate America, industries and companies put themselves through audits each year, most often dealing with financial results. Many times the company will include functional audits on the productivity and results of individual departments. One such department that often employs the self-audit function is Human Resources. Self-audits are much like handing over the chicken house to the wolf and asking for a report on security issues. It does not reveal anything of consequence and thus is a waste of time, energy and money.


Ultimately every organization should be reviewing the condition of every department that participates in the workings of their business. The Training Physical is all about evaluating the condition of the training department (Diagnose), recommending action plans (Treatment) and making training responsive (Cure) to the needs of the company. This annual review does provide the same therapeutic results if done correctly as our human annual physical.


However, just like your own Medical Doctor, very few will say that self-diagnosis is as effective as getting another professional involved. In the world of auditing this also holds true, and getting an external consultant to conduct or help you with your Training Physical is just as important.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Mar 11, 2010
• ISBN: 9781467059060

James K. Hopkins

In late 1990, Jim Hopkins transitioned from a retail banking career into the world of learning development. Beginning as a facilitator, he latched onto his newfound profession as work he had been seeking for a long time. “Nothing is as rewarding as watching the eyes lighting up when someone learns” is one of the many attributes Jim believes is part of a trainer’s heart. As this profession seemed a part of Jim’s natural DNA, it made perfect sense to learn instructional design, performance consulting, and organizational development. Using a previous management background, he was able to lead teams of facilitators, designers, and other consultants before accepting a role as a training director and then chief learning officer. In 2005, Jim launched a new chapter as an independent training consultant, and in 2010, he published his first book about a process he designed called a Training Physical. Since then, it has been his mission to help diagnose, treat, and cure training functions. He has built and repaired training departments in many different industries, putting companies on a path where training is returning on the investment being made. Jim has been a judge for the past three years for the CLO Media Learning Elite Awards and is a sought-after expert in the learning development field. He is always looking for new challenges and serious business connections. He invites you to connect with him if you have a question or an issue you think he can help you with. The first consultation is always free, so reach out today!

Book preview

Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Foreword

Introduction

Author’s Prologue

Chapter One

The Training Physical

Chapter Two

Diagnosing the Patient

Chapter Three

Treating the Symptoms

Chapter Four

Curing the Patient

Chapter Five

Staying Healthy

Chapter Six

The Living and Breathing Training Department

About the Author

Dedication 

Thanks to the love and support of my wife Lori Hopkins I have had the good fortune to explore the world of learning development for almost 20 years. Through the ability to make an impact on so many lives and careers, the work I do allows me to know that I make a difference.

Acknowledgments 

There are many people that I have come in contact with that have led to not only the ability to write this book, but the inspiration to get off my duff and make it happen. These are just a few of the blessings that have been a part of my career and life that prepared me for today.

I want to thank Jeanette-Marie Bassi as the first and finest learning professional I was fortunate enough to have taken an interest in mentoring me. For the detailed debriefing of my facilitation technique to the cultivating of my natural sense of humor into a learning tool, she took time to teach me the craft. When it was all said and done, she left me with the understanding that I will never stop learning and never should stop learning if I want to be good.

I want to thank Doug Adamson, for seeing talent in me that I couldn’t see for myself at two pivotal times in my career when he said I was ready to take on new challenges. If it were not for Doug pushing me so hard, I seriously doubt I would be were I am today.

I want to thank my unofficial coach, Toni Johnson, who I’ve worked with for years in peer to peer and even a short time as her manager. A senior level performance leader, she has been a guiding force in my training career and shared her opinions, while coaching me to be the best I can be. A dear friend, colleague and motivator all wrapped up into one talented professional.

My best friend and wife Lori Hopkins who has not only been my best sounding board for nearly 24 years, has read this book more times than anyone else, and was my most honest critic. My reason for living, and my inspiration for trying something new, she is the best!

And all kidding aside, I also want to thank all of the really caustic managers I’ve had the pleasure of reporting to for providing me with so many stressful situations that led to serious health issues and the treatments and cures needed to regain that health. Each in their own way taught me how easily you can become ill if you allow it, and how difficult the healing process can be, thus encouraging me to remain healthy. I won’t mention their names in print, but I trust that they know who they are!

Foreword 

The T Word: Training. To different people it means different things. Everyone seems to be aware of it at one time or another. Most of us have experienced it and some of us even provide it. As you think about what training means to you as an individual, thinking about training in a corporate business sense feels a lot more complex. Once you make the leap from individual to corporate structure there are a lot more moving parts!

For those of you involved in managing, creating and/or facilitating training in any fashion, have you asked yourself – at least once – ‘Where are we at?’

Some years ago I met Jim Hopkins as he came into one of my client companies. As he rose from divisional training manager to national training manager and then to CLO, I was able to witness his passion and caring for what was happening in his company and his desire to provide the best results possible for the people and the business. We had an opportunity to work closely together for a few years and what we saw happening in different companies caused a lot of discussions, even disbelief, and ultimately resulted in what you are holding in your hands, his book: The Training Physical.

Have you ever seen any of this happening? Training still taking place that is no longer tied to anything in the business? No training happening for months at a time while ‘something’ is in development? The direction of the business is going one way, and training is going a different way, or worse, no way at all? Here is my favorite: you are walking down the hall one day, the boss leans out the door, points to you and says You are our new training manager!

Regardless of how you got to where you are, if you are in training then there is no question that you routinely need to ask Where are we at? You have the tool in your hands to find out. Start at page one and focus on getting each step done. Why? Your business needs to have knowledgeable well trained and well prepared people to be successful. If you are leading or managing any part of the training process, use this book to find out where you are at AND use this book as a guide to get training done!

This book is straight forward, a good read and to the point. You will make many discoveries along the way and while going through this, you could even get your passion for training back on course and become part of the solution. You will really like this part – you really can make a difference!

Are you ready to feel better? Go ahead – turn the page!

Gary W. Hill

President/CEO – GHill Group

Introduction 

While this book seeks to outline an overall approach to the health of your organization, it cannot tell you everything you need to know about the health of your organization. We do need to think of and look at our organization as a living organism. All organizations have a mind, body, and a spirit and when any part becomes diseased it spreads to all parts and can cause eventual death. In business terms, that means the different parts can become diseased and quit functioning, impacting the profitability of the organization. Depending on the origination of the disease, the symptoms, the recommended treatment, the prognosis can save the organization and return it to being healthy.

Self-diagnosing or self-medicating is dangerous, as it is with our own health. It takes a specialist who is trained and experienced to facilitate the design and delivery of the exam, the audit. In most circumstances the specialist, is supported by a team of experts with different areas of expertise to maximize the fact that all the human systems are open and functioning to their full capacity for the overall health of the organization. This approach avoids blind spots and other dangers associated with trying from the inside to audit the organization and the multiple systems that need examination.

In the chapters that are included in this book, leaders and managers are introduced to a wide range of approaches and methods for initiating and maintaining the health of the organization. Attention is directed to minimum level of performance of any department within the organization and any of the external events or vendors that can impact the health of the patient at any time any place.

You are urged to confront personal biases and prejudices that may compromise the audit of the patient and the different departments that are representative of the mind, body, and spirit of the organization. The guiding principles are the mission, vision, goals of the organization to meet the needs of delivery of the product or service to the external customer. There needs to be an understanding of the internal customer relationships while conducting the audit.

When all is said and done, this book will provide you innumerable ways that you can improve the quality of training at every level to impact all employees no matter where they are in the organizational structure, their roles and impact on the bottom line – the ultimate health of the organization.

To your good health!

Toni Johnson

Performance Consultant & Executive Coach

Tampa, Florida

Author’s Prologue 

To remain in a healthy physical body, medical practitioners recommend an annual physical where you are thoroughly looked over, poked and prodded and run through a series of diagnostic tests to catch anything that might be ailing you before it gets the better of you. This annual event is known the world over as a physical, and anyone that has ever gone through one can testify that it is not necessarily a fun experience, but it does often provide good news, or at the very least news that can be treated and often cured.

In corporate America, industries and companies put themselves through audits each year, most often dealing with financial results. Many times the company will include functional audits on the productivity and results of individual departments. One such department that often employs the self-audit function is Human Resources. Self-audits are much like handing over the chicken house to the wolf and asking for a report on security issues. It does not reveal anything of consequence and thus is a waste of time, energy and money.

Within Human Resources is the Training Department. And for all intents and purposes of this discussion, any training function within an organization whether it reports to Human Resources or a line function often goes without any valid critique of the value