At a recent training meeting I discovered that rote learning is back in fashion.
But of course it has a fancy new name now. It is called Space Repetition.
Now when I went to school, we did rote learning with the times table. Goodness knows how many times the tables were gone through in a group.
And do you know, to this day, I still remember them and can regurgitate them in an instant.
But you want more than regurgitation when it comes to learning something for your job.
The Missing Ingredient
So if you want your staff to learn something, then you need to teach them, teach them again and teach them again – and often more often.
However there is one other ingredient that has to be added to this…
Merely learning by rote or memorizing what to do will not necessarily change the behavior.
After a training employees will be able to tell you what they think you want them to say.
But do they understand it?
WIIFM
So to make it stick, there has to be a WIIFM (What’s In It For Me – well, them?).
What is the purpose of you doing the training?
What will they get out of it?
BUT you need to keep it simple.
Teaching Your Employees
So how are you going to find out each person’s WIIFM is?
You take the time to ask them the questions when you are having a 1:1 discussion, or training or at appraisal or any other time.
Some questions you could ask them are:
- How do you like to learn?
- How did you find doing exams at school?
- What is your worst learning experience?
- How can I help you to learn?
There are more questions here to help you do this too.
I know it is for teachers but if you are passionate about your work and want to give the best to your clients or residents…
Then you need to train your staff and can be creative about how you do it.
How Can Care Training Online Help?
If you are using Care Training Online, don’t just stick to the same format of getting them to fill out a worksheet and nothing else.
There are a lot of options with this training so try something different each time.
Pick a slide or a segment, sit around in a group and have a 10 min discussion about it.
Or use examples of people in your care or instances that may have occurred or a personal experience they may have had.
You can also use a combination of learning – some worksheets, some discussion etc.
Too Busy?
Ok, I hear you saying, “What is she talking about? How are we going to get the time in our already busy day to do this?”
Just think about the amount of time you have wasted fixing problems created through lack of knowledge that could have been avoided if the caregiver knew what to do.
Or the amount of time you spend dealing with relatives or management explaining why the error or mistake was made or a complaint received?
This is where the true value of training comes out.
If you spend time on the front end training, you waste less time putting out fires in the end because your staff is well trained.
Better Training, Better Caregivers
What is important though is that you don’t abdicate your role of training your staff.
It is not just about getting as many people as possible sitting in front of a screen or person speaking.
It is about making it a meaningful experience that they can learn from and apply what they have learned.
This is your role.
While I can provide you with content, you need to move away from ticking a box to satisfy auditors or fulfill contractual obligations to creating a worthwhile and meaningful experience around learning to make your staff better caregivers, improve their confidence and improve the experience of the recipient of care.
It doesn’t need to take an hour.
It can be short sharp sessions that they understand and can apply. This will work far better than an hour in front of a computer or trainer.
And I have designed Care Training Online so you can have more quality training rather than quantity training.