Chapter 10

HRM Insight 10.5: Mountainside Training Centre (pg. 261)

Observations on the outcomes of this training course, and lessons to be learnt:

Learning on this course was not linked well to the work place and did not have a direct relevance to team working in the work place.
The success or failure at outdoor exercises is only relevant if it stimulates discussion and learning about how skills can be used in the normal work environment. This was not covered very well on this course.
Many trainees had very negative feelings about this training and took the large amount of personal feedback as a negative criticism as there was little focus upon individual strengths.
There was insufficient time for personal reflection and candidate at the end of the 24-hour exercise were exhausted having had little sleep through the night. This had safety implications for trainees who were required to drive home after little sleep.
It should be noted that no matter what your learning style you need to go through each stage in the Kolb cycle to take learning on board. The activist had a great time but in reality did not learn a great deal about how to manage more effectively. The ‘reflectors’ and ‘theorists’ felt very unhappy about the style of the course and of course there was no time given for reading or discussing the theory and practical applications so this was missed out altogether.
With regard to the conscious competence model, the increasing difficulty of tasks resulted in repeated failure to achieve the tasks set. While this gave plenty to discuss about what went wrong, learners spent the time moving from unconscious incompetence to conscious incompetence and did not get the sense of achievement associated with moving to a state of conscious competence. This can result in denial and some learners went away from the course feeling it was a waste of time.

Lessons to be learnt

The authors would like to note that this example occurred many years ago although the points it raises are valid today. Training providers in our experience have developed significantly in how they deliver outdoor training since this example occurred.
Managers need to be careful in choosing training to be clear about why the training selected is the most relevant and effective way to address a learning need and how the learning objective will be met.
Training can be expensive but you should not try and force more into a training course than can be achieved realistically.
You should choose experienced trainers and work with them but follow their advice about what can be achieved.
Training providers need to be firm with their clients about what can be achieved and not try and deliver something that cannot be achieved.
It is important for learners to feel a sense of achievement in training and to link this back to action plans and development plans about what can be done to improve work performance as a result of the training.

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Chapter 10