Shoulder-to-Shoulder Training: Andrew Gianni

In my work as a nonprofit-focused technology consultant, I have seen many organizations struggle with developing the technology skills of their staff.

Even if you can find funds for training, you aren’t guaranteed results. The key to effective training is knowing that different people learn in different ways: some are visual learners, requiring diagrams and pictures; others are aural learners, relying on hearing spoken words; still others learn best by reading on their own and experimenting. Most people, however, learn best by some combination of these three methods. I’ve found that an approach that I’ll refer to as "shoulder-to-shoulder" technology training allows the learning experience to be tailored to the student through teaching style, pace, and content. This method can usually be delivered for the same cost as traditional classroom training.

Defining Shoulder-to-Shoulder

The term "shoulder-to-shoulder training" can refer to a number of different training approaches. Generally, it refers to a training style in which the trainer acts as a peer to the student, physically sitting with the student and explaining technical concepts simply. There is a great psychological benefit to this style of training because it helps eliminate notions of superiority and inferiority, and brings the teacher to the same level as the student.

Shoulder-to-shoulder training can refer to one-on-one training, but it need not be limited in this way. The key is to have the trainer keep a group of students with comparable technical backgrounds small enough to make the training personalized and focused. The training cannot be as effective if the group is too large or the levels of technical proficiency too diverse.

Why it Works

One of the most difficult aspects of classroom technology training is the fact that students invariably come from different backgrounds and have different levels of experience and needs. This means that an instructor must perform a sort of educational triage to develop a lesson plan that will, on average, meet the needs of the students in the class.

Shoulder-to-shoulder technology training, on the other hand, can be carefully crafted for the individual student’s needs to cover relevant topics and make the skills taught applicable to the student’s everyday work. One of the real, measurable benefits is that training ends up taking much less time because otherwise extraneous information is skipped, and the student receives a greater concentration of usable training in the same amount of time.

In fact, even when you take into account the fact that you’ll usually need to train more than one person individually, I’ve found that it still requires less total time.

Additionally, personalized shoulder-to-shoulder training allows students to work in an environment they’re used to, ideally on the computer they use on a day-to-day basis. The training also allows the student to immediately apply the skills during the training, performing tasks that they’ll need to repeat later. For example, if staff members need to develop an understanding of a Web development tool, one-on-one training sessions will allow them to train using their own Web sites. And at the end of the training, the software will be appropriately configured on their computers, allowing them to get to work quickly.

"Shoulder-to-shoulder" training can be a less intimidating way to learn for people who are nervous about technology. This is especially true if the instructor is also a staff member, and training is carried out as a form of skill sharing. In this scenario, trainer and trainee already are comfortable with each other, and the technology seems more approachable.

Defining the Purpose of the Training

Before beginning a training program, it’s important to clearly define your goals. Think about what you hope to accomplish by offering the training. Are you simply looking to build your staff’s basic competence in a particular technical area? Are you looking for training that will act as a springboard, empowering the student to pursue additional self-paced learning? Are you hoping that staff members can develop a deep enough understanding to become trainers themselves? Spending some time up-front answering these questions will prepare both instructors and students for the most effective training possible.

I'm currently working for a large community foundation, serving a group of nine grantee organizations that recently completed a four-month "Strategic Technology" peer-learning program with Summit Collaborative. For each organization, we are developing a training plan based on the organization’s unique needs and the specific needs of individual staff members. We've learned that it's important to figure out which technology skills you need all staff members to learn, and which skills are more specialized and relevant only to staff with more advanced technology needs.

The best way to define your goals is to look at the tasks staff must complete, and figure out what staff members need to know in order to complete these tasks.

Different Approaches

There are two main types of shoulder-to-shoulder training: peer training and consultant-led training. If your organization has staff members who are particularly adept with technology and enjoy teaching, peer training is a great option. In some cases, staff members will need to attend a training class to develop their skills. Peer-based training can be scheduled to help staff members learn technology that is basic to their job descriptions, or it can be offered on an as-needed basis for specialized skills.

Whenever feasible, I encourage groups I work with to develop peer-training skills because they're useful skills for staff members to learn and they serve as an important resource within an organization when future training needs arise. Peer training also allows for a greater degree of flexibility in scheduling.

When It's Not Appropriate

While shoulder-to-shoulder training is a great option, it isn’t perfect for everyone. At times, classroom-based training can be more useful and cheaper, especially if you can identify skills that a number of staff members need to learn and will start using right away (e-mail software comes to mind). Also remember that in a classroom setting, there is more room for collaboration among students. In these situations, it may make sense to develop specialized training classes. In addition, the most customized training often lacks good reference material for students to refer to during training and later.

Training at a trainee's desk can also be difficult because of the many distractions -- anything from a ringing phone to an urgent e-mail message to a coworker stopping by can quickly derail an otherwise effective session. In a classroom setting, trainees are usually more able to give the training their full attention.

Shoulder-to-shoulder training with consultants can be more expensive than classroom-based training. If your organization’s budget is tight, you may assume that you have no choice but to send staff to training classes. But remember that shoulder-to-shoulder training can often take less time for individual staff members, reducing the cost of the training and leaving more time for the individual's "real work." I have also found that training classes are rarely nonprofit-focused, and students forget a large percentage of what they learn if they can’t immediately apply it to their work. In the end, it’s a matter of weighing the value of personalized training against the costs.

Pitfalls

If you deem shoulder-to-shoulder training appropriate, there are still a number of pitfalls to avoid when planning. First, make sure you do your research on the instructor. If it is to be a staff person, make sure you feel comfortable with that person's teaching abilities. If you are hiring consultants, make sure you check their references and ask specific questions about their abilities and experience in this format. Any faults in teaching, including bad communication skills, will be amplified in this type of training. And as with any training, make sure you identify your goals ahead of time.

Finally, one of the great advantages of shoulder-to-shoulder training is its scheduling flexibility. Whenever possible, consider offering the training to students at time when they’ll be able to apply it immediately. For example, if you want to get a new staff member up-to-speed on a desktop publishing package for your quarterly newsletter, use the newsletter's production cycle to drive the timing of the training. There are few worse ways to spend money than to offer training at an inappropriate time, making it difficult for students the new skills before the memory of the training fades.

In Conclusion

Time and money are two of the scarcest commodities for nonprofits. Shoulder-to-shoulder training usually offers a more time-efficient way for individual staff members to build their technical skills. The key is to develop a training plan for your organization that addresses your training needs in various areas individually and identifies the areas where shoulder-to-shoulder training would be most effective.