TRAINING ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD E-Book

Walter Kuhnert

• Herausgeber: tredition
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 205

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

Training people is an art-form – the fusion of skills acquired through learning (to train effectively), understanding people (behavior, culture) and methodology (content, environment) through which knowledge is transferred to another human being. Not a mind-blowing PowerPoint presentation with fancy catch phrases and clever hooks. In this book I outline 7 Steps to Implement in Corporate Trainings to help you navigate the terminologies and technicalities needed to achieve the best results and training outcomes. It all starts with you – the most important training resource at your disposal!

Leseprobe

My thanks to everyone who has been a part of my journey, told me stories, mentored me, had patience with me, and tolerated my sometimes-crazy ideas, thoughts, and actions.

A special thank you to my grandmother and mother who have always supported me, and to my father who has challenged me to become who I am today.

Thanks most especially, to my friends who have volunteered to be a part of my life.

And finally, thank you Sharlene - for being my partner and the person who is never too shy to give me a different perspective on life.

Walter Kuhnert

TRAINING ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD

7 Step Guide

by Walter Kuhnert

© 2022 Walter Kuhnert

Copy: Wendy McSeveney

Layout & Design: Elmien van Schalkwyk @ Gresse design Other Contributors: Sharlene Chan

Publisher: Tredition

ISBN 9783347726833 (eBook)

All rights reserved

CONTENTS

Foreword by Paolo Santino A. Guevara

Why did I write this book?

STEP 1:Why am I training people? The outcome versus the result

STEP 2:What do you want to train?

STEP 3:Who do you want to train?

STEP 4:Developing the content and training methodology

STEP 5:Building the infrastructure for training

STEP 6:Implementation of the training system

STEP 7:Monitoring and improving the training system

Training with the Trainminator

Glossary

About the Author

Photo Gallery

Foreword by Paolo Santino A. Guevara

President

Magsaysay Center for Hospitality and Culinary Arts (MIHCA)

The first time I met Walter Kuhnert was when he entered my classroom in 2008 while touring the facilities of MIHCA (Magsaysay Centre for Hospitality and Culinary Arts).

I was then an educator for Culinary Arts - a cook who became a chef, brought up by a family of teachers. Collaborative learning is my way of coaching.

My first impression of Walter was that he was unusual and not the typical expat I would encounter in my career. Most of the expats I met were very confident, sometimes borderline arrogant. Walter was quiet and very observant. What struck me most, was his ability to blend in with the environment - I would see him walking Kalaw Street in Ermita, Manila.

Walter never gave us any problems in the food department. He is not a whiner. He is not picky and is very easy to work with.

I respected him from early on, because of the way he treats others.

Years went by and we were able to connect on many things, but what I appreciated most are the many conversations we had. Most importantly: our love of training. We would always share ideas about the value of training and the positive effects of training in work and in life. I am amazed by his love to learn about and explore different cultures, countries, and extreme conditions and to find out more about himself and learn about others. This is inspiring. The adage YOLO (you only live once) is not just a saying, but a real-life experience. It makes you evaluate your own life and strive to be better.

In 2015, we organized a Cruise and Hospitality Convention in SMX Mall of Asia. This was a convention with 2,500 attendees from all over the Philippines.

During the convention, speakers from various hospitality and cruise industries discussed relevant topics relating to the industry.

And one of the speakers was Walter Kuhnert.

During that speech, Walter showed me his dedication to his craft. I know that he rehearsed and timed his speech. After his talk, the next speaker was so impressed that he said that it was a tough act to follow, and that his stress levels went through the roof! He even called him the Terminator Trainer. He was very inspiring, and the crowd loved his approach. They were yearning for more.

Fast forward to 2019, when COVID hit the world and the hospitality and cruise industries were badly hit.

During a crisis, training is the first line of cost that is almost always removed. It was only AIDA Cruises that continued with training, because of Walter’s relentless conviction and commitment to the trainees and trainers.

This crisis was a very hard time for me, as I head up the Hospitality and Culinary training of Magsaysay in the Philippines and Jakarta. Walter helped me refocus on the issues and solutions at hand.

This approach helped formulate strategies that would help us reopen our face-to-face training. Our conversations would allow me to clear my mind and go back to the mindset of being a victor and not a victim.

Walter is a very strong-minded person who helped me focus on what the problems were and how to formulate solutions. He also demonstrated to me his discipline and tenacity in pursuing training. In our discussions, it would be clear that training is an essential part of the job and proves to be beneficial in the long run.

We are social beings, and we need social interaction. Online training is a good supplement, but it is never a substitute.

So, let us learn from Walter. Enjoy the book.

WHY DID I WRITE THIS BOOK?

Training has always been a substantial part of my life. As a child, I studied judo before migrating to weight lifting during my teenage years. Training, training, and more training.

Thirty years later, bodybuilding has become a lifestyle - its discipline is my mantra to focus on a particular goal, coupled with countless hours of relentless training. When I have achieved a goal, I enjoy the success before taking on a new challenge which requires more training.

I am not going to tell you my entire biography in this introduction – it is all there in the ‘About the Author’ section, together with interesting tips I learned from the Terminator himself (more on this a little later in the book).

What I am going to tell you, is that I have spent 20 years training in the corporate world as a qualified Master Coach & Practitioner of NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming). That said, I am quite familiar with the challenges and technicalities in the world of training.

Training people is an artform – the fusion of skills acquired through learning (to train effectively), understanding people (behavior, culture) and methodology (content, environment) through which knowledge is transferred to another human being. Not a mind-blowing PowerPoint presentation with fancy catch phrases and clever hooks.

Here is the problem: in today’s world everything happens with a click on Google or via an instantly downloaded app (thank you Millennials). Want to build your own boat? Google it!

Want to be an instant millionaire without setting foot in an office?

Google it! Instant results and even better, NO TRAINING required. All you need is good Wi-Fi; killer confidence and you can be whoever you want to be. It is that simple! Why train? “So, Walter, why are you writing yet another book on Training, when bookstores are already overstocked with bestsellers?” today’s youth might ask. My answer is simple, kids: “No app can ‘feel’ the intricate dynamics or mimic the personal, physical connectivity required when training people. Not yet anyway!”

In the real-world training is the most important investment a company can make in its people - the very essence and heart of their organization. They should invest in them. Training boosts confidence and loyalty, empowering individuals by giving them personal and professional pride. Provided they want to learn.

So often trainers miss the mark in achieving the desired training outcomes. The content while adequate, visually engaging, and professionally presented is often unsuccessful, with trainees emerging unchanged or unenlightened. Epic fail!

This may be the result of a gap in their understanding, lack of knowledge, cultural barriers, or unrealistic training expectations. As the trainer, you must identify and resolve these gaps. On the other hand, your training may be hugely successful in theory, but it falls short when practically applied in the real-world.

Still think an app can figure it out?

In my current role as Training Manager for AIDA Cruises (preceded by managerial positions on RCCL and Costa Cruises) I have experienced both sides of the training spectrum: Trainee and Trainer. Cruise line clientele expect the cruise guaranteed in the glossy pages of the cruise brochure. In other words, smooth sailing (pardon the pun).

The criteria go something like this - weather: perfect. Itinerary: varied. Ocean conditions: calm. Service: Five Star, friendly, 24/7, efficient, perfect, mind blowing, prompt, polite, excellent, exceptional – you get the picture?

How do we guarantee this level of excellence without investing in personal, on the job training?

This book is to train YOU, the Trainer. Trainings may become clinical and routine - we go through the motions mechanically, without achieving any groundbreaking success.

I would like to help you refocus your approach by asking yourself the most simple and important question of all: WHY am I training?

What is the goal here? Am I trying to change a particular behavior or merely filling a gap of knowledge that is missing? In case you are wondering, there is a difference!

Your strategy needs to be outlined before you launch into any kind of training and for that you need a philosophy – a game plan - to strategize the WHO, WHAT and HOW of it all.

In this book I outline 7 Steps to Implement in Corporate Trainings to help you navigate the terminologies and technicalities needed to achieve the best results and training outcomes.

It all starts with you – the most important training resource at your disposal!

So, if you are in a training rut, need motivation or trying to run a business of your own - this book is for you! The principles and methodologies remain the same, whether you run a gym, restaurant, or a family business. Let’s get you on track!

Read the Steps, then re-read them - or flick to them and read through them as often as needed.

Now go and grab a cup of coffee or whatever you need to get you into the zone, and I will see you in the next section:

Step 1: Why am I training people? The outcome versus the result.

STEP 1

WHY AM I TRAINING PEOPLE?THE OUTCOME VERSUS THE RESULT

‘Know your goal, make a plan and pull the trigger.’

- Phil McGraw

Understanding what you want

Before you start training, I always encourage trainers to first establish WHY they are training in the first place – is it to achieve a certain OUTCOME or a desired RESULT? You may assume these terms are similar, but you would be mistaken.

Let’s define them as I have outlined them in this book:

Outcome is a result you get through a process of actions and behavior (that you have executed).

Result is the desired target, the aim established on SMART Goal Setting tools.

So, in your trainings, either of these goals would be your big picture.Before you even begin structuring that PowerPoint presentation or training manual you must create a training strategy within this ‘big picture’ and structure your Training Philosophy in terms of HOW you want to train and WHAT you want to train, so that you can achieve your outcome or result.

Then, identify what is the meaning of your training and what do you want to accomplish - are we talking about changing a behavior or filling a gap of knowledge that is missing? They may seem identical, but again, there is a significant difference between the two.

As we progress in this chapter, I am going to look deeper into the importance of establishing your Training Philosophy and how you need to adapt it to the philosophies of the companies you are training for. If they are not aligned, the training is doomed from the start, and you will not achieve the desired outcome or result.

We will look at Training Philosophies a little later. But first!

Let me introduce you to 7 TRAINING TERMINOLOGIES that will help structuralize certain training challenges and components:

• Coaching versus Training

• Opinion versus Behavior

• Training versus Supervision

• Standards versus Rules

• Standards versus Suggestions

• Following versus Mentality

• Knowledge versus Application

Let’s break them down.

Coaching versus Training

When we refer to training it is to do with the transfer of knowledge from one person to another. What is the difference between these two components, and which type of training are they each applicable to? When should you use coaching and when should you use training?

Training can be performed in small or large groups (depending on the training) and can range from service training, sales training, customer complaints handling, safety training, general standards and hygiene training or orientation training. The idea is that people emerge with a better understanding of the standards, rules, and procedures after the training.

Coaching is ‘one-on-one’ and far more intimate. If a person is problem solving, you don’t immediately give them the solution, but encourage them to seek it inside themselves by gently guiding and helping them. If you give someone the solution to their problem, you haven’t really helped them to find the solution themselves - the exercise is then pointless.

So, inside your training you need to consider the type of people you will be training in terms of what is required. Do they need to acquire new knowledge or undergo a behavioral shift after the training? Ideally, you would like them to behave differently after the training has been completed, which brings us into the realm of behavioral change, which requires both practice and pressure!

Under pressure, people are pushed out of their comfort zones and forced to apply their training. By placing them in unfamiliar and challenging situations, you as the trainer will be better able to assess the success and effect of your training at this point.

This can be done by creating coaching pockets – a series of scenarios, exercises or one-on-one conversations (outside of the normal training). These readjustments may create a spark or plant a seed the trainee needs, to realize that their current behavior is not going to get them the best outcome.

It’s tricky, because it shifts all the time, and you need to think on your feet! As trainer, you have an overall training structure in place, but must constantly readjust and include extra time after class for coaching or to work more individually with trainees. This will also be determined by your group dynamics and interactions, which I will go into later.

You might even have to do some coaching after the training. A person may understand the standards and be able to apply them (confirmed through testing), but you might need to reinforce the new behavior through supervision at this point.

At what point does your training stop, the supervision start and where does coaching come into the equation?

And are you purely training just to convey information, or create behavioral change and how are you going to reinforce the behavior to make it stick? Questions, questions!

The ‘what’s in it for me?’ factor. If people don’t feel there’s a benefit for them, they won’t necessarily change their behavior. Unless … you motivate them extrinsically.

Take for example, the humble toilet.

Nobody on the planet likes to clean a toilet! But, if you create a financial incentive to clean one, and there’s a reward, there will be someone willing to do it. It’s just highly unlikely that someone has an intrinsic motivation to clean one … or ten!

At home you clean your own toilet, because that’s your standard of living and you would like to use a nice, clean toilet. So, there’s an intrinsic motivation for you to do this unpleasant job yourself. But if you ask someone else to clean your toilet, usually they require an extrinsic motivation (money). Then the job will be done, and you benefit by being able to continue to spend that time on a task that will potentially earn you more money. Everybody wins!

So, is there an intrinsic or extrinsic motivator required? Is there a subjective benefit for people? How do you install the standards and enforce them? What’s your training methodology? How do you use coaching?

Opinion versus Behavior

This is an interesting one, as it is quite controversial. Opinion cannot be observed; it is something you have (of someone or a product). Behavior on the other hand, has measurable evidence e.g., late coming (clock), shouting (volume of your voice) or even accepting a bribe (an act of receiving money).

Behavior is observable – a person can follow safety rules at work by doing what they are told and ‘following the rules’. Or they don’t merely follow rules but have a safety mentality (a way of life) that guides their actions with regards to safety.

Oh, and you can have an opinion about behavior too!

Before your head explodes, let’s look at an example. Loyalty – behavior or opinion? I would say loyalty is more an opinion because loyalty to you does not necessarily mean loyalty to me or someone else. You may think you are a very loyal person, but that might not be someone else’s opinion of you!

If we go back to our very beginnings … at home and from day one at school, people are trained (by teachers and family members) on what is right and wrong, what is good and bad. All four may be considered opinions in a sense, because what is good or right for one person is not necessarily good or right for another.

It’s like a psychological guidance system of sorts – think of it in terms of having some sort of target that you aim at. You look through the guidance system, lock onto the target and then the question becomes: should I go right or left? The choice you make is determined by what you perceive to be good, bad, right, or wrong.

Now the challenge here, is that you are doing what you perceive as the right or good thing, but the result is negative for you. This means that the outcome is not what you expected, because you’re thinking you did what you learned was right and good, but the result had a negative outcome. Sometimes you must do the wrong thing to get the correct result.

I am not advocating a bank robbery, let’s be clear here!

Let me give you an example. Let’s say you want to work as a waiter in the service industry (at a resort hotel or on a cruise ship). Small problem: you belong to a religion that requires you to pray five times a day (at specific hours). There’s quite a conflict here. You need this job (to earn money to survive) but you can’t abandon your station five times a day. So, in this instance if you pursue your career over your religious beliefs, you are doing the wrong thing to get the correct result: to work as a waiter.

When you expect a certain outcome or result but fail to achieve it, it’s only natural to evaluate and adjust your behavior by doing more of the right or good thing in order to achieve it. But the crazy thing is that you are going to get more of the same result, because you aren’t changing anything, you are just repeating the process. To prove the point, consider this quote: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” Albert Einstein, genius.

The man has a point! You need to dig in and reverse the process by calculating the desired result and adjusting what steps are needed to achieve it. This alternate thinking opens a realm of possibilities that can affect other areas of your life.

Take relationships. A person blames a failed relationship on his/her partner, justifying their behavior, but blame shifting the problem to the other person. They never see that the fault resides with them. It is their behavior that needs changing and not their partner’s behavior. Their solution? Find another partner! Sadly, this lack of accountability results in many failed relationships, a ton of blame shifting and aimless migration from one incompatible partner to another. Been there, done that?

This limiting belief is a self-imposed boundary that people place on themselves, and in so doing limit their potential and growth in the process. So, in terms of outcome vs result you need to think purely on that outcome or result and say, ‘that’s the outcome I want.’

This is very much cause and effect – the cause always precedes the effect.

Let’s go back to the relationship example: if you are on the effect side, which means the relationship is already in shambles and it’s too late. To do anything now is not going to have any effect. You need to move your action onto the cause side, so that you have a chance to change something.

If you are dealing with the result (breakup/divorce), then it’s already too late, because the cause for that result has already happened. So, you need to deal with where you are and try to regain the cause side.

I’ll give you an example. It rains outside – you go outside – you get wet.

The question is: what’s the cause and what’s the effect? Well, you got wet, what’s the cause? The rain. Mm, not really. I would say the cause is the fact that you didn’t have an umbrella. You can’t influence the weather and make the rain stop by going outside without an umbrella saying you want the rain to stop! If you got wet, you are already on the effect side. You can only blame yourself – get proactive, grab a poncho, buy an umbrella, or stay inside – do whatever you need to do to stay dry. With a training mentality you need to determine the cause and effect of your training.

I would say this is a fundamental key in moving yourself from the effect to the cause side, achieving the desired outcome.

Training versus Supervision

Training is the solution offered to a gap of knowledge. When a person’s behavior needs to be changed, then coaching or supervision is required – it’s quite a tricky path to negotiate as they are very similar.

But on the topic of training vs supervision, let’s look at it simply. If you were conducting multicultural training on hygiene, you might wind up discussing one of the most uncomfortable topics that people don’t like discussing in public: going to the toilet for ‘Number 2’.

The content would include issues such as cleaning your butt afterwards. A deeply personal subject, but if you look at the different countries there are many approaches and methods to do your business.

Some Middle Eastern cultures use a toilet shower (taking the shower with the right hand to rinse and wiping or cleaning with the left hand). No toilet paper is used. In Japan, there are automatic toilets which clean your butt with nice warm water. In the Philippines they use a tabò, a traditional hygiene tool primarily used for cleansing, bathing, and cleaning the floor of the bathroom. Other countries such as Indonesia, East Timor, Malaysia, and Brunei use a little bucket for washing, called a Gayung and Cebok (pronounced chabò). In the desert, you would rub sand on the areas and rinse it off afterwards – that is, if you have water to spare …

And then of course, there are countries that use toilet paper. This may seem the most civilized and efficient but to be perfectly honest - it’s not always ‘clean’ and afterwards you definitely have to wash your hands!

So, consider training on hygiene and standards that require the use of toilet paper exclusively. All the procedures pertaining to using toilet paper, flushing, and washing hands apply. The challenge: you might be training cultures that never use toilet paper!

To change people’s cultural bathroom habits when using toilet paper, you must decide on training, supervision, or coaching. Where does one start and one end? Let’s be honest, using toilet paper and washing your hands is not rocket science. So, if you explain the concept and train them correctly, they should understand this very uncomplicated principle.

Perhaps it’s a coaching issue - people know how to use toilet paper and wash their hands, but they’re culturally not comfortable with this procedure. Does it mean they don’t know how to use toilet paper and wash their hands? No, of course not. They do, but they don’t like doing it - it goes against their way of life.

This might be neither a training nor coaching issue, but a supervision one. In my experience, a lot of people would assume it’s a training issue, but I personally believe the problem lies in the acquired behavior. People are simply not comfortable doing it. Told you; it’s tricky!