Peer to Peer Magazine

23 WWW.ILTANET.ORG BEST PRACTICES E R A D partnerships with their lawyers and staff and can be knowledge consultants for the firm. Enhance Programs and Outcomes The best trainers know how to deliver and measure the value of their efforts. They work with stakeholders to assess the effectiveness of their learning programs and look back to business needs to determine if they met stated goals. They are continually learning and improving. Firms need trainers who can see how technology fits into the firm's overall strategy, evangelists who can help maximize business benefits from technology investments. Trainers As Strategic Partners Firms should invest in trainers so they can learn and apply consultative skills to their learning programs. Trainers should take formal courses in virtual facilitation, e-learning instructional design or video creation, get a legal trainer certification to sharpen skills, and otherwise add to their existing knowledge base. As strategic partners, trainers can be enlisted to work on things they have never worked on before. They will be able to climb outside the pocket of Microso Office to find out what lawyers and staff really use to get work done and then act as consultants to suggest the right solutions at the right time. In a world where lawyers need to keep abreast of the risks and benefits of technology, technology trainers can serve as their guide. It's time to revolutionize your technology training. We DARE you! P2P 4 DARE To Revolutionize the Role of Traditional Trainers EILEEN WHITAKER Eileen Whitaker is a Senior Learning & Change Management Consultant for Traveling Coaches. A teacher by trade and a problem-solver at heart, she is a virtual learning expert and member of the Springboard Consulting team that created the Certified Legal Trainer Program and winner of ILTA's 2016 Distinguished Peer Award for Innovative Consultant of the Year. Contact her at ewhitaker@ travelingcoaches.com. MIKE SWEENEY Mike Sweeney is a Senior Learning Consultant for Traveling Coaches and past winner of the ILTA Distinguished Peer Award for Technology Advocate of the Year. He is a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and holds a master's degree in organizational psychology. Contact him at msweeney@ travelingcoaches.com More importance should be placed on trainers acting as business professionals with consultative skills who happen to know a lot about training. Other issues are more challenging, like learning how to measure return on investment or speaking clearly and confidently to a room full of partners. To revolutionize their programs and bring more value to their firms, trainers need to DARE to unlock the box. Discover Performance Needs Firms are looking for trainers who can build relationships with practices and departments, understand workflows, and find ways to use technology to drive efficiency. Display empathy –– the ability to understand how it feels to have a tight deadline, face the fear of changing ratios or know when your six minutes are up. Trainers must know how to collect and analyze quantitative and qualitative data. They need to lead stakeholder conversations about business needs and then prioritize initiatives based on relative value to the firm. Architect Engaging Learning Experiences Trainers need a working knowledge of adult learning and organizational change so they can build engaging content and help project teams increase awareness of and desire for valuable technology. They need the skills to develop on multiple platforms –– e-learning, video, audio, virtual and face-to-face –– to change behaviors. Trainers must select the right kind of learning based on customer preferences and the appropriate investment of time, effort and money. Realize Results Through Effective Coaching and Facilitation All but gone is the "sage on the stage." Lawyers and staff are looking for "guides on the side" who facilitate effective learning with credibility and confidence using in-house, vendor or curated content. They want trainers who can provide just the relevant information for their workflow. The best trainers use effective questions and planned interactions –– whether in person, virtual or self-directed –– to continuously adjust and refine training based on the situation. They build 1 2 3

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