Reincarnation – managing annual training

It seems like a good time to talk about this, following on from our last post on the forgetting curve!

In the emergency management sector there are a number of core skills and emergency drills that have to be recertified (often annually). There is also a number of (usually eLearning based) modules relating to legislation and human resource management that people are expected to complete.

Aside from the fact that these things are mandatory to keep our jobs or memberships and to do the work we want to do, how do we approach these repeated and mandatory training topics in a way that keeps them fresh and engages everyone?

Here are some strategies we like to use to get the job done while promoting engagement and enthusiasm:

• Keep the end requirement in mind. Design training that has an assessment only option – if you can demonstrate that you know the right answers and can do the right things, do you need to sit through the content again?
• Make it case study based. Storytelling creates emotion and connection to the real world. It let’s us review ideas and skills in as many different situations as you can imagine.
• Make it a game! Amazing race? Jeopardy? What about a scenario game of “What’s the worst that can happen?” Cover the content, but make it fun.
• Buddy up – for those that have done this training countless times – make them the trainer and the checker, even if it is unofficial. Give them a purpose for what they are doing.
• Link it with something else good! Start the session with the mandatory topic, but finish with something that is new and interesting for everyone.