YES! The trainer is positioned to drive competitive advantage for their company/organization by providing targeted, QUICK, and compelling training. According to Peter Senge, the only sustainable source of competitive advantage is an organization’s ability to learn faster than their competition. If it is learning that is needed — training has the answer!
There are several factors that impact an organization’s rate of change, like: changing technology, knowledge explosion, rapid product obsolescence, the changing nature of the workforce, quality of work life, and business process redesign. Unfortunately, the other side of the equation holds those forces that resist change: threats to power and influence, fear of the unknown, sunken costs, economic forces, resource limitations, and organizational structure.
When change is necessary, we must work to first unfreeze this balance between driving forces and resisting forces, then quickly make the move (change!), and then reset the scales so equilibrium is again attained, but now we’ve moved further along toward our goal. It is at this stage when new skills are assimilated into the way work is done.
Trainers also act as a business partner when they work WITH clients to improve workplace performance, instead of just working FOR them. As a partner, trainers can bring so much more to the table — knowledge of workplace demographics and culture and, of course, all their actual knowledge about training.
Trainers are the true change agent of the current age!
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12. March 2008 at 17:06
It seems like trainers are going to have more on their plate than they can chew. Hopefully, somewhere down the line, someone will increase the manpower to adequately cover the training process instead of leaving it up to one person. Training for most companies will begin to take on Complexity. Sub-categories, like a branch on a tree, will become further sub-divisions and so forth. Prep now and behold the future with ease.
18. March 2008 at 15:04
I think being a trainer or having to train new people consistantly is a job on its own. Its not easy work…and I think it will only get more demanding and maybe even harder. Most big businesses are leaning towards bigger and better training departments with more then one person! If you get involved in that…it could be better then being on your own having to train everyone and everything.
18. March 2008 at 16:19
Change is difficult for everyone of any profession. Even simple changes can be looked at negatively. Trainer have the ominous task of make change as easy and quickly as possible. They have to make training fun and exciting. Its a tough job.
19. March 2008 at 16:53
Peter Senge might be right, but not every job can be trained QUICK!
Actually, I believe that the most difficult and time consuming jobs to train are usually the most important.
24. March 2008 at 11:46
It really is sad how little some organizations take training I suppose they just think when you walk in the door you should know what to do, but that is just not the case and I think training trainers to actually teach would be great a job that I had required one week of training and the trainers could care less to be there and they didn’t hardly even know the material that to me shows something about the company and the person training.
HtherMcCu
28. March 2008 at 23:47
Being a trainer is a very difficult job that requires a lot of attention, effort, and time. It can get very stressful and chaotic. Trainers have to have that type of firm, but calm personality and that type of calm, organized character with a lot of other qualities. It takes a lot to be a trainer.