There are two very different approaches, depending on the nature of the target group.

Such programs are developed in close cooperation with the client’s HR Department / Academy principals.

Insider knowledge and experience allow our partners in HR to define which skills are necessary if the potential of newly recruited staff is to be realized.

A series of training modules are selected and adapted which allow newcomers to be integrated into the enterprise. Typically, on-boarding programs include such modules as “audience-centered presentations”, “effective distance communication”, “principles of negotiation” and “working in virtual teams”.

A more strategic approach to integrating new personnel involves the creation of a staff-development matrix. Rising performance expectations over a 3-year period are matched by an increasingly advanced range of training interventions. A typical progression of a skill set might be: 

Such programs typically run on site.

Knowledge of a language is a key element of communication. Language is a means to an end, not the end itself. Effective communication demands the integration of language with the appropriate soft skills.

2. Enhancement programs for established operators

Heads of Departments, in conjunction with HR, either:

a) identify skill gaps in an existing operation where they feel that the performance does not meet the expected standard, or

b) recognize a key performance area in which a continuous improvement process is required to maintain best-in-class status.

In both cases, effective training requires clearly defined goals. The quality of the training can be assessed using feedback sheets and interviews. While this is important, it cannot demonstrate the efficiency of the intervention.   

Training is an investment, not an expense. As such, it can be expected to bring a return in terms of improved staff performance. This is best established by means of a transfer workshop run some weeks after the principle training event. The transfer workshop serves to enforce the training measure and encourage the sought behavioral change (Kirkpatrick level 3).

Such training measures are essentially steps in the strategic, on-going process of staff development. For example, a typical development progression for negotiations might be: 

Effective training requires
clearly defined goals.
The quality of the training
can be assessed using
feedback sheets and interviews. 
While this is important, it
cannot demonstrate the efficiency
of the intervention.