Kim Ratz

Whether planning a training session for five people in your office, or 500 people at a conference, maximizing your ROI starts even before the workshop begins - and continues afterwards. It's about preparing people for possibilities and opportunities when they come together, and expressing your confidence that people can and will improve their skills - and results. It's also about how you reinforce the training with ongoing discussions afterwards.

Too often, groups focus all attention regrading efforts and value of training on the workshop itself. The event is a key ingrediant to continuous improvement - it's important to introduce new ideas, create opportunities to practice and build skills, and promote dialog among team members. The gathering is critical to creating some positive energy in the group, help people get excited about the possibilities of working more effectively together, getting more done, and creating a more positive workplace environment. You'll learn a shared vocabulary you can use to talk about your current and future challenges - everyone will hear the same thing at the same time. Bringing in a great prsenter, however, only captures part of your ROI ...

Meeting planners who use these activities "before, during and after" training events can maximize their ROI even further. How many of these are you doing now, and can you see ways to incorporate the other ideas right away without having to add significant amounts of time or money to do so?

1. As you announce plans for the event, be thoughtful of how you convey reasons people will want to attend. Show purpose, value and enthusiasm. Don't be afraid to ask the speaker to write a "teaser" article to get their attention and create interest in what will be covered and what they can gain by attending.
   
   
2. Work closely with your speaker/presenter in planning as if they were a member of your staff. Ask questions, share info Ð help them succeed. Ask presenters for ideas of other ways they can help the event succeed too! I work with lots of groups and see a variety of great activities, efforts and ideas.
   
   
3. At the end of the event, invite each attendee to make a personal promise to themselves about a goal for personal/professional improvement, write it out and seal in an envelope addressed to themselves, to be collected and later mailed to each individual on a designated future date as a reminder/"perception check."
   
   
4. Ask people for feedback at the conclusion of the event, while it's still fresh in their mind. Ask what helped most, what didn't, do they have remaining questions, suggestions for the future, etc. Ask people how they felt about the program and what they got out of it.
   
   
5. 2-3 days after the event, send out a brief e-mail summarizing the expectation(s) about why the training was held, what you hope they got out of it, what you heard they got out of it, invite examples of how people have used the information covered, and reinforce the expectation that people will apply what they learned.
   
   
6. In the week or so after the program, look for one-on-one opportunities to talk with people about how they plan to use the information. This is especially important with people you really want to see work on this Ð find out what their plans are, what questions or needs they might have, and let them know you want to see them succeed. This is your opportunity to reinforce the expectation that they can and will improve, celebrate any improvements or successes by giving recognition, and discuss any specific plans you feel you need to with individuals as you go.
   
   
7. At your next staff meeting after the event, spend a few minutes reinforcing the expectation of how the training program is to be applied, then ask for examples of efforts since the training to use the information. Celebrate successes and recognize efforts, discuss challenges being worked on, and keep peoples' attention focused on the goal of systematic and continuous improvements.
   
   
8. Continue to ask the questions of recent uses of the skills or techniques, celebrate the successes and recognize peoples' efforts, and support and help each other when challenges continue. Make it an on-going way of communicating, and an opportunity for growth in how they use and share their skills.
   
   
9. If your group is spread out and doesn't work together on a daily basis, and/or - when only some people get to attend, share an article that summarizes the main points of the program and any specific decision, or other application to be discussed or acted on in the future. Pose some specific questions to help them think about how to use the information. Share examples of successes achieved with people in other sites to reinforce progress that otherwise would not be known.
   
   
10. Feel free to contact me any time after a presentation I share with your group for a free discussion / consult on how to lead your group through a challenge and on to their next higher level of performance and results. I believe that you should be able to do this with any presenter you hire!

Once you shift your thinking from organizing workshops to on-going promotion of professional and continuous development, these activities can easily become part of your everyday approach to bringing the best out in others and getting the most ROI from the training opportunities you provide.

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