Ten best practices for a successful RIM training program – Part two
In last week’s blog post we started to explore ten best practices for records management training programs. In part two we will continue by discussing five more best practices for RIM program training success.
6. Don’t forget the value proposition
Almost everyone sitting in on your RIM training session will likely be asking themselves “why are we doing this instead of real work?”. If they’re not sure by the time they get there, you’re already fighting an uphill battle in terms of cooperation and compliance. Communicating the tangible benefits to the organization, including decreased risk and less office clutter, before and during the training program will help prevent and deter any negative attitudes towards your training sessions.
7. Consider multiple delivery methods
Not everyone likes to absorb information the same way. When planning your training program, it’s important to offer choice. It’s also important to tailor the delivery based on the nature of the content itself. Some popular options include: classroom-style education, hands-on working sessions, self-directed study, and online courses.
8. Customize where appropriate
In addition to offering different delivery methods, you may also want to tailor the training program based on the needs of the particular business unit or department. To do that, it helps to perform a “mini-assessment” of each business unit’s training needs. How are files organized, accessed and managed in that department? What challenges are they experiencing in managing these collections? Having these answers will help you develop a more effective and useful training program for that group.
9. Evaluate training outcomes
When it is all said and done, how will you know if you have done a good job? To assess the effectiveness of your training – and ensure your RIM program is being executed properly – it is essential to measure the results. There are many different techniques you can use, including:
- asking for overall impressions of the training
- testing participants on what they’ve learned
- monitoring business practices to ensure compliance
- measuring the impact on key program outcomes
Ideally, you’ll want to use a combination of measurement methods to assess the effectiveness of your program.
10. Don’t forget to have fun
To be successful, training programs must be engaging for participants. To keep the material fresh and interesting, use examples that reflect the real world in which participants work, and don’t be afraid to inject some humor into it. Provided it is not overly frivolous, a humorous touch can go a long way to hold the attention of participants and keep them actively engaged.
