If you’ve developed a big fat training folder for your support staff to help them to better support your family member then that’s awesome.  Some training sure is better than no training!  So well done you!

But there are a few inherent problems with big fat training folders and here are some of them that you might recognise:

1. They are big and fat

This means they are not easy to carry around with you.  Sometimes when you are on the job as a support worker you can forget things and you might need to look them up on the spot.  If the training folder is back at home on your desk cause it’s, well, big and fat and too awkward to carry around, then you are stuck.   Having your training stored online that can be accessed using a mobile phone will mean that staff will always have access to it.

2. They only cater for good readers

You can’t harness video or audio in a training folder.  So if reading information isn’t how your support worker prefers to learn, then the training isn’t going to be very effective.  Putting your training online opens up the opportunity for including video and audio.

3. They are overwhelming

Having a big fat training folder plonked into your arms can be scary.  Adults  like to learn in small consumable chunks.  They also like “just in time learning” too.  This means being able to learn when you need to.  You might ask your supports to take your family member swimming for example.  The support worker needs to be able to quickly and easily find a snippet of training on supporting your family member to go swimming.

Online learning can be broken down into small bit sized chunks.

4. They  are not always easy to navigate

Unless you have training manuals that have an excelled index, and well formatted headings, it can be hard to find what you are looking for when you are in a hurry.

Online training can be more easily searched and navigated.

5. They get out of date

This can sometimes mean that you end up with multiple different versions of the training folder and might not be sure who has what version or if the information is correct or not.  That can mean that your staff don’t trust your training folder.  Plus you are a busy person – you don’t need to be stood at a printer all day.

Online training can be updated in one place and everyone gets the latest version.

6. They get damaged

My old big fat training folder is torn and covered in stains.   And don’t mention those pesky binder rings that get squashed and bent then don’t close properly so the pages fall out!

Online learning stays there forever!

7. They aren’t very secure

They generally contain confidential personal information about a person and it’s very difficult to keep secure.   Online systems can be password protected so that only the people with appropriate permission can see it.

Get step by step guidance on training your staff in my Train Your Team Project

In the Train Your Team Project I will help you to get all of that good stuff out of your head and all those files on your computer spread all over the place into an organised learning platform for your staff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Categories: Training Your Staff