TWI Job Instruction: 5 lessons for high-impact online training
These days we see a lot of Training Companies and Learning & Development consultants singing the praises of the newest online learning management systems. The pitch usually promises a boost in employee engagement and a step change in your organisation’s sharing, learning and operating results at a fraction of the cost of your current way of training.
I wish it was that easy! Sure, technology enablers have their place in managing learning and knowledge sharing. But don’t expect operating results to change just because you hook your employees up to a tool.
Technology is great if your priority is spreading the word (awareness building or compliance) or training cost saving: making it cheaper to bring a new employee on board or to demonstrate compliance. In terms of the effectiveness of on-the-job training, though, just hearing and watching something online and answering a quiz is often not enough.
So what’s should a great training system look like?
Training within Industry was developed in the most challenging of times. The primary Employee training was not a matter of compliance or investing in people, but simply viewed as a matter of survival. One of the TWI supervisor training programs, TWI Job Instruction, boosted the on-the-job training skills of over a million supervisors during World War II leading to dramatic improvements in speed to market, quality, safety and cost.
TWI Job Instruction - 5 key insights
So what do we need to do to build a high-impact impact training system? Let’s have a look at some of the lessons from learned from the world’s most successful skills training system.
Understand the difference of knowledge and skill: The first lesson from TWI JI is that great on-the-job training is understanding the difference between knowledge (knowing about) and skill (being able to do well). Whilst knowledge in many jobs is important, it is usually skill that makes the the biggest difference in operating performance. Knowing is not enough, we must be able to do well, consistently.
Job skills training is show & tell AND try out: The second lesson from TWI Job Instruction is starts when an employee knows what needs to be done, precisely how it needs to be done, and why it must be done precisely like that. This know how is not delivered by telling or showing alone, but by having the trainee repeat the precise pattern required several times and with immediate coaching feedback from the expert instructor.
Less is more: The third lesson of TWI JI is about stripping back complexity and getting to the point. In fact, TWI Job Instruction emphasises simplicity, teaching the employee exactly the know-how to do the job perfectly, no more no less.
Practice alone does not make perfect: The fourth lesson from TWI Job Instruction is that practice makes perfect, under certain conditions. This applies to most skills, even outside work - such as martial arts, football or driving. Firstly, the trainee must practise the ‘best way’ known of doing the job. It must be clear that if you follow what you’re taught, you will with immediate feedback. This allows ‘muscle memory’ to build as the motions become locked in and the job becomes second nature.
Don’t let them learn by trial and error: TWI Job Instruction insists that it is critical not to allow learners to learn by trial and error, figuring it out on their own. Job skills are not about teaching people how to generate new knowledge, but about passing on the best know-how we have already come up with. The focus is on establishing a pattern quickly that allows the worker to perform a task consistently, at the right pace and without mistakes.
How will you apply these lessons to on-line skills training in your company?
If you’re still unsure, we have a shortcut for you!
Our team of international experts at the Supervisor Academy has created Supervisor Academy Online to bring you the best online skills training available. Our high-impact online courses build on 70 years of Training within Industry expertise in creating rapid skills transitions for supervisors and their teams.