‘I took my watch off to wade out to check my lobster pots and lost track of time’ – still my favourite reason given for being late to a training session!
The young woman who turned up to an employability skills session holding a box of kittens …
The CEO who was late to his own Teams meeting as he’d had to shoo a cow out of his orchard …
The aviation industry pro whose dummy parachute had popped spectacularly out of her backpack as she walked from the car to demonstrate correct packing technique…
Trainer tales, eh?
Then there was the woman who went into labour in class …
The one who thought she was taking paracetamol but it turned out to be aspirins to which she was violently allergic …
The one who issued a death threat on getting a poor mark …
The bloke who wasn’t the person who’d actually attended the job interview …
Those stories you tell each other.
I think we all have them!
What are yours?
Philippa Hammond
Learning, development and performance consultant| trainer | facilitator
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I was late because …
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Glossary
Train / Training
Training is how we deliver new knowledge skills and attitudes/mindsets to our learners, to enable them to return to the workplace with a desired permanent change in behaviour
Trainer
A professional tasked with creating, delivering and supporting training to learners and evaluating results
Train the trainer
Developing subject matter experts into confident, effective new trainers
Development
Building on existing knowledge, skills and attitudes/mindsets to enhance workplace behaviour, performance and results
Learning
Acquiring new knowledge, skills and attitudes/mindsets to inform and drive new behaviour
Performance
How a colleague behaves and delivers in the workplace
SME
A recognised abbreviation for Subject Matter Expert
Expert
A person with knowledge, skills and experience in a particular subject
Facilitation
Leading and enabling an audience of learners to reach their own conclusions
Coaching
Asking skilful questions that encourage a learner to identify their own goals, their current reality and the options available to them and to state what they will do to achieve those goals
Feedback
Both seeking and delivering honest, respectful and supportive responses that help a learner decide what to stop, start and continue doing
Presentation
Delivering a formal speech, report or training event to an audience, often using PowerPoint or similar tools
Public speaking
Talking to an audience of any size, whether in person or online
Workshop
An in-person or online gathering of learners with the shared aim to achieve stated objectives -
Faye Aydin
Congratulations to my client, Emmy Award winner Faye Aydin on her latest award, Makeup Artist of the Year 2025 at the North England Hair and Beauty Awards.
Faye contacted me to help her polish her public speaking skills, to prepare for her hair and makeup team leadership role.–
Philippa Hammond
Learning, Development and Performance Consultant | Trainer | Facilitator -
Evaluation
Evaluation: such a little word for a process with so much value for your business.
Yet I’m constantly amazed by how often organisations don’t do training evaluation … at all. Or if they do, they stop after they’ve done the most basic level. Job done.
Back in the 1950s, Dr Don Kirkpatrick developed his four level evaluation model, which has pretty much been the standard ever since.
Others have built on it, added to it and expanded bits of it, yet here we are still using it in the 21st century – because it works.
So are your trainers evaluating your learning and development projects and products at all four levels?
Can you prove to your managers and the board that the money they spend on training gets the results and the return on investment they want and expect?
That’s a great way to ensure your training team continues to get the funding and the people it needs.
Philippa Hammond
Learning, Development and Performance Consultant | Trainer | Facilitator -
Blog: The Pro Trainer Skillset
Do your trainers have …
The support of a Train the Trainer development programme?
Feedback and coaching skills?
A clear understanding of the value of being business-savvy? As in – do they know and understand the business beyond their team, department, grade?
The networking confidence and skill to become respected and trusted throughout the business? Do the people of note know them?
Can they investigate, interview, ask confident and revealing questions, assess the data and present evidence, conclusions and recommendations?
Yes, your trainers need to be able to write and present training events and make a pretty PowerPoint.
But the professional trainer toolkit contains SO much more. -
Blog: Sme-to-trainer Transformation
They’re already the ones people go to for guidance, advice, quick check-ins and reassurance.
Because they’re experienced, skilled and respected, doing the job every day, shoulder to shoulder with your colleagues.
They’re already known, liked, trusted and understood by all.
Then something happens …
A sudden demand for some training NOW – because there’s an issue.
News of an imminent recruitment drive.
Legislation change about to come in that means everyone has to learn to change what they’re doing.
What a brilliant development resource they could be – if you added the gloss of professional trainer knowledge, skills and confidence to their toolkit.
Then they could hit the ground running, augment any existing trainer presence, deliver the goods – then back to BAU.
All at no extra cost to the payroll.
How does that sound?
Let’s talk. -
‘But nothing’s changed …’
L&D managers – after training, are you hearing ‘but nothing’s changed?’ And they’re blaming you / your trainers / their training?
So what’s happening when they get back?
Three things the business needs to ask:
🤔Are the leaders clearly expressing the ‘why’?
Is there clear top-down messaging, role modelling, demonstration going on that can truly show the way?
Or do the leaders need to change?
🤔Are the managers supportive and giving helpful feedback and allowing space for mistakes?
Do they actually have the practical skills and professional habits they need to arrange and hold consistent 1-1s and team briefings and deliver honest, respectful and developmental feedback and coaching?
Or are they nervous about … managing?
🤔Are there influencers back at work going ‘oh we don’t do it like THAT … ‘ because change is threatening?
Are your people actively inhibiting learners from applying and developing new knowledge, skills and mindsets because that could represent a challenge – to them?
Is this what’s happening where you work – and is this why the learning doesn’t stick?
If you’re getting criticism and complaints that the learning isn’t sticking, the behaviour isn’t changing and the results aren’t happening – maybe it’s time to look at what’s happening in the seedbed where you’ve planted those new shoots.
Philippa
Learning, development and performance consultant | trainer | facilitator | 1-1 & group training | In person & online