sparks
ELECTRICAL NEWS
august
2013
8
contractors’ corner
Training and development by Nick du Plessis
Quality coaching for quality results
AS training providers, we send learners out to the
workplace to gainwork experience – and this has
been a generally accepted practice for many dec-
ades. Usually, a learner is sent to aworkplace and
placed under the guidance of a responsible per-
son – amentor or coach –who has the necessary
experience and knowledge, gained over many
years.Thismentor accepts the duty of transferring
knowledge and skills to the young learner who, in
turn, understands that they will shadow this older
person in that chosen career field. If we read the
‘good old books’, we often find that a father would,
in turn, teach his son to do thework that his father
had taught him to do – and this is how crafts were
learned and skills passed on fromone generation
to the next.Things have not changedmuch from
those times – except that the younger generation
is nowpaid to learn from the older, experienced
generation – but it does seem tome that some
pupils lack dedication and it is as if they are neither
motivated to learn, nor is learning a skill their
primary concern.
I have found that there aremany other issues
that have influenced the transferring of skills from
one generation to the next: race, religion, age,
gender, to name but a few. However, I do believe
that one of themost important factors is that the
mentor or coach – who is expected to transfer
skills and knowledge – is also under tremendous
pressure to complete their own workload, often
with no appreciation or back up support in the
workplace.
With that inmind, I have come upwith some
pointers to‘ease the pain’that comes with the trans-
fer of skills and knowledge in the workplace.
I will call the person who has the skills and knowl-
edge the‘coach’or the‘mentor’. The person who is
learning will be referred to as‘the learner’.
It is important to note that before any skill can
be transferred, it is a given that the learner must
be willing and able to acquire the new skill and the
coach has to be willing to transfer his or her skills
and knowledge to the learner. If this is not clarified
up front, no learning can take place.
Step 1: Plan the coaching session
Thementor needs to think about the coaching
session with the learner: Is it a new skill that
the learner will be acquiring or will it involve
the evaluation and/or scrutiny of a skill that the
learner has already learned from the coach?
Step 2: Review the coaching plan
When reviewing the coaching plan, consider the
best way to transfer the skills and knowledge
and then ask yourself the following:
•
Will I beable toexplain the task inanappropri-
ate languagewhile demonstrating it?
•
Have I allowed sufficient time to match the
learner’s aptitude?
•
Have I ensured compliance to health and
safety regulations?
•
Have I planned the session in a logical
sequence?
•
Do I have supplementary information thatwill
help to reinforce the lesson?
•
Can I explain the task so that the learner can
see it in relation to the broader context?
Step 3: Conduct the coaching session,
allowing for demonstration and practice
Keep inmind that you are experienced and
have probably done the task a hundred times
or more before and that the learner needs
extra time and guidance tomaster the skill. It
is important to remember that if you are under
pressure to complete a task then it is probably
not a good time to coach a learner because
coaching takes time and patience.
Step 4: Provide feedback to the learner
At the end of the session, give the learner feed-
back on their performance, giving the‘positives’
as well as the‘negatives’; and, if the learner does
well, be sure to tell himor her. Positive reinforce-
ment is a great teacher in itself.
Step 5: Conduct a self-evaluation
Review your own coaching performance and
see where you could have improved your
coaching.
Step 6: Allow for a learner feedback
This step is probably one that is most neglected
because we do not want negative feedback but
do ask the learner about their coaching session.
Their response will probably give you a
‘warm, fuzzy feeling’when you discover that
your learner does actually want to learn from
you and is indeed grateful.
Step 7: Review learner’s feedback
Put aside some time after the coaching session
to‘sit back’and go over what the learner has
said during the feedback session; this will give
you an indication of their level of understand-
ing and this will bemost helpful as guidance for
preparing your approach when next transfer-
ring skills to that learner.
Step 8: Review the coaching session
An honest appraisal is necessary here: Did you
meet the learner’s expectations?What would
you change next time that would help the
learner and reduce any frustrations that either of
youmay have experienced?
Coaching a young person to follow in your
footsteps can be a most rewarding experi-
ence.
Remember you are only as good as your
teacher. If you were fortunate to have had a
good teacher, ‘pay it forward’ by now being
a good teacher to a young learner. If you be-
lieve you have been assigned a learner who is
‘useless’ ask yourself if this could be changed
by your approach to coaching? I believe it can.
