Four ways to inspire your Trainers and Assessors

There are many ways to inspire your trainers and assessors and it doesn't have to cost the earth! Below are four of the best ways to keep your team firing on all cylinders, without breaking the bank.

Stretch them professionally

Your trainers and assessors may not always put their hands up for additional professional development, but it is important to keep them actively engaged in their profession. This can include involving them in conference proposals, article submissions, learning event development or even collaborating on a resource.

Honour their experience

Often in our training departments we find combined experience adding up to hundreds of years but career progression within organisations can be limited. Solve this dilemma by taking the time to recognise their contribution and honour their experience - this will help them feel valued and motivate them to continue to work at their best performance. Recognition can be as simple as their job title (i.e. Senior Training Consultant or Lead Assessor), in public displays of years served or an honour board listing key milestones.

Role model best practice

Great leaders are not defined by what they do, but how they do it. Inspiration can be found when we practice what we preach and are prepared to do the same work that we ask of our teams. Standing side-by-side with them in the trenches builds respect, but also helps the team to understand the expectations of the business and gives them an understanding of what good practice looks like.

Give them ownership, but allow them to make mistakes

It is well documented that risk-taking is an important part of learning. However, if we create clinical environments where no one is prepared to try something new, organisations will stagnate. The key is to give ownership of projects with latitude for them to provide their own ideas, while being available to provide guidance, mentoring and supporting them when things don’t go according to plan. This, in the truest sense, becomes a “miss-take”, rather than a mistake and learning and growth can come of it. This approach, which shares the fame and the blame, creates a collegial atmosphere where great ideas and achievement can thrive.

Marc Ratcliffe

CEO, MRWED