This guide is for anyone interested in learning about the training toolkit.
When I first started helping organizations make online learning courses, I met training managers and subject matter experts who were on various levels of sophistication within their organizations. I’d ask questions about their content as it relates to the overall training program. How does this course fit into the curriculum? Some knew the answer right away. More commonly, they responded like this: “We need this program updated because it’s out of date” or “We need new product training”.
My point is this: everyone involved in making training or learning needs to be on the same page. Your learning culture depends upon everyone knowing why they are learning something. As a result, a dynamic playbook, toolkit, and calendar is the answer.
It’s not that complex if you break it down, list it out, and then assemble the brains to make it work. Let’s begin with the toolkit.
Topic Overview
According to the American Library Association, “A toolkit is a collection of authoritative and adaptable resources for front-line staff that enables them to learn about an issue and identify approaches for addressing them. In other words, toolkits can help translate theory into practice, and typically target one issue or one audience.”
YouTube has Learning Toolkits designed to help content creators optimize their channels and their businesses. For instance, they come with courses, useful downloads, exemplars, virtual training, and perks. These toolkits inside their Creator Academy are expertly crafted resources to help the user solve their own problems. And solving your own problems should be the goal of a well-designed learning toolkit.
The ATD (Association for Talent Development), offers a CLC learning toolkit for their chapter leader community. If you’ve never heard of the ATD, they are a global organization dedicated to what I call the KSB (Knowledge, Skills, Behaviors). Furthermore, they are on a mission to create a world that works better. Their members, “help others achieve their full potential by improving their knowledge, skills, and abilities in the workplace.” Their toolkit is a collection of job aids, guides, templates, and resources designed to help their chapter leaders solve their own problems.
How can companies and organizations benefit from a learning toolkit? Organized, methodical, scalable, processes create success in the training and learning department. Your training department can benefit from a toolkit, so let’s look at what should be in yours. So, let’s look at the training playbook first.
What is a Training Playbook?
A training playbook contains theory and methodology on every area needed for a complete training program. Each section of the playbook is customized to meet the needs of your organization. The playbook is a reference guide for your toolkit. It contains detailed information on the following topics:
- Culture
- Benefits of the Org’s L & D Programs
- Learning Evolution Continuum
- Learning Agility
- Roles & Responsibilities
- Training Calendar
- Planning
- Costs
- Career Pathways
- Measurement
The training playbook helps your team visualize solutions. Without a playbook, the team can easily wander off-target or worse by spending time and money on unnecessary tasks. The playbook helps your team set goals, strive for continuous improvement, and prioritize new initiatives as they emerge during a calendar year.
Once you know your playbook, you can assemble the tools you need for a dynamic Learning Toolkit.
What are the tools in the training toolkit?
A solid living training playbook requires the creation and curation of a learning toolkit. The toolkit contains the processes, strategies, and templates you need to handle any training need.
Every training need should start with analysis. The toolkit begins with a tool to analyze the training need. Once you’ve identified the need, you have to curate your content by mapping it out.
Next, you’ll need a learning strategy that outlines goals, objectives, and content needs based upon the results of analysis and mapping.
Finally, a set of templates for deliverables needs to be created. You may find the pinnacle of success and efficiency in your organization if you can list the steps needed to create a course, video, or classroom training.
Here are the essential tools for a Training/Learning Toolkit:
- Needs Analysis Tool
- Content Mapping Tool
- Learning Strategy Template
- Communication Protocols
- Course Storyboard Template
- Course Design Template
- Live Training Template
- LMS Strategy Template
- Classroom Training Template
- How to Create an Employee Learning Program – Checklist
- Asset Library Template
Above all, the tools in your toolkit are only valuable if you use them. They should be living documents that you review regularly to improve for future use. Your toolkit should be as big as you need it to be. The perfect toolkit is one that can aid you in the ideation, creation, implementation, and evaluation of your training and learning programs.
The training playbook and toolkit are only as good as the plan to use it, the people that use it, and the training calendar that governs it. Let’s look at how to work that calendar.
What is a training calendar?
A training calendar is like a blueprint for your other tools. In other words, if you plan ahead where everything will fit in a week or month, then the tools become instruments of continuous improvement.
A solid training calendar clearly delineates when training takes place and where learning is built into the calendar.
In addition, the key difference between training and learning is that training is something led by someone or consumed on-demand in a set time period, whereas learning takes place all year round. Learning can be in-person, on-demand courses, and social interactions.
The training calendar includes:
- Training programs
- Delivery methods
- Dates when training are held
- On-demand schedule
- Trainer assignments
- Dates when training will be reviewed for maintenance
As you work the training calendar, you’ll feel prepared to answer questions and respond to new training needs. The training calendar will help you manage the entire process of training including on-demand learning.
Helpful Links
The Power of the Playbook – Training Industry
Get Started Today with The Training Plan Playbook – Lessonly
What Is A Training Calendar? | Development Guide & Template
How to Plan Your Annual Training Calendar – Perillon
SAM Model Versus ADDIE Model – eLearning Industry
10 Important Steps After You Finish A Live Training Video
4 More Proven Things You Need To Make Effective Training
A Beginner’s Guide: Communities of Practice
Conclusion
The Beginner’s Guide to the Training Toolkit helps you understand what is meant by a learning or training playbook, toolkit, and calendar. As the terms learning and training get used interchangeably, it’s important to remember that training is typically time and sequence-based. Learning happens all the time.
Using a playbook and toolkit is vital to an organization’s success. Now it’s your turn!
Is your team using a playbook and toolkit? Do you need help? In other words, how will you use the playbook-toolkit-calendar trio to improve your overall business goals?
