Do you book training for PSWs, but rarely attend the sessions yourself? You’re not alone! It may seem like a waste of time going to a workshop that isn’t related to your day-to-day responsibilities, but what if attending even a few training sessions with your support staff could snag you lots of benefits?
Being there with your PSWs gives you the opportunity to:
And finally if you do attend a workshop with your staff:
Being there with your PSWs gives you the opportunity to:
- experience the workshop content first-hand, making it easier for you to identify specific techniques, skills or approaches you’ll want to reinforce with your staff after the session.
- clarify agency policy and procedures. Capacity Builders’ trainers will often discuss agency policy with you in advance of the session, but your deep organizational knowledge is invaluable for ‘in the moment’ learning and to identify potential barriers to implementing new learning.
- connect face-to-face with your support staff and communicate your organization’s commitment to ongoing development and, most important of all, to express to PSWs their value to the agency.
And finally if you do attend a workshop with your staff:
- talk to your trainer ahead of time and discuss your role in the workshop.
- be present and fully engaged - if you pop in and out of the room, or if your attention is focused on your laptop, you’ll likely be a distraction and risk sending the message that the session is not that important. If you’re engaged it’s much more likely your people will be engaged as well, and that means better quality learning for everyone!
