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How to Design a Balanced Train-the-Trainer Program
You need to plan a Train-the-Trainer session for a number of Trainers to facilitate a large program rollout.
Not only do they need to understand the content they'll be training, but they need to be proficient Trainers as
well. What do you consider in planning for the Trainers so that they do the job right and your Train-the-Trainer
session is more successful?
There is no absolute formula to determining what is needed for a Train-the-Trainer session. Each training
need is unique to its environment and circumstance. However, investing time in planning will always make for
success during the training rollout.
When planning a Train-the-Trainer session,
take into consideration the following factors:
Your Audience - Training Trainers usually implies that the audience will be educated, seasoned
and familiar with a learning environment. However, depending on the topic, you may have more "Subject
Matter Experts" than experienced Trainers. Therefore, it is important to know the training skill level of your
audience. If you have a group of Trainers with a varying level of facilitation experience, consider a modulated
approach, with a basic training skills module for those who are not seasoned Trainers.
Learning Objectives - It important to determine the curricular knowledge that the Trainers need
to acquire, as well as the behaviors they need to elicit. When the importance of either category is
understood, you may need to allocate more or less emphasis on each to ensure the knowledge and behaviors
are understood and acquired.
Course Content - If the Trainers have limited knowledge of the curriculum, provide more time in
the area of content familiarization. In addition, if there is a specific method by which the training needs to be
marketed to the trainees, provide a modeled example for the Trainers to mimic when they meet directly
with the trainees for the first time.
Behaviors - Provide sufficient time in your Train-the-Trainer session for activities that will allow
participants to elicit desired behaviors. Time-related factors will be determinant on whether you
use smaller activities throughout the session, or a series of "teach backs" towards the end of the session.
The more practice the Trainers have, the more successful they will likely be in their training sessions.
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