VENDED TRAINING

Introduction

The presence of SARS-CoV2 changes a lot of the assumptions PVMs and other trainers have made about training as a vended service. This list of questions and paragraphs of explanation and recommendation strives to help vendors and trainers put a new set of practices in places. Those new and evolving practices replace or adjust the assumptions changed in this pandemic world. 

This article is a structured as a pair of interrelated decision/question trees. The intention is that these decision/question trees are addressed BEFORE trainings are requested by clients.  The questions are some of the prep work to determine if and how if you can have the conversation with a client about training.

The first section is primarily questions to be answered inside your organization.  They address the what, how, when and where topics Vendors will likely need to understand to sell a training to a client. The second set of questions are specific to the locations where trainings take place.  The answers in the second question tree are answered by you and the client.  The answers to the second set will impact the answers in the first set. For example, one jurisdiction may have different requirements for group size which were not part of your planning in part one.  This might require a change in your organization’s assumptions about how or if to conduct a specific training.

This is a Pandora Playlist if you will.  It is the compilation of a lot of ideas, comments and questions asked in the ACCT-API Think Tanks and the various API Huddles from early April to early May 2020.    Like all playlist, this has some great stuff and some bad stuff. This is not a definitive list. Together, it works to get you through the day.  Thank you to all who have been part of the Huddles and Think Tanks.  This list will change as vendors and clients learn and adapt to this new version of normal.  Your feedback is required for revisions to be meaningful.

ONWARD and Be Safe Out There.

Before you Begin

To make good decisions you will need some reference information.  Take a careful look at these before starting out.

OSHA 3990  Resources for employers

CDC Information for Employers https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/organizations/businesses-employers.html

ACCT Covid Resource page https://www.acctinfo.org/general/custom.asp?page=coronavirus

Decision Tree #1 Tasks to do when waiting to reopen

What must be taught?

In each training, what are the absolutely essential skills to teach?  If you only had the ability to deliver ten topics what would they be? This list of skills can be the test list for ideas about maintaining social distancing and other requirements in your training. Once this list is developed, other learning objectives can be addressed.

What topics can be taught with Social Distancing and not affect the teaching method or the student outcomes?

Make a list.  This is a creative exercise of revisioning what trainers have always done.  This is a great chance to examine if there are more effective teaching tactics which keep people physically distant.

How to teach that which cannot be taught face to face now?

For the tasks that can not be taught at a distance, how do you protect staff and participants from virus transmission.  What are those skills?  What precautions or briefings need to be put into the teaching practice?  Can the risk be addressed through acknowledgement and mutual agreement? 

What do you abandon?

Are there skills you have taught or activities you have used in the past that simply are not worth the risk and need to be abandoned.  What do they get replaced with if they are replaced?

What subjects do you add?

It is possible that some training in living in the new COVID-19 world will need to be part of training. How would that get added?  What would the source material be for that training?  What documentation would be needed?

Will training get longer because of new requirements?

How will new protocols affect how long each training day is?  Will the new practices make teaching take longer?

Facilities

Whenever trainings are conducted, there are certain things needed at each location.  Most vendors have a list they provide to clients detailing what is needed.  That list may need adjustment.

Hand washing

What hand cleaning will you require when you are doing a training? This is separate from what authorities may require.  How close to the training site will you require the hand washing area?  Will the training site need to have running water?

Cleaning supplies

What cleaning supplies will you proved, what will the client provide?  How will you and the client each address cleaning of course and equipment at the start of the training, each day, and at the end of the training?

Participant PPE

Who will provide PPE (masks, gloves, eye cover) for the participants?  How much will be required for each participant?

Training Equipment

What training equipment will you provide and how will it be cleaned?  Will the client need to provide a place to clean gear and dry gear?  Will the staff travel with more or less gear? 

Health Check

When and if you will do a health check of participants? Will it be recorded or will it simply be like the shoe check each day?  “Great Jill, you have closed toed shoes and forehead temp of less than XX.XX temp.  You can come to training today.”  If the site already does temperature checks will you do another?  How will you health check your trainers and will you document that check?  If you document it, how?

Skills Assessment

In what way will your skills assessment during training change?

What are the risks in those skill assessments and how do you manage this? 

Protocols

Travel

How will trainers travel?  How will your old practices need to be changed? This could be a significant part of keeping the staff healthy. 

Where will your staff stay while conducting a client training?  Will you ask them to limit certain behaviors while on the training?  

Where will staff stay and eat while traveling? 

What happens to the timing of training because of the new protocols for site and individual training?

Gear Cleaning?

How will gear be cleaned between trainings? How will the cleaning be document?

On Site Decisions

How will staff address on the spot needs and sudden unexpected conditions?  What shall staff do if site and company protocols are at odds?

COVID-19 TESTING

When, if and how much do you test trainers? Do you insist on participant testing?

Documentation Requirements

Special Operational Procedures

What if any changes to LOCAL OPERATIONS PROCEDURES?  Will you create SOPs specifically for Pandemic trainings? Will you ask or require clients to make changes to their LOPs?

Training OPS and policies

What training policies do you need to put in place for trainers and how can those be adjusted for more or less restrictive jurisdictions?

Health Practices

How will you document the health practices you put in place?

How do you communicate this to the client?

Contract

What changes to contracts

Expectations

What will you help groups understand before you arrive to assure their expectations are meet and are not unreasonable? 

Being nimble

How will your trainers adjust as conditions change on the ground?

Client Communication

All the changes will require careful planning, coordination and communication with clients.  The tone, manor and content of that communication will be an important part of assuring the client you are going to take care of their people.  It is also part of assuring clients that trainers are not the virus vector that will close their camp or program.

How are the new practices being communicated?  What is being communicated.

Facilities requirements?  Hand washings stations on the work site.

What disclosures and acknowledgements can be put in place for participants?

What changes to releases and waivers need to be made?

What are the location questions? 

What are the local concerns?  Is the training location in a hot spot and likely to make future trainings problematic?

What are the specific AHJ requirements for the training location?

What are the requirements along the travel routes?

Staffing and Travel

Can trainers limit the amount of time on mass transit?  Regional inspection or training.

What can be learning from build installation and what is essential?

How do you keep track of local guidelines?

Decision Tree #2 Tasks to ask about a specific training.

Is it Legal?

In the jurisdiction you will be providing the service, is your service legal?

• State/Province
• County
• City
• Land Owner: Some land owners will be under a different set of rules.  For example a city or county park system may have a different set of rules than the city or county they are part of.
• What are the Jurisdictional Requirements for the kind of work you are doing?
• Can Staff travel there?

Is it Safe?

Can staff safely do the work and not put themselves or you at significant risk of virus transmission?

• Staff Safe
• What protocols
• Tools
• Policies
• Can we get PPE
• Participants Safe
• Local distancing guidelines

Practical (sniff test)

Can we afford the cost of the new procedures?

Can the client afford the training with the new requirements?

Sniff test This is the final test.  Sniff this new thing and see if it stinks.  If it does, run away.