EFFECTIVE OUTBOUND TRAINING

      Outbound training as a medium of training has been gathering momentum for the last 2-3 years. Organizational personnel who get a whiff of it being conducted by the organizations , strive to be included among the participants and kick up dust , if not included.
        The question that arises is " Why the interest in outbound training while it takes wild horses to pull them to other training programmes".
         Is it because the participants sense an enjoyable holiday in the hills during summer or is there something more to it ?
         On the trainer's side , there are some who utilize the external environment for creating simulations in order to enable learning while there are others who leave the participants at a distance from camp , ask them to trek to the camp and thereafter call it experiential learning.
          Outbound training as a process of learning has immense potential , provided we are able to tap it. The outbound training environment is rich in uncertainty and change , thus being a better simulator of the actual work environment as compared to a class - room which operates under controlled conditions.

FOCUS OF OUTBOUND TRAINING  :

       Most of the current outbound training programmes are focussed on " BUILDING HIGH PERFORMING TEAMS". However , some organizations have experimented with this training methodology for programmes on LEADING CHANGE , LEADERSHIP AND CREATIVITY.
              The excitement associated with outbound training programmes reflects some sort of need satisfaction of participants . The drawback of class room workshops is that most of the learning is conceptual , while in outbound training programmes , experiential learning occurs.
     Additionally , learning is directly linked to a recent team or individual action , which increases the fun of learning. This shift in mental patterns of participants from " LEARNING IS BORING" to " LEARNING IS FUN" is the root cause of their willingness to attend such programmes. Says the head of H.R of a leading multinational ," I have 100 nominations for an outbound training programme " .

    THE LEARNING PROCESS :
             For experiential learning to happen , the team or individual experience has to be followed up by observations sharing , reflections and analysis.

 
       In order to catalyse experiential learning , a formal review has to be conducted by the facilitator , after every major experience or exercise. Facilitation triggers have to be used to extract learning principles and practices.
           A  facilitation trigger is given below :
1. When and where did you see lack of alignment in the team ?
2. What team process would have insured team alignment at that stage ?
3. Has it improved team performance ?
           Synthesis of these querries , in the form of the principles , processes and skills has to be consolidated by the participants on worksheets,designed for the purpose. This catalyses the perception building and internalization of learning.

         The process of competence development is given below :

 
                  After the onset of  the outbound training wave , a clutch of outdoor organizations have jumped on the out - bound training bandwagon. These organizations lack the skills and processes which enable learning after an interesting experience and most of the time , the outbound training programme remains an interesting experience without any learning.
              In the words of the head of R & D of an organization "A" , " The outbound training was a lovely experience. We trekked the entire day and reached a place just under the waterfall. There , lying on our backs only the falling water and sky was visible. It was beautiful ". This statement indicates a lovely experience but the amount of competence development which has occurred is a very big question mark , especially if there is no skill or process change visible at the work place.
                This is perhaps happening at the end of most of the outbound training sessions happening now - a -days. The biggest fallacy is the programme feedback at the end of such sessions. Since , the participants have enjoyed themselves , their rating of the programme is excellent. Consequently , the H.R organizers are happy , the trainer is happy and the people to whom the subsequent presentations are made are also happy. Everybody is happy about the programme except the sad and neglected "OBJECTIVE " of the programme.

DESIGN OF THE OUTBOUND PROGRAMME  :
     The design of the exercises in the outbound programme should revolve around the real life characteristics of the work place. These exercises need to be firmly distinguished from , "SPORTS", in as much as , that in sports everybody starts equal but that is not so in real life. Therefore , in these exercises we need to have teams striving towards the same objective with :
  1. Unequal resources
  2. Rapid change in information availability.
  3. Risk
  4. uncertainty
  5. Wrong information
         The outbound environment is excellent for building these characteristics into the team exercises.
         The subsequent reviews enable the extraction of principles and processes which can be transferred to the work place.
           The current outbound training programmes which focus on trekking ,rappling , mountain climbing,river crossing etc. without a focus on extraction of learning and its subsequent transfer to the workplace may not be useful.