Once you have established specific goals, ongoing coaching is essential to developing your employees.  Enterprise [the car rental company] uses a coaching method known as SOS, which stands for "show, observe, and shape."  

• Show employees how to perform a task while explaining the steps required to complete it.
• Observe employees as they perform the task.
• Shape performance by providing feedback, additional resources, or opportunities to improve their skills.

-Kirk Kazanjian, Driving Loyalty

When you read the above tip, you might find yourself saying, "well, of course.  That's all so obvious."  But that's the beauty of the SOS concept - it is simple, but very powerful.  And with only three steps, it's amazing how often companies that believe they are providing their employees with excellent training fail at one or more of the components.  And no matter what, we could always strive to improve on any of these steps.  Consider these questions:

1. When I show my employees how to do a task, am I doing so in a truly clear and educational manner?  This is one area that can almost always be enhanced.  For example, if you already have excellent hands-on training for your employees, consider video taping/recording this training so the employee will have it for later reference.  Integrating a hands-on training with an audio/visual recap also helps you reach employees of all the different learning modes most effectively.
2. When I observe my employees completing the task, am I doing so in a variety of situations?  For example, observing someone completing the same task during a "slow" period, an "average" period, and a "busy" period will tell you a lot more than doing it one single time.  If the employee is customer-facing, you should also try and observe him or her completing the task when interacting with a variety of customers.
3. When I shape performance by providing feedback, am I doing so in the most advantageous way?  Am I doing it in a timely manner?  (Feedback is most effective when provided as close as possible to the observed activity)  Am I providing the feedback positively?  Am I discussing with my employee multiple ways to improve his/her skills?

ProSolutions can help you with all three steps of the above, from training to observation to feedback.   We can complete the steps for you, or train you and your managers how to accomplish them most effectively yourselves.  To learn more about these and other services we offer, visit the below: