The importance of the Training Hall in Training
– by Nirmala Mondal
The Training hall plays a vital role in the success of every program. If your training hall has all the facilities in place, the learning experience will always be good. So concentrate on preparing the hall for an excellent learning and participation. Check the hall well in advance and ensure for yourself whether the following arrangements are available or not.
Visit the facility before the start of the training to check that the room is equipped to host the training. So what are the most important things to consider when checking out the training hall?
The Participants: The room setup will always depend upon the learning objectives.
Analyse how many participants are attending. A small group of up to 20 -25 participants will facilitate good engagement and interaction between the trainer and group, helping better learning. Whether participants will have the best experience in one team, with different people or a mixture of both also needs to be understood depending on the kind of training. Is individual reflection required?
Your goal: To get entire group to work better as a team and excel at work.
The Location
The location should be easy to find out and to reach. If it is an outbound program, travel arrangement for staff is very important. Or if the training is at a different venue other than the office, it is important to verify whether parking is available or not. Ensure that facilities like the rest room, lunch facilities; smoking zone, etc is nearby for easy access and return. You don’t want your participants returning late to the training hall and missing the learning in the process.
The Structure & Facilities
The training room size should be appropriate for the number of participants, well ventilated and spacious to hold activities without it being too cramped, hot and stuffy.
A very large room will tend to echo and may distract the participants. While windows are important for good ventilation, they may need to be draped to avoid the projector screen from looking washed out. Electrical plug points, mike & sound systems, AV facilities, internet connections need to be checked prior to the training to ensure a smooth training program without any disturbance. Facilities should also include provision of water and cups for the participants.
Sometimes temporary walls in conference rooms of hotels are paper thin and the participants may have difficulty in hearing with the noises from the adjacent rooms. It is important to check the availability of tables. Sometimes you may have to make do with rectangular tables where you want round tables in a cluster arrangement. Sometimes the conference room has a board room setting, which makes it a constraint for group activities. Comfortable chairs are a must with adjustable arms to relieve fatigue
Dimly lit rooms may make the participants sleepy. Check whether the sound is clear and reaches end seated participants. It is better to invest in your collar mike and infra red pointer for a good presentation. Ensure that room has adequate space to hang a flip chart or white board, have space for walking around the participants. Sometimes, writing materials don’t work like white board pens. Ensure that there are new pens for every session in different colours to highlight important points
All this ensures that the well prepared trainer will definitely have a class of participants that will learn better when the room is well equipped too.
