How to Coach Yourself and Others How To Perform On The Job Coaching | Page 50

Briefing the Trainee
Prior to conducting a performance test, the coach should provide the trainee with an overview of the
performance testing process and explicit instructions regarding the task to be tested. That is, the
coach should provide clear and complete instructions as to what the trainee is/is not allowed to do
and explain under what circumstances he/she will stop the trainee (such as danger to personnel or
equipment).
The coach should review the evaluation standard with the trainee and explain the standards of
acceptable performance. The coach should tell the trainee that any answer or action that would
place personnel, the facility, or system in danger is an immediate failure of the performance test
regardless of the acceptability of other responses.
Conducting the Performance Test
A performance test is not an instructional process. Its purpose is to evaluate the trainee's skills and
knowledge. The coach should not coach or prompt the trainee by giving hints, by asking leading
questions, or by his/her actions. If a task requires the trainee to go to a location, the coach should
not lead the way. If the evaluation standard references a procedure, that procedure should be
available to the trainee during the test but should not be handed to the trainee by the coach. Part of
the performance test is to assess the trainee's use of procedures and understanding of their
importance.
With most tasks, the coach should be able to determine if the trainee is performing the task correctly
by observing and comparing the trainee's actions to the evaluation standard and the procedure. The
coach should evaluate the trainee’s ability to:
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Obtain the needed reference material and tools without difficulty
Use the references and tools correctly and in the proper sequence
Observe applicable facility safety rules when performing the task
Manipulate the equipment in a deliberate and timely manner
Recognize equipment status (such as, does he/she recognize when a valve is open or a
pump is running).

Usually it is not enough for employees to only possess the skills to operate a tool, a component, or a
system. Knowledge of the underlying theory/principles of operation, interactions with other
systems, and actions if the equipment or system doesn't operate properly should also be required. To
assess a trainee’s knowledge, the coach must ask questions to verify understanding of the task;
however, the coach should not ask questions to distract the trainee. All questions asked during a
performance test should be related to the task's terminal and enabling learning objectives, starting
with the easier questions. This technique tends to build confidence and puts the trainee at ease. The
coach may then progress to more thought-provoking questions. The coach may also ask the trainee
to "talk through" the task as he/she performs it. This technique reduces the number of questions the
coach needs to ask and allows the coach to stop the trainee before he/she makes a serious mistake.
The questions used may be written in the evaluation standard (preferred method) or generated by
the coach during the performance test. Approved questions may be maintained in a question and
answer bank and inserted into the evaluation standard prior to conducting a performance test.
Benefits of developing written questions for the coach to ask as a part of the performance test
include standardizing the knowledge assessment portion and minimizing the diversion of the
coach’s attention from the trainee's answer (the coach may be thinking about what to ask next while
the trainee is answering the current question). Wrong responses may then go unnoticed, thus
reinforcing in the trainee's mind that what he/she said was correct when, in fact, it was not. The
questions ask ed during the performance test should test understanding and judgment as well as
factual knowledge.

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