A good trainer never fails to have Plan B prepared equally well.
Contingency planning involves two elements:-
i)Foreseeing the situations which may or may not arise.
ii)Planning before hand if things do not go ahead as planned.
Mediation training is a team work.
Once the trainers’ working time table, with minute to minute details is designed, all the trainers have to sit and discuss about contingency planning for the entire team. It is equally important to keep oneself individually prepared about contingency planning.
Some situations like the following may be considered for contingency planning:-
- What if the inaugural session takes too much of time?
- What if the closing ceremony takes the entire afternoon?
- What if the previous speaker /trainer holding the previous session takes too much of time?
- What if some key elements are not touched by the previous speaker?
- What if the role play materials are not printed and kept ready?
- What if the electricity supply fails?
- What if all the trainees do not arrive on time?
- What if one of the trainers falls sick?
- What if there is a language barrier ?
- What if a trainer does not know answers to some of the questions asked by the trainees?
Advantages:-
- It reflects professionalism.
- It gives confidence to the trainer and reduces anxiety factors.
- It helps in proper crisis management.
- It helps in achieving the ultimate objective of the training.
- Even before the crisis gets noticed by the trainees, the remedial plan starts functioning.
SUGGESTED STEPS:-
Every trainer must keep a folder in which every unforeseen situation hitherto met with is noted.
How different trainers have handled such situations may also be noted down.
Conversation with other trainers who have handled some sessions with the same group of trainees earlier may also be useful.
“In crisis management , be quick with the facts and slow with the blame”.
Leonard Saffir- Public relations Executive.
(All copyrights reserved by the author S.Susheela).
Training of Trainers in Mediation 