1. Why - Explain to your team the reason you are holding a particular type of training and why you are involving each team member. These reasons could be things such as

• being part of your employee's long-term development and career-path planning
• the need to develop new skills in a changing industry, or
• developing a key competency that you feel your team as a whole or some individuals are lacking.

2. How - Explain exactly what the training will involve. Here, you should address such issues as

• the content of the training
• the time, date and location
• the duration - will it be a one-time seminar or will it require a long-term commitment?
• the level of work involved.

3. Rewards - If you are asking your employees to make significant investments of both time and effort in the training you provide, you should show them what reward that effort will bring them. If the skills the training will produce are the sole reward, make this clear to your trainees. However, if completing a specified training course will make an employee eligible for a promotion, establish and communicate this. I have also trained at organisations that use training as a way of assessing which employees received bonuses and increases in salary. One organisation directly tied its bonus and training schemes together. This meant that the employees who attended every training session and made the effort to prepare and participate in each class, got a higher bonus. This worked as a great way to motivate employees to stay committed to the training. If this is the case at your organisation, make sure you tell you employees exactly what they need to do to be eligible for this opportunity.

What your employees must do for their employer?

Amidst the seemingly endless discussion of China's war for talent and spiralling turnover, on the occasions we have discussed benefits and training in NHR, the focus has tended to be on the employee not the employer. However, even though developing and retaining talented employees is a huge concern for all of us, we should not forget the other side of the equation. After all, it is the employer who pays for the training. You should, therefore, expect to see results. What should you include in your training contract to ensure that you see results?

Commitment - The first issue you must clarify is the commitment you expect from your trainees. This begins with basic factors such as attendance and participation, but can extend to other important issues, like preparation. Here are two examples of how you can go about this.

• One multinational at which I trained had a long-term plan featuring business-English training every week for almost six months, which they were offering their staff as an added benefit. As the organisation had made a large financial investment and had spent many months planning the training, the HR department was keen to ensure that its employees displayed a similar level of commitment. It measured this by looking at the trainees' attendance levels. Therefore, they reviewed the trainees every 10 weeks. If a trainee's attendance dropped below 70%, they were removed from the course and lost the opportunity to enjoy such training in the future.

• The HR at a different organisation focused more on the trainees' attitude and application. They were keen to see the trainees putting in the effort not just in the training room, but outside as well by preparing thoroughly and completing coursework. To evaluate this, they interviewed the trainees every five weeks and asked the trainer for homework marks and feedback on performance. If they felt the trainees dropped below the required standard, the trainees would no longer be eligible for the training in the future.

Repercussions - If you offer rewards to trainees who successfully complete their training, you should also think about the flip-side to this. What happens if your employees fail to show the requisite energy and commitment? Employees like this are wasting valuable time and money. Here are a few options to help prevent this: First, we have a rather simplistic approach. Inform the trainees that if they fail to attend or adequately prepare, they will fail the training and forfeit the fantastic opportunity you are providing them with. The next approach is to deal with the rewards we discussed earlier. Make it clear that if the training on offer could lead to promotion or an increase in salary, your employees will not be eligible if they do not match your organisation's commitment to the training.

I saw a final, slightly more extreme example at one organisation for which I delivered Business English training. The HR department there made it clear to employees that if they maintained good attendance and participation, the training would be free of charge. However, if the trainees failed to do this, they would take some of the financial responsibility.