Our Mission |
Our mission is to enhance the value of training our clients receive by providing the highest levels of innovative training techniques, customer service and expertise to the clients we have the privilege of serving.
DeWolf and Associates provides training courses for those who are assigned to train and evaluate the new probationary officer and those who are directly involved in the administration, implementation and managing Field Training Programs. We have pioneered numerous innovations in the Field Training process and we will continue to focus on the training challenges that lie ahead – always with our client’s success in mind. |
Our Philosphy |
Trainers have been entrusted with the responsibility of building their department of the future through the recruits we train. The training officer must embrace a training philosophy that ensures that every recruit officer is given the maximum opportunity to demonstrate that he or she can perform the job at a solo officer level. To accomplish this task, we must create a positive environment where learning is maximized through our training philosophies.
Philosophy 1: Build to Win To enable the recruit officer to succeed, the training officer should promote modest wins along the path of learning. This system will build self confidence and self esteem in the trainee. Philosophy 2: No Surprises, No Secrets Trainers will tell the recruit at the beginning of the program what good performance looks like, how it is achieved, how the recruit will succeed in the program, how they will fail and what type of behavior is expected of them. The trainer will never lie or deceive the recruit. The recruit may not like to hear what the trainer is saying, but the recruit will always know they are being told the truth! Philosophy 3: Mistakes are Expected | Mistakes are Accepted Anyone who is beginning to learn a new job/task will make mistakes. It is part of the learning process. In this philosophy, it is understood that mistakes will occur. It is the job of the trainer to correct those mistakes so the recruit can learn from them. Therefore, the recruit must know that mistakes will happen and it is OK if they occur. Mistakes are accepted in the learning process. Be busy. Do not worry about making a mistake. The trainer is there to make sure the recruit does not open themselves or the agency to liability. Philosophy 4: Promote Small Wins Trainers will never wait until the task is completed totally correct by the recruit to give positive feedback. The recruit needs to know along the path of perfection how the recruit is performing at any given time. If progress is being made by the recruit, then acknowledging the approximately right will go a long way to build confidence, commitment and self esteem. Totally right is made up of many approximately rights. Philosophy 5: Listening Means Hearing It is difficult to do all the talking and remain smart. There are times that the recruit must listen to what the trainer is saying. The trainer will not know if the recruit has heard and understood the subject until the recruit has demonstrated the task to the trainer. Feedback makes us smarter. Philosophy 6: Constant Learning Means Constant Improvement Trainers will constantly be teaching and training their recruits even when the trainer does not think training is taking place. That’s really the trainer’s primary role; to teach and train. As the trainer teaches, the recruit needs to learn. The training process is not a long period of time for the recruit to obtain all the necessary information to properly perform this job. Therefore, the recruit may need extra training assignments, reading materials and other work to help them perform better on the job. It is the job of the trainer to teach as much as they can and the job of the recruit to learn and remember as much and as fast as they can in order to perform professionally in the workplace. Philosophy 7: Learning should be FUN No one likes the idea of going to or listening to someone where the environment is boring, stagnate or repressive. If you like to be where you are, you will obtain more out of it. The same process applies to teaching. If the recruit likes to be with the trainer, then more information will pass between them and more learning will take place. Having fun at learning will fight stress, enhance the process of learning and ultimately, the recruit will retain more of the information. Philosophy 8: No Mistakes, Only Lessons Since the recruit is expected to make mistakes and they are accepted, then really these mistakes are only lessons that need to be learned by the recruit. The trainer now knows what areas need to be reviewed and demonstrated so the recruit can have a positive learning environment. |
DeWolf and Associates are proud to share these eight training philosophies with you. However, in order to accomplish these philosophies, the trainer needs to be dedicated and patient. Your feeling of accomplishment will come in watching your recruit succeed. If you fully carry out your responsibility as a trainer, you will see many of them exceed your own accomplishments.