Training and Coaching
The Perl Shop offers both classic training as well as individualized coaching in Perl and related technologies. You’re probably already familiar with how training works, so here is a table comparing it to coaching:
| Training | Coaching | |
|---|---|---|
| Setting | Group | One-on-one |
| Format | Lecture | Hands-on |
| Duration | A few days to a week | A few weeks to a month |
| Disruption | Moderate | Minimal |
| Syllabus | One size fits all | Individualized |
| Scope | One skill at a time | Multiple skills |
Tell us about your training or coaching needs.
Coaching
Although training has been the tried-and-true approach to increasing the knowledge of a development team, we feel that coaching is a superior approach.
Training has its limitations. Training is a “broadcast” approach where your whole team gets the same information. It’s a great fit if you want to introduce a new skill (Moose, modern Perl testing techniques, etc.) to a whole team that is unfamiliar with it. But teams tend to be heterogeneous, where only a few members need help with the new skill.
Training tends to be disruptive. Every team is busy and under the gun to meet release deadlines, and training means setting aside hours or days to have your developers learn in a classroom-like setting.
Training is narrowly focused. It works best when it is limited to a specific skill, allowing some time between sessions for the students to practice the new skill. Yet to elevate a team to the next level usually involves training on multiple skills and techniques. That means a complete training program can be quite lengthy.
In contrast, coaching works by having one of our coaches work alongside one of your developers for a few hours per day in a peer-coding setting, working on that developer’s assigned work. The skills the coach imparts are customized to what the manager wants and what that individual developer needs. They can encompass technology skills (new modules), best practices, techniques (test driven development), and adhering to your coding standards.
Because your developer continues working on their assigned work during the coaching session, it is minimally disruptive to your development schedule. This hands-on approach can also be a more effective way of learning compared to a lecture.
We use coaching extensively when adding new members to our team, and we highly recommend our clients practice it internally if they have suitable resources (senior developers with the time, willingness, and communication skills).
If you are ready to make the switch to coaching to elevate the performance of your team, contact us.
We still recommend training as a cost effective way to increase a team’s familiarity with a new skill and can help you with your training needs, but find there are far fewer situations where it is the recommended approach.