What is external training?
External training is training provided from outside the electoral manager's office or staff using
external consultants, specialists or organisations. There are many different types and these
include:
- information exchange with other national or international electoral managers;
- secondment of staff into or out of the electoral manager's office;
- using consultants or external electoral staff to undertake training either on- or off-site;
- sending staff to external training courses;
- training through membership of external organisations or associations;
- organising meetings of groups of other electoral managers faced with the same issues.
Internal training is very important but an external training process can add interest, give a greater
breadth of experience and working practices, and give better opportunities for discussion with
other people facing the same problems. The options are now examined in more detail.
Information Exchange
There is no point in six people all worrying about the same issues. Very few electoral problems
are unique. Exchange of good practice examples and how to approach problems is an excellent
and inexpensive way of external training. Electoral managers groups or associations have been
formed in many countries and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) can
supply lists of contacts worldwide. In the United Kingdom (GB) the Association of Electoral
Administrators is an organisation formed and run by electoral managers, which as one of its core
objectives acts as an exchange of information and good practice group. Electoral managers meet
at the regional and national level to look at electoral issues, to learn from one another and to
prepare common solutions to anticipated problems. This type of meeting works very well in the
run up to major electoral events. The only cost involved is travel. This common discussion of a
problem enables it to be raised with the appropriate authority at the national or local level, on
behalf of a group of electoral managers. These organisations publish newsletters so information
can be exchanged at even less cost. Regional meetings can also be the venue for specific training
activities involving external sources. For example, where new automation systems are being
introduced, specialist suppliers attend meetings and undertake training; where there are
particularly difficult legal issues, specialist legal advisers can attend and present their views.
Again, this is a simple and cost effective way of external training.
Secondment of Staff
Nothing is new, so the easy way to train is to copy that which someone else has already done. It
is very easy on a national basis to arrange for staff to visit another electoral manager and work in
that office for a week or so to see how problems are solved. This type of visit can often be
arranged among electoral manager associations. Slightly more difficult is asking someone from
another office to help with explanation and training of new processes. Increasingly secondments
and visits are taking place on an international basis. Good ideas are rapidly being transferred
around the world. Exchange visits benefit both parties - the person visiting another electoral
manager's office will bring new ideas and different approaches and thus the office being visited
will have the benefit of a different perspective. Whilst travel costs can be high, there is an
increasing international interest in forming links with communities in different countries. Good
ideas travel well and exchange visits and secondments are another relatively low cost way of
getting many new ideas.
Consultants and External Trainers
Where there are specific training needs requiring specialist skills or experience, use of
consultants or external electoral staff is worthwhile. This type of training is likely to be more
costly but much can be undertaken in one day. One disadvantage of internal training is that the
staff are often very familiar with the person undertaking the training and it is less of an 'event'
than involving an external person. External training can be concentrated on a particular area,
such as computer skills, or look at a particular part of the process, such as training for poll
workers.
External consultants may not be familiar with the values and objectives of the electoral
organisation but this situation can be overcome with adequate briefings. One advantage they
have is that they can take an external and sometimes more objective view of an issue. They do
not need to 'defend' the process and may be able to identify weaknesses which are not apparent
to internal staff. Consultants also have the advantage that they are able to specialise in a narrow
field of activity, whereas most permanent electoral staff have to cover a wide topic and skill area.
For example, specialist lawyers can be engaged to give training in legal issues or how to prepare
for legal processes, public relations consultants can train in public relations skills, and
automation specialists can train in automated processes.
Training Courses and Events
In many countries the need for organised external training courses has been recognised and there
is a thriving commercial market in providing these services. In the United Kingdom (UK) a
variety of organisations, ranging from electoral managers groups to commercial training agencies
to local government employers` associations, offer courses ranging from 1 day to one week,
where electoral specialists are engaged to explain and train people in a variety of electoral
processes. These training opportunities are also provided at annual seminars of electoral officers
associations. Similar arrangements exist in the United Sates of America and there are then
international conferences and training sessions held where there are common interests. The
Trilateral Conference on Electoral Systems organised by the International Foundation for
Electoral Systems and involving delegates from Canada, the United States of America and
Mexico is a good example. There are exchanges of good practice and detailed presentations on a
variety of electoral problems and issues which are relevant to all three countries.
Specialist Publications.
These can provide detailed guidance on electoral law and practice. They tend to be specific to
particular countries, as much of the content is related to a particular national law. The Election
Administration Reports 20 is a United States of America (US) publication which is
circulated every two weeks and contains election related news articles, updates on legislation,
news from around the USA and abroad, and examples of innovative election ideas. These
publications are an excellent way for the electoral manager to keep up to date at minimum cost
and without having to undertake a lot of research, travel and information gathering.
Costs
Sending staff to external training courses can be expensive but often not as costly as a major
error caused by lack of training. Electoral work is frequently repetitive and any visit to any other
electoral manager is likely to result in some good ideas and increased consistency of practice. It
is very easy to exchange information by transfer of a hard copy of some material, by telephone,
by fax or by the Internet. A great deal of information can be obtained without moving away from
an office and without any cost simply by contacting other electoral managers and associations.
The higher basic level of knowledge the less training has to be undertaken and the quicker this
knowledge will be assimilated.
Training temporary staff in specific tasks is a major undertaking. Preparing quality manuals,
preferably with graphics, and arranging briefings with simulation of processes will cover much
of the basic work at minimal cost, particularly if organised on a cascade basis (see Internal Training Opportunities).
Review
As with all processes, external training needs to be continually reviewed. There is no point in
waiting until the end of the programme before taking action, if it is not achieving the desired
result. Feedback from training sessions should be continuous with an evaluation process for each
session or section.
An evaluation form tailored to the training sessions should be prepared. Standard questions
should be aimed at finding out whether the written and visual material were easily understood, if
the session increased knowledge of the key processes, if anything could have been done better,
how easy it was to understand the trainer, if the sessions were too long, what should have been
dealt with in more detail, what could have been dealt with in less detail, if the session enjoyable,
if the venue was of the right standard, and so on.
