The Non Technical Skills Conundrum: Can you give people better non technical skills?

In the light of evidence from accident investigations and operational irregularities which highlighted that many of them had poor decision making, ineffective team work and inaccurate communications at their heart, Network... [ view full abstract ]

In the light of evidence from accident investigations and operational irregularities which highlighted that many of them had poor decision making, ineffective team work and inaccurate communications at their heart, Network Rail, like many other safety critical industries, embarked upon a programme to improve non technical skills amongst its front line operatives, starting with signallers and then expanding to other frontline operational roles such as controllers and electrical control in addition to those who work on the track. In keeping with good practice, this started, in most cases, with a non technical skills assessment process which turned out to be the easy part. Evolving non technical skills beyond assessment presented a number of challenges all to do with how make assessment meaningful and how you develop expertise in non technical skills:

• How do you sell the concept of non technical skills, particularly when the very name they have acquired states what they are not and doesn’t clarify what they really are?

• What’s the best way to develop expertise in non technical skills particularly in an environment where ”keeping the job going “ is the top priority second only to meeting budget targets?

• How do people learn to change their non technical skills: is it critical to understand the underlying psychology of non technical skills?

• How do you embed non technical skills such that it is not seen as an optional extra?

This paper explores some of these questions in more detail and the lessons learned by Network Rail. Specifically it will outline the range of development solutions offered to frontline roles: from integration into existing safety briefing, initial and refresher training days to e-learning modules and self learning. While many of Network Rail’s non technical skills initiatives are still being implemented, and formal evaluations have still to be undertaken, lessons and improvements are continually emerging: the importance of training in a practical context, the need to invest in “selling” the concept of non technical skills, the pivotal role of the line manager, improving line manager skills and making the theory of non technical skills meaningful to the frontline operative.