R e

R e-adjustment

Step 6 in the SPIDER model:

Training Re-adjustment
Given the information derived from documentation and evaluation, training initiatives are fine-tuned and the cycle continues. We have found that regular meetings where the training plan is reviewed can be very helpful in determining how a plan may need to be re-adjusted. Some good questions for a meeting are:

What are the behavioral goals? What goals have we achieved? What goals have not been achieved?	What has been key to the successes that have been achieved?
	Some projects are very work intensive on the staff or require a lot of resources. Is this particular initiative worth the investment in terms of benefits to the animal?
Are there any roadblocks to success?
	re there any safety concerns associated with a particular training initiative?
Based on a review of the plan and an evaluation of trends in the data, is it necessary to re-adjust our plan in any way?

The result of using this framework is a program that is proactive and holistic. The process is cyclical, facilitates sustainability over time, and allows the program to evolve. This framework can work for any institution, regardless of size, but the specific methods of how a particular element is achieved many differ from institution to institution.
Many zoos and aquariums contract with consultants to facilitate integration of husbandry training into their institutions. The training framework presented here can be a useful tool to assist zoo and aquarium directors in determining where their programs are in most need of assistance. The framework can serve as a "needs assessment" to make the best use of a consultant’s expertise. For example, with a framework in place, the consultant would not create techniques to reduce pacing in bears, but instead train staff to develop their own ideas to reduce pacing using their collective knowledge of natural history, individual history, and management constraints. The solution might include a combination of enrichment, husbandry training, and/or husbandry routine changes. Most importantly, the framework provides a foundation within which the consultant can work; the framework is a process that assures the consultant’s efforts will be sustained over time and that the cost of bringing in a consultant is money well spent (Sevenich MacPhee and Mellen, 2000).

We have found that the frontline animal managers are critical to the success of a husbandry training program. Managers that have a strong "buy-in" to the value of training as a management tool and have a clear understanding of the technical skills involved are critical to the success of a husbandry training program as well as the leadership skills necessary to facilitate the implementation of the training program. A recent focus at Disney’s Animal Kingdom® Theme Park has been to provide these managers with a stronger husbandry training background (e.g., review of vocabulary and techniques) as well as suggestions on how best to manage staff involved in husbandry training (coaching on how to coach).

Above: Cheetah

back home next