Stop This One Habit When Creating ‘HRM Skills’ Courses Right Now

Posted on by Catherine Fitzgerald B.A. M.A.

When you’re designing an “HRM Skills” course — one of those foundational workshops about human resource management that truly sets the tone for how people, systems, and strategy come together — there is one habit you need to stop right now.

Because it kills your impact, burns out your prep time, and derails the confidence you bring into the room.

The one habit: Starting from scratch with no strong backbone

Here’s the truth. When you build a course in isolation — writing slide after slide, scrambling to design activities, wrestling with whether your content is even coherent — you’re making three big mistakes:

  1. You’ll spend 20-30 hours (yes, two dozen hours or more) on prep that could be far better used in design thinking, fine-tuning, rehearsal, stakeholder conversations, rather than reinventing the wheel.
  2. Without a strong structure, the course can feel disconnected: you’ll jump from recruitment to performance to culture without a strong thread that holds it together.
  3. You walk into the training room feeling less than fully ready; you’re thinking “Did I cover everything?” instead of “I’m delivering something crisp, engaging, and effective.”

If you recognise that pattern, I’ve got good news: you don’t need to keep doing it.

A more innovative way: Use a ready-to-deliver, editable backbone

Meet the workshop pack from Oak Innovation, titled Fundamentals of HRM Trainer Program Kit: Ready-to-Deliver Materials for Trainers and Coaches.

This isn’t just another slide deck.

It gives you:

  • A full-day agenda and facilitator guide that’s already designed for the flow of HR training.
  • A slide deck, workbook, assessment tools, and bonus templates, all editable so you can brand it, customise it, and make it feel like your course.
  • Coverage of the core HR functions — planning, recruitment & selection, compensation & benefits, performance management, training & development — and strategic HR planning.
  • The benefit of 30+ years of Oak Innovation experience in ready-to-use training course materials.

Why this approach removes the “start-from-scratch” trap

  • You reclaim your prep time. Instead of creating everything from scratch (which is where the 20-30 hour prep time comes from), you spend your time tweaking, contextualizing, and rehearsing.
  • You enhance alignment. Because the structure is already built around what matters in HRM, you spend less time wondering what you might be missing.
  • You show up as the confident facilitator. You’re not just hoping the workshop will land — you know it will. You have the facilitator guide, the workbook, and the assessments. That means the energy in the room stays firm, not shaky.

What to do next

  1. Commit to never starting from scratch for your following HRM skills workshop.
  2. Get the workshop pack from Oak Innovation .
  3. Brand it: add your/logo, your company’s examples, maybe an HR case relevant to your audience.
  4. Rehearse it once. By adjusting and familiarising yourself, you’ll walk in ready to deliver impact.
  5. After delivering, reflect: what resonated, what didn’t — and you’ll have the structure in place for continuous improvement (rather than reinventing next time).

Final word

If you’re a trainer, HR professional, consultant, or business leader who runs HR training programmes, the “one habit” you must stop is building everything from scratch.

It’s costly, inefficient, and erodes your confidence. Instead, build on a strong foundation, customise intelligently, and show up prepared.

With that approach, your following “HRM Skills” course becomes not just another training session, but a game-changer for your participants — and for you.

If you need help tailoring the workshop pack to suit your organisation (or switching to a blended/virtual delivery format), I’d be happy to guide you through the process together.

The foundation is ready.

Let’s build your impact.

You May Also Like