A few weeks ago, one of the instructors licensed to deliver our programs was struggling with operational readiness.
- Showing up slightly unprepared.
- Forgetting small things.
- Scrambling last minute.
Enough to signal that something in the system needed tightening. So instead of having a “performance conversation,” we built a tool. We created an Operational Readiness Form. It’s simple: 12–24 hours before every class, the instructor completes it. Not three days before. Not the morning of. Inside that window. Why?
Because readiness has a timing component. If you check your laptop battery three days early, that check is meaningless. If you realize you’re short student manuals at 9 p.m. the night before, that’s also a problem. The timing forces realism. The form prompts practical questions:
- Is the slide deck workin?
- Do you have enough manuals?
- Are other recourses available?
- Is your tech charged and tested?
We found it so helpful that we adopted it internally at Haland Learning as well. Now every instructor on our team completes it before each course. On top of that, every Monday morning we run a weekly and monthly look-ahead:
- Upcoming classes
- Travel
- Materials
- Capacity
- Resource gaps
One of the next upgrades: Dynamic readiness forms tied to specific courses. If you’re teaching Fall Protection, the form will prompt Fall Protection–specific materials. If you’re teaching MEWP, it will prompt MEWP tools. The goal isn’t control. It’s consistency. Most operational failures aren’t competence failures. They’re systems failures.
When something slips, we ask: “What tool is missing?” Then we build it.