Most organizations are pretty good at conducting training. They know how to budget for, develop, and complete training courses of all types.
Then they wonder why so little of it “takes.”
There are two primary reasons that skills application is below 20% (according to surveyed Chief Learning Officers).
- We’re training people as if it was the 1980’s. Changes in the way work is being done has not yet been fully translated into ways that we train. This Blog has talked about this subject in earlier segments.
- We’re not doing the right things before and after the training event. There are ways to improve the application of skills gained through conventional training techniques (classroom and e-learning).
Before the Training – Make a Plan!
It is critical that the people who are being trained in a new skill fully understand why they’re being asked to spend the time and energy to do so. So the training planners should work with appropriate executives of the company to answer some important questions.
- What are the key 1-3 year objectives and goals of this organization?
- What competencies are needed to make those goals happen?
- Where does the organization fall short in the competencies needed for achievement of the goals? Is the shortfall systemic (i.e. everywhere in the organization) or is it localized with a few people or groups? Answers to these questions should result in a training plan that includes topics, methods, and audiences.
Openly share the planning process and the plan with the organization. When people fully understand the origin of a training plan they are much more likely to embrace it.
After the Training – Ask the Four Questions!
If the last thing said about a new skill is said in the classroom, there is very little chance that the new skill will be used on the job. The learning experience has to be sustained. Performance or training/support systems are very effective here, but there is one additional thing the organization can do. Skills gained in the classroom must be practiced to be used. Often, organizations set up elaborate processes to achieve ongoing use of the skills, but just as often these fail to achieve the desired result. That’s because the control exercised by the trainer during training can’t “follow” the trainee back to the job – there is no realistic way for a trainer to influence what’s done after the training. That’s management’s job, using four questions asked by the manager of a newly trained person:
- What did you learn or remember that you already knew?
- How do you plan to apply these new skills to your job and what benefits do you expect when you do?
- How can I help you apply these new skills to your job?
- When can we meet to follow-up on how the skills are being used?
The main focus of training departments should be to get the company’s management to ask and then follow-up on these questions. This approach works because:
- A person in a position of authority (over the trainee) is showing support for the skills and is setting an expectation of their use.
- The trainee is forced to make a connection between the skills and his or her job, and to identify a positive benefit of skills application.
- The offer of help and expectation of follow-up demonstrates that the manager is serious about skills transfer.
