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We begin a 5-part series today, which will feature in Friday’s Grapevine newsletter for the next five weeks.
The hottest 2016 L&D topic is how to improve learning transfer – ensuring that more of what is learned through training is actually applied in the workplace and improves performance. During this series of articles four characters will help illustrate some key points…
The first Driver is that all training programmes need to be ‘Outcomes-driven’
The only valid reason for any formal training programme is to improve employees’ performance in support of an organisational objective, eg improving customer service, increasing sales, reducing operating defects, increasing employee productivity etc. Since training is therefore always simply ‘a means to an end,’ it makes absolute sense to start with the ‘end’ clearly in mind; but what should the ‘end’ be and when is it reached?
Generally, the ‘ends’ that L&D focuses on are learning objectives, which define what people will learnand be able to do at the end of a training course. However, senior management has no interest in whether learning objectives have been met. Their only concern is whether demonstrable performance improvement is being achieved. L&D’s central focus has to change, therefore, from learning objectives to business objectives, which specify what trainees will do on the job afterwards and how that will benefit the business.
This change in mind set, from learning objectives to business outcomes, inevitably leads to a revised view of where the L&D role ‘ends’. No longer simply the last day of a training course, the new ‘end’ must be when the resultant on-the-job performance improvement has been measured.
Focusing on the desired outcomes from the very start of a training programme also helps line managers review their own contribution. When people do apply what they learned (even when they are managers themselves) and improve their performance, their immediate manager can sustain their motivation through commendation and encouragement. As the cartoon strip illustrates…
In summary, every training project should begin with clearly agreeing the desired outcomes in terms of specific on-the-job performance criteria and a timeframe for their achievement. The finish line is only reached when the performance improvement achieved has been measured. This is not easy and requires development of a structured and consistent approach, a ‘learning transfer system’.
The 5 Drivers of Learning Transfer White Paper will be published by The Training Foundation on HR Grapevine on 22nd April. Over the next 5 Fridays, the daily newsletter will carry articles focused on each driver. Readers may register for a copy of the White Paper; www.tap-training.com/whitepaper
The TAP Programme includes workshops focused on how organisations can improve Learning Transfer. For details, or to discuss this article with the author, contact The Training Foundation 02476 411288 or email [email protected]
