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Following on from training initiatives needing to be ‘Outcomes-driven’ and for there to be clear Accountability and proactive Collaboration, the fourth key element, Reinforcement, is one of the most powerful drivers of learning transfer but often almost completely overlooked.
Generally, the last day or session of a training course has marked the end a learning intervention. As a result, whether a learner does transfer learning from a training event into the workplace, changing their behaviours so as to improve their performance, is frequently left to their own choice. They are left to sink or swim, and while research indicates that around 70% do try out the new ways, these good intentions tend to dissipate when the first hurdle is reached. The usual reaction then is to regress to the old way of doing things; ingrained habits are hard to break. This is a key reason why less than 20% of formal learning is actually applied on the job.
Dramatic reduction of learner regression can be achieved through two systematic strategies which together provide learners with positive reinforcement of both the learning itself and their own motivation.
First, the design of virtually every learning intervention should incorporate the performance support tools that will be used to reinforce application of learning to the job.
These are particularly necessary where new procedures or skills need mastering or where complex tasks with many steps or factors are involved. The range of job aids that will improve performance and the ways they can be implemented is considerable – reminders, check-lists, templates, decision trees, videos, etc.
Designing the performance support measures up-front into the learning design requires reflection on ‘what could cause this intervention to fail to result in improvement in how people do their jobs?’ Once the potential risk factors are appreciated, preventive measures can be planned and implemented.
Second, the trainee’s line manager needs to take an active and visible interest in providing positive reinforcement.
A published study by American Express found that, in a major training programme, direct reports of highly-supportive managers improved productivity by 42%, whereas direct reports of low-support managers increased by only 16%. It was discovered that the 42% group were four times more likely to have had a meeting with their manager to discuss how to apply the training and almost twice as likely to perceive that their manager supported and endorsed the training. It is clear that managers strongly influence learning transfer in two key ways – by their actions and by their attitudes.
Summary; L&D has a role to play here, building in appropriate performance support tools and actions to their learning designs. However, line managers have an even more important part to play, reinforcing learning by encouragement and active support. The influence that line managers exert over whether learning transfers to the workplace cannot be over-emphasized; it is literally a deal-breaker. When managers support learners, training works. When they don’t, it does not.
The TAP Programme includes workshops focused on how organisations can improve Learning Transfer. For details or to discuss this article contact The Training Foundation 02476 411288 or email [email protected]
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