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Line Managers strongly influence the extent to which learning transfers into performance improvement. Regrettably, perhaps due to three systemic issues, many managers resist personal involvement in developing their direct reports. These issues are;
- The typically hierarchical structures of post-industrial revolution organisations
Many 21st Century employers remain constrained by a silo-driven culture. This makes implementing a systemic, cross-functional approach to learning transfer, which requires the collaboration of line managers difficult to administer because they see their priorities as task-focused.
- Training is often not perceived as having strategic importance
Many managers at all levels regard training employees as purely a necessary business overhead to meet today’s operational demands and not as an investment in tomorrow’s wealth creation. They regard direct reports attending courses as inconveniences and are either neutral about application or even discouraging to trainees on return to work. In such a workplace environment there is little chance of effective learning transfer.
- An incompatible management paradigm
Many managers still follow the last Century management command-and-control paradigm. They tend to have been selected on the basis of their technical, subject matter knowledge and expertise. Often overlooked is whether they are emotionally and psychologically suited to engage the hearts and minds of their team members and bring out their best performance. This is perhaps why less than 40% of line managers see coaching their people as an important part of their job. If their default style is task-focused they have little time or interest in supporting or encouraging learners to apply what they’ve learned.
As a result of these cultural issues, many managers see training as the sole responsibility of the Training or L&D function. They may resent spending their time to collaborate in the learning transfer process. To them, simply flagging up what they perceive as ‘a training need’ and making people available to attend ends their commitment. Some are even irritated by losing their people to training courses since they perceive it as having a negative impact on team performance. Adjusting such attitudes and behaviours from negativity to supporting and encouraging their people to apply what they’ve learned to the job is a vitally important link in the transfer chain.
The solution! There is actually only one way to ensure that line managers do support training – and that is to motivate them to do so by answering the “What’s in it for me?” question.
There is both a positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement angle to doing this. On the positive side, when managers really understand that if their direct reports feel they are being coached and developed to be the best they become more engaged, which leads to increased effort and productivity. That’s good news for the line manager but it requires some insight into the drivers of human motivation and not all managers get that.
On the others side of the coin, when managers understand that they will be held to account for supporting training, that their job specification includes people-development and that they will be held to account for it, that is also motivational. Managers tend to do what they are paid to do, what their job specification requires and hence what they are accountable for.
When managers are asked why they don’t support training more enthusiastically they almost always answer that they simply don’t have the time to do so. Whilst that can be an excuse (we tend to find time for things that are important to us) it is frequently true. If an organisation really embraces the need to maximise their greatest resource, ie to bring out the best in all their people, they will ensure that HRM policy and practice supports that objective. The Training Foundation works with a number of progressive employers who have radically changed the job specifications of line managers to allow them more time to focus on people aspects, including coaching and training and reduce their personal task-based productivity targets. Those employers are getting significantly better overall employee productivity. There is a lesson here worth considering by all.
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]
