In Part 1 of this blog post earlier this week, we discussed the need to begin focusing on learning as a process rather than an event. We examined the first three of the 6Ds which included D1: Define Business Outcomes; D2: Design the Complete Experience; and D3: Deliver for Application. Now, in Part 2, we examine the final three disciplines that will materially improve the outcomes of your learning and development programs:
4. Drive Learning Transfer
The Achilles’ heel of most development programs is the lack of follow-through and learning transfer. No matter how good the training is, it is wasted unless new knowledge it is put to work:
- optimize the post-course environment to which newly-trained people return;
- put in place processes and systems which support learning transfer;
- ensure that participants are held accountable for continued development;
- provide access to coaching and other forms of support;
- encourage continued learning through reflection and sharing with peers.
5. Deploy Performance Support
Employees need on the job support to maximize the probability of achieving their development objectives. Support is especially critical in the period immediately following training when participants are trying to develop new and more effective norms of behavior. Highly-effective learning and development organizations make sure that they prepare and motivate managers to provide support for newly-trained employees. Other sources of support include:
- Peers (other participants in the same program)
- Instructors and facilitators
- Online content and guidance systems
- Internal or external coaches
- Document Results
6. Document results (the sixth and final key to effectiveness) Collect credible and relevant data to show that the program is producing the results articulated in D1 and to identify opportunities for further improvement. Measures of activity (number of programs, participants, hours of instruction) or of immediate reaction (participant satisfaction) are insufficient; evidence of behavioral change and/or business impact are essential. The results should be communicated to key stakeholders including:
- line managers (to justify continued investment);
- current and prospective employees (as evidence of the investment the company makes in its workforce);
- customers, to illustrate continuous improvement;
- investors.
Summary
For optimal results, learning must be treated as a process and not an event. There are six process oriented keys to maximizing the return on the investment in learning and development:
1) Define the desired outcomes in business terms so that the strategic purpose and relevant measures of success are clear;
2) Design the complete experience so that it is “all of a piece” and so that the pre- and post-course environment support learning intentionality and transfer and application;
3) Deliver for application – make sure that participants know how to use what they have learned and are motivated to do so;
4) Drive learning transfer – put systems in place to hold participants accountable for using what they have learned and to track progress;
5) Deploy performance support to give learners the best possible chance to achieve their objectives; and
6) Document the results in compelling and credible ways to justify continued investment and to support continuous improvement.
Andy Jefferson is the Chief Executive Officer for the Fort Hill Company. He excels in helping companies maximize the value they realize from their investments in learning and development. Andy is a co-author of The Six Disciplines of Breakthrough Learning: How to Turn Training and Development into Business Results and Getting Your Money's Worth from Training and Development (San Francisco: Pfeiffer, 2009). He is a frequent and popular speaker on the subject of learning transfer and application who loves to teach and learn, and has a passion for helping individuals and teams succeed.
Photo courtesy of dkuropatwa
Applying these disciplines in systematic and thorough-going fashion will enable you to move away from the paradigm of learning as an event and transform your approach into a process which has as its end point the creation of valuable business results.
