Leadership development and training opportunities are brought to the workplace for a number of reasons. An analysis may have uncovered the need to improve performance, increase productivity or decrease response times. The organization may wish to build expertise among employees, strengthen engagement or enhance loyalty. While the reasons are multiple and varied, the goal for all successful training initiatives is the same: results.
Delivering popular programs is not enough; leadership development and training is not successful unless it makes a positive, sustained impact on business. Fierce believes organizations will see greater results and realize more measurable return on their training dollars if they focus on three pillars: sponsorship, strategic deployment and transfer of learning.
1) Sponsorship
Sponsorship is not only about high-level buy-in, but also about creating an environment for change and connecting training to key organizational initiatives. Executive sponsors who are engaged and actively committed to a program set the stage for change and encourage managers to support the process.
2) Strategic Deployment
When creating a plan for implementation, the following phases are essential: alignment, kickoff and rollout. Pinpoint why training has been brought in, to whom it should be delivered and how it will be strategically announced and rolled out within the organization.
3) Transfer of Learning
Ensure a higher degree of user adoption by visualizing and executing long-term changes, including a pre-defined transfer of learning plan to immediately apply new skills on the job.
