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Everyone Wins! More Tips for Training Transfer |
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Part 2: Follow-up is Key!
Susan M.
Heathfield
- Follow up with the trainees and their supervisor about
progress on the goals and action plans they developed during the training
session. In an effective training session, the group discussed how to apply the
training on the job. They also talked about how to overcome the typical roadblocks they would
likely encounter when trying to apply the training. Persuasive evidence
supports these as legitimate and
effective methods for training transfer.
According to Marguerite Foxon of the University of
Florida in the Australian Journal of Educational Technology (see
sidebar), "there are several transfer strategies outlined in the literature
which can be incorporated into training courses, and research has produced some
encouraging results. In particular, when learners are given goal setting and
self management instruction as part of a training course, they demonstrate a
significantly higher level of transfer (eg., Gist, Bavetta, & Stevens,
1990a; 1990b)."
"Such strategies increase the
likelihood of transfer because they acknowledge the impact of organisational
system factors while at the same time assisting the individual to focus on
potential applications and to 'make plans' for using the training. Both
designers of instruction as well as those delivering it have a responsibility
to address the transfer issue - to help learners think through how to integrate
the skills into their jobs, and to plan in terms of what will facilitate or
inhibit the transfer. It is no longer good enough to leave it up to the
individual learner - if it ever was."
- Help
facilitate a partnership between the supervisor and the individual who attended
training. They need to meet periodically so the trainee can share his
application plan and progress with the supervisor. This partnership also
consists of praise, positive reinforcement, and rewards for learning and
applying the training.
This partnership ensures that failed attempts to apply new learning are
viewed as learning opportunities instead of failures. Never “punish” an
individual for attempting to practice a new behavior or approach. If your
organization approaches performance reviews in a traditional manner, the system
or instrument cannot grade him down for practicing a new skill.
- Work with the supervisor to make certain the individual
who attended training has a chance to practice the new skills. As an example,
if a group attends training in how to run an effective meeting, each person
must schedule and run a meeting within a week of the training. This is not to encourage
more meetings, but with frequent practice, the individuals need the opportunity
to apply their learning quickly following the session.
- The training
provider, the trainee, and the supervisor all need to understand that a
learning curve is involved in every attempt to apply training on the job. The
person who attended the training needs time for the new ideas, skills, or
thoughts to sink in or become assimilated and connected to what she already
knows and believes. The follow-up mentioned earlier, the sharing of the
application plan and the follow-up on the goals and action planning, will help
keep the integration of the learning progressing.
- Tie the
development goals closely into an organization-wide performance management and
development process. This enables the employee to participate in establishing
the goals. The system helps create accountability for follow-up and learning. I
can’t stress this tie-in enough. Training that is provided as part of a bigger
picture, as important to a staff person’s development and progress, is the most
useful training at work.
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