EW FENFSH LENE The bar is being raised on successful training delivery, and on-the-job performance improvement is the newest gauge of effective learning transfer. By Cal Wick, Roy Pollock, and Andy Jefferson SY ies pt on a testing program. The evaluation supportive, and, scores on the post-test prove You feel great. You and your team believe you have scored a big win outstanding, participants’ comments. a tof learning 100k place, and your mission has been accomplished. Thore wae atime when that mighthave been true, when d a great training program was sufficient. But not anymore. Global ‘competition, market pressures for performance, and the recent eco- ‘nomic downturn have moved the finish line. There is a new for training success: improved perfermance on the job. Training’ job isnt done, and training won't be rewarded with continued investment unless learning is transferred and applied in a ‘way that improves performance. Anything that talls short of the new goal line is at risk. Fortunately, we now know what it takes to turn, ‘great learning into great results This article examines the new finish line and what it takes to reach jt, We show that most organizations are falling significantly short of the goal. And we provide solutions: practical steps and the best practices of companies that arc embracing this new and more challenging objective for learning and development. ae | Stinowastdrg/TOMDpedeasts Nn | JULY 2007 | T#D | 65 |How to Get Managers More Engaged Managerial engagement is critical to reaching the new finish lire because manag ers exert a profound influence on whether or not training is applied, and therefore ‘whether or notit creates value that merits continued investment, To help managers. help training succeed: Give them a clearly-defined process to follow. Don't leave the manager's role to chance. As Bill Amaxopoulos of Chubb Insurance taught us: “Just because ‘someone is promoted to manager, you cannot assume that he knows how best to maximize the value of training,” Provide managers with a clear, easy-to-follow, time-efficient process that they can use to help their direct reports achieve the new finish line of improved performance Make eure thot managers know the business rationale and goals of the program. Enoure that the managers of thece attending the training know what the training cavers, how it relates to the business, and what improvement itis intended ‘0 produce, so that they can better endorse and support it. Senc a short program description, emphasizing the intended business outcomes with links to a more ‘detailed online description and supporting materials. Make sure managers know what their direct report sims to accomplish. Managers should receive a copy oftheir direct reports’ goals for putting learning ‘to work. Don't leave the communication of program goals between participant and manager to chance, Give managers specific guidance on how te coach for maximum value. One reason that managers don't more effectively coach for learning transfer is because thoy aren't sure exactly what to do. Several of our clients have found that white no manager will ever voluntarily ask them for a detailed coaching guide, when they cdo supply one, itis used effectively. Make sure the guide provides specific how-to advice and not ust generalities such as, “meet with your directreport.” es, to close plants and facilities, and Back in the "good old days,” training ‘was evaluated by activity—the number of programs delivered and the number of people trained: and learners’ immediate (Level 1) reactions. Business managers accepted the proposition that positively rated training was good, and so more training was beter. What happened? The pressure on organizations to perform has increased dramatically over the past two decades, fucted by increasing global competition (for example, The World is Flat) and rising investor expectations. On top of these expectations, the current economic slowdown has affected virtually every: fone and has further increased pressure fon business managers everywhere. To balance their budgets, company leaders are being forced to make increasingly difficult decisions —to lay off employ- 66 | ToD | suLy 2009 tocut backon training, Training. competing like never before with other departments and priorities for increas- gly searce resaurees. Tn such an environment, organizations can only justify investing in training that is clearly essential to busiress success and that actually delivers results that enable the company to compete effectively, comply with laws and regulations, retainkey employees, and survive In turbulent times. The specific results.a business wants to see depend on the nature ofthe business the training, and the environment. Lhe results that really matter are aWvays focused on mproved performance (see sidebar on page 68). One things certain: training results that merit continued investme! ‘occur on the job, rot in the classroom or on the computer. Ifthe finish line has moved, how much further do we have to go? To gauge where training and development is. today, we asked 126 learning leaders at {ve 2008 ASTD tutes nacional Co ence and Exposition to answer this question: what percent of participants apply what they learned well enough and long enough to produce meat ful performance improvement? ‘The answers were mixed with good news and bad news. The bad news is that learning leaders overwhelmingly agree that much of the current train inginvestment fails wo produce results at the perform only one out of every five or six people trained actually improves. The good news is that training and development ccan double or triple the value it adds to the enterprise by redefining the finish line and adopting learning transfer strat- egies that have been proven to work they estima To reach the new finish line, raining professionals must treat training asa process: drive follow-through, trans. fet, and application; and better engage managers and participants 1[Treat training as a process. The incredible surge in business productivity in the past 30 years has been due in large part 10 process thinking—total quality management, Six Sigma, lean manufacturing, process re-engineering, and so forth. Originally developed in manufacturing, process thinking has been successfully applied to a wide range of business processes, Historically training was treated as an isolated event, Viewed! from a process perspective, however, itis apparent that instruction is only one link in the chain that leads to performance improvement (see diagram on page 69) Like in any chain, instruction is only as strong as its weakest link. Therefore, even ifthe training is outstanding, weak ‘managerial support can derail the value creation process so that it fails to pro- duce the results management wanted and needed. As workplace learning professionals, we need to move from instructional designers and facilitators to value creation process owners, Poi byiseighlecomWhen we studied highly effective learning programs, we found that they ‘wore managed at end.to-end procescee by the application of six discipline boginning with clear identifying the required business outcomes and end- {ng with documenting the results. Like Six Sigma manufacturing plants, the most productive learning organizations continually monitor the process and look for opportunities to improve it— including steps they do not own. 2| Drive follow-through, transfer, and application. ‘Ihe second key to reaching the new finish line is to drive follow-through, transfor, and application. Moving the finish line means making the period we used to consider post-training—and not our problem—part of our purview. Itmeans planning, tracking, and man. aging learning transfer as an integral par‘ of the overall learning experience. Thisis critical, because as Ken Blanchard aptly putt, “To change behav. iorand get the results youwant, youneed, structure, support, and accountability.” Structure, support, and accountability for follow-through arein marked contrast to ‘The chart below dey the typical approach, in which we hope that a miracle will transform the course into eels Driving follow-through can take a number of forms, fom em reminders, to teleconferences, 10 reconvenes. In our experience, the most efficient and effective approach is to use a computer-based follow- through managemert system, Such systems allow a small raining staff to ‘monitor and support a large number of trainees by automating many of, the admi Regardless of the specific approach used, the following elements are essential: reminders maintain share of mind and slow the forgetting curve progress reports underscore the new finish line and accountability sources of support help learners through the rough spots when mastering new skills collaboration helps learners stay connected and share lessons and experiences “inal exam’ or report out, during which people are accountable for summarizing their progress and accomplishments, underscores the new finish line trative tacks. 3] Ensage managers and participants. When we asked learning leaders where the process of turning learning into results broke down, the most frequent answer was in the post-course period. And when we investigated what went wrong, the evidence most often centered on a lack of managerial engagement. 's learning leaders’ estimates of the percent of program participants who transfer what they learn to the extent that improves performance. 35% 30% % . $ 25% : S . 3 20% ~ , é 1 = & 15% : 1 : : 1: ' 10 SF . : 1: . on i ae es 2 a " —_— ' 1 1: . a. 1% - a Z a = yN a» 0-5% 610% 11-15% 16-20% 71-25% 26-30% 90-95% 35-40% — >40% Estimate of Learning Transfer JULY 2007 | T+D | 67How to Clarify the New Finish Line ‘The first and most critical step of succeeding in the new economy for training and development isto clarify what the business really wants and needs. Although the request may be presented as “we need a course in X," businss leaders don’t really want a course, per se; they want the benefit of improved performance that they expect the training program to produce. We have found four questions very helpful in defining the business objectives — 1s opposed to the learning abjectives—for training and development programs: ‘What is the underlying business need or opportunity that prompted the request? Ifthe program is successful, what will participants do better and diferent afterward? How could we confirm that this is happening—who would notice, or what metrics would change? ‘What are the measures of success—thatis, where's the finish line? What evidence do ‘we need to show [how much and by when! for the program to be considered a success? ‘These questions help you move from order-taker to performance improvement consultant and make it easier for training to prove its value. One other question is crucial. In addi to training, what else (rewards, ‘support, or systems} needs to be in place to achieve the desiredresults? This emphasizes that training alone rarely encompasses the whole solution, and management has to get involved to see the results they want. Two recent studies confirm this conclusion. At Pfizer, 360-degree assessments were repeated several months after a leadership develop: ment program and compared to reprogram results. The program produced definite improvement, provided the participants! managere were actively engaged in the pro- cess. Participants scored statistically significant gains if their managers were actively involved during the post-course period. In contrast, participants who attended the same rogram but whose managers were not actively involved showed no performance improvement or made much smaller gains. ‘A separate study at American Express also underscored the ‘managers’ impact on training effectiveness. Those participants who, achieved eignificanily better reculte after the training were four times more likely to have had conversations with, their managers about how to apply the earning than those who produced litle ‘orno improvement. Other measures 68 | ToD | JULY 209 of managerial support were all signifleandly correlated to increased performance improvement. The study authors concluded: “The true impact of a training program will best be predicted by the work environment participants return to alter the event. More specifically this refers to the typo of leader they wark with and report to after their respective training.” In other words, whether or not managers and participants actively engage with one another regarding the training program can spell the difference between suecessand tailure Since it isin their best interest to do so, why don't managers coach more frequently to ensure that the training, sticks? Decause managers are not sure what the course covered, they are not confident about how to coach or facil- tate learning trarsfer, or they lack the tien to do ee. The learning function can address the first two obstacles by making Information about the course readily available to managers and by provid- Ing them with practical guides on how to get their money's worth from their direct reports’ participation in {raining programe. ‘The third obstacle—not enough ‘time—really means: not a high enough priority to spend time on, Convincing overworked managers to devote time to ensuring learn- ing transfer requires helping them to understand the value of the new finish line and how much they influ- ence whether or not performance improves. It also requires convincing senior management of the need to hold managers accountable for sup. porting learning transter il they want to protect the investment of precious resources in training. ‘The world has changed. In the current economic climate, training and devel- ‘opment must reach a new and more challenging finish line: reliably improving performance and demonstratingits contribution to business success, Doing so requires expanding your thinking beyond instruction, to embrace the whole process by which learning becomes results. Ap: ply process thinking, stich as the six disciplines, which have proven to be ahelpful mnemonic for integrating a disciplined approach to the complete earning experience, Find ways to better engage man: agers and participants in the transfer process, and make follow-through, support, and application part of the overall design. Learning organizations that have focused on the new finish line for learning have found that they can dramatically increase the value they deliver and earn themselves a place at the table, Are you ready? T90 ‘Anciy Jefferson is president and chiefex ecutive officer ofthe Fort ill Company co-ausivor of Getinng Your Mowey's Wo Jefferson@forthiteompanycom. Roy Pollock is chief learning officer at Fort Hill and a Kellogg National Leadership Fallow: pollock@forthilcompansscons Eat Wiek isthe founder and chairman of Fort Hill and recipient of the ISAs Thoughe Leadership Award wick @forthilicompanycom.The diagram below shows the main steps in the value chain for turning earning into results, and several factors that affect success. “Preparation (instruction ‘NES New Finish Line | Transfer and "Application Recor Results How to Turn Training Into Results: The Six 1| Dofine business outcomes. The first step is to the training initiative will contribute to the organization's mission and produc~ tivity. After successfully completing the training, what will earners do differ- cently and better that will contribute to business success? Traditional learning objectives are not sufficient; they define what will be covered or learned, but not how it will be used to benefit the business, Program objectives should clearty state the expected business outcomes and how success will be measured 2| Design the completa experience. Plan and optimize the complete learning experience—not only what happens in the classroom or learn- ing module. Maximizing the business value of training and development requires designing and managing all three phases of the process: Phase 1: preparation in advance of formal instruction, including the devel- ‘opment of “learning intentionality through discussions with supervisors Phase 2: the structured learning ‘experience, which may be virtual, instructor-led, action learning, or any combination thereot Proto Seago com Disciplines Phase 3: transfer anc application, continued practice, and learning on the job. The evidence is clear: Whether learning is transferred and applied fn the job depends asmuch on what happens in Phase 1 (before) and Phase 3 after), asit does in the training itsel 3| Deliver for application. Ensure thatthe learning program delivers for application. Present material in ways. that emphasize its application, motivate participants by illustrating benefits, and prepare them to put their learning towork. Linkall content to business needs and realities. Use examples and exercises that are credible and relevant. Take goal-setting seriously. Ensure that participants are able to apply what they learn to their daily work. 4\ Drive follow-through. Put in place systems and processes that drive follow-through, learning transfer, and ‘on-the-job application. Treat learn- ing objectives like other business objectives: Be sure they are tracked, ‘measured, and rewarded, not p binders and forgotten, 5| Deploy active support. Balancing accountability with support produces better results than just one or the other. Provide learners with ongoing support to assist them in applying new methods and mastering new skills. Make sure ‘managers know and agree with their direct reports’ development objectives and that they are committed to support- ing their achieverent. Finally, provide ‘additional support through instruc- tors, peers, and coaches finternal or external), ob aids, and printed or online guides to application. 6| Document results. Treat the investment in training and development like any other corporate investment. Measure the results and evaluate the impact to ensure that the program is producing an adequate return for stakeholders. Drive continuous improvement by comparing the actuat to the expected results ly seeking ways to enhance ‘subsequent iterations. £ iurenesreD n oRDERING 4 [Wadd sigtal version ofthat rete foryournet cours. presentation, of ren? fe you nerestdin eprint of sever TaDarvelos on pecs tape? Ema the | species at eprintstastiora to earn mre JULY 2007 | 740 | 69