Training Disconnects (the void between the classroom and the workplace)

Having a golf lesson will not, unfortunately, qualify you for the Ryder Cup!

So why do we expect someone who attends a one-day work related course to become business person of the year?

Here are some straight forward ideas on how to improve the effectiveness of what is taught in the classroom by translating it into improved performance in the workplace.

Required elements of successful classroom training
Well written relevant material
Inspired tutors
Open minded delegates

Required elements for the skills taught to materialise into improved performance
Opportunity
Measure
Support
Development

Well written relevant material
Irrelevant material requiring either a leap of faith by the delegate or translation into their world does not motivate learning. For people to learn and retain information, the training needs to provide the following opportunities: to acquire the basic knowledge, to recognise it, to be able to apply it, to analyse it, to break it apart and rebuild it, and to then make valued judgements on it. This means the delegates have to be actively engaged in the material and expend considerable energy manipulating the information.

Inspired tutors
Creative ways of re-enforcing the messages without repetition are necessary to allow the delegates to assess for themselves what they have learned. An inspired tutor will bring the material to life with case studies and anecdotes whilst displaying a high level of understanding of the delegates’ daily environment. The sessions need to be fun, fast and demanding.

Open minded delegates
Not all delegates attend training courses ready to embrace new ways of thinking. Some may have been pressed into service and therefore attend mentally kicking and screaming! Consideration therefore needs to be given to opening the minds of delegates prior to the main core of training so that they are receptive to the course content. Apart from the delegate’s own desire to want to improve, this is achieved through creative opening sessions and motivational discussions with management.

Opportunity
“If you don’t use it, you lose it.” Whatever is taught in the classroom should be implemented immediately to assess its practical value. The ability of the delegates to effectively apply what they have learned needs to be determined to assess what extra work is required.

Measure
Measures need to be both hard and soft: hard with regard to outcomes and soft with regard to learning. These measures should be tracked and discussed on a regular basis and not used simply as a one-off self assessment.

Support
This is a major stumbling block when converting training into improved performance in the work place. Management buy-in at the outset and management support post-training are essential ingredients to ensure genuine return on investment. For every training course to be delivered, a management summary of the programme should be sent to the delegates’ managers and should outline the course content, the expected outcomes in the work place and what the manager can do to help and support the delegate in the development of these skills.

Development
By definition, development is an on-going activity which is far more effective if not carried out in isolation. This could include:

• top up training sessions (for those who require it)
• management involvement
• inclusion in the appraisal process
• peer level involvement
• motivation
• career enhancement for those showing particular aptitude through:
  • Champions Programme, and
  • Centres of Excellence.
    

SUMMARY
End of course assessment forms of the organisation, catering, venue and the tutor are just “fluff” when it comes to analysing the true value of training. The focus should be on the delegates’ enhanced performance in the workplace.