Appendix III

Installing the Training Properly

The effects of training cannot be considered separate from the environs of the worker. You cannot create a behavior change which violates the culture in which the behavior is embedded.

——James McCroskey, Carl Larson, and Mark Knapp

In a comprehensive survey of research on transfer of learning to the job, Timothy Baldwin and Kevin Ford note the pittance of transfer that results from most training.

There is growing recognition of a “transfer problem” in organizational training today. It is estimated that while American industries annually spend up to $100 billion on raining and development, not more than 10% of these expenditures actually result in transfer to the job.¹

How discouraging to realize that even when you lead a highly evaluated workshop, it’s unlikely that much good will stem from your efforts.

Many of the barriers to transfer of learning stem from ineffective installation of the training. This appendix describes how to install training in ways that support the application of what was learned in the workshop.

The Installation of Training

Here’s what we mean when we speak of the installation of training:

The installation of training refers to a three phase set of crucial activities that are performed

• before,

• during, and

• after training

to promote the successful transfer of learning from the workshop to the workplace. It involves a set of collaborative activities that involve trainers, managers/team leaders, and participants.
(Henceforth we’ll use the terms team leader or leader to designate persons who are often termed managers or leaders in their organization.)

The crucial importance of solid installation was highlighted in a 2006 study of training failure by the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), which attributed

• 20 percent of training failures to circumstances prior to the training,

• 10 percent to poor delivery of the training program, and

• 70 percent to an “application environment” that either prevented participants from using what they had learned or failed to reinforce participants’ use of new knowledge, methods and skills.

Despite these research findings, most training departments focus the bulk of the trainer’s time and attention on delivering training, which leaves little time available for other things important to the workshop’s success, such as arranging for

• participants before the workshop preparation, and

• participants after the workshop transfer of learning to the workplace.

Unless other options are provided for accomplishing these needs, the lopsided allocation of trainer time is a formula for failure of the learning to make a difference in the workplace.

Obviously, for transfer of learning to occur, it’s important for the training event itself to be successful. But if the transfer opportunities in the other two installation periods are shortchanged, the effectiveness of the training will be seriously compromised.

Every major problem that we’ve encountered in a workshop was traced, at least in part, to one or more installation problems. Why? Because installation problems can rear their ugly heads at any moment, especially when you least expect it. They’re always lurking in the background, ready to pounce if installation is ineptly done.

Be wise. Install properly. Or live to regret it.

Whose responsibility is it to ensure the effective installation of training? If the training was purchased from a salesperson on the staff of an outside training firm, the salesperson and the trainer who will deliver the course can team with the company contact person. Responsibilities can be agreed to and a pre-workshop conference call can be held to ensure that these details have been completed.

If a company trainer is leading the course, he can team with personnel in the training-and-development group to make sure that all the steps of installation are accomplished.

This three-phase (before, during, and after) approach to installation obviously requires collaboration among

• the trainer,

• the participants’ leader(s), and

• the participants.

Thus, training is best installed as a three-phase/three-role endeavor. It’s often up to an in-house trainer to manage the three-phase/three-role process. The remainder of this appendix describes what needs to be done in each phase of this collaborative installation process in order to promote successful transfer of learning. When using an external training firm, it’s important for vendor’s trainers to be aware of your installation policies and procedures and how they contribute to the workshop’s overall effectiveness.

Before the Workshop

More than half of the steps of installing a workshop occur before the workshop opens:

1. Develop an accurate understanding of the group.

2. Inquire about current or pending departmental or company problems.

3. Ensure that a critical mass of participants receive the training within a short period of time.

4. Discuss with team leaders their role in preparing participants for the workshop.

5. Stress the importance of team leaders using the course information.

6. Keep the training separate from corporate evaluation of participants.

7. Link the course content to the participants’ work world.

8. Check on administrative details relating to the workshop.

1. Develop an Accurate Understanding of the Group

Some of the most awkward training experiences stem from a failure to fit the training to the participants. Here are a few examples:

• An international sales group asked for product training but was given a sales communication course instead.

• A group of staff people who had no subordinates were given a course on people skills for managers.

• Service personnel who had not been told that they would have sales responsibilities suddenly found themselves in a sales course in which they learned that as of the conclusion of the course they would be responsible for achieving sales targets as well as meeting their current customer relations objectives.

Trainers skilled in handling group resistance and in doing emergent redesign (both discussed later in the book) were able to turn each of these potential disasters into positive learning experiences. But in each case, proper installation would have made the training not only more powerful and successful but also less problematic for everyone involved.

Subtle aspects of a group understanding can also have a positive effect on the training. Knowing the group culture, the buzz words, and the sensitive issues can help trainers tailor their presentations and responses so that they are clearly addressing the people in the room.

2. Inquire About Current or Pending Departmental or Company Problems

Trainers need to know what’s going on in the company that may have an impact on the participants. Are products being dropped, benefits being changed, older employees being encouraged to take early retirement? Is a general downsizing being discussed? Are departments being eliminated? Is the company being sold? These are important issues that can interfere with participants’ receptivity to the workshop. The trainer who is blind-sided by these emotionally laden challenges will wonder what’s wrong with the training, the participants, or the trainer himself. When the trainer is aware of the current situation, he can use appropriate disclaimers and show empathy for what the participants are facing. When the trainer is out of the loop, he appears clueless, which greatly complicates creating a positive learning climate.

3. Ensure that a Critical Mass of Participants Receive the Training Within a Short Period of Time

When only one person in a work unit is trained, he often returns to a work environment that’s inhospitable to the use of what was taught. Long-established group norms are apt to undermine her individual efforts to apply the new learning.

When introducing change, therefore, it’s highly desirable to train a “critical mass” of the target population within a fairly short time period. A critical mass is a sufficient number of trainees who work together to receive the instruction in the same general time period. When a critical mass is trained, individuals can support one another in their effort to employ their new knowledge. By training a critical mass of employees, the ability that’s taught generally becomes “the way we do things around here.” So it behooves those from the training function who are involved in a training to work with line managers to cobble together a critical mass of participants that will be sufficient to promote transfer of the course knowledge.

When it’s not possible to train a critical mass of people, trainers can help team leaders connect people in different departments as groups or pairs so that they can support one another in using new methods and skills.

4. Discuss with Team Leaders Their Role in Preparing Participants for the Workshop

Preparation for training increases participants’ readiness to learn; it gives them mental hooks on which they can hang their new knowledge and skills. Promise of support and follow-up after training further motivates participants by showing strong management commitment to their growth and development.

Trainers can provide those in a supervisory capacity with information about the course and discuss the connection between the training the participants will experience and the work they do. Appropriate handouts tend to increase the impact of these brief discussions. Ask the team leaders to schedule both a pre-training meeting and a post-training meeting with their participants to discuss how this training can be most usefully applied to their job responsibilities. Offering managers the following ideas for such conversations makes it more likely that the before-the-course interactions will take place:

5. Stress the Importance of Team Leaders Using the Course Information

Probably the most effective way to change a person’s behavior in the workplace is to change her leader’s behavior. If the leader is not using the knowledge, methods, and skills of the workshop herself, it’s unlikely that her team members will see much value in the new ways or have much commitment to applying them at work. Ideally, the leaders will have been trained and will be applying that new ways of doing things before their team members receive the training. When the late William Weisz was chairman of Motorola, an outsider asked, “How does top management show its support for training?” He replied, “First by our example. We participate. We go through training ourselves to set an example.”

6. Keep the Training Separate from Corporate Evaluation of Participants

Some organizations request feedback on how individual participants performed during a workshop. And sometimes team leaders request that type of information.

We believe that it’s crucial to have a policy explicitly separating training and corporate evaluation of individual’s performance in a workshop. Evaluation of an individual’s workshop participation for other than his own growth inevitably degrades the learning climate of a workshop. To the extent that participants believe they are being evaluated, their focus often shifts from learning to self-protection.

This is such an important training issue that some of our colleagues risked losing major contracts because of their insistence on maintaining a strict confidentiality policy. However, most training managers realize that what’s important for their organization is not how a person performs in training but how he performs on the job.

7. Link the Course Content to the Participants’ Work World

The course needs to be a good fit with the participants’ world of work. If the number of participants to be trained is moderately large, light customization of course materials may be done. If the number of people to be trained is very large, extensive customization of the workshop may be provided. These extra steps will ensure that participants have less of a struggle to transfer the new methods and skills back to the job. Because of the time and expense involved, however, customization usually is limited to high-level personnel or special situations. Appendix II provides guidelines for when and how to customize a course.

It’s often left to the trainer to gain an understanding of how the training fits with the participants’ work responsibilities and to weave that into the fabric of the workshop. Much of that knowledge can come from communication with the team leader.

8. Check on Administrative Details Relating to the Workshop

Having a successful workshop relies heavily on top-notch administration. Many details need to be handled on time, accurately, and thoroughly. Such details include the following:

• Generation of a class list

• Distribution of pre-course work

• Selection of an appropriate training site

• Selection of the size and number of rooms

• Room setup

• Distribution of course materials including the timely delivery of pre-work

• Provision of supplies and equipment

• Arrangement for any needed accommodations, lunches, breaks, dinners

The trainer is seldom directly responsible for arranging these administrative details. However, she needs to be sure that these tasks have been accomplished.

Installation During Training

During a training session the following training policies improve learning:

1. Establish the norm of confidentiality.

2. Don’t allow observers in the workshop.

3. Set limits on permissible absence from training.

4. Include action planning in the workshop.

1. Establish the Norm of Confidentiality

In a context where the trainer and participants agree to keep personal information confidential, participants feel free to let their guard down. Everyone may speak more candidly than normal about problems they are facing—and about how what they are learning may or may not help resolve or reduce those problems. This kind of open communication encourages the application of learning to real-life situations. Confidentially helps learning become more practical and specific, which aids the transfer of learning.

2. Don’t Allow Observers in the Workshop

A number of people interested in the success of training may want to drop in on the class to see how it’s going. Some may even want to sit in the back of the room to observe the entire course. While larger interest in and commitment to the training is an important part of installation, having nonparticipant observers in the training room disrupts the learning process for participants. It also violates the confidentiality and separation of training from corporate evaluation of individual employees in training that was alluded to earlier.

3. Set Limits on Permissible Absence from Training

Ideally, all participants will be present for the entire training session, but reality often intervenes. Ever hear of one of the following occurring?

• A manager calls a participant out of training to be at a meeting.

• A participant has a medical appointment taking half a day out of the training.

• A participant leaves a half-day early due to travel arrangements.

These occurrences can be avoided by establishing a policy that defines maximum permissible absence, perhaps a quarter of a day or less for a four-day course, a couple of hours or less for a shorter training. Participants who miss more time than the policy stipulates need to be rescheduled to participate in a different training session.

4. Include Action Planning in the Workshop.

One way trainers can support participants’ efforts to transfer what they’ve learned is to include action planning in the workshop agenda. There are a number of ways to do action planning in a workshop. After the workshop, the action plan can be discussed and possibly revised in a face-to-face discussion between the participant and her leader. If no action plan was developed at the end of the workshop, the plan can be developed after the workshop as part of the post-workshop discussion with the leader.

Establishing the norm of confidentiality, not allowing observers in the workshop, setting limits on absence from training, and including action planning in the workshop agenda are aspects of installation during a workshop that foster the transfer of learning.

Installation After Training

The period immediately after the workshop is pivotal for the transfer of learning. The ASTD study, cited earlier, found that a whopping 70 percent of training failure was due to an “application environment” that either prevented participants from using what they had learned or failed to reinforce participants’ use of new knowledge, methods, and skills. Although we only have two types of action to take here, they are of major importance.

Changing work habits requires concerted effort. But when participants return to their jobs, they typically tackle a backlog of work that accumulated while they were in training. Under these circumstances, it takes real commitment to make the time and put forth the effort to implement the new learnings.

If we want to improve training results, we need to increase the amount of time, energy, and creativity that we spend on improving the application environment.

Two kinds of installation interventions are available to trainers after the conclusion of a workshop to foster greater application of workshop lessons:

1. Encourage team leaders to reinforce the training.

2. Refresh the training through coaching, memos, or brief reinforcement courses.

1. Encourage Team Leaders to Reinforce the Training

This may be the most important of all the recommended installation steps. One study found that unless there was immediate application and feedback, only 5 percent of workshop training persisted. But with immediate utilization, timely feedback, and support, 90 percent of the training endures.

Recommend that team leaders meet with trainees immediately after training, debrief the experience, and mutually identify barriers to transfer as well as opportunities for utilization. This discussion highlights the importance of the training and pinpoints on-the-job use of the abilities. And it’s a time to offer help, “Let me know what I can do to help you implement what you learned.”

Consider reminding the team leaders that the learning process does not entail consistent progress. Instead people tend to take two steps forward and one step back. And sometimes it’s one step forward and two steps back. And even when the transfer of learning is fairly successful, participants ultimately tend to reach a plateau where the learning is sustained but there’s little if any improvement. Realistic expectations ward off discouragement and help maintain the training.

2. Refresh the Training Through Coaching, Memos, or Brief Reinforcement Courses

Like other types of education, training tends to suffer from a “fade-out” effect, in which the knowledge, methods, and skills that participants are able to use immediately after a workshop tend to wither away over time. Coaching enables people to continue to be trained on the job and is a powerful way to counteract the fade-out effect. See Chapter 18 for information on using the key skill that’s required for this type of coaching.

A series of memos can provide timely reminders about how and when to employ a newly learned method. A brief refresher course can help participants polish their skills and motivate them to continue their efforts to improve their performance.