In his well informed article, “Why (Most) Training is Useless” management consultant, David Maister suggests training is a wonderful last step, but a lousy first step in bringing about sustained behavioural change.
Black Isle helps senior decision makers develop skills and tools that deliver sustainable results, and last well beyond the classroom. Over 25 years in the business of executive development has taught us a very powerful thing:
What you do once you leave the classroom, is more important than what you do while you’re in it!
Here is our five-step approach to delivering lasting skills transfer.
Step one – have a plan: Before attending a development program, workshop, course, (or even participating in a webinar), take the time to put together a plan for desired outcomes.
How do you plan to use these new skills and tools? How will you know if you’ve done so successfully?
Step two – measure: It is important to measure things. Try to use a series of quantitative and qualitative measures, competency diagnostics and benchmarking – both pre and post the program, and again three to six months later.
If you don’t have access to these sorts of measurement tools, ask the people who developed and/or delivered the training. If they’re worth their salt, they’ll have these tools.
Step three – peer groups: Where appropriate, develop people in teams. Small teams with a coach to participant ratio of around 1:6. Development is more effective when peers and groups work together using the same methodology, approach and framework.
Skill transfer is reinforced, and together the team embed and practise their new language.
Step four – support from the top down: If possible, senior executives and line managers should experience the same program, or at the very least attend a detailed briefing on the new methodology.
With support from the top down, you can align incentives to reward the correct behaviours, apply new skills and embed new processes into organisational systems. This is how you make training a part of the new cultural DNA.
Step five – access to the coach: We see time and again, when participants have on-going access to program facilitators their level of retention and skill transfer is greatly improved. At least the opportunity to regularly read content (just like this!). Or at best, facilitated one-on-one coaching sessions over the ensuing 12 months.
The ability to debrief on the impact of a program, review individual goals, troubleshoot specific problem areas, and talk about real-life application is critical to ensuring behaviour change is permanent.
Follow this five-step approach to make the most of your investment of time, resources and money.
