Class Dismissed!
- Trained - Yes, But Changed?
Class is over and employees are energized. They rush back to their
offices where a screen full of email, a stream of voicemails, and
piles of work quickly suck them back into the world of old habits
– business as usual. Where is the hope? How can they possibly
digest what they have learned, figure out how to apply it, and then
find the opportunity to practice it?
Just Google "Making training stick," or something similar,
and you will find a multitude of long articles that leave the Googler,
likely the supervisor, in the same boat as the trainee. No, worse
off than the trainee – not even energized and definitely wishing
for an escape such as "class dismissed."
I have a better idea. Perhaps we can learn from a model that works:
on-the-job training. I don't know about you, but I have seen countless
employees make huge strides when someone took the time to provide
on-the-job instruction. Consider the three characteristics of on-the-job
training that make it so successful. On-the-job training is:
- Specific
- Certain
- Immediate
On-the-job training is specific in more ways than one. First,
it is specific in focusing on the needs of a few individuals. It
is specific in time and place. There is rarely ambiguity about where
the skill or information provided will need to be applied. In addition,
it is specific regarding technique. Usually a specific activity
or skill is demonstrated, observed and critiqued so that the desired
behavior is quite clear. The desired outcome is also specific. The
employee learns how something should look, feel, sound, smell or
act if handled properly. Any necessary supporting knowledge, while
not always brief, is also provided quite specifically. There is
tremendous value in this specificity because the employee can start
practicing and perfecting what they have learned quickly without
digesting, deciding or juggling.
On-the-job training also provides a high level of certainty. The
employee is left with a clear sense of cause and effect, and usually
visible evidence of effectiveness. Instilling a high level of confidence
in a process or technique is extremely valuable because it keeps
fear and skepticism in check.
On-the-job training is also immediate. There is usually immediate
opportunity to apply and practice. And in many cases, there is immediate
feedback that facilitates tweaking the process until the desired
outcome is achieved. Immediate experience, immediate success –
it doesn't get much better than that!
Now consider these same three dimensions relative to classroom
training and you will find exactly the opposite characteristics:
Classroom training may be general in many ways. Many broad concepts
may be discussed. Concepts are usually applicable to a wide range
of job responsibilities and activities. This means that an employee
may end up applying what they have learned at any time and in any
number of places. The variety already suggested guarantees that
even specific techniques will require adaptation to varying circumstances.
Rather than feeling clear about next steps, this lack of specificity
leaves the employee with too much to digest, decide and juggle -
a sure recipe for returning to old, comfortable habits.
Classroom training also leaves the employee with a great deal
of uncertainty. Not only are employees uncertain about where to
apply the lessons, but they haven't seen evidence of effectiveness.
And they are usually left on their own to suffer the consequences
of their first attempts to apply their new skills, consequences
that may consist of irate co-workers.
Last, but not least, classroom training leaves everything for
the future. Employees are left to apply lessons later. There are
simply huge barriers between leaving the classroom and a first taste
of success.
Viewed from this perspective, is it any wonder employees retreat
to old habits after the classroom?
Now don't get me wrong. Classroom training has its place. But
using the three advantageous characteristics of on-the-job training
- specific, certain and immediate - to guide your approach to training
is a much simpler approach to "making training stick"
than is provided in all those lengthy, general, uncertain articles
found while googling.
How? It all hinges on getting specific.
Even the most sophisticated skills and behaviors grow out of a
first opportunity to practice something pretty basic. Everyone starts
something new by doing something specific in a specific time, at
a specific place. On-the-job training creates this critical opportunity;
classroom training leaves it to chance.
In order to get specific, start with the desired outcome and work
your way backwards. Get specific about the behavior, the time, the
place, and the knowledge needed. Identify an initial context - the
first place you expect to see the new behavior. This is also the
first place your employee is likely to experience success. Using
this technique to identify initial steps and orchestrate success
lets you leverage the advantages of on-the-job training: specific,
certain and immediate.
This specificity will also allow you to be specific about the
knowledge needed, which may be well-suited to the classroom. However,
the classroom experience is also simplified by this focus on content.
The classroom becomes a resource, not the driver of behavior change.
Start with an on-the-job perspective for all employee development
in order to accelerate learning and improve results.
|
Share this Article